Can Lixi look at me alone?

It's already past midnight...? Oh right, it's really late. I'll go to sleep after watching this episode!

"Mmm, going to sleep right away~" was followed by a cute emoji.

While stealing her expressions for his own use, Yuzuki paused the DVD.

Then remove the disc and turn off the TV.

She felt that Chihiro was better than the movie, and she was tired of watching these DVDs.

"I bought some things for Chihaya, which will probably arrive in the UK in a few days. I've also included Chihaya's phone number in my contact information, so it shouldn't be too much trouble, right?"

Huh? Yuzuki sent me something... I guess I should get something too.

We need to give a return gift. How about we go out and buy some gifts tomorrow? Anyway, Xiaoyue lives right next to my house. I know her address and her phone number. That's all!

Aiyin nodded in satisfaction after making plans for the empty weekend.

Although…

She was probably just finding an excuse for herself not to hide in her dorm room.

"My friend is back. Chiyo, go to sleep now... Goodnight."

Ah… Yuzuki is busy now. I haven’t had a chance to ask her what she likes.

Forget it, there's plenty of time tomorrow, we'll talk about it then!

"good night!"

Good night…

Xiaoyue gave me something... does she hope I'll stay here a little longer?

She took Xiangzi's dinner out of the insulated bag and then grabbed a carton of milk from the refrigerator as a nutritional supplement for him. Jieyue sat quietly at the dining table, watching her roommates go home for dinner.

"Thank you, Yuzuki, you've been a great help..."

Xiangzi, who hadn't eaten much in her rush that evening, devoured the fried rice in front of her, but she immediately sensed something was wrong.

Yuzuki, who usually scolds her gently at this time, remains silent. Shoko, who cares deeply about Yuzuki's affairs, swallows the rice in his mouth and pats Yuzuki's shoulder.

The girl, who suddenly found Xiao Xiang much more pleasing to the eye than before, shook her head, feeling somewhat lost and unable to adjust.

“Greek milk.”

This refusal to talk instilled a sense of fear in Xiangzi; to her… every unusual behavior from Yuzuki meant…

"What happened? Although... you might not want to hear this, I'm someone you grew up with. Yuzuki can trust me the way she trusts Yuzuki..."

The pink-haired girl, who was sitting at the dining table in a daze, cupped her cheeks in her hands and gently turned her azure eyes to meet the golden pupils.

Can I trust Xiaoxiang?

……

You've forgotten again; the angel has already left.

"I don't know why, but when I'm with Riki-chan... I can't help but run home."

Xiangzi, having put down his cutlery, became serious and began to question Jieyue and Lixi about every detail of their interactions.

"Her face turns red...her head feels hot...? And she even ran back home, and she gets like this just looking at Lixi's messages on the screen...?"

So you can be shy?

Xiangzi, who almost blurted out those words, took a sip of milk to calm himself down.

"Um... this is what we usually call shyness..."

Just then, she caught a glimpse of the stain on Yuzuki's palm out of the corner of her eye. She gently tapped her right palm with her left index finger in front of Yuzuki.

The pink-haired girl, who understood what she meant, went to the bathroom to wash her hands and change her mood... only to find that there was no dirt on her right palm at all.

Instead, someone wrote it down in exceptionally neat handwriting…

"Be a normal person."

But she doesn't know how to write with her left hand at all, so it's obvious who wrote it.

Yuzuki closed her eyes.

"Well, I will."

Volume 2 My Go!!! Chapter 14 Maintaining Distance is Normal Human Etiquette

After washing her hands, Yuzuki returned to the dining table. She was about to start learning how to be a normal person.

"Then why didn't I feel this way before? I remember it so clearly... holding hands and hugging Riki-chan, or..."

Recalling her past intimate encounters with someone, Yuzuki's cheeks flushed again, prompting Shoko to shake his head helplessly before taking out his phone and using it as a mirror to show her her current appearance.

After glancing at it, Yuzuki returned the phone.

She was a little unaccustomed to her face changing from pale to this... flushed red, and she felt that she didn't look very good like this.

Just as Xiangzi was about to comfort her, saying that shyness is a natural human reaction, he suddenly realized something and quickly asked his childhood sweetheart what the hidden behavior was after holding hands and hugging.

"Wait a minute, what did you and Lixi do? Besides holding hands and hugging, what else did you do?"

The pink-haired girl glanced somewhat displeased at the fingers gripping her shoulders, but considering that Xiangzi was genuinely thinking of her best interests... she chose to endure it.

After all, normal people don't lose their temper easily.

"Nothing happened, Xiao Xiang... what's wrong?"

Didn't you do anything?

Just now it was hugging and cuddling, I can ignore that. But what's something deeper than that? How can I ignore you?!

Having not known much about Li Xi, Xiangzi calmed down a bit and realized that her behavior was inappropriate. She quickly let go of the girl's hands and apologized.

Did you hurt Jieyue?

Suddenly feeling a surge of urge to yell at her, Yuzuki sighed and once again chose to endure it.

"It's okay, Xiao Xiang, have you finished eating?"

Xiangzi, who was already prepared to be scolded, blinked.

Something's wrong. Yuzuki is acting really strange today. Every detail, inside and out, is off... It's as if she's really become a normal person.

He became like a 'normal person' who no longer needed her care...

But how is that possible? Yuzuki's illness was very serious... how could she suddenly recover like that?

"I'm finished eating, Yuzuki, go and rest... I'll take care of these dishes, desuwa~"

Having sent her away, Xiangzi picked up the plate, poured out the remaining food, and went to the sink. He began washing the greasy items one by one.

But it doesn't seem to matter, does it?

I hope Yuzuki can be happy... But compared to that, something else is more important...

What exactly did Riki and Yuzuki do?!

This isn't... this isn't... taking advantage of Jieyue's illness to sneak into her? To do this to a patient who doesn't have much common sense, Lixi is really going too far!

What's even worse is that Yuzuki wouldn't even tell me what happened...

Now that Yuzuki is shy, what did Riki do before Yuzuki was shy?

Xiangzi, increasingly angry, turned on his phone.

Xiangzi quietly put the phone back.

She has no right to say anything to Lixi.

Even if Lixi really did something to Jieyue, it's not my place to say.

It was I who gradually drove Yuzuki from a normal person to this point, it was I who abandoned Yuzuki in the hospital, and it was I who caused Yuzuki pain and sorrow time and time again, yet still had to be protected by her...

Everyone has the right to criticize Lixi for overstepping her bounds with a patient, except for her—Toyokawa Shoko.

"Xiao Xiang...?"

Perhaps because the pot had been washed for a while, Yuzuki's voice, tinged with worry, came from the kitchen doorway.

"It's okay, I'll be done soon."

Xiangzi quickly sped up his work, returned to sit down next to Jieyue, and prepared to watch a movie with her for a while before going to sleep, just like usual.

The pink-haired girl, who had already turned off the DVD player and TV, was combing her long hair in front of the vanity mirror. After hearing the door open, she glanced back and continued what she was doing.

This made Xiangzi, who was usually troubled by Yuzuki's excessive enthusiasm, feel a little uncomfortable.

For a moment, she even wondered if her actions at some point had made Yuzuki think she was causing her trouble, which was why Yuzuki was distancing herself from her like this…

The more I think about it, the more I feel...

It's highly likely that Xiangzi abandoned his study plan for tonight and walked step by step behind Jieyue... and hugged her tightly.

Isn't Yuzuki shy? Won't she be shy being this close? Won't she be shy cuddling with me when we sleep at night?

Xiangzi, who had taken the liberty of putting herself in the role of the older sister, heard a rather obvious click of her tongue.

Startled, Yuzuki forcefully tapped the head in front of her with her comb, her pretty face, which had been slightly smiling, turning cold.

"Ouch... I'm sorry, Yuzuki. But you're not shy at all..."

Just moments before, Yuzuki was about to say something to scold her, but then paused, reaching out to touch her cheek. Indeed… the feeling this time was the same as usual, a cool, soft touch…

Logically speaking, if I were to feel shy, why didn't I react at all when I was so close to Xiaoxiang? And with Lixi-chan…

"Hey! Why is Yuzuki's face suddenly red?"

Just imagining that it was Riki holding her now caused Yuzuki's cheeks, which had been cool, to flush red and hot again. Worried that something might happen to her, Xiangzi quickly let go of her arms and went to the bathroom to get a towel dampened with cold water to wipe her cheeks.

After thinking for a moment, Yuzuki decided it was better not to tell the truth and forced a smile.

"Sorry, I suddenly got a little shy. Xiao Xiang, could you tell me in advance next time?"

Actually, I didn't feel embarrassed at all. Maybe you're not human in my eyes.

"Is that so? I'm sorry. I'll be more careful next time... So, would you like me to sleep in another room?"

The little blue octopus took a step back, covered its mouth with its palm, apologized to Yuzuki, and then offered a solution that it thought could resolve the problem.

"...Maybe we shouldn't."

"Okay, I'll listen to Yuzuki."

Feeling inexplicably disgusted by the atmosphere, Yuzuki got up and went back to her room. While waiting for Shoko to finish her shower, she tried to figure out why she was so averse to Riki.

Is it just shyness?

But why didn't I feel sad at all when we kissed before? Instead, I felt very happy? And when we hugged each other and slept together... I felt so happy and blissful.

After taking a few sips of water to calm herself down, the girl couldn't resist picking up her phone and finding the person who shouldn't be asleep yet...

"I miss Riki-chan."

Is it just wishful thinking? Or is it something he wants to do with her?

Yuzuki didn't understand, but she just really wanted to see the black-haired figure... she just really wanted to be with that person.

But doing this... isn't it wrong?

Shouldn't normal girls not engage in such behavior that goes beyond friendship?

As for Xiao Xiang... Xiao Xiang isn't human, right? So it's normal that I don't feel shy, right?

Well, that's right.

I should keep my distance from Riki-chan.

Volume 2, Mygo! Chapter 15: Astounding Wisdom

Mu, who was watering the cucumbers, gently shrugged and smiled at the plant whose roots were covered in water droplets.

Today, I can finally see Yuzuki. I need to make up for all the regret of not seeing Yuzuki yesterday.