Miss Lin is a hunky VTuber today?

The two remained silent for a long time. On the television screen, which was out of sight, Xu Ying and Lan Ruoye's joyful and sweet voices continued to come out. The world inside and outside the screen was two different worlds, making the atmosphere increasingly subtle.

After a long while, just as Iris was beginning to wonder if Yuzu, who was leaning against her neck, had fallen asleep, she suddenly felt a faint breeze ruffling the hair at her temples, tickling her as if it were plucking at her heartstrings.

"Sister Yuanchu, you're so gentle! Did you really eat properly while I was away?"

Yuzu's voice was very soft, not only soft but also without much variation in tone, as if she were just asking another question in a calm manner.

"I've already gained 1.5kg."

Yuanchu paused for a moment, her body suddenly tensed, and her pupils contracted sharply, as if she had remembered something. But she relaxed instantly, letting her weight of over sixty kilograms fall on Youzi. She spoke softly, as if she were being coquettish and aggrieved.

"Is that so?"

Yuzu's voice trembled slightly, yet she sounded happy.

"Ah."

.......

It must have been that autumn of 16.

Anma lay on the clean white hospital bed. Her small size, just like Yuanchu's, made her look very thin even when she was lying flat. Years of hard work had made her hands very rough and covered with calluses. The knuckles on her palms were unusually prominent. Yet, it was these hands that had supported Yuanchu.

I also held her hand today.

The young girl's hands were delicate and white. When Anma's rough hands gripped them, it felt like being rubbed with sandpaper, but she still held on tightly, trembling, as if afraid that they would leave her at any moment.

That was the day Anma was given a critical condition notice, and it was also the day Yuanchu felt like the sky had fallen.

At that time, Yuan Chu had just entered the halls of university and had already completed a whole academic year's credits through self-study. She barely made ends meet with the meager monthly salary from her work-study job at the school. Her mother would send her money on time every month, which she accepted but never touched. Instead, she silently saved it up, as if she were saving up love.

She chose economics as her major because she simply believed it would lead to higher earnings, allowing her mother to rest, help pay the mortgage, and so on...

Just as she was full of energy and moving towards her goal, a critical illness notice dragged her from her peaceful and stable campus life to her mother's bedside in a daze.

Back then, that person, just like today, reached out and pinched her shoulder and arm, speaking to her in a casual, almost joking tone, as if she were a normal mother.

"An Ai, have you been eating properly? How come you haven't gained any weight?"

How did she answer that question back then?

Oh, right, she replied, her eyes red and trembling like a little rabbit, as she fought back tears.

"Yes, the school cafeteria has lots of meat, I've gained a lot of weight."

Section 425, Chapter 46: Some words are heavy just to be spoken.

An Ai will never like Xu You.

The kite chick was quite certain of this.

Although the two have gradually become a popular couple because of ESC's unique senior-junior mentoring mechanism and because Yuzu often comes here because she is worried about her.

But An Ai will not like Xu You.

She was really sure of that.

Even knowing that Yuzu wasn't actually a bad girl in the strictest sense, even knowing that this girl was a very nice person, even... I vaguely sensed Yuzu's affection for me.

But An Ai doesn't dare to like Xu You.

Because she couldn't tell if this affection was strong enough, and also because the girl was that person's sister.

So she didn't dare to like Yuzu, but that didn't stop her from feeling a slight flutter in her heart when she heard Yuzu say, "Have you been eating properly lately?"

Whether she dares to love is one thing, whether she can like someone is another, and she can distinguish between the two very clearly.

For Yuzu, the warmth that Yuzu brought her during this time was irreplaceable, a rare moment of comfort that soothed her parched heart.

That's why her eyes welled up with tears, and she thought of her deceased mother.

but. . .

"Sister Yuanchu, why are you crying?"

After a long while, Yuzu felt a slight chill through her thin pajamas, yet it was also warm and reassuring. She cautiously asked, "What's wrong?"

"because."

The young kite's voice was still trembling, carrying a hint of weakness.

"I remembered something from the past."

She sat up and returned to the sofa, pulling Yuzu up with her. She gave a heartbreaking smile, yet with a hint of relief. Perhaps it was this strength that made the smile all the more poignant.

"Does this have anything to do with my sister?"

The short-haired girl lowered her eyes, clearly unwilling to hear anything about her older sister.

"No, that's not true. My senior and I never discussed such in-depth topics."

Yuanchu chuckled and tapped Youzi's head, recalling the bitterness and heartache of that moment just now, and wanted to laugh.

Perhaps she had been lonely for too long, and she herself did not know when her heart had become so fragile. Even such a simple word of concern could bring tears to her eyes. She sniffled and then continued.

"It's about my mom, Yuzu, do you want to hear it? I can tell you about it today."

"I want to hear it!"

Yuzu almost jumped off the sofa, but then immediately realized that her reaction was a little too excited. She shyly scratched her cheek and explained in a low voice.

"I... um... that's not what I meant."

"Yes, yes, I know, I understand."

Yuanchu gently ruffled Youzi's hair until it was all messed up before slowly beginning to tell her old story.

"Actually, there's not much to say now. It's just that I'm still hung up on it because I lost it."

But isn't that true of everyone?

This was probably the first time, and the first time this girl spoke of her past in such a calm yet nostalgic manner, and the first time she spoke of her story as An Ai in the voice and identity of Tobi-chan.

An Ai's story is actually not complicated. Simply put, it's about a girl who was raised by a single mother all by herself, without any relatives or grandparents, yet she grew up quite happily.

Anma is a very gentle and romantic person, which is quite different from Yuanchu.

Therefore, Anma raised Yuanchu not out of a sense of responsibility or for reasons such as raising a child to provide for her in old age. She simply liked Yuanchu, her daughter who was similar to her but not so much like herself, and wanted to watch her grow up, get married, and have children.

If we only go this far, the story, though simple, is still heartwarming.

But what happens next...

An's mother is a very gentle person. Even when she was lying in the hospital bed and personally signed the critical condition notice, she was still concerned about whether An Ai was eating well and whether she had made any friends.

She was so gentle that even in the last ten minutes before she passed away, she was still telling Yuzu to find someone she could entrust her life to and get married.

But it is precisely this gentleness that adds a tragic dimension to the story.

The saying "The tree desires stillness, but the wind never ceases; the child wishes to care for his parents, but they are no longer there" perfectly describes this story.

"Sister Yuanchu..."

Yuzu held Yuanchu's hand tenderly, her emotions rising and falling with Yuanchu's calm yet slightly joking tone. It wasn't until Yuanchu mentioned personally sending the urn containing Anma's ashes into the sea that she spoke in a somewhat dry and hoarse voice.

But when he spoke, he didn't know how to comfort her. In the end, all he could do was hold this girl, whose frail figure was heartbreaking, in his arms and try to give her a sense of security with his body heat.

"Well, it's all in the past, Yuzu, you don't need to worry about it too much."

She should be the one crying because it was something she went through herself, but at this moment it was the opposite; it was Tobi who was gently comforting Yuzu by patting her back.

This is Tobi-Hina, a girl so strong it's heartbreaking.

"How could I not care!"

Yuzu suddenly left Iris's embrace, her red eyes like a child's, her tone stubborn yet adorable.

She looked directly into Iris's eyes and spoke slowly and deliberately, each word distinct and serious.

"I'll move in with you! I'll take care of you from now on! I can cook, do laundry, and give massages. I can take good care of you!"

Looking at the girl she had always treated as her younger sister, Yuan Chu felt a little surprised and taken aback. She opened her mouth as if to jokingly agree, but then suddenly thought of something, and her expression darkened.

Seeing the sudden change in Tobi's expression, Yuzu panicked and realized that what she had just said was a bit off. She quickly stammered an explanation.

"I...I...I didn't mean that! I just...I just wanted to take care of you!"

"Stop fooling around, Xu You."

But Iris simply dodged her hand indifferently, and for the first time called her by her full name, her tone cold and completely unlike her usual self.

Don't blame me, Yuzu-chan.

She silently apologized in her heart, but the words she spoke were like sharp knives piercing Xu You's heart.

"How long can you take care of me? A lifetime? Can you even say that? Do you have the courage to say it?"

I am just...

"..."

She turned and walked toward the bedroom, no longer looking at Xu You, whose expression had instantly darkened, but she eventually stopped and turned back to add a sentence.

"Can you let me consider this matter again after you've made up your mind? For now, forget about today."

[I just don't want to repeat the same mistakes.]

Chapter 426, Section 47: Lin Jiang, well done!

Why couldn't I say it at that moment?

Sitting on the sofa, staring blankly at the tightly closed door, Yuzu couldn't help but question herself.

Is it because there are other people he likes?

No, not at all.