Tokyo: Oreimo

Page 337

"See you tomorrow."

The car door closed, and the taillights gradually disappeared into the night. Ayumi turned around, and under the streetlights in front of the yakiniku restaurant, Ryosuke was slinging a canvas bag over his shoulder, with Ryosuke standing beside him.

The two were about to get into the car.

"Take care on your way back," Ayumi said.

"Don't worry, Horiuchi-senpai, I'll text you when I get home," Ryosuke said.

Ayumi nodded, glanced at Ling Nai, her lips moved, but she only said "Be careful on the road" before opening the door of the last taxi and getting into the passenger seat.

The taxi drove away from the barbecue restaurant, and in the rearview mirror, the traffic split up at the intersection.

Ayumi leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes.

There were actually many questions she wanted to ask Ling Nai.

For example, "Is this really okay?", "What about Ms. Saori?", "If he chooses Saori in the end, can you handle it?"

But she didn't ask, because when Ling Nai said "So what?", the frankness in her eyes had already answered everything for her.

.....

The night was quiet.

Ryosuke and Ryo got off the car early because Ryo suggested they walk around to digest their food, and they were walking side by side on the way to the apartment.

The two of them had walked this road countless times; they could find their way downstairs with their eyes closed.

No one spoke tonight.

Ling walked to Ryosuke's left, her ponytail fluttering slightly in the night breeze, revealing a small patch of fine sweat on the back of her neck.

Ryosuke walked to her right, his hands in his coat pockets, his gaze fixed on the long shadow cast by the streetlights on the ground.

The two shadows walked side by side, their shoulders almost touching.

When they reached the apartment building, Ling Nai suddenly stopped.

The motion sensor light in front of the automatic door was on, and moths circled around the lampshade. The hydrangeas by the door were in full bloom, their deep purple blossoms swaying gently in the night breeze.

Ryosuke also stopped.

Ling Nai turned her head to look at him, then reached out her hand, her fingers slipping through his, and tightly clasped his hand with hers.

Quite tough.

"Don't you have anything to say?"

"say what?"

Ryosuke tilted his head.

"Damn it, I said those things in front of everyone..."

Ling gritted her teeth.

She mustered up so much courage tonight, and this guy didn't even react.

"I told you, I like you."

"so what?"

"Give me some response, you bastard!"

Ling Nai jumped up in anger, wrapped her arms around Liang Jie's neck, and hung on him.

What should I do all of a sudden?

Ryosuke was startled by her. Even though she hadn't been drinking, she clung to him like an octopus again, especially since they were outside.

Before he could react, the girl bit his shoulder.

"hiss...."

"Say!"

Ling Nai bit down quickly and released just as fast, her face close to his, her icy lips almost touching Ryosuke's ear.

"say what?"

"Of course it's... you! Do you like me or not?"

Does it really have to come to this?

Blood was about to drip from Ling Nai's face.

This was the first time she had said it aloud, not only in front of Ryosuke, but also in front of everyone in the manga club; it was practically a public confession.

But the guy didn't respond at all.

Ling Nai still can't be sure whether the guy she both loves and hates has feelings for her that go beyond sibling affection.

"..."

Ryosuke gave a wry smile.

"Does this kind of question really need verbal confirmation?"

"?"

Ling Nai glared at him.

"If I didn't like you, why would I let you do so many outrageous things?"

"A typical older brother who dotes on his younger sister wouldn't go this far."

After this period of delicate transition in the relationship, it's all too obvious what I'm thinking.

He couldn't let go of Ling Nai, not because he was afraid of hurting his sister, but because he had genuinely fallen for this arrogant girl.

Just like her feelings for Saori.

"What? Then just say it!"

Ling Nai buried her face in Ryosuke's neck, her ears burning.

Great.

He has feelings for me, so I still have a chance.

Damn it, he won't respond unless we push him to the brink.

Scum, bad guy!

They're absolutely hopeless.

But what could she do? She had fallen for this guy and couldn't bear to be apart from him for a moment.

I didn't want to be separated from him, so I got into his university and worked so hard for so long, just so I could be alone with him.

"Yes, I like Ling Nai, just like you, but not in the way a brother likes his sister."

Ryosuke finally spoke up; there was no point in hiding his feelings any longer.

It's time to face it.

Ling Nai's mind went blank for a moment.

The night wind in my ears, the occasional sound of a car passing by in the distance, the sensor sound of the automatic door at the apartment entrance—all sounds seemed to have been drawn into a vacuum.

"..."

Ling buried her face in the crook of his neck and remained motionless.

Ryosuke could feel her fingers tightening around his coat, her knuckles pressing against his back through the fabric with such force that it felt like she was trying to nail something important into his bones.

"Say it again." Her voice was muffled, coming from the hollow of his shoulder.

"I like Ling Nai."

Say it again.

I like you.

"Besides..."

"That's enough."

Ryosuke reached out and pressed his hand on the back of her head, pulling her face out from under his neck. Ling Nai's eyes were red, her nose was red, and her lips were pressed into a line, as if she was desperately trying to hold back something.

But his eyes shone with an astonishing light, the light from the streetlights shattering within them, like a whole galaxy that had been overturned.

"Wordy..."

Ling Nai muttered something.

She stared into Ryosuke's eyes for three seconds, then the corners of her mouth began to turn up.

“Idiot,” she said, her voice nasal, “you just like to bully me.”

Ryosuke was both amused and exasperated.

Who's bullying whom?

In the Takagi family, aren't you the king?

"I sense you're thinking something rude."

"No."

"So," he said, "are you happy?"

Ling Nai's words were cut off.