After deciding to give up, he started to gain popularity

"...I want to help you wash." The angel said seriously.

Originally thought that Mahiru was seeking his consent, he did not expect that although she was very polite, she unexpectedly made her opinion clear. Therefore, under her pressure, Natsukawa Kanade obediently sat on the chair.

It seems like I was being led by the nose without realizing it...

When he thought of this, Mahiru had already come and stood behind him, holding the comb she brought with her.

"I've always wanted to help you take care of your hair myself."

Mahiru began to comb his hair, and the tense expression on her face relaxed a little, or should I say gradually became tinged with joy. Natsukawa Kanade realized that she seemed to have triggered some kind of switch.

Although this is better than being nervous and stiff all the time, Mahiru sometimes gets too obsessed and involved when it comes to Natsukawa Sora's affairs, so Natsukawa Sora has a feeling that this time will be no exception.

Personally, caring too much would only make the body's reaction more unbearable. Only a reassuring atmosphere like this could drive this space and situation out of consciousness. Moreover, Mahiru's actions were very careful and considerate. He could fall into a deep sleep just by resting his head on her legs and having his hair touched. It must be very comfortable if she took care of his hair so gently.

Xiachuan Zou also had the same plan in mind, so he simply closed his eyes and left everything to her. At this moment, a light laugh came from behind him.

"I suddenly relaxed."

"Well, since you said you would help me wash, I would say it's up to you, because I know you will wash me very comfortably." Xia Chuan Zou nodded, as a way of affirming her.

"I will try my best to meet your expectations." The angel seemed very happy to be asked by him, and answered with a smiling voice, then combed her hair carefully and slowly with a comb.

"Start by combing out any excess dust and gunk, then rinse thoroughly with hot water. This is important, but your hair is short so you may not need to do this."

"I see. I find it troublesome and I never comb my hair before taking a shower."

"Because your hair is short and doesn't get tangled easily, you probably don't think about combing it. My hair is long, so it gets tangled easily, so I have to do this step."

"It must have taken a lot of effort to maintain such long hair so beautiful."

Natsukawa Kanade opened her eyes and looked through the mirror. Mahiru's hair was much longer than her waist, shiny but without split ends. Its soft and smooth surface had the beauty that all girls would yearn for.

He thought with admiration that it must be very hard to maintain hair like that.

At this moment, a soft bitter laugh came from behind.

"My hair quality is good to begin with, so I don't have to spend a lot of time taking care of it...but I do pay attention to it. After all, if your hair is beautiful, you'll look prettier no matter what you wear." Miss Angel's voice sounded a little helpless.

"You are indeed a girl." Xiachuan Zou complained, because he seemed to have heard someone say that girls are always very confident, no matter how good their hard conditions are. This seems to be fully reflected in a certain country.

"Because I want to be proud of myself." Miss Angel nodded seriously.

After Mahiru finished speaking, Natsukawa Kanade glanced at her and saw that she had combed her hair and picked up the shower head. He understood that she was going to rinse with hot water, so he gently closed his eyes.

But Mahiru also gently reminded: "You have to use hot water to rinse."

Then he turned on the hot water and started rinsing Natsukawa Kanade's hair.

"You need to wash this thoroughly first. If you use hairspray, it's best to wash off part of it at this step."

"Yes, yes, I will definitely do it next time." Xiachuan Kanade's voice sounded quite serious, but in her heart she still felt that boys didn't need to be so particular. But no matter what, this angel who loves to preach is really very cute.

"Really... please listen carefully." Mahiru puffed her cheeks, a little unwilling, "It's rare that your hair quality is good to begin with. If you pay more attention to maintenance, it will become even better."

"But it feels so troublesome to do this every day." Xiachuan Kanade sighed.

"You can't be lazy about this." Miss Angel grumbled helplessly, "Really."

Perhaps during the hair washing process, the tension and shame subsided a little, the awkward atmosphere between the two disappeared, and the conversation returned to normal.

"Anyway, when we take a bath together in the future, we should naturally develop these habits, so let's just leave it at that for now."

Natsukawa Kanade thought it was a bit troublesome to do the maintenance that Mahiru mentioned every day, so she blurted it out out of laziness, but Mahiru, who was washing her hair, froze.

She was frozen behind her for about ten seconds before finally thawing, and she reached out to turn off the shower head.

Then she silently poured out the shampoo and rubbed it with a foaming net. This scene flashed in the mirror.

"Um... Miss Angel?" Xia Chuan Zou was somewhat concerned about her silence.

"That's exactly what's wrong with you, that you come to naturally say things like that."

"Huh...?" Xia Chuan Zou was a little confused, not knowing what was going on suddenly.

After making some foam, Mahiru gradually spread it evenly on Natsukawa Kanade's hair. Her cheeks were red.

Was he overthinking it? He felt that her movements were not as delicate as before.

"I am very happy, but you are no longer qualified to say anything to my aunt and the others."

Natsukawa Kanade vaguely understood what Mahiru meant, and realized a little too late what he had just said, and his face turned red.

After all, the sentence just now seemed to be an invitation like "Let's take a bath together in the future", so it's no wonder that the angel suddenly fell silent.

"If you don't zip up your mouth, it's going to be very annoying for me."

"I'll pay attention." Xiachuan Zou was a little embarrassed.

The shame that had just been finally alleviated resurfaced, so both of them blushed and then just focused on washing their hair in silence.

After a while, Mahiru seemed to have completed the hair care steps with neat movements.

After thoroughly treating her hair, Mahiru hesitated a little and took out the bottle with body wash written on it.

"…The, uh…the body, too."

Natsukawa Kanade understood what Mahiru meant, and then he felt his body begin to stiffen.

After washing his hair, the next step was indeed his body, but he didn't expect that Mahiru would even ask for help washing his body. She did say that she would help wash his back, but no one would take that seriously...

No, there shouldn't be any problem with washing the back, it's just like scrubbing the body... Yes, it would be more acceptable if you understand it as scrubbing the body, Natsukawa Zou began to hypnotize himself.

"Well...that, ah...you, you don't have to force yourself." However, Natsukawa Kanade still tried to remind Miss Angel.

"I, I'm not forcing myself, okay!? Um...this...I can do this little thing, uh...of course please wash the front yourself...I, I only know how to wash the back..." The angel was hesitating, and even without staring at her, Natsukawa Kanade could feel her shyness.

"You, I hope you're willing to do this." Xia Chuan Zou's tone also paused.

After all, if he asked her to help wash before, things would become very bad, so Natsukawa Kanade immediately agreed to what Mahiru said and lowered his head first.

Then the shyness that had just subsided gradually surged up in his heart again, and the anticipation of being out of control made his body begin to heat up.

Mahiru kept rubbing the shower gel bubbles with a foaming net behind her back, making a sound of friction between fabrics.

Natsukawa Kanade deeply realized that a bathroom with only the sounds of breathing and rubbing bubbles was extremely embarrassing and unbearable.

"...Then, I am sorry..."

Mahiru seemed to have finished rubbing bubbles, and whispered something in a timid tone, and then a soft and elastic touch was gently transmitted to the back.

"..."

This is not good, Xiachuan Zuo thought, he seemed to have overestimated his own willpower.

Extra: Request for Touch (Angel Part 2)

Of course, Natsukawa Kanade also knew that this was the feeling brought by the delicate foam of the shower gel, but in this kind of place, and in such a close distance with a swimsuit, he wondered for a moment if it was a fruitful fruit that touched him. This was probably the nature of men...

Anyway, the touch of the bubbles spread gently on his back, and he felt itchy. Although Mahiru was rubbing his back very carefully, he still felt a little anxious. Perhaps it was more because of her cautious application of the foam. After all, when Natsukawa Kanade took a bath herself, she would not scrub so carefully, especially the back. Most of the time, she would just use a towel to touch it casually, so he could never get used to this feeling.

"Kanade's back is really broad..."

After it was applied to a certain extent, Natsukawa Kanade, whose back was covered with foam, heard the angel's low muttering.

"Well, maybe it's because I'm taller?" Xiachuan Zou explained. In Japan, his height of nearly 1 meters is indeed very tall. Compared with him, the angel is completely small and cute. It can be said that the height difference is the cutest.

"And for boys, it would definitely appear wider, right?"

"No, that's not the reason." Shiina Mahiru shook her head and explained softly, "It's just because it's you that it seems wider... because I've always relied on this back."

Near his shoulder blade, Natsukawa Kanade felt a hand pressing gently down on him.

"Do you remember? When I sprained my ankle, you carried me home." Miss Angel's tone was soft and gentle.

"Well, I remember one thing, that time you went to save a cat and got injured, right?" Xia Chuan Zou began to recall. At that time, he thought that the other party was so silly and cute. Who would think of rescuing a cat trapped in a tree? The key point was that she even sprained her foot. But in the end, the cat ran away by itself, leaving her alone sitting stupidly in a daze by the flower bed.

"Actually, I was really happy at that time, although I didn't express it clearly..." Miss Angel began to tell him her true feelings.

"Because you can't think of a solution, and you look helpless." Xia Chuan Zou nodded. This was one of the reasons why he decisively went up to help. On the other hand... it was also a great opportunity for him to get in touch with the other party, so he was very happy.

"You will always find me - I think like this now, no matter what difficulties I face, you will always find me in time and appear by my side." Mahiru's palm on his back began to slide gently, and then went around to his chest.

Just like that, the distance between the two was officially shortened to zero, and Miss Angel also maintained a close posture, leaning her face on Natsukawa Kanade's shoulder.

Xiachuan Zou's body suddenly froze, because after feeling the bubble on his back which was obviously softer and heavier than his own, his breathing became a little rapid.

"Ah... as long as you are willing... I will always support you no matter what... and I have already promised to always watch over you, so I will definitely not disappear..."

His brain was actually starting to get a little confused. On the one hand, he felt that Mahiru was clearly expressing her inner thoughts and was talking about serious matters. On the other hand, he also felt that this posture was really too hot... Although the angel should still be wearing a swimsuit, the feeling from it had actually been blurred for a long time. It was not much different to say that it was the experience of being naked.

"Yeah." Shiina Mahiru responded softly, but she was still feeling his reliability.

"..." Xia Chuan Zou felt that he should have reminded her after all, "Having said that, but... it's a bit difficult to carry you on my back in this position. It would be a great help if we could separate a little bit..."

He was naturally hinting that he had touched the other party, but Shiina Mahiru's body only trembled violently, but she showed no intention of letting go.

"It's okay. Even if you don't carry me, I hope to stay by your side forever. I won't put all the burden on you...because we have to move forward together."

“……” Xiachuan Zou felt her determination.

In fact, this has already been reflected in their daily lives. Originally, it was Natsukawa Kanade who took the initiative to provide all the food expenses, and Mahiru only needed to be responsible for cooking and cleaning. But later it gradually evolved to the point where she would also provide half of the expenses, and she even took on most of the housework and cleaning. In the end, rather than being "neighbors who help each other", the title of "housekeeper" was more suitable for her.

"..." After thinking for a long time, Xiachuan Zou felt that it was time for him to respond to the other party. No matter what the other party thought, the important thing was to respond.

But it seemed that Miss Angel's desire to talk was far greater than his.

"And...Sister Makoto said that you would be very happy if I did this when you come to stay overnight." Miss Angel's tone was soft, and there seemed to be a hint of shyness.

"..." Xiachuan Zou fell silent again.

It’s not that he felt like he was being betrayed by his own sister. On the contrary, he felt like she really understood her brother quite well - he was really happy!

Seeing that he was silent, Miss Angel thought that he was beginning to feel dissatisfied with his sister, so she hugged Xiachuan Kanade's body with her arms again as if to comfort her, and persuaded her: "Sister Zhenliang just gave me advice, and I wanted to do this myself."

"Hmm..." The more obvious feeling of fullness made Natsukawa Kanade moan immediately.

He really didn't hate her closeness, on the contrary, he liked it very much, but there was indeed a shackle called "restraint" binding him, although that shackle was being severely weakened now.

And... maybe he was right. Mahiru's action of sticking close to him was not accidental at all, but deliberate. Maybe it was just to weaken his rationality and endurance.

Could it be that my little angel has really turned into a little devil? Xia Chuan Kanade thought secretly.

"I, I understand... but you'd better let go quickly, because it will be very difficult for me... or rather, I don't want to become an internal combustion engine with an overloaded brain before taking a bath..." Xiachuan Kanade's tone sounded a little uneasy.

It would be nice if he could continue to enjoy it shamelessly, but unfortunately he didn't have the energy to do so. He had already tried his best to stay rational, but there were obviously other topics that needed to be continued. He didn't want to be seen as someone who was really impatient, so he wanted to separate himself a little to let his mind and body calm down. But he didn't expect that as soon as he finished speaking, Miss Angel actually let him go obediently.

Mahiru, reflected in the mirror, shrank back awkwardly, as if she felt embarrassed afterwards.

I don't know whether to say she is bold or timid. Looking at her holding his shoulders and moaning, Xiachuan Kanade couldn't help but think that if she would feel shy, she should not have done that in the first place.

But for Natsukawa Kanade, the relief he felt after Mahiru let go was stronger than the shyness, and he began to have the energy to tease her.

"I'll take care of the rest myself, and you just do your own maintenance."

"Okay..." Miss Angel shrank her neck.

"You look like you have an objection?" Xiachuan Zou raised his eyebrows and began to become stronger.

"No, it's not like I have any objections... Well, I should say that I was mentally prepared, so my expectations were a little dashed..." Mahiru subconsciously spoke out her true feelings.

"Oh? So what do you think I'm going to do in a place like this?" Natsukawa Kanade continued to press on.

"This, this...I thought you were going to wash my back..."

Natsukawa Kanade had already guessed this answer. After all, if it was something else, it would be even more out of the character of Miss Angel.

"I didn't say I wouldn't help, did I? Besides...it was you who suggested taking a bath together...or do you not want me to wash your back?"

"No, no! I was just thinking...that...you obviously don't want to touch me." Miss Angel's eyes became a little resentful.

Natsukawa Kanade almost couldn't help choking and coughing. In response to this extremely dangerous-sounding statement, he glanced at Mahiru subtly, which made her face even redder.

"Because...Sister Zhenliang said that uncle and aunt often help each other take a bath..."

"Wait! This is the first time I've heard of something like this!" Xia Chuan Zou widened his eyes.