In crossover anime, who isn't a childhood friend?

Yukino frowned and immediately said sternly, "This isn't expensive at all, it's such a waste. You could have just bought a bracelet at Muji or Mitsukoshi Department Store, you didn't need to spend so much money."

If he dares to give me such an expensive gift now, what will he be like in the years to come?

"..."

Yuan Qianye is quite helpless now.

If she's already so conscious of controlling her spending now, what will she be like in the future?

"Well, Yukino-san, I'm not like I used to be. I'm quite well-off now." Minamoto Chiyo felt it was necessary to tell her this fact.

"That won't do either. Your money is hard-earned, so you should save it for future use... for unforeseen circumstances."

At this point, Yukino's expression softened.

"I'm very grateful that you remembered my birthday, Qianye. I appreciate your thoughtfulness, thank you. But you can just take the item back. As long as the jewelry isn't damaged and you still have the payment record and receipt, you should be able to return it."

Oh no, how come Xue La A Miao is showing such a virtuous wife and loving mother side?

Looks are secondary; what I can't resist is a good woman with such virtuous character...

Yuan Qianye deliberately feigned some irritation, lightly clicked his tongue, and tapped his fingers rapidly back and forth on the table, revealing his inner impatience.

Seeing this, Yukino seemed to realize that her rejection had upset him. Just as she was feeling uneasy and was about to say a few more sweet words to coax him, Minamoto Chiyo sighed softly and then nodded slowly as if she had been persuaded.

"Since you've put it that way, I understand..."

Yukino breathed a sigh of relief.

It wasn't that she was pretending to be reserved; it was just that she really couldn't accept a birthday gift worth over 200,000 yuan with a clear conscience.

She could vaguely foresee that if she accepted this gift, the actual price of any gifts Qianye would give her would likely increase year by year.

We can't let this get started; we must reject it now and nip it in the bud.

More than the gift, she valued the fact that Chiya remembered her birthday every year; that alone made her happy.

But Yuan Qianye didn't finish speaking.

"...However, I bought this bracelet from a handmade shop. Although I kept the receipt and everything, the shop assistant clearly told me when I left the shop, 'Once these handmade products leave the store, they cannot be returned unless there is a quality or defect that is not caused by human error.' I nodded to indicate that I understood, so I think I can't get a refund."

"And if you don't accept it, what am I supposed to do with this thing if I take it back? I'm a man, I can't use this women's bracelet."

He opened the box, as if to show it off, and placed the bracelet neatly in his palm, looking quite troubled.

Yukino's gaze was involuntarily drawn to his palm. She quickly realized this and hurriedly covered it up by making a drinking motion.

"Then... you can take it back yourself, Auntie should like it."

“I don’t think my mom will like this. The style of this bracelet is more youthful and simple, which matches the temperament of young, cute and pretty girls. Although my mom is also very pretty, she is not the right age for it.”

Cute... Pretty...

Yukino blushed slightly, turned to look out the French windows, and spoke again.

"Then you can give it to ten flowers or six flowers."

Yuan Qianye shook his head repeatedly.

"Rika is out of the question. Her personality is so-so, and she might lose her one day. Toka probably won't take her either, since she'll be taking care of Chiyo for a long time to come, bathing her, changing her diapers, and wearing a bracelet on her wrist is inconvenient and there's a small chance she might scratch Chiyo."

"Then you... keep it for yourself for now."

At this point, Yukino had no better ideas and could only offer this suggestion, which she herself felt was somewhat unreasonable.

However, Yuan Qianye did nod. He put the bracelet back in the box and closed it.

"We'll see. What are your plans for this afternoon?"

"Nothing's wrong. My mom told me before I left that I should just go home before dinner."

"In that case, let's go to the Muji store you mentioned later. It's nearby. I still need to give you a birthday present. Didn't you say you'd just buy me a bracelet there? Let's pick one out."

Muji is a Japanese chain department store brand that sells all sorts of things at relatively low and affordable prices.

Of course, in contrast, the quality of the goods inside can only be described as average, and it is far from being high-end.

Yukino nodded, having no objection to it.

Although she felt it was unnecessary, she had already rejected him once, and she couldn't very well reject him again.

Qianye's insistence was all for her sake, which was a sign that he cared.

It's actually quite touching to think about it...

The two walked out of the restaurant and strolled side by side along the roadside.

Yukino had held back from asking earlier, but now she was still a little concerned: "What exactly did you mean by 'we'll see'? You're not planning to sell it, are you?"

"Hmm?" Yuan Qianye looked at her strangely, then patted his pocket containing the bracelet: "I'm not selling it. If I were to sell jewelry, I would lose a lot of money. I'm planning to give it to Shiyu. After all, a bracelet is just something to wear on your wrist for decoration. If it just sits at home collecting dust, then all my money will have been wasted."

"?!!!"

Yukino suddenly stopped in her tracks.

Yuan Qianye chuckled inwardly, but after taking two steps, he realized what was happening and turned back to look at her, puzzled: "What's wrong?"

What's wrong……

How dare you ask what happened?!

She took me to a discount store to buy a gift, but then she's going to give that guy an expensive item worth over 200,000 yuan?!

However, Yukino simply couldn't say such a thing at that moment.

Because she was the one who refused before, and she was also the one who said that gifts from discount stores were good.

She's built up the persona of a caring friend who worries about her friends spending too much money and being wasteful. Now, if she shows even the slightest dissatisfaction, she's fighting with her past self. How contradictory! It's almost unsolvable!

Therefore, she could only keep a straight face and stubbornly hold it in.

"It's nothing, just asking."

This answer sounded as if it were being squeezed out through gritted teeth.

Yuan, a social butterfly who is usually very perceptive and has an excellent ability to read people's expressions, was completely unaware of the Second Miss's obvious change in expression from ten steps away.

He didn't offer any words of comfort, but instead led her into Muji with a smile all the way.

The store was quite lively, mostly with young people, including quite a few junior and senior high school students in school uniforms.

After all, it's a department store that focuses on high-quality products at low prices, so it's normal for its customer base to be like this.

"The store smells quite nice." Upon entering the store, Yuan Qianye immediately noticed the mixed scent of cosmetic samples and perfume products.

"..." Yukino remained silent, simply following silently beside him.

"But it's too fragrant, the smell is a bit overpowering."

"..." Yukino still didn't seem inclined to pay him any attention.

Chiya continued talking to herself, "Let me see where the accessories section is... Ah, found it, Yukino, let's go."

"..." Get lost, you big idiot!

"Take a look, what do you think of this one?"

Chiya took a liking to a bracelet wrapped in plastic film and handed it to Yukino.

Yukino glanced at him, her already unfriendly expression turning even more gloomy, and an increasingly cold, winter-like aura emanated from her.

That bracelet was priced at 790 yuan. The workmanship was so rough that you could see the metal shavings on the edge of the chain even without looking closely. It was obviously made in a small workshop.

For the refined second young lady, she wouldn't really want something like this even if it were given to her for free, let alone wear it on her wrist. It's completely different from the bracelet that Yuan Qianye just took out.

"I don't like it." Yuan Qianye tilted her head, put the item back in its place, stared at the shelf for a moment, then took another one and handed it to Yukino for her opinion.

The price of the goods has gone up to over a thousand this time, and the quality is slightly better, but only slightly better. The rough workmanship and outdated style are still hard to hide.

Yukino couldn't bear to look, and remained silent, continuing to walk forward along the passageway on her own this time.

Yuan Qianye suppressed a laugh, knowing that it was almost done, but it still needed a final touch, so he quickly followed.

"If you don't like any of the ones I pick, you can choose one yourself. Don't worry, I'll naturally pay for your birthday present."

"……Need not."

"Oh, by the way, I want to ask you for a favor."

"……explain."

"It just so happens that Shiyu's birthday is coming up soon. I was thinking of giving her that bracelet that you didn't want earlier as a birthday present. It will save me the trouble of picking out a gift for her. Please keep this a secret for me. Don't let it slip that it was a gift for you that you didn't want and that I gave it to her. That would be impolite."

"!!!"

Yukino was truly furious this time, her blood rushing to her head, and she really couldn't hold back anymore.

"I'm going back!"

Yukino turned to leave, but Chiyo noticed that her voice sounded a little off and quickly grabbed her wrist.

"Let me go." She leaned forward, unwilling to turn her head.

Yuan Qianye didn't let go and turned to face her. Although Yukino tried to turn her head away to avoid it, he still saw clearly that her eyelids were lowered and her eyelashes were trembling, as if she was about to shed tears at any moment.

This……

"Yukino, you..."

"I want to go home."

Yukino repeated herself, and although she glared at him trying to express a tough attitude like "I'm angry and not to be trifled with," it didn't mean anything to Chiyo.

I just felt that her pitiful appearance made her all the more endearing.

"Why go home?"

If Yuan Qianye realized this and then tried to send her back now, he would truly be an absolute idiot.

"Didn't we agree to buy you a gift?"

"I don't want it anymore."

I want to give it to you.

"I wouldn't take it even if it were given to me for free."

The two engaged in an extremely childish conversation.