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

"You're lying. I clearly turned Yukino aside to help you."

"Oh, speaking of which, thank you so much."

"Don't thank me. Eriri did the most work. She kept persuading Yukino that it was pitiful for her to run for student council president alone without anyone to help her. She said that she wasn't capable enough, otherwise she would have run herself. In the end, she had to coax Yukino into reluctantly agreeing to be her running mate."

This afternoon, she dragged me to beg Yukino for a long time. Otherwise, do you think you could have so easily convinced Yukino to stay in the student council and help you?

Yuan Qianye smiled and said, "Of course I have to thank Eriri, but you also contributed to this. You've worked hard too. Tell me, what do you want? Your older brother recently landed a big endorsement deal and made a lot of money. I can buy you whatever you want."

Rikka muttered, "Don't always treat me like a child..."

Yuan Qianye laughed and said, "Really don't want it? That's not like you."

"People grow up, and the old methods no longer work for me now that I'm all grown up."

"Wow, that's amazing."

"..."

Rikka, whose head was being rubbed, has recently developed an increasingly inexplicable dissatisfaction with Chiya's attitude towards her, for some reason.

This has resulted in her feeling subtly different right now, not as happy as before.

Rikka turned her head away, pulled back a bit, and straightened her hair.

She glanced at Qianye, then quickly looked away, picked up the remote, and turned on the TV.

"Speaking of which, my friends are all very interested in you and have been asking me to invite you out so we can all go out and have fun together."

"I'd love to do that too, but I've been so busy with work lately that I don't have the time. Maybe later, when I have time I'll tell you. Actually, you could just invite your friends over to your house."

Pshaw, you always use work as an excuse. You clearly have time to see Saeko-nee or Utaha-nee, but you don't have time to spend more time with me...

"Okay." Rikka replied, not entirely satisfied, but without letting Chiyo detect any resentment.

After finishing his ice cream, he pinched her cheek and went straight into the bathroom.

Twenty minutes later he came out, and the clothes he changed into after taking a shower were not his pajamas.

"Are you going out again? Didn't you say you didn't have work today?"

"Yeah, I don't have any work, but I'm free tonight anyway, so I'll go check on Toshika."

"Going to my sister's place... I want to go too!"

"Have you finished your homework?"

Upon hearing this, Rikka's expression immediately fell.

"After you finish your ice cream, rest for a bit and then do your homework. I'll go prepare dinner for you."

"No need, I'll just be eating dinner by myself anyway. I'll just order a burger later. I've been wanting one anyway."

"Alright then, I'll be going now. Remember not to open the door to strangers tonight."

"With the access control in this apartment building, strangers basically can't get in..." Rikka muttered to herself.

Yuan Qianye went back to his room and took some things with him. Just as he was about to leave, the black wings flew onto his shoulder.

Yuan Qianye realized what was happening and chuckled as he patted its head: "Oh right, I almost forgot about you."

"Hey, are you bringing Black Wings along today?"

"Sometimes we just want to get closer to each other, you know."

Gen Chiya waved his hand in response, and then the man and the crow left the house.

As Rikka sat in the living room, where only the sound of the television echoed, a sense of loneliness washed over her. She was truly alone in a physical sense now.

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.

Gen Chiya arrived at the Moonlit Restaurant at 6:10.

There were already some customers dining in the restaurant, but not many, and the interior was relatively quiet.

To his surprise, Saeko and Utaha were sitting at the corner table, chatting and laughing with Toka, who was dressed in a chef's uniform.

"Hey," he greeted and walked over.

"Ah, Chiyo, you're here. Why didn't you say anything?" Toka looked at him in surprise, feeling a little relieved.

Saeko and Utaha's arrival made her somewhat nervous.

It wasn't the kind of nervousness one feels when interacting with one's stepsister's girlfriends, not knowing how to handle the situation.

Instead, he secretly crossed that line with Qianye in private, and felt uneasy and nervous around them, like a thief with a guilty conscience.

"It was a last-minute decision, nothing much." Gen Chiya looked at Saeko and Shiho and smiled. "But you two, why didn't you tell me you were coming? You don't seem like you're just here for a meal."

On the table in front of them were skincare product packaging bags printed with "COSME DECORTE".

There were three sets of almost identical packaging bags in total. Two sets were placed in front of Saeko Shiwa, and the third set was placed in front of Toka.

It's obvious that the two of them went shopping together after school and brought some back for Shika as well.

When young girls are unsure what to give each other, skincare products are always a safe bet, especially since Shihua works in a kitchen environment that has a greater impact on the skin.

"No, it's just that we haven't had Toka's cooking in a long time, so we thought we'd come over to satisfy our cravings," Saeko explained with a smile.

"I hope this won't disturb Toka-nee's work." Shiyu bowed slightly to Toka politely.

"How could that be? I'm so happy to have you here."

Yuan Qianye looked at Shiyu and smiled, "I wish you could be this gentle to me all the time."

Shi Yu smiled at him, her smile seemingly harmless, but her eyes actually concealed a threat.

Shihua then stood up: "Alright, you guys chat, I have to go get busy. Just order whatever you want to eat."

"Thank you for your hard work," Saeko and Utaha said in unison.

Shihua smiled at them, turned around, exhaled again, and quickly left.

Gen Chiya took the opportunity to sit in the empty seat.

Saeko looked him over and casually remarked, "You left right after school today; I thought you had a job."

"I do have a job, after all, this shop is nominally mine... And Shiyu, please stop stepping on me, you know that will only excite me more."

Shi Yu snorted coldly, withdrew her foot, and tucked it back into her little leather shoe.

However, the other two people present knew that she wasn't angry.

Saeko seemed quite interested and continued to ask, "So, Chiya, you usually come over to help out whenever you have free time?"

Yuan Qianye nodded: "Yes, I'll come and visit whenever I have time."

"Aren't you afraid that being so busy will eventually cause health problems?" Shi Yu said in a proud tone, expressing her concern.

"Don't worry, if I can't handle this level, then what confidence do I have to date you two at the same time? I will work while ensuring your happiness and I won't force myself."

In the middle of their conversation, Shi Yu, whose hand had already been taken by him, shyly pulled her hand back, not wanting to be flirted with by him any longer, and silently picked up her drink and put the straw in her mouth.

Seeing this, Yuan Qianye chuckled and stood up as well: "I'll go to the kitchen to see if there's anything I can do to help. You guys sit for a while."

"Well, let's go."

Saeko turned her gaze away from his departing figure.

"Chiya and Toka-nee really have a good relationship, don't they?" Saeko said, seemingly with a touch of emotion.

Shi Yu didn't mind: "He has always been very caring and attentive to his friends and family."

"Friends and family... that's true too."

Saeko and Shiwa finished their meal there, and when the restaurant started to get busy around 7 p.m., they took the initiative to get up and say goodbye.

Yuan Qianye stayed at the restaurant until after nine o'clock, then said goodbye to Toka and left, citing something urgent that needed to be done.

Following the location sent by the maid, he took a taxi to the vicinity of the Shinomiya Villa, arriving at exactly ten o'clock.

The maid called shortly afterward.

"The young lady has just been confirmed to be asleep, and everyone else has mostly gone back to their rooms to rest as well." "So, can I go over now?"

“Hmm…” Hayasaka Ai’s voice came softly, with a hint of shyness: “…The fence on the east side of the outer courtyard, about forty meters ahead from the connection with the main gate, the cameras there are temporarily out of service and the alarm will not be triggered, you can come in from there.”

She paused, a hint of worry creeping into her voice: "However, you must be extremely careful once you get close to the villa. There are security guards patrolling the area, and dogs too... What exactly are you planning to do? Are you sure you don't need my help?"

“You don’t need to do anything special, but I’ll need your cooperation a little…” Yuan Qianye lowered his voice and carefully explained.

Hayasaka Ai listened, her brows furrowing unconsciously.

She still couldn't understand how he could go to such lengths.

But out of complete trust, she agreed without hesitation.

She whispered several more times to "be careful" before hanging up.

Under the cover of night, following the path indicated by Hayasaka Ai, Minamoto Chiya quietly arrived at the "back door" that had been cleared in advance.

The moonlight was thin, and the shadow of the fence was cast on the ground, creating a still atmosphere.

Shinomiya Bessou is located in a remote area far from the center of Tokyo.

Although this area is located in the suburbs, it was specially planned as a high-end residential area at the end of the last century, filled with luxurious villas for the wealthy and powerful.

The various residences are spaced far apart, and the roads that separate them are also exceptionally wide.

It's fine here during the day, but it becomes quite quiet at night.

It was past 10 p.m., and apart from the occasional car speeding by, it was difficult to see any other pedestrians.

This environment was actually quite convenient for Gen Chiya.

He glanced at the over two-meter-high fence for a moment, then moved with effortless ease, flipping over it with remarkable agility and landing silently.

He stood up and clapped his hands smartly.

The jet-black wings, almost blending into the night, folded down from mid-air and landed on his shoulder.

Yuan Qianye took out peanuts from his pocket and fed them to it: "Your boss's happiness is in your hands tonight, partner."

The black wings made a "squeak" sound and quickly spread their wings again, flying towards the villa where the lights were faintly lit.

Yuan Qianye opened his God's-eye view, focusing on himself from all angles, while also being vigilant about the situation around him.

He crouched low, using the pruning of the flowerbeds as a cover, and slowly moved toward the villa.