My love game with them that will lead to certain death

In that case, this is the first priority for Eriri.

"Fortunately, the local evacuation instructions were well implemented and no one was injured. If I had known that place was so dangerous, Mom would definitely have ensured your safety and not let you go..."

"Eh? No casualties?"

Ying Lili was stunned for a moment.

"So, so Toru should still be...Mom, is Toru okay? Is he back too?"

But the hope that had just risen in Eriri's heart was shattered the next moment by her mother, who frowned slightly in confusion.

"Tōru...is he also Eriri's friend?"

"……Eh?"

Chapter 56 Stand by Me

"Tōru... is he also Eriri's friend? I've never heard of that name. Is he a new friend of Eriri?"

"……Eh?"

The words uttered by her mother Sayuri made the original confusion on Eriri's face gradually solidify into another emotion.

"Mom, Mom, what are you talking about...?"

A possibility that Eriri had been unwilling to believe from the beginning to the end gradually took shape in her mind.

"Isn't Toru back yet? Why are you making that expression?!"

Why are you making that "I don't know this person at all" expression?

"He is obviously your biological son, my twin brother, isn't he...?"

Ying Lili desperately hoped that her mother could give her an answer, but the latter's confused face showed only confusion.

“What’s with that expression… Eriri, didn’t you get enough rest…? If that Toru you keep talking about is your new friend, then mom might not recognize him…”

Ying Lili got the answer she least wanted.

"...Woo!"

She broke free from her mother's worried and caring embrace, turned around and ran - following the escalator all the way to the narrow corridor where her room was.

But Eriri walked straight past her room, went straight to a place that was within sight of her bedroom, and put her hand on the door handle.

This is her brother Toru's room.

"Tetsu? Are you there?"

After she symbolically said hello, she pushed the door open without saying anything. What came into her sight was her brother's bedroom decoration that she was so familiar with on a daily basis - this is how it should be.

But the moment she pushed open the door, the dust that hit her face made Eriri take a step back. The scene in front of her stunned her.

Under the dim light, the room was filled with all kinds of debris, with no signs of anyone ever living there.

Not to mention that in Eriri's memory, this place has been occupied by her brother for more than ten years.

"Eh……?"

Eriri couldn't believe what she saw and took a few steps back.

The news about the meteorite crash that was being played loudly in the living room on the first floor could be faintly heard even on the second floor, and was followed by a series of approaching footsteps.

Sayuri arrived at Eriri's side in time and supported her staggering daughter.

"Eri? What's going on? Why do you look distracted?"

She followed Eriri's gaze and turned her gaze towards the room, still with confusion on her face.

"Why did you suddenly open the door of the utility room? Are you looking for something?"

"The utility room...?"

It seemed that in her mother's eyes, this place had always been a place for piling up useless things, and it was not the room that Eriri remembered as her brother's.

I wasn't the one who was abnormal. I clearly didn't notice anything had changed and there was something wrong with my surroundings.

"What do you mean, mom, don't you remember? The person who originally lived here was Toru - Sawamura Spencer Toru, my twin brother!"

Ying Lili tried her best to calm herself down and explained everything she knew in the most concise and clear words.

"He went out with me! Why am I the only one back? Mom, wake up - maybe Toru is hiding somewhere!"

"Yinglili..."

When Sayuri watched the emotions in her daughter's eyes gradually turn into subtle worry, Eriri realized the seriousness of the problem.

"Are you really okay? You are the only child in our family from beginning to end..."

"…Mom, what are you talking about?"

At this moment, the disturbing idea that had been growing in Eriri's mind finally took shape.

That the existence of the one person who meant the most to her in this world had been erased so easily, as if he had never existed.

“I don’t, I don’t believe it…!”

Eriri rushed into the dusty room and began to rummage through the drawers, looking for something - or rather, she herself didn't know what she should be looking for at the moment, she just buried her head in the work, trying to find even a little bit of evidence.

Something that can prove that my brother really existed.

But no matter how hard she searched, she couldn't find anything related to her brother.

The photo album that recorded her growth from childhood to adulthood only contained photos of Eriri and her parents as a family of three, and there was no trace of that person in any of the commemorative photos from her kindergarten enrollment to graduation and then to her junior high school studies.

Apart from her parents, he has never been around her.

She came into this world alone.

Eriri's hands could no longer bear the weight of the photo album, and the record book, as thick as a heavy book, fell to the ground. Sayuri outside the door helped her daughter out of the room with a worried look on her face.

"Would you like to eat something to calm your stomach, Eriri? I'll make you something to fill your stomach."

Sayuri helped her distraught daughter back to the first floor. After placing her on the sofa, she rushed into the kitchen and called the housekeeper to start working together.

Eriri just stared at the floor blankly, still unable to digest this sudden fact. The servants nearby came forward to express their concern, but were choked by Eriri's mumbling question "Have you seen Toru?" and stepped back, shaking their heads in confusion.

"What do you mean... Why did it turn out like this..."

She finally realized the source of her uneasiness.

My brother's existence seemed to have been wiped out by an invisible hand.

No matter how much I throw a tantrum like a child, I can't change this fact.

"It's normal to feel a little groggy right after waking up. It could also be that you were frightened by the meteorite. Anyway, come eat something to fill your stomach, Eriri!"

Sayuri, who is not much of a cook, managed to make several edible dishes with the help of the housekeeper. She enthusiastically brought her daughter to the dining table, while Eriri was distracted for a moment when she saw the food on the table.

"Mom...why do you want to make dessert?"

She pointed at the tiramisu that was served as an after-meal dessert. Eriri was not in the habit of eating tiramisu after a meal.

If you must say, that's the food her brother likes to eat.

I remember that my brother would often take care of all the kitchen matters when my parents were not around. Sayuri, who saw all this, would always thoughtfully make a tiramisu for her son as a reward every time she came home.

"Ah, ah... this is, I thought you would want some dessert after eating, Eriri... Isn't that right?"

Unexpectedly, Sayuri seemed a little embarrassed, as if she didn't understand why she was doing this, and her words and actions were slightly evasive.

"It seems that there is no one in our family who likes to eat tiramisu."

The tears that inadvertently fell from her eyes betrayed her seemingly relaxed and comfortable situation.

"Hey...why am I crying?"

It was at this moment that Eriri was confirmed.

Everything in the first half of my life was not a dream.

Chapter 57: Snow Remaining in Spring

My brother disappeared.

Although she was reluctant to admit it, Eriri took a few days to gradually accept this fact.

Everything that was once related to him was ruthlessly erased. Neither his parents who had high hopes for him, nor his teachers who had high hopes for him, nor his classmates who always followed him with starry eyes remembered him anymore.

"Twin brother...? You are really the only child in our family. Eriri, are you too lonely? Do you want to go and play with Tomoya-kun...?"

Ying Lili's mother made this suggestion with concern, somewhat worried about her daughter's mental state.

"Sawamura...Spencer...Tōru? Sawamura-san is such a jokester. You're the only one in our school with the last name Sawamura."

The student from Toyonosaki Academy, who was excited to be spoken to by Eriri, replied shyly.

Unconvinced, Eriri looked through the list of outstanding model students, but she couldn't find her brother, who was always at the top of the list in her memory.

There was no trace of that familiar person on the school grade list, in the crowded corridors with people coming and going, or in the ranking of outstanding student representatives being commended.

The brother who always sat in his seat in the classroom waiting for her to go to class together, the brother who held out his hand to her in physical education class to form a team, the brother who teased Eriri for her clumsiness in home economics class and cleaned up the mess for her without saying a word, the brother who gloated over Eriri's misfortune and then cleaned up the mess with a smile when she got into trouble...

“It disappeared.”

Eriri, who was sitting in her seat in the classroom staring blankly ahead, blinked.

The seat in sight should have belonged to his brother, but the person sitting on it was a male classmate who he had barely spoken to and was not familiar with.

The whole family, even the whole school seemed to have forgotten his existence, and the ordinary school day continued - even without the so-called "Prince Charming of Toyosaki Academy", everything remained the same.

She was the only one who noticed something was wrong.

Eriri Sawamura sat in her chair blankly, staring at the blackboard where the teacher was writing the key points of the class, but her thoughts had long since flown away.

She often daydreamed during class, but this time her distracted mind was completely out of her control.

The brother named Sawamura Spencer Toru has disappeared for several days, and Eriri has tried to find other ways to find him.

She found a way to contact Yukinoshita Yukino, and thought that this older sister who was so obsessed with her brother would not forget his existence like everyone else.

"Eriri's brother...? I don't remember such a person existing."

But she rejected Eriri's words with a confused look on her face.

"That's the person you feel looks familiar to, Sister Yukinoshita! He looks very similar to the senior you met before, and that's my brother!"

No matter how Eriri explained her desire to awaken the other party's memory, all she got in return was Yukinoshita Yukino's inexplicable doubts.

"That senior has been dead for a long time... I don't remember ever meeting someone like him."

The answer she gave made Eriri's heart plummet to the bottom in an instant.

"Is it because Eriri and I talked about that senior that you got it mixed up?"

Even she doesn't remember.

Eriri, who still hasn't given up, finds Yamada Ryo, who has quit another band and is planning to spend his days leisurely, but the latter's answer also makes her feel disappointed.

“Someone who looks very similar to Xiao Hai…? I haven’t met one. After all, there is only one Xiao Hai. If I really meet such a person, I can tell whether he is Xiao Hai or not with just one look.”

Yamada, who had just finished the performance and packed up his bass box, remained calm and composed, but because of Eriri's words he couldn't help but start to recall the past.

"Eri, you... never had a brother, right? Was it because you were too lonely before you met us, my friends?"

Yes, after waking up, Eriri discovered something even more bizarre than her brother's disappearance.

"Sawamura-san also got first place in the exam last time, that's amazing!"

"Not only in academic performance, but also in physical fitness tests, he is far ahead of others. How can there be such an all-rounder?"

"She has a cute face and a wealthy family... She is such a winner in life!"

The endless praise and envy did not make Eriri hold her head high and accept the praise. Instead, she covered her ears with her hands, unwilling to be disturbed by these external interferences.

Obviously, they had praised their brother like this before.

But after her brother disappeared, it was as if all his achievements and luck were transferred to Eriri, and everyone's praise became her again.

Even Yukino Yukinoshita and Ryo Yamada, who originally knew each other through Eriri's brother Toru, now say to Eriri, "Huh? Didn't we become friends because of Eriri?"

The interpersonal relationships that once belonged to her brother were also taken over by her, as if this person had never existed.

Naturally, that bizarre body-swap phenomenon never happened again.