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

Fortunately, there seemed to be no problem with the dialogue.

Yuan Qianye glanced at the Dongma family's house. It was so big that it wasn't appropriate for an outsider like him to search it.

"You rest here, I'm going out for a bit."

"You're leaving!?"

Upon hearing this, Kazusa reacted strongly, completely subconsciously, spilling some of the warm water she was holding in her hands as she suddenly turned her head.

Seeing that Chiyo was staring at her, she quickly realized something and continued to speak, trying to cover it up, and finally formally expressed her gratitude: "Thank you for today... thank you... If you're leaving, please close the door for me."

Just as Touma Yoko said, she is a well-protected young lady from a secluded family, completely revealing her naivety and lack of worldly experience; even her way of saying thank you is so awkward.

And that expression of disappointment, clearly showing her fear of being alone after I left... She was trying to be strong, yet it was so obvious.

She was completely different from her mother, who was adept at navigating interpersonal relationships; she was as innocent as a blank sheet of paper.

I had originally intended to make some slightly mischievous jokes, but seeing her like this now, I couldn't bear to do it at all.

"Why are you leaving? I haven't eaten the cake and pastries I bought yet. I'm just going out to buy some things and I'll be right back."

"oh oh."

"Okay, then that's settled."

Yuan Qianye turned and left.

After he left, Touma Kazusa relaxed her tense body and slowly leaned back on the sofa, a sense of peace welling up inside her.

But after realizing this sense of relief, she was quickly overwhelmed by a feeling of shame, and her face felt incredibly hot.

After leaving the house, Chiya called Yoko Touma again to tell her about Kazusa's current situation, hoping to put her mind at ease.

"...It's good that nothing serious has happened. Kazusa has been focused on the piano since she was little and has hardly any friends, so she doesn't have much experience interacting with her peers. Although she was quite polite and courteous when you came to my house last time, that was only because I was with her. Now that I'm not here, she doesn't know how to interact with you, and I don't know what kind of funny things she might do. Anyway, please bear with her."

This marks the second time Touma Yoko has given Minamoto Chiya a heads-up.

But he himself felt it was unnecessary; he thought Touma Kazusa's behavior from their first meeting today until now was quite...

It's kind of cute and fun.

If she were to have the same high emotional intelligence as her mother, she would actually lack the innocent and naive charm that comes with being a teenage girl.

He went to a nearby supermarket and bought an electric hot water bottle. He didn't see any ginger in Dongma's refrigerator, but he did have some red dates, so he weighed out a little less ginger.

He only had those two things, and he came back in less than half an hour.

Touma Kazusa sat on the sofa without moving, watching Minamoto Chiya busy in the living room for her.

A short while later, Chiya Minamoto wrapped the hot water bottle in a clean towel from the bathroom and handed it to Kazusa Touma.

"……Thanks."

After thanking someone once, it becomes much easier to ask for their thanks again.

"You are welcome."

As he was replying, Yuan Qianye's phone vibrated again.

Upon inspection, it was indeed Touma Yoko's message.

Actually, if you don't mind, Chiyo, you can stay at my place tonight. There are several guest rooms; you can choose any one.

Gen Chiya silently shifted her gaze to Kazusa, whose expression had relaxed as she placed a hot water bottle on her lower abdomen.

After thinking about it, I replied.

I'll see how it goes.

…………

073: The Second Miss Has Not Grown Up at All (6500)

Actually, when you think about it carefully, the experience of being alone with a girl who needs to be taken care of is very rare in Yuan Qianye's life.

As a child, Yukino couldn't fit in with her peers, not counting the time she spent with him.

Since they mostly interacted in public, and she was strong and independent, she didn't need Yuan Qianye to take care of her too much.

The same goes for Saeko Busujima. Even today, Chiya Minamoto still visits her house from time to time, but they mostly spend their time together sparring in kendo.

After this phase ended, it would be more accurate to say that he was the one being taken care of, using their bathroom and eating their prepared meals.

The only past that could evoke a similar feeling in Minamoto no Chiya was probably that of Touka.

At that time, Junko's mother had just moved in with the Takanashi sisters, and he occasionally saw Toka suffering from her period.

He was much the same back then, busy doing things for her, pouring water and handing her hot water bottles.

I didn’t look into it too closely at the time, but now that I think about it, it was probably after that that Toka truly accepted him from the bottom of her heart, regarded him as family, and became close to him.

Of course, some things that were previously too embarrassing to ask for help can now be said more naturally, such as helping her stretch her legs and back while she lies on the yoga mat, without any psychological burden.

As for now—

Gen Chiya sat on the sofa in the Touma family's living room, eating the Japanese snacks that Touma Yoko had asked him to buy and bring. As he savored them, he looked amazed and couldn't help but nod in agreement.

There's a reason this stuff is expensive. This little snack is soft and chewy, not too sweet or greasy, and leaves a subtle fruity aroma in your mouth after chewing and swallowing. It's really delicious.

Touma Kazusa, standing to the side, was staring at him with hostility.

"There's nothing I can do. The doctor said you can't eat anything for a while, you can only drink porridge at most. When I bought these handmade pastries, the shopkeeper said it's best to eat them on the same day, otherwise it will affect the taste and flavor."

As Yuan Qianye spoke, he picked up another one, a beautifully crafted wooden nine-square grid. Originally, there were nine different snacks neatly arranged inside, but now only three remained after he had eaten them all.

I was really hungry, and it was already 6:30. The food I ate at noon had almost been digested by now.

"Don't worry, I'll still save the cream cake for you. You can eat it slowly tomorrow when you feel better."

Chiya guessed that it was because she had a lot of interactions with Touma Kazusa since she arrived that Touma Kazusa was now starting to get to know her.

The expression on her face gradually returned to the vivid look she had before when her mother was by her side.

This is good. She's been keeping a straight face all the time, which not only makes her uncomfortable, but also makes Yuan Qianye, who has to spend at least a few hours with her today, feel uneasy.

"What exactly did you come here for today?" Touma Kazusa watched as Chiya Minamoto popped the sweets from her favorite shop into her mouth one by one, and she had an indescribable feeling.

It wasn't that she was greedy, but she always felt that this boy named Qianye was deliberately sitting next to her and making such a fuss about eating, in order to show off his superiority over her, who couldn't eat at the moment...

In short, it's full of wicked humor!

"Have you forgotten what just happened? I'm here to save you." As soon as Yuan Qianye said this, Kazusa's hard-won momentum instantly weakened again.

Yes, she is willful, she sometimes can't control her temper, and her ideas are sometimes quite naive.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have thrown a tantrum in her room and scattered clothes all over the closet after receiving a call from her mother who hadn't shown up.

Upon entering the living room, I couldn't resist stepping on the cushions on the sofa and kicking them wildly with my bare feet.

Finally, with a self-destructive attitude that "even my mother doesn't care about me in this world," he took the ice cream bucket and huddled in the practice room, gulping it down in a whirlwind.

Even so, she was still sensible and understood right from wrong.

Kazusa couldn't deny the fact that Chiya Minamoto had saved her.

When her stomach started hurting, she almost thought she was going to die all alone in the practice room.

He saved his mother, and then he saved himself.

Kazusa simply couldn't stand up for him when he was like this.

Yuan Qianye was unaware that Kazusa was currently thinking about him in a jumbled mess, but seeing her silence, and not wanting the atmosphere to become awkward again, he took the initiative to bring up the topic.

"Don't treat your body like that anymore. It's just that Aunt Yaozi can't come back because of something. Unexpected things happen in life. You have to keep a calm mind and get used to it."

This didactic remark annoyed Kazusa, but she suppressed her temper and muttered a rebuttal under her breath: "You don't understand..."

"That's true. Everyone's situation is different. Unless it's a very close relationship, it's hard for people to know what others are thinking. But I think that in a sense, we can be considered similar people. And between similar people, even if they are not very familiar with each other, they should have some understanding of each other's situation."

"Our kind... are we?"

“Well, you see, you grew up with your mother, while I grew up with my father. We are both children from single-parent families, and we both grew up in such a background. Isn’t that what it means to be the same kind of people?”

After hesitating for a moment, Kazusa shook her head: "Our situations are different."

"for example?"

"For example, would your father leave you alone at home to be taken care of by a nanny while he goes abroad to pursue further studies?"

"That's certainly not the case."

"For example, if you go to participate in a competition, would the only person cheering you on from the sidelines be your mother's secretary from her agency?"

Where is Aunt Yaozi?

"Most of the time she's working, so busy she doesn't even have time to make phone calls. In the past, it was okay, at least during the period from Christmas to New Year's she would take some time to rest and go home."

But this time she went too far. She didn't mention anything to me beforehand, and suddenly said that she was busy abroad for a while and couldn't get away to go back.

Even though she had just undergone surgery not long ago, the doctor advised her to rest for a while longer to fully recover before doing anything else.

She just wouldn't listen. "Isn't having enough money at home enough? I just have to work. I simply can't understand what she's thinking..."

Touma Kazusa was completely unaware that, under Chiya Minamoto's nonchalant guidance, she had unleashed all the pent-up resentment she felt towards her mother.

Before today, she had never spoken so much to anyone other than her mother.

The doctor who had just visited her had relieved her physical discomfort, and now, talking to Yuan Qianye had swept away all her mental stress.

She continued complaining until she saw Yuan Qianye pick up the last remaining dessert plate and hand it to her, a warm, gentle smile on his face like the rising sun.

His smile is eerie.

For a moment, Kazusa, who was experiencing it up close, thought of a clear blue sky, with a cool spring breeze carrying fine rain that slowly slid down the green leaves. The scene was both natural and refreshing, making one feel as if they were in a forest.

It just feels... inexplicably fascinating and comforting.

The opponent cast a field spell.

Kazusa had a lot more to say, but at that moment, she couldn't say anything at all.