Tokyo: My Girlfriend

At the residence of the Aoki siblings, Aoki Hirano immediately went home after school and started playing a dating sim.

Hearing the key turn in the lock, I glanced at my hot older sister carrying medicine and dinner home: "Sis's back? What did you buy?"

Akemi Aoki took off her high heels and tossed a few bags of bread to her younger brother: "Make do with this."

"Bread?" Aoki Hirano took it with both hands, then exclaimed in shock, "Didn't you say we were having meat tonight? You're messing with me again."

Aoki Akemi glanced at her younger brother with her fox-like eyes, her tone tinged with a hint of cold displeasure: "Shut up. If you don't like what I bought, go buy it yourself."

The bedroom door slammed shut, startling Aoki Hirano.

I wondered what was wrong with my older sister?

She was perfectly fine before leaving the house, so why did she suddenly get so angry?

Menopause at eighteen?

"Did you and your partner have a fight? How about I act as a mediator and smooth things over? It's okay for couples to bicker."

From inside the bedroom, Akemi yelled, "Shut up! If you say another useless word, believe me, I'll throw your controller away!"

He swallowed hard, not daring to cause any more trouble: "I was just trying to be helpful, it was really scary."

After returning to her bedroom, Akemi Aoki lay on her bed, tightly hugging the doll on the bed.

Haruhi Hina's words still echoed in her ears, but Aoki Akemi was no ordinary person. She had never been in a relationship, while her friends had all been in over a hundred.

Therefore, she was not unaware of what Haruhi Hina was saying.

Her slender fingers gripped the doll so tightly that it dented it:

"I must not be swayed by her words. I can feel that the distance between me and Shinichi is getting closer. As long as I can successfully be with Shinichi, I can change back to my own style later."

She opened the newly bought stomach medicine and chewed it in her mouth, as if to comfort herself: "Besides, I'm not imitating her for all my makeup. I'm still Aoki Akemi, there's nothing to worry about."

---------

"Rena! Do you have to be this close to me to watch TV?"

On the sofa, Shinichi Kitagawa was originally sitting there watching TV after dinner, but Rena Kitagawa didn't sit next to him. Instead, she wrapped her arms around his neck from behind the sofa.

She pressed her face against his, just sticking her butt out behind him to watch.

Kitagawa Shinichi asked her helplessly if she was tired. She said she wasn't tired, but how could she be comfortable in that position?

So for Rena's sake, Kitagawa Shin had to lie on the sofa, but Kitagawa Rena went even further.

Seeing that her brother had already lain down properly, she jumped into his arms, hugged his waist, and pressed her cheek against his heart: "Watching TV like this is definitely more comfortable."

Shinichi Kitagawa really didn't know how to respond.

It always feels a bit off when siblings are inseparable after coming home every day.

"What kind of younger sister is this clingy to her older brother?"

"Isn't that how it is between Shin-ichi and me? Besides, we're not really siblings, and Shin-ichi doesn't want me to bother you, does he? If he doesn't want to, then you can hit me." He pressed his face against hers.

Shinichi Kitagawa wasn't surprised by this: "Here we go again. You keep saying this every day just because Rena knows I wouldn't do that."

Kitagawa Rena stared at him with her cool eyes, poking his chest with her chin: "So why don't you just accept my feelings and be with me? You're single anyway, so I don't understand why you won't agree to date me."

Shinichi Kitagawa picked up the remote and changed the channel: "Because my feelings for Rena haven't reached that level yet, it already feels strange to be close to her like this. I wouldn't even dare to think about doing anything more intimate."

"What do you mean by 'not to that extent'?" Kitagawa Rena suddenly understood something, her pupils trembling as she climbed off him. "Could it be... that Shinichi has already realized you like me a little?! Is that what you mean?!"

Kitagawa Shinichi quickly explained, "No."

The doorbell rang, and Shinichi Kitagawa quickly sat up: "Stop messing around, someone's here, I'll go open the door."

Rena Kitagawa, who was reclining on the sofa, saw Shinichi Kitagawa immediately get up to open the door, and she inexplicably laughed.

What does Shin-il's hasty escape signify?

This means that although he says he feels that way about her as his sister, he doesn't actually feel that way in his heart.

Why run away? Isn't it just because you're shy?

Upon arriving at the entrance, Shinichi Kitagawa straightened his clothes and, looking through the peephole, recognized Kana.

She was also wearing a shrine maiden outfit and her hair was styled in a Hime cut.

She opened the door: "Kana? What brings you here?"

Holding the invitation, Sato Kana chuckled shyly, "Um... um... something came up..."

Shinichi Kitagawa asked curiously, "Looking for me? Or Rena?"

"Yes, we have them all..."

After a brief silence, Shinichi Kitagawa couldn't figure out what she was trying to say, and the atmosphere suddenly became awkward.

"Then tell me what's wrong."

Sato Kana blushed shyly: "Well, I was wondering if Shinichi and Rena would be free this weekend? We need some tools for the shrine's gathering, but we're short-handed. My mom told me to find someone to help, but... hehe." She scratched her head.

"I looked around but couldn't find anyone. Everyone seemed busy and said they had things to do. So I had to come to you two. I wonder if you two have any time? Although there's no payment, meals are provided, and you can also try the shrine's special chocolate-covered liqueurs."

"Liquor-filled chocolates?"

Kana Sato nodded quickly: "It's exciting!"

Kitagawa Shinichi wondered what was so exciting about this stuff... but he knew that in Japan, people under twenty are not allowed to drink alcohol, which is a special national condition. That's why snacks like liqueur-filled chocolates, which have very low alcohol content, are labeled as stimulating.

At that moment, Rena Kitagawa also came out of the living room: "We're short-handed? Isn't Kana's family very wealthy? How come they're short-handed?"

Kana Sato blinked: "Good evening, Reina! But we don't have any money. The annual maintenance costs for the shrine are very high. It's just that no one believes me when I say we don't have any money. We can barely keep it running."

Reina Kitagawa asked in confusion, "But the shrine is clearly so big."

Kana Sato laughed awkwardly, "That's why nobody believes it..."

Inviting Kana Sato to her home and brewing her tea, I roughly understood that the shrine actually had very low income, and its good appearance was just a facade, built on a foundation passed down through generations. The reason for holding this gathering was that they were short of handymen.

Rena Kitagawa complained, "Aren't any of the people at the mixer busy helping out?"

Kana Sato, holding a cup of hot tea, said, "Hmm, everyone seems pretty busy. Some people are moving, some are taking tutoring, some are going to the hospital, and some seem to be taking their pets to get a bath."

Rena Kitagawa exposes the truth: "Who would believe that everyone is up to something? Why don't we just fire all of them? Anyway, I think only Kana is putting in any real effort at the mixer."

Kana Sato chuckled, "It's not that exaggerated, is it? Everyone's probably just really busy."

Reina Kitagawa asked curiously, "Do you even believe it yourself?"

The other person, head bowed, seemed to understand: "Okay, I don't believe it either. Looks like I'm really not popular."

Rena Kitagawa was speechless. She thought she was already bad at socializing, but Kana did the exact opposite of what she did, yet she had a shockingly small number of friends, and could even be said to have almost no true friends.

Shinichi Kitagawa took out his phone and scrolled through the class group chat, only to find that Kana had already posted it in the group, but no one had responded to her.

Shinichi Kitagawa said, "Even if Rena and I go, we won't have enough people. I heard you say it would be best if seven or eight people came."

Kana Sato added, "But I've already sent it to the group chat. There might be other people who would like to join, but everyone's just too busy to see it?"

Rena Kitagawa took a sip of tea: "I do have an idea! It can get a lot of people at once."

The two were curious.

Then we saw Rena Kitagawa take out her phone and calmly send a voice message in the group: "Shinichi and I are going, is anyone else going? Kana is treating us to dinner."

The once silent class chat suddenly became lively with the voice of the beautiful girl, Reina Kitagawa. Many people said that since that was the case, they should make time to join in the fun.

Kana was stunned as she looked at the flood of messages on her phone: "Why is this happening?!"

Rena Kitagawa explained helplessly:

"Because if my brother goes, the girls in the class will think that a lot of handsome guys will go too, and if I go, the boys in the class will think that a lot of girls will go too, so everyone will go. Judging from the information, seven or eight people will definitely be enough, and there might even be more. Remember not to let everyone go hungry."

Kana Sato didn't know whether to be sad or happy: "What a strange feeling... Rena did something I could never do in my entire life with such ease."

After saying that, she suddenly covered her face and started sobbing, "I know almost everyone in Kabasaki Town, how did I end up like this?! So everyone really did see the news, they just didn't want to talk to me!"

Rena Kitagawa comforted him, "You'll get used to it. This kind of thing will happen often in the future, and I'll often pretend to ignore you." But the person cried even harder.

Shinichi Kitagawa looked at the girl, embarrassed: "Is this comforting or sarcastic, Reina?"

Rena Kitagawa asked, puzzled, "It's to comfort you, how come you can't tell, idiot Shinichi?"

"You're the idiot."

As the weekend approached, the shrine gathering in Kabasaki Town was larger than expected, with small vendors setting up stalls around the area and the shrine grounds packed with people.

Unexpectedly, after Rena's voice message, not only did the whole class come, but many people from other classes also came to join in the fun.

Kana did a quick count and found there were two or three hundred people.

Aunt Sato was surprised to see how well her daughter had connections: "You've invited so many people this year, Kana! Now I don't have to worry about the shrine's future development."

Kana Sato smiled without saying a word, cold sweat dripping down her back: "I think Mom still needs to worry a bit..."

Shinichi Kitagawa scanned the crowd and was surprised to see a slender figure. Kyoko-nee?! What's Kyoko Tamura doing here?