Is it a problem to have a harem in a stranger heroine?

The little orange cat first came close and sniffed the hands of the two people, then looked up to confirm that Kasumigaoka Utaha and Byakuya had not moved. Then it kicked its two little hind legs forward, pounced forward, and placed one of its two little front paws on each of the two people's hands.

"Meow~~"

Kasumigaoka Utaha's heart almost melted at the little orange cat's baby voice. Seeing that the little orange cat had let down its guard, she carefully rubbed its soft palm.

The little orange cat felt comfortable being rubbed, and did not dodge when Kasumigaoka Utaha's other hand touched its body, allowing her to brush its soft fur and stroke all the way down its entire body.

"Meow meow~~"

A gentle spring seemed to well up in Kasumigaoka Utaha's heart, and the soft touch flowed from her arms into her heart, nourishing the heart that was cracked by the white night together with the rising sense of happiness and security.

However, Bai Ye's expression was not so good.

The little orange cat was tickled on the chin by Kasumigaoka Utaha, and its throat kept making purring sounds of satisfaction. The little front paws that were originally in Bai Ye's hand had already gone to Kasumigaoka Utaha's side.

Noticing Bai Ye's deflated look, Kasumigaoka Utaha couldn't help but laugh.

"Xiao Jun, your expression...hahaha...sorry...haha..."

Although she didn't know why she was laughing, the warmth coming from the little orange cat and Bai Ye leaning beside her kept irritating her, making her unable to control her smile.

Bai Ye's brows were twitching. He felt more uncomfortable than eating ten thousand flies when Kasumigaoka Utaha said "sorry" to him while fighting for the cat.

"Is this little orange cat a male?"

"I don't know, you can ask the clerk, but does it matter whether it's male or female?"

"If it's a male, he'll definitely prioritize women over friends!"

Chapter 27 How to Stay Calm After Taking a Breath

It was not until the moon rose above the branches that Bai Ye and Kasumigaoka Utaha left the pet shop.

When they left, the clerk only said "Welcome to visit next time". There was nothing extra in the hands of the two people except a smile from the heart.

Remembering that Bai Ye went to the pet shop to buy a kitten, Kasumigaoka Utaha couldn't help but wonder:

"Xiao Jun, don't you plan to buy it?"

Bai Ye shook his head. "To be honest, I'm very satisfied with this little orange cat, but the store clerk is busy making dinner for the kittens. I don't want to bother him too much if I want to ask for more information about the little orange cat. Besides, I want to go to another store next week. Maybe I can find a better kitten there."

"It's not because I just stole your limelight, right?" Kasumigaoka Utaha asked jokingly.

"It doesn't matter whether it's male or female. A male will eventually become a little eunuch."

"In your mouth, the little orange cat's tragic future has already been decided?"

"If I can help him find a girlfriend he likes, he doesn't need to become a eunuch, but I don't know his tastes. I only know that he values women over friendships. Does that mean he will accept anyone who comes?"

Kasumigaoka Utaha held her forehead with her hand. She guessed that Bai Ye was still upset about being "ignored" by the little orange cat.

"Xiao Jun, don't expect cats to do what only humans can understand."

"You're wrong, Kasumigaoka-kun. It's a male's instinct to prioritize love over friendship, regardless of species. Didn't you hear how happy the little orange cat was when you tickled its chin?"

"All I heard was that Xiao Jun, who hasn't bought the little orange cat yet, was giving his opinion on its future and even decided its little eunuch's future without authorization."

white night"......"

Bai Ye's eyes were intoxicated. Kasumigaoka Utaha's sharp tongue should not be underestimated at all. She was hit hard by just one sentence.

"How can I decide the future of the little orange cat without authorization? If I buy it, it will be mine, right?"

"This..." Kasumigaoka Utaha was speechless for a moment, and an unnatural shyness appeared on her face.

She also liked the little orange cat very much, and even assumed in her mind that it was a cat that she and Bai Ye both liked, so she blurted out "without permission".

It’s a pity that her family has hair allergies, otherwise she would really buy the little orange cat.

The evening breeze is cool, and the warmth brought from the pet shop is slowly dissipating. Only the warmth remains in my heart, but the guilt and depression that exist in my rational mind also return.

Even though it wasn't as suffocating as before, it still crushed Kasumigaoka Utaha's smile.

It’s time to end my willfulness.

The two looked at each other. Kasumigaoka Utaha had countless questions in her heart that she wanted to ask Bai Ye, but she, who was always eloquent, found that only air came out of her mouth.

Bai Ye saw what she was thinking, but he didn't say anything. He just stood there quietly waiting for her.

Gradually, Kasumigaoka Utaha felt that she gained a bit of courage from his gentle and deep eyes, and a wisp of dust was blown away from inside to outside.

"Xiao Jun, if there is a draft of the third volume of "Love Metronome", would you like to read it?"

The words that blurted out scared her. Her crystal red eyes could not help but fluctuate violently. Her delicate hands trembled helplessly. The cool evening breeze seemed to turn into piercing cold needles, mercilessly piercing her hands as she tried to stretch them out from her dusty body.

"Why, why would you ask that..."

'I don't want to...I don't want to...anymore!'

"I'd want to see it."

The painful memories faded like the tide, and Kasumigaoka Utaha came back to her senses. The evening breeze that blew her waist-length black hair was still slightly cool.

"Why......"

Bai Ye tilted his head and smiled subtly.

"Kasumigaoka-san, are you an elementary school student? Why are you asking so many questions? I don't have a hundred thousand whys either."

"Why......"

"Why? Didn't you ask me why I wanted to read the first draft?"

Bai Ye pinched his chin, thought for a moment, and then analyzed seriously:

"If you want to watch it, then you want to watch it. There is no fan who doesn't want to watch Kasumi Shiko-sensei's new work, right?"

"If you think it's strange to read the first draft, is it because Kasumi Shiko-sensei feels ashamed when others see the unedited draft or when comments are made on the draft?"

"Or do fans want to see the pure hard work of Kasumi Shiko-sensei?"

Hearing Bai Ye say this, Kasumigaoka Utaha's heart trembled, and she felt her heart pressing against her throat, as if she could feel the numbing sensation of the sweat evaporating from her forehead.

"But, in reality, it's impossible."

Bai Ye quickly denied the previous statement, which made Kasumigaoka Utaha feel relieved.

"When Ms. Xia Shizi writes, she is often influenced by the outside world. She might suddenly come up with a more interesting idea, which would change her original train of thought."

"So, comments on the first draft are considered an 'external influence.' Even if I lock myself in a dark room and write without seeing anyone, that's still an 'external influence.' So, theoretically, there's no such thing as 'pure effort.'"

Bai Ye's unconventional approach immediately dispelled the gloom in Kasumigaoka Utaha's heart, and she even suddenly had an idea:

Was the question I asked at the beginning a bit silly?

Thinking of this, Kasumigaoka Utaha lowered her head slightly, and her long bangs just covered her eyes.

"Xiao Jun, is there something wrong with your understanding? I'm just asking if you'd like to read the third volume of 'Love Metronome'. Why are you able to offer so many different explanations?"

After saying this, Bai Ye's mouth twisted and his face darkened.

"You're clearly Kasumigaoka-san and you're treating me like a million-question person. I'm just explaining my point of view, so how come it's like there's something wrong with my understanding?"

Kasumigaoka Utaha took a deep breath. "Does what Xiao-jun said have a direct connection with why I want to read the first draft of the third volume of "Love Metronome"?"

"Yes!" Bai Ye said without hesitation: "The problem is that what I said above is almost all nonsense."

Kasumigaoka Utaha: "???"

She found that she could no longer understand the boy in front of her. Whenever she was depressed, he would always pull her out of her memories in a strange way, and little by little pull her out of the abyss of guilt.

I know I shouldn't be willful, but why am I so looking forward to Bai Ye's answer?

"So, what's your answer, Xiao Jun?"

This was the third time she asked this question, and every time she asked it, the pain and fear brought by Tomoya Aki's memory dissipated a little.

"Of course I want to watch it. I like Teacher Kasumi Shiko very much. To be honest, I can't wait."

"Really? Thank you..."

Bai Ye couldn't see Kasumigaoka Utaha's face clearly as she was standing with her back to the street light at night, but Bai Ye accepted the smile at the corner of her mouth that didn't seem fake with his heart.

Tonight's developments were beyond Bai Ye's imagination, but the result seemed good? Did it leave a deep impression on Kasumigaoka Utaha?

Next, let it develop as it comes.

"Kasumigaoka-san, the 'willful transaction' is over."

"Ah, bye."

"Goodbye."

Without any extra words, Bai Ye and Kasumigaoka Utaha turned around at the same time and walked away with their backs to each other.

Kasumigaoka Utaha took a step forward and suddenly turned around.

"Xiao Jun, my novel!"

"Yeah, it's your novel."

"Is Xiao Jun playing on the gum commercial joke?"

"Playing around is fun, but this is indeed your novel."

......

Chapter 28 Eating, chatting and joking

The night is not over yet.

Bai Ye was carrying two large bags in his hands and a shoulder bag slung across his body, with tonight's dinner tied to the shoulder bag strap.

After entering the room and putting the things on the floor next to the coffee table, Bai Ye leaned against the bed and slumped on the cushion. He picked up the remote control and turned on the TV.

"Huh—I'm finally back. The mall is too crowded on weekends."

It doesn’t matter what program is playing on TV, Bai Ye just wants some other sounds to make the atmosphere less monotonous.

Then I took out my phone and turned on the anime I wanted to watch, and everything was ready before dinner.

"I don't have time to cook tonight, so just eat whatever you want."

Although he said he could eat whatever he wanted, Bai Ye never treated himself badly when it came to food.

Oden, grilled oysters, barbecue, white flour pancakes, soy sauce bonito grilled rice balls... Bai Ye bought almost everything that looked delicious in the commercial street.

"If I didn't have a part-time job, I wouldn't dare spend this much."

Just as he picked up the white radish and brought it to his mouth, the message from his mobile phone caught Bai Ye's attention.

It's a message from Eriri Sawamura.

[Senior Xiao, are you free now?]

After taking a big bite of the radish and eating a few mouthfuls of rice, Bai Ye replied:

[It is possible to say yes and no.]

[What do you mean, Senior? Did I bother you?]

[No, I'm eating, so I still have one hand free.]

Eriri Sawamura sent a row of ellipsis marks, followed by an emoticon with the word "sorry". From the text, you can see that there is more apology and respect.

[Senior, you...are you still busy?]

On the other side, Eriri Sawamura was lying on the bed in the most comfortable position, with a few comic books placed messily beside her pillow, and the ink on the drawing paper on the table not far away had not yet dried.

She was concentrating on her phone and felt sorry if Bai Ye missed dinner because of taking pictures.

[Taking photos didn't take long, mainly because I spent a lot of time walking around the shopping street and bought a lot of delicious food. The mall station was very crowded on weekends, and I almost missed the bus.]

Then she saw a photo sent to her, and her slightly sleepy head suddenly became bright.

In the photo, the coffee table is filled with dishes, the white rice is topped with appetizing sauce, and the fresh aroma of oden and the rich charcoal-grilled aroma of barbecue seem to float into her nose through the screen.

She recognized the oden on Bai Ye's table, which was from a small shop in the commercial street that only opened in the evening.

When filming the sunset scene, she really wanted to buy some to satisfy her craving, but due to time constraints and the embarrassment of eating and drinking in front of Tomoya Aki, she had to give up.

Gu~~

My little belly made a cute, helpless sound.

The second photo shows two large open bags filled with snacks and ingredients, which look like a hill of gold in Sawamura Eriri's eyes.

call out--