Tokyo: Oreimo

"Forget about tonight!"

Ryosuke lay motionless, a hint of helpless laughter in his voice.

Which part?

Ling Nai's expression instantly changed from shame and indignation to embarrassment and anger.

"Forget everything! Forget everything! Especially what I just did... Never mind!"

She had already retreated outside the door.

The moment she closed the door, her voice finally returned to its usual self—that of Takashiro Ryouno, defiant and stubborn, but with a slight tremor at the end.

"That annoying guy."

The sound of running barefoot back to the next room came through the wall, followed by the muffled sound of another door closing.

Ryosuke lay in the darkness for a long time.

He reached out and touched the corner of his mouth.

If I hadn't opened my eyes just now, I would have bumped into them by now.

Living under the same roof, there will be no more knocks on the door from my parents.

He had to find a way to keep the relationship within safe boundaries before things got more complicated and before Ling Nai did something she herself couldn't turn back from.

.......

But Ryosuke miscalculated.

The next day, Ling Nai acted as if nothing had happened. After having breakfast early in the morning, she went out, saying that she had made an appointment to go out with Liu Li.

She has already decided on her future school destination, and there's still some time before she starts school, so this is considered her vacation.

Ryosuke, on the other hand, went to school.

After dinner, when it was time for bed, Ryosuke had just lain down in bed and hadn't even closed his eyes when his bedroom door was pushed open.

"?"

Ling Nai stood at the door, hugging a pillow. She was still wearing the same Buffet pajamas from last night, and her hair was loose, with golden strands falling over her shoulders. The only difference from last night was her expression.

Last night I was sneaking around, feeling a little guilty after being caught.

But tonight was different. She stood there with an air of self-righteousness, her chin slightly raised, as if she were announcing something perfectly natural, rather than barging into her brother's room in the middle of the night.

Ryosuke propped himself up against the headboard and looked at her.

What are you planning to do?

"Go to sleep." Ling Nai's answer was concise and forceful.

She tossed the pillow onto Ryosuke's bed, then leaped onto it like a cat, her movements fluid and graceful, clearly rehearsed beforehand. She lifted the covers, slipped inside, and adjusted her position all in one smooth motion.

Ryosuke looked down at Ayano, who had pulled the blanket up to her chin.

He didn't fall asleep this time.

"Ling Nai."

"Ok?"

"I wasn't asleep."

"I know," Ling Nai said in an overly calm tone. "You can sleep, I won't disturb you."

“…”

Ryosuke remained silent for a few seconds. She knew perfectly well that he was awake and that he had seen her come in, but she showed no intention of explaining herself. Instead, she acted as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

“Go back to your own room and sleep,” he said.

"I can't sleep." Ling Nai turned over, turning her back to him, her voice muffled. "I'm not used to sleeping in this bed."

"The same excuse was used last night."

"Last night is last night, and tonight is tonight. I spent the whole day shopping with Liuli, and my legs are sore. The mattress in the new room is too hard, the curtains let in light, and there are car noises outside. I just can't fall asleep no matter how much I toss and turn."

"So you can fall asleep here?"

"Correct."

Ryosuke looked at her back, at her blonde hair spread out on the pillow, and asked, "What are you thinking about?"

Ling Nai's back stiffened for a moment.

"I wasn't thinking about anything, I was just sleepy and wanted to go to sleep."

"Ling Nai."

"Besides, aren't we siblings? What's wrong with siblings sleeping in the same bed?"

Her voice suddenly rose a few decibels, but she still didn't turn around. Ryosuke could only see that her earlobes were slightly red in the night.

"Stop talking nonsense!"

She pulled the blanket over her head, wrapping herself up like a ball, with only a few strands of golden hair slipping out from the edge of the blanket.

This action is exactly the same as an ostrich burying its head in the sand.

Ryosuke looked at the ball of blankets wrapped up tightly and didn't know what to say.

He thought for a long time last night about how to draw a safe boundary between the two of them, how to nip this in the bud as soon as possible, and how to prevent Ling Nai from getting deeper and deeper into this mess.

Tonight, she simply grabbed her pillow and, before he fell asleep, brazenly climbed into his bed, silencing all his objections with the question, "What's wrong with siblings sleeping in the same bed?"

Cover your ears and steal the bell.

The word popped into his mind. But instead of saying "I like you so I want to sleep with you," she said, "It's normal for siblings to sleep in the same bed." The lie was so clumsy it was easily refuted, but she stubbornly refused to admit it.

He weighed the pros and cons in his mind. If he forcibly kicked her out now, given her personality, she would probably sulk in her room all night, take the next day with dark circles under her eyes, and then retaliate against him with the silent treatment for more than three days.

Not kicking her out would be tantamount to condoning this behavior, but at least she could get a good night's sleep.

Moreover, what she just said, "My legs are sore from shopping all day," is most likely true. The physical exertion of shopping with Liuli is no less than running a half marathon.

Forget it.

Ryosuke sighed inwardly, lay back down, and moved a little to the side of the bed, leaving a clear gap in the middle.

"Is this all you need?"

A muffled, girlish voice came from under the covers.

"okay."

"Then go to sleep."

Ling Nai curled up into a ball, not moving at all. Just as Ryosuke closed his eyes, he heard her turn over again, and then a hand reached out from under the blanket and grabbed the cuff of his pajamas.

Ryosuke opened his eyes and turned his head to look.

She kept her face covered by the blanket, with only one hand sticking out, two fingers pinching his cuff, not too hard, as if afraid of hurting something, but showing no sign of letting go.

".....Good night."

A muffled whisper came from under the covers.

Ryosuke looked at the hand, then at the window.

The curtains weren't fully drawn, and a sliver of light from the streetlamp shone through, illuminating Ling Nai's fingers gripping her sleeve.

He couldn't break free.

"Good night."

In the darkness, Ling Nai buried her face even deeper into the pillow.

......

On the third day of living together, Ryosuke realized that his previous judgment was completely wrong.

He originally thought that Ling Nai's "night raid" was a test, and that as long as he didn't respond or give any signals, she would eventually back down because of her shame.

After all, given her personality, she should have toned it down a bit after being caught red-handed twice.

But as it turns out, his understanding of Ling Nai was still too shallow.

On the third night, she didn't even bring a pillow. She simply pushed open his door empty-handed, saying, "Your pillow is here."

Ryosuke glanced at his bed. Her pillow was indeed still lying in the spot where she had slept last night. The pink pillowcase with a cartoon rabbit pattern was placed next to his dark gray pillow, looking out of place.

"Take it," Ryosuke said.

"It's too heavy, I can't move it." Ling Nai climbed onto the bed expressionlessly, dragged the pillow under her head, and then pulled the blanket over herself.

How much can a pillow weigh?

Ryosuke watched as she skillfully found the most comfortable position, wanting to say something, but swallowed the words back.

On the fourth night, the excuse changed to "the air conditioner remote is broken." Ryosuke went to her room to check and found that the remote was not broken at all; the batteries were just installed backwards.

On the fifth night, the reason given was "a cat was meowing outside on the balcony".

On the sixth day, "the neighbor's TV is too loud."

By the seventh day, she no longer needed a reason.

She simply took a shower before bed, put on her Buffet pajamas, pushed open his door, climbed into bed, lay down on her side, and then turned off the bedside lamp.

The entire set of movements was performed in one go, as if he had been doing it for several years.

Ryosuke leaned against the headboard, turning his head to look at her. Ling Nai was lying on her side with her back to him, her blonde hair spread out on the pillow, her breathing steady, and she looked like she was about to fall asleep.

Ryosuke knew this wouldn't work.

The fact that he shared a bed with Ling Nai, no matter what excuse he used to justify it, has completely crossed the line that should exist between siblings.

Worse still, he found himself getting used to her presence. Every night around 11:30, he would subconsciously wait for the door to open, and if she didn't appear on time, he would even wonder if she was feeling unwell.

This is not a good sign.

"Ling Nai."

"Hmm?" Her voice was sleepy and muffled.

How long are you planning to keep this up?