I endured the humiliation and humiliation while being besieged by the ghost story elder sister.

"That's the Fanxia you were talking about..."

After Ximiao told her strategist in detail about all the slight changes that had occurred in their relationship during this period, she finally understood.

It's noticeable that Hanako, who was initially listening to his story with the mindset of a bystander, suddenly frowned.

He looked rather serious, which made Ximiao a little flustered. Could it be that the problem was more serious than he had imagined?

But after waiting for a long time, she spoke to the boy instead.

"I didn't expect you to be so popular~ You're two-timing and Xia doesn't even care, so it seems she really likes you. I'm a little curious, what's Arisa's reaction?"

"...Although she didn't say it explicitly, I always felt that she already knew about my relationship with Honoka-nee. I just don't know why, Arisa has never brought it up."

He looked at Ms. Hanako with some anticipation, as if he wanted her to give him a more reliable answer.

The girl simply tilted her head, not understanding what it meant.

After all, asking a little ghost to guess the devil's thoughts is as absurd as asking her to do a profile for a psychologist.

However, if things were to unfold according to the plot of a soap opera...

"Do you think it's possible that the reason things between you and Fanxia have turned out this way was orchestrated by Arisa?"

"Eh?"

Chapter Thirty-Four: A Sudden Visit

"What...do you mean? Hanako-san, are you saying that my current situation is entirely Arisa's doing?"

Ximiao found it hard to believe her statement.

After all, if it were true, it would be terrifying. He couldn't fathom why Arisa would do such a thing...

However, Ms. Hanako didn't make any absolute statements and quickly added to the situation.

"This is just my guess, don't take it too seriously. But you really need to think carefully about what to do next."

As their casual conversation came to an end, after receiving some advice from her strategist, Nozomi bid farewell to Hanako and left.

If he takes too long to buy groceries, Fanxia might suspect that he's lying.

Therefore, it would be better for him to get back to his apartment before lunch.

And the other side.

While Ximio was at the school, seeking the opinion of her strategist.

In the hallway outside the apartment building, Arisa, who had taken the elevator upstairs, gently rang the doorbell.

A moment later, she heard hurried footsteps coming from inside the house. As soon as the door opened, Fanxia muttered something before she could even see who was outside.

"Why are you ringing the doorbell? Mio, did you forget to bring it...?"

Before she could finish speaking, her beautiful eyes met a pair of wine-red eyes that were looking at her with a hint of amusement, which made Fan Xia pause for a moment.

Then, realizing what was happening, she asked directly.

"What are you doing here?"

"Just dropping by~ What, aren't you happy to see me?"

Seeing Honoka's clearly unwelcoming expression, Arisa simply smiled and teased her, completely disregarding her thoughts.

After a brief standoff with the girl at the door, Honoka, unable to resist Arisa's determination to get inside, sighed helplessly.

Then he stepped aside to make room for her and let Arisa enter.

The first thing she did when she came in was to ask if Ximiao wasn't home, since she had overheard what Fanxia said when she opened the door.

Fanxia, ​​who had sat back down on the sofa, replied somewhat impatiently while watching TV.

"Xiao Ling went out to buy groceries, and she probably won't be back for a while."

After saying that, she glanced at the girl who was slowly walking over. She noticed the bag in the girl's hand and was a little puzzled, but she didn't want to ask her what it was.

It wasn't until Arisa sat on the sofa and reached into the bag that Honoka, unable to resist her curiosity, secretly peeked inside.

What was inside the bag looked like a tightly wrapped wooden box.

Arisa didn't even say anything about it before taking it out, walking straight to the kitchen, and putting the wooden box in the refrigerator.

Then, as if nothing had happened, she sat back on the sofa, imitating Fanxia, ​​quietly watching TV and waiting for Ximio to return.

The atmosphere inside the room became very awkward, with only the television continuing to ring.

I don't know how much time passed, but their bellies started to bulge at the same time, as if they had planned it beforehand.

At that moment, they also heard a faint sound of a key coming from the entrance hall.

As Ximiao took off her shoes, carrying the groceries she had just bought from the supermarket, and was about to walk into the house, she noticed that in the entryway, besides her and Fanxia's shoes, there was another pair of shoes that looked somewhat familiar.

After he stuffed all the ingredients into the refrigerator, he went to the living room and immediately saw two graceful figures sitting on the sofa.

Ximiao, who had originally planned to resolve the issue between herself and Fanxia first, looked at the current situation and realized that the idea she had come up with on her way back would be useless.

However, Nozomi's face did not show any disappointment; she simply asked with some curiosity.

"Arisa, what brings you here all of a sudden? Would you like to have lunch here?"

"Of course~ As for why I came over... my mom asked me to bring you some things, so I just stopped by for a visit."

"thing?"

He glanced around at Arisa but couldn't find what she was talking about, so he tilted his head.

"It's already in the fridge!"

Upon hearing her words, Xi Ling turned and went to the kitchen, rummaging through the refrigerator. Unsurprisingly, she found a wooden box that she hadn't seen before.

Although he didn't know what Aunt Ami had asked Arisa to send this time, he couldn't help but smile slightly when he thought of the Wagyu beef they had sent last time, and he opened the lid.

Upon seeing the beautiful orange-red crab shell inside, and the several pairs of slender crab claws, he froze on the spot.

"This is... a king crab?!"

After a long time.

Around the small table in the living room, several people sat, but none of them touched the sumptuous meal on the table.

Xi Miao's light blue eyes were fixed on the girl sitting next to her, as if to say that she wouldn't be allowed to eat until she gave a reason.

Even Fanxia was affected, which was really unfair. She could only stare longingly at the food on the table, unable to pick up her chopsticks to eat.

"Please say yes to Mio... I'm starving."

She couldn't help but try to persuade Arisa, not wanting the two of them to continue their standoff.

However, Arisa was unusually resolute and did not agree to Nozomi's conditions this time, speaking softly.

"There's no way I can take that crab back. If Mom sees that I haven't done what she asked me to do, then I'm really doomed."

"But! We can't just accept something so valuable!"

Equally stubborn was Himo, who sat on the cushion; the cost of accommodation alone during their trip to Hokkaido had already made him very concerned.

If we add the king crab to the mix, he might remember this incident forever, which is really not worth it.

After all, it concerns whether he's living off a woman or not...

If Honoka knew what Nozomi was thinking right now, she'd probably roll her eyes at him.

However, Nozomi didn't insist on this matter all the time. She said the king crab issue could be discussed later, but it wouldn't do if the food got cold and didn't taste good.

But the only one who was happy was Fanxia, ​​who was really starving.

As for the other two, even though they sat at the same table together, their thoughts were not the same.

This seems to be the first time that Hiyo has argued with Arisa over something unrelated to their relationship.

This made the boy feel very novel and he found the matter quite interesting.

Chapter Thirty-Five: Heavy Snow on New Year's Day

In the end, at Nozomi's suggestion, the large box of king crab that Aunt Ami had sent was taken to be eaten together with Arisa and Aunt Ami in the living room.

Thankfully, we didn't trouble Aunt Ashi too much, making her spend money to send him and Sister Fanxia these expensive things.

However, unlike Nozomi's opinion, Honoka thought it was pretty good, as she could get some delicious food for free.

……

New Year's Eve.

After the Chinese New Year, it's time to go back to school, and the winter vacation is already halfway over.

After arguing with Arisa, Nozomi, who had originally planned to do her winter break homework with the girl, gave up on the idea.

She spends most of her time holed up in her room, occasionally taking on part-time jobs by herself, or helping Fanxia by modeling for her. Her life is quite fulfilling.

Xi Ling was seen lying on the balcony, looking at the heavy snow falling outside, and couldn't help but worry whether the New Year's temple fair could still be held on time.

Although Nozomi's mind wasn't on the temple fair, she wanted to take this opportunity to reconcile with Arisa and stroll around the fair together.

In the living room, sitting on the sofa and looking at Xi Ling's somewhat lost and dejected appearance, Fan Xia didn't know how to comfort him.

But it's not good to keep him dressed in such thin clothes and let him stay on the balcony.

After hesitating for a while, Fanxia stood up from the sofa and slowly walked towards the balcony.

"Mio, it's so cold outside, why didn't you wear more clothes before coming out to see the snow?"

She imitated Xi Ling, leaning on the balcony railing and gazing at the scenery below, not understanding what was so interesting about this unchanging scene.

Meanwhile, Ximiao noticed what Fanxia was thinking and couldn't help but smile slightly as she whispered something.

“I always feel that Arisa and Aunt Ami are giving so much, while I have nothing to give back. Honoka-nee, do you think I'm useless…”