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Chapter 21: Stalker mode - on Shiori’s POV Damn it. I can’t concentrate on the game. No matter how much I try, my thoughts keep circling back to that Neko-chan. It’s not like I can just start asking Haru-kun more about her; I already told him I was fine with it. If I push it, he’ll definitely think I’m being annoying again. So, there’s really only one solution. I have to find out more about this Neko-chan on my own. The question is, how? Suddenly, an idea popped into my head. It’s a bit sneaky, but desperate times call for desperate measures. "Hey, Shiori-san! You’re spacing out—you almost got killed back there!" Haru-kun’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts. "Oh, sorry... I just remembered something," I replied quickly. Now, here’s my plan: I’ll use the incident earlier to guilt-trip Haru-kun into letting me sleep in his room. Once he’s asleep, I’ll sneak onto his phone and dig into Neko-chan. If he wakes up and catches me, I’ll just cry and say something like, ’I’m sorry, Haru-kun! I trust you, but Neko-chan... I couldn’t sleep without making sure she’s not going to steal you away!’ And then I’ll cry some more. Knowing Haru-kun, he wouldn’t be able to handle it. He hates seeing girls cry—probably because of what happened with his mom. Not that I’m proud of exploiting his kindness... but I need answers. "Haru-kun, I feel sleepy now," I said, stifling a yawn. Haru’s POV Shiori-san feeling sleepy this early? That’s unusual. It’s only 10 PM. Maybe she’s just tired. She has been working a lot lately. "Okay, Shiori-san. I’ll ask Nishi to let you sleep in her room," I offered. But she hugged me tightly and said, "I want... to sleep with Haru-kun~" "Huh?!" My face turned red instantly. "But... sleeping together with a guy is a bit..." She sighed dramatically. "Haru-kun! We’ve already slept together before, you know? And now that you’re playing with Neko-chan, you don’t want to sleep with me anymore?" I froze. "Okay, okay! Fine. You win," I sighed. "Besides," she said with a mischievous grin, "Haru-kun, you’re the only guy I want to sleep with~" I quickly pulled the blanket over my head to hide my embarrassment. "Geez, just go to sleep already... You’re sleepy, right?" "Okay, good night, Haru-kun~" She leaned down and kissed my forehead. "Wha—Shiori-san?!" She giggled. "What’s the big deal? I already stole your first kiss, remember?" This girl is impossible. Can’t she just let me sleep in peace? Shiori’s POV Now, I just need to wait until Haru-kun falls asleep. By the way, that kiss earlier? I really meant it. But how will I know if he’s really asleep? And come to think of it, isn’t he probably nervous about sleeping next to me? Honestly, I’m nervous too. His sleeping face is so cute that I might end up doing something stupid again. Stay focused, Shiori. You have a mission. Two hours later... Is he asleep now? To check, I gently hugged him. No reaction. "Hey, Haru-kun, let’s do something fun~" I whispered. Still no reaction. Alright, he’s definitely asleep. Time to move. I reached for his phone on the bedside table. To my dismay, there was a password now. When did he set that up?! (A/N: Relax, Shiori-san. Readers have been demanding Haru-kun secure his phone.) Thankfully, it still had fingerprint access. I carefully grabbed his hand and pressed his finger to the screen. The phone unlocked. First, I opened his LINE account. No sign of Neko-chan there. Good. Next, I opened his SFO account. I scrolled through the chatbox, seeing countless messages from players. Probably fans from his stream. Finally, I found Neko-chan’s profile. Nothing. She was a total newbie. No links to social media, no identifying details. sigh... Looks like there’s nothing to worry about. For now. I put the phone back and lay down. I should just sleep. Shiori’s Nightmare While I’m sleeping soundly, I was woke up by a strange noise. The glow of Haru-kun’s PC illuminated the room. I turned over groggily, only to hear a sweet, melodic voice. "Harucchi~ You’re so funny! I could listen to you all night," the voice said. My stomach dropped. There he was, sitting at his desk, having a video call with Neko-chan. "You’re amazing, Neko-chan. I’m really glad I met you," Haru-kun said, his voice filled with warmth. I shot up in bed. "Haru-kun?! What are you doing?!" He turned to me, startled. "Shiori-san? You’re awake?" "Why are you talking to her?!" Neko-chan’s face filled the screen, her wide eyes brimming with fake innocence. "Oh? Is this your friend, Harucchi? Hi~" My vision turned red. I lunged at him, my hands wrapping around his neck. "You lied to me! You said I was the only one you cared about! And now you’re talking to her?!" "Shiori-san—" Haru-kun struggled to get the words out, but I squeezed tighter. Suddenly, everything went dark. I woke up with a jolt, my heart pounding. The room was dark and quiet. Beside me, Haru-kun slept soundly, his face peaceful. It was just a dream. But the fear and anger still lingered. I reached out and touched his face gently. "Haru-kun... don’t ever betray me," I whispered. I lay back down, but the dream kept replaying in my mind. Sleep was impossible. Curse that Neko-chan, still haunting me even at my dreams. Haru’s POV The next morning, I woke up to find Shiori-san staring at me with a strange expression. "Uh, good morning, Shiori-san..." I said nervously. She smiled sweetly. "Good morning, Haru-kun~ Did you sleep well?" Something about her tone sent a shiver down my spine. Hello! I will use the remaining word count to 1000 to make an announcement. I just make a new book, entitled "A Lucid dreams". As usual its a romance, but unlike this book, comedy there is so so minimal. That’s also a fantasy. If you happened to reach this Chapter, I hope you’ll read my other book too! Bye bye