I live my life in Tokyo

Sakakibara Kaede sighed and nodded.

This method is very common, for example, the most common "Are you there?" or "Have you eaten?"

Both of these are the most powerful means of chatting up people to build closer relationships, but it's really difficult to gradually change from emotional chatting to borrowing money to do things.

"Oh, by the way, let's take a picture of my brother."

Asuna Yuuki pulled Sakakibara Kaede's sleeve and pointed at the cell phone.

On Monday afternoons, when the sun was warm and the breeze was blowing, everyone stayed at home or went to a coffee shop in the afternoon to have a cup of drowsy black tea. There were not many people on the train. Seeing this, Sakakibara Kaede pulled down her mask and made a victory sign to Yuuki Asuna's phone.

"Senior Feng, your smile seems a little unnatural..."

“I’m not used to taking selfies…”

"Then I need to take a few more photos for practice."

Asuna Yuuki held Kaede Sakakibara's hand and walked to the window. Outside the window was the bright sunshine and tall buildings like those in Makoto Shinkai's movies. The light slanted down through the thick clouds and shone on their faces.

"Hmm... this one is pretty good."

After taking more than 20 photos from different angles, Yuuki Asuna studied the pictures on her phone. When she saw Sakakibara Kaede leaning over, she generously showed them to him, "It's really good, isn't it?"

"Yes, indeed."

"Then I'll send it to my brother."

"...!"

Sakakibara Kaede's eyes trembled, and he quickly stretched out his hand, "——Don't!"

Yuuki Asuna tilted her head in confusion, touched her finger on the screen, and pressed the send button.

"Huh? What's wrong?"

The next moment, Sakakibara Kaede was struck by lightning. The cell phone in his pocket was jumping up and down wildly, as if it was about to be shaken out of his pocket.

"--It's too late." The young man seemed to be saying his last words. He glanced reluctantly at the bright and beautiful world outside the window, then slowly took out his cell phone.

The caller is Koichiro Yuuki.

"..."

"Who's calling?" Yuuki Asuna asked curiously.

"An old friend."

Sakakibara Kaede forced a smile that was uglier than crying and slowly pressed the answer button.

"—"

"—"

For a while, neither side spoke, only the sound of quiet breathing.

It was as if they had tacitly agreed that whoever spoke first would lose. Sakakibara Kaede kept his composure. He had already been mentally prepared to face the barrage of attacks from the science-geek guy, but he didn't expect that this day would come so soon.

Did not expect ah.

“Is this a scam call?”

Yuuki Asuna's curious question was the last straw that broke the camel's back. The sound of bones rubbing against each other and the faint breath like a wolf were instantly heard from the other end of the phone.

"Senior Yuki, you wouldn't... have a stiff neck, would you?" Sakakibara Kaede asked carefully.

Asuna Yuuki secretly stuck out her tongue. She didn't expect it was a call from her brother. The two must be talking about serious work. Senior Feng's face was so stiff. It might be a bug that could affect all the gameplay of Sword Art Online.

“… Nice photos.”

After a heavy breath, Yuki Koichiro spoke. His voice sounded like he was in the office. Sakakibara Kaede also heard Yuki Koichiro's hands starting to tap on the keyboard.

"How are you doing lately, Yuuki-senpai? Is work going well?"

"I have found allies in Osaka, and the planning of the branch is also going smoothly." Yuki Koichiro talked about work, and without the pressure of his sister, his tone gradually became relaxed and calm. "But I won't stay in Osaka for long. The pressure from my father is my motivation. Next, I have to continue to travel all over Japan."

"Now that Sword Art Online has become well-known, RECT can indeed move forward much more easily. How about you, how do you feel about your new position? Do you feel constrained?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Because you are a genius, Sakakibara-san. Although you are a member of the planning team, you are still an assistant at the moment. If you ever feel that your ideas are restricted, tell me and I will promote you to planning directly."

"Then no need."

"You guy..."

Yuki Koichiro cursed with a smile and shook his head. He was still as lazy as before. This was also the reason why his father praised this friend and partner for his good performance in front of him many times. . . He had no ambition.

Being so lazy, I guess I stay at home every day... and Asuna——

Yuuki Koichiro came back and his voice suddenly turned cold, "Sakakibara-san, tell me the truth, how are you getting along with Asuna recently!"

The sound was so loud that Asuna Yuuki, who was secretly leaning on the young man's shoulder, heard it clearly. Her ears instantly burned and she took a few steps back like a frightened deer.

"You get along pretty well. The relationship is much better than before." Sakakibara Kaede said this and smiled at Yuuki Asuna. The latter snorted pretentiously and turned her head away, but her eyes still stayed on the young man.

"Better? How better?"

"Hiss... This thing is not a calculable data." Sakakibara Kaede scratched his head.

"That's right. After all, we are all science majors. It's not like us to use the pretentious literary style to describe relationships." Yuki Koichiro gave a thumbs up. The junior Sakakibara is quite like me in my youth.

"Ah, but we got married in Sword Art Online."

"?"

The train stopped and Sakakibara Kaede nodded to Yuuki Asuna. Amid the sound of people coming and going, Yuuki Koichiro's fragmented screams, which sounded like a cyber psychopath's attack, were perfectly covered up.

When the young man put the phone to his ear again, he heard the peaceful breathing sound coming from the other side.

"Speaking of the marriage system, I would like to talk to you about areas that can be improved."

"...When you were getting married in the game, did you have time to observe these things?"

"Well, I'm a member of RECT. It's my job to pay attention to bugs and find optimizations."

Asuna Yuuki lowered her eyes, the only thing in her field of vision was Kaede Sakakibara's shoes. She heard Kaede Sakakibara talking about marriage with her brother, and this fact made Asuna Yuuki's cheeks flush. Like a shy young wife, she followed Kaede Sakakibara's steps and walked forward.

"You are thoughtful..."

Koichiro Yuki listened to many of Kaede Sakakibara's suggestions, such as the fact that the couple are not necessarily required to wear suits and wedding dresses at the wedding, and can wear whatever they want, and other improvements that players are looking forward to and talking about with relish. While listening, he was typing on the keyboard.

After a while, after the young man finished speaking, he summarized it, and after checking that it was correct, both parties breathed a sigh of relief.

Koichiro Yuki was silent for a moment. He turned his chair and the sunlight outside the window made him squint his eyes unconsciously. He rubbed his temples and grinned.

Although his current job is somewhat different from what he imagined, and it is not all about codes and numbers... But he still has to like this kind of work because he is the heir of RECT.

He looked at the name on his phone and recalled the first time he talked with Sakakibara Kaede in front of the gate of Tokyo University and discussed their ideals in the department - at that time Sword Art Online was just a demo game.

From the amazement he felt when he first saw him in a TV series to the ordinariness of his daily life, he was a little worried now.

Of course, I wasn't worried about Sakakibara, I was worried about my own sister.

He hopes that Yuuki Asuna will not be like himself, but can walk her own path and find her own happiness.

If being with Sakakibara-san is happiness, he will accept it.

"Sakakibara-san, please take Asuna's matter to heart."

"it is good."

A man's promise never needs to be expressed in words. If Sakakibara Kaede patted his chest and promised to take care of it, Yuki Koichiro would worry that he was just saying it verbally.

After hanging up the phone, he rubbed his face and returned to his work at the board meeting.

Sakakibara Kaede stopped and felt as if someone was gently hugging his back. He glanced sideways and found Yuuki Asuna leaning behind him. She took a few steps back with a slightly red face and her nose was slightly red, obviously because she had just been bumped into.

"Why are you still distracted while walking?" Sakakibara Kaede laughed.

"Um... sorry."

"No nosebleed?"

Sakakibara Kaede bent down to check Yuuki Asuna's nose. The latter felt the young man's gaze lingering on her face for a long time. The originally calm fair face seemed to be gradually burning.

She coughed lightly and changed the subject.

"Um, did my brother say anything?"

“Hmm…” Sakakibara Kaede pondered for a moment. Would it be a bit inappropriate to tell others about Yuki Koichiro’s care? Telling Yuki Asuna in person that her brother asked her to keep him in mind… It seemed a bit inappropriate.

"Yuuki-senpai still cares about you."

"Well, of course I know."

Stop on red light, go on green light.

Yuuki Asuna came to Sakakibara Kaede's side and held his wrist.

Noticing the young man's strange gaze, she coughed softly, "This way I won't be distracted when walking and get bumped into."

It felt like there were handcuffs on her wrists, and Sakakibara nodded. However, Yuuki Asuna's fingers and wrists were very soft, and her skin was very delicate, which was far from the steel-like coldness of the handcuffs.

I stopped at the flower shop next to the hospital and bought two bouquets of flowers to celebrate the discharge of the Konno sisters.

After entering the hospital, Kaede Sakakibara came to the counter and reported the information of the Konno family - he had been here many times and helped many times, and the nurses here almost knew Kaede Sakakibara. After signing, Kaede Sakakibara and Asuna Yuuki walked into the inpatient department.

After entering the elevator, Yuuki Asuna let go of Sakakibara Kaede's wrist. What echoed in her mind at this moment were the looks of the nursing aunties who were looking at this side, as if they were looking at a perfect couple.

Walking into the inpatient area, the fragrance of flowers diluted the pungent smell of disinfectant. Yuuki Asuna lowered her head and bit her lower lip quietly. . . Yuuki, are you here?

"Yuuki, right here."

Sakakibara Feng led her to the ward and said softly, "Konno Kapok is Yuuki's full name. She contracted an infection when she was a child and has been suffering from various symptoms. She has been hospitalized since junior high school."

"Why is this so..."

"Even so, Yuuki didn't give up. She read and wrote every morning, watched the news after a nap, and played games with us in the evening. Physical pain couldn't defeat Yuuki's will. When I think back now, Yuuki's attitude when playing games is always optimistic and positive, no matter which game it is."

When Yuuki Asuna heard this, she quietly wiped away the tears from her eyes, "Then... Then Yuuki..."

The corners of her mouth trembled slightly, obviously not wanting to hear the anticipated consequences.

"Yuuki was discharged from the hospital today." Sakakibara Kaede looked forward and saw the two sisters sitting in wheelchairs. A gentle smile appeared on his face.

Asuna Yuuki blinked at Kaede Sakakibara, and after a moment, she burst into laughter, hugged Kaede Sakakibara's arm and wiped her tears. A few purple petals on the bouquet of flowers in her hand fluttered in the wind as she moved.

Mrs. Konno watched this beautiful scene. After the young couple played around, she stepped forward with a smile, "Sakakibara-kun, good afternoon. The person next to you is..."

"Ah... Auntie, my name is Yuuki Asuna."

The girl went from sadness to joy. She felt a little shy hugging Senior Feng's arm in broad daylight, but as a lady from a wealthy family, she quickly calmed down and introduced herself to Mrs. Konno gracefully.

Sakakibara Feng came to Lanzi holding a bouquet of flowers and smiled at her, "Lanzi, congratulations on being discharged from the hospital."

"Thank you, brother." Konno Aiko showed a soft, lovable smile, and she said softly, "It's great that Sakakibara is our brother, don't you think so, Kapokki?"

"Well..."

Konno Kapok looked a little flustered at this time. Don't ask her why - although she couldn't speak in the voice chat, she could hear her teammates' words. She was naturally very familiar with Asuna's voice, with whom she had a very good relationship. Not to mention that Yuuki Asuna used her real name to obtain the ID. When she introduced herself, Yuuki was already stiff all over.

"Yuuki, Asuna is worried about you."

Sakakibara Kaede laughed softly.

Konno Kapok looked away guiltily.

Yuuki Asuna came to the girl holding a bouquet of flowers. When she got closer, Yuuki Asuna couldn't help crying again. This was far from the healthy Yuki she had imagined.

"Asuna, don't cry." Yuuki whispered, "And... I'm sorry for leaving you without saying goodbye."

"I'm really worried about you, Yuuki."

Yuuki Asuna half-knelt down, placed the bouquet in the little girl's arms, and then gently hugged her.

"Hey... Asuna, you smell a bit like my sister, both smell like sunshine."

"Let's play together again in the future?" Yuuki Asuna said with a nasal voice.

Konno Kapok looked at her mother and sister who were watching with smiles, and her brother who had an encouraging look in his eyes, and her nose felt slightly sore and she grinned.

"Ah."

Chapter 35 I Hate (Like) the Most