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

The energy I've accumulated from eating and sleeping well these past few days is simply not being released through any healthy channels, and I feel a bit suffocated...

Fortunately, it's all over.

On the afternoon of August 2nd, they bid farewell to the hotel where they had stayed for a week and boarded the Shinkansen for their return journey.

The group parted ways at the station at 6 p.m. that day.

Saeko, Utaha, and Yukino each went home; there's not much to say about that.

Before leaving, Shiyu specifically pulled Rikka aside and gave her some instructions.

The station was noisy and chaotic, and even with Gen Chiya's keen hearing, she couldn't hear what they were saying next.

But in the end, I saw them smile at each other, their hands linked, as if they had made a promise.

After that, Saeko and Utaha went the same way and took the train together.

After Yukino was picked up by her family's driver, Chiya, Rikka, and Eriri accompanied her. The three of them then took a taxi home.

"Phew! I'm finally back, Blackwing, I missed you so much!"

The first thing Rikka did when she got home was to go to the living room to find her beloved bird.

Eriri took her bag and went back to her room first.

After arriving home, Yuan Qianye sent messages to all parties, and soon Toka called.

"Are you home already?"

"Ah."

"I've prepared dinner for you. It's all in the refrigerator. Just take it out and heat it up a bit. I've also washed and dried your blankets and laid them out. Get some rest early tonight and don't wait for me. I've been very busy these past few days."

"Okay, I brought you a gift. I'll just put it on your bedside table later."

"Thank you, that's very thoughtful."

"Aren't you even going to ask what it is?"

"Will you answer if I ask?"

No way.

Shihua laughed helplessly: "I can't be bothered with you, bye-bye."

Yuan Qianye hung up the phone with a smile.

After being separated for a short time, he couldn't contain his joy and excitement at the thought of seeing Shihua again in a few hours.

Of course, it's also related to the unfulfilled desires of the past few days.

He went to the kitchen, opened the refrigerator, and called out towards the living room, "Rikka, shall we eat now?"

"I can do it."

"Please ask Eriri for me."

"Good~"

After a while.

"Eri is fine too."

Without further hesitation, Yuan Qianye took out the dishes that Toka had prepared in advance and heated them up one by one.

The rice was also cooked in advance, and like other dishes, it only needed to be microwaved briefly.

After dinner, Chiya leaned back on the sofa, petting her bird while chatting on her phone with Saeko, Kazusa, and Miyoko.

The first two are private matters.

In a few days, Kazusa will be participating in a piano competition, and Chiya Minamoto is thinking about adjusting his schedule to go and cheer her on.

In mid-August, Saeko will lead Sobu High School's kendo club to participate in the annual National Kendo Tournament, with the school as the participating unit.

As a member of the Kendo Club and its ace player, Gen Chiya obviously has no choice but to attend, and the training arrangements for the coming period need to be taken seriously.

As for Miyoko, it's a work-related matter.

His new novel, "Malice," which he commissioned Yukino to polish, has been successfully completed.

During their trip, they would also find time in the evenings to get together and proofread, and there were indeed no problems.

The next step is to find a time to meet with the publishing house representatives to discuss the details, show them the novel, and draft a preliminary contract regarding the subsequent formal publication process.

In short, it's the same old routine that Yuan Qianye isn't unfamiliar with, but it's still a process that he can't avoid by personally getting involved.

Communicating work matters via text messages is inevitably too inefficient, so Miyoko called directly.

"...Boss, if you want the novel published as soon as possible, I can come over now and we can talk in person."

"We want to get things done as quickly as possible, but there's no need to rush."

Just then, Rikka and Eriri finished washing the dishes and came out of the kitchen. Gen Chiyo watched the two of them laughing and joking, and the corners of his lips curled up slightly.

Their gazes lingered primarily on Eriri.

He withdrew it shortly afterward.

"I just got back today, and I want to get some rest for the night first."

"That's true, boss. You should get some rest. I'll come see you again tomorrow."

"Miyoko-nee, you have a lot of enthusiasm for your work."

"Mainly, I was really bored during this time in the countryside. Also, it's been a while since I've been able to contribute to your business, so I'm feeling a bit insecure."

"A sense of crisis?"

"Look, there was a news story before that said a certain company had an employee who was on long-term leave, and the president found that the company could operate normally even without that employee, so he fired that employee directly."

I'm terrified that I'm the kind of employee you, the boss, don't usually notice, but who, after a while, you'll realize won't affect the company's daily operations even if I'm absent.

"If you've been slacking off since you started working with me, you'd be hard-working by now. I've completely become like you, and I feel like I can't live without you."

"Boss! Stop teasing me like that!" Miyoko protested shyly on the other end of the phone, but she felt a warm glow inside because of the trust she received. "As for tomorrow's arrangements, I'll pick you up at nine in the morning, and then we'll go to Kodansha together?"

"can."

"Okay, then I won't disturb your rest any longer."

"You should go to sleep early too, see you tomorrow."

"Okay, see you tomorrow."

On the other side of the city, in her rented apartment, Miyoko hung up the phone, her face flushed, and stared blankly for a long time before finally letting out a helpless sigh.

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.

"Hey bro, let's go take a bath first."

"Oh, go ahead," Yuan Qianye replied without even looking up as he hung up the phone.

He has already prepared and finalized a rough plan for the coming period.

There are still arrangements to be made in the short term.

This concerns the young lady of the Yukinoshita family and the maid, respectively.

Regarding Haruno, we need to talk to her about Yukino's situation; it seems it's not as optimistic as they initially thought.

As for the maid, he had arranged to meet her before his trip to discuss the details of her daily work at the Shinomiya household after he returned.

Furthermore, he also wanted to take this opportunity to bring their awkward and secretive ambiguous relationship into the open, to face each other directly, and to formally confront each other instead of being secretive.

Despite already having four girlfriends, some overt and some covert, who could gently embrace him, he was constantly forced to use his right hand to remotely coordinate with the maid to appease her pressure and secret desires. This only made things more and more oppressive for him, and Yuan Qianye felt that he was being incredibly pathetic.

Yuan Qianye typed rapidly on his phone.

Soon, messages were sent to both Haruno and Hayasaka.

Neither of the messages showed as read, suggesting that both of them are currently busy and their phones are not with them.

Yuan Qianye wasn't in a hurry. He ordered the Black Wings to grab the remote control from the TV cabinet and turned on the TV to watch the evening news.

Although the suites at the hotel were luxurious, nothing felt as comforting as being back home. It felt so reassuring and wonderful!

Just as Yuan Qianye was comfortably leaning back on the sofa, reflecting on this, he suddenly noticed something subtle happening in the bathroom.

Eriri was pushed into the bathroom by Rikka first, and then the sounds of the two of them laughing and joking could be heard from inside.

This part made Chiya quite imaginative, but since Eriri had lived at home for so long, Chiya had become somewhat used to it.

The key lies in what follows—

Despite being repeatedly scolded by her older sister who pointed at her nose and pinched her cheeks, Rikka still didn't see her older brother, who lived under the same roof, as a threat to her. She still acted as if no one else was around, wearing only a short-sleeved shirt on her upper body and nothing but a pair of pure white panties on her lower body. She sneaked out of the bathroom, seemingly carrying something in her arms, and quickly slipped back into her room.

When she finally came out, thank goodness she was finally able to put on her dress properly.

With her hands free, she knocked on the bathroom door: "Eri, I'm sorry, you can shower first."

"It should have been done a long time ago. It always takes a long time to shower with you. I'll call you when I'm done."

There was no need to call me.

"Ok?"

"Saeko-nee just called and asked me to confirm if I brought back the local specialties she bought. I checked my bag and sure enough, I did. I'm planning to deliver them to her now."

"Huh? Now?!"

"Well, it's not too hot at night, so I'll go quickly and come back with some late-night snacks for you."

"I don't want a midnight snack!" Eriri had clearly realized something, and her tone started to panic: "Wait a minute, Rikka, wait a minute... I'll shower and come with you. You see, it's dangerous for a girl to be alone at night."

"What's dangerous? There's a bus stop not far from the apartment building, and Saeko-nee already said she'd pick me up at her station. Nothing will happen, so don't worry. After you're done showering, remember to call Chiya and say goodbye!"

"Don't say goodbye! Come back and listen to me, Rikka... Rikka?"

Rikka ignored Eriri and went to the living room to give the same reason to Chiya Minamoto. Then, she cheerfully picked up something and left.

After she left, she sent Saeko a message saying "Everything is fine".

Saeko quickly responded with a thumbs-up emoji.

"I hope everything goes well."

Downstairs at the apartment building, Rikka turned around and looked up.