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

Chapter Six Unpleasant

If there were a crack in the floor where Ximiao could hide, he would go in without hesitation to avoid the storm.

In a comfortable sedan, Aunt Ashi was driving attentively, leading a group of people to the ski resort.

Meanwhile, Nozomi, who was sitting in the middle of the back row, had absolutely no interest in going to the ski resort. For her, this journey was like sitting on pins and needles.

Last night, Hiyo, who had blacked out from drinking, vaguely remembered having a profound yet simple philosophical conversation about life with Arisa in a grove of trees...

Then, she bumped into Fanxia, ​​who had come out looking for her.

He didn't remember much after that, only that when he woke up today, he was covered in hickeys from Arisa.

Seeing the terrible result of his battle, Ximiao looked at Fanxia with some guilt, only to find that she ignored his situation.

This should have been a good thing, but Nozomi, who knew Honoka's personality well, could tell at a glance that this was the calm before the storm.

What's worse, Arisa was sitting on his other side, always looking at him with a strange gaze, which made Nozomi feel very guilty.

Only when the car they were in slowly came to a stop in the ski resort's parking lot did Nozomi breathe a sigh of relief and eagerly get out of the car.

The cool, fresh air rushed into his nostrils, making him relax a little. Then, Xi Ling went to the trunk at the back of the car and took out the ski equipment they needed.

After all, Aunt Ashi insisted that she didn't want to use other people's things, so they decisively passed on the option of renting ski equipment.

"Ouch...it's so heavy!"

As soon as he picked up the skis of the group, Nozomi stumbled and barely managed to maintain her balance. Honoka, who had come over to check on the situation, quickly helped him lift some of the things.

This prevented Hio from falling on the cold, snowy ground.

"Thanks, Sister Fanxia."

"It's alright. It would be really difficult for you to carry all these things by yourself, so I came to help. But..."

"but?"

Hearing the sudden change of tone from Fanxia in front of her, Ximiao was taken aback for a moment, and then looked at her with some confusion.

Arisa, who had come upon hearing the commotion, stood behind Himo, seemingly puzzled as to why it had taken them so long to get something.

Then she heard Honoka berating herself in front of Nozomi.

"Unlike some people who just stand there waiting and won't offer to help at all~"

"..."

Arisa was at a loss for words, after all, she was indeed in the wrong... Just as she was about to reach out and take the things from Nozomi's hands, Honoka stopped her.

What are you doing now?!

This time, she was really getting impatient and immediately gave Fanxia a cold shoulder.

Because of Mio's presence, Fanxia was not intimidated by this damned devil at all, and she leaned close to her ear and whispered something.

"It's too late~ A belated expression is worthless, even a dog wouldn't want it, you should know that, Miss Devil~"

Hiyo, who hadn't heard the two of them whispering to each other, only saw that Arisa's hands were clenched tightly, as if she was suppressing her anger.

Seeing that the situation was not good, he quickly stepped forward and used the long skis in his hand to separate the two men who were about to fight.

"Alright, alright! Stop arguing. It would be terrible if Aunt Ashi saw us."

Only after they heard Nozomi bring up Aunt Ami did the two of them stop. They glared at each other fiercely, then flanked Nozomi on either side and headed towards the ski resort's ticket office.

Ashi, dressed in a black down jacket and wearing a wool felt hat, had already bought tickets for four people, but she noticed that something seemed a little off.

What's wrong?

Those beautiful, wine-red eyes kept scanning the three of them, trying to find something out.

Hio quickly smoothed things over, stepping forward to hand over the skis that Ami was holding.

"Auntie Ashi, here's your skis."

"Ah, thank you. I'm so grateful for your help, Mio. If I call you Mio too, you don't mind, do you?"

After taking her skis, her attention shifted from Arisa, who looked unwell, and Honoka to Nozomi.

She couldn't help but wonder how her daughter had managed to win over such a kind-hearted girl like Himo. Apart from the fact that her daughter was a few hundred years older than her, almost all of Himo's other qualities perfectly matched Ami's criteria for choosing a partner.

If it weren't for Arisa's repeated emphasis, she would have been tempted to make a move on Nozomi.

After setting aside her unrealistic thoughts, Asumi led the group to the nearby public rest area to change their ski equipment.

"How am I supposed to wear this?"

Sitting on the bench, Ximiao looked at the boots in front of her somewhat helplessly, seemingly not quite understanding why the buckles looked so complicated.

Sitting next to him, Fanxia simply smiled slightly and reached out to easily unfasten the buckles on Xiling's boots.

"All done!"

"Huh? Fanxia-nee, have you ever skied?"

Logically speaking, Fanxia, ​​who doesn't go out much, shouldn't be a seasoned skiing expert, right? So how come she's so skilled at buttoning her clothes?

He looked at Fanxia beside him with some curiosity.

"I'd say yes or no. I've skated there once or twice, with my best friend."

As if recalling some past events, Fanxia's face showed a slightly embarrassed expression.

However, Ximiao didn't ask any further questions. After hearing that it was Fanxia's amazing best friend who took her out, she understood.

He was increasingly eager to meet Fanxia's best friend and see who she really was...

On the opposite bench, the mother and daughter, dressed in ski gear, naturally saw Fanxia whispering to Ximiao.

As a mother, Ami was also curious about her daughter's progress in love.

Thinking back to what happened when they arrived at the ski resort, she had some guesses. It was probably that her blockhead daughter had had another disagreement with Ximiao.

then.

Asumi moved closer to Arisa and whispered what had happened when they went to the trunk of the car to get something.

Faced with her mother's interrogation, Arisa had no choice but to reluctantly tell the truth.

"Actually... it was a bit unpleasant with Fanxia."

"Eh?"

Author's Note: (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻

Chapter Seven: Snow Mountain Slide

"No, you..."

Asahi hesitated, looking at her innocent-looking daughter, feeling speechless.

No, even if Fanxia isn't Nozomi's real parent, she's still considered Nozomi's elder, right?

It was something that Arisa truly hadn't expected—that her own daughter, Arisa, would have a conflict with Honoka.

"Forget it, we'll talk about this later. Have you sorted out what's going on between you and Ximiao?"

After fastening the safety buckles on her boots, Ashi sat up straight, took a deep breath of the dry, cold air, and tried to calm herself down.

She tried her best to give her silly daughter some advice on relationships... even though her own experience was all learned from soap operas or from what her friends told her.

However, as long as Arisa doesn't know about this, there won't be any problem, right? That's what Arisa thought.

Unaware that her mother was offering advice with the intention of having fun, Arisa foolishly believed Ami's nonsense.

After a moment's thought, recalling the pleasant time she and Himo had spent together the previous night, Arisa spoke.

"It's probably solved... I already have the answer."

"Can you tell me about it?"

"No~"

At this point, Arisa put on her ski equipment and suddenly stood up.

"Let's go, let's take the cable car to the top of the mountain." She looked at Ximiao and Fanxia sitting opposite her and said calmly.

It was as if the unpleasantness that had just occurred in the trunk had never happened, leaving Fanxia, ​​who was always looking to provoke her, somewhat bewildered.

"What's wrong with her? She always seems so strange."

Watching the figure gradually walk away, she couldn't help but ask Xi Ling beside her.

Looking in the direction Arisa left, Mio shrugged, indicating that she wasn't quite sure what Arisa was thinking either.

Before the two could think it through, Ashi, who had walked up behind them, patted their shoulders and then said softly.

"Let's go~ That kid probably can't wait to go skiing~"

"..."

a long time.

There were quite a few people in line, but the cable car was quite fast. At least before Ximiao finished her third bottle of juice from the vending machine, they were able to board the cable car smoothly.

All I could see was the cable car.

Kyou held onto the railing, her feet, clad in skis, dangling in mid-air. This feeling of not having her feet firmly on the ground always made her feel insecure.

But that didn't stop him. He sipped the sweet and sour orange juice, while Fanxia, ​​sitting beside him, looked at the snow at his feet with a hint of nostalgia in her eyes.

Then, she suddenly turned her head to look at Xi Ling sitting next to her and said quietly.

"Aren't you afraid you'll need to go to the bathroom later if you drink so much juice, Mio?"

"Fanxia-jie, what are you saying that boys can do easily, but girls can't?"

Instead of directly answering Honoka's concerns, Nozomi asked her a question in return.

"Well..."