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

Shihua sat helplessly on the sofa for a long time before she finally came to her senses from the devastating news and asked in a hoarse voice what had happened.

Gen Chiya spoke in a very gentle tone, observing Toka's expression as he recounted the details of what happened last night.

After hearing that Rikka's emotional state was disrupted when Chiya saw them together through the French windows on the balcony at night, leading her to recklessly go to his room late at night and cause the current situation... Toka's already bewildered and uneasy face turned even more red with helplessness!

After much hesitation, Toka added that when Rikka officially pushed her down, she even said, "Why can my sister do it but I can't!" Toka could no longer sit still and immediately covered her face and got up to leave the apartment!

Upon seeing this, Yuan Qianye immediately grabbed her hand to try to comfort her.

But Toka persisted in her struggle and refused to continue talking to him.

In the end, Yuan Qianye was unable to stop her, and the conversation ended abruptly.

However, he was still worried about Toka being alone in this distracted state, so he immediately dialed Yono's number after she left.

At this point, the only thing left to do was to ask her to help sort out Shihua's feelings.

The news of her sister's arrival did not alert Rikka, and she only slowly woke up around 10 o'clock.

Upon waking, she noticed the strange sensation in her body, glanced at Eriri who was still fast asleep, and, recalling the events of the previous night, chuckled to herself.

Just then, Yuan Qianye pushed the door open and came in. She immediately stopped making a sound, closed her eyes, and pretended to be asleep.

But how could Yuan Qianye be fooled by her? He immediately sat down on the edge of the bed and pinched her little face. Rikka realized that she had been exposed, so she stopped pretending and opened her eyes and spread her hands in the direction of his gaze, saying softly, "Hug me~".

With just those two words, coupled with her gentle and adorable expression like a kitten, Yuan Qianye's somewhat melancholy feelings instantly vanished. He leaned down, hooked her nose, and then picked her up to give her a light kiss on the forehead.

At this point, the relationship between the sworn siblings deepened further and officially evolved into a romantic relationship.

Rikka laughed carefree in his arms, not caring about anything else, only knowing that she was very happy and quite content.

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.

Meanwhile, Toka, who repeatedly said that she just wanted to be alone and not let Chiya follow her, wandered aimlessly through the streets.

The sudden ringing of her phone interrupted her reverie. She took out her phone and saw that the caller ID was Yang Nai, not that person. She breathed a sigh of relief, but was also slightly disappointed.

As soon as she answered the phone, Yang Nai spoke in a very weak voice, "...I'm sorry, Toka, for calling you so suddenly, but I'm really feeling unwell right now, cough...cough cough—!"

Although Shihua was burdened with a lot of worries and had mixed feelings, when she heard her friend's plea for help because she had a high fever and couldn't move at home, she could tell what was important and told her to stay home and rest, and that she would come to find her right away!

"...Thank you, but I'm so sorry, I've moved apartments now. Just come find me at this address...cough cough...cough cough!"

"Okay, I understand. You lie down and rest. I'll be there soon!"

After hanging up the phone, Toka subconsciously headed towards the pharmacy, but after taking only two steps, she remembered what Yono had said on the phone: she was extremely dizzy and even had difficulty getting out of bed, which meant she had a high fever. In that case, slow-acting medications were a second choice; the best option would be for her to go there herself and help Yono to the hospital for an IV drip.

With that in mind, she immediately went to the roadside, hailed a taxi, and went to Yang Nai's apartment.

Strangely, when Shihua arrived at the door of her new apartment, she rang the doorbell several times but no one came to open the door.

Could he have fainted from the fever?

As she was thinking this, Toka became even more worried. She took out her phone and dialed Haruno's number, thinking that if Haruno still didn't respond when she rang the doorbell and called, she would really have to go to the apartment manager to explain the situation and get the key.

She anxiously rang the doorbell repeatedly while holding her phone to her ear.

And faintly, the sound of a telephone ringing gradually approached from a great distance.

Shika listened intently to pinpoint the source of the sound and gradually looked behind her.

Yang Nai, with bright eyes and white teeth, carrying a shoulder bag, walked around the corner of the corridor and stood in front of her. He then smiled and took his phone out of the bag, hanging up in front of her.

Seeing her like this, Shihua knew perfectly well that she had been tricked.

Considering the timing of Yang Nai's phone call right after she left, it's not hard to conclude that there must have been some kind of malicious intent behind it.

"I'm so sorry! I was just doing this because someone asked me to, and I was worried about you, so please don't be so angry, okay? Your expression is so scary!"

Yang clasped his hands together, smiling and apologizing again and again.

But Toka was already in a complicated mood today because she suddenly learned that her sister had also been taken in by Chiya. Now that she had been tricked by her, she had run into the line of fire at the most inopportune time. How could she give her a pleasant look?

So she immediately said, "I'm glad you're alright. I have something to do, so I'll be going now."

"Hey, don't go, don't go. You're already here, and we haven't seen each other for so long. Let's take this opportunity to get together. Even if Qianye hadn't asked me, I would have a lot to say to you."

"I'm really busy today, maybe next time."

After giving a perfunctory reply, Toka walked past Yono and headed straight for the elevator.

Seeing that there was no way to keep her, Yang Nai wasn't in a hurry. She simply turned around and watched her leave, continuing, "Are you really that busy, or are you facing some trouble that you don't know what to do about?"

Her tone was playful, yet carried a certain certainty of knowing something, which effectively made Shihua stop in her tracks.

Shihua felt uneasy, but turned around without showing it: "Did he say something to you?"

"Hmm~ yeah, what did they say~?"

"..."

Shihua remained silent, showing no leniency towards her, and turned to leave.

Yang Nai then spoke up again: "Sister, I was wrong. If you really want to know, don't talk about it at the door. Can't we go inside and talk?"

"..."

Shihua stopped once again.

This time it wasn't because Haruno's tone or manner was deliberately showing weakness.

But...

"What did you just call me?" Shihua asked her, somewhat uncertainly.

Yang Nai stuck out her tongue, which was quite out of character for her: "No, I didn't say anything."

"Wait, you just called me 'sister,' what do you mean?"

"Hehe." This time, Yang Nai smiled but did not answer. Instead, under Toka's increasingly serious and suspicious gaze, he opened the apartment door and made an inviting gesture towards her.

Toka looked at Yono, but eventually turned back and followed her into the house.

…………

270: A major investigation...

Following Yang Nai's instructions, Toka entered the room, changed into slippers, and walked inside. She subconsciously began to look around at the layout of the room.

The walls are adorned with warm-toned murals, and the room is furnished with all the necessary furniture and decorations. Sunlight streams in from the balcony...

Compared to Yang Nai's original apartment, this apartment is not very spacious, but it is quite tidy and decorated in a cozy style.

Yang opened the tightly closed French windows to let in some fresh air, then returned, her eyes crinkling with a smile: "What would you like to drink?"

"Need not."

"Really, you don't need to be so polite when you come here. Just make yourself at home."

"I'm not being polite with you. Besides, next time you need something, just say so. If you use that excuse too often, I can't guarantee I'll be there immediately if something really happens to you."

Shika still harbored resentment towards Yang for faking illness to deceive her.

Seeing this, Yang Nai took the initiative to step forward, hold her hand, and sit down on the sofa: "I can understand how you feel, but if I were really that direct, you wouldn't have come over so readily. Besides, regarding this time when we lied to you, we were both in the same boat, weren't we?"

Shihua stared into her eyes: "What do you mean?"

"What do you think, dear sister?"

Here we go again, with that inexplicable nickname.

But upon closer reflection, it wasn't entirely inexplicable. After all, Toka had already guessed that Haruno's coincidental meeting with her must have been orchestrated by Chiya.

Because she was worried, she wanted Yang to ask her to stay by her side, but besides that... she had no idea whether he had said anything else he shouldn't have.

Therefore, Shihua suppressed her worries and pretended to be nonchalant, tentatively saying, "He called you and caused you trouble, didn't he? You don't need to pay attention to him next time."

"Hehe, that's impossible. Don't you want to know what he said to me on the phone?"

"I'm getting goosebumps. If you keep calling me that weird name, I'm not going to play along anymore."

Yang Nai laughed even more happily: "Then you'd better adapt quickly, since we'll be getting along like this from now on."

"..." Toka looked at Haruno, her doubts growing stronger.

At first, she only suspected that Chiya had told Hinano about Rikka, but given Hinano's unusual reaction, she couldn't understand how this had anything to do with Rikka.

Yang's strange behavior after they met made Toka slowly think of a certain possibility.

But she quickly dismissed that possibility.

Impossible. Putting aside Yukino herself, Chiya and Yukino grew up together since childhood.

Furthermore, Aunt Yukinoshita has subtly expressed her support for the two of them on more than one occasion.

As Yukino's older sister, and considering her family's situation... how could that be possible?

people can't...

At least her biological sister wouldn't...

"Phew—" Yang watched the changes in Toka's expression, and the mischievous smile of appreciation gradually disappeared: "Although it's been interesting to watch you guessing and looking troubled, it's about time. You've gotten over the anger you felt for keeping it from me for so long."

"What are you hiding from me? You might as well explain it clearly." Shihua's hands, which were resting on her thighs, unconsciously clenched.

Yang Nai stood up and slowly paced around the living room: "Of course I'll be more explicit. I was about to reach my limit, but after receiving Qianye's call today, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to be honest."

She stopped in her tracks, turned her head and looked at Shihua with amusement: "Guess why I specifically rented an apartment here?"

“What else could it be? There are so many reasons to move: commute distance, a change of environment, or noisy neighbors,” Shihua replied. She already sensed something was wrong and even suspected that possibility.

Having just experienced the shock of Rikka's situation, she instinctively resisted receiving any more explosive news in a short period of time.

"I asked the wrong question. Let me rephrase it: I rented this apartment without cancelling my original one. Can you guess why?"

"——!!!"

Shihua suddenly opened her eyes wide and stared intently at her.

"Speaking of which, besides me and Chiya, you're the first guest here, Toka. You'd better remember to keep it a secret from me, especially from my parents and Yukino."

Yang, now completely open about his intentions, knelt down in front of her, took her hands in his, and smiled with an exceptionally innocent expression.

"Now that we've opened up, we can talk about other things, like how I've always been curious about how you were bewitched by that brat?"

"..." Shika remained silent, still staring at her in astonishment.

After a long while, when Yang Nai's thighs were aching from squatting in front of her, she finally stammered and slowly asked, "This... he told you?"