Chapter 61
Denji flipped through magazine after magazine, yet he could never recapture that original heart-fluttering thrill.
His hands kept turning pages, eyes kept scanning, but his mind was relentlessly replaying a memory:
It was an utterly ordinary day. He was just walking down that familiar little path at his usual pace, eyes lazily wandering over the roadside scenery—until one vivid corner caught him completely.
He approached cautiously, glancing around as he got closer.
The moment he finally held it in his hands, his heart raced with anticipation and nerves; an unconscious smile tugged at his lips, his breathing quickened.
Trembling fingers pinched one edge and carefully lifted it—oh~ there it was at last!
A dizzying color he had never seen in his previous life.
That fair skin, that tender texture—like the world's purest, most forbidden beauty, forever untouched by any filth, eternally cherished.
A current of shame, shock, and inexplicable excitement surged through his entire body in an instant.
It was just an old, discarded magazine thrown carelessly on the ground, yet little Denji treasured it like a priceless gem.
In truth, the image was nothing more than an ordinary swimsuit model.
But so what? Denji wasn't looking at her face anyway…
Even now, what he remembered was still the swimsuit in the picture—and that heart-pounding excitement from back then.
Tap tap tap…
Hearing the hurried little footsteps, Denji knew the young clerk was coming over.
Hm? She's carrying more books this time—maybe one of them will bring back that feeling he's searching for?
He reached out to take them, but the clerk hurriedly said:
"It's okay, you just sit there—I can carry this much."
"…"
So these books aren't for me to look at?
Denji awkwardly withdrew his hands, then subconsciously scratched his head. His guilty, thieving glance sneaked toward the clerk's reaction.
He didn't catch any particular response—just felt her gaze was… excessively intense.
Aaaaaahhh!!!
What is this head-scratching bashful feeling?!
How can this damn handsomeness be so unfair?!
If I wake up every day and can't see a guy this handsome anymore, my life will be completely meaningless!!!
Denji had no idea what was going through the clerk's mind—as long as she wasn't mocking him, it was fine.
His heart settled a little. He continued flipping through magazines. Boring, boring, boring!
He flipped faster and faster—clear signs of impatience.
The clerk snapped out of her fangirl daze; now her heart added a layer of nervousness.
Though that impatience wasn't directed at her, seeing the handsome guy in front of her in a bad mood still made her little heart pound painfully.
She placed the books on the table and sat down beside him—closer this time.
Just sitting a little nearer made her feel like she could barely breathe from excitement.
After one sip of coffee, her throat felt dry again.
"It's so hot~"
The clerk muttered to herself, then unbuttoned the deep-brown linen vest she was wearing.
Underneath was a delicate, fine silk white blouse tied with a pretty little bow tie at the collar.
After these movements, she felt her heartbeat speed up even more.
Her urgent, heated breathing clearly betrayed her inner turmoil. She touched her burning-red earlobes and asked in a small voice:
"My name is Senkoku Sumina. May… may I know your name?"
Denji had been looking at the magazine. Hearing the voice beside him, his gaze swept upward.
The first thing he saw was the overly full curves beneath that bow tie—the white silk blouse now stretched taut, as though the few trembling buttons might pop off at any second.
The fabric clung too tightly. After removing the outer layer, the damp breath had turned the deep-purple lace bra beneath into something faintly visible through the material…
His gaze continued upward. At some point the clerk—Senkoku Sumina—had pushed aside her thick long bangs and swapped her old-fashioned black-framed round glasses for ultra-thin gold half-rims.
The eyes behind the lenses were no longer hidden by heavy frames—they were big and bright, like obsidian soaked in water, shimmering with rippling light under the illumination~
A moon-like face—truly blooming like a flower: gorgeous yet not vulgar, flushed yet not seductive, only shy and radiant.
Her teeth showed a little white, biting hard into her lip, pressing out a soft indentation—like delicious jelly.
Denji blinked. The view remained the same.
"I'm Denji."
He answered casually, then turned back to the magazine with a slightly existential doubt.
Wait—did this clerk always look like this?
So pretty, such an amazing figure—and she's just a little bookstore clerk?
Compared side by side, the models in the magazines suddenly felt painfully boring.
Half-exposed in vague ways, poses all cliché—completely lacking the pure girl sitting right beside him whose mere presence was already bursting with sexual tension.
Denji…
Senkoku Sumina silently rolled the name on her tongue; the corners of her mouth unconsciously curved into sweetness.
Such a wild, cute name—just hearing it felt like electricity shooting straight from her eardrums into her heart, stirring an restless craving.
The girl also noticed Denji's fleeting attention. She instinctively hunched her shoulders and chest—then, remembering it was Denji looking, immediately straightened even more proudly.
There's hope!
Opportunity is fleeting too—she immediately encouraged herself in her heart!
This is make-or-break! No one has ever… made both my soul and reason tremble with unprecedented madness like you.
If I don't even have the courage to approach you, then the true heart I've carefully protected for 23 years will forever remain an "unsent package," never meeting the one who could open it!
After finishing her mental preparation, Sumina's eyes became braver and more determined than ever.
She reached for a yellowed, worn "forbidden book" on the table—fingertips gripping so tightly it looked like a hero clutching a sword charging toward a dragon.
After a deep breath to steady herself—like someone dying of thirst taking their final drink—she gulped down the coffee on the table.
Gulp gulp~
She quietly cleared her throat. With slightly trembling fingers she opened the "forbidden book." Her voice quivered, thin as a mosquito, yet carried a reckless determination:
"These are all pure text 'pure love' novels—no pictures, so it might be hard to imagine… C-can I read them aloud to you?"
--------------------------
Support us on Patreon and gain access to 100 chapters in advance!
patreon.com/inkshield