In that split second, she turned all the tension into a joke.
Hisaki was startled.
Rinna was clearly trying to bluff her way through, but Hisaki didn’t want to show her possessiveness too strongly in front of Rinna.
Her thumb gently moved again on the back of Rinna’s head.
Then she pressed her expression back into a subtle arc that indicated reluctant acceptance but obvious dissatisfaction.
“Umm….” Hisaki let out a single ambiguous syllable stuck in her throat, as if saying “okay,” or as if saying “liar.”
Her lips twitched downward a tiny bit, then she forced them upward a tiny bit.
She wanted to say, “Let me see your phone,” but didn’t say it out loud.
She had already gotten the answer from the way Rinna hid the phone behind her back. Rinna didn’t want her to see it.
She forced herself to accept the answer “It’s just Mom,” because she didn’t want Rinna to think her possessiveness was too much.
Although she still felt something was wrong… Why would Rinna smile so shyly while chatting with her mom?
Why hide it from her?
But she gave up questioning.
“How’s your body feeling, Rinna?”
Hisaki changed the subject, her voice dropping back to its usual calm, reliable tone like she was checking a medical report.
Rinna replied.
“Walking around shouldn’t be a problem anymore…Besides, isn’t Xiao Xiao here? Xiao Xiao is the best, right!”
Hisaki lowered her eyes, her eyelashes fluttering twice.
‘Xiao Xiao is here.’
‘Xiao Xiao is the best.’
She quietly stored those two sentences in her heart.
A smile that was no longer weighed down by resentment—it was a self-satisfied smile that bubbled up from deep inside after being praised by Rinna.
Hisaki silently straightened up, while gently supporting the back of Rinna’s head, helping Rinna sit back up against the headboard from her leaning position.
“Okay. We’ll go together.”
After saying that, Hisaki extended the hand that had been supporting her on the mattress toward Rinna, palm up, fingers slightly curled inward.
This time, her tone was no longer the defiant “check the chat log” vibe from before; it had returned to Hisaki’s typical firm, non-negotiable, reliable tone. “But only walk slowly.”
Rinna placed a hand on Hisaki’s palm. “Okay!”
Next was changing time.
The pure white cotton robe that Rinna was wearing had been put on her by Hisaki last night.
Now, with equally gentle movements, Hisaki untied the robe’s belt.
The lapels of the robe slid off Rinna’s shoulders, revealing the straps of her camisole and bra.
Hisaki didn’t let Rinna face the direct view of her naked body.
She first took Rinna’s discarded undergarments to the bathroom to dispose of them, then fetched a clean wet towel that had been soaked in warm water and wrung half dry.
She carefully wiped the skin of Rinna’s thighs.
The used sanitary pad was neatly wrapped in tissues, then wrapped again in a disposable plastic bag, and thrown into a lidded trash can.
Then Hisaki took out a set of clean underwear.
The cotton fabric was folded into a neat square, placed on her palm, and handed to Rinna.
While Rinna was still too shy to react, Hisaki bent down and carefully slid the panties over Rinna’s ankles, up to her waist, with the waistband resting just at the most comfortable spot on her hips.
Then the bra. Hisaki’s fingers nimbly hooked the clasps behind Rinna’s back, her fingertips never scratching the skin, only providing a slight tightness under the fabric.
Then Hisaki walked to the closet and opened the door.
Inside the closet hung several sets of neatly folded clothes—not Hisaki’s size, but prepared specially for Rinna.
The bust and waist were all a size smaller, and the fabric was soft, breathable cotton.
“Rinna, wear this.” Hisaki said, pulling out a one-piece dress from the closet.
White.
The base color of the dress was that extremely gentle, extremely clean milky white.
The fabric was soft and light, with a round collar and no lace. Only a plain white topstitch less than two millimeters wide ran along the edge of the collar, invisible from twenty centimeters away.
The sleeves were short, slightly wider than the arms, allowing the wind to slip in through the cuffs and cool the skin.
The hem of the skirt fell just a little below mid-calf, swaying lightly in Hisaki’s hand.
She then took out a shawl from the closet.
Cotton, colored like autumn maple leaves soaked in frost.
Hisaki first unfolded the shawl and laid it at the foot of the bed, then walked to Rinna with the dress.
She adjusted the orientation of the dress, holding the collar toward Rinna’s head.
Rinna sat on the edge of the bed and raised her hands. The white dress fell over her head, the fabric forming a soft curtain in front of her, briefly veiling her vision in a blurry white.
Then Hisaki’s fingers gently pulled down from the collar—the dress slid over her shoulders.
The hem fell along the direction of her arms, making almost no sound against her skin.
Hisaki moved behind her, carefully pulled out the white hair that was trapped under the dress, and gently smoothed it with her fingertips.
Then she zipped up the back zipper from the waist to between the shoulder blades.
Then the shawl.
Hisaki unfolded the deep red shawl, draped it over Rinna’s shoulders from behind, brought it around the front, crossed the ends, then found the two thin cotton strings at the very edge of each dangling piece, gently gathered them, and tied a soft, loose knot below Rinna’s collarbone.
Hisaki stepped back half a step and looked over her work.
Rinna sat on the bed, the white dress falling to her calves, the red shawl resting on her shoulders, contrasting with her white hair and amber eyes.
“Xiao Xiao?”
“Yeah.”
Hisaki snapped out of her daze, her ears visibly turning red.
She turned quickly to get her own jacket from the closet, intending to hide her expression.
After everything was done, the time had come to 12:27.
Rinna’s face was now bright red—not because of changing clothes itself, but because the entire process was done by Hisaki.
She had no room to refuse, and never thought of refusing.
Hisaki changed her own clothes, then took Rinna’s hand.
Five fingers interlocked, palm against palm, the pressure as usual, neither tight nor loose.
The two walked out of the room and along the corridor.
The midday sunlight bleached the blue stone ground white, and the shadows of the pine trees shrunk directly beneath the trunks, leaving only a small circle of black.
As Rinna was led by Hisaki toward the Kurose Clan’s gate, her mind was focusing on her target demographic.
She had originally wanted to pull the same stunt again on the train. Last time, during rush hour, she yelled at the man who bumped into her and earned 33 points in one go. Extremely efficient.
But now it was just past noon, and the train was mostly empty. Even if there were one or two passengers, they were retired elderly and young moms pushing strollers—not effective targets.
But it seemed she had no choice.
Girls were out of the question—they were almost completely immune to her face, and might even think she was acting cute.
Students were also out—too complicated a demographic.
As she was led forward by Hisaki, she listed a vague checklist in her mind.
Hisaki tilted her head and looked at Rinna’s side profile, lost in thought.
She wanted to know what Rinna was thinking, but the sensation of Rinna’s flick from earlier still lingered on her forehead, making her hesitant to press the issue.
As long as she could go out with Rinna, that was enough.
Everything else could be set aside for now.