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

Shihua's expression softened, and she smiled just like him: "Thank you for your hard work."

Rikka was indignant at Chiya's drastically different attitude.

She felt that her older sister was treating her differently, but there was nothing she could do about it.

Fortunately, the Black Wings flew over at that moment and landed on her head, soothing her wounded heart.

Rikka went upstairs with her jet-black wings.

Yuan Qianye handed the local specialties he had brought back to Toka and asked, "Toka, do you have a same-city express delivery number?"

Previously, similar flyers had been left in the mailbox at his doorstep. He remembered Shihua saying, "Maybe we'll need them someday," and then she collected and organized them.

"Yes, are you sending something to someone else?"

"Ah."

He bought extra Hakone specialties, as well as a portion for Kazusa and the maid.

Upon hearing this, Shihua didn't ask any further questions, nodded, took her phone, and sent him the courier's number.

Then she went back to the entrance and handed an envelope to Yuan Qianye: "This was received yesterday afternoon. It should be yours. I didn't open it."

Yuan Qianye took it and examined it.

The signature in the mailing section is "Neon Mystery Writers Association".

…………

Volume 1: 145: Two Stingy Guys (6000 words) (5/12)

Gen Chiya opened the letter and read it.

Shihua, who was standing to the side, seemed to care but didn't say anything. She went to the kitchen, poured a glass of water, and placed it on the coffee table for him.

At this moment, Gen Chiya finished reading the letter and looked up to thank Toka.

Shihua then asked softly, "What did the letter say?"

Seeing that she seemed a little nervous, Yuan Qianye knew that she was worried about the novel she had recently submitted to the competition, so he said in a gentle tone, "Don't worry, it's good news. My novel has passed the first review."

As he said this, he handed the letter in his hand to Toka for inspection without any hesitation.

Shihua accepted the letter with both hands with great solemnity. Upon seeing the congratulatory message on the letter, her joy was clearly evident.

Yuan Qianye was not particularly affected by this, and simply took it for granted.

He smiled and took a sip of water.

More than the joy of receiving news that his novel had passed the initial review, he was now more concerned about the smile on Shika's face, which was a more pleasing reward to him.

After reading the letter, Shihua carefully folded it neatly.

Although it wasn't particularly formal, it was undoubtedly one of the honors Qianye had received.

Before Genji's father remarried, Genji had received numerous honors in his studies, including school awards, banners for good deeds, and letters of commendation.

He himself didn't particularly care about these things; they were all carefully arranged by his father, who regarded them as a source of pride and deliberately put them away.

After Runzi's mother and her two daughters joined the family, their relationship grew closer over time.

This kind of thing gradually fell on the shoulders of the volunteer Toka.

She carefully collected all the various competitions that Yuan Qianye participated in, as well as the various honors, awards, and trophies he received.

She saw reality clearly and gave up her dream that she had held onto for many years.

But seeing that Qianye was successfully walking on her own path, she was very happy and sincerely gratified.

After putting the letter back in the envelope, Toka looked up and saw that Minamoto Chiya was staring at her intently with a smile on his face.

She felt a little uncomfortable, but still tried to remain calm: "Congratulations."

"This is just the beginning."

"You're quite good at keeping your composure."

Of course, after all, it was a highly-rated mystery masterpiece that was regarded as a classic by so many readers in its previous life.

"Yes, I'm confident," he continued, smiling.

"..."

Looking at Chiyo's confident smile, Toka felt a dangerous premonition.

Strangely, even after realizing this, she didn't become wary or want to escape.

I can't help but delve deeper, can't help but think about it carefully, can't help but... want to explore further.

Suppressing her pounding heartbeat, Toka stopped talking, stood up, and said as if she were about to run away, "I'm going back to my room. I'll come down later to help you pack your luggage."

"No need, you can help Rikka with her tidying up. I can handle mine myself."

"Ah."

He nodded slightly.

Shika returned to her room.

In this relatively private environment where she was all alone, she was finally able to breathe a little easier.

Her face flushed as she looked at the letter in her hand, recalling the handsome features, large hands, and strong arms of Qianye that she had just seen...

It's only been two days since we last met, so everything should be pretty much the same as before.

But why did she inexplicably feel that Chiya seemed more charming?

It felt like his eyes, his expression, his every move... subtly shed some of his naivety and became more mature...

This letter was definitely in Qianye's hand just now, wasn't it...?

At this moment, Shihua's eyes were filled with a hazy mist, and she gazed intently as she slowly brought the letter in her hand closer to her face.

But it eventually stopped halfway through.

She clenched her teeth, took a deep breath, and kept repeating it in her mind.

He's your brother, he's your brother, he's your... sworn brother...

"...!"

In that instant, realizing what was happening, Shihua took two steps to the bedside and lay down on it.

Her cheeks, buried in the soft pillow, were as red as the sunset clouds on the horizon.

She felt like she was probably really going crazy...

After a moment of quiet reflection, Shihua got up again, carefully wrapped the letter congratulating Qianye on passing the preliminary selection with plastic wrap, opened the transparent sliding window on the bookshelf, and placed it together with his other certificates of merit.

After doing all that, she stared at the bookshelf silently for a moment.

Then, she looked out the window, pondered for a long time, took out her phone, and dialed Yukinoshita's number.

"Ten Flower Sauce, it's quite rare for you to contact me so suddenly."

“We just chatted last night.”

"Sending a text message is completely different from making a phone call."

What's different...?

Shihua ignored all that and got to the point.

"Do you have time to meet up?"

Yang Nai paused for a moment on the other end of the phone, then replied in a light tone.

"of course."

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.

Upon returning, apart from Toka, Gen Chiya did not see anyone else.

It's obvious without even asking where little Chiyo has been taken by Junko's mother again.

As for Dad, needless to say, he's in the prime of his career and is definitely busy with work.

Yeah, it's good to be busy...

After packing her things, Yuan Qianye shared the good news that her novel had passed the initial review with Eriri and Shiyu.

They were part of the novel, and he felt it was necessary for them to know this news as well.

Although the specific rules for the internal selection of the Edogawa Rampo Award are not very clear.

But this is undoubtedly good news.

According to official sources, the announcement of the winning entries will likely take place sometime between late January and the end of the month.

It's only January 9th, and the preliminary results are already out, which is surprisingly fast.

This somewhat overturned Gen Chiyo's objective impression that Japan was not very efficient in doing anything.

If the subsequent processes continue at this pace, the final result will likely be available before the end of the month.

I chatted briefly with Eriri, who was unusually happy and kept sending me various emoticons.

At the same time, Yuan Qianye offered his opinion on Shiyu, who was "in a real dilemma" and was struggling to choose which pair of stockings to pick, and had sent several shopping links as a result.

After hanging up her phone, Yuan Qianye called the courier again to come to her door. She divided the souvenirs she brought back from Hakone into two portions, packed them separately, and asked the courier to deliver them that day.

The key to maintaining interpersonal relationships lies in "connection".

After a family gathering, the elders pat each other on the shoulder and say goodbye, "Keep in touch when you have time." This is not just a polite remark, but a reflection of the wisdom they have accumulated over the years.

Many close friends who once shared everything have grown increasingly distant over time and with fading connections.

Gen Chiya attached great importance to this.

After doing all this, he opened his personal panel, which he hadn't checked in a long time.

He was quite surprised when he saw it.

【Strength: 24.7】

[Agility: 25.1]