Shiina Mahiru bit her lip, lowered her head, and remained silent.
Where was the cute, smiling girl he first met?
She looked like a wounded little beast.
It made people feel sorry for her.
Lin Xi sighed and didn't ask any further questions.
He forced the umbrella into her hand, turned around, and walked away in the heavy rain.
"Go home quickly, Chiishi-sensei and Sayu are both worried about you."
Looking at his rain-soaked back, a glimmer of light finally appeared in Shiina Mahiru's eyes.
My older sister is worried about me, Sayu is worried about me, what about you, Lin-kun?
This question flashed through her mind, but the answer was instant.
The umbrella in her hand, and his anxious expression just now, proved everything.
The rain fell on the umbrella, making a splashing sound.
The cold wind blew through her rain-soaked school uniform, and Shiina Mahiru shivered involuntarily.
But this coldness made her laugh involuntarily.
"What's this, someone cares about you, someone cares about you."
That idiot, wouldn't he just forcibly drag her away?
Why did he have to give her the umbrella?
He went back in the rain himself.
"Go home."
Shiina Mahiru gathered her thoughts and quickened her pace back to Sakura Villa.
At the door, she saw Chiishi Chihiro standing there, smiling and greeting her.
"I'm back, older sister."
Seeing her return, Chiishi Chihiro sighed.
"It's good you're back."
"Go take a bath and change your clothes, don't catch a cold."
"Okay."
Shiina Mahiru nodded obediently, put away the umbrella and placed it aside.
After taking her change of clothes, she went into the bathroom.
Lying in the bathtub, Shiina Mahiru thought about what her mother said on the phone this afternoon.
A crystal clear tear uncontrollably slid down her cheek.
Shiina Mahiru always thought she was a strong girl.
All along.
She strived to be excellent, to maintain her excellence, to gain her parents' approval.
She was always the most dazzling person in the class.
She was the good child in everyone's eyes.
She was the "someone else's kid" that people used to compare their own children to.
She hoped that her hard work and good behavior would attract her parents' attention.
She hoped that her parents would come home, even if they just came to see her occasionally, it would be fine.
But none of that happened.
Those two people only gave her money.
When they occasionally came home, they didn't comfort her or take care of her, it was just like a task, they would stay overnight and then leave immediately.
She left that empty house and came to Sakura Villa, so she got scolded.
Her mother said she was an unwanted child.
Her mother and father didn't expect her to be born.
But she was still born.
Because of her existence, those two people couldn't get divorced, so they both disliked her.
With a heavy heart, Shiina Mahiru finished her bath, changed into clean pajamas, and fell asleep.
The next day.
She gathered her spirits, wanting to make breakfast as usual, and go to school with the boy who made her feel complicated.
But Ogiwara Sayu sighed and said that she didn't need to prepare his lunch today.
Lin Xi was sick.
When Shiina Mahiru arrived at school, she seemed absent-minded.
She thought about giving him the umbrella and going back in the rain, which caused Lin Xi to get sick.
A strange feeling of sourness came over her.
"That idiot..."
She bit her lip and muttered, but that sour feeling suddenly became a little warm.
Unconsciously, it was already afternoon.
After class, Shiina Mahiru immediately returned to Sakura Villa.
She saw Ogiwara Sayu wiping the floor and couldn't help but ask.
"Um, Sayu, where is Lin Xi?"
Ogiwara Sayu looked at her resentfully and said:
"He had a high fever, it only subsided recently, he's still lying down now."
"Yesterday, he saw you hadn't come back so late, so he went looking for you everywhere, he couldn't find you at home, he took the umbrella and rushed out, and then he got drenched in the rain himself and came back."
"I'm sorry... It's all my fault..."
Shiina Mahiru couldn't help but lower her head in guilt.
"What are you apologizing for? He's the idiot, he can take an umbrella and still get drenched in the rain, he could have just taken you home with the umbrella, right?"
Shiina Mahiru lowered her head even further.
She knew Lin Xi was taking care of her feelings, wanting her to calm down, so he left her the umbrella and left himself.
"Can I go see him?"
She cautiously asked for Ogiwara Sayu's permission.
Shiina Mahiru wasn't stupid.
She had already noticed Ogiwara Sayu spending the night in Lin Xi's room.
Looking at Shiina Mahiru, who was nervous and a little stubborn, Ogiwara Sayu shook her head with a smile.
"Why are you asking for my permission? Go if you want."
"I think he'll be happy if you go visit him."
"Is… is that so…"
Shiina Mahiru's cheeks became hot.
What does Sayu mean?
"Alright, go now."
Ogiwara Sayu directly pushed her to the door of Lin Xi's room.
Shiina Mahiru took a deep breath and walked in.
She went to the bedside.
She saw Lin Xi lying in bed, his forehead covered with a towel.
He seemed to be asleep.
Thinking about it, she went to his bedside, reached out to remove the towel.
She used the back of her hand to touch his forehead.
Fortunately.
His fever had subsided.
Shiina Mahiru breathed a sigh of relief.
Suddenly, Lin Xi grabbed her arm and pulled her towards him.
The girl exclaimed, he hugged her by the waist, holding her in his arms.
"Sayu, don't go, let me hug you."
"Um… I'm not…"
Shiina Mahiru blushed and tried to push him away, but when she saw his painful expression, she stopped.
He caught a cold because of her.
Just let him hug her for a while.
Thinking this, she stopped struggling, but her cheeks were flushed.
This was the first time she was hugged so intimately by a boy.
How to say it.
Because it was him, it wasn't unpleasant.
This embrace felt very warm.
So this is what it feels like to be hugged by someone who cares about you.
Shiina Mahiru's heart couldn't help but beat faster.
She was a little nervous.
She subconsciously looked towards the door.
What if Sayu saw it, how would she explain it?
However.
The nervous Shiina Mahiru didn't know.
The man holding her was already delighted in his heart.
Pretending to be sick was a technical skill.
But it was all worthwhile.
Look, wasn't Shiina Mahiru in his arms now!
Although the method was despicable, using her kind heart and the guilt she felt, to hug her like this.
But Lin Xi wanted to touch Shiina Mahiru's heart.
Despicable methods were despicable, so be it.
As long as the result was good.
Shiina Mahiru's cheeks were burning, she didn't need to look to know.
It was already red to the roots of her ears.
She felt a little ashamed.
Although she understood that Lin Xi was mistaking her for Sayu, so he was doing this.
But she felt uncomfortable.
This pervert.
His illness wasn't even cured yet, he already wanted to act against the wind.
And, it was a little scary.