I am the emotional sustenance of your deceased

　The sadness deep in her heart was also revealed by Chihaya Aine.

　Now we have reached the next step.

　Chitose Noshiro covered her heart and stood barefoot at the bathroom door.

　Then, her dirty clothes were stripped off.

　"I didn't bring a change of clothes. How about I skip showering today?"

　She hasn't bought clothes for a long time and always wears her school uniform as casual wear.

　The little pocket money I had saved up was all spent on buying salmon for Aine yesterday.

　Salmon is not expensive, but Chitose’s purse is really dry, which is a shame.

　"Wear mine! Anyway! Wash it for me first! I always feel like there's still some red in your hair, so wash it carefully for me."

　Those guys who bully Qiansui are so despicable.

　It was Chitose who held her back, otherwise, after coming to her senses, Aine would have gone offline to meet them.

　Aiyin leaned against the bathroom door until she heard the sound of the shower running from inside and then she calmed down.

　"Sui Sui! Remember to take a bath after you shower! It's very comfortable!"

　"I-I haven't taken a bath. I'm so sorry."

　The sound of the water stopped, and Aine heard Chitose's voice.

　"It's okay! I'll teach you how to drain the water later! Call me when you're done!"

　When the sound of water surrounded Aine's ears again, she lowered her eyes and looked into her own human heart.

　She would never forget the fear she felt when she was playing with Chitose and having her clothes pulled off by the other person, whose mind dominated her gaze.

　You can actually see some clues when you see them wearing their school uniforms, but actually seeing them with your own eyes is another matter entirely.

　"How terrible."

　After a moment of fear, Aine patted her chest but found nothing.

　“…” She gritted her teeth and comforted herself: “It doesn’t matter, I’m still young, I can still grow!”

　"Just wait! Wait until I go to high school! I must surpass Sui Sui!"

　Jie Jie Jie.

　……

　"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu"

　Aine didn't dare to look at Chitose.

　She said to Qiansui in a trembling voice: "You insulted me!"

　"Ah? What is that?" Noshiro Chitose pointed at herself blankly.

　Her confusion was real and not acted.

　"I just said that the pajamas Aine borrowed from me were strangling me... How did you say I insulted you? Why are you always saying such crap?"

　"You won't understand! Sui Sui! You will never understand me in this life!"

　She clutched her heart, which was about to break.

　Chihaya Aine didn't dare tell Noshiro Chitose that she was actually wearing the same clothes that Chitose was wearing.

　Very loose.

　Ch287. Am I really that difficult to deal with?

　"What are you looking at, idiot?"

　Chitose had to endure Chihaya Aine's strange gaze, which made her feel uneasy. She spoke helplessly only after her hair was blow-dried.

　"Look at your wound. It seems much better than it was two days ago. I have a special medicine for swelling. Would you like me to apply it on you?"

　Her nimble fingers jumped from the scars on Chitose's fingers to the marks on her neck. Aiyin stuck to Chitose, quietly counting the other's scars.

　【many…】

　There were stab wounds on her stomach? Oh my god, was this also caused by a beating from her adoptive mother?

　[Should I call the police? Uh…]

　Chihaya Aine felt a chill down her spine. The most unbelievable thing was that she really thought Chitose's mother was quite easy to talk to.

　With a gentle tone and soft words, basically no one would think that she was torturing or forcing her daughter.

　He's a bad guy who works as a laborer.

　"This is so horrible..." Aine sighed as she applied medicine to Chitose. She secretly memorized the locations and shapes of most of the wounds on Chitose's body.

　[It's unbelievable. I didn't expect the devil to be lurking in someone else's house.]

　When she thought about how she had approached Chitose a few days ago with the intention of [eliminating the independent individuals in the class and showing her own personal charm]... Chihaya Aine had an urge to slap herself.

　Damn her before.

　The girl and the girl sat on the sofa in Aine's bedroom. Chitose leaned on Aine's shoulder and let her apply medicine and treat her wounds.

　"Isn't it ugly? Seeing me so ugly, do you still want to be friends with me?"

　"No matter how many times you ask me if I want to be friends with you...I will tell you seriously what I want, Sui Sui."

　Aine's tone was extremely serious.

　If she may have approached Chitose with a casual attitude before, now she is definitely serious to a certain extent.

　The scars were still vivid in her mind, and Aine couldn't believe how many more wounds remained in her heart besides the scars on Chitose's body.

　Will the wounds in your heart heal?

　Or has Chitose's "heart" been bleeding since a long time ago?

　When Aine put a band-aid between Chitose's middle and ring fingers, she slowly breathed a sigh of relief.

　"Sui Sui, can you call me that again?"

　What a sinner the warm spring breeze is, blowing in from the open window, intoxicating like floral wine.

　Aiyin's little face was smoked so hard that it looked as if it could drip with water.

　"What, Xiao Ai?"

　"Yeah, yeah! That's it."

　"Do you like it very much... I really can't help you. If you really like it, I can call you that in the future."

　"That's great, what a cute name. Everyone at school is too serious and only calls me Aine or Chihaya. To be honest, I still prefer someone to call me something more intimate."

　Qiansui felt a chill all over his body.

　The wounds were so itchy that she wanted to scratch them.

　"Intimate... I didn't expect that I would have a friend who could exchange affectionate terms with me. I don't know how to thank him for a moment."

　The corners of Chitose's lips slowly rose, making Aine, who had been staring at her, mesmerized.

　"You're so pretty... You look so beautiful when you smile. It's so hard to see you smile! Can you smile more often in the future? That would make me very happy."

　"Look at your performance. You are so talkative now! Little...Ai."

　Sometimes it’s better not to talk too much.

　The pink girl who took the white girl home felt dazed.

　The pink on Chitose's cheeks is somewhat similar to her long hair.

　【If it were this way for the rest of my life, wouldn’t that be nice? 】

　[Chitose is so special, she is my only friend.]

　If I could blow dry her hair, protect her, and eat with her forever, wouldn't that make life less monotonous?

　friend.

　What exactly is a friend?

　Are those people who laughed and joked together in school but dispersed and stopped contacting each other after graduation really "friends"?

　Is that kind of person really the kind of friend worth entrusting your life to?

　I have only known Chitose for a few days, why do I like her so much?

　Why, why on earth?

　While enjoying the softness of someone’s heart rubbing against her arm, Aine suddenly remembered another famous quote she had read before.

　"Whoever sits down to dinner with you loves you, and everything else is empty talk."

　That's the way it is.

　……

　"This is an electric toothbrush. It's for you!"

　"Isn't it very expensive? Wouldn't it be a waste to give it to me alone?"

　"Come stay at my house often in the future. I've kept it for you."

　"Well… I'll try my best, but I can't promise."

　I wish I could adopt you and not let you go home, why are you still hesitating?

　"I don't know how to use it... This is my first time, how do I open it?"

　"Press here!"

　Aine helped Chitose squeeze the toothpaste on the toothpaste and gave her a look as she handed it to her.

　"It's strawberry-flavored toothpaste. I hope you like it."

　Chitose blinked.

　【Aine's care is so thorough. 】

　[Hey! Just in time...]

　Her pearly teeth touched the toothbrush, and when the electric toothbrush began to vibrate slightly, Chitose Noshiro suddenly became stiff and unable to move.

　At the same time, Qiansui's pupils became dilated.

　"Sui Sui? Sui Sui! What's wrong with you?!"

　Flustered and stunned, Aine patted Chitose's body to help him calm down a little.

　But then Chitose picked up the sink and started retching. His whole body was shaking and he was gasping for breath, which was really scary.

　"I just... hate strawberry-flavored toothpaste. Um, I just remembered. Um... that's all."

　Chitose used lies that Aine could see through at a glance to cover up her panic, but a sudden scene caused Aine's heart, which had rarely calmed down, to be in turmoil again.

　She silently changed Chitose's toothpaste to mint flavor and switched the electric toothbrush to silent mode.

　"Well, this is okay, right?"

　……

　"Huh, come on, there are people who hate strawberry-flavored toothpaste."

　"I…"

　Qiansui turned his head and saw that it was a little after nine o'clock in the evening.

　Love Sound

　Make the bed. Chitose said she wanted to sleep on the floor, but there was no way Aine would let that happen.

　Anyway, the bed is very big and can definitely accommodate Qiansui.

　When Aine wiped the non-existent sweat from her forehead and looked back, Chitose also raised her eyes.

　The eye contact happened like lightning across the sky, and Qiansui's lips trembled a few times.

　In the end, she chose to confide in Aine.

　She said, "Actually... just now, when I was using the electric toothbrush, it reminded me of the massager my mother uses... Every time she uses it, her hands get sore, so she often uses it to massage herself... A lot of the time, I just curl up in a corner and listen to that sound quietly."