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

She was fully aware that her younger brother still harbored feelings for her and had some secret thoughts about her, but she couldn't deny that his concern for the Yukinoshita family was genuine.

So when things develop further, I still want to share it with him as soon as possible.

The anxiety that had been hanging over us finally died. The information from Minamoto Chiya was confirmed to be true. Most of the political allies who were originally in the same camp as the Yukinoshita family had indeed been bought off and turned against them.

Even if they had some prior knowledge, this was still not good news for the Yukinoshita family.

The Yukinoshita family's original strategic core has been disrupted, and they now have to consider new allies to open up new sources of power, but this is not an easy task.

As for Mr. Yukinoshita, he will abandon his original stance and volunteer to be stationed in the local area by the leader of his party, attend community events, and resolve various livelihood issues. In short, he will avoid the impending public opinion storm to protect himself and wait for other opportunities later.

Gen Chiya had no intention of knowing such detailed internal information about Yukino's family, but Yono insisted on letting him know, and ended up having a long phone conversation with him for more than half an hour.

After finally getting through this kind of conversation, Yuan Qianye took the initiative to help her recall the time she said she would treat everyone to dinner.

She immediately made an excuse that she was very busy recently and would make an appointment later when she had time, which was a very straightforward way of brushing off the call, and then she hung up.

When Yuan Qianye called again, the phone was busy.

You promised so readily, but now you're going back on your word?

He sent such a message.

After waiting for a while, I received no reply.

【I see.】

These four short words, combined with the above context, subtly convey a sense of threat.

And this did indeed have an effect.

Yang Nai was probably afraid that Yuan Qianye might actually do something foolish in a "fight to the death" situation, so she called back with the intention of reassuring him. She patiently explained her work schedule for the past few days, with the time arranged down to the minute, in order to convince Yuan Qianye that she was not deliberately avoiding the issue or lacking sincerity, but was simply too busy to pay attention to anything else.

Yuan Qianye reluctantly accepted her explanation, and they agreed once again that he would definitely make time to fulfill his promise next month.

After hanging up the phone, Yang Nai leaned back in her office chair, looking quite distressed, and gently pinched her brow with her eyes closed.

It's really hard to tell now; the more I try to figure it out, the more confused I get.

Chiya and Yukino, childhood friends whom she had watched grow up, were innocent and should have maintained their ambiguous relationship in silence until a special time, such as when they graduated from high school and their university was decided, when they confessed their feelings to each other and naturally became a couple. After that, they would spend every day in their room during the long vacation, exploring each other's bodies until they were completely exhausted.

As the older sister, she might have sent safety supplies back then, and teased the shy Yukino. Shouldn't this have been a warm and normal development?

How did things end up in this mess?

Even their mother had already tacitly agreed in her heart that Qianye was the perfect life partner for her younger sister. Such an excellent brother-in-law, yet her older sister had snatched him up first...

Thinking back to how she had confidently assured her mother, who was quite worried about the progress of their relationship, that she would take responsibility for her sister's love life, made Yang Nai feel even more guilty.

Being responsible is good, but being too responsible even extends to the bedroom.

I was absolutely insane that night!

Even if you combine the wisdom of everyone in the world, you still wouldn't be able to come up with a reason to excuse yourself and get Yukino to forgive you.

Yang let out a deep sigh.

The only option is to keep it a secret, not only for Yukino's sake and for her own, but also for the sake of the Yukinoshita family's reputation.

If words fail to make him give up completely, then there's no other way but to show him your determination in a more direct way.

Yang Nai thought for a moment and dialed Yukino's number.

July has arrived before we know it, and it's the rainy season. Recently, the sky in Tokyo has been mostly overcast, with light rain falling intermittently for a whole day.

The air felt so moist you could wring water out of it, and clothes were hard to dry even when hung indoors.

There was an indescribable, unpleasant smell in the classrooms and activity rooms.

Even when sitting still, I can feel a sticky, uncomfortable sensation on my body.

The weather wasn't great, but the students' spirits rose higher and higher as time went on.

The reason is simple: following the school festival, the second most anticipated event of the first semester of high school is about to begin.

The summer vacation, which will last for a month and a half, will begin in mid-July and continue until early September!

Yuan Qianye had made arrangements for the summer vacation a long time ago, and he was quite looking forward to it.

However, before that, there is one very important thing that needs to be arranged first.

On the draft paper on his desk, he wrote "July 7th" in rather messy handwriting and drew a circle around it to emphasize the date.

He was deeply moved when Kazusa took the initiative to ask her mother to help with the music revisions for the movie prepared for the school festival. This led him to come up with the idea of ​​inviting Kazusa to dinner on Tanabata, the seventh day of the seventh lunar month.

Perhaps the conditions and atmosphere are just right, and if he takes the initiative, they can take their relationship to the next level.

That was the original plan, but shortly afterward, he never expected that his side would make such rapid progress with Yang Nai.

It's important to know that July 7th is not only the Qixi Festival, but also Yang Nai's birthday.

The originally planned arrangements clashed with unexpected circumstances, which caused a dilemma and conflict.

However difficult it may be, Yuan Qianye doesn't think it's a big deal.

As for the arrangements with Kazusa, this was a plan he made unilaterally without consulting her, so it doesn't matter if the date is changed at the last minute.

Although I feel a little guilty, I'll make it up to her later.

That was what Yuan Qianye thought, and she officially decided on the itinerary for July 7th.

But he soon realized what it meant for things not to go as planned.

During lunch break, the Service Club members Erika and Yukino all gathered together.

From their conversation, Yuan Qianye learned a piece of news that caught him completely off guard.

"A live performance of the festival program?" he asked in surprise.

Rikka took the lollipop out of her mouth and nodded vigorously: "That's right, let's go cheer for Kazusa together this Sunday, on Tanabata."

"Wait, explain yourselves more clearly first," Yuan Qianye tried to clarify the situation.

“It’s a live music performance planned by the Summer Festival Executive Committee.” Yukino explained calmly, “From what Kazusa said, the organizers approached her mother and invited her to perform, but her aunt couldn’t attend due to other commitments, so she recommended Kazusa instead.”

Rikka quickly added, "It'll be on the night of Qixi Festival, at the open-air stage in the city center park!"

Eriri also seemed quite excited: "Although Kazusa herself said it was an insignificant performance, we all wanted to be there to support her, and after she finished, we would all go to pray, write tangrams, and browse the shops together."

Unlike the major Eastern countries, the core of Japan's Qixi Festival is not for couples to celebrate love, but rather for writing wishes on colorful paper slips, decorating them with bamboo branches, and praying for dreams to come true.

"By the way, brother, Saeko-nee also promised to come along. You must remember to keep it a secret, we all want to give Kazusa a surprise!" Rikka sat in her seat, holding her chin with both hands, looking very expectant, the lollipop in her mouth swirling around.

"I see... I understand, don't worry." Yuan Qianye's voice was tinged with a hint of unease.

"Yes, yes, we've thought it all out. We'll buy the flowers and dolls in advance and deliver them to Kazusa as soon as she finishes her performance."

Rikka and Eriri were happily planning their Sunday night activities, implicitly including Minamoto Chiya in their conversation, completely unaware of the strange change in the other person's expression.

However, Yukino keenly sensed this predicament.

Seeing Yuan Qianye get up and go to the window, she took the empty teacup to the kettle to pour water, and then leaned closer to him and asked softly,

"What's wrong? You don't have time again on Sunday night?"

The word "again" seems very clever.

The second young lady's expression and tone were perfectly normal, but upon closer examination, they seemed to carry a rather faint hint of disappointment and dissatisfaction.

After all, he had declined a group activity last time, citing other commitments.

Although everyone had a lot of fun even without him, looking back, those otherwise happy memories somehow feel like something is missing.

"It's not that I don't have time, but I have other plans for Sunday night," Yuan Qianye said with some difficulty.

Yukino nodded. She had anticipated his answer from his expression earlier, so it wasn't surprising: "Since there are other arrangements, there's nothing I can do. I'll explain to them later."

"They'll definitely be very disappointed."

"We can't make it in terms of timing, but they will understand."

"..."

Yuan Qianye remained silent, scratching his head in distress.

Yukino glanced at him, then picked up her teacup and prepared to return to her seat.

"Wait a minute." Yuan Qianye called out to her in a low voice, "Don't say anything, I'll go with you on Sunday night."

"Didn't you say you had plans?"

"Time is like water in a sponge; you can always squeeze some out."

"Won't this interfere with your work?"

"It will cause some delays, but it's not a big deal. I can't miss every event. If I miss too many, I'll lose all my points in front of the minister."

"In my opinion, your score was already negative when you announced that you were dating two girlfriends at the same time."

After Yukino finished speaking, she turned and left, returning to Rikka and Eriri's side.

The final words were somewhat blunt, but the underlying emotions were still predominantly positive.

Yuan Qianye continued to gaze at the rain outside the window, secretly calculating the time.

Generally speaking, festival celebrations don't go too late, because no one will specifically watch them if it's too late; they're usually concentrated around 6, 7, or 8 pm.

After that, they seemed to have arranged to go shopping together, a process that could take a long time and might drag on until very late.

However, as long as he waits until he has met Kazusa once, and then says he has something to do and leaves, he believes that no one else will say anything.

They might be especially touched by the fact that he took time out of his busy schedule to spend time with them. It's a little bit of a calculated move, but there's nothing that can be done about it.

As for Yang Nai, he absolutely had to meet her before midnight, otherwise it would be pointless and he would have to wait until next year.

He didn't want to miss this opportunity.

After thinking it over, he felt there was nothing wrong with it. Although the time was a bit tight, he could still manage.

The phone suddenly vibrated at that moment.

He took it out to examine it.

It was a message from the maid.

Upon seeing what the other party had posted, his previously calmed emotions finally overwhelmed him.

【Miss has plans to stay overnight at a friend's house on Sunday. I saw her off at 6 PM and then I had some free time. Qianye, if you're free, would you like to go out for a stroll together, something we haven't done in a while?】