Alan’s face was grim as he took off his raincoat and draped it over the girl, grabbing her wrist and walking quickly towards the house she had come from.

Nino stood there blankly, letting him do as he pleased, only stumbling two steps when he suddenly grabbed her wrist.

Then, as if she had understood something, she couldn’t help but laugh.

Hearing her clear, bell-like laughter, Alan turned his head, looked at her rain-soaked smiling face, and couldn’t help but scolding, "You fool."

"Nino is not a fool, you know."

She replied as usual, which seemed to have become their unspoken understanding.

Feeling the warmth of the boy lingering on the raincoat and the strength with which he gripped her wrist, her heart blossomed with joy.

It didn’t matter where they went, the destination was irrelevant, she just wanted to keep walking like this forever...

However, she looked up and saw Alan’s wet hair, and she froze, wanting to take off the raincoat.

Alan noticed her movement, turned back, and glared at her, saying, "Hurry up!"

"Oh..."

She was startled by Alan’s gaze, like a frightened little animal, timidly following behind him...

Ten seconds later, Alan stood behind Nino at the doorway, but through the gap between the girl and the doorframe, he could glimpse the interior.

Narrow, crude, and a dark, damp, musty smell assailed him, although it wasn’t as bad as the garbage outside, it made him extremely nauseous, almost to the point of vomiting.

The entire room was about three or four square meters, two steps from the entrance was the toilet and kitchen, almost connected, separated only by a sheer curtain.

Another two steps to the left, and opening the bedroom door revealed the scene he had seen in the video.

Rainwater seeped through the ceiling, dripping in lines, and the floor was covered in puddles, the thumb-thick stream of water was gone, and the wooden corner of the wall was now plugged with a towel, with two stacked stools directly beneath it, clearly indicating that Nino had dealt with it herself before he arrived.

However, it was no use, the towel was already soaked, and water was still flowing down the moldy wall... It was beyond saving.

Alan immediately concluded in his heart and turned to Nino, asking, "Is the power out in the whole house?"

Startled by his sudden question, Nino paused, then nodded.

"Yes."

Despite her words, Alan was still uneasy, checking every place that could be electrified one by one, and after confirming there were no problems, he looked at the girl beside him and said.

"Let’s go, Nino."

"Yeah~"

Nino Kitagawa obediently responded, not asking where they were going, seemingly having already entrusted her entire heart to him...

As he drove Nino towards his house, Alan felt increasingly ridiculous.

He claimed he would marry her, yet he didn’t even understand her current situation, as if merely giving her a promise could put his mind at ease.

Before coming, he had thought about helping, whether it was contacting the landlord or helping to clean the house...

But once he entered, he didn’t even feel like thinking about it, only wanting to take her away quickly.

The journey was silent, and Nino seemed to sense that his mood was off, opening her mouth to say something, but then worrying about distracting him from driving, she ultimately closed her mouth...

"Come in."

Alan pulled her through the door, took off her raincoat, found a pair of spare slippers, and knelt down to take off her sneakers himself.

Seeing this, Nino instinctively pulled her foot back.

Alan looked up at her, asking in confusion, "What’s wrong?"

She had been eager for him to massage her at the Kendo Club before, so why was she acting like this now?

The girl pursed her lips, a blush rising on her rain-streaked face, and her voice was a little rushed.

"Nino... Nino can do it herself..."

Something was strange.

Alan glanced at her, said nothing, and directly grabbed her ankle.

However, once her shoe was off, Alan understood what was going on, there was a hole in her white sock, and her toes were peeking out mischievously.

Nino noticed his gaze, a flurry of panic in her heart, and she bit her lip, her toes shyly curling.

Alan looked at the girl’s shy expression, finding it amusing for a moment, and simply took off her sock.

"Doesn’t that make it better?"

Nino’s eyes flickered, and she turned her face away from his gaze, instead surveying the room before her.

Her gaze didn’t miss a single corner of the room, as if a mistress was inspecting her love nest.

"Alan’s house is really nice, isn’t it?"

She couldn’t help but exclaim.

Hearing her say that, Alan’s heart tightened again, he took off her raincoat and patted her shoulder, saying, "Let’s go, take a bath first."

"Oh."

The girl clutched his sleeve and followed him into the bathroom, silently watching Alan fiddle with the water heater.

After adjusting the water temperature for her, Alan looked into her eyes and said, "I don’t have anything for girls here, so you’ll have to make do. The bath towel is here, I’ll go find you some clothes to change into..."

With that, he turned to leave the bathroom, but as soon as he took a step, he felt his clothes being tugged.

He turned his head, looking at her in confusion.

The girl bit her cherry lips, raised her hand to tie up her long hair, and asked with a blush, "Isn’t Alan going to wash?"

When did she become so alluring?

Alan opened his mouth, then helplessly said, "You go first."

With that, without waiting for her reply, he immediately walked out of the bedroom.

Wiping his face with a tissue, Alan changed into pajamas and sat at the table, first contacting the real estate agent to arrange a viewing for tomorrow afternoon.

Then he checked the time and sent a message to Nozomi Sakura, telling her he wouldn’t be able to pick her up today.

After doing all this, he thought about whether there was anything he had missed, but then he heard a ’click’, and the bathroom door opened.

Alan instinctively turned his head, only to see the girl, clad only in a bath towel, standing tall and graceful at the doorway.

She didn’t seem to know how to tie a bath towel, only wrapping it around her waist, her long, straight legs exposed to the air, and her fair shoulders glowing with a faint blush under the light.

A misty sheen filled the girl’s clear eyes, and meeting his gaze, she softly asked, "Can Alan help Nino blow her hair?"

***

...Noon, at the Aoyama Artist Training Institute.

After finishing her morning training, Nozomi Sakura breathed a sigh of relief.

No matter what, the profession of a teacher was too oppressive, and besides, the other party’s personality was not one that practiced gentle education.

So, every time she faced her, she felt particularly nervous.

Leaning back in the lounge chair in the break room, Nozomi took a sip of water, then opened her phone to check it, but looking at the empty messages, a look of disappointment involuntarily appeared in her peach blossom eyes.

Alan hadn’t come to see her again today... Ever since that kiss, he seemed to be deliberately avoiding her.

So, was she too hasty?

Did she scare him away?

But... he was so skilled, and he didn’t seem nervous at all afterward.

Besides, she had given him room to retreat later, even allowing him to date that crazy person, so logically, he shouldn’t be avoiding her...

Nozomi Sakura bit her cherry lips, somewhat conflicted, not knowing what to do.

After Alan left that night, she called her mother again and confessed that she was in a relationship.

Anyway, even if she didn’t say anything, her cousin would tell her mother when she asked.

Then she received a barrage of nagging from her mother, asking what kind of person he was, if she could bring him home to meet them, and so on.

She brushed all of these off, meeting them was impossible.

He was already avoiding her after just one kiss, so wouldn’t meeting her parents be even worse?

As things stood, it was enough that he agreed to move near his house.

After all, neither the Akari sisters nor that crazy person had this privilege.

The books said that proximity was the most important thing, a man and woman who spent every day together, as long as there were no major conflicts, their feelings would definitely gradually warm up...

And it was always portrayed that way in movies and TV shows.

Nozomi Sakura unconsciously smiled.

As she was thinking, she suddenly heard a commotion from the corridor.

"Miss Akari, this way please..."

As if a keyword had been triggered, Nozomi Sakura immediately snapped back to reality, blinking her eyes, feeling as if she had heard a rather important name.

She stood up and walked out of the lounge.

However, just as she pushed open the frosted glass door, she happened to meet three people coming around the corner.

The girl walking in the middle wore sunglasses, but just by looking at her face shape and figure, Nozomi Sakura immediately recognized her.

Akari Hojo? Why was she here?

Nozomi Sakura’z hand was still resting on the glass door frame, staring blankly at the other party.

Her posture couldn’t have been more obvious, so much so that Akari Hojo immediately noticed her. The latter stopped, turned her head, and their gazes met through the sunglasses.

And seeing Nozomi Sakura, Akari Hojo was also surprised.

"Miss Akari?"

Her manager’s reminder brought her back to her senses, and after a moment of hesitation, she took off her sunglasses and said, "Kaguya-san, please go ahead. I have something to attend to here..."

Kaguya looked at her in confusion, then at Nozomi Sakura, feeling that the two might be acquaintances, so she nodded and said, "Alright, I’ll go contact Hakuto first."

"Mm-hmm, thank you for your hard work."

Akari Hojo clasped her hands together, bowed at a forty-five-degree angle, and watched the other person leave.

Estimating that the other person had walked to a distance where she couldn’t hear her speak.

Akari Hojo turned to face Nozomi Sakura, looking at her deeply, a complex expression in her eyes.

A strange sense of pressure emanated from the other person, and Nozomi Sakura swallowed, her body involuntarily straightening, and she couldn’t help but ask.

"Um, is something wrong?"

Hearing her question, Akari Hojo suddenly pursed her lips and smiled, asking meaningfully, "Did Alan bring you here?"

She paused, then looked up at the sign above the training room, and continued to ask, "You want to be an actress?"