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

Fortunately, Nozomi had been sick at home before, which gave Honoka a little bit of experience with this kind of thing.

"Give it to me. The doctor just said it should be taken twice a day, before meals. Let's give Xiaomiao the medicine first, let him rest for a while, and then take him downstairs to eat something."

After Fanxia finished speaking, she clearly felt that the mother and daughter were giving her strange looks.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Didn't you say you couldn't take care of people? What's going on here?" Arisa couldn't help but ask.

"I really don't know how. I only know how to use the medicine the doctor gave me... When I went to buy medicine for Xiaomiao before, the pharmacy clerk taught me for a long time."

Upon hearing this, Arisa simply shrugged, agreeing with her statement. She then got up and poured a glass of water so that Nozomi could take her medicine later.

Once everything was ready, Ami rushed over to help and lifted Nozomi out of the bedding.

"What's going on here?"

With some difficulty, Ximiao opened her eyes and found that Fanxia and Arisa were sitting around her, their faces showing great concern.

"Mio, how are you feeling?"

"...I'm still a little tired, I want to sleep a little longer."

Just as Mio was about to lie down and rest, Honoka, who was holding a few capsules or similar medications and was about to give them to Mio, quickly stopped him.

"Wait, Mio, take these pills first, then rest."

"medicine?"

He was taken aback at first, and then he saw what was in Fanxia's hand. Before his dazed mind could figure out what it was for, the other book's author, Arisa, said directly.

"Yes, Mio, you caught a cold and got sick, that's why you feel so uncomfortable. Come on, listen to me and take your medicine."

Seeing that the two of them didn't seem to want to continue teasing her, and with Aunt Ami there, Nozomi reached out her little hand from under the covers, took the medicine, and stuffed it all into her mouth.

Before he could even taste the bitterness, he took a sip of warm water and swallowed the medicine in his mouth.

After Xi Miao obediently took her medicine, they didn't stop her from lying down to rest.

Inside the room, the few people responsible for taking care of such a lovely patient couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. At least, they were now certain that Ximiao wouldn't have any major problems.

But in the following days, it was practically impossible for him to go outside the hotel.

"You two stay here and take good care of him. I'm going back to take a hot shower to warm myself up; it's freezing outside!"

Seeing that there was nothing more for her to do here, Asumi decided to go back to the next room and take a nice hot bath to relax.

As the door closed, only Arisa and Honoka remained in the room, staring at each other, unsure of what to do next.

a long time.

In the restaurant downstairs.

Even in the hotel, Xi Ling wore a down jacket, wrapped up tightly, and a few beads of sweat appeared on his fair forehead.

Unfortunately, no matter how much he emphasized that the hotel was warm enough, Arisa and Honoka teamed up to make him wear these warm clothes.

"Can I order a drink? And this outfit is so hot!"

Nozomi couldn’t help but complain to Honoka, who was sitting next to her, and tried to take off her down jacket.

But the response he received was...

"No, but I can get you a glass of room temperature juice to supplement your vitamin C, Xiaoling. Do you want some?"

"……All right."

It's much better than Fanxia bringing her a glass of plain water.

"Oh, right," Aunt Ami, who was holding a freshly opened can of beer, suddenly said, "The fireworks show is the night after tomorrow. Mio, you'd better work hard and get better soon."

"The day after tomorrow?"

Nozomi seemed to be deep in thought, as if she was thinking about something strange. However, Arisa and Honoka, who were watching this scene, did not realize this.

They thought that Nozomi was just confused because of a fever.

"Come on, have something to eat!"

After saying that, Arisa put a large piece of beef into Nozomi's bowl, which seemed very thoughtful.

Chapter Fifteen: Alone

In the next few days.

Although Honoka and the others really wanted to stay and take care of the sick Nozomi, they couldn't resist the boy's persistent pleading, saying things like he was fine staying alone in the hotel.

They had no choice but to go along with Nozomi's wishes, and with their ski gear, they went to the ski resort early in the morning.

Nozomi didn't seem to care much about this. After all, he was still a beginner skier, and she believed that without him getting in the way, Honoka and Arisa would have a better time.

Hiyo was still lying in her warm bed, tossing and turning, unable to go back to sleep; she had been sleeping for too long…

Unable to resist the urge to get up and wander around, Ximiao silently lifted the covers. A faint white mist, caused by the heat, rose from his bed, startling him.

"Is my temperature really that high? I thought the fever reducer would be effective."

He muttered to himself, then leaned on the floor and struggled to his feet. His legs were still a little weak, but that didn't stop him from brushing his teeth and washing up, trying to tidy up his haggard appearance.

While Nozomi was resting alone in the hotel, three people were skiing on the advanced slopes of the ski resort.

Even though she was exhausted and had a few beads of sweat on her forehead, she was still worried about the boy who was alone.

"I wonder how Mio is doing..."

"Even if you're worried about him, it won't solve anything. You might as well go along with what Nozomi wants and have some fun."

Seeing that Honoka looked absent-minded, Arisa, who had appeared beside her at some point, also spoke up to comfort her.

At least, Arisa believes that Himiko can take care of herself on her own, and that tonight's fireworks display will be fine, probably.

The two of them, along with Ashi, were exhausted from skiing and sat on a bench in the rest area to rest, each holding a still-warm can of drink to warm themselves up.

"Do you want to go back?"

Looking at the two people sitting beside her, both of whom seemed distracted, Ami smiled slightly, immediately seeing through their little schemes.

"It's still early...Mom, won't you play a little longer?"

Arisa was still being stubborn, refusing to admit that she, like Honoka beside her, was worried about Nozomi.

But she forgot that it was her own mother, who knew everything about her, including her ability to say one thing and mean another.

Asahi spoke slowly.

"Oh, I thought you were in a hurry to go back and see Ximiao. It seems you're not worried about him at all. Can I play until the afternoon before going back?"

"No!"×2

That solves it!

Looking at the two who were unusually in sync on this matter, Ya Shi revealed a knowing smile.

Not long after, the group returned to the hotel by car. As soon as they stepped into the hotel, they ran up the stairs.

They flung open the door, only to find that the bed in the center of the room was empty.

Nozomi, who should have been resting in bed, was nowhere to be found, which immediately made Honoka and Arisa anxious, and they began to search for her everywhere.

However, Ashi didn't seem to be in a hurry at all. The faint light in her wine-red eyes slowly dimmed.

Then, as if nothing had happened, he walked to the bathroom, gently pushed open the door, and saw Xi Ling soaking in the jacuzzi, probably asleep while taking a bubble bath.

"Don't bother looking, Mio is in the bathroom."

Asumi calmly said, she stepped forward, patted Nozomi's little face, and woke him up.

"Ugh... What's wrong? Let me sleep a little longer..."

Still refusing to open her eyes, Ximiao murmured something and then turned her head to the side, wanting to continue sleeping for a while.

however.

"Don't sleep. If you fall asleep here, it will make your cold worse."

After saying that, seeing that Nozomi still refused to get up, Ami took off her down jacket, rolled up her sleeves, and put her arms into the bathtub.

He picked up Xi Ling, who was still soaking wet and covered in bubbles, rinsed the bubbles off his body with the showerhead, and then put him on the floor where a bath towel had been laid out.

Just as Ami was about to personally wipe Nozomi's body clean, Honoka and Arisa also walked into the bathroom and saw this scene.

"Mom? What are you doing...?"

"I'm wiping Mio's body! If you're not going to help, then go outside and stay there, don't get in the way."

However, her words clearly did not have a good effect. The two of them picked up clean bath towels and came forward, hurriedly wiping the water droplets off Ximiao's body.

In no time, Xi Ling was clean and tidy. She was casually dressed in a nightgown and then tossed into bed and covered with a blanket.

The group, having finally finished all their work, breathed a sigh of relief.

"Luckily we came back early, while the water in the jacuzzi was still warm..."

Even now, Fanxia is still shaken. She shouldn't have left Ximiao alone in the hotel.

After this day, it seems that Nozomi will no longer be able to rest alone in the hotel, as long as Honoka is still by his side.

in the afternoon.

Slightly more awake, Xi Ling rubbed her still-throbbing head and slowly sat up.

Then he saw Fanxia and Aunt Ami sitting in a chair not far away, drinking hot tea and chatting quietly.

"Why are you all back?" he asked the group, still somewhat bewildered.

Upon seeing that Xi Ling had woken up, Fan Xia immediately rushed forward to greet her warmly.

Aunt Ashi, who was still smiling at him, said something meaningful.

"It's already afternoon~ Do you want us to play at the ski resort until we're exhausted, Nozomi?"

Although she knew that Aunt Ami was teasing her, Nozomi still felt that something was off about what she said, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.