Chapter 157: Is It A Reward Or Punishment?
Hoshihara Ai sat on the sofa in the apartment’s living room, rubbing her temples. Her consciousness was slowly detaching from a hazy “waking up” state, her senses quickly reorganizing.
She looked down at herself.
She felt cool and naked, a state she was most accustomed to when alone.
She looked around the empty room with doubt, falling into thought.
She had been lying on the bed just now, and now she was sitting on the sofa. This meant she had entered “that dream.”
But the problem was, where was he now?
“A Jian?”
“Come out, don’t hide anymore.”
“What, want to play hide-and-seek?”
Hoshihara Ai called out his name, but there was no response.
Hoshihara Ai stood up, her bare feet on the floor, and walked around the entire apartment room.
She pushed open the bedroom door – empty.
The study room – empty.
The bathroom – still empty.
Finally, she went to the balcony and looked at the scenery outside the building.
This dream was just as she remembered it; the entire world had no other people in it.
Hoshihara Ai already had a vague, bad premonition, but she wanted to confirm one more place.
Hoshihara Ai quickly walked to the apartment’s main entrance. Without any hesitation, she directly opened the door.
Outside the door was the familiar corridor, also empty.
She came to the first floor like this and walked out of the apartment.
The street was as she expected, completely silent, with no pedestrians or vehicles.
She quickly walked to the Civic Park where she had gone with Sakamoto Ken last time and sat on the bench where they had exercised vigorously together.
Leaning back against the bench, she looked at the exercise equipment in the park before her.
Ever since she started her nap in the afternoon, she had been full of expectation, even considering how she would reward A Jian for arriving on time later.
When she was sitting in the room and realized A Jian wasn’t there, her expectation turned to doubt.
By now, this emotion had solidified into a calm mixed with anger.
An obvious fact lay before her.
She, Hoshihara Ai, was currently in a networked dream state.
Based on her personal experience, the prerequisite for entering such a dream was entering the dream together with Sakamoto Ken, as he was the master of this dream, or rather, the host.
If it were just her alone, she would not enter a dream at all.
Since she had entered now, it 100% meant that Sakamoto Ken was also asleep in reality at this moment.
Since he was also asleep and had successfully triggered a connection.
Then…
Where was he?!
Hoshihara Ai leaned back against the chair, looking up at the fake sun in the sky.
“Oh, Sakamoto Ken…”
“You said we’d sleep together at noon, and you went to another woman’s place instead, didn’t you?!”
…
“A Jian?!”
Mikazuki Haruna called Sakamoto Ken’s name with some uncertainty.
She blinked hard, still a bit groggy.
She had clearly seen A Jian lie down on the sofa for a nap, so she had also dozed off on the sofa…
How is it that when she opened her eyes, she was here?
It was that apartment, right?
Mikazuki Haruna stared intently at Sakamoto Ken, who was sitting in a chair in front of her.
He also seemed to have just woken up, looking at her with a bewildered expression, then looking down at his surroundings.
As Mikazuki Haruna’s gaze followed his body down to his feet, her eyes instantly widened.
On Sakamoto Ken’s ankles, there was a pair of silver…
Handcuffs?!
The other end of the handcuffs was tightly locked to the metal crossbar of the chair.
“What’s going on?!”
Mikazuki Haruna quickly walked to Sakamoto Ken’s front.
She crouched down and curiously extended her finger, poking the cold metal cuff.
“Is it real?”
She looked up at Sakamoto Ken again, then back down at the handcuffs.
An incredibly absurd, yet exciting, thought popped into her head.
“Could it be… the same dream as last time?!”
She immediately remembered the last time, when she had dozed off in the studio and entered that incredibly realistic dream!
The dream where she could interact with him, touch him, and even…!
Mikazuki Haruna looked at Sakamoto Ken’s face, which was close at hand.
“But I only just lay down a little while ago, and I’m already dreaming?”
Mikazuki Haruna muttered softly, then pinched her cheek.
She had intended to pinch hard, but felt a bit reluctant, so she reached out and touched Sakamoto Ken’s face.
Her finger had just touched his skin, and before she could apply any force—
“Snap!”
Her wrist was grabbed by Sakamoto Ken.
Sakamoto Ken held Mikazuki Haruna’s wrist and stared straight at her, but did not speak.
Then, Sakamoto Ken applied a little force and squeezed the girl’s slender wrist.
“It hurts, it hurts, it hurts…” Mikazuki Haruna quickly said it hurt and tried to pull her hand away.
Sakamoto Ken didn’t trouble her further and let go.
Then Mikazuki Haruna held her wrist and said, very confused, “Wasn’t I dreaming? How could I feel pain?”
Thinking this, Mikazuki Haruna’s eyebrows shot up, and she was sure of her thoughts.
She had once again entered the completely realistic dream like last time, only the scene was slightly different.
At that time, she had just wanted to play a prank on Sakamoto Ken, whom she had dreamed of, and playfully rubbed her leg against his.
To her surprise, this guy grabbed her and pinned her to the sofa.
She hadn’t expected him to be so strong; she couldn’t fight back at all…
However, thinking it was just a dream, she soon gave up resisting, even feeling it was a rather pleasant experience.
Mikazuki Haruna silently looked at Sakamoto Ken in front of her.
The last time she dreamed of him, he wasn’t handcuffed.
But this time, due to being confined to rush out a manuscript, this guy’s feet were locked to the chair’s crossbar.
In other words, this time, the situation had completely reversed.
Thinking this, a triumphant smile curved Mikazuki Haruna’s lips.
She thought, in that long, long memory of the future, he was the kept boy she paid for.
Then, because she liked his manga, she locked him in the room and wouldn’t let him get off the chair until he finished drawing.
Mikazuki Haruna sat opposite the desk and said to Sakamoto Ken with a smile, “A Jian, hurry up and draw. You can’t get up until you finish.”
Sakamoto Ken looked at the manuscript paper in front of him. The paper in front of him was blank, and the pile of manuscript paper next to it was also blank.
This indicated that in the dream, these contents had not been rendered.
Sakamoto Ken actually felt a bit helpless now.
Because his original plan was to take a nap in Mikazuki Haruna’s office and meet Hoshihara Ai in the dream as they had arranged.
It wasn’t that he necessarily had to do anything with her; as long as they met, it would count as keeping the appointment.
If he were to do anything else, he would have to do it quickly, within about half an hour, which would be one or two times.
Otherwise, if he slept for too long at Mikazuki Haruna’s place, who knew what she might do to him while he was sleeping.
But unexpectedly, Mikazuki Haruna also fell asleep beside him, causing him to enter a networked dream state with her.
Sakamoto Ken sighed softly. That meant, on Hoshihara Ai’s side, he had stood her up.
If he stood her up this time, he was afraid she would make him pay for it dearly next time.
Mikazuki Haruna asked doubtfully, “What are you sighing about?”
Sakamoto Ken looked at the girl in front of him and knew very clearly that Mikazuki Haruna definitely didn’t know the principle of this dream yet.
Only Hoshihara Ai and he knew about the principle of dreams.
So, to Mikazuki Haruna, everything before her eyes was just an incredibly realistic dream she was having.
Sakamoto Ken decided to directly act as his “previous life” self and immerse himself in this scene.
He looked down again at the handcuffs on his feet and said to Mikazuki Haruna, “Look at the manuscript in front of me, it’s all blank. I have no inspiration right now, so I can’t possibly finish it. Hurry up and unlock my handcuffs.”
Mikazuki Haruna shook her head and said with a smile, “No, if I unlock the handcuffs, what if you bully me?”
“You can’t get up until you finish drawing,” she added.
Sakamoto Ken directly retorted, “Isn’t that exactly what you’re looking forward to?”
Mikazuki Haruna’s expression froze slightly. “What… what are you talking about? Who would look forward to something like that?”
The girl’s cheeks flushed slightly, then a sly smile appeared on her face.
Sakamoto Ken struggled a bit. These handcuffs were real metal, and they made a clinking sound but didn’t budge at all.
One could imagine what Sakamoto Ken in his “previous life” had gone through when he was locked up to rush manuscripts.
This damn situation…
Mikazuki Haruna continued, “This time, it’s not your turn to bully me. It’s my turn to bully you, little A Jian~”
Sakamoto Ken heard two sounds of “da, da,” which was Mikazuki Haruna taking off her high heels under the desk and dropping them on the floor.
He looked down.
Under the desk, Mikazuki Haruna’s legs, clad in black stockings, were crossed, and she seemed to be swaying gently to a rhythm she hummed to herself.
In Mikazuki Haruna’s eyes, there was a clear mischievous glint.
And at this moment, the girl had gently lifted her right foot.
Sakamoto Ken felt a smooth, slightly silky touch on his calf, which continued upwards to his knees.
Mikazuki Haruna placed the tip of her foot on his knee, then tried to move further in.
At this moment, she realized her legs were too short.
Sitting opposite the desk, she couldn’t reach at all.
She stretched the top of her foot hard, trying to rub forward with her toes, but could only lightly brush the edge of Sakamoto Ken’s chair.
Sakamoto Ken chuckled and said, “Just save those short legs of yours.”
Mikazuki Haruna stomped her foot angrily, “Who are you calling short-legged!”
Sakamoto Ken shrugged and didn’t answer. He just leaned back further in his chair, his back pressed tightly against the headrest.
However, he couldn’t move, while Mikazuki Haruna could act freely.
She simply flipped over, and her black-stocking-clad feet landed firmly on the smooth tabletop.
With both feet on the blank manuscript paper, she stood in front of Sakamoto Ken.
She looked down at Sakamoto Ken from this height, with an incredibly smug expression, her mischievous smile growing even more pronounced.
Sakamoto Ken’s eyelids twitched slightly.
He looked closely at the girl’s feet standing on the tabletop.
The thin black silk fabric, with faintly visible dark patterns, had a very good texture.
And it was a thinner style; especially under the desk lamp, the color of the skin beneath the thin fabric was clearly visible.
It felt like a cake dessert smeared with a thin layer of chocolate sauce, and it could move flexibly.
Like a small black fish.
Then, a small fish leaped from the table.
Suspended in mid-air, the small fish wiggled and pounced directly at Sakamoto Ken.
Sakamoto Ken’s eyes widened, and he desperately turned his head to the side, trying to dodge the small fish’s attack.
But his feet were firmly handcuffed to the chair legs, so his range of movement was limited.
The small fish adjusted its direction slightly and precisely found its target again.
Then, Sakamoto Ken’s left cheek felt a slight coolness, a soft, slippery sensation.
The small fish then slid further down and landed on Sakamoto Ken’s shoulder.
Sakamoto Ken raised his head unceremoniously, stared straight ahead, and said:
“I see, your lucky color today is black.”
“Eh?!” Mikazuki Haruna instinctively wanted to cover her skirt, but then thought better of it and let Sakamoto Ken look.
After all, it was just a dream, and the idea for the prank came from herself.
Let him look, I’ll drive him crazy!
Mikazuki Haruna sat down on the tabletop, which was higher than Sakamoto Ken, who was sitting in the chair.
When she was sitting opposite him earlier, her short legs couldn’t reach, but now she was sitting on the tabletop in front of Sakamoto Ken.
Now, Sakamoto Ken felt a weight on his body as both little fish landed on him.
Sakamoto Ken took a deep breath and his eyes widened, “No, when did you learn to do this?”
Sakamoto Ken looked at the girl with a look of great amusement, strongly suspecting that she secretly watched some strange manga at home at night.
Of course, considering she had some memories from the previous life about them being together…
It’s only natural.
Speaking of which, he was the one who corrupted her.
This guy… well, now he’s reaping what he sowed.
After all, it’s not the first time now.
Last time in the dream, Sakamoto Ken had disciplined her severely.
The impression that left on her must have been particularly deep; she must hold a grudge.
So, Mikazuki Haruna actually didn’t hesitate much psychologically before punishing him severely.
Sakamoto Ken leaned back in the chair, looking up, and said, “No matter what, I’m not handing over the manuscript.”
Mikazuki Haruna then placed her hands on Sakamoto Ken’s shoulders, her lips curving into a smile as she looked at him and said, “If you can’t hand over the manuscript, you can hand over something else.”
With that, she lunged at Sakamoto Ken.
She had been sitting on the desk just now, and as she lunged down, her original intention was to sit directly on Sakamoto Ken.
However, due to the forward momentum, the chair lost its balance entirely, and he fell backward.
With a loud “clatter,” the chair crashed to the floor.
Sakamoto Ken’s back of the head hit the ground. He heard a dull thud himself, and even the sound of bone cracking.
Then a sharp pain…
……
“Hiss…”
Sakamoto Ken sat up abruptly.
The scene before his eyes shifted instantly, returning to Mikazuki Haruna’s office in reality.
He was sitting on the sofa, faintly feeling a dull ache in the back of his head.
He reached back to feel it, and thankfully, the fall just now had only been in the dream.
The combined weight of two people, plus the force of her lunge, caused the chair to fall backward, hitting the hard marble floor. That head might have truly been shattered.
Then, with a headache, he simply woke up and returned to reality.
So, it seems that besides waking up on his own, a sudden fall like this can also be a way to wake up from a dream.
Sakamoto Ken then looked at the sofa beside him. Mikazuki Haruna was lying on her side, hugging a cushion.
At this moment, Mikazuki Haruna also opened her eyes abruptly and sat up on the sofa.
Because Sakamoto Ken was below her during the fall, Mikazuki Haruna wasn’t hurt at all, merely falling with him.
Her eyes were wide open. Seeing that she was back in the familiar office, she abruptly turned her head to look at Sakamoto Ken.
Her gaze instinctively shifted downward, and she noticed Sakamoto Ken’s waistband was still fastened, with no sign of her having pulled it open.
Recalling the scenes from the dream, she let out an embarrassed chuckle.
Fortunately, fortunately, it was just a dream…
Mikazuki Haruna said, “You… you’re awake? Didn’t you say you were napping?”
Sakamoto Ken checked the time. He had actually slept for less than half an hour.
Sakamoto Ken rubbed his temples and asked, “Why are you lying on the sofa too? Did you just have a nap?”
Mikazuki Haruna chuckled and said, “Whether I napped or not, why should I tell you?”
Sakamoto Ken said, “I was worried you might do something strange to me while I was asleep.”
“No way!” Mikazuki Haruna scoffed and said, “Who would do something strange to you…”
Then, the latter part of her sentence grew quieter, eventually turning into a quiet mumble.
Mikazuki Haruna coughed lightly to cover her embarrassment, then thought that since it was just a dream she had, Sakamoto Ken wouldn’t know anything.
So, she acted as if nothing had happened, shifted her position, and prepared to put on her shoes.
Then she noticed Sakamoto Ken’s gaze fixed on her feet.
Mikazuki Haruna looked at him with doubt.
Sakamoto Ken said, “Looking at your feet, they’re small and quite nimble.”
Mikazuki Haruna was slightly taken aback and said, “What do you mean, nimble?!”
Sakamoto Ken shook his head and said in a seemingly emotional tone, “It’s nothing, just a strange dream I had.”
Hearing him say that, Mikazuki Haruna immediately bristled, her voice rising a bit.
“A dream? What dream? What did you dream about just now?!”
Sakamoto Ken pretended to ponder and said, “It’s not convenient to say.”
“Not… not convenient to say?!” Mikazuki Haruna’s toes curled up nervously. She gritted her teeth and said, “You, tell me, what’s so inconvenient about it…”
Sakamoto Ken stood up and walked to the desk, looked around, and picked up a sign pen.
Mikazuki Haruna watched Sakamoto Ken’s actions with confusion. She saw him pinch the pen with his fingertips, then switch to holding it with both hands. He was often twirling pens when he stopped drawing, so the pen spun nimbly between his fingers.
Sakamoto Ken put down the pen, his gaze just happening to fall on Haruna’s feet resting on the sofa, and finally shook his head slightly, saying, “Never mind, I won’t say it.”
Although Sakamoto Ken said “I won’t say it,” Mikazuki Haruna had watched the entire time, her thoughts spinning several times in her head, and she vaguely seemed to understand something.
The muscles around the young girl’s eyes visibly twitched, her small mouth parted slightly, unable to speak at all. Her feet even seemed to have a hallucination, as if they were touching something…
No, how did he know?!
Mikazuki Haruna couldn’t figure it out at all.
She replayed the events in her mind.
She saw Sakamoto Ken lying on the sofa asleep. She had originally wanted to play a small prank on him, but thinking about how tired Jian had been from staying up late drawing these past few days, she didn’t disturb him.
But she was also bored in the office, so she lay down on the sofa next to him to rest a bit.
She hadn’t actually intended to fall asleep, but just thinking that Jian was in the room made her feel inexplicably safe. Holding a cushion, she drifted off to sleep.
Then she entered a dream and saw that scene… Jian was handcuffed to the desk, with papers and a pen on the desk, which was the scene from her memory where she locked Jian at home to rush his manuscript.
After that, it was…
But no matter what I did to him, how could he possibly know?
Could it be such a coincidence that you also had this dream?
You also dreamed of that scene from memory?
After putting down the pen, Sakamoto Ken leaned against the desk and pondered carefully. Now he had a plan.
With his experience from the previous life, Sakamoto Ken felt that sincerity was the most important thing now.
After all, they had many memories from the previous life. Although they didn’t know exactly who the other party was, they were very clear about the fact that “there were two competitors.”
Natsume Mio and Mikazuki Haruna were already suspecting each other as one of the other two, while Hoshihara Ai clearly knew of the existence of the other two.
Sakamoto Ken was sure that Hoshihara Ai, with whom he had made an agreement before, was also napping at home just now and had entered the networked dream.
However, the dream world was generated based on his memories. Sakamoto Ken himself appeared in Mikazuki Haruna’s apartment, a place Hoshihara Ai had never been to, so she didn’t appear before him.
He guessed… Hoshihara Ai would likely be in her own home after waking up, or some other place they had been together, but she would be alone.
With her understanding of dreams, she would definitely realize that the premise of this dream’s existence was that he had to fall asleep first. Therefore, she would logically think that if he didn’t appear before her, he must have appeared before someone else.
Sakamoto Ken tapped Hoshihara Ai’s avatar in LINE and edited a message to send.
Sakamoto Ken: 「Something unexpected happened. 」
Hoshihara Ai: 「You didn’t have enough fun, how long has it been? /smile/smile/smile」
Sakamoto Ken: 「Because I was thinking of you, I woke up very quickly. 」
Hoshihara Ai: 「Thinking of me? 」
Sakamoto Ken: 「I didn’t do anything. 」
Hoshihara Ai: 「Can’t believe a scumbag’s words, not even a punctuation mark. /smile」
Sakamoto Ken, however, had done nothing. He was handcuffed; if there was any problem, it was Mikazuki Haruna’s problem, not his.
It had just started, and she had rushed forward impatiently, and they both fell to the ground, waking him up directly.
Moreover, Sakamoto Ken really was thinking of Hoshihara Ai. From the moment he entered the dream, he was already thinking about how to explain it to her.
So, he hadn’t lied even by a single punctuation mark.
