My stepmother's burden is my ex-girlfriend.

As she looked up at me pleadingly, she opened the temples of her glasses and tried to hang them on my face.

"Just consider it a disguise... I'm wearing one too... so you can wear this one too..."

"don't want."

"Why?! It'll look really cool!"

You're not allowed to say I'm handsome.

I couldn't bear to walk for several tens of minutes under the scorching sun, so I chose to take the bus to the department store.

Although there's a shopping mall near our home, it's a "place I usually go to," so I'm avoiding it a bit—the ultimate goal of this outing is to recapture that past tension. If I forget that, it just becomes me accompanying her shopping.

"You said you wanted to buy swimwear, are you planning to go to the beach?"

As soon as I stepped into the department store, the cool air I felt made me breathe a sigh of relief, and I said to the girl.

As she wiped her neck with a handkerchief, Jie said:

"No? I thought Xiaoyue might have a plan, but she said she didn't want to be hit on, so she's not going. But then again, the beach is too far away."

"……Right."

"Now you can rest assured, right? You're a sister-obsessed guy?"

Jie Nu suddenly leaned her head over my chest, peering up at my expression.

My expression and demeanor remained unchanged, but Jie continued to chuckle and mock me softly.

I feel like she's got me completely under her thumb all day. I need to be careful.

"If that's the case, why buy a swimsuit?"

I asked the question again to regain control, and the woman looked towards the shop window and said:

"They even asked me why. It was Uncle Fengqiu who told me to buy it, saying it might be needed when we go back to worship our ancestors."

"Dad said that? Ancestor worship—oh, not by the sea, but by the river."

We plan to visit my father's hometown in the countryside during the Hungry Ghost Festival.

The house we live in now was left by my grandfather, who passed away before I was born. So my father was born and raised here, but my grandmother (who is still alive) has another family home. Every year during the Ghost Festival, we go back to that family home to visit relatives, as is our custom.

Especially this year with two more family members—it's even more important to show my face.

My grandmother's hometown was a "typical rural place," where the only form of entertainment was playing in the river—a veritable modern-day mountain retreat. However, whenever I went back there as a child, I would only browse through my great-grandfather's collection of books to pass the time—you could say that's the main reason I became a voracious reader.

Since she was buying a swimsuit specifically for this purpose, I understand why she didn't ask Dongtou or Nan to come with her, but instead asked me to come with her. She might feel embarrassed to ask friends out since she was the only one needing a swimsuit.

"A high school girl in the prime of her youth actually bought a new swimsuit just to go swimming in the river? It's so pathetic it makes me want to shed a tear."

"It won't cause any problems. The riverside is great too. It should be much more fun than the crowded beaches."

"Okay, maybe so. But since only family will be watching, isn't wearing what I wore last year enough?"

"Are you being sarcastic towards me?"

"Huh?"

Jie Nu stared at me with her eyes half-open, protecting her abdomen with one arm.

"You knew perfectly well what my body shape was like last year, and you're just saying that on purpose, aren't you?"

"……ah."

Without thinking twice, without giving it much thought, my gaze slid down to the woman's chest.

Now, her breasts are noticeably perky, a stark contrast to what was flat a year ago. No, I think I didn't experience that belated growth spurt until I entered the third year of junior high, so this time last year I was probably already quite well-endowed—but we had a fight before summer vacation, so I didn't have a chance to confirm—…

"...Have you seen enough?"

The woman covered her chest with her arms and took a step back from me.

"What? Are you in heat today? Hopefully nothing's wrong. I'm going to try on some swimsuits later, you're not going to try anything funny, are you?"

"Yeah, right. If I really thought with my lower body like that, Dongtou would be in big trouble by now."

"...Although I'm very unwilling, you've refuted me..."

This is the first time I've ever thanked Dongtou for being such an unsuspecting guy.

The woman shortened the distance she had just created and said:

"But you still need to restrain yourself and not keep looking at me like that. I'm not here to give you any special treatment today."

"Huh? You think this constitutes a perk? The way you look in a swimsuit? Good heavens—Miss, you're so confident, I'm starting to respect you!"

"Ugh... This is infuriating!"

I arrived at the swimsuit store while she kicked my shin hard.

The mannequin, prominently displayed, is dressed in a daring bikini that's probably only suitable for places like Brazilian beaches. I really don't think this conservative person, who even wears knee-high socks in summer, would actually wear this style...

"...Sorry to bother you with your enthusiastic gaze, but I have to say... I can't wear that, really? It's really not okay? Your butt is practically showing!"

"I know. Who would let you wear something like this? Who knows who might see you..."

"...So, it's okay to be somewhere where no one else is?"

"...I didn't say that."

"Oh──..."

Why are you looking at me with that meaningful gaze?

"No. I just remembered that someone once complained about his girlfriend's only decent miniskirt."

How do you still remember?

"Alright—let's pick a normal swimsuit that won't trigger someone's nasty possessiveness."

"Ugh... This is killing me..."

Just as a murderous intent was burning within me, the next instant I stepped into the store…

"What kind of style are you two looking for?"

The clothing store clerk has appeared!

A female shop assistant, with an overly perfect smile that seemed to embody the uncanny valley, greeted us with an almost ultrasonic high-decibel sound.

Of course, the shop assistant was just trying to do her job, but to me she was like a monster in a video game maze. It was either fight or run away, a choice between two options.

Just half a second before I was about to move the cursor to "escape," a woman bravely took a step toward the monster.

"Excuse me, I'd like to see the swimsuits..."

"Swimsuits, right? Do you want a bikini or a one-piece?"

"Ah, let's look at jumpsuits first... something not too revealing is better."

As she spoke, Jie glanced at me.

In an instant, the female shop assistant quickly scanned me and Jie Nu, and her smile became even brighter.

"Bikinis also come in skirt styles, so they won't be too revealing, right? Your boyfriend will definitely feel at ease!"

“Eh…”

what……

"Th-that...he...he's not my boyfriend...!"

"Then I'll go find some styles for you, miss. What are your measurements?"

"Huh! Ah, measurements?"

Jie blushed slightly, her gaze shifting between me and the shop assistant, before she leaned close to the shop assistant's ear and whispered a few words.

The shop assistant nodded repeatedly and said:

"Okay! Please wait a moment—!"

Then they quickly disappeared into the back of the store.

Jie Nu reached out and pressed her flushed ears tightly, letting out a long sigh.

"You said such strange things, it completely confused me..."

"So you're not afraid of this kind of thing. I thought you were definitely not good at dealing with it."

"I'm not good at it. I'm not good at it, but I've overcome it... Even though someone didn't put in any effort at all, girls can't be that lazy."

This reminded me of the first time I saw this woman in casual clothes.

She clearly didn't even know how to make friends before, but her casual attire surprised me when I first saw her... This means that she had already made some efforts without my knowledge.

But now, none of this concerns me anymore.

"—Hey! Did you see that?! Did you see that?!"

"I saw it! I saw it! So cute! A sweet and sour high school couple!"

"........."

"........."

Could you please speak somewhere where we're less likely to hear you, clerk?

The atmosphere became awkward, so we could only look at the swimsuits hanging on the racks or at the crowds passing by in the aisle. Not long after, the female shop assistant returned.

"Sorry to keep you waiting! I've picked out some styles you might like! If the size doesn't fit, please don't hesitate to let me know! Oh, and please don't take off your underwear while trying them on!"

As the saleswoman handed a swimsuit to Jie, she gave me a meaningful look before returning to the counter. What did that "good luck" look mean?

"Uh... I'll go try it on..."

The woman, holding her swimsuit, turned towards the fitting room and glanced back at me.

"...Do you want to see it?"

No, why are you asking me to look?

"You should judge for yourself by looking in the mirror."

"This is my first time buying a swimsuit by myself, so I'd like to hear other people's opinions!"

"If you ask me what I like, will you dress the way I like?"

"Well... of course, we should choose the opposite style, the opposite. We should choose a swimsuit that you probably wouldn't like."

I see. That puts my mind at ease.

"...Well, it's better than being left alone in this store."

"Right? There's no place more unsuitable for you than here."

"Thanks to you."

We moved to the fitting room area. Jie Nu hid behind the curtain, and I sat down on the stool by the door.

Swimsuits... We had swimming lessons in junior high, but there wasn't even a swimming pool in high school. So, I thought I'd never see this girl in a swimsuit again...

Whoosh... *splat*. *Zzzzz*

The sounds of clothes rubbing and falling to the floor came from inside the curtain, even the sound of a zipper being pulled down was vividly audible. It's amazing she dared to take her clothes off in a place separated only by a thin curtain—especially with me right next to her.

Fortunately, so far there hasn't been a single instance of "caught in Yui changing clothes," which seems like a very likely scenario. However, to be precise, I have indeed seen her come out of the shower—

The image of fair, fleshy curves that I inadvertently glimpsed at that moment flashed into my mind, and I immediately erased it.

Am I a junior high school student?

We've been living together for four months now—don't let this little thing bother you.

As I was clearing my mind, I noticed that the rustling sound of clothes had disappeared.

After a dozen seconds, the curtain was pulled open a crack, revealing only the woman's face—she was still wearing her glasses.

"What's wrong?"

"No, it's just... is there anyone else around?"

The woman looked around. She could hear the noise outside the store, but there was no one else around except for them. At most, she could sense the shop assistants watching them from behind the counter. But from that angle, it was impossible for them to see into the fitting rooms.

"Nobody's here. You bought this swimsuit to wear out, right? If you're shy about even trying it on, what are you going to do later?"

"N-None of your business! I've never dressed this revealingly before...or rather, come to think of it, it's practically the same as wearing only underwear..."