I, who advocate giving up, feel like a disqualified person

"...I was thinking about the game just now."

This answer is flawless.

"Oh, that's it... By the way, you're still so bad at racing games. Even after all these years, you still always crash on the track... Do the tracks have a grudge against you?"

"...shut up."

Okay, I'm starting to regret bringing that up.

"When I was playing GTA, I kept crashing into people and cars. I thought you were just too driven by a desire to destroy. Who knew you just didn't have the right direction?"

"...Is it fun to expose other people's shortcomings?"

That’s why I don’t play racing games anymore.

"Yeah~ Of course it's fun~"

He showed a hearty smile.

So this guy is really annoying.

.............

"Hey, can I get a snack?"

"If you will pay me back the money I spent, then I will agree." Although she said that, she would not listen even if I didn't allow her.

"Oh, no problem."

...and actually agreed.

"Then it will be better in the next life."

"..." He held his forehead helplessly, "Forget it, just take whatever you want to buy, but don't buy too much."

"Um?"

"There might be a lot to buy. If you don't want to help me with the burden after you check out, then don't buy so much."

"Got it, let's meet at the counter then."

"..."

Watching her happily leave, I suddenly felt a sense of relief. Fortunately, she is not my biological sister, otherwise I would have to buy her snacks every time I take her out.

"...Well."

Now that she's gone, it's time to go buy some groceries... Thinking this, I pulled out a shopping list. Well, I rarely go out shopping, so I'm not very good at choosing ingredients. I hope this doesn't make her angry.

"...angry..."

I always feel that I have changed a lot.

When did I start to care about other people's feelings? My problem of not being able to remember other people's appearances seems to be changing little by little... Compared to my previous self, how have I changed in the eyes of others? Can this be considered a good thing for me?

Is my body...or rather, my thoughts on events, really like a damaged hull, constantly being replaced by various new parts, then gradually adapting, and then losing its original heart?

"call..."

...Will it happen? This kind of thing.

"You look a little pale... What happened?"

The sound next to my ear interrupted my thoughts, and then I realized that it was the worry coming from the salesperson.

"No... I'm just a little hesitant about what to buy first. It's hard to make a decision at this time..."

"Is that so... How about I help you choose, if you don't mind?"

"...Oh, please."

You see, most of the words that can be said are lies that are embellished and close to the truth.

. . . . . . .

"You're really rude."

"Oh, you're too kind."

"I'm not praising you..." Who did she learn this shameless behavior from? I don't remember teaching her.

"There's nothing we can do about it. Snacks aren't as filling as they seem, so the real cause of weight gain is the excess fat we consume during meals."

"It's not your weight that I'm worried about. It's the weight of my wallet."

And this theory that completely favors me is just something I made up, right? I also use this little trick.

For example, when reasoning with Nan, just pretend to be serious and say it. She won't believe it anyway.

"While not filling, deliciousness is a key feature that allows businesses to profit. It's also precisely because of this characteristic that snacks fill the gaps between meals, right? So snacks are very important. As the saying goes, 'existence is justified.' Since they've survived such a long history without disappearing from people's sight, it proves that they are truly needed..."

"Okay, stop talking and get in line."

I silently gave up the front seat to Ye Jin, just to avoid her seeing the expression on my face. I wasn't sure what expression I would make later, but I thought it would be best if she didn't notice.

Ah, she just said...existence is reasonable?

So, the environment that people arbitrarily change, the rules they arbitrarily create, and the ideals they blindly uphold should also exist, right? But...what are those that disappear? The unnecessary? The needless? Or the unreasonable?

Perhaps it was only for a short time, but it certainly existed, right? Even if no one else remembers it, it's fine if I'm the only one who remembers it. Isn't that reasonable? But why did it disappear? Those vague memories I once had, were they illusions or some kind of revelation? I can no longer figure it out.

"I'm leaving now."

I vaguely remember someone I know very well saying this to me.

When I asked him where he was going, this is what he replied to me.

"You'll know when the time comes."

So, when exactly is that?

Even if there was a misunderstanding, there was no accident

"...Are you sure you want to come to my house?"

After paying, I suddenly remembered there was someone else home, and subconsciously bought a few more ingredients... I wonder if Yehui would mind making a few extra. She volunteered to do it, so wouldn't it be a bit pushy to make any more requests? But if she insisted on coming, I couldn't refuse.

"Yes."

She responded in a nonchalant tone and casually tore open the packaging bag of snacks in her hand.

"Are you eating on the way? I thought you were going to go back and find some movies or comics to eat slowly..."

I say this because I do it all the time.

"Well, that's my usual style. Speaking of which, according to what you said, I should be the so-called 'hedonist'. When there are conditions that can satisfy myself, I will not care about other factors and just enjoy it directly." As she said, she stuffed potato chips into her mouth.

The crunching noise is so annoying.

"...I think so."

"Well, brother, you should be..." "The crumbs are all coming out! Can't you just finish eating first?"

I moved aside in disgust, then patted my body...even though it seemed like I wasn't stained.

"Hmm~ah..." I don't know if she made a slightly erotic moan on purpose, but she seemed to swallow what was in her mouth.

"Huh... Um, brother, you should be..."

She paused deliberately at this point.

"What is it..." I asked out of curiosity.

"It's what's called 'making trouble out of nothing.'"

Why does the title become derogatory when it comes to me?

Well, it's just a name she made up anyway, so just ignore it.

"In other words, if there's something you can enjoy right in front of you, you don't enjoy it right away. Instead, you look for the conditions that make it possible to enjoy it, and then you gain additional pleasure based on the number of conditions you have."

"Isn't this a very normal thing? Not just me, most people should be like this. Speaking of which... this isn't about looking for trouble, but about pursuing quality of life."

"...Pfft, I can accept this truth if it applies to others, but if it applies to you, I certainly cannot admit it."

This is obviously biased towards me as an older brother.

"Let's not talk about this anymore. I have a suggestion." I quickly changed the meaningless topic.

"Hmm? What's the proposal?"

"Ahem, well...if I invite you to dinner outside, then you don't have to come to my house."

"of course not."

Ah... Although I had basically guessed that this would be the answer, being so decisive is too disrespectful.

"...What's the reason? Didn't you not come for the past few days?"

"You didn't eat for the past few days, so you don't have to eat today?"

"Who hasn't eaten? This rebuttal doesn't make any sense at all, okay?"

Having said that, it seems impossible to stop her now.

"So suspicious, are you hiding something from me?" Ye Jin finally showed a look of suspicion on his face.

"...No."

Chapter 16 Even though it was a misunderstanding, no accident occurred

If I think about it, there's nothing shameful about sharing the fact that a girl from my class cooked for me at home. ...It's actually something I could brag about, but for some reason I subconsciously avoid letting anyone know. Is it because I prefer to keep a low profile? Regardless, Ye Jin has indeed come along.

...Things like this should be fine as long as I explain it to her, so there's no need to be nervous... probably.

"What are you standing there for? Open the door."

He seemed to have been standing at the door for a while, and Ye Jin behind him was getting a little impatient.

"Um... Speaking of which, before that, there's something I need to explain to you."

"Oh, that's so troublesome. If you have something to say, why don't you go inside and talk about it..." She pushed me aside and took out the key from her pocket...the key to my house.

"Hey, wait a moment."

However, she had already run in, which meant it was probably too late now. Well, don't panic, Ye Hui would definitely not say anything that would cause misunderstanding.

Thinking of this, I quickly stepped into the house.

The first thing I smelled was the aroma of rice, which meant she must be in the kitchen.

"Very good..."

If she appeared from my room it would be hard to explain.

"Sheji? Is it Sheji?" She seemed to have noticed my footsteps. "You're finally back... Why are you so slow? I've been waiting in your room for ages."

"...Room?"

Ye Jin in front of me suddenly turned around and gave me an expression that cannot be described in words but is very easy to understand... It's similar to the feeling of being stabbed in the back and then finding out that it was a monster far away from sight that did it.

"Can you bring girls home when your parents are not at home?"

"You may not believe it, but she came here on her own."

I quickly explained.

"Where are the ingredients you bought? Hurry up and bring them here." Perhaps seeing that I didn't respond to her, Ye Hui added, "You need to come and help later. We still have serious things to do after dinner..."

“You still have to do something?!”

From my understanding, this sentence is completely ambiguous. Even if they didn't know we were drawing comics together, a normal person would think, "Probably doing homework." But Ye Jin didn't seem to understand that at all... The moment she blushed, I knew she wasn't taking it seriously.

"Ah... Do you believe me when I say I'm doing my summer homework?"

"Only a devil can believe it!"

"Are there any guests?" Ye Hui finally emerged from the kitchen after hearing Ye Jin's loud shout. Still wearing my mother's apron, she looked at me in confusion, then smiled happily, "Oh, it's Ye Jin's sister~"

On the other hand, Ye Jin's reaction...

"Σ(°Д°;...are you calling me your little sister now!?"