Chapter 90: In the Karaoke Bar with Miss Qingling

The instrumental intro began to play, filling the entire karaoke room and setting the mood.

Haruhi Arano had no intention of going up and belting out a song, even though he possessed a divine-class singing voice experience card. Honestly, the soft, pliant Kiyora beside him was far more fun.

The enormous speakers were deafening, shaking the heart as much as the ears. By now, Mai Hanai was mostly sober again, and with the microphone in hand she clung to Kanae Terashima as they sang together.

They began with Yoshioka Seika’s “Blue Bird.”

The two girls sang beautifully, their voices bright and clear. Even if they occasionally went a little off key, the overall effect was still lovely.

After all, people came to karaoke to shout their lungs out. Once the atmosphere and the alcohol were right, no one cared much about whether the singing was perfect.

As for “Blue Bird,” although neither of them was exactly a bearer of the Will of Fire, they sang it every time they came to karaoke. By the end of the song, they could seize control of any atmosphere.

Watching the two of them in the distance, arms around microphones and singing with abandon, Haruhi got goosebumps all over.

Damn. Their aura was really too strong.

“Aren’t you going to sing one?” Haruhi Arano looked down at Kiyora in his arms.

From his memory, that little chef had always liked singing when she cooked at home, humming under her breath from time to time.

“I’ll sing later. But you—are you planning to sit here the whole time?” Kiyora Miyaka raised one elegant brow, a trace of challenge glinting in her eyes.

Pfft. Haruhi found her expression rather amusing. He loved seeing Kiyora-san with that deadpan face; the contrast between her appearance and her inner self was just as striking as the contrast between upstairs and downstairs.

He reached out and pinched her soft cheek, smiling. “I’m afraid if I start singing, you’ll all be unable to go on.”

“Tch.” Kiyora Miyaka was thoroughly displeased and slapped away the large hand pinching her cheek.

“I’m not bothered if you sing badly.”

The big boss’s face being kneaded so casually in public was really embarrassing, okay?!

If Kanae Terashima heard that, she would definitely be silently complaining to herself: Big sister, are you only now worried about preserving your strong-woman image? What were you doing just now? You were practically glued to him, and you even teamed up with an outsider to scam your good friend’s pocket money!

“Badly?” Haruhi smiled and slid his hand onto that slender waist, lightly stroking it. “I’m worried I’d sing too well and you’d all feel crushed.”

“Tch. Conceited.” Kiyora Miyaka rolled her eyes at him, thinking he was just bragging.

Seeing that beautiful little face so close, those moist red lips slightly parted, he could not help himself and lowered his head to kiss her.

Kiyora Miyaka’s eyes flew wide open. She struggled at first, then slowly went still, just as she always did.

Meanwhile, Kanae Terashima and Mai Hanai were still locked in a passionate duet, apparently caught up in the mood. Especially Mai Hanai, who had become even more excited after drinking a little.

She stretched out her arms and hugged Kanae’s petite body tightly, as if she wanted to melt the girl right into her own embrace.

Neither of them noticed the other pair in the private room.

In the corner, Kiyora Miyaka straddled Haruhi’s lap, looking down at him from above. Her hands were around his head, and her golden hair had begun to fall loose.

By now, both of them had gone a little lost in the moment.

The wrinkled white shirt had been split into two, and Haruhi Arano’s large hand had long since vanished from sight outside, no one knowing where it had gone.

Suddenly, there came a faint, almost inaudible tearing sound in the air.

It sounded as though something had been ripped apart.

Fortunately, the entire room was wrapped in loud, pulsing music, so apart from the two of them, no one else heard it.

Still, the young lady of the Kiyora family was jolted awake. Only then did she realize they were not at home, but out in public.

Her two small hands, one above the other, pressed against Haruhi to stop him. Her flushed little face looked adorable.

“No, no, this isn’t okay. We’re still outside.”

She murmured the words under her breath, first turning away to straighten her clothes, and only then climbing down from his lap.

Haruhi Arano pulled the soft little body back into his arms. The feeling from just now, like eating jelly, was truly unforgettable.

“Are you feeling awful right now?” Kiyora Miyaka asked softly, her head lowered.

“It would be awful, but there’s nothing to be done about it. We’re still outside.” Haruhi shrugged, looking regretful.

When Kiyora Miyaka heard that, her bright eyes rolled slyly. “Then how about this: from now on, you call me Big Sis Kiyora, and I’ll find a way to help you?”

An event has been triggered:

In the dim lights of the karaoke room, after your little exchange with the blonde beauty, you are left hanging, neither fully relieved nor fully satisfied, and now you feel terribly uncomfortable. Yet Kiyora Miyaka has actually offered to help you, as long as you change the way you address her in the future, so you think:

A. What the hell? She’s bargaining with me? Who does she think she is? Who do I think I am? I’ll just get up and leave, storm out, and call Yuka Uehara. I’m not going to serve you anymore! Let Kiyora Miyaka, with a favorability rating of 91, regret it in silence by herself.
Reward: Kiyora Miyaka’s hatred, which may unlock a special route — a love of torment. Yuka Uehara’s gratitude, which directly unlocks the next chapter.

B. It’s just a change in how I address her. What kind of problem is that? It’s nothing but an excuse to give myself more benefits! Just take control of Kiyora Miyaka directly, and make the way she addresses me proportional to the rewards I give her! Use rewards to change the way she calls me!
Reward: 1 attribute point.

P.S. If you really go all the way with this, the player may be in danger of death, and physical function will decline significantly. Choose carefully.

P.S. The player can also keep themselves in peak condition by investing points into stamina.

P.S. If the player adds to stamina at this moment, Momotani Eri’s fitness mission will immediately fail.

C. Changing how she addresses me doesn’t matter, but there’s a limit to hearing it over and over again. And from what you know, the young lady only acted on a whim; by tomorrow she’ll probably have forgotten most of it anyway. So you decide to negotiate a little with Kiyora Miyaka, ease off slightly, and then agree to her.

Reward: Kiyora Miyaka favorability +1.

D. Negotiate? What is there to negotiate? Who even knows who’s really in charge here? Just drag Kiyora Miyaka into your arms and finish what you were doing a moment ago.

Reward: Kiyora Miyaka’s hatred.

Kiyora Miyaka exclusive route: Unlike before, this path takes a different approach, using the advanced flirting technique of push and pull to create the classic scene of the heroine chasing the hero, commonly known as the “pursue the husband to the crematorium” route. Urban overconfident dragon kings all say it’s great after using it!

Seeing the sudden event pop up, Haruhi could not help thinking it over.

The rewards for this event were fairly ordinary. The only interesting part was probably the first option, Kiyora-san’s exclusive route.

But then he looked at the blonde beauty in his arms, blinking her large eyes up at him, and at that favorability rating of 91.

He could not help muttering to himself that the plot was ridiculously melodramatic. Even a dog would shake its head at it.

Bah. Whoever wants to choose it can choose it. In any case, Haruhi was quite satisfied with his current life.

Every day he hugged cute Kiyora-san to sleep, went to class with her, ate with her, bathed with her—well, they had not actually bathed together yet. Tonight, they would.

This is the third chapter of today. Since I’m off work today, I’m updating a little more.

Please support me if you can. Thank you so much!