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

What do you want now?

Rikka tilted her head, her gaze returning to the clothes basket, and whispered, "Chiya's pants are there too."

"..."

Eriri was silent for a moment, then smiled, and finally nodded knowingly: "I understand."

"You agree?"

"You dragged me here for no reason, using some lame excuse of a detective's deduction. Actually, you just wanted to smell Chiyo's clothes, Rikka, you..." Eriri's expression turned pitiful: "...You are definitely a brother complex, and the symptoms may be a little more serious than I thought."

Rikka opened her mouth, but this time she was completely stuck and couldn't say anything.

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.

The detective game has come to an end.

Eriri really didn't want to continue arguing with Rikka this time. Sneaking to take Chiya's clothes and smell them was already a huge overreaction and quite perverted. Now she's even escalated to smelling her pants. What's the difference between her and those perverts with ulterior motives on the train?

Although she was just watching from the sidelines and didn't do anything herself, she absolutely couldn't stand by and watch her best friend flirt with the edge of crime, or even try to drag her down with her!

Later, Eriri dragged Rikka out of the washroom and took her to the kitchen to help Chiya prepare lunch.

After lunch and a short rest, Yuan Qianye said she wanted to go back to her room for a nap.

"That's strange, I've almost never seen you take a nap," Rikka said curiously.

"It's rare to have some free time," Yuan Qianye chuckled.

The main reason is that I had a huge fight with Yang Nai last night and this morning.

Yang Naina fell into a completely abnormal sleep last night, and was forcibly awakened early this morning while her eyes were unfocused.

Yuan Qianye is fine; her back and legs don't hurt. However, she's too excited and hasn't been able to calm down yet, so she needs to take a short nap to let her brain shut down and restart briefly.

There was no way to resist; the dessert shop staff were giving it their all, adding so much white cream to the cream puffs that it was overflowing. Dessert lovers simply couldn't resist such temptation.

It's only natural that people would get so excited that they couldn't stop eating.

I just feel a little sorry for Yang Nai. This morning when I saw her off, her legs were so weak that she could barely stand and I had to half-hold her in my arms.

Moreover, when she pauses even slightly while waiting for the elevator, her legs will unconsciously clamp tightly together...

He asked her, puzzled, what was wrong. She turned around, glared at him fiercely with her alluring eyes, and said in a soft, hoarse voice, full of complaint, "I feel like... something else is going to leak out... It's all your fault!"

The intimate contact and unrestrained entanglement lasted all night, keeping Yuan Qianye in a state of high excitement throughout, which indeed made him extremely happy, and therefore... his reserves were indeed a bit too abundant.

Therefore, whether it was witnessing Yang Nai's languid appearance after being unable to please him, or hearing her soft reproaches, it all stirred up an indescribable sense of satisfaction and secret pleasure in Yuan Qianye's heart, a mixture of pity and a desire to conquer.

"What are your plans for this afternoon?" Before officially returning to her room, Yuan Qianye still asked this question.

Rikka, swinging her fair legs, replied, "I'm the same as always."

The "usual routine" she refers to means staying at home, idly watching anime or playing games. Perhaps if she's in a good mood, she might pull out her yoga mat and project a yoga tutorial onto the TV to practice.

"I need to go draw for a while." This is Eriri's daily routine, just like Kazusa's attitude towards the piano. Unless there is absolutely no other way, she always has to draw something every day, and she can't let her skills become rusty.

Actually, she always felt quite regretful about this.

In her opinion, Chiyo possessed a talent in the field of painting that far surpassed her own.

He only spent a short period of time practicing with her when he was very young, but his drawing skills improved by leaps and bounds, reaching a very high level.

Even though he practiced sporadically and without a systematic approach, he was still able to maintain a steady improvement in his drawing skills.

She always felt that if Qianye had been steady and diligent, practicing painting every day like she did, and studying and improving, she might have achieved remarkable success in the field of painting by now, and might even have held her own art exhibition.

It's a real shame that he later seemed to devote more energy and interest to literary creation and kendo, and now he is entangled in various affairs such as company management and writing... It's really a waste of his talent in this area.

“I see.” Yuan Qianye nodded knowingly, thought for a moment, and suggested, “We still have a few days before we officially set off on our trip. How about we pick a day later and go to the aquarium together? I promised Chiyo that I would take her with me, and besides, it’s summer vacation after all, so we should find some fun activities. Staying at home all the time is no fun.”

"Agreed." Rikka raised her hand.

“I’m fine with that too,” Eriri replied instantly.

"Then it's settled." Yuan Qianye smiled and waved to them, "Good afternoon, see you later."

"Yes, good afternoon."

Eriri waved her hand, her eyes, curved with a smile, fixed on him until he was out of sight before she looked away.

Her smile softened, and just as she turned to tell Rikka that she was going back to her room to draw, she saw Rikka staring at her with an aunt-like smile.

"W-What's wrong?!" Eriri felt uneasy under his gaze, and her face began to flush slightly.

Rikka smiled meaningfully, mimicking her sweet tone from before: "Mm, good afternoon~"

The lingering tone and the meaningful look in her eyes made Eriri instantly understand what she was teasing.

"Idiot Rikka!" Eriri ignored her and got up to leave.

"Don't go, Eriri! To be honest, you were actually super cute just now!"

"I'm breaking off our friendship for two hours, and I don't want to talk to you during that time!"

Rikka laughed so hard her shoulders shook as she watched her friend flee in panic.

After Eriri closed her door, she gradually stopped laughing, and a thoughtful look appeared on her face.

She silently picked up her phone, unlocked the screen, and tapped her finger to open the chat interface with Saeko.

The cursor blinked in the input box; she seemed to be considering what message to send.

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.

It was past nine o'clock at night at the Yukinoshita family residence.

After taking a bath, Yukino Yukinoshita returned to her room while drying her hair.

She closed the door, dried her hair, put the hairdryer back, and on her way back, she passed the mirror in the wardrobe.

She stopped in her tracks as she walked toward the desk and stared intently at herself in the mirror.

The girl in the mirror was tall and slender, with delicate limbs. Her wet hair, after being dried, appeared fluffy and smooth, making her already exquisite face appear even smaller.

After gazing thoughtfully for a moment, she blinked quickly, turned around, and went to the door to lock it.

Then he went to the window and drew all the curtains closed, leaving no gaps.

Finally, the ceiling light in the room was turned off, leaving only the warm light from the table lamp providing dim illumination.

After doing all this, she went to her bedside and pulled out an electronic scale from underneath.

I took off my shoes and stood on it barefoot.

The numbers on the display panel began to flash and jump, eventually stopping on a specific number.

Yukino lowered her eyes and watched quietly for a few seconds.

My weight has increased slightly compared to last time.

This is normal; she is in puberty and still developing.

The crux of the matter... is not that.

Yukino put the electronic scale back under the bed, then went to the drawer of the wardrobe and took out a measuring tape.

She unfastened the clasp of the measuring tape, held both ends of the tape with both hands, slightly raised her arms, and wrapped the tape around her body, gathering it at the highest point of her chest to form a complete circle.

She took a shallow breath and nervously looked down.

The next moment, the eyes that had held a faint expectation quickly calmed down, turning into a hidden little disappointment, which turned into a barely audible sigh.

One of her life philosophies is that the right choices combined with persistent effort will eventually bring the rewards one deserves.

However, this law seems to completely fail in the case of this particular matter.

She used to be able to comfort herself with reasons like "I was in elementary or middle school and it wasn't time for me to really start developing yet".

But now, she is a high school student.

Seeing that the figure of the girl next to me was becoming more and more shapely and full of youthful vitality.

Although Erina's growth wasn't very obvious, the specific data on her medical examination report revealed that it was small but real.

Even though she didn't show it outwardly, she was still somewhat melancholy inside.

Time has made her grow taller and more slender, but it has overlooked the part of her heart that she cares about most.

My mom and sister are both fine, so... where exactly is the problem on my side?

Or should I really drink milk every day, just like Eriri said before?

"Buzz-"

The vibration of the phone on the desk brought Yukino back to her senses.

She shook her head slightly, her melancholy dissipating. She put away the measuring tape, went to the table, and picked up her phone.

[Eri: ???-? You're probably still awake, can we chat?]

…………

Volume 2: Chapter 126: I'm your best friend, would I betray you?! (6k)(6)

When Yukino saw that it was a message from Eriri, she smiled subconsciously at first, and then the "secret paintings" she had witnessed yesterday morning came to mind.

There's absolutely no way...

The visual and psychological impact she experienced at that time was simply too great.

Even a day later, the exaggerated lines and postures in the painting, as well as the extreme emotions that emerged beneath the surface, still left a deep impression on her.

She anticipated that this subtle feeling, a mixture of shame, guilt, and some indescribable fluttering, would likely recur frequently in the future.

She knew it was purely her own problem, a ripple that was hard to calm down after accidentally glimpsing someone else's privacy.

There is currently no solution to this situation, and we can only let it pass naturally.

After calming herself down a bit, Yukino dialed Eriri's number.

"Beep-beep-"

After a brief pause, the call was connected, and Eriri's familiar voice came through the receiver.

"Ah, Yukino, um... I hope I didn't bother you?"

"No, I just finished showering. Is there anything I can help you with?"