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

Page 704

"Did you hit the nail on the head?"

"Alright, go take your bath."

Saeko easily disturbed Shiyu's peace of mind and left with a smile.

In the changing room, Saeko took off her yukata, wrapped herself in a towel, and headed towards the hot spring bath.

The bathhouse was much more crowded by then, presumably because most people had come here to relax and soak after dinner.

There are five baths of different sizes and styles in the women's bath area.

Because of Eriri's striking golden hair, Saeko easily found her.

She was curled up alone in a secluded corner of the square hot spring pool near the edge of the wall.

The hot spring water just covered her collarbone, and she submerged her chin in the water as well. Her pale face was filled with despair and doubt about life.

His usually vibrant, deep blue eyes stared blankly at the gently swaying water in front of him.

The oppressive and despairing aura emanating from him clashed sharply with the relaxed and pleasant atmosphere around him.

Saeko sat down closer, not deliberately trying to lighten her steps, and the splash and sound she made when she entered the water were quite noticeable.

Even so, Eriri never noticed her approach. Her consciousness seemed to have entered another dimension isolated from reality, and she was completely unresponsive to everything around her.

"Yinglili."

It wasn't until Saeko called her softly and placed her hand on her shoulder, gently shaking it, that she snapped out of her daze, her dark eyes brightening for a moment.

But the moment Eriri turned and met Saeko's gaze, her eyes instantly turned red.

"Waaah..."

The shame, guilt, and unease that had been suppressed inside her all rushed up at once, causing her to burst into tears without restraint. She then rushed over and hugged Saeko tightly.

Eriri's crying wasn't quiet, attracting the attention of others nearby, who curiously peered in her direction out of curiosity.

However, Saeko didn't care about the strange looks from others or Eriri, who was crying loudly in her arms.

She lovingly held Eriri in her arms, gently stroking her head and softly coaxing her with "Good girl, good girl," until Eriri's pink shoulders, which had been trembling, gradually calmed down.

This process lasted for nearly five minutes.

"I...I'm beyond saving...completely beyond saving...Saeko-nee..." She sniffed repeatedly as the water accumulated in her lower abdomen and the depression of the massage bed beneath her, losing support and pressure, caused some more to overflow and flow out.

The drops fell along his body and the edge of the bed, dripping onto the already soaked floor, the sound particularly clear in the quiet room.

Saeko covered her face and stiffly turned her back, as if that would allow her to escape the suffocatingly awkward reality before her.

Yuan Qianye sighed silently.

Even now, they're still trying to keep up the act.

He glanced at Saeko, whose back was turned to him and whose shoulders seemed to be trembling slightly, and felt a mixture of amusement and... indescribable emotion.

If he hadn't had God's-eye view, he might have actually been fooled by her.

Teacher Yin is right. The more beautiful a woman is, the more likely she is to lie.

However, Saeko's "deception" was clearly more from his perspective. It was a well-intentioned concealment and a choice to bear the burden alone in order to protect the dignity and shame of another girl and to avoid bothering or embarrassing him.

Therefore, he was not angry about it at all; in fact, he felt that her thoughtfulness made him even more protective of her.

However, today's "play" and the subsequent "unexpected developments" were indeed a bit unsettling, and it was an unprecedented experience in his life.

Yuan Qianye's hands rested on the soft massage bed. Due to the applied gravity, the water flowed naturally to the low-lying areas, making his palms feel warm.

Just minutes ago, that was the temperature inside Eriri's body.

He continued speaking to Saeko, his tone reassuring: "You should go back now."

Saeko looked a little embarrassed and slowly turned her head, her timid eyes peeking out from between her fingers: "No, I have to deal with this."

"What are you planning to do?"

"Have the staff bring the cleaning tools, then I'll do it..."

"How are you, a girl, going to explain this?"

"..."

Saeko fell silent, clearly unable to think of a suitable reason.

“So,” Yuan Qianye smiled, got off the bed, and as he stood up, the water droplets on his body dripped onto the floor. “Leave this kind of thing to me.”

What are you planning to do?

"Just say that I didn't dry myself off when I came out of the shower room attached to the changing room, and I was all wet on the floor. It's a bit of a stretch, but if you're not around, it's easier to explain these things without causing any problems. Even if it did bother someone, it would just be a matter of giving them a small tip, and it's easy to resolve."

Yuan Qianye's words were clear and convincing.

A man and a woman in a relatively private space, combined with the current damp conditions, make it indeed difficult to explain away their innocence.

"Well... I'll be going now."

"Okay, leave it to me."

"I'm really, really sorry for making you like this."

Looking at Saeko's expression, Gen Chiya suddenly found it amusing. He curled his lips into a smile and said in a half-joking tone, "If I said I'm actually quite happy about this now, would you think I'm a pervert?"

Saeko couldn't help but chuckle.

The awkward atmosphere in the air eased a little.

At Minamoto Chiyo's reasonable urging, Saeko left first, leaving the mess for Minamoto Chiyo to handle.

She left the room, then thought for a moment and went back to the massage room first.

As expected, Eriri was nowhere to be seen. It seems she went straight to the hot springs again, just as she had said before.

Given that her undergarments were completely soaked, there was indeed nowhere else for her to go.

If Yukino and Utaha find out, they'll have no way of explaining themselves.

Ask the masseuse to pause for a moment. She bent down and whispered something in Rikka's ear. Rikka's face turned slightly red, and she nodded vigorously.

After dealing with things here for the time being, Saeko immediately returned to her room.

Shiyu looked at her with some surprise: "Is it over so quickly?"

She remembered that massage packages usually started at an hour, so how long had it been? Not even half an hour, right?

Yukino was making a phone call outside when she heard the voice and looked towards Saeko with a puzzled expression.

"Well, we ended it early. Eriri and I weren't used to the feeling of being massaged. We felt itchy and uncomfortable, so we decided to stop after a while and not force ourselves."

Saeko spoke so flawlessly as she reached into her bag to get clothes, and while she was at it, she also grabbed a set for Eriri.

"Also, the air conditioning in the massage room might not be strong enough, it was a bit stuffy. Eriri and I both sweated a bit and felt sticky and uncomfortable. I came here to get some clean clothes so I could take another bath to cool off. Eriri has already gone ahead."

"You really enjoy taking baths, huh? No wonder your bathtub at home is so big. If you really end up together, you'll definitely be very particular about the bathtub you choose for your new home." Shi Yu didn't notice anything unusual and joked so easily.

"Of course, I'll have to trouble you to help me scrub my back then, Shiyu."

Please don't include me in your list of potential new home residents without my consent. The future is uncertain.

"Based on the current situation, I think Shiyu, you're in a situation you can't escape for the rest of your life."

"...!"