Tokyo: Oreimo

No one spoke the rest of the way.

Upon arriving at the station, Ling Nai rummaged through her bag for a while, then a displeased expression appeared on her face.

"what happened?"

"I want you to manage."

She then walked to the automatic ticket vending machine and stopped.

I left my transit card at the company.

Judging from Ling Nai's reaction, Ryosuke could roughly guess what had happened.

He stood behind her, watching her rummage through her backpack. After a while, she stopped.

"Didn't you bring any money with you when you went out?"

"...I'll go back to the company to get it."

Ling Nai's voice was muffled behind her scarf, sounding a little embarrassed. She turned to leave, but Ryosuke grabbed her wrist.

The moment my hand was flung away.

Ryosuke had already taken his wallet out of his pocket, retrieved a ticket from the machine, and handed it to her.

"Need not."

"Take it."

"I said I don't need it."

"Take it."

Ryosuke shoved the ticket into her hand and turned to walk toward the ticket gate.

Ling Nai stood there, looking down at the ticket in her hand. Her lips moved, but in the end she said nothing and followed.

The tram wasn't crowded, and the two of them found a spot near the door to stand.

Ling Nai held onto the handrail, while Ryosuke stood beside her, one hand supporting himself on the handrail above the car door, enclosing her in a relatively spacious area.

As the tram started moving, she swayed and her shoulder bumped into his arm.

As if burned, she quickly pulled back and moved half a step to the side.

Ryosuke didn't say anything, but simply pulled his hand back a little, giving her more space.

Outside the window, the sky over Chiba was a hazy gray, the December sun completely obscured by clouds. Buildings and street scenes flashed past the car window like frames of a silent film playing at high speed.

"Inoue said you weren't feeling well?"

Ryosuke suddenly spoke up.

Ling Nai did not respond.

"Have a cold?"

"You're being long-winded, it's none of your business."

The tram arrived at a station, the doors opened, and several people got on and off. A cold wind blew in from outside, making Ling Nai shiver.

The girl tightened her scarf, her gaze involuntarily falling on the red on her fingertips, before glancing at Ryosuke's unshielded neck.

Ryosuke wanted to say something more, but was interrupted by Ryouno.

"Leave me alone, let me have some peace and quiet."

She turned her head, looked out the window, and stopped talking.

Ryosuke looked at her profile.

The dark circles under the girl's eyes were darker than a month ago, her brows were tightly furrowed, and her eyelids were slightly closed, clearly indicating that she was not in good spirits.

It seems like I'm really sick.

.....

Evening, at Takashiro's house.

Takashiro Ryouno was wrapped in a quilt.

Mieko reached out and touched the girl's forehead; the temperature emanating from her palm was alarmingly high.

"She has a fever."

Ling Nai lay on the bed, her cheeks flushed an unnatural red from a high fever, but her lips were pale and bloodless.

Mihoko stood by the bed, holding a thermometer in her hand, her brows furrowed.

"Thirty-eight and seventy degrees." She glanced at the reading and sighed. "She didn't look well last night..."

“Given this situation, Ryosuke, you should bring Ayano back as soon as possible.”

Mieko looked at Ryosuke with a hint of reproach.

Faced with his mother's criticism, Ryosuke also felt somewhat guilty.

He didn't notice that at all; he needed Rina Inoue to remind him.

Because Ling Nai has never been sick since we met, he has a very good constitution, and he's the kind of person who won't catch a cold even if he doesn't wear pants in winter.

He never expected that this winter, the other person, who was bundled up so tightly when going out, would actually get sick.

Unfortunately, this person is stubborn and will never say anything when he is uncomfortable. He will only admit it when he can no longer bear it.

"It has nothing to do with him."

Ling Nai rolled over on the bed, pulled the blanket over her head, and curled up into a ball, with only a few strands of golden hair showing on the pillow.

"I just caught a cold while taking a shower last night."

Mieko glanced at her stepdaughter on the bed, then at Ryosuke by the door, and sighed softly.

"Ryosuke, you can go out now. I'll give her some medicine and let her rest."

Ryosuke responded and turned to leave the room.

The corridor was quiet. He stood outside Ling Nai's door, looking at his hand that had been caught in the door a month ago. The bruise had long since faded, but the dull pain seemed to linger.

'What exactly should I do?'

He didn't understand.

Following Ling Nai's advice to keep her distance, she ended up getting so sick that she had to be hospitalized with a fever.

Getting close to her like before would only make her feel worse.

No matter what you do, it's wrong.

......

The next morning.

Ling Nai's fever subsided somewhat, but it was still 37.8 degrees Celsius.

Mieko cooked porridge and served a bowl to Ryosuke to take upstairs.

I knocked on the door, but there was no response.

He hesitated for a moment, then pushed the door open and went inside.

Ling Nai lay on her side, wrapped tightly in the blanket, only her face was visible, her golden hair was spread out on the pillow, and her eyelashes trembled slightly, it was hard to tell whether she was asleep or awake.

"The porridge is on the bedside table. Remember to eat it when you wake up."

no respond.

Ryosuke put down the porridge, turned to leave, and caught a glimpse of the drawing paper spread out on the desk.

That was the painting Ling Nai was drawing the other day; it was already mostly finished.

It was a boy's profile, with clean and sharp lines, and a sense of inexplicable familiarity between his eyebrows and eyes.

He paused for a moment, then recognized who it was.

is himself.

In the painting, he is looking down and writing something in a notebook. Stray hairs fall down his forehead, partially obscuring his eyebrows and eyes, and there is a faint smile on his lips.

What were Ling Nai's feelings when she painted this picture?

"Stop looking..."

A hoarse voice came from behind me.

Ryosuke turned his head, and Ling Nai, who had opened her eyes at some point, was looking at him.

"Looking at other people's paintings in their room without permission, you're still so rude."

"Feel sorry."

Ryosuke withdrew his gaze, walked to the door, and paused for a moment.

"Remember to eat your porridge; it's bad for your stomach if it gets cold."

Ling Nai didn't say anything, but simply pulled the blanket up a little to cover half of her face.

......

Ryosuke went downstairs, tidied up the kitchen, then returned to his room and turned on his computer.

Shueisha sent an email yesterday from Hideo Nomura inquiring about the progress of "Death Note," and you could tell from his words that he was very anxious.

The drafts I had saved up could last for more than two months, but those two months passed in the blink of an eye.

He replied with a short email saying that they were still communicating, and then closed the email page.

My phone vibrated.

Phoenix Inu Saori sent a message: "How is my sister?"

"I had a fever, but it went down a little this morning."

"Is she sick? Take good care of her. I'll take care of things at the company, so don't worry."

"Ah."

"Oh, right."