They all pushed me!

Everything in front of me was quite normal. Kitagawa Rumi was lying peacefully on the bed, seemingly asleep, with a fever patch on her forehead. On the bedside table a little further to her left was a mobile phone that was charging. On the bedside table close to her right were two towels, a paper cup that seemed to have half a cup of water left, and antipyretic drugs. There was a thermos at the foot of the table, and she was wrapped tightly in two layers of thick quilts, as if she was sweating.

"Isn't this taking good care of yourself..."

At this moment, Beichuan Liang also breathed a sigh of relief, and even he himself felt that his reaction in the past hour was too much. His sister is no longer the child who cried and asked him to rub her leg until it healed when she had a cramp in the middle of the night due to freezing. She is not stupid enough to wait here and do nothing when she is sick. Since she moved out to live alone, he should have realized that she has grown up.

It seemed that because of the loud noise of the person pushing the door open, Beichuan Liang was just about to step forward to check on Rumi's condition. He just walked to the bedside and just moved a little closer when he bumped into her half-open eyes:

"Um...Is my brother here?"

"Well, what's wrong? Do you have a fever? Is it serious? Have you checked with a thermometer?"

Beichuan Liang asked gently while slowly squatting beside the bed, picking up the medicine box on the bedside table and taking a look at it.

"Nothing, probably because of the big temperature difference recently, I caught a cold. I had a low-grade fever this afternoon. The first time I took my temperature it was 37.9 degrees, and I haven't taken the second one yet..."

The voice seemed weaker than before, sounding a little soft. Kitagawa Rumi blinked, and the body under the quilt seemed to move, but soon stopped again. She turned her head slightly and asked:

"I feel weak all over. Can you help me check the thermometer? It's under my armpit."

"it is good."

Wanting to quickly check on Rumi's physical condition, Ryo Kitagawa agreed without thinking too much. But when he slightly lifted the quilt around Rumi's right shoulder and was about to take out the thermometer, he suddenly discovered that Rumi was only wearing tight underwear under the quilt, almost in a vacuum state.

Feeling her heart suddenly tremble violently twice, Beichuan Liang looked away for a moment, quickly reached out to take out the thermometer clipped under her armpit, and immediately covered her with the quilt.

“There’s no degree on it.”

"That should be because I didn't clamp it properly... After all, I fell asleep in a daze."

Kitagawa Rumi apologized somewhat shamefully, and suddenly opened her eyes wide as if she had just discovered something. She stretched out her right arm from under the quilt, and gently stroked Kitagawa Ryo's forehead with her fingertips:

"Brother, why are you sweating so much..."

Then, she glanced at Beichuan Liang's unzipped jacket. The white shirt inside was already stained with sweat on the collar and chest:

"Did you run over from the set?"

"It's just the last short section of road. People drive all the way ahead."

As if to avoid Rumi's gaze and touch, Kitagawa Ryo stood up and walked to the window, reaching out to open the curtains and window a little:

"If you are sick, you should get some fresh air."

It was already dark outside. After all, it was early winter and the daytime was gradually getting shorter. The cold night wind came in through the cracks, causing Beichuan Liang, who had just broken into a sweat, to suddenly sneeze.

"I'm much better now. Why don't you drink some hot water and take a shower? You'll easily catch a cold like me if you sweat so much while running."

Immediately behind him, he heard Rumi's concerned voice. Although Kitagawa Ryo believed in his physical fitness, he still had to travel to several filming sets during this period. If the filming progress was really delayed due to possible physical reasons, he would feel a little guilty. After a brief hesitation, he nodded and agreed.

Perhaps it was because Rumi's performance today really made him feel relieved, or perhaps it was because his tense nerves suddenly relaxed, and the feeling of fatigue surged up from the depths of his soul again. Kitagawa Ryo, who was completely unprepared and had never thought about guarding against Rumi, took another paper cup from the paper cup holder on the bedside table, poured some hot water from the thermos next to him, and slightly replenished the water lost in his body.

After walking out of Rumi's bedroom, Kitagawa Ryo gently closed the door again, took off his shirt at the sink outside the bedroom, twisted it slightly to squeeze out some sweat, and then put it in the laundry basket on the washing machine beside him. He felt a little worried that he would have to put it back on after taking a shower.

Ai has been helping him to represent the agency in contacting Shiranui Fulilu and discuss contract-related matters these past two days. After all, she did know the Shiranui sisters earlier and they have a better relationship. It feels a bit troublesome for her to make a round trip of more than an hour to deliver clean clothes during the evening rush hour. She'd better bear with it and put them on again when she gets home.

After making this decision, Kitagawa Ryo, who was sweating and really wanted to take a good shower, took off all his clothes neatly, walked into the bathroom and closed the door, then turned on the shower. All the muscles in his body relaxed, and he closed his eyes with some enjoyment, feeling the warmth of the hot water from head to toe.

Because he planned to just take a simple shower from the beginning, and at the same time felt that it was not appropriate to borrow his sister's single bathtub, Kitagawa Ryo did not put hot water in the bathtub in advance. He just walked over and took the shampoo and shower gel from the shelf, squeezed some of the former into the palm of his hand, and started washing his head with his eyes closed.

When he was a child in his previous life, he was very afraid of washing his hair. Every time he did it, the sooner the better. Even when the hot water mixed with shampoo just flowed down his temples, he always couldn't wait to open his eyes slightly.

When he grew up, Kitagawa Ryo realized that this was also a manifestation of insecurity. Closing his eyes meant a lack of vision, and the naked process of bathing itself was a special situation of subtle loss of security, as if as soon as you close your eyes, something would quietly approach and spy on you from behind.

But now Beichuan Liang no longer has this fear. He closes his eyes and rubs every hair whorl patiently and carefully, mixing the shampoo thoroughly and applying it.

But this time, he really heard the clear footsteps approaching this side.

Just as Kitagawa Ryo's heart skipped a beat, Rumi's voice came from outside the bathroom:

"Brother, don't use my towel by mistake. I got you a clean one and left it outside."

"I see, thanks Ruby."

The conversation without any problems made Beichuan Liang calm down again, and the movements of his hands that had been paused began to continue.

But the next moment, he narrowed his eyes slightly with some doubt again and looked at the bathroom door. The warm and bright yellowish light made the frosted glass there cast a soft halo.

Beichuan Liang did not hear the other party's footsteps leaving, but instead heard a slight collision sound.

And within his narrow field of vision, he could vaguely see a blurry figure leaning there, slowly sitting down against the bathroom door.

Kitagawa Rumi outside the door had no intention of looking at the clothes in the laundry basket in front of her, because at this point, she didn't need any external help, just as if thinking of the other person only when she was sad or lonely would make the feelings seem insincere.

In fact, he was just thinking that the two of them, who were almost honest with each other, were now separated by an unlocked door that could be opened immediately by turning the handle.

Kitagawa Rumi, who had been sitting with her knees hugged, slowly straightened her long, white legs. Her hot skin pressed against the slightly cool floor tiles, and her gracefully shaped arch of her foot stretched outward little by little - and then stretched out again with a sob that she did not conceal or suppress at all.

Chapter 30: Changing Relationships

"Ruby?"

The moment he saw the other person sitting there, Beichuan Liang turned off the shower head and spoke tentatively. The water droplets on his hair were dripping down, and the sound was particularly obvious in this closed space.

"If you are sick, it is better to go back to bed and rest—"

Before he could finish his words, he clearly heard some other strange noises coming from outside the door. Beichuan Liang pursed his lips and reached out to turn on the shower again, as if trying to deceive himself by using the gurgling sound of water here to drown out the winding paths and gurgling springs over there.

But even so, he could still clearly hear his own name and the names that he was used to hearing in daily life from the intermittent voices. They appeared alternately and chaotically with an almost sentimental atmosphere, but the emotions contained in them all came from the same source, because in those short sentences whose grammar was on the verge of breaking down, their prefixes and suffixes were all "like".

Beichuan Liang took a few deep breaths, perhaps feeling that the hot water rushing down his body was also one of the reasons for his hot body and mind at this moment. He reached out and turned the handle of the water heater that controlled the temperature directly to the far right, and the water that quickly turned from hot to cold and even icy cold poured down.

At this moment, he didn't care about such trivial matters as whether switching from a hot shower to a cold shower would affect his health. Beichuan Liang washed the last bit of foam on his hair, wiped his face with cold water twice, and when he felt that the inexplicable anger in his heart was suppressed, he took a towel from the shelf next to him to slightly cover his lower body, and walked straight towards the bathroom door.

The closer he got, the more obvious and clear the movement over there became. The vaguely visible outlines and the nearby sounds almost naturally drew corresponding pictures in Beichuan Liang's mind. The scene that he accidentally saw when he used the thermometer before naturally served as the material for his imagination, and every detail was vivid.

Kitagawa Ryo silently grasped the door handle of the bathroom door. It was not locked and was designed to be opened by pushing or pulling. Even though Rumi seemed to be blocking the door now, this was not a truly sealed place. He could just gently pull the door open and walk out easily.

But Kitagawa Ryo had no doubt at all that if he just opened the door inwards, Rumi, who was leaning against the door, would definitely lie down in a very bad posture. In other words, she was the real lock that restricted Kitagawa Ryo's movements.

"…So, Ruby's feeling unwell was also fake? Was it just to trick me into coming here?"

In this situation, Kitagawa Ryo still wanted to communicate with Rumi first, even though the other party's true thoughts were already obvious.

"No, I never meant to lie to you, brother. Besides, I do seem to be sick, and I do feel uncomfortable all over."

Rumi quickly responded to Kitagawa Ryo's question in a sophistry way, and what made Kitagawa Ryo feel even more concerned was that when Rumi said this, she changed the pronunciation of a certain name and changed the way it was called.

Although in many urban legends in Japan, "Onii-chan" has always become the standard for the term "brother" in many people's impressions through various Japanese comics, in fact, in the real three-dimensional world, this term is mostly only used by brothers and sisters who have a very close relationship to address each other in private. Although Kitagawa Rumi has called him this since she was a child, every time she mentions him in public, she basically uses the more solemn "Nissan".

But in fact, Oni-chan is not the most intimate way to call each other between siblings. Above it, there are also "Ni" and "Nini", which are names that show coquettishness written on the face and are almost corny enough to make people feel shy. Among the works that Kitagawa Ryo has come across, he only remembers the sisters in the light novel "No Game No Life" and the love adventure game "Christmas Kiss" using such names for their brothers.

Unfortunately, the brother and sister settings in these two works all include love elements.

And Kitagawa Rumi just used this term when answering his question.

Thinking of this, Beichuan Liang was silent for a while. He tightened and loosened his hand on the door handle, but in the end he still had no determination to turn it open. He simply sat down against the bathroom door and asked with his back to Rumi:

"It's still the same as four years ago, is it Sarina?"

"No, that's Ruby."

After the other party's crisp answer came, Kitagawa Ryo lowered his head with mixed feelings, and put both hands into his wet hair. He suddenly understood why the male protagonist Kasugano Yuu suddenly burst into tears in "Yoshino no Sora" when he accidentally saw Kasugano Sora calling his name and doing that kind of thing.

He had directly told Rumi with an almost dissatisfied attitude that he did not want her to call him by his name because compared to Sarina, Kitagawa Ryo cared more about Rumi, who had been with him for so many years and had given him many happy memories. He was sincerely happy for Sarina's reincarnation, but he also sincerely disliked this attitude that was similar to resurrection and substitution.

In Kitagawa Ryo's eyes, Tendoji Sarina and Kitagawa Rumi were two different people from the very beginning, so when Rumi always called him "Ryo" in private at that time, he even had the illusion that one of them killed the other. There is no rule in this world that you must continue to like the same person in this life just because you liked him in the previous life.

Perhaps Kitagawa Rumi has thought these questions through herself over the years, so she told him the fact clearly when Kitagawa Ryo asked this seemingly inexplicable question.

It wasn't a resurrection from a previous life, nor was it some unfulfilled wish. It was just that the girl named Kitagawa Rumi fell in love with him.

But the more straightforward the answer was, the more Kitagawa Ryo fell into a sense of emptiness that was almost immoral.

He thought that the kiss in Miyazaki four years ago was the end of their relationship which was not really brother and sister, but he did not expect that it was not like that, not even the beginning of the end, but more like the end of the beginning.

Just now, Kitagawa Rumi had proved everything to him in the simplest and most brutal way, as if announcing the end of this sixteen-year family role-playing game.

"...I understand. Sorry, Ruby. Maybe both of us are not thinking clearly right now. We can find a chance later--"

Before Beichuan Liang could finish his words, the bathroom door was opened from the other side. He, who was originally leaning against the door frame, inevitably fell backwards for a moment. Just as Beichuan Liang subconsciously used his hands to support himself to get up, his long golden hair had already spread out in his sight.

The warm body temperature surrounded Beichuan Liang, who had just taken a cold shower. From the waist to the chest, there was a soft touch everywhere. The familiar yet unfamiliar hot breath lingered at the tip of his nose, stirring his hormones wantonly.

After sitting there in a daze for a while, Kitagawa Ryo finally understood the fact that Rumi had just raised her legs high and taken a step towards him, and was now sitting astride his waist in the most ambiguous posture.

After realizing this reality, Beichuan Liang felt that all the blood in his body rushed to his brain, and all the nerves and muscles in his body tensed up in an instant. However, the part that should not be congested and tense at this time did not follow his wishes and raised the flag in a very noticeable way.

He, who had always been confident in his ability to control his body, almost subconsciously thought of the cup of hot water he had drunk before. Although this was just a self-consoling statement, once this thought came to his mind, even the last bit of resistance completely collapsed. He became more and more excited and took a fighting stance, standing there forcefully.

"…You said you would grant me any wish, right?"

As if he had deliberately blocked out that name, just like the time four years ago, facing Rumi who was gradually pressing towards him, Kitagawa Ryo felt his brain go blank.

It was the first time for him to face such turbulent emotions, which he had suppressed for who knows how long.

What was different from the time four years ago was that he no longer had to use only his eyes to feel this burning emotion. Countless parts of his body were sending sweet stimulation and excitement to the central nervous system of his brain almost strongly, with no sign of cooling down.

"We have no blood relationship."

"…Love me?"

The warm breath mixed with short questions was blown into Beichuan Liang's ears.

"--Um."

He couldn't refuse this question, and he couldn't even lie. After all, Kitagawa Ryo had never lied to Rumi, and even told her the secret of reincarnation. In a sense, the two of them might have been in the most honest state on the spiritual level.

When the unstoppable desire attacks, the frost and snow will automatically burn, and reason will all become slaves to the desire.

"Then, love me."

-------------------------------------

December, representing winter, is finally coming to an end. Compared with the increasingly cold weather, the popularity of "Tomorrow, Mom and Dad Are Away" is getting higher and higher as the finale approaches. The discussion atmosphere in the community has also become visibly heated up. In the last little time of the year, many people have firmly decided that this drama is the best of the year.

"Thank you for your hard work today. Yes, I have other things to do tonight, so I will leave you at the celebration party. I am really sorry."

After completing the last filming task of the whole year, Kitagawa Ryo thanked all the crew members in a friendly manner and politely declined the usual celebration banquet. Today seems to be the last episode of "Tomorrow". The rising ratings and hot commercial performance over time have presented the best year-end gift for both his agency itself and the TBS TV station that broadcasts the show.

During this final period of time, the flow of people on the street has obviously increased a lot. People have begun to give each other New Year's greetings and gifts. Groups of students are busy chasing the trends of the new year, thinking hard about what kind of gifts to give to their loved ones in order to get a sweet smile. The adults have also begun to show each other the results of the year, expressing them in all new ways such as new clothes, new shoes, new cars, etc.

Beichuan Liang drove home while looking at this familiar scene that he had seen countless times. Every year at this time, everyone would follow the same routine year after year, as if when they woke up in the morning of the new year, the days before them would transform and shine, becoming another result in their dreams.

But for him, there have indeed been important changes that have taken place in this year.

From that day on, Kitagawa Rumi stopped for a long time as if she was content, and then she was in excellent form and led the entire ACE to perform exceptionally well in Samejima Ahiko's final graduation performance, causing the industry, which had been a little pessimistic about ACE's prospects due to Ahiko's withdrawal and the lack of new members joining, to adjust their evaluation again, and have already helped fast-forward to the champagne halftime stage of "Ahiko's departure has no impact on us".

Kitagawa Ryo was also present at the graduation performance at that time, and was once again blocked in the dressing room by Rumi, who had just finished her performance and was leaving the stage, and seemed to have run out of energy and needed to replenish immediately.

Just like using the terms Oni-chan and Nissan in different occasions, although Kitagawa Rumi would always tell him hypnotically that it didn't matter at all, she was also tactful enough to keep their relationship in the dark and took the safest protective measures every time.

Except for those times when she was asking for things wantonly, Kitagawa Rumi's behavior was no different from the past, and her overt interaction pattern with Kitagawa Ryo was also the same as before.

"I am back."

After parking the car in the basement garage at home, Beichuan Liang opened the door with the key and spoke as usual while changing his shoes.

"I thought Liang would stay in the company like before until the specific ratings come out tonight before coming back."

Ai came out of the kitchen wearing an apron and tilted her head in surprise.

"There's nothing to worry about. I'm pretty confident about the last episode."

Beichuan Liang put down his briefcase and talked about the Johnny's incident, which had finally made a breakthrough in the past two days:

"The BBC seems to have finished filming and production, and today they sent me an email asking me if I agree to expose the details of the cases involving me that they have collected. Otherwise, they will cover it up to a certain extent, probably using vague terms like 'a famous male star'."

"Did Ryo agree?"

"Well, that was originally decided."

Beichuan Liang nodded, pretended to sit at the dining table casually and said:

"By the way, Gotanda seems to be planning a movie project to help it turn things around. Does Ai have any schedule available recently?"

"Well... we'll have to see what time it is. I just received a call from the mental hospital today. It seems that the patient is dying. He may not survive this year. Even if it's for the media to see, we have to do things like handling the aftermath in a nice way."

Beichuan Ai shook her head with some regret, her tone carrying a hint of dissatisfaction:

"I originally wanted her to see the birth of my and Liang's child."

Having said that, she suddenly turned and went into the kitchen. She quickly put on thick heat-insulating gloves and brought out a whole pot of mutton soup. She looked at Beichuan Liang thoughtfully:

"Maybe we can try harder?"

Chapter 4: Let's Act Out a Forbidden Love (5k)

"dad."