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

"I'm still thinking about whether I should buy my mom a car."

"Buy...buy a car?"

"There's no need to be so surprised. You know how much money I've made, Shihua. What's wrong with taking a small portion of it to buy Mom a car?"

"I know, but why would you suddenly think that way for no reason?"

"It's not without reason. Think about it, Mom is constantly running back and forth between the shop and home, and she has to take little Chiyo with her all the time. If she had a car, it would be much more convenient on the road."

Unexpectedly, his topic suddenly became serious again. Shihua considered the actual situation and nodded in agreement.

"That's right. Diapers, formula, and strollers can be kept in the trunk. There's no need to worry about safety if we put a baby seat in the car for Chiyo."

The only thing to worry about is that my mother got her driver's license many years ago.

But it seems like there won't be any problem. Shihua doesn't know much about cars, but she knows that cars have become more and more advanced and easier to drive in recent years. I suppose Mom will be able to get used to it in a few days.

The situation here is different from before; there were parking spaces that were always vacant. After buying a car, I no longer have to worry about parking at all.

Yuan Qianye added, "Mother's Day is coming soon, so this will be a perfect birthday gift for Mom. She has worked so hard all this time."

"Um……"

Shihua's facial expression softened slightly at this moment.

She herself didn't realize that the reason why she couldn't ignore her growing affection for Qianye in their daily interactions was not only due to his outstanding talent and personal charm in many fields, but also because of his thoughtful and gentle qualities.

The emotional void caused by the death of her biological father made her value family, this warm haven, to an extreme degree, and so did Gen Chiya, who was one of them.

His subtle and gentle thoughtfulness, and his meticulous care for himself and his family, were something that Shihua found virtually impossible to resist.

When she came to her senses, her heart was already filled with his voice and appearance, slowly being filled and occupied, leaving no room for anyone else.

"When did you come up with this idea?" Shihua asked softly.

Yuan Qianye turned around, his back against the edge of the stove: "When the first batch of royalties arrived, I knew I could make money when I won the award, but I didn't know I could make so much money. So I was thinking if I could take this opportunity to make my mother happy. Oh, and you too, Shihua, is there anything you want? You can tell me."

"I appreciate your kind gesture, but I don't need it. I don't really want anything special. I'm already very satisfied with the life I have now."

“Is that so?” Yuan Qianye didn’t press the issue. “Then, Shihua, when you have some time, let’s work together to find a car for Mom.”

"We should listen to Mom's opinion on this kind of thing."

“You know Mom’s personality. If she knew I wanted to give her this, she would definitely refuse. Even if I managed to get her to agree, she would only want me to buy her an economical car. But with cars, you get what you pay for. It’s okay if it’s a little more expensive. I still want to buy Mom a car with more safety features and a strong body.”

"It's also..."

"Then it's settled. After we've spent some time at home researching and selecting a few models, we'll choose a time to go out and see the actual cars together."

"okay."

Having achieved her goal, Yuan Qianye threw the apple core into the trash can.

Rikka and Eriri came out of the bathroom, and he was next to take a shower.

Shihua put all the plates into the cupboard, raised her hand to touch her forehead, and felt that it was starting to feel slightly hot again.

Once again, she was moved by Chiya's concern for her mother, but she was somewhat slow to realize what was going on.

In the end, it seems that this guy used the excuse of buying a car for his mother to naturally ask me out, right?

Going to look at cars together... wouldn't that be considered a form of dating?

Yuan Qianye was in a good mood.

After testing the waters, Shihua now gives him the feeling that she's just started dating and is still a little reserved.

Her behavior and speech show restraint due to shyness, but her reaction and attitude do not show any resistance to it.

To put it more bluntly, she won't take the initiative, but if you force her to cooperate, she won't refuse.

Inclined towards passivity.

Shihua's current psychological defenses, and her current understanding of their existing relationship, must be gradually shifting so that she will consciously add the prefix "no blood relation" before "adopted siblings," right?

The above is Yuan Qianye's subjective idea, but he feels that his idea should be pretty much the same as the reality.

They've even started reaching out to touch him out of curiosity when he's "unaware," so it's no wonder he's so optimistic.

Around 9 PM, Gen Chiya knocked on Rikka's door.

"You two haven't rested yet, have you?"

The Yuan family has extra guest rooms available for rest.

But Rikka doesn't consider Eriri an outsider. Besides, they're such good friends, so she likes to let Eriri rest in her room at night. It's a good opportunity for the two of them to whisper sweet nothings before going to sleep, and most importantly, Eriri doesn't mind at all.

No!

It was Eriri who answered, and the door opened the next moment.

"What's wrong, Qianye?"

Eriri blinked her big, bright eyes and looked at him with a charming gaze.

盯

Gen Chiya looked at Eriri, who had suddenly appeared at the door in a panic, and remained motionless as if they hadn't seen each other for a long time.

Her rounded, shell-like toes peeked out from under her pale yellow pajama bottoms, and cute rabbit pom-poms dangled from the hood of her fluffy pajamas. Two tufts of golden hair stuck up, and her skin, which was especially pink and tender from her recent bath, smelled wonderfully sweet.

The perfect blend of all these elements makes Eriri appear excessively girlish. She doesn't have the mature and charming feel of Saeko Touka, but her cuteness is so abundant that it's almost unfair.

So sweet it sticks to your teeth...

"What's wrong, Qianye? You came to knock on the door and then suddenly stopped talking."

Rikka also arrived at the door at that moment.

Gen Chiyo tilted his head slightly, his gaze shifting between the two of them, until he saw Eriri looking somewhat shy before finally speaking.

"It's nothing, it's just that I think you look much cuter than Rikka in your pajamas, Eriri."

A simple compliment caused the two girls in front of him to widen their eyes in shock.

"Ah...no...not really..."

Eriri, feeling dizzy, cupped her cheeks, completely unsure how to react.

Rikka, on the other hand, acted as if she had been struck in the heart by something invisible, and staggered back a few steps as if she had been greatly injured.

Too lazy to bother with his silly little sister, Yuan Qianye didn't forget his important business.

"Eri, it's good that you're still awake. Can we talk?"

As he spoke, he pointed with his thumb toward his room, clearly inviting her to his room.

Eriri was still in a daze, but she understood what Chiya meant. She nodded vigorously and followed him out.

Rikka, with her lively personality, naturally followed suit immediately, but after taking only two steps, she shrank back.

Back in her room, she wore a rather smug smile.

I feel like I've really grown a lot, and I know how to create opportunities for my good friends at important moments.

Whether you can seize the opportunity depends on yourself. Good luck, Eriri!

However, just five minutes later, Eriri returned with a strange smile on her face, and she looked quite... excited?

Rikka closed the door and drew the curtains, then eagerly asked her friend, "Eri, what does my brother want with you?"

Eriri's smile widened: "It's nothing, just like when he participated in the Rampo Award, Chiya hoped I could help him add some character designs and background illustrations to his science fiction novel for the award."

Of course, it's not free.

During the conversation just now, Yuan Qianye made it clear that he would pay the money, and that it would be an amount exceeding the market standard.

Because we're good friends, I can't let her suffer any losses.

Although Eriri repeatedly said during the conversation that she didn't need it, Chiya will definitely find a way to give her an income that matches her labor.

"That's all you said?"

"That's all you've said."

"Why do you seem so happy just from talking about these things?"

"After all... this can be considered as Chiyo acknowledging my talent in painting. Just thinking that my paintings can be included in the same book as Chiyo's words is like... um!"

"Just like us?"

"N-nothing!"

Eriri thought to herself how close she came to it; she almost blurted out all the thoughts she had about her and Chiya's doujinshi!

…………

Chapter 179: Summer Prelude (6000) (10/15)

[Same as usual at noon, I'll wait for you on the rooftop first.]

on Monday.

morning.

In a classroom at Zongwu High School.

Feeling a slight vibration, Kasumigaoka Utaha took out her phone from under the table and glanced at it.

It was a message from Saeko.

After entering the same school, the purity of their friendship increased significantly.

At least that's what Kasumigaoka herself thinks.

The two had more opportunities to spend time together.

The topics of conversation are no longer limited to a specific scope as before; they have started to cover all sorts of things, and the conversation has become more casual and lighthearted.

Plus……

It shouldn't be a misperception; Saeko seems to be intentionally trying to bring her and Chiya together.

From Kasumigaoka's perspective, Saeko's initial suggestion to ask Chiya for help in her predicament was not enough for her to reach this conclusion.