Tokyo: Oreimo

Ryosuke was silent for a few seconds, then took out a pack of tissues from his pocket, pulled one out, and handed it to her.

Liuli took it and covered her eyes, her shoulders trembling slightly.

"Your presence by her side is already a great help."

Ryosuke said his voice was softer than usual.

"You know Ling Nai, she doesn't easily show weakness to others. The fact that she's willing to cry in front of you means she doesn't need to pretend in front of you."

"This is more important to her than anything else."

Liuli covered her eyes and didn't speak, but the trembling in her shoulders gradually subsided.

After a while, she took the tissue off her face. Her eyes were red, and the tip of her nose was also red. She looked like a little animal that had been bullied badly.

"...Brother is really cunning."

She said in a muffled voice.

"They barged between me and Ling Nai without permission, turned her into this state, and didn't tell me anything."

She stood there, her school uniform skirt swaying gently in the wind, her long black hair slightly disheveled, a few strands clinging to her cheeks, highlighting her tear-stained face and giving her an indescribable stubbornness.

"Aragaki."

"never mind."

Liuli turned her head away and wiped the corner of her eye with the back of her hand.

“I know my elder brother won’t tell.”

"But at least..."

She turned back, her gaze more serious than before.

"Please grant me at least one request, elder brother."

"what?"

"Please take good care of Ling Nai. It doesn't matter if you take her away from me."

The girl's voice was soft, but she pronounced each word clearly.

"If your elder brother is the reason for her sadness, then please find a way to resolve it."

"Because the only person who could make her laugh like that, from beginning to end... was my elder brother."

After saying this, Ruri lowered her head, gave Ryosuke a slight bow, and then turned and walked away quickly.

Chapter 190 Boys Forbidden

Ryosuke stood there, watching Ruri Aragaki's figure disappear around the corner.

The morning breeze rushed into his collar, making him shrink his neck in the cold.

"I got criticized..."

He muttered something with a wry smile, then put his hands in his pockets and walked towards the school.

Although Ruri Aragaki didn't say anything offensive, Ryosuke felt quite uncomfortable hearing it.

The reason why Ling Nai, who was usually so robust, fell ill is now quite obvious.

Emotions are the foundation of health. If you keep suppressing your feelings, you will eventually break down.

And he himself was the culprit who caused Ling Nai's current situation.

Ryosuke barely listened to the lesson all day.

The notebook wasn't filled with class notes, but rather with lines of sentences crossed out and rewritten, like the jumbled thoughts in his head.

...

On Tuesday morning, Ling Nai's fever subsided to 37.2 degrees Celsius.

Before Ryosuke left, Mieko took his temperature again. The reading was much better than yesterday, but the girl's complexion was still very bad. Her lips were as white as paper, and she was wrapped in a blanket with only her eyes showing.

Those eyes quickly looked away when they saw Ryosuke appear at the door.

Ryosuke stood at the door, not going in.

"I'm going to school."

Ling Nai did not respond.

He turned and left.

A very soft "hmm" came from behind him, so soft that he almost thought he had misheard.

But he didn't turn around.

.....

Wednesday.

Ling Nai's fever has completely subsided.

But she still didn't go to school. Mieko called the school and asked for three days off so she could rest at home for a few more days.

When Ryosuke came home from school, the door to Ayano's room was ajar.

As he passed by, he glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and saw the girl sitting at her desk, holding a pencil in her hand and drawing paper spread out in front of her.

It's not the same one as before.

The painting depicting his profile has been lost somewhere.

On the new drawing paper is a half-length portrait of a girl, with sharp lines, a stubborn look in her eyes, and a slightly defiant smile at the corners of her mouth.

Like Misa Amane from "Death Note".

Ling is drawing a draft.

Didn't you say you weren't planning to continue the serialization?

It seems like they're still interested.

Seeing this, he breathed a sigh of relief.

This indicates that her condition is improving; at least she has the strength to pick up a pen again.

Ryosuke didn't stop, walked straight past, and went back to his room.

...

On Thursday, Saori Phoenix Institute sent a message.

Has my sister's fever gone down?

"Return."

"That's good. I was worried she'd make it to the appointment even though she was in bad shape."

Ryosuke stared at the message for over ten seconds, then typed two words: "What?"

"You promised to help you with your relationship with your sister, didn't you?"

"I made an appointment with her to meet on Saturday."

Ryosuke stared at his phone screen for a long time, typing a few words in the input box and deleting them repeatedly, before finally sending only one sentence:

What do you want to talk about?

Phoenix Inu Saori replied quickly, with her usual lighthearted tone:

"secret."

"Boys are not allowed to enter the girls' conversations."

Ryosuke, unwilling to give up, sent another message: "You have to let me know the general direction, right?"

The reply was a bit slow this time, taking almost two minutes.

"Shi Yuze, are you worried that I'll bully your sister, or that your sister will bully me?"

Ryosuke was stunned for a moment, and before he could reply, the next message came.

"Don't worry, I won't hurt her."

"She can't hurt me either."

"So, just leave it to me."

The three messages were all increasingly certain.

Ryosuke placed his phone face down on the table, leaned back in his chair, and stared blankly at the ceiling.

I seem to have absolutely no idea what Phoenix Inu Saori is thinking.

In this situation, would it really improve their relationship if she asked Ling Nai out alone?

Given Saori's personality, she probably wouldn't say anything excessive.

But given Ling Nai's personality, no matter what Saori says, she will probably bristle like a cat with its fur standing on end.

One is adept and skillful, the other is full of thorns.

The thought of these two types of people sitting together and chatting is enough to send chills down your spine.

Ryosuke put down his pen, leaned back in his chair, and stared blankly at the ceiling for a while.

Forget it.

Thinking about it more won't help.

He picked up his pen again, forcing himself to focus his attention back on the manuscript in front of him.

The NAME for "Death Note" is only a few chapters away from completion. Although Ling Nai is temporarily on hiatus, the scriptwriting cannot stop.

In case she ever decides to start serializing again, we can't leave her without something to write about.

...

Saturday.

December in Tokyo is rarely sunny, and sunlight streams in through the windows, casting bright patches of light on the floor.