"Actually, Chiba-san, you don't need to worry about it. These are just minor injuries, and I'll recover in no time!"
Haruka Yuzan grinned, assuring that he was alright.
If the girl was handling it like that, how could he be any different?
"No, it's because of me that you got hurt. I must take responsibility."
Chiba Shimizu said seriously.
"Alright then, don't you dare run away, because I'm counting on you now."
"Mhm." Chiba Shimizu nodded, and upon seeing the boy agree, she also breathed a sigh of relief.
Suddenly, a gentle breeze came and lifted the sun hat off the girl's head.
The sunlight filtered through the leaves and fell upon the girl, leaving a beautifully moving scene amidst the dappled shadows.
For a moment, Haruka Yuzan was mesmerized:
"Chiba-san, you're really beautiful."
Confronted with the boy's compliment, Chiba Shimizu's cheeks turned red, unable to suppress her burgeoning shyness.
When Chiba Shimizu helped Haruka Yuzan back to the stream's edge, the beauties in the camp hurriedly put down what they were doing and came over.
"Haruka, are you okay? What happened here?"
Worry flickered in Reiko Onodera's beautiful eyes. This was her hometown, and if Haruka got hurt here, madam would feel guilty for a lifetime.
Haruka Yuzan had just shaken his head at the beautiful woman, indicating that he was fine.
Meanwhile, the young Miss Otome Family had already put down the food in her hands and rushed over.
Seeing the injured boy, Otome Mizuko felt a pain in her heart as if she were the one hurt.
No, her heartache was even greater than if she had been injured!
"How, how did this happen? Why wasn't I there? Why are you hurt...."
As she spoke, to her surprise, Miss Otome began to choke up, and big tears fell relentlessly from her cheeks.
Otome Mizuko had taken all the responsibility for Haruka Yuzan's injury upon herself!! Dıscover more novels at novel⦿fire.net
"It's all, all my fault. If I had been by your side, then, then you definitely wouldn't have gotten hurt, Haruka...."
Miss Otome's fingers gently touched Haruka Yuzan's arm, afraid of accidentally hurting him... feeling guilty and responsible.
Whether it was her facade as a business queen in the outside world or now by Haruka Yuzan's side, playing the role of a sweet and caring girlfriend.
Nobody had ever seen Miss Otome shed tears.
This was the first time, and it inevitably made Haruka Yuzan's heart ache.
Chiba Shimizu also saw her best friend's state and felt even more remorse.
Just as she was about to say something, a deep male voice came from the side:
"It's okay, Yumeko. I just got a bit careless while walking and fell into a pit."
He reached out to gently stroke Miss Otome's hair, and Otome Mizuko immediately burrowed into the boy's embrace, crying out loud.
"It's all my fault, it's all my fault, Haruka..."
"It's okay, it's okay, don't worry, I'm just unlucky, it's nobody else's fault."
A touching scene stirred a mix of emotions in the hearts of the onlookers.
Chiba Shimizu wanted to tell the truth outright.
But she knew that if she told them Haruka Yuzan had twisted her ankle while saving her, Otome Mizuko would definitely take Haruka Yuzan away immediately.
Then things would become even more complicated.
After much deliberation, she still didn't reveal the truth.
"So... Haruka, is your ankle okay? Do you need to go to the hospital...?"
Reiko Onodera asked with concern.
"No need; it hasn't reached the bone, just sprained. It should be better after resting for a couple of days."
Haruka Yuzan, holding Miss Otome in her arms, smiled and declined madam's kind offer.
"Are you sure that's alright? Maybe we should still go to the hospital for a check-up."
Arisugawa Hoshina added from the side.
"Really, there's no need..."
Haruka Yuzan was somewhat helpless; she knew her own body, and such a sprain would probably heal the day after tomorrow.
In the end, Otome Mizuko made a call and summoned the Otome family's personal doctor.
Once it was confirmed that Haruka Yuzan merely had a sprain, everyone finally relaxed.
"See, I told you, it's fine, just a sprain."
Haruka Yuzan sat on a bluestone, looking at Miss Otome personally applying ointment to her, and couldn't help but smile wryly.
This scene nearly made the doctor pass out.
Since when had their young miss started applying ointment to someone else?
Especially a young man. If the head of the family found out, no, the head of the family simply wouldn't believe it!!
At that moment, Doctor Yoshizawa felt a cold sweat on his back.
After delivering some words of caution, he left the small woodland as if fleeing.
The young girl's fingers touched the ointment and gently applied it to the ankle of Haruka Yuzan. It was cool and refreshing.
Chiba Shimizu, Arisugawa Hoshina, and Reiko Onodera stood by, each busy with their own tasks, yet their gazes drifted over from time to time.
They too wished to take care of Haruka...
After repeated dissuasion of Miss Otome, putting out her desire to flatten the hillside, the two playful young girls returned to the creek.
Both little ones were hopping along, each holding a bouquet of flowers in their hands.
Upon seeing the injured Haruka Yuzan, they too quickly began a new round of concern and greetings.
"Haruka, are you okay? How could you be so careless."
Sunlight scattered across the creek, sparkling like a dream, intoxicating people with nature's beauty.
Bursts of smoke rose and diffused, and the group by the creek played, laughed, and ate roast bird, spending the morning contentedly and at ease......