After a long while, their lips parted.
The distance between the two faces was increased.
Looking at Ai's delicate cheeks flushed red, Kōyū smiled and teased her softly:
"Ai, do you want me to get you a mirror?"
"No need, thank you." Ai blushed, but her tone was somewhat cold.
But it's quite obvious that she did it on purpose.
—She's still lying in Guangyou's arms.
"I'm too lazy to get up anyway." After saying that, Kōyū rested his head on Ai's shoulder to explain why he was too lazy to get up.
He buried his head in Ai's hair, and with each breath he could smell the scent of her hair.
From an angle where Kouyu couldn't see, Ai's expression softened, and she dropped what looked like anger.
She slowly opened her arms and hugged Guangyou, then turned her head to rest on his shoulder, closed her icy blue eyes, and smiled.
...
Not far from the two, Akemi was still standing in front of the kitchen, watching them.
Her feelings were somewhat complicated.
I am pleased with the relationship between the two of them.
My sister has finally found someone she likes, and she's more like a normal young girl now.
There's also a sense of helplessness.
because...
She seemed to be ignored.
Didn't they notice me?
Akemi glanced at the two still embracing, then looked back at the kitchen, and thought to herself:
"How about I go wait in the kitchen for a while?"
"It's perfect timing to make them some snacks."
As a responsible older sister, she would never do anything to disturb the two of them.
Having made up her mind, Mingmei slowly turned around and carefully walked into the kitchen, afraid of making a sound and disturbing the two of them.
...
The two didn't hug for long. About two or three minutes later, Kousuke felt Ai let go of his hands, so he let go of hers as well.
Without much hesitation, neither of them mentioned what had just happened. Kwangyu changed the subject:
"I'll watch TV for a while."
"Mmm." Ai leaned back on the soft sofa, crossed her arms, and responded.
The way she was posing indicated that she also wanted to watch for a while.
He bent down, picked up the remote control from the coffee table, pressed the switch to turn on the TV, and randomly selected a variety show. Just like Ai, he leaned back on the sofa and started watching.
The variety shows were just so-so, with occasional laughs.
However, the jokes didn't attract the two of them.
Because their attention wasn't on the TV at all.
Watching TV was just a pretext; the real reason Kōyū did this was to give Ai some time to process things.
Let her calm down.
He knew that Ai wanted to back away because Akemi was there, not because she was resisting. If he took the initiative, Ai would definitely feel shy.
Therefore, it is necessary to find a suitable opportunity to let Ai calm down and ease her shyness.
"Oh right, I forgot that Akemi is still here."
At that moment, Kōyū remembered Akemi. He turned to look at the kitchen, paused, and thought, "Huh? Where's Akemi-neechan?"
He quickly realized what was happening:
"Maybe they went back to their room first?"
He didn't delve too deeply into the matter. Kōyū came to his senses and glanced at Ai.
By this time, the blush on Ai's cheeks had long since faded.
She regained her usual calm expression.
Perhaps because of what had just happened, Guangyou felt that the girl's expression seemed much gentler.
It has lost some of its indifference and gained some warmth.
Of course.
He liked Ai whether she was as aloof as usual or like she was now, more like an eighteen-year-old girl.
Because of her past experiences, Ai Haibara used to always have a "keep away" attitude.
For example, when Ai first met Ayumi and the others, she seemed to occasionally acknowledge them, but in reality, there was still a distance between them.
Even he, at the beginning, Ai was somewhat resistant to him because of his behavior.
I imagine Ai was thinking at that time:
"Is there something wrong with this person?"
What truly changed her opinion of him was when she learned that he had saved Mingmei.
In the period that followed, Kōyū could sense that Ai's resistance to him had weakened considerably, and she was more willing to get close to him.
At that time...
To be honest, he felt that when Ai agreed to go out with him, she probably wanted to thank him for saving Akemi.
There is definitely gratitude.
If you like it...
Perhaps only a little bit.
This is not him belittling himself, but a fact.
He didn't think that Ai liked him just because he saved Akemi.
However, it cannot be denied.
It was precisely because he saved Akemi that Ai changed her opinion of him, and perhaps even planted a seed of affection in her heart.
As the two spent more and more time together, Ai gradually changed.
Even now, in front of him and Akemi, Ai is more like a normal eighteen-year-old girl most of the time.
He could see in her the vitality and energy that should naturally belong to a girl her age.
Thinking of this, Kōyū turned his head and shifted his gaze from Ai's face back to the television program.
During this process, he saw the bouquet of roses.
Rose...
Using this flower to describe Ai before her transformation is perfectly fitting.
He had said before:
Back then, Ai was like a rose—beautiful, but covered in thorns.
The transformed Ai Haibara resembles a cluster of beautiful pink and white cherry blossoms.
After a long winter, spring, a season symbolizing life and vitality, has arrived.
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