Tokyo: Oreimo

“…”

Ryosuke's heart skipped a beat under her gaze, and he was speechless for a moment.

He couldn't possibly give Ling Nai a response.

Even if he hadn't confirmed his relationship with Saori, he still couldn't have done it.

He never imagined such a thing would happen from the beginning. Since the remarriage, he has considered himself the elder brother.

But then again, they are not related by blood. In the end, they are just two people who are the same age, only one year apart, and live under the same roof because their parents remarried.

If they were truly siblings, they might have developed a relationship of mutual loathing over the past decade or so, because they know each other too well.

They are more like cohabiting relatives than siblings.

The other party's arrogant and childish personality made him unconsciously put himself in the role of an older brother, but it is impossible to say that he had no romantic feelings for Ling Nai at all.

No matter what, Ryosuke is a normal person.

Now, the person he treated as his sister is standing in front of him with red eyes, telling him, "I don't just see you as my brother."

“Ling Nai, you…”

"Don't tell!"

Ling Nai covered her eyes with a tissue, her voice muffled and nasal, "I know what you're going to say, so you're not allowed to say it."

"you know?"

"Of course I know." Her voice trailed off. "You have the Giantess, you're together, I'm not blind..."

"Then why are you still...?"

"Because I couldn't hold back anymore!"

Ling Nai ripped the tissue off her face, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it forcefully at Liang Jie.

The wad of tissue paper lightly hit his chest and then fell to the ground, posing no threat whatsoever.

"What? Do you think I wanted to say this? Do you think I don't know how embarrassing it would be to say it?"

"I've been holding it in for a week! A whole week! Do you know how much I've suffered this past week?"

"I can't even eat or sleep properly, and you still have to come knocking on my door, insisting on asking me why I'm angry..."

"What can I say? What can I possibly say?"

Her voice grew increasingly agitated, and tears began to fall again.

"Say, 'Because I like you, you're not allowed to have a girlfriend'? Could I really say something like that?"

"So you're saying you want to terminate the cooperation?" Ryosuke gave a wry smile.

"What else can I do? Stay by your side, watch you go out to the company to see her every day, and then I'm left alone at home overthinking?"

Ling Nai turned her face away and wiped away her tears with the back of her hand. "I've already embarrassed myself enough. Can't you just leave me alone?"

Ryosuke stood silently in place, feeling that anything he said would be wrong.

"At this point, keeping our distance is the right thing to do, isn't it?"

The girl muttered something, as if she had made up her mind.

"It's just like two years ago. I can live a good life without you. I don't need a brother like you at all."

......

Ryosuke left Ryouno's room.

He simply couldn't follow along with the other person's words and continue the conversation.

Perhaps, as Ling Nai said, the best scenario would be for the two of them to return to the relationship they had two years ago, where they treated each other as if they were invisible.

Time will dilute the dependence that has developed over the past two years.

Over the next month, Ling Nai returned to normal, eating on time and communicating well with her parents.

However, the academic tutoring sessions that used to take place every evening have been changed to take place at Ruri Aragaki's house.

Aside from completely ignoring Ryosuke, everything was proceeding normally.

At the end of November, Hideo Nomura received a request from Ayano to suspend publication, which almost stunned him.

What happened to the promised "iron rice bowl"?

It's only been a few installments, right? Only five or six chapters so far.

If the market response is unusually strong, and the reader votes for the month skyrocket, this will undoubtedly be a huge hit, and might even become a flagship work.

Why propose suspending publication at this time?

However, Takashiro Ryouno only issued a notification without offering any explanation.

He could only harass Ryosuke by phone.

"CLAMP-sensei, are you kidding me? Are you really going on hiatus?"

"Since the relationship has deteriorated, and Ling Nai has taken the initiative to suggest it, then let's respect her wishes."

Ryosuke was powerless to do anything about it. Although he continued writing his script, there was nothing he could do if Rumiko Takashiro, the manga artist, was unwilling to continue drawing.

"If there is a penalty for breach of contract when the contract expires, I will pay it to Shueisha. I'm sorry to have troubled you, Editor Nomura. I will talk to Mr. Haruba again to see if we can work together on another project to compensate you."

Of all the people affected by this incident, none more than Hideo Nomura stands out.

Therefore, Ryosuke was willing to step forward to explain, so that the other party could avoid being held accountable by the editorial department.

"Aren't you siblings?"

Nomura said he couldn't understand this reason. If the relationship had deteriorated, weren't they still living under the same roof?

"In short, it's hard to explain for now, and it's not necessarily a permanent suspension of publication. Maybe the relationship will be restored in the future."

Ryosuke would never tell the other person such a private matter. It is indeed a pity that the series is on hiatus, but who knows, maybe one day Ryo will come to her senses and want to start the serialization again.

"Is that so?" Hideo Nomura breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.

"No need for new works. I've heard from editor Kimura about Haruba-sensei's situation. Just keeping the series running for the work we collaborated on is already a huge achievement."

Not everyone has the update speed of 'Rumiko Takashiro', and Arina Haruba is completely unable to replace Ayano in this respect.

On the other end of the phone, Hideo Nomura continued:

"I still have twelve chapters of Rumiko Takashiro's manuscript left with me. I can just reduce the number of updates. It should last for at most three months. I won't be adding any more chapters during this time."

"If Rumiko Takashiro still insists on suspending publication when the manuscripts are all used up, I will explain to the editor-in-chief."

Ryosuke held the phone without saying a word, tacitly approving of the other party's actions.

He didn't want Death Note to be discontinued, not because he was reluctant to give up the work, but because a sudden discontinuation would affect Rumiko Takashiro's reputation.

That guy cares so much about his fans, he might be unhappy about it.

"In short, please keep up the good work, CLAMP-sensei!"

The request from Hideo Nomura on the other end of the phone was, "It would be such a shame if this work were to be discontinued."

Chapter 187 Is this a date with me?

Takashiro Ryouno's unilateral termination of the cooperation had little impact on the company.

The reaction was stronger on the comic book side.

On Saturday, work at Aniplex continued in full swing. Ling Nai was in the office, helping the members complete the character designs for "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya".

Compared to Madoka Magica, this work is much simpler in terms of drawing and requires relatively less effort.

What took her more time to adjust was the content of "White Album 2".

This project is nearing completion. Ryosuke's script is finished, the programming is basically complete, and they are currently debugging it.

The only thing missing is that a few CG images are still incomplete.

In the president's office.

Ryosuke was sitting in a chair, with Phoenix Inu Saori standing behind him, leaning against the back of the chair, her two slender arms wrapped around his neck from behind, her cheek close to his ear.

"Shi Yuze, you can relax a bit now, the work is coming to an end."

Ryosuke didn't pull away, letting her cheek press against his ear, her hair brushing against his neck, carrying a faint citrus scent.

"Relax?" He gave a wry smile. "With so much to do, how can I relax?"

“An excuse.” Phoenix Inu Saori tightened her arms around him, resting her chin on his shoulder. “You’re the kind of person who will always find something to do, even if you have nothing to do. You’re a workaholic.”

"It's as if you're not one of them."

"That's why I said we can relax together."

Her lips were almost touching his earlobe, her voice low and slightly breathy, "How about going to see a movie? Or to the beach? It's December, we can't swim, but it would be nice to feel the sea breeze."

Ryosuke turned his head to the side, his nose almost touching hers.

The two were so close that they could see their own reflection in her pupils.

"Are you asking me out?"

“Otherwise?” Phoenix Inu Saori blinked, a slight smile playing on her lips. “Mr. Shigaze, you’re not planning to leave me hanging like this, are you? We’ve been dating for almost a month, and we haven’t even had a proper date yet.”

"Once this busy period is over..."

"You always say that."

She released her arms, walked around the chair, and sat sideways on the edge of the desk. Her legs, beneath her skirt, were crossed, and her toes, encased in black stockings, dangled in high heels, swaying gently in the air.

From Ryosuke's perspective, the backlighting outlined her silhouette, her long black hair falling over her shoulders, with a few strands landing on her chest, rising and falling slightly with her breath.

"Shi Yuze".

"Ok?"

"You've been very unhappy lately."

She leaned down, placing her hands on her knees, her gaze level with his. Her eyes held none of their usual teasing or mockery, replaced by a gentle look.

Ryosuke paused for a moment.