Uneasy daily life

It probably wasn't intentional; it was just a habitual way of looking around that led me to see it... right?

That door...that room...I don't remember it being rented out; nobody lived there at all.

Yukino Shinobu unconsciously furrowed her brow, a vague sense of irritation creeping over her.

She didn't close the door, but Ji retrieved the apartment key from her home and, with a sense of needing to confirm something, slowly approached the security door.

It's strange, I don't know why, but I suddenly really want to open this door and see what's inside.

What am I doing?

Yukino Yukinoshita was puzzled, but since the apartment hadn't been rented out, she, as the agent apartment manager, had the right to open the door.

As the key was slowly inserted into the lock, my emotions began to boil over for some reason, gradually building up and controlling my body to act on its own.

Even though I don't remember anyone living in this house, for some reason... I suddenly felt a sense of anticipation, as if I was looking forward to opening the door and finding something inside.

Click.

The door lock clicked crisply, and Yukino Yukinoshita forgot to breathe as she slowly pushed the door open.

Light streamed into the house from outside, but the interior remained dimly lit, filled with a somber, oppressive smell. The curtains, sofa, wall-mounted TV, tables, and chairs were all drawn, covered with dust cloths. The shoe rack in the entryway was empty, and a thin layer of dust blanketed the floor, creating a desolate atmosphere.

The snow that had accumulated in my heart instantly turned into an avalanche, rushing down and emptying everything.

Sure enough, no one lived there at all, just as I had imagined.

Yukino Yukinoshita gently closed the door, the pressure in her heart dissipating completely, and she slowly breathed a sigh of relief.

Everything was normal. Everything that happened was exactly as I remembered. It was just a sudden impulse, an impulsive emotion for which I didn't even know the reason, that led me to do such a strange thing.

Adults trust their own thoughts, knowledge, impressions, and memories more. No matter how deep the grief, it is not deeper than silence; no matter how great the joy, it is not greater than a smile. Therefore, they will not do anything impulsive or on a whim.

Children, on the other hand, may suddenly have an intense desire for something or do something, without considering logic or the situation, acting solely on their feelings without reason. They simply want it, and if others try to stop or deny it, they will throw a tantrum, crying and screaming...

This is the unreasonable emotion of children.

I'm still a child, so it's normal for me to cry, right?

Yukino Yukinoshita leaned against the door in front of her, covering her mouth with her hand. She looked down at the wet patches on the ground, gradually spreading with sadness, through her blurred vision. She didn't know what was making her cry, but the tears seemed to have their own thoughts, constantly overflowing from the corners of her eyes.

All the irritability, discomfort, doubt, and unease seemed to be absorbed into the dusty room the moment the door opened, leaving only a bottomless void that could be filled with countless tears.

Yukino Yukinoshita's fingers, which were gripping the door, clenched into a fist. She managed to regain some of her thoughts, unable to understand her own feelings, but she still forced herself to think.

Thinking may be outdated, knowledge may be flawed, impressions may be embellished and manipulated, and memory itself is fragmented and hazy...

Memory and knowledge can lie, but the heart cannot.

No matter how profound the reasoning, it cannot twist pain into joy.

Yukino Yukinoshita was still lost in her emotions. She took a deep breath, raised her hand to wipe her messy eyes, and quickly made a judgment about a possibility.

Puberty syndrome.

Just as Sakurajima-senpai was gradually forgotten, and people's impression of her faded little by little, it was Toyohama who finally pulled her out of her pessimism...

Something must have happened that I don't know about, making me extremely sad, even if I have no recollection of it.

Yukino Yukinoshita composed herself and began to think seriously.

Is it... a person?

A person living in this house, someone who makes you habitually pay attention to the house, someone...

Boy friend?

Yukino Yukinoshita recalled her conversation with her sister and instinctively denied her guess.

No, no, no, how could that be!

She's crying her eyes out over her boyfriend. What kind of movie plot is this? I'm not some love-struck fool who's ready to die.

Hmm...it must be someone I have a good relationship with, someone I'm somewhat attracted to?

Impossible, absolutely impossible. I have so many things I want to do, how could I possibly be interested in romance...

Yukino Yukinoshita frowned, rubbing her temples hard with her fingers, feeling as if her mind and heart were locked in a tug-of-war.

My heart says: I'm not lying! Believe me!

Brain: I don't believe you for a second!

Forget it, I don't want to think about these things for now...

This unusual situation requires consulting a professional.

"Huh? Anxinyuan is in the hospital?"

Chapter 101 is not as usual

Today's breakfast was very lavish; they even brought out the last few sausages and prepared some unusual snacks.

Preparing so much food so early in the morning?

Angelina was full of questions and suspicious: "Mom, are you alright? What important holiday is it today?"

"An'an, are you okay?"

The mother from the nursing home threw the question back at them.

Angelina looked bewildered: "?"

“If you have any troubles, you can tell us,” Anxin’s father said earnestly. “We may not be able to help, but we can listen to you.”

Angelina raised her right eyebrow and lowered her left: "??"

“Yes.” The mother in the nursing home smiled kindly and said gently, “Don’t be afraid, we are your mom and dad.”

Angelina leaned back, her face filled with terror: "Are you all alright?!"

The sudden outpouring of concern and care from the parents sent chills down the child's spine.

"Is it you who have a terminal illness, or me?"

Angelina couldn't help but ask, her mind wandering.

Her parents gave her hesitant looks, as if they wanted to say something but couldn't.

“I already said yesterday was an accident,” Angelina immediately retorted. “The fortune teller deliberately died in front of me, what could I do? Those guys in the Scarlet Troupe just love to cause trouble for their comrades, it’s part of their corporate culture, it has nothing to do with me…”

“Yesterday, I asked the police officer to make a copy of the interrogation video for me, because his comments about you faking your insanity and such made me feel a bit strange…”

Anxinyuan's father took out his phone, his expression turning serious. He opened a video and placed the phone on the table: "Take a look."

Angelina was baffled. The police officer from yesterday must have had a bad temper. He just wouldn't let her go, even after she proved she wasn't a suspect. He still accused her of contempt of court and feigning madness, and told her to be ready to follow up on the case at any time.

You're the one pretending to be crazy!

Angelina muttered a few words to the police officer in her mind, then looked down at her phone, her eyes slowly widening.

In the video, when faced with the friendly questions from the police officer, the brown-haired girl babbled blankly, the video being extremely clear and the sound capture was very accurate, truly befitting a police station camera.

What the heck? How could I be so stupid?

Angelina was bewildered. In her memory, she had just entered a police station, been questioned, and was frightened by the police officer's bad temper. In the end, her parents were called, which was normal, since someone had died in broad daylight... So, she actually pretended to be crazy?

[Growth...A?]

Huh? What am I talking about?

Angelina scratched her head, pondering. "Growth A? I should have gotten a C recently, right? Does that mean Yukino Yukinoshita? Ugh! What strange thoughts! So what does 'Growth A' mean? Does it mean something has grown to A...?"

"An'an," Anxinyuan's mother asked worriedly, "Have you been having any worries lately?"

Angelina: (ˉ﹃ˉ).

My daughter suddenly became mentally unstable?!

Anxinyuan's mother and father quickly got up.

Take your daughter to the hospital to see a doctor right away!

……

It's too late today, I'll go see my classmates from Anxin Academy tomorrow.

After dinner, Yukino Yukinoshita sat at her desk, frowning. The emptiness and sadness she had felt earlier gradually faded, leaving only an exceptionally strong sense of tearing apart.

Why am I sad? Why am I so sad? It's absurd that I can't empathize with myself.

If I try to sort out the situation, it's probably like Sakurajima-senpai's puberty syndrome? Someone who was close to me disappeared... This puberty syndrome has also changed many traces left by that person, such as that house returning to an uninhabited state, which is different from Sakurajima-senpai.

Yukino Yukinoshita calmed herself down and thought things through, searching for any traces that might be related to the other person.

If that person is close to me, given my sister's personality, she'll definitely try to cause trouble... like giving me gloves and lubricant?

That's something only an older sister would do.

It couldn't have been something he bought himself, could it? That would be too much of a romantic idiot.

Wait... if my memory isn't reliable, then there are all the things my sister bought for herself... plus her behavior today...

Yukino Yukinoshita's expression turned cold as she took out her phone and called Yukino Haruno.

"Someone I don't remember might be closely related to me, so I bought those things not for Yukino-chan, but for that person?" Yukinoshita Haruno summarized, then burst into laughter, "Yukino-chan, are you sick or am I sick? Haruno doesn't even know what she likes, how could she possibly like anyone? It's more like I just wanted to tease Yukino-chan, but when I actually did it, I realized it wasn't fun, so I changed my mind."

“There are many extraordinary things in the world. Do you remember the puberty syndrome, sister? You had a lot of fun back then.” Yukino Yukinoshita said in a deep voice, “Sometimes, even memories are unreliable, so I trust my feelings… Someone disappeared and was very important to me—you must have had similar feelings, right? It’s just that your current memories have taken you to a strange angle.”

[I'm suddenly a little envious of Yukino-chan... My older sister doesn't believe anything, but I could believe Yukino-chan a little.] Yukinoshita Haruno suddenly asked with interest, [So, I successfully stole Yukino-chan's boyfriend?]

"I don't think I'm interested in dating. I'm not Yuihama."

Yukino Yukinoshita said calmly, "It's probably a boy I'm close to. My sister got close to him out of possessiveness and to test him, and then we ended up having some kind of intimate relationship..."

"Impossible, absolutely impossible." Yukinoshita Haruno reasoned earnestly, "I would never do anything to hurt Yukino-chan—I think if there were such a person, he would definitely be a scumbag, flirting with Yukino-chan while also stealing Haruno, ready to eat two bowls of rice!"

Yukino Yukinoshita said with dissatisfaction, "How could I possibly get close to such scum?"

[It's hard for Yukino-chan to tell, after all, she's a little idiot whose IQ drops completely when she's infatuated with a relationship.] Yukinoshita Haruno continued her deduction, [Then that person secretly tried to seduce Haruno without Yukino-chan's knowledge, and the quick-witted Haruno saw through the disguise on the spot. Out of amusement, she became his girlfriend, planning to reveal his true colors to Yukino-chan at a crucial moment... Hmm, as expected of me.]

"hehe."

Yukino Yukinoshita chuckled softly, "Isn't my sister the idiot? She actually bought all those things; it's obvious she's really interested..."

【But I also bought those things for Yukino-chan.】Yukinoshita Haruno produced evidence, 【This shows that Yukino-chan is on the first level, that person is on the second level, and I'm on the third level! It's impossible for me to fall in love with someone like that; how could I be stupid enough to fall in love with a jerk?】

The two argued about who was the idiot, but neither remembered it. They ended up labeling each other with baseless accusations.

However, there was one thing the two of them were vaguely certain of.

That guy is most likely a scumbag who's secretly two-timing someone?!

The same thought flashed through their minds: How could I possibly be deceived by a scumbag? It must be my older sister (Yukino-chan) who was deceived, and I'm on a higher level!

Anyway, I'll go find Angelina tomorrow, hoping to get some clues.

……

"Kaori, have you started dating someone lately?"

In the office, Sakurajima's mother met with Toyohama Kazuka, her expression serious yet tinged with curiosity.

"Dating?" Feng Bin and Hua crossed their arms, tapping their toes impatiently on the ground, completely baffled. "Auntie, what nonsense are you talking about? The team's business is on the rise right now, where would I find the time to date? Besides, I don't even have anyone I like..."

Still trying to hide it?

Sakurajima's mother glanced at her and said calmly, "During training breaks, you inexplicably space out. During preparation time for a show, you suddenly take out your phone and then put it back without doing anything. Occasionally, you'll cross your arms, stand on your tiptoes, and drift off into a state of frustration and distraction... Why do you think that is?"

"Uh……"

Feng Bin and Hua were taken aback, and a question popped out instinctively: "Missing your sister?"

"?" Sakurajima's mother's expression turned strange. She recalled how, during every interview, when asked who her daughter liked the most, she would always say without hesitation, "Ms. Sakurajima Mai..."

Sakurajima's mother said without changing her expression, "How come Kazuka likes Mai more than I, her mother, do?"

“Because Auntie is just my sister’s mother, but I’m a big fan of my sister.” Feng Bin and Hua exuded an inexplicable aura of confidence. “My sister has been acting since she was a child star. I’ve seen all her works and her commercials. I know best how much effort she has put in and how much she has improved with each performance. She is such a talented and beautiful person. Mom and Dad only care about the results… Ah, I’m not talking about you. I’m talking about my parents.”

"Yes, yes..."

Sakurajima's mother's expression became somewhat strained, and she wanted to loudly declare her disapproval of the marriage: "Anyway, focus on yourselves lately. Prepare well for the upcoming performances and train hard. Although you've gained some strange fame through the film this year, which is an improvement from being ignored, whether you can turn around public opinion and attitudes depends on your abilities..."

After a brief conversation, Feng Bin and Hua left the office excitedly; it was a holiday today.

Sakurajima's mother sat in her office, her expression unusually solemn.