In the pitch-black room, the pumpkin lamps glowed faintly, and the scenes from "The Ghost Movie" continued playing on the screen. Yet, only Shirakawa Sawahei remained watching.
"Shirakawa... has the ghost woman’s scene ended?"
"Shirakawa, could you describe the male lead’s expression for me so I can imagine it..."
"Utterly devastated."
"Just utterly devastated, is that all?"
"Really devastated. If you don’t believe me, see for yourself."
"Nope, I don’t want to..."
The lazy girl lay on Shirakawa Sawahei’s lap, covering her eyes, doing her best not to see the screen.
"Tsukimi, what are you doing???
"What else can I do! That music is scary... Shirakawa, turn down the volume..."
Shirakawa Sawahei: "..."
Truthfully, one girl was lying on his lap, another cuddled in his arms, and a transparent one clung to his arm without letting go, essentially restricting his range of movement.
The seniors have cornered He Jinyin!
There’s absolutely no atmosphere for watching a horror movie!
"How about we stop watching?" Black Hearted Lolita couldn’t help but propose after holding it in for a while: "This movie is a bit too much... It’s more suitable to watch during the day..."
"You’re right, the Halloween mood does enhance the ghost movie effect, even someone experienced like me got caught off guard... I usually don’t react this way to horror movies~"
"Alright, alright, let’s not watch today. Everyone wash up and go to bed... Shirakawa, tonight, I’ll room with you..."
"Eh? Did you naturally make that request, Koorikin? So sneaky..."
"That ghost woman was so scary... I’ve started to fear sleeping alone..."
"Then... in that case, everyone can squeeze into one room. More people can keep an eye out for each other!"
Shirakawa Sawahei coldly retorted: "What kind of lookout are you talking about... You think something serious is happening... It’s just a horror movie, no need to exaggerate."
"It’s necessary, Shirakawa, don’t you find it scary?" The lazy girl trembled as she held her phone and said: "If I take a photo at home now... do you think..."
"Eek! Stop it! Orikin! Banned! Discussion of this movie is banned!"
"In that case, you girls huddle together and sleep then."
"What kind of solution is that, Shirakawa?! We’re all girls! In such times, only boys can make us feel safe!"
"Then take a photo of me and place it by the pillow."
"??? You think you’re some kind of protective deity? Shirakawa, can you be serious?!"
"Say another word, I’ll make you sleep in a room alone."
Shirakawa Sawahei grumpily warned, then continued: "If you’re this scared, why are you watching a horror movie... Turn on the light."
"The darkness is really scary... Shirakawa, no matter what, you still need to protect us tonight, okay?"
The heartless old scoundrel said, pressing the switch, but the lights didn’t come on as expected. Almost simultaneously, the TV screen suddenly vanished as if unplugged by something.
He looked up in confusion, seemingly puzzled by the phenomenon.
The wind outside rustled the curtains, and the faint glow of the pumpkin lamp flickered, looking eerie, much like the mood in the film.
The atmosphere suddenly turned silent. Tsukimi Sakurazawa’s breathing became heavier as she said tremblingly, "Sh-Shirakawa? Are you trying to scare us? Scaring us, right?!"
"Shirakawa! Playing pranks can be really mean! I might hate you for several minutes because of it!!"
The crybaby and the lazy girl whimpered, trying to determine if Shirakawa Sawahei was up to something, while the Black Hearted Lolita adeptly dashed over to him, clinging to his side.
Whether it was a prank or not, she thought, Lil’ White Face wouldn’t dare ditch me; we’ll die together if need be!
"Could it be a power outage?" Shirakawa Sawahei pondered silently for a moment, then comforted, "The power should come back."
He spoke even as he recalled all sorts of notices he had seen downstairs...
Power outage? Didn’t see any notice... nor was there a trending search about a monster attacking a power plant online... Wait...
"Ise Yu... did you pay the electricity bill the day before yesterday?"
"Eh? Electricity bill..."
The lazy girl seemed to recall something, hesitantly saying, "Umm... I think I was... gaming at the time?"
"Ah, right, I was gaming! When Shirakawa told me, I was playing ’Monster Hunter’!"
"Who asked what game you were playing!"
Shirakawa Sawahei covered his forehead, speechless: "I should’ve just gone to the bank and set up automatic billing... Relying on you always leads to trouble."
"Eto... I’m sorry... I won’t dare next time..." The cute little Ise Yu swiftly bowed 90 degrees to apologize.
So adept at apologizing, yet you’re making sure there’s a next time!
"You all wait at home; I’ll head to the convenience store downstairs to see if I can pay it."
"Shirakawa! Take me with you!"
"Don’t leave me behind; it’s so dark and scary here..."
Upon hearing he was leaving, the two girls instantly panicked, hastily insisting on following him out.
With no other option, if bringing them, it had to be all or nothing. Thus, the five of them once again set off from the apartment, headed to a nearby convenience store, and after a series of twists and turns, they managed to sort out the electricity bill issue by almost 11 PM.
Why did it take so long? Shirakawa Sawahei thought anyone asking that question might not know Ise Yu Yuzhijin well.
If it weren’t for this one insisting on dragging everyone to the yakitori stall for a late-night snack, to ward off bad luck, Shirakawa Sawahei thought he’d likely have settled everything, washed up, and be snugly in bed by now.
Asano Nazuki, having once accompanied Shirakawa Sawahei before, still had memories of this nighttime street food. Putting aside the myths about late nights stunting growth, she joined the lazy girl in selecting ingredients right away.
The yakitori stall owner watched these customers with a cheerful smile, thinking he had assumed the girls went to get candy on Halloween, not expecting there’d be customers at the end...
Hmm? By the way, these two girls can really eat huh, can they finish that amount?
Quickly enough, the lazy girl and the crybaby practically showed the owner what it meant by a beautiful girl’s stomach being an extra-dimensional space.
"Ah... so full, Shirakawa... these roasted potatoes are awesome... the sauce is superb!"
"Mm-mmm... Sakurazawa, the chicken wings are delicious~ so much meat satisfaction..."
"Ah~ it feels like all the gloom from watching the horror movie has vanished, after all, food is the best remedy to fear."
"Eh? Isn’t facing fear the best way to overcome it? There are videos on TikTok about it~"
"Whatever... Shirakawa, now that we’ve eaten... what’s next? Go get some candy?"
Shirakawa Sawahei: "?"
Why do you have to lick your lips and ask me so enticingly?
This thing you mentioned about getting candy... Is it proper?