All the people who like me are other people’s girlfriends! ?

Looking at Yukinoshita Haruno's face so close to him, Qingye turned his head away silently. After a while, he stiffly changed the subject: "Now, do you still want to commit suicide for love?"

This sentence reminded Yukinoshita Haruno of the previous scene. Kiyono told him that as long as he repeatedly examined his heart and made a sincere decision after repeated worries, he would accompany him unconditionally.

Seriously, the timing is so tricky.

Yukinoshita Haruno felt that she was being teased by the boy, and in order to maintain her dignity as an older sister, she narrowed her eyes cunningly.

"Hmm, you never know. If a famous writer dared to cheat on a woman outside the Yukinoshita family, I might really pull you off the Tokyo Tower, okay?"

"Don't say such dangerous things!"

Qingye's mouth twitched, but his fingers gently combed her hair that was messed up by the night wind. Then he stood up, walked a few steps forward, and when he turned around, the moonlight just happened to shine on his profile, and his smile was warm.

"We go home."

"……Um."

Yukinoshita Haruno followed him briskly.

The silvery moonlight stretched the shadows of the two people very long. Yukinoshita Haruno quietly moved half a step to the side, watching the two silhouettes on the ground gradually overlap and blend. She also felt a broad and solid touch on her shoulders. The warmth from the contact of shoulders made people feel at ease. Even the rhythm of their walking became consistent unconsciously. The subtle vibrations between the rise and fall of their steps were transmitted through the connected bodies, as if silently confirming each other's existence.

They must be looking at the same view.

Will we always be together, watching similar things, and spending the same time together?

She suddenly quickened her pace and ran to the front, then suddenly looked back.

Qingye looked up at this moment.

Soft black hair, fluttering skirt, and scarf swaying in the wind.

Their eyes met and then separated in an instant, but his heart skipped a beat for no apparent reason.

With the help of the moonlight, he saw Yukinoshita Haruno's eyes, which were like thousand-year-old ice melting into spring water, rippling with ripples. The sudden softening of her gaze made his cheeks hot and his heartbeat frighteningly loud.

This is the truest face of Yukinoshita Haruno that only he can see—

She was not the scheming sister who was at ease with everything, nor the smiling devil with a mask, but just a lovely woman who would show him such an expression.

*

As soon as I got home, I was surrounded by familiar smells.

An ancient courtyard, cherry trees, and a bluestone road covered with a thin layer of snow.

I haven't been back for only half a month, but this place has become a little unfamiliar.

Yukinoshita Haruno and Kiyono walked into the open house. Yukino and her mother were already waiting there. The former seemed to be drinking tea, but in fact her eyes were wandering and her toes were quietly chattering behind her butt. Her mother just looked into the distance.

The moment she saw her sister, Yukinoshita Yukino's lips trembled, and her hands on her legs were clenched into fists. She looked uneasy, at ease, hesitant, timid, and guilty... but her appearance did not remind people of coldness or chillness.

The two sisters looked at each other silently. Yukinoshita Haruno sighed softly, and finally gave her sister a bright smile.

Yukinoshita Yukino pursed her lips and slowly loosened her clenched fists.

Then, Yukinoshita Haruno looked at her mother silently.

At this moment, she was suddenly stunned. Her mother seemed to have changed. She was still wearing the kimono as usual, her hair was neatly combed, and she looked dignified and elegant, but her eyebrows seemed to be more haggard.

What expression should she have now? Serves you right? Indifference? Concern?

Yukinoshita's mother stood up, looked at her, and said calmly: "Hirano, let's talk."

Qingye thought to himself that no one could be so direct as you. Usually, when parents want to have a life discussion with their children, especially after a quarrel, they will go through a series of beating around the bush. Such blunt questions will inevitably make the atmosphere awkward.

In fact, he had this idea before. Although Yukinoshita Yukino's personality is very awkward, Haruno is not much better. Judging from this situation, wouldn't Yukinoshita's mother also be...

Just as this dangerous thought emerged, a gaze as gentle as jade suddenly swept over.

I'm so sorry, Mother.

Kiyono immediately knelt down obediently beside Yukino.

"What do you want to talk about?"

Yukinoshita Haruno sighed deeply, as if searching for her own answer, and spoke out.

The things I remember, the things I forget, and the things I pretend to forget keep circling in my mind.

"First of all, let's talk about my education."

Yukinoshita's mother's eyes were determined. She seemed to want to have a conversation with her, so she walked to the porch outside first.

After the mother and daughter walked outside, Yukinoshita Yukino breathed a sigh of relief and looked up at him: "How have you been lately, sister?"

Qingye replied: "I am so happy that I don't miss my homeland."

Yukinoshita Yukino's bright eyes were slightly confused: "?"

The life she imagined her sister living: painful and confused, accompanied by alcohol every day, living a dark and muddled life, made her sad, but the reality was... eh?

She seemed to have thought of something, and the corners of her mouth twitched slightly.

She glared at Qingye inexplicably, and with a helpless expression, Yukinoshita Yukino quietly moved to the door, silently listening to the conversation between her mother and sister, and Qingye followed.

On the eaves, moonlight filtered through the branches and leaves, casting mottled shadows on the floor.

Yukinoshita's mother looked at the bright night sky. When people talk about their memories, they seem to like looking into the distance. Is this person the same?

Yukinoshita Haruno was thinking about irrelevant things, watching the clouds moving and changing into various shapes.

Time passed quietly, and Yukinoshita's mother carefully spoke out her inner thoughts.

"The other day you said I was partial to Yukino, and my first reaction was to deny it. I thought I had always treated you all equally, in terms of clothing and life. But these past few days, I've been seriously thinking back over the past few years and I think I might have made a mistake."

Her voice was still the gentle and peaceful voice that Yukinoshita Haruno was familiar with, but with a sigh in it. Yukinoshita Haruno just said "oh" lightly.

"Perhaps, I do unconsciously favor Yukino."

Admitting that one child favors another in front of another is undoubtedly a parent's dereliction of duty, but Yukinoshita's mother still faced it with strength. Perhaps Yukinoshita Yukino's personality was inherited from her.

"There are many reasons for this. Yukino has always been quiet and withdrawn, and she's also too strong-willed. Other children wouldn't play with her, isolated her, and bullied her. I also feel guilty about not wanting her to inherit the family business, and because of Yukino's experiences abroad... Seeing such a lonely daughter, as a mother, I just want to love and care for her as much as possible."

Loneliness and memories flashed in Yukinoshita's mother's eyes, as if she saw the past.

She slowly turned her head and gazed at her daughter who had once made her proud.

"Then, it's about you, Yang No."

Yukinoshita's mother said softly, "Yukino is a lovable child who needs care, while Haruno is a strong-hearted, mature and reliable child. I made this mistake."

"Hino has always been very well-behaved and obedient. I trained you as the heir to the Yukinoshita family, and you lived up to my expectations. You did your best in everything, and everyone around you praised you. As a result, I unknowingly immersed myself in this illusion."

When did it start? She sighed, her voice a little dazed.

"Because Haruno is likable and doesn't require much worry, I unconsciously paid more attention and gaze to Yukino... But this is wrong. Your cheerfulness, your gentleness, your obedience, are just masks that you constantly adjust. I didn't notice it the whole time... Actually, I know it, but it's not as serious as I imagined."

"It's not just you. Even I am working hard to maintain my image in front of my children."

When a woman is young, she lives for her parents; when she grows up, she lives for her husband; and then she lives for her children. Whether she is happy or painful, she has to consider so many things.

She suddenly remembered what happened before Yang Nai was born. At that time, she was arguing with her husband about who would be the good cop and who would be the bad cop in front of the child. Children, of course, prefer gentle parents, but excessive indulgence would only make the child domineering. In the end, she would still have to be the bad cop because her husband was not good at this kind of thing.

But what mother doesn't want her children to be closer to her? But over the years, she has also been constrained by her own image.

Yukinoshita Haruno looked at her mother in a daze. It was the first time she heard this person say such words to her.

It turns out that the powerful mother was also created intentionally?

As time goes by, every child's impression of their parents changes constantly, from the omnipotent admiration of their childhood, to the parents who bother them when they ask strange questions, and then to the parents who occasionally show fatigue and helplessness when they grow up...

Unlike ordinary families, in her heart, her mother is always a person who is both majestic and gentle. Opposition is a channel of communication and hostility is a means of education.

This was the first time she had seen a mother like this.

Why did the mother say these words at the cost of her image that she had built over the past decade?

What was her mother thinking about during the days she was away?

Yukinoshita Haruno listened silently.

"Thinking about it now, every time you faked a smile at me over the years, it was like a knife cutting through my heart. You were right, I'm indeed an unfit mother."

Yukinoshita's mother spoke clearly, word for word, but her voice was trembling at the end.

"What's the point of you saying this now..."

The words that came out of her mouth, almost in anger, rang out. Yukinoshita Haruno didn't expect that she would be so impulsive.

"Yeah, some things are too late to do even if you want to do them now..."

Yukinoshita's mother closed her eyes, as if she was trying to sort herself out.

"But you can't keep making mistakes like this. You can resent me and do whatever you want freely. But no matter what, I hope you and Yukino can get along well."

She opened her eyes, her gaze firm and her voice steady.

The relationship between the two sisters was damaged by her mistake, but family affection is something that will not change no matter how long it passes, and will not fade away no matter how much you neglect it. As a mother, her only wish now is that her two daughters can continue to love each other.

Yukinoshita Haruno thought, is this for Yukino?

That’s not true. To the younger sister, the older sister is very important, but to the older sister, the younger sister is also the inseparable half of her body.

In this respect, they are equal.

Quiet breaths, calm words.

"Yukino is my sister, of course I will take care of her."

——So said.

Yukinoshita's mother breathed a sigh of relief, as if a heavy burden had been lifted from her shoulders. She lowered her brows and murmured, "Well, then I feel relieved."

There was a long silence, with only the sound of the bamboo tube swinging.

Yukinoshita's mother stared into the distance and spoke again: "Yono, is it painful for you to inherit the family business?"

"I've grown accustomed to daily life, so there's no such thing as pain or no pain."

Yukinoshita Haruno simply sat on the ground, supporting herself with her hands, and stared blankly at the sky. In a trance, she seemed to have returned to the scene of talking with her mother when she was a child.

If it were in the past, Yukinoshita's mother would definitely remind her to pay attention to etiquette, or even give her advice, but she doesn't want to say that anymore.

Mother Yukinoshita dug out her fading memories and narrated calmly:

"...I grew up this way before. I've encountered more things and secretly complained about them, but life isn't always as we wish. Looking back, although this path has its hardships and its annoying moments, it's generally been easy and happy. So, I want you to follow my path, so that you can at least grasp the same happiness."

Yukinoshita's mother seemed to be explaining, but also seemed to be talking to herself.

She has always been confident in her teaching, and she is not the type who needs other people's opinions, but her daughter's tears made her realize that she is not absolutely right.

The image of her mother in her mind became increasingly deviant and distinct.

"But this family inheritance isn't that important to me. To me, it represents my parents' expectations and responsibilities. My father passed it down to me. Other relatives are just vines clinging to this big tree. I have an obligation to protect it, but that's all."

Yukinoshita's mother said without hesitation:

"If I had to choose, I would choose you, even if it means disappointing my father."

She looked straight into Yang Nai's eyes, which were gentle, apologetic and regretful.

“Although it may be a little too late to say this now…

Yang Nai, just choose the way of life you like."

How can I describe my current mood?

Joyful, melancholy, confused...

She heard what she wanted to hear and felt what she longed for from her mother's attitude, but, but...

Yukinoshita Haruno thought that she must not have forgiven her mother yet, after all, this was resentment that had accumulated for more than ten years.

But I don't hate her that much anymore.

She carried these feelings of more than ten years——

"What if I say I want to go abroad?"

Ask quietly.

"The world outside is not safe right now. Short-term travel is fine, but long-term settlement requires careful consideration." Her mother gave her the answer she had always wanted.

Yukinoshita Haruno then asked, "...What if I want to play in a band?"

"This world is too complicated. If you can ensure you don't develop bad habits and just treat it as a hobby, then it's fine."

"Even if you say so, I don't know what to do. You've already planned my life into a single trajectory..."