"Eh… Is this the dream world?"
Tsubame curiously looked around and said softly:
"It feels no different from reality at all."
When entering the dream, Natsuki had set it to lucid dream mode, so Tsubame could easily distinguish between reality and dream.
"There are definitely differences, for example…"
Natsuki extended his right hand, his gaze shifting downwards, and slapped a certain part of Senpai's body.
Slap!
A crisp slapping sound immediately rang out.
"Ah…!"
Tsubame, suddenly ambushed, instinctively let out a soft cry. She quickly covered her buttocks with both hands, her cheeks puffed out as she looked over:
"Junior, what are you doing?"
Natsuki retorted:
"Did Senpai feel any pain just now?"
"Eh?"
Tsubame was startled and quickly realized.
"Indeed… no pain."
After being slapped so hard, even parts with fewer nerves should feel pain.
Natsuki explained:
"Dreams and reality are easily confused, so before entering the dream world, I set it so that you wouldn't feel any pain… Even with Singapore's caning, Senpai wouldn't feel any pain."
"D-don't say it!"
Tsubame quickly shook her head and said, "I already feel pain just hearing it. I used to watch videos of caning, and it looked so scary."
Some countries in the world still maintain the ancient punishment of caning, such as Singapore.
The most common instance is drunk driving. In Singapore, once caught for drunk driving, in addition to fines and imprisonment, there are also six strokes of caning.
Simply put, it's whipping the buttocks, which seems painless.
But Natsuki had accidentally seen a video of caning online, and from then on,'skin torn and flesh mangled' became a materialized term. After six whips, the entire buttocks were already bloody and mangled… It is advised not to search for it, to avoid being frightened.
"The school is so deserted…" Tsubame said softly, "Junior, what are we doing now?"
Natsuki said gently:
"Of course, we're holding my and Senpai's wedding."
"Eh eh eh?"
Tsubame's pretty face flushed, and she couldn't help but complain:
"Who holds a wedding in a dream?!"
"Senpai makes a good point…" Natsuki nodded. "Then should we end the dream now and continue sleeping?"
Tsubame: "…"
Since they were already here, he actually wanted to go back. It made her angry!
"It's okay to just look at the effect first…"
Tsubame turned her pretty face away, stammering softly.
Natsuki smiled and said, "Then let's experience the wedding content first. We can modify anything we're not satisfied with at any time."
"First is the sea of tulips I promised Tsubame-senpai."
Hearing about her favorite flower sea, Tsubame was shy and expectant:
"Where is the flower sea?"
"Of course, it's created by yourself. Creating things in the dream world is actually very simple, for example..."
Natsuki extended his right hand and closed his eyes.
A few seconds later.
Under Tsubame's curious gaze, a tender bud suddenly broke through the soil.
The green bud grew with the wind, and under Tsubame's curious gaze, it rapidly grew into a gently swaying blue tulip at a visible speed.
Immediately after, countless tender buds broke through the soil, quickly growing into a sea of tulips, pink, purple, blue, red... various colors competing for beauty, an incredibly beautiful sight.
"So beautiful!"
Tsubame's eyes immediately sparkled.
Girls like flowers, just as cats like yarn balls and evil spirits like glass beads; it's instinct. When you don't know what gift to give, giving flowers is definitely not wrong.
Of course, the prerequisite is that the girl has a good impression of you, and it's not a 'dog-licking' relationship, otherwise the flowers you give might very well appear in the trash can the next day.
Clap.
Natsuki snapped his fingers again.
Tsubame only felt a slight chill on her body. She looked down to see that her original clothes had disappeared, replaced by a pure white wedding dress.
Immediately after, a holy light shone down from thin air, a doorway appeared in the sky, and two little angels, holding a bouquet of flowers and flapping their small wings, descended from the sky.
Tsubame instinctively reached out her right hand to take the flowers. The touch in her hand was incredibly real, and she could even smell the rich fragrance of the flowers at the tip of her nose.
Natsuki smiled and said:
"Senpai, do you like it?"
Tsubame subconsciously replied:
"I like it..."
There was no way.
Faced with such a dreamlike scene, she simply couldn't say anything against her will.
"So wonderful!" Tsubame hugged the flowers with both hands, turned her head to look, her pretty face flushed, and said excitedly, "Junior, how did you do all of this?"
Natsuki explained:
"This is a dream. As long as Senpai believes in herself, she can do it too."
"Hmm..."
Tsubame took a deep breath, extended two fingers, pressed them to the sides of her head, and tried to use her power.
"No."
"I can't do it at all."
"I imagined countless balloons floating in the sky, but nothing happened."
Natsuki spread his hands and said:
"Then you can only practice slowly. Amamiya and Koyasu will hold the wedding first."
"No rush."
Tsubame's pretty face flushed, and she said expectantly:
"I'll practice controlling the dream first, and then I'll create the wedding myself."
Natsuki discussed:
"I can help complete the wedding..."
"No!" Tsubame raised her delicate chin, "I want to do everything myself!"
Natsuki said speechlessly:
"Senpai must be a loyal player of Cities: Skylines, right?"
"Eh? What's that?"
"It's nothing."
"..."
Controlling dreams was not as simple as imagined; it required a lot of talent.
Evidently, Tsubame's talent in controlling dreams was insufficient. After a whole night of practice, she could only barely construct a single tulip.
The night passed without incident.
The next day.
"Senpai, it's time to get up."
Natsuki gently pinched Senpai's conscience, reminding her in a low voice.
"Hmm..."
Tsubame's eyelashes fluttered gently, and she opened her eyes, hazy-eyed:
"Junior, don't pinch."
Natsuki said seriously:
"I was just reminding Senpai to get up, don't forget we're still in the instance."
Tsubame blinked her eyes at his words, finally waking up.
The dream was fake, the instance space was real.
Not only that, Yukino was even sleeping in the room next door...
Tsubame's pretty face flushed, and she quickly grabbed the blanket and sat up:
"Get up, get up!"
After getting up, Tsubame felt a slight chill on her body and couldn't help but shiver. She looked down to see that all the buttons on her pajamas had been unbuttoned at some point.
"Ah..."
Tsubame quickly covered her chest, her pretty face flushed, and she puffed out her cheeks, turning to glare at Natsuki.
"I'm not, I didn't." Natsuki denied it three times, "It must have been too hot sleeping last night, Senpai unbuttoned them herself."
Tsubame indignantly clenched her fists:
"Say that again and I'll hit you!"
Natsuki suddenly extended his right hand and pulled Senpai into his arms.
With the soft, fragrant warmth in his arms, Natsuki sniffed Senpai's neck and whispered:
"Senpai, did you forget something?"
Tsubame wondered:
"No, did I?"
Natsuki said:
"Whose room is this?"
Tsubame: "..."
She remembered.
This was her room. Last night, Junior came for a night raid, it wasn't her going to throw herself into his arms. Why did she forget after waking up!
The rest of the day passed without incident.
Whether it was Natsuki's security guard task or Senpai's cleaner task, they only needed to wait for the clearance time limit to arrive; there were no other issues.
Although Yukino had completed her task, she chose to stay temporarily to avoid any accidents.
The day passed quickly.
Night soon fell again.
The three returned home, ate their respective meals, and had no other entertainment. After a simple wash-up, they prepared to rest.
"Senpai, I'm done washing."
Natsuki came out of the bathroom.
Tsubame got up and said:
"I'll go wash right away."
As they passed each other, Natsuki whispered:
"Senpai, tonight..."
Tsubame's heart involuntarily beat half a beat faster.
What did he want to do tonight?
He wouldn't still want to night-raid her, would he?
Then she heard Natsuki whisper:
"Tonight, it's my turn to leave the door open for Senpai."
Tsubame: "..."
What did he mean?
Was he planning for her to actively throw herself into his arms tonight?
Impossible!
Absolutely impossible!
"No need." Tsubame crossed her arms over her chest and softly snorted, "Junior, lock the door properly. I just want to get a good night's rest."
Natsuki smiled while drying his hair:
"Anyway, I'll leave the door open for Senpai. Whether you come over or not is Senpai's business."
Bang.
The door closed.
Tsubame puffed out her pink cheeks slightly, unable to resist muttering softly:
"...How infuriating!"
What was with that smug, confident smile?
As if she would definitely be unable to resist throwing herself into his arms.
Super infuriating!
Anyway, she would absolutely not throw herself into his arms!
After washing up.
Tsubame greeted Yukino, then returned to her own room.
Bang.
The door gently closed, and she locked it casually.
Tsubame came to the bed and sat down. Since she had no phone to play with, she could only rest early.
Then...
"Can't sleep."
"I can't sleep at all."
Tsubame reluctantly opened her eyes, looking at the hazy darkness of the ceiling.
Today's task was simple: continue to employ resentful spirit child laborers. She didn't need to lift a finger from start to finish, so neither her mental nor physical energy was depleted.
Secondly, her mind was filled with bits and pieces from yesterday's dream.
Starting from scratch to build the wedding scene of one's dreams—no girl could refuse that, right?
Tsubame couldn't either.
She was like a child who had received a new toy, unable to put it down, unable to stop playing with it.
After another bout of tossing and turning, Tsubame finally sat up.
"I need to use the restroom…"
Tsubame, her face flushed, threw off the covers and quietly got out of bed.
A moment later.
Coming out of the restroom, Tsubame walked to the door of her room and grasped the doorknob, but she hesitated to open it.
After a long moment of hesitation, Tsubame, her pretty face flushed, murmured:
"It's been so long, Junior must be asleep by now…"
"Just a peek."
"Just one peek."
"If Junior is asleep, I'll go back to my room to rest!"
"…"
Tsubame quietly crept to Natsuki's room door, then took a deep breath and grasped the doorknob.
Click.
The door opened easily with a gentle push.
Thump-thump.
In the quiet night, Tsubame clearly heard her own rapid heartbeat.
Nervousness.
Shame.
And an expectation she didn't want to admit.
Many emotions mixed together, making Tsubame walk each step with extreme caution.
"Was Junior this nervous when he snuck into my room last night?"
Tsubame quickly shook her head.
Definitely not!
Junior's movements were so practiced, he must have been familiar with it already!
Step by step, she walked cautiously to the bed. Tsubame widened her beautiful eyes to look, and in the hazy night, Natsuki was already sound asleep.
"Is he asleep?"
A hint of disappointment appeared on Tsubame's pretty face. She let out a soft sigh and was about to turn and leave.
The next second.
Slap!
Suddenly, someone grabbed her wrist.
"Ugh…"
Tsubame let out a low cry. Before she could even speak, she was pulled into the covers.
Their eyes met.
Their breaths mingled.
Natsuki's gaze was full of aggression:
"If Senpai doesn't come over to sneak attack, I'm really going to fall asleep."
Tsubame's pretty face was crimson as she stammered a denial:
"It's not a sneak attack at all…"
Natsuki said:
"Then why is Senpai by my bed?"
Tsubame's gaze drifted as she said:
"I… I accidentally went into the wrong room."
Natsuki smiled and said:
"Oh, so you went into the wrong room… Senpai, is sneaking around exciting?"
"I don't know what Junior is talking about," Tsubame said, her pretty face crimson, as she turned her head. "I'm going back."
Natsuki leaned in, directly blocking Senpai's soft, lips:
"Since you went into the wrong room, Senpai, don't even think about going back tonight."
"…"
Because he was mindful of Yukino resting next door, Natsuki stopped after teasing Senpai for a while.
Otherwise, the inexperienced Senpai would definitely have cried.
"Senpai, hurry up and sleep." Natsuki gently stroked Senpai's smooth, silky back and softly said, "You can go to the dream to construct the wedding now."
"Hoo… hoo…"
Tsubame's lips were slightly parted, exhaling a fragrant breath, her eyes hazy with mist. Hearing his words, she instinctively responded, actively snuggling into Natsuki's embrace, finding a comfortable position, and then closing her eyes.
She had been tossing and turning, unable to sleep, but now she felt incredibly at ease, easily drifting into dreamland.
The night passed without a word.
The next day.
"Phew…"
Tsubame quietly pushed the door open and came into the hallway. Seeing that the hallway was empty, she couldn't help but quietly let out a sigh of relief.
"I hope Yukino didn't notice, right?"
She quietly closed the door.
Tsubame was about to go to the restroom to wash up when she suddenly saw a black-haired girl open her room door.
Their eyes met.
Tsubame's pretty face instantly flushed.
Ahhh! I was caught red-handed! I should have come out later!
But… Yukino came out of Junior's room a few days ago, and I didn't say anything. Now that it's me coming out, she probably won't say anything either, right?
"…"
After a brief silence.
Yukino acted as if she hadn't seen anything and gently closed her door.
There was no love triangle… none at all.