In crossover anime, who isn't a childhood friend?

As they said goodbye and goodnight in front of their separate rooms that evening, Kazusa called out to Chiya Minamoto, looking hesitant, "If you start classes tomorrow, you won't be able to practice the piano during the day, right?"

Yuan Qianye shook his head frankly at this: "It's okay, it's the same as before. I never listened to the teacher in class before, and it's the same now that I'm learning online. I can just leave my phone there and let it run in the background, it should be fine."

This confidence comes from being a top student who is favored by his teachers.

However, this also reminded Chiya: "By the way, Touma, you have to start classes tomorrow..."

"I'm fine!" Kazusa quickly said, "Anyway, I basically never pay attention in class. I'm either daydreaming or sleeping!"

They spoke with such confidence, seemingly without any sense that there was anything wrong with it.

The academic genius and the academic underachiever, two completely different kinds of beings, have reached a subtle common result at this moment.

Yuan Qianye still felt something was amiss: "We still need to study..."

Kazusa immediately interrupted him: "I decided a long time ago that I would make piano my lifelong pursuit, so there's no need to worry about learning it. It's really not that important."

That does seem to make some sense...

For a moment, Yuan Qianye was unable to utter a rebuttal.

"That's settled then. Everything will remain the same from now on. Goodnight, see you tomorrow." Kazusa, fearing that Chiyo might launch into another long-winded speech, quickly made the agreement and then hurriedly returned to her room and closed the door.

Looking at Kazusa's closed room, Gen Chiya softly said goodnight before returning to his own room.

He also realized that there was no need to be so overbearing in his fatherly way, urging Kazusa to study hard.

If Kazusa really needs help with her studies later, he can teach her the way she's teaching him now.

Middle school courses in Japan are really simple.

At least that's how he sees it.

Lying in bed, Yuan Qianye opened her phone's messaging app.

Shihua's chat box was at the top. Her last message was sent around 5 p.m., saying that she wanted to chat with Yuan Qianye after he was less busy.

As a result, she got so engrossed in playing the piano with Kazusa that they stayed up until the early hours of the morning.

I don't know if she's asleep or not.

Just as Yuan Qianye typed some text into the chat box, "snap!" Toka popped up a video call!

How scary! Is she staring at her chat interface the whole time?

Then, the moment the "typing is happening" message appeared, they contacted me directly!

With a nervous heart, Yuan Qianye answered the video call, and the moment he saw Toka on the other end of the screen, his expression turned into that of an old man on the subway.

The two of them stared at each other silently for a long time, using their phone screens as a medium.

Finally, Yuan Qianye couldn't hold back any longer: "Shihua, take off your face mask before you talk to me. Your face is all white right now, which reminds me of a white-faced monk with a monkey face."

Shihua did as she was told. When the face mask was removed, her moist and beautiful face was revealed, but she still couldn't help but complain: "Why do you think I put on a face mask? It's because I waited for you until so late."

So, he really was staring at our chat interface the whole time...

"What's wrong? Is something the matter?"

"Something really happened." As Shika threw the face mask into the trash can, the video feed changed, and Yuan Qianye saw a scene that was extremely familiar to him.

"Tohka, are you in my room now?"

Shihua replied matter-of-factly, "Yeah, why should I squeeze into the room with that kid when you're not home? I've already washed, dried, and put your bed sheet in the closet. You can change it when you come back."

"Thank you..."

Back to topic.

"Business at our family bar hasn't been very good lately."

"I think so too."

After all, the flu and cold outbreaks are getting more and more serious, and schools are avoiding large gatherings and have started online learning.

The impact on physical stores will likely be even greater.

"Business hasn't been as good as before these past few days, but the net profit is still around 30,000 to 40,000 yuan a day. I'm just letting you know, so don't worry too much."

These past few days, Dad has noticed that there's basically no business at the shop late at night, so he's been coming home very early. Today was no exception; he was home around 9 p.m.

I think this is good; it allows him to rest properly for a while. Since opening the shop, he hasn't had a proper rest for several months. Now he can spend more time with his mother.

"really."

Chiya Minamoto agreed with Toka's point of view. After all, money is something you can never earn enough for, but good health is always the most important thing. Just look at the example of Yoko Touma to understand this.

"Also, there's something else." Shihua stood up, opened the door, and could clearly hear laughter coming from the living room: "We have guests today, can you guess who it is?"

Is there even a need to guess?

The moment he heard that familiar laughter, Gen Chiyo recognized it as Touma Yoko's voice.

But what is she doing at my house?

…………

088: How did you get her pregnant like that? (5000)

After closing the door, Shihua tiptoed back to bed and lay down.

She had never felt anything when she slept in the same room as Rikka before, but now that she finally had her own space to herself, her happiness level had indeed increased significantly.

After all, they are high school students, and they have indeed reached a sensitive age where they need to pay attention to their privacy.

"What exactly are they talking about?" Yuan Qianye asked curiously.

The time was too short; he could only hear Touma Yoko's laughter and the crisp clinking of glasses, but he couldn't make out the specific content of their conversation.

"You're quite the gossip, aren't you?" Shihua remarked.

Yuan Qianye shook his head: "I'm just curious about the purpose of that aunt's visit to our house. It can't really be just to invite my parents for drinks, can it?"

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, but it seems that's all there is to it. It appears that the aunt went to the store first, and then went home with her parents around nine o'clock for a second round. They seemed to be having a good time, and I even went to the kitchen to prepare some snacks for them to go with their drinks."

"……Thanks a lot."

"nothing."

The conversation paused for a moment.

Shihua tilted her head slightly and started a new topic: "How are things on your end?"

She originally wanted Yuan Qianye to say it himself, rather than having her ask.

In reality, apart from the first day of quarantine when Yuan Qianye took the initiative to call her to explain the situation and chat for a while, in the following days, the two of them only occasionally exchanged a few words via text message.

Aside from knowing that her adopted brother hadn't died while in quarantine, she knew very little about other more specific details.

After all, they are family, so there will definitely be some worry.

"pretty good."

It's really great. The food is good and the sleep is good. Plus, the Touma house is very big and has a very nice garden. Even if you don't go out for a long time, you won't feel bored.

Don't you feel awkward or uncomfortable staying at someone else's house?

"From this perspective, it's definitely more comfortable to be at home."

"Are you eating?"

"That's good too. The Touma family already had a lot of food in their refrigerator, not to mention that because Aunt Youzi spent money these past few days, the vegetables delivered by the neighborhood community have all become high-end goods."

At this point, Shihua realized that although it wasn't to the point of being so happy that he forgot about home, Qianye had probably been quite comfortable staying at the Dongma family's place.

His radiant, ruddy face on the video screen also corroborated this.

This was completely different from the pained and melancholy tone and expression she had when she overheard Touma Yoko talking about her quarantine experience in the living room.

What would be quite torturous for others became a pleasure for him.

I was worried about whether he was comfortable sleeping at someone else's house, and whether he would eat well...

In hindsight, it was unnecessary to worry about it.

Yes, Touma Kazusa is a girl... she's quite cute.

If I were a boy, I would probably also be eager to spend time alone with her.

Shihua let out a shallow breath, her voice heavy with suppressed emotions; she couldn't quite sort out the complex feelings swirling within her.

I suddenly lost interest and didn't want to continue the conversation.

"That's settled then. It's getting late, so let's get some rest."

"I'll be going back in a week. Thank you for your hard work these past few days. I'll help you stretch your legs again when I get back."

"...Whatever you want."

Seeing Yuan Qianye smile and wave at the camera, Toka ended the video call.

She ruffled her long, loose hair, her fingertips finally resting on her neck, on the necklace.

There's only one week left...

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Touma Kazusa had never felt time fly by so quickly.

Two weeks seemed to fly by.

The unexpected expression on Gen Chiya's face when the medical staff arrived that afternoon seemed as vivid as if it had just happened yesterday.

As soon as the quarantine was lifted, Aunt Shibata came to the Touma family's house.

I thought that since she couldn't come over during this time, the two young people together would definitely make a mess of the house, and there would be a lot of things to clean up.

But the result was completely unexpected.

Both the living room and the kitchen were very clean, the floor was spotless, there were no dirty dishes piled up in the sink, and even the range hood was as clean as new.

It's obvious that someone is intentionally taking care of hygiene every day.

She had watched Kazusa grow up over the years and knew that Kazusa's personality made it highly unlikely that she would do such a thing, so there was only one possibility.