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

Of course, it's also possible that this person was sent by the Shinomiya main family to monitor him. After all, a "double agent" is not trusted no matter which side they are on.

However, regardless of whether the actual situation is any of the above, it is not good news for Hayasaka Ai.

"I'm sorry for getting you involved in this." Hayasaka Ai felt very guilty. She had been so careless, not even noticing that someone was following her. It was a serious dereliction of duty.

Fortunately, Qianye noticed it unintentionally; otherwise, if this incident had triggered a chain reaction that caused him trouble or even harm, she probably would never have forgiven herself.

Yuan Qianye asked, "What exactly happened? You don't seem surprised."

Hayasaka Ai said casually, "Well, after all, I work in a large family like Shinomiya's, and I'm so close to such noble ladies, so it's inevitable that such situations will happen from time to time, but it's not a big problem."

"You just casually said something very impressive. Isn't being followed by someone with bad intentions a big deal?"

"You'll get used to it after a while. Besides, it's not necessarily because they have ulterior motives. The situation isn't as serious as you think. However, today's date may have to end here."

Hayasaka Ai was actually quite greedy and wanted to continue shopping with him. It wasn't too late yet, and there were still many things she wanted to experience with him.

But the current situation doesn't allow it. No matter what, it's impossible to maintain the previous carefree state until the specific purposes of the people following behind are clear.

She couldn't let her momentary whims override Qianye's personal safety.

"Listen to me, Qianye. We'll leave here normally, pretending we didn't notice anything. Once we get to a crowded place, we'll find a chance to shake them off."

[Young lady, Hayasaka met a boy at a plaza near the festival.]

[Young lady, Hayasaka and that boy are strolling around the festival streets, and they both seem to be having a great time.]

【Young Miss, it seems something came up with the boy; the two of them have separated temporarily. I've sent others to follow them.】

【I'm so sorry, Miss, there were so many people at the festival, we lost track of that boy…】

In a luxurious mansion in the suburbs of Tokyo, in a pink-themed princess room, a girl holding a deck of cards looks at her friend who keeps checking her phone and pouts, saying unhappily, "You finally come to my house to play, Kaguya-chan, stop looking at your phone all the time. Do you think it's boring to play with me?"

Kaguya Shinomiya snapped out of her reverie upon hearing this, temporarily putting down her phone and casually drawing a card from the other person's hand: "It's not like that. It's just that I suddenly have some other very important matters to attend to tonight."

"What's wrong?" asked the girl with pink hair, matching the room's main color scheme.

"Um... I'm sorry, it's not convenient for me to talk to you about this. It's a family matter." Since Kaguya Shinomiya said it was a family matter, the girl didn't feel comfortable pressing for more information.

Afterwards, Kaguya Shinomiya temporarily locked her phone and, feeling a little more at ease, played the Joker game with her friend for a while longer.

However, her inner self was not as calm as she appeared.

really!

Just as I suspected, Hayasaka wasn't going to see her mother; she was going to see a man!

I knew it... I knew it!

Miss Shinomiya's girlish heart was screaming, and the chibi-style figure held her burning face and twisted back and forth.

To think that someone could develop a crush without ever saying a word, and might even be officially dating someone... Unforgivable! How could they not tell me something so important? Do they even care about me as a friend?!

I'm definitely going to have to interrogate her when I get back and find out who that guy really is!

After Kaguya Shinomiya finished her card game with her best friend, she took a break to go to the bathroom and took out her phone again, and her eyes widened once more.

"Young lady, that boy has appeared again. Hayasaka is sitting with him on the grass, away from the crowd, watching the fireworks."

【Young Miss, the two of them went into the tent together. We can't observe what's going on inside. Please give us specific instructions on what to do next.】

When giving instructions that afternoon, Kaguya Shinomiya explicitly stated that they only needed to reply with messages throughout the entire tracking process.

So the people there have been following her orders and dare not disobey on their own, which is why the latest message was sent five minutes ago.

As the child of a powerful financial family, Kaguya Shinomiya was well protected from a young age, and could be described as a completely sheltered young lady.

Even so, she could understand what it meant for boys and girls to share a room in a small space!

Her face flushed red again, and her fingers trembled as she dialed her subordinate's number.

"Young Miss," the other person said very respectfully.

"What's happening right now? What's the situation?" She held her phone, her voice trembling as she spoke.

"They're still inside the tent and haven't made a sound. Should we go over and check on them?"

"No, no need!" Kaguya Shinomiya immediately denied it. She wasn't quite sure why she denied it, but that was what she said anyway.

"you……"

"Young Miss! They're coming out!"

"Huh?"

"They walked side by side in another direction, seemingly heading to the festival site."

"Keep following, and report back to me if anything happens."

"Yes, Miss!"

After the call ended, Kaguya Shinomiya gripped her phone tightly. A few moments later, she looked at herself in the mirror and belatedly touched her face, finding it surprisingly hot to the touch.

She fanned herself repeatedly with her palms to calm herself down before leaving the bathroom.

Not long after that, her phone alerted her again.

Fortunately, she was watching TV with her friends, so she could simply take out her phone to check.

Her friend was intently watching the TV screen, and since she had a privacy screen protector on her phone—one that Hayasaka had recommended to her—she wasn't worried about her friend discovering the contents of her phone and simply opened it to view them.

【I'm so sorry, Miss. There were so many people at the festival, we accidentally lost them. I've already sent others out to search for them.】

Kaguya Shinomiya thought for a moment and then typed a reply.

No need, tell everyone to stop work and come straight back.

[Understood, Miss.]

The nearest underground tram station for the Qixi Festival.

"Let's part ways here. I had a lot of fun today, and I actually wanted to play a little longer, but I can't cause you any more trouble." Hayasaka Ai put her hands behind her back.

Yuan Qianye looked at her with concern: "Are you really okay? Those people really didn't mean you any harm?"

“I wasn’t sure when you first told me, but after we came out, I took a look back and saw a familiar face at the Shinomiya Villa, where I work, responsible for security. Now I’m sure I know who’s behind them doing this.”

"The young lady you're in charge of taking care of?" Yuan Qianye asked uncertainly.

"Hmm, she doesn't mean me any harm. Her behavior today is probably just out of concern or curiosity." Hayasaka Ai said this with a smile, but she had already planned how to give this young lady a good "torture" when she got back.

You ruined a date you were really looking forward to, and the great atmosphere was completely destroyed. Now there's no way to make amends.

Most importantly, she didn't want to cause any more trouble for Yuan Qianye.

She still doesn't know if Qianye has been recognized by those who were following him. After all, he is quite famous, and his handsome face has appeared in major newspapers and news media.

Even so, she still wanted to think in a better direction.

After all, Chiya is only famous in a specific field, and does not have the national recognition of heavyweight singers or actors such as Masami Nagasawa or Masato Sakai.

What if it's just a coincidence that he wasn't recognized and his true identity with the young lady hasn't been revealed yet?

Therefore, that concludes today.

If you didn't have enough fun this time, you can make up for it next time.

This time it was Qianye who brought her a surprise; next time, she will have to return the favor with an even bigger gift.

"I have to go straight back and have a good talk with my young lady about this." As she could hear the train approaching, Hayasaka Ai waved gently at him.

“Okay, see you next time then.” Yuan Qianye did not hesitate.

The previous concerns and vigilance regarding Haika Hayasaka were relieved after she unilaterally confirmed that everything was alright.

"Give me your address for all the gifts I sent you, and I'll mail them all to you directly."

"Yes, thank you so much for this." Hayasaka Ai looked at him gently: "This is the happiest birthday gift I've ever received."

"I found out." Yuan Qianye seemed a little uncomfortable.

Hayasaka Ai's gaze softened even more.

You'll find out; the moment you see me, you've already fully realized it.

Nine stalls.

Nine gifts.

This means that he has filled in the nine years of blank time that were missing between their first meeting and their reunion in the vast sea of ​​people, leaving no regrets.

"I will cherish it."

"There's no need to cherish it so much. Just use it normally. After all, you'll receive one every year in the future."

The tram has arrived at the station.

The maid turned to leave, but after taking only two steps, she immediately turned back and ran to Yuan Qianye, standing on tiptoe, her soft lips approaching with a fragrant breeze.

The warm touch that Yuan Qianye felt on the side of her face was fleeting.

After making this gesture, the maid lowered her head and ran away silently, never looking back. Only after the tram started moving did she wave vigorously through the transparent window to Yuan Qianye, who was still watching her go.

Gen Chiya returned the same gesture, and only slowly lowered her hand after the train had completely left.

He touched the spot where the maid had just kissed him, realizing that he seemed to be carrying some extra weight again.

However, he did not see it as a burden; on the contrary, it strengthened his resolve to take the path he wanted to take in the future.

To become a respected, wealthy, and powerful person, detached from worldly affairs, and worthy of them, is destined to be extraordinary!

Instead of taking another tram home as the maid had suggested, he walked out of the tram station and headed towards the center of the festival.

After seeing off Yang Nai and Ai, there is now a third group of people waiting for him.

However, compared to the two of them, Yukino and Kazusa's situation is much easier to handle.

After reuniting, he seemingly unintentionally revealed that he had sponsored the fireworks show at the festival, and then said that he had been called away by the festival staff to take care of some things. With such a simple excuse, he easily got away with it.

Everyone was stunned when they heard the specific amount of money he had sponsored.

As for why he spent so much money to sponsor the fireworks show for the Qixi Festival, Yuan Qianye explained that he wanted to make the festival more spectacular.

From a macro perspective, his answer was very sincere; for him, tonight's festival was indeed both exciting and thrilling.

Everything went smoothly for Yang Nai, but things went wrong with the maid. A group of people suddenly appeared and followed her, forcing him to change his original plan. He almost lost a lot of his brain cells, but thankfully everything went smoothly, allowing her to return home happily with a slight regret.

However, those who had no idea what he had done in the past hour or so obviously could not accept such a vague explanation.