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

"Speculation and specific inquiries are two different things."

"If things really turn out exactly as Mom suspects, what do you plan to do then?"

“You young people should make your own decisions. Besides, I’ve already handed over the family business to you, haven’t I?”

Yang sighed cryptically, then nodded as if burdened by a heavy weight.

"Okay, I understand."

The mother and daughter were having a cryptic conversation, leaving Xue's father completely baffled.

"What are you talking about? What do you mean you can guess? What is the reason Yukino is acting this way?"

"Alright, honey, let the children handle their own affairs. We just need to guide them a little."

The problem is that I didn't even realize I was leading anything. From beginning to end, it was just an encrypted conversation between you and your daughter that only you could understand!

Because of his position in the family, Xue's father only dared to grumble in his heart.

After dinner, Yang knocked on the door and went to her sister's room.

Yukino sat at the desk, as expected.

She glanced toward the door, and seeing that it was just her sister alone, she turned her gaze toward the desk.

Yang Nai walked over, placed a small plate of cut fruit on the desk, and leaned down to look at it.

"Hey~ You've already self-studied up to the second year of high school curriculum. As expected of my sister, you're so hardworking that no one needs to urge you on. But while that's great, you still need to balance work and rest. Be careful not to make those who care about you worry."

Yukino put down her pen and looked at the fruit her sister had set down.

"Did your mother ask you to come?"

"Not bad, you have a keen eye for detail. Now that you know, have you thought about telling me about your worries?"

"..."

Yukino shook her head silently.

Since entering the room, Yang Nai had been wearing a relaxed and confident smile: "Do you not want to talk about it, or do you mean that nothing of the sort happened?"

Yukino sighed softly and said helplessly, "It's getting late. Sister, are you sure you're okay if you don't hurry back? Your school is so far from home."

"Thank you for your concern, but you don't need to worry about that. You haven't answered my question yet, so don't try to change the subject."

"Sister, we're not children anymore. We shouldn't act like we used to. We should maintain a certain distance and sense of propriety between each other, draw clear boundaries, and preserve each other's basic privacy, right?"

“What you said is true, but you have to understand, we are family,” Yang Nai reminded her.

Yukino replied, "Even if they are family, my feelings haven't changed."

"Oh—~"

Yukino turned and walked to the bookshelf; Yukino couldn't see the expression on her face.

"According to your argument, this means that if anything happens between us sisters in the future, unless we are willing to talk about it ourselves, the other person cannot ask us about it."

"I hope that we can maintain this relationship of mutual respect in the future."

"Now the problem is, what should I do about the thing my mother asked me to do?"

Yang Nai shrugged.

"As for your father, given your recent behavior, they simply can't feel at ease. You said that even family members need to maintain a certain level of privacy, but at the same time, don't make your family worry about you. That's the most basic thing you should do."

"Just tell Mom the truth. As for me... I'll adjust myself gradually." Yukino was speechless and responded after a moment of silence.

“Okay, since you think it’s better for us sisters to maintain a certain level of privacy, I won’t force you anymore. But as you just said, we sisters need to maintain a certain distance and sense of boundaries, so no matter who I call next…”

Haruno sat on the edge of Yukino's bed, took out her phone, and gently tossed it up and caught it steadily under Yukino's gaze.

"...It should be fine, right?"

From the perspective of what Yukino just said, there is no problem.

Because that is indeed Yang Nai's personal freedom.

From Yukino's perspective, even if she cared, she couldn't refute or stop her older sister's actions.

However, the fact that Yang Nai chose to say these words at this time made the deliberate provocation all the more obvious.

"Okay, but please go outside to play. I need to study."

"Okay, okay~ You have to finish your fruit."

Yang responded lazily and slowly walked towards the door, but the phone call had already been made.

As she deliberately dawdled, the call she made was answered, and she took the opportunity to stop walking.

"Good evening, Qianye."

"I can't call you unless it's something special, just to chat. Oh, by the way, I went home today, and Yukino is right next to me."

As Yang Nai heard Yuan Qianye's next request on the other end of the phone, she turned around with a bright smile.

"Yukino, Chiya has something he wants to tell you."

Yukino didn't even look up.

"Tell him to just send a message if there's anything you need. I'm studying right now and don't have time."

Yang put the phone back to her ear.

"That's what she said, you heard it, right? Actually, I'm not an outsider, you can tell me if you need anything, and I'll pass it on for you...hehehe~"

It seemed that Yuan Qianye on the other end of the phone had said something nice, which made Yang Nai laugh out loud happily.

Yukino's knuckles, gripping the pen tightly, turned slightly white.

Yang also understood the principle of moderation and that too much of anything is as bad as too little.

So the next moment, he waved to his sister, left the room, and gently closed the door behind him.

As her sister's voice faded into the distance outside the room, Yukino stared at the workbook in front of her, her mind a jumbled mess, unable to concentrate at all.

After a while, she silently opened the drawer and took out the pendant that Qianye had given her when she went abroad three years ago.

Mr. Pan's panda head design is so cute!

When she first arrived abroad, she bought a lanyard and wore it with her every day.

Later, she discovered that silver jewelry would naturally oxidize and turn black after being worn for a long time, so she took it off and carefully stored it in a small box.

When she feels lonely or down abroad, she takes out the pendant, holds it in her palm for a while, and recalls the words he said to her when they parted and the expression on his face when he gave her this farewell gift. A new sense of motivation then wells up in her heart.

But now, right this Monday—

"I'm dating other girls."

"More than one."

"It's Saeko and Utaha."

Three sentences.

The power of each sentence is greater than the last.

For the past three days, whenever Yukino thought about that Monday afternoon break, she felt as if a muffled thunderclap was ringing in her head, and her mind went completely blank.

It was as if I had been sucked into a black hole; for a moment, I was so confused and lost that I even forgot my own existence.

I remember that was her response back then.

She just stared at him blankly until he finished speaking, his lips still, casting a look of both heartache and worry over his face. Only then did she let out a wooden "Ah."

Why did things turn out this way?

And then there's... the way he deliberately said those things, before that he said those ambiguous things to me, and even held my hand so intimately.

So what exactly does that mean?

You're already with another girl, aren't you?

Looking back on their nearly ten-year friendship, they recalled all the happy, warm, and unspoken moments they shared.

Yukino put the pendant away, placed it at the very back of the drawer, locked the door, lay down on the bed, and let the torrent of negative emotions surge within her.

She had already been holding Mr. Pan's life-size doll in her arms, but in the end she pushed it aside and hugged a pillow instead.

"We've pretty much confirmed it with Yukino; it seems she and Chiya had a falling out."

In the Yukino family's tea room, Haruno was reporting to her mother about her younger sister's situation.

"Has Yukino had an open and honest conversation with you?"

"Given her personality, it's unlikely. It was more like a test."

"As far as I can remember, this is the first time they've had such an obvious disagreement."

"After all, we're not kids anymore, this is part of growing up."

"Hearing these words from you makes me feel quite conflicted."

"Aren't you quite pleased?"

Snow Mother smiled gently, neither confirming nor denying: "In short, in your opinion, there's not much of a problem?"

Yang Naiye smiled easily: "Yes, at least that's what I think."

"Does that mean I don't have to worry at all?"

"Yes, there's no need to worry so much. Yukino isn't such a delicate child, as you know."

What are your plans for the future?

"Let Yukino handle things for now. I'll talk to Chiya later and give them a little push if I can. There shouldn't be any problems."

"If anything interesting happens during that time..."

"Don't worry, I'll share it with you, Mom, as soon as possible. I'm going to rest now."

"Ah."

As Yang Nai left the tea room and closed the door, her gentle smile gradually faded until she became completely calm.

She let out a soft breath.

You lied to your mother...