Tokyo: Oreimo

If the younger sister were to tell her mother that she was so angry about her brother's relationship, the mother would definitely misunderstand.

Mieko sighed and took off her apron, folding it neatly.

"This can't go on, Ryosuke." She looked over. "Don't go out today, stay home and keep her company."

Listening to his mother Mieko's words, Ryosuke nodded with a wry smile.

.....

Ryosuke went back to his room to change his clothes, then walked to Ayano's door and knocked twice.

"Ling Nai."

no respond.

As expected, it was still the same, but this time he tentatively turned the doorknob and found that the door was not locked.

"Ok?"

Ryosuke was taken aback. This was different from when he was throwing a tantrum before. The door had been locked tight a while ago.

Have you forgotten?

"I'm coming in."

When I opened the door, Ling Nai was sitting at the desk by the window, holding a pencil in her hand and drawing paper spread out in front of her, as if she was drawing something.

Hearing the door open, her shoulders visibly stiffened, but she didn't turn around.

"I told you not to knock on my door or enter my room without permission... Never mind, you won't listen no matter how many times I tell you."

The voice was much calmer than yesterday, without any sharpness or deliberate indifference, just a very ordinary tone tinged with a hint of helplessness.

Ryosuke walked in and stood beside her.

The room was quiet, with only the faint sound of a pencil scratching across paper.

Ryosuke glanced at the drawing paper. Ryosuke was drawing a profile. The lines were very soft, and you could see the outline of a woman, but it wasn't finished yet, so you couldn't tell who it was.

"You passed by my door last night, didn't you?" he suddenly asked.

The pencil paused for a moment.

"...Just passing by."

"It stopped at my door for a few seconds."

"...My leg just went numb, so I stopped to move around a bit."

"You always pause unconsciously before lying, it's easy to tell."

Ling Nai finally turned around and glared at him, "Are you a pervert? Observing girls' habits like this..."

"I didn't observe her specifically, because she's my younger sister, someone I spend all my time with."

Ryosuke shrugged.

After living under the same roof for two years, he knew Ling Nai's little habits and temperament very well.

"Were you saying those things in anger yesterday? Like terminating the cooperation and stuff."

Ling Nai's fingers trembled slightly.

"I think I am the person who understands you best besides your father."

Ryosuke continued, "You used to be like this every time you got angry. When you couldn't see the ending of the script, after that accident, you always liked to say hurtful things."

“If we didn’t know each other well enough, I might have gotten angry at what you said.”

What exactly are you trying to say?

Ling Nai muttered something.

"He's been talking to himself ever since he came in, acting like he knows me so well. I've already told him, don't mess with me anymore."

"I wasn't saying anything out of anger, I just simply don't want to cooperate anymore."

Ryosuke paused for a moment and took a deep breath.

"If it's because of what happened between me and Saori..."

"You don't need to explain to me!"

Ling Nai put the pencil in her hand on the table, turned her chair around, and turned her back to Ryosuke.

"...You don't need to explain your relationship with the Giantess to me."

"She's fine. As the younger sister, I have no objection to the two of you being together."

"Then why are you angry?"

After saying those things last night, Ryosuke simply won't believe you if you say you don't care.

"Because I..."

Ling Nai's voice stopped abruptly.

"never mind."

Ling Nai suddenly turned back, picked up her pencil again, lowered her head, focused all her attention on the drawing paper, shrugged her shoulders slightly, and adopted a posture of refusing to communicate.

"There's nothing to say. Go to the company. Aren't you rushing to meet a deadline?"

"I'm not going today."

"why?"

"My hand hurts, I can't hold a pen."

Ling Nai paused on the paper with her pen, drawing an extra line.

"...Serves you right."

The sound was very soft and non-aggressive.

Ryosuke looked at her profile. The morning light shone in through the window, casting a thin halo on her golden hair. Her eyelashes trembled slightly, and there were still traces of tears at the corners of her eyes.

Why are you crying again?

He didn't seem to say anything too offensive, did he?

It's true that a young girl's thoughts are hard to guess, but this is way too hard to guess.

Ryosuke placed his hand on the back of the chair behind the girl, sighed, and planned to leave after saying his last words. It might take some time to coax her back.

Thinking this, he called out to the other person again.

"Ling Nai."

"What's wrong now?"

"I will not stop being your brother because of anyone."

The pencil stopped completely.

The air in the room seemed to have frozen.

Ling Nai lowered her head, her bangs covering her eyes, only her lips could be seen slightly pursed, tightly pursed, as if she was desperately holding back something.

"I know," her voice was muffled. "I know, I know about these things..."

"If you know, that's good. Can't we just continue getting along like before?"

"But that's not enough."

Ling Nai suddenly raised her head, and tears finally fell, one by one, onto the drawing paper, blurring a small patch of the pencil lines.

"What brothers, what family... that's not enough..."

She wiped her tears haphazardly with the back of her hand, but they kept flowing back down, no matter what she did.

"I am... a selfish and willful person... I have been from the very beginning."

"I know I shouldn't think like this... I know that saying it will bother you..."

"But I..."

She bit her lip, her voice growing softer and softer until it was almost squeezed out of her throat.

"I think... I see you as more than just a brother..."

After saying that, she seemed to have used up all her strength; her shoulders slumped, she covered her face with her hands, and tears seeped through her fingers.

Only her suppressed sobs remained in the room.

Chapter 186 Because You're Crying

Ryosuke stood there, his mind blank.

"Ling Nai..."

Don't look at me!

Ling Nai's voice, muffled behind her hand, was choked with sobs, "Get out...please, get out..."

This was the first time Ryosuke had ever seen Ling Nai so vulnerable, and the first time he had ever heard her utter the word "beg".

He remained silent for a few seconds.

Then he reached out, pulled out two tissues from the side, and handed them to her.

Ling Nai saw the tissue through her fingers, paused for a moment, then grabbed it, covered her face, and wiped vigorously.

"...Why don't you go out?"

"Are you hard of hearing, or are you deliberately trying to bully me? Why do you always have to do things that make me angry?!"

Ling Nai stood up, as if she were using all her strength to push Ryosuke away from her, but the next second her outstretched hand became weak and powerless.

"Because you're crying."

"so what?"

The girl paused for a moment, then pressed the tissue against her face again, covering most of her face except for her red eyes.

Those eyes looked at Ryosuke, filled with tears, shame, panic, and a hint of expectation.