A guide to survival in a heavy girl's world

A vortex of self-denial began to gradually engulf Chihaya Aine's thoughts. The indescribable anxiety and tension made her breathing become a little rapid.

At this moment, Chihaya Tetsuya suddenly spoke again:

"Has this six months of overseas life really been completely fruitless for you, Aine?"

Chihaya Tetsuya looked at his sister seriously.

"The self-care skills you developed by being alone abroad for six months, the endurance you developed in an unfamiliar cultural environment, and the self-reflection you just expressed—I don't think you would have been able to learn these things if you hadn't gone to England... Think about it, if you hadn't gone abroad and had continued to stay in junior high school, you would still be the respected student council president and the most popular Aine-chan in the class. But in that unchanging environment, how much growth could you have achieved?"

"…………"

Chihaya Aine was stunned at first, then lowered her head and murmured:

"...Compared to my failures over the past six months, are these gains really worth it?"

After six months of living abroad, her ability to take care of herself and adjust her mindset has indeed improved significantly compared to her junior high school days.

However, is this extremely ordinary growth that everyone would experience really worthy of all the failures she has experienced in the past six months?

After making the choice to "give up", could she really use the word "worth it" to confidently summarize the bitterness of the past six months?

"I don't know about that kind of thing. After all, whether it's worth it or not is a very subjective matter. It's something you should consider for yourself."

Even in the face of his sister's shaken and fragile posture, Chihaya Tetsuya's tone remained as calm as ever.

"Having never been abroad, I can't empathize with your experience, so I'm not in a position to judge the choice you ultimately made...but at least in my opinion, you've matured a lot more than you did six months ago."

After saying that, he turned his head and glanced at the garbage bags filled with discarded manuscripts at the door...

Aine sorted all of that by herself while he was still washing up.

"Compliments like 'maturity' are really too cheap..."

Chihaya Aine picked up the pillow beside her, and then, like a tumbler, she unconsciously swayed from side to side while muttering something.

"Whether it's worth it or not, it's up to me to judge..."

Ever since she returned to Japan, her mother has been trying to comfort her by saying things like, "You've tried your best," and "Aine has done a great job."

However, Chihaya Aine could not easily accept these gentle affirmations.

She had tried hard... What had she tried so hard for, since she would run away as soon as she felt nervous?

She has done a great job. What on earth has she done well when she spent a full six months trying to adapt to a foreign environment?

Chihaya Aine is not the type to be easily discouraged. On the contrary, she is very proactive and has a positive personality. She has always been accustomed to self-affirmation. Before going abroad, she had always lived a life where she was sought after and everything went smoothly.

Because of this, for Chihaya Aine, who had never experienced failure, the setbacks of the past six months caused her self-confidence to be shaken so drastically for the first time.

If even she begins to doubt herself, how will others view her?

Will all the admiration and recognition she once received become a joke that will be slapped in the face, and will everything she once had be lost to her from now on?

The more confident a person is, the more likely he is to fall into the vortex of self-denial.

In this situation, what she needed was not empty and blind affirmation, but someone who could help her stop wasting her energy and regain her composure.

(If I hadn't gone abroad, although I would still be living the life I love and being sought after, I would have lost the opportunity to re-examine myself and would not have become who I am now.)

……

"...The reason why I came back to see you so anxiously was probably to hear you tell me this."

After pondering for a long time, Chihaya Aine finally sat up straight again and let out a long breath.

"Brother, you never say irresponsible words to comfort me, nor do you rashly affirm or deny me. You always look at my affairs calmly and objectively, and give the most honest answers."

A relieved smile appeared on Chihaya Aine's face.

"Failure, gain, it's all worth it... Thanks to my brother, I finally have an excuse to continue to be confident in myself."

"The word 'excuse' is too bad. At least change it to 'reason'."

"That won't do. Excuses are just excuses! Before starting my new school life, I won't be as blindly self-affirming as I was in the past!"

Chihaya Aine said as she stood up and made a cheering gesture for herself:

"Brother, you too, please continue to look at me with such a calm and gentle gaze!"

"Oh, of course."

Seeing that Chihaya Aine had cheered up again, a faint smile finally appeared on Chihaya Tetsuya's face.

"Then as an encouragement to you, I'll treat you to sushi at noon today."

"Sure! Oh, by the way, since I just mentioned the self-care ability I've developed over the past six months...why don't I just make lunch today—"

"Forget it, I really don't think living in England will improve my cooking skills."

"Eh?! That's not what you just said!"

“…Aine, this shop has smoked salmon. Would you like to try that?”

"want!"

"Ok."

“…Really.”

Unlike those brothers in girls' comics who dote on their sisters and support them mindlessly no matter what they do, Chihaya Tetsuya's attitude towards her has always been so restrained and calm.

On the one hand, this is because of the deep-rooted idea of ​​"repaying gratitude" in his heart, and on the other hand, it is also because of the environment he was born in.

Abandoned at a young age and living in an orphanage until the age of twelve, he had a much more painful and bitter childhood than his peers. However, this childhood experience has given him this consistent calmness.

……

So, what role did the girl named "Hoshino Ai" play in his childhood memories?

A companion in times of trouble? A close friend or relative? Or...

A sister-like existence...

"Let's... investigate a little."

While Chihaya Tetsuya was still ordering takeout, Chihaya Aine also took out her mobile phone and searched for information related to [Summer Zodiac].

However, the moment she saw the photo of the two of them, she immediately fell into a daze——

Chapter 3: Reasons to look up at the stars

It was a photo of idols that was completely different from what Chihaya Aine had imagined.

Although they are members of the same group, the two are not wearing the same clothes...it can even be said that the styles are completely different.

Standing on the left was a girl with blonde hair, purple eyes, beautiful features, and a model-like figure, tall and well-proportioned. She wore a black corseted dress and black ankle boots. Besides being amazed by her figure and appearance, what struck Chihaya Aine most was her graceful and elegant demeanor, her adult-like aura. If it weren't for the age indicated above, Chihaya Aine would never have thought she was her own age.

Comprehensive, confident, and impeccable.

[Summer Triangle - Chuhua] is the comment given to her by this magazine.

And the person standing next to her...Chihaya Aine is really hard to describe clearly in words.

Pure, delicate, tender, shining, great, magical...

The short skirt is not too extreme, and there is not even a vest that exposes the belly. Obviously, there is no sexy element, but it still makes people feel excited.

Just the right curves, just the right proportions, just the right smile, and a face that is so hard to look away from that you can't help but think of the word "God" at just one glance.

Without any unnecessary embellishment, the evaluation above her name is the most perfect summary of her.

【First-magnitude star——Hoshino Ai】

"The brightest star..."

Chihaya Aine murmured absentmindedly:

"Is this the person my brother has been looking for?"

"……kindness?"

At the same time, Chihaya Tetsu, who had just ordered takeout, suddenly noticed that his sister seemed a little strange.

Out of concern, he hurriedly asked:

"What's wrong? What happened, Aine?"

After hearing Chihaya Tetsuya's voice, Chihaya Aine raised her head and asked with a dull look on her face:

"Brother, you should have seen the promotional photos for [Summer Zodiac], right?"

"Seen."

Chihaya Tetsuya replied in the same way.

"After all, I'm going to design custom clothes for them this time, so of course I need to know some relevant information about them beforehand."

"This Miss Hoshino Ai... is she the one you've been trying so hard to find, the one who grew up with you in the orphanage?"

"……kindness."

After hearing this, Chihaya Tetsuya hesitated for a while, then slowly nodded.

"Yes, it's her."

"Isn't this too cute?!"

Chihaya Aine finally couldn't bear the shock in her heart and screamed loudly.

"Is there really such a cute girl in this world? Huh? This is so fake! People like this are born to be idols! Even a girl like me couldn't help but stare at her photo for a full half minute!"

"...?"

Hearing Chihaya Aine's overly excited exclamation, Chihaya Tetsuya showed a slightly confused expression.

"I-I see. I'm so glad that this is what you want..."

"No wonder you want to find her so badly and take this mission so seriously...it turns out it's all because of this!"

Faced with such a beautiful girl and her brother's "chaste" lifestyle, Chihaya Aine naturally came to a conclusion.

"Brother, you really like Miss Hoshino, right?"

"……………………kindness?"

After hearing this, Chihaya Tetsuya stared blankly for a long time, then rubbed his chin and murmured:

"...I see. Is that generally how it's understood?"

Faced with Chihaya Aine's groundless and bold guess, Chihaya Tetsuya's reaction remained very calm, as if what the other party was talking about was something that had nothing to do with him.

"But that's normal. From today's perspective, Ai has indeed grown into a very attractive girl."

"It's more than just charming! This charm has far surpassed cuteness and reached the level of 'dignity'!"

Chihaya Aine naturally believed that with this charm that even girls would be deeply amazed by, any boy would definitely fall in love with this "first-class star" with absolute beauty...even her usually cold brother was no exception.

However, Chihaya Tetsuya's next words suddenly reminded her of something very important -

"But when we were still living in the orphanage, I was only eleven years old and Ai was only eight years old."

In the face of Chihaya Aine's somewhat stunned expression, Chihaya Tetsuya said calmly:

"She was dressed in ill-fitting, old clothes, and her hair was roughly cut short with scissors. She ate only a few slices of bread and tasteless soup. Not only did she have to do handicrafts every day without any conditions, but she was also often beaten and scolded by the adults in the orphanage..."

"In this situation, do you think Ai and I really have the time to think about anything other than survival?"

"……what."

Hearing this, the restless pink emotions in Chihaya Aine's heart instantly vanished, replaced by deep regret and heartache for Chihaya Tetsuya's tragic memories.

That's true. Under such circumstances, how could two young people develop such "extravagant" feelings?

Recalling how servile Chihaya Tetsuya was when he first came to Chihaya's house, Chihaya Aine suddenly felt a sharp pain deep in her chest.

"I'm sorry, I was too narrow-minded... It's all my fault for making my brother recall such painful memories..."

"It's okay. At this point, the memories of the orphanage are a thing of the past for me. Besides, it's hard for ordinary people to understand the relationship and feelings between me and love."

Chihaya Tetsuya's eyes suddenly became distant:

"Even though we knew full well that the other person wasn't family, we both tried hard to act like one. Warmth, trust, cherishment, love... within this false relationship, we sincerely sought these things we longed for. We accompanied each other, and at the same time, we were deeply dependent on each other... In fact, even if you asked me to describe our relationship, I'd find it hard to find a single word to sum it up. If I had to say... Love is my benefactor. Without her, I really can't imagine how I would have survived my days in the orphanage."

It is for this reason that Chihaya Tetsuya attaches so much importance to this task.

"It's been seven years since the orphanage was closed down... Perhaps she no longer considers me special, or even has forgotten me altogether. But no matter what, I must repay her kindness in my own way."