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

He followed slowly behind Yukino and Eriri, the three of them walking along the shade of the roadside trees, slowly making their way back to the inn.

"You're back."

Shiyu was sitting in front of the TV when she saw the three of them return, and she gave them a perfunctory greeting.

Without waiting for their reply, she picked up her phone and took the initiative to explain.

“Saeko and Rikka went to the restaurant to buy food to take to the hospital. Now that you’re back, I’ll let them come back.”

After saying that, she dialed the number and held the phone to her ear.

There was no reply between Yukino and Eriri.

After entering the room, Yuan Qianye closed the door: "The prescribed medicine is to be taken after meals, Eriri. The doctor said you should drink more water. I'll pour you a glass of warm water to drink first."

“…Um, thank you.” Eriri was still the same as always. When she replied to Chiya, her gaze wasn’t directed at him, but rather at something completely unrelated. Her voice was barely louder than a mosquito’s buzz.

But it's okay. I'm a patient now. Patients are like this because the changes in their bodies affect their behavior and mannerisms, which are indeed different from usual.

She comforted herself in this way.

Yuan Qianye didn't reply to her thanks, but just smiled slightly and turned to walk towards the water bar inside the room.

Yukino pulled Eriri to sit down on the sofa and asked her if the air conditioning in the room was too cold and if she felt cold.

After receiving a negative answer, he raised his hand and felt the cooling patch on her forehead. When he realized it was no longer effective, he peeled it off for her.

"Yeah, they're all back already, so don't go... um... just go back to your room, we'll eat together later..." Shiyu, who was talking to Saeko on her phone, saw this scene and silently took out the remaining cooling patches from her bag and handed them over.

Eriri was taken aback for a moment, but Yukino reacted quickly, taking the gift with both hands and thanking her.

Shiyu simply nodded slightly, said nothing, continued talking to Saeko on her phone, and turned to walk away.

Yukino tore off the cooling patch, helped Eriri lift her bangs, and fixed the patch on her hair.

"Yukino..."

"Ok?"

"You're so good to me."

Yukino couldn't help but laugh, but immediately put on a serious face: "You're only just realizing that?"

Thank you so much.

“There’s no need for thanks between us. Besides, I received a call from your aunt before I left, and I promised to take good care of you. Now that you’ve turned out like this, I’m the one who has failed in my duty.”

"In that case, Yukino should apologize to me. It's all your fault for not taking good care of me." Eriri's health has improved a lot now, and she's in the mood for jokes.

"Yes, when Auntie comes back, I need to go to her house formally to ask for her forgiveness, and also talk to her about the content you've posted on adult websites using alternate accounts in recent years."

"This is the only thing I absolutely must not do! I'm sorry, I got too carried away, Yukino-sama."

The two girls had a relaxed and cheerful conversation.

"Here, drink the water."

As soon as Yuan Qianye came closer, their conversation stopped instantly, and the relaxed atmosphere vanished.

This had nothing to do with Yukino; she still smiled as she accepted the water glass that Minamoto Chiya handed her.

The problem lies with Eriri.

Her face, which had been smiling freely just moments before, suddenly became flustered due to the helplessness she felt inside, unsure of what to do.

And because of her personality, the way she ultimately dealt with things was clearly inaction.

If you don't know how to face something, then don't face it; if you don't know how to solve something, then leave it unresolved.

The skill of using escapism, though shameful, can be useful in certain situations... Eriri has mastered it far too well over the years.

Gen Chiya saw through it at a glance but didn't expose it. Just then, Saeko and Rikka returned, which was just the right time to break the deadlock.

So when the two women arrived and showed concern for Eriri's physical condition, he gracefully made his exit.

They were also left to arrange lunch.

He then took his change of clothes to the ensuite bathroom in the suite.

It would take a while for the bathtub to fill up, but he was too lazy to wait that long, so he opted for a quicker shower.

I took off all my clothes and stood under the shower for less than two minutes when the bathroom door was slowly opened.

He turned his head at the sound and saw a pair of cat-like eyes peeking out from the slightly ajar door, eyes that seemed to be lurking and ready to pounce.

"Shiyu." Yuan Qianye turned off the shower head, helplessly saying, "I don't lock the door when I shower because I trust you. I know you won't barge in while I'm showering, not because I left a secret door for you."

Shiyu remained completely unmoved by his protests.

Instead of leaving, he sneered, pushed open the door decisively, walked straight in, and then closed the bathroom door again.

She leaned lazily against the closed door, arms crossed, watching with amusement the soaking wet and somewhat "vulnerable" Yuan Qianye.

"You guys?" She deliberately emphasized the word, a half-smile playing on her lips. "You think that besides me, who else would be so 'shameless' as to barge into your bathroom while you're taking a shower?"

"Who else could it be but Saeko, of course?"

"That's not entirely the truth, is it?"

"Ha, haha... What are you saying?"

"Stop pretending." Shi Yu's tone turned cold: "You know perfectly well what I'm saying. Judging from how nervous you were today, if I don't say something and remain silent, who knows when you'll make that kind of hugging a daily routine."

"Shiyu, Eriri has a fever. It's understandable that I would be like that when I'm sick. None of you could lift her."

"That's right, so I won't say much about what happened today. I understand the principle of handling special cases specially, but the most important thing is what comes next."

"What comes next?"

Shiyu did not answer immediately, but slowly squatted down.

This movement made her appear shorter instantly, and her gaze naturally shifted downwards.

Shiyu seemed oblivious to all this, merely watching intently, as if having a serious conversation with another person present: "I don't care what that idiot blondie really thinks of you, whether it's just simple childhood friend dependence or some ulterior motive he's hiding..."

Yuan Qianye was quite uncomfortable: "Shiyu, can you stand up and speak?"

Utaha ignored him and continued speaking in that squatting position: "...You need to know that you are now someone who has two official partners at the same time, me and Saeko Busujima. So I hope you can consciously keep your distance from any potential partners with ulterior motives and not do anything that would make me and Saeko feel sad."

"Shiyu, I think you're overthinking it."

"Aren't you overthinking it? A simple experiment will make it clear."

"experiment?"

"Take a deep breath and now imagine that the person squatting in front of you is that stupid blondie."

"Aha?"

"Whoo~"

Shi Yu let out a soft breath.

Then she watched silently, a cold smile reappearing on her face: "What else do you have to say? You're so excited just hearing my hypothetical scenario. If you really had the chance to succeed, would you let it go?"

Yuan Qianye immediately turned his back to protest: "You're framing me! This experiment is completely unconvincing!"

Shi Yu stood up: "Whether it's a fabricated charge or not, you know best in your heart. In short, I've made my attitude clear to you. If you insist on hurting me, I will find an opportunity to jump into the sea with you and die together. I mean it. I can't confront you directly, but I can poison what you eat."

"..."

What kind of yandere/terrorist threat is this...?

But how come it's surprisingly catchy?

Yuan Qianye sighed: "...Yes, yes."

What else can he say besides verbally agreeing?

Upon receiving his submissive response, Shi Yu's expression softened.

She stroked the marks on his back that she had unconsciously scratched the night before, and her tone softened considerably: "Does it still hurt here? I didn't notice at all back then. Who told you to be so rough and not listen to me? Do you want me to go to the pharmacy later and buy you some ointment to apply?"

Yuan Qianye turned around: "It's all fine over there, but I'm feeling really uncomfortable here and need to get treatment."

His intentions are obvious.

"Tch~" Shi Yu snorted lightly, quickly withdrew her hand, and ignored him.

Not to mention it's broad daylight and everyone else is outside, she still has to maintain her dignity.

Even considering that her body hasn't fully recovered yet, she wouldn't comply with him at this time.

She didn't want her hard-won trip to end with nothing but boring memories of lying in a hotel bed to recover.

"It's not a serious problem. Just take a cold shower and calm down."

After she finished speaking, she didn't give Yuan Qianye any chance to speak or make any further moves.

He turned around abruptly, opened the bathroom door with a clean and decisive motion, and walked out without looking back.

Yuan Qianye turned the water back on, rubbed his face with his hands under the running water, and shook his head with a mix of helplessness and amusement.

What kind of situation is this...?

It was supposed to be a pleasant and relaxing trip, but how did it turn out like this?

Saeko secretly facilitated the match.

Eriri bravely took the initiative, which resulted in a "tsunami" of events.

My emotional perception suddenly changed because of that "accident".

And Shiyu clearly sensed something, her forceful intervention and warning, tinged with jealousy and unease...

A small team of only six people suddenly exposed so many problems. His original intention was really just to bring everyone out to relax!

Why do I feel even more tired in these few days than during my usual busy work schedule?

Yuan Qianye silently grumbled a few words to relieve the pressure, and then quickly cheered up.

There were many things to deal with, all of which piled up at once and required his attention.

However, there's no need to panic or break down because of this.

In short, let's first clarify the relationships between all parties.

The situation regarding Saeko and Utaha can be put on hold for a while.