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

"Eh?"

"I'm also looking forward to spending time with you, Arisa, during the holidays~"

"..."

On the tram.

Having spent the whole day taking exams, Nozomi was quite exhausted and couldn't help but lean against Arisa and doze off.

As for Arisa, she was pondering what Nozomi meant by what she had just said... "Let's play together?"

Is this game legitimate or not?

Unfortunately, those who can answer her are most likely not going to tell her the truth.

Looking at Nozomi, whose face looked exceptionally well-behaved even when she was asleep, Arisa couldn't help but think that she wished Nozomi was always this well-behaved.

He usually listens patiently to whatever she says and keeps his promises to her. Unfortunately, he's a cunning man who always tries to bully her whenever he gets the chance.

I wonder how many random thoughts she had on her mind during that trip back home.

Only when the tram slowly pulled up to the platform and the doors opened did Arisa gently wake Himo and they stepped out of the carriage together.

On the way back to the apartment, Ximiao kept yawning, her mind filled with thoughts of getting back to her room and having a good night's sleep.

But the result...

After returning to the apartment with Hio and Arisa, they parted ways in the elevator. Hio then took out her key from her pocket and opened the door in front of her.

The moment he opened the door, the howling cold wind became several times stronger than usual, unlike the cold air that an air conditioner could blow out.

He saw Xi Ling raise her hand to shield herself until the cold wind dissipated, and only then could he see clearly what was going on inside the room.

A thin layer of ice crystals had formed on the once clean and smooth floor, while it was a sweltering summer day outside. Nozomi could have no idea what was going on inside.

Thinking that Fanxia was still inside, Ximiao ran straight to the living room without even taking off her shoes.

However, after looking around, he couldn't find Fanxia, ​​who usually stayed on the sofa waiting for him to come back.

However, Nozomi didn't give up. Instead, she turned around and went to the door of Honoka's room. She reached out and grasped the unusually cold doorknob, and opened the door with difficulty.

He saw it: on the soft bed, a somewhat weak figure was wrapped in a blanket, lying on his side.

Even Xi Ling could sense where the bone-chilling cold air was coming from, which made him feel a little strange. What's wrong with Fan Xia?

But at this moment, she was really hard to approach. Helpless, Nozomi had to go downstairs to ask Arisa and Aunt Ami for help.

Hopefully, he's not too late to come back.

Volume Three: The Way Home

Chapter One: The Disguise is Finally Revealed

"Yes, it's just a minor cold, nothing serious."

This was the diagnosis that Aunt Ami gave to Nozomi after she came upstairs and checked on Honoka's condition.

Well, the Snow Woman's cold will just turn a sweltering summer house into a freezing winter wonderland, no big deal...

On the sofa, Xi Ling sat motionless, and for some reason, he wasn't too surprised to hear that Fan Xia was a Yuki-onna.

Or perhaps he had already realized it, but simply didn't want to think about it that way; in the end, he was deceiving himself.

a long time.

With the help of Aunt Ami and Arisa, the situation inside the house returned to normal. The only thing left was that Honoka's bedroom was still freezing cold and constantly emanating chill.

What can be seen is that in the kitchen, Bailuo is simmering a soup in a clay pot, which looks like a medicine for treating colds and flu. Even in the living room, Ximiao can smell the aroma of the medicine.

As for Arisa, having been busy for so long, she also sat down on the sofa next to Nozomi, intending to relax for a while and leave all the finishing work to her mother.

Thinking this, Arisa turned her head to look at Nozomi, who was still looking down, pondering something, and then said.

"What? Is it hard for you to accept that your older sister, whom you spend every day with, isn't an ordinary person either?"

She was somewhat curious about how Xi Ling viewed Fan Xia, after all, being kept in the dark for so long must have been hard for him to bear.

When Mio heard Arisa ask her that question, she was stunned for a moment. Her eyes were unusually clear, and she showed no sign of being upset after being deceived by Honoka...

Why is it so hard to accept?

"Eh?"

"A snow woman sounds better than a demon, right? Besides, if we ask Honoka-nee, we can have iced drinks anytime, anywhere. Isn't that perfect for our trip to Okinawa?"

"..."

She felt like she couldn't keep up with Hiyo's train of thought, and... what did she mean by saying that a snow woman sounded better than a demon?

Arisa, who was furious at the thought, suddenly grabbed Nozomi's arm and bit down on it without any mercy.

"hiss--"

The pain made Himiko gasp, staring at Arisa in disbelief, not understanding what she was doing.

until night.

After drinking the herbal soup prepared by Bailuos, Fanxia had regained consciousness and was able to consciously control the coldness in her body, preventing it from spreading uncontrollably.

Now, apart from my nose still being a little stuffy and sneezing from time to time, I'm fine.

Even so, she was still a little uneasy and didn't dare to look at Ximiao, for fear that this matter would make the boy hate her.

At this moment, Xi Ling's light blue eyes were also fixed on Fan Xia.

On the table were various dishes, all of which were dinners that Ximiao and Bailuos had been busy preparing in the kitchen.

"What are you still standing there for? Don't you have an appetite because you have a cold? If you're not going to eat, Fanxia, ​​then I'm going to eat your hamburger patty too!"

Seeing that Honoka still didn't seem to want to come and sit down at the table, Arisa reached out and took Honoka's dinner to herself.

This infuriated Fanxia, ​​who immediately got up and ran from the sofa to the dining table, snatched her dinner, and then leisurely sat down in the empty seat next to Ximiao.

"Alright~ Now that everyone's here, let's start having dinner~ As for the plane tickets to Okinawa, I've already booked them~"

Aunt Ashi, who was leisurely cutting hamburger patties with a knife and fork, said this, which made everyone present pause in surprise.

"Mom, so fast? Didn't we say we'd wait until the results came out before we could see how things went?"

Remembering the plans her mother had told her before, which were completely different from what she was doing now, Arisa couldn't help but ask.

"Whatever the situation? I'm looking at the ticket price. What are you thinking? If you book your ticket a little earlier, the business class ticket price can be much cheaper."

Although she wasn't short of money, she wasn't one to be fooled; she wanted to save every penny she could.

After Aunt Ami finished speaking, the dining table fell silent. Even though Arisa wanted to tease Honoka some more, Honoka, still immersed in the grief of her disguise being exposed, didn't give her the chance.

a long time.

After saying goodbye to Aunt Ami, who had come to help, and Arisa, Ximiao closed the door in the entryway.

The room suddenly became quiet and deserted, with only him and Fanxia left. After returning to the living room, he saw Fanxia on the sofa, who had reverted to her previous expression, avoiding his gaze.

This puzzled Ximiao. What was wrong with her?

then.

Nozomi sat down on the sofa and couldn't help but ask.

"Fanxia-nee, what's wrong with you? It's just a little cold, it'll be fine in a few days, why are you avoiding me?"

"..."

"Sister Fanxia?"

Under the boy's relentless questioning, Fanxia finally couldn't withstand the pressure and raised her head, their eyes meeting.

"Mio, don't you mind?"

"Eh?"

"I've been lying to you for so long... It must have been tough being under the same roof as ghost stories, right..."

"It's alright, it's quite cool."

Before Fanxia could finish speaking, Ximiao guessed what was on her mind and quickly replied.

Just as Fanxia was still standing there, processing the answer Ximiao had given her, the scene before her suddenly changed, transforming from the cute boy into the ceiling.

Xi Miao withdrew her hand that had just pushed her and leaned her head forward.

"Mio? What are you going to do... Huh?!"

She was only halfway through her sentence when a soft touch silenced her, and it seemed that Nozomi had no intention of letting her catch her breath.

Gradually, Fanxia's head became dizzy, and what happened on the sofa afterwards felt like a dream, without any sense of reality.

The next day.

That is, the morning of Saturday after the final exams.

When Ximiao got up, she felt a sore back and aching muscles. Rubbing her sore eyes, she sat up and found that the area next to her was cold and she felt something soft and squishy in her hand.

Just as he was about to turn around to see what it was, he couldn't help but sneeze.

"Oh no... Could it be that I caught a cold from Honoka-nee?"

Ximiao rubbed her nose and muttered softly.

Coincidentally, perhaps because he was awakened by the sound of his sneezing, the cool and soft thing that had been sitting beside him suddenly moved.

After a few murmurs, Fanxia opened her eyes and saw Ximiao's warm little hand resting on Tuantuan...

"Mio, what are you... doing?"

"Ah, I'm sorry."

Upon hearing Fanxia's voice, Ximiao quickly withdrew her hand and awkwardly scratched her head.

Afterwards, the two got off the soft bed and went to the bathroom together to brush their teeth and wash up, while Fanxia added a bath step to the routine.