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

"It seems you also have a tiny bit of an opinion about Hiyori's strange behavior lately~"

"Ok?"

Fanxia opened the bottle cap of her drink, sat down in her seat as Arisa had instructed, and drank the juice in one gulp, just like she was drinking beer.

Then she said.

"What are you complaining about? I know that Ximiao has spent several nights in your room."

"So you knew all along..."

Arisa immediately showed a slightly embarrassed expression. She hadn't expected that Honoka would know about this.

"So, is there anything else you want to say to me?"

After saying that, Fanxia let out a long sigh of relief and looked at the somewhat bewildered Arisa, as if questioning her about her purpose in talking to her.

But after waiting for a long time, she still couldn't hear Arisa continue speaking, so she simply turned her gaze to the television set next to her.

Meanwhile, back in her room, Ximiao was unaware that the two downstairs were plotting something.

His mind was filled with thoughts of how to get past Aunt Ashi. Since she was asking him for something, it must be about what happened in the bathroom that day.

Well... although this is just his wishful thinking.

Thinking of this, Ximiao sighed helplessly, just like Fanxia in the living room earlier, not knowing what to do.

God knows how long he lay on his soft bed. Just as he was about to fall asleep, as if he had timed it perfectly, someone knocked on his bedroom door.

"Who?"

Despite his question, the person knocking on the door didn't seem inclined to answer it.

This left Nozomi with no choice but to open the door, so she silently stood up and walked towards the door.

As he opened the door, he saw the figure he least wanted to see.

"Hey~ Mio, after thinking about it for so long, have you decided what you want to do for your auntie?"

"……without."

"Is that so? That's a bit of a shame. I thought I could take advantage of the fact that Arisa and Honoka went out shopping so I could get my benefits."

Ami looked at the boy in front of her with a pity, as if everything she had done was for his own good.

Looking into Aunt Ami's beautiful wine-red eyes, Nozomi was speechless for a moment, not knowing what to say.

Just when he thought everything was alright and was about to close the door, a delicate hand suddenly blocked the crack in the door, stopping him.

"Auntie Ashi?"

"Come to my room, and I'll teach you how to solve the problems your shop is currently facing."

"Huh? But..."

Before Hiyo could finish speaking, Ami turned and left without looking back, leaving the decision to Hiyo.

Looking at the now empty corridor, Ximiao was unsure whether to follow or not.

After remaining silent behind the door for a long time, Ximiao felt as if all her strength had been drained away. She weakly let go of the doorknob and walked towards Aunt Ami's bedroom.

As he gently pushed open the door, Aunt Ami, who had been waiting for a long time, sat upright on the cushion on the floor, looking as if she was about to teach Nozomi how to manage the shop.

Having never seen anything like this before, Xi Ling swallowed hard, walked forward shakily, and then asked.

"Don't you need to give Aunt Ashi a benefit?"

"What are you talking about? I was just joking with you. I didn't expect you to actually take it seriously, Mio."

"That's it..."

Although that's what Aunt Ami said, looking into her eyes, Nozomi felt that something was off.

Unfortunately, he had no right to say anything, so he could only follow Aunt Ashi's example and sit upright on the cushion opposite her, waiting for her to give him the answer.

And downstairs.

Contrary to what Ami had said, the two of them didn't go out to buy anything. Although they were still in the living room, their attention was drawn to the little crocodile toy that Ami had somehow acquired.

"Honestly, stop dawdling! Can't you just hurry up and choose a tooth to press down already?!"

Arisa looked at Honoka, who was still hesitant to make a move, with annoyance and urged her.

"Tsk! Quiet down! This is about the cost of dinner! How can you, a rich person, make such a casual choice!"

Fanxia responded in this way, wishing she could devour Arisa, who had beaten her several times and who knew how much money she had made, alive.

"Tch~ You're just bad at it, why blame others? That's hilarious."

Chapter Twenty-Eight: I Can't Understand

"Fanxia-jie...you look so much more haggard?"

I don't know how much time passed, but after finishing the private tutoring session in Aunt Ashi's bedroom, I walked down the stairs.

Upon entering the living room, I saw Fanxia lying listlessly on the table, looking so weak that she could be described as "half-dead".

This piqued Mio's curiosity, so she walked over, pulled over a cushion, and sat down between Honoka and Arisa.

After hearing the question raised by Nozomi, Honoka explained that she and Arisa had made a small bet, and she had given away half a month's worth of her manuscript fees to Arisa.

"How many?"

"Half a month's royalties..."

"Fanxia-nee... even though this money is yours, you can't use it like this..."

"I feel a little helpless," said Hiyo, then looked at Arisa, who was still grinning mischievously to the side, as if she had planned this all along.

Immediately, Ximiao focused her attention on the small crocodile toy in the center of the table, which had its mouth open and was waiting for someone to press its teeth. It looked quite interesting.

"How about it, Mio? Want to give it a try too?"

Seeing that he seemed very interested in the new toy, Arisa took the opportunity to suggest that Nozomi try it out as well.

"How do we..."

"Choose one of its teeth and press it down, either the top or the bottom, either side. If it closes its mouth, then you lose."

After listening to Arisa explain how to play with the little toy, Nozomi couldn't wait to put the little crocodile in front of her and randomly chose one of its teeth to press down.

The next second, the little green crocodile suddenly closed its mouth, which startled Ximiao.

"Pfft~"

Seeing the boy's somewhat frightened expression, Arisa couldn't help but laugh out loud.

And so, with Nozomi joining in, Honoka, who could no longer gamble with Arisa, also joined in.

The three of them spent the whole afternoon playing with this little crocodile toy.

Asahi was still in her bedroom, lying silently on the bed, pondering whether her recent behavior had been a bit too bad.

First, she did that horrible thing to Himiko in the bathroom, and then she tried to use it to blackmail him...

But after calming down a bit, Asumi felt that she had let her daughter, Arisa, down.

She didn't know how long she had been lying there until her flat stomach protested, which brought her back to her senses, and she looked at the phone screen next to her.

It was almost dinnertime, and it was time for her to go downstairs to the living room and wait for dinner to be served.

then.

When she walked into the living room, she saw Ximiao and two other people, all intently watching the little crocodile and having a great time.

"Ahem... Nozomi, if you don't make dinner soon, it will be very late when Hachiko comes back."

Seeing that Nozomi didn't seem to be heading to the kitchen to make dinner, Asami couldn't help but remind her.

But after a long time, Xi Miao didn't respond to her, which made her a little annoyed, so she snatched the little crocodile toy away.

This immediately drew the ire of the three men.

"Auntie Ashi, what are you doing?"

"Mother?"

"Miss Ashi?"

As a result, Asa simply pointed to the clock hanging on the wall, indicating that it was already very late.

Ximiao was also stunned for a moment before remembering that she had to cook dinner. She quickly stood up from the cushion and walked towards the kitchen.

In no time, you could hear the sound of hot oil sizzling in the pan.

Just when Ami thought the matter was over, she felt someone tugging at her clothes. Turning around, she saw her daughter, Arisa, and Honoka staring longingly at the little crocodile toy in her hand.

"..."

This made Ashi roll her eyes, and she regretted bringing this thing to them to amuse them.

a long time.

With a loud commotion coming from the entrance hall, everyone inside knew that Yashiro had returned from the shop.

After taking off her shoes, she walked straight into the living room, where she saw Arisa and Honoka examining a small crocodile toy, wondering what the probability was of it closing its mouth.

"What's going on with those two?"

Yashiro couldn't help but ask Ami, who was covering her face with her hands as if she couldn't bear to watch anymore.

Don't ask me, I don't want to know.

"..."

Seeing that she couldn't join the conversation, Hachiko shifted her attention to Himiko, who was busy preparing dinner in the kitchen.

What are we having for dinner tonight?

Watching the boy's busy figure, even she herself didn't notice that the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curl up.

A pair of delicate hands quietly rested on Xi Ling's shoulders, and he seemed completely unfazed by it.

"A hamburger patty, potato wedges, and a bowl of hot white rice—if this makes you gain weight, don't blame me!"