After all, they usually don't study hard enough, so it's normal that they can't compare to him.
But as for Akane, although there was a trace of fatigue between her brows, she somehow still forced herself to get up.
She opened her phone and casually took a photo.
Then she tapped into her best friend's chat and sent a message.
[Akane: "Yui-chan, are you asleep?"]
[Tachibana Yui: "About to sleep, what about you, Akane?"]
[Akane: "Just finished up, about to sleep too. I'm so tired now, my whole body is sore, feels like I'm falling apart QAQ."]
[Tachibana Yui: "Hm? What did you do?"]
[Akane: "Had a gathering at Hikari-kun's house today, picture.jpg."]
Seeing the photo sent by Akane, Tachibana Yui immediately tapped to open it.
In the photo, Akane was half leaning on the headboard, cheeks flushed, eyes bright as water. Though she looked somewhat tired, her relaxed brows and eyes carried a satisfied expression, looking incredibly charming. It was Tachibana Yui's first time seeing her best friend look so alluring.
But what shocked Tachibana Yui even more was that lying neatly beside Akane in the photo were four other beautiful girls, their cheeks also faintly flushed.
The four pretty girls were neatly tucked under the covers, only their small heads showing.
Though they were all exceptionally beautiful and had different charms, the expressions on their faces were surprisingly identical.
All of them had faces full of exhaustion, yet they radiated an indescribable and overwhelming sense of satisfaction and happiness.
And on a rocking chair beside the big bed, sat Hikari, whom she had just seen earlier today.
He was sitting with a calm expression, holding a book, seemingly flipping through it.
What instantly caught Tachibana Yui's attention was that Hikari, who was reading the book, wasn't wearing a shirt. His perfectly muscular upper body was bare, every muscle chiseled like it had been sculpted with a knife and axe, sharp and beautiful, like a statue.
'That body…'
Tachibana Yui subconsciously swallowed.
[Tachibana Yui: "You guys… went way overboard!"]
Though her cheeks were burning and her heart was pounding, Tachibana Yui couldn't help but issue a righteous condemnation.
[Akane: "How was it overboard?"]
[Tachibana Yui: "Isn't it obvious? Th-That many people, there's no way to distribute things evenly, it's way too much!"]
[Akane: "Yui-chan, you're underestimating Hikari-kun~"]
Seeing this, Tachibana Yui's face turned completely red.
[Tachibana Yui: "Akane, you… what nonsense are you spouting! I don't want to talk about this topic anymore. Akane, hurry and delete that photo!"]
[Akane: "Okay, I'll delete it now. But Yui-chan, you already saved it to your album, right?"]
Staring at the perfect, chiseled abs in her photo album, Tachibana Yui's pretty face instantly flushed red.
[Tachibana Yui: "I… I didn't!"]
[Akane: "Hehe, Yui-chan, remember not to show the photo to anyone else~"]
[Tachibana Yui: "Of course I won't let anyone else see it!"]
[Akane: "Hehe, but Yui-chan, didn't you say you didn't save it?"]
[Tachibana Yui: "I… Aah, I'm done talking! I'm sleepy! I'm going to sleep, not talking anymore, good night!"]
Watching Tachibana Yui go offline at lightning speed, Akane smiled slightly.
'Yui-chan, Yui-chan, you're my best friend.'
'When there's good stuff, how could I not think of you?'
'But now isn't the right time, so for now, I'll just share a photo to whet your appetite…'
Akane believed her best friend Tachibana Yui wouldn't show that photo to anyone else.
Besides, in the photo, Akane and the other girls only showed half or part of their heads, nothing was revealed.
The only somewhat inappropriate thing was Hikari's bare upper body.
But as a guy, Hikari probably wouldn't mind.
Also, that was a little benefit Akane wanted to give her best friend.
Thinking about how that photo might accompany her best friend through several lonely nights, Akane couldn't help but smile.
Just as he put down the book, Hikari noticed the strange smile on Akane's face.
He immediately asked, "Akane-chan, what are you doing? Why are you smiling so happily?"
Akane quickly put down her phone and shook her head, "N-Nothing, just chatting with a good friend."
Hikari twisted the cap back onto the nutrition drink he had just finished and set it on the side table. Smiling, he said, "All done chatting? If so, come over here."
Natsuha and the others were resting contentedly, but Hikari still wasn't completely satisfied.
At the moment, Natsuha and the three gyaru girls were all tired from makeup classes and resting. Only Akane still had some energy left.
Seeing Hikari's expression, Akane also smiled, rolled out of bed, and slowly walked over to him.
Looking at Hikari with open arms, Akane didn't sit directly on his lap.
"We just finished a bit ago, my legs are still sore…"
Akane gave him a playful look, then slightly squatted down and softly parted her red lips…
———
[The Next Morning]
The darkness shrouding the sky dispersed, dawn's light pierced the thin clouds, gently bathing the earth.
The sparrows outside the window had already awakened, chirping noisily while perched on the electric poles.
The boy lying among fragrant warmth and soft jade slowly sat up while rubbing his lower back.
His expression held an unusual trace of weariness.
After covering the naked Natsuha, Akane, and the three gyaru girls with blankets, Hikari rubbed his lumbar spine and climbed out of bed alone.
The rare fatigue today was because they really did go a bit overboard yesterday.
Not long after finishing with Akane, Natsuha, Ruri and the three gyaru girls woke up. Rested, they clamored to continue playing Hero vs. Dragon and Knight games with Hikari.
After several rounds of playing, they then started playing mahjong.
Sometimes they took turns being the dealer, sometimes they all jumped in together.
In short, the scene got extremely chaotic.
Hikari played and fooled around with them plus handled their makeup studies, almost nonstop from last night until nearly dawn.
No helping it, after all, it was one versus five.
And each of them was incredibly gifted.
All of them were extremely playful, clinging to him endlessly.
Defeat one, then the next came. Defeat one, another came. Every time he defeated the last one, the first would get back up again.
It was a true wheel battle combined with a group assault.
So even with Hikari's physical constitution, he couldn't help but feel a bit fatigued.
"Still gotta keep improving my physical stats," Hikari muttered.
Getting out of bed, he turned back to look.
He found that the once-new bed from yesterday had gone through several changes of sheets and even had some damaged spots.
Hikari's expression turned a bit helpless.
Shaking his head, he walked out of the bedroom, pulled out his phone, and made a call to the little landlord Asou Miyuri.
"Miss Asou, good morning."
["Ah-choo,"] came Asou Miyuri's lazy loli voice.
"It's not a big deal really, but I figured I should still inform you. The big bed in your large apartment room, I accidentally broke it."
"Should I replace it with a new one, or compensate you with money?", Hikari asked.
Asou Miyuri said indifferently, ["Oh, that's all? No worries. That bed was probably old anyway, so that's why it broke. You don't have to pay."]
["More importantly, Hikari-kun, are you sure you won't consider marrying into the Asou family?"]
["If you agree, I'll buy you not just one, but ten new beds! Any material you like—rosewood, anything!"]
["If you can break the new beds too, then even better, hehe!"]
Hearing Asou Miyuri's mischievous tone, Hikari's expression turned speechless.
Honestly, yesterday's bed was still quite new.
It only broke because things got too intense.
So her suggestion about breaking a new bed wasn't exactly impossible.
But thinking about the petite and soft little landlord, Hikari shook his head.
If it was that little landlord, before the bed broke… she herself would probably break first.
But Hikari also knew Asou Miyuri was just joking. She didn't actually believe he could do that.
Hikari didn't follow up and simply declined, "Miss Asou, stop joking. I still have school, marrying in or whatever, no way."
["Aww, fine, fine!"], Asou Miyuri replied with a disappointed tone.
After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Hikari hung up.
Opening a bottle of pure-love-nutrition drink, Hikari chugged it down.
After tossing the bottle in the trash, he brushed his teeth while looking in the mirror, then slightly shook his head, 'Today I actually feel some soreness in my lower back. Ever since I've been adding points daily to boost physical stats, I haven't felt like this in a while. Truly, indulgence is harmful…'
'Dark circles too… I've been harmed by pleasure, look how haggard I am…'
'Starting today… no more indulgence!'
Of course, while Hikari was suffering from back soreness due to the wheel battle, Natsuha, Akane, and Ruri were all sleeping like babies, still unable to wake up.
They were clearly even more exhausted than Hikari.
After all, every force has an equal and opposite reaction.
The five of them probably couldn't make it to class today.
'I, the diligent one who shows up and checks in every day, shall help them apply for leave this time.'
While pondering this, Hikari opened the system panel as usual and added two points to each of his five stats.
Warm energy flowed through his meridians, slightly improving his physical condition again.
He felt much more comfortable now, no sore waist, no tired legs.
Refreshed and back to his usual energetic self, Hikari headed off to school alone.
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