"A broad-minded good girl..."
Kotomi Izumi savored the nickna Yuyu had just given her. After thinking it over, she felt it actually suited her quite well. She patted Yuyu on the head in approval and said with a smile,
"Wow, Yuyu, that wasn't easy. I never expected you to finally learn how to make sothing sound nice. The title you gave this ti is pretty good."
"Sis, you're wrong. It's not that I finally learned how to make things sound nice. I still don't know how. I was just telling the truth. Mom has always taught to be an honest and trustworthy child!"
Faced with the temptation of Kotomi Izumi's computer, Yuyu Izumi decisively chose to throw her arm around Kotomi—the so-called 'dark force.'
"Mm, true, true. The first ti I saw you as a child, I could tell at a glance that you were an honest and good kid."
A gratified smile appeared on Kotomi's face, but inwardly she thought, Looks like it's not that Yuyu lacks vocabulary or doesn't know how to phrase things nicely. Sotis she just says harsh things on purpose.
After exchanging a few rounds of mutual flattery in sisterly harmony, Yuyu once again voiced her curiosity.
"Sis, since Sister-in-law Kato and Sister-in-law Yui know each other and are even classmates... then... have they ever fought?"
As a third-year middle school honor student who loved watching lodramatic urban romance dramas, Yuyu had already constructed a vivid scene in her mind.
gumi Kato: "You shaless woman, how dare you steal my girlfriend! I treated you as a good friend before, always thinking of you first whenever there was sothing good to eat or drink. And this is how you repay ?"
Yui Yuigahama: "In love, there is no right or wrong, no first co, first served. There is only love or no love.
"I'm sorry, gumi Kato. You are my good friend, and I treasure our friendship. If possible, I truly wish we could be best friends for a lifeti...
"But no matter what, I like Kotomi. Even knowing she is your girlfriend, I still want to pursue her, because I have the right to pursue happiness! Kotomi accepted my confession. That proves she has in her heart, proves she loves , proves that—you lost to ."
gumi Kato: "You despicable third party who ruined my relationship with Kotomi!"
Imagining the dialogue alone wasn't enough. In Yuyu's ears, a painfully familiar lody had already begun to play.
For all the pain endured in love, for all the wounds borne for hatred, I can no longer tell love from hate. Is this how it ends? Blood and tears sliding down together. My heart shatters and withers. My trembling hands cannot stop, cannot forgive.
Just as Kotomi was about to speak, she glanced at Yuyu's current expression and imdiately fell speechless. She waved a hand in front of her face, then flicked her forehead hard with a finger.
"Co back to earth, co back to earth. Who asks a question and then imdiately zones out on their own?"
After being flicked on the forehead, Yuyu finally snapped back to reality. She gave an awkward laugh and said,
"Hehehe, I was just montarily srized by your beauty. Don't mind . Go ahead."
Kotomi, who had always been narcissistic, felt satisfied when she heard Yuyu praise her beauty. Though she had heard countless complints about her looks since childhood, she still felt delighted every single ti. It could brighten her entire day.
If soone wanted to make Kotomi happy, the simplest thod was to directly praise her appearance.
"I get what you an. You thought the two of them would grab each other's hair and scratch each other's faces in a fight, right?"
Yuyu nodded. "I love watching won fight."
"I get it. I like watching won fight too. Speaking of which, I'm your enlightennt teacher in that regard. When we were little, we once saw several won fighting across the street. I brought you to sit on a bench nearby, and we watched from beginning to end."
"That mory is way too vivid. That's when young finally understood why you always carry a handful of sunflower seeds in your pocket."
"Of course. When watching won fight, if you don't have so sunflower seeds, peanuts, or pistachios to snack on, it's practically a waste of heaven's gift."
Kotomi said with a grin. From childhood until now, every ti she went out, she would habitually stuff a handful of sunflower seeds, peanuts, pistachios, or sotis milk candies into her pocket—just so kind of snack.
It wasn't only because she was greedy. It was also because she thought, What if I run into a woman fight on the road and it's fascinating to watch? Wouldn't it be boring without snacks in hand?
After briefly reminiscing about childhood mories with Yuyu, Kotomi continued.
"But unfortunately, gumi and Yui have never fought. Rather, whenever they et and talk, they're very friendly—like friends who've known each other for a long ti."
Yuyu froze upon hearing this, and she stayed frozen for quite a while.
Kotomi didn't rush her. After all, her little sister's entire understanding of romance ca from the lodramatic urban romance dramas she had watched growing up, or from angsty youth novels where pregnancies and car accidents happened at the drop of a hat.
When watching love triangles on TV or in novels, Yuyu would be completely absorbed, utterly fascinated.
But now, placing a real-life love triangle in front of her—one in which her own cousin sister was the center—combined with all that information overload, Yuyu's brain... crashed.
Kotomi wasn't in a hurry. She noticed a box of chestnut pastries on Yuyu's desk. Taking advantage of Yuyu's frozen state, she opened the box and began eating them one by one.
Back in middle school, whenever there was free ti after class, Kotomi loved buying a box of chestnut pastries from the school shop. Even though every ti she ate them she would complain internally, Why the hell are these stupid chestnut pastries so dry? Water, give water! I'm choking to death! Next ti I absolutely won't buy them again.
But after going a while without eating them, she would start craving them again.
Co to think of it, the last ti she ate chestnut pastries was the last ti.
At the very least, it had been two weeks. Kotomi had been wanting so for a while.
Just then, Yuyu snapped out of her ntal crash. Seeing Kotomi eating the chestnut pastries, she initially didn't think much of it. As Kotomi's cousin, Yuyu naturally knew how much she liked them.
But after glancing at the box on the table, Yuyu imdiately lost her composure and hurriedly asked,
"Sis, did you eat all those chestnut pastries?"
Yuyu stared at Kotomi in shock, her voice trembling slightly.
It wasn't that Yuyu was reluctant to part with the box of chestnut pastries. What shocked her was that Kotomi had eaten an entire box in one go without drinking a single sip of water.
Still not fully aware that she had just finished the whole box, Kotomi froze at Yuyu's exclamation, then complained,
"Yeah, I just ate a few of your chestnut pastries. If you think there's not enough left, I'll take you to the snack shop later and buy a few more boxes."
"It's not about whether there's enough! Sis, I'm not upset about missing out on the pastries. It's just... you ate the entire box without drinking any water. Are you trying to invent a new extre sport?"
Yuyu sighed in amazent. At the sa ti, a mischievous thought crept into her mind: There was no water in her bedroom. If Kotomi wanted a drink, she would have to go to the living room or kitchen. If she blocked the bedroom door right now and refused to let Kotomi out, what kind of reaction would she show?
Of course, Yuyu only entertained the thought and didn't actually act on it. After all, she had grown up fighting with Kotomi. It was like playing a ga—after enough matches, you learned the chanics. Yuyu knew very well that if Kotomi got anxious, she wouldn't hold back at all.
If she really dared to block the door when Kotomi rushed out for water, she might be tossed aside before even finishing her sentence.
After hearing Yuyu's words, Kotomi glanced at the now-empty pastry box and suddenly realized that she had actually eaten the entire thing without drinking any water.
Just monts ago, she had been too busy enjoying the taste to notice her thirst. But once Yuyu ntioned it, the dryness hit her all at once. Even when she usually drank water while eating chestnut pastries, she still found them dry. Eating a whole box without a single sip left her mouth feeling like she had wandered into a desert.
"What the hell? Why didn't you tell ?"
"You were eating so focused. Even if I had told you, you probably wouldn't have heard ," Yuyu couldn't help laughing. Then she added, "There's cola in the fridge. Pepsi."
"Putting Pepsi in the fridge is the most correct thing you've done all day!"
As soon as she finished speaking, Kotomi dashed out of the bedroom. She really was parched.
A while later, after downing two full bottles of ice-cold Pepsi in one breath, Kotomi finally subdued the dryness left behind by the pastries. She let out a long sigh.
"That was close. If I'd been one second later, I feel like I would've died of thirst from chestnut pastries."
"Sis, next ti pay attention when you eat. Who accidentally finishes an entire box like that? Even the snack shop owner would shake his head at you."
"Ahem..." Kotomi coughed awkwardly, then pretended nothing had happened and continued, "Has your little crashed brain resud operation?"
"Yeah, it just rebooted. Every ti I think about how you're so openly two-timing—ugh, I an, so wholeheartedly loving two girls at once, my brain fills up with question marks. There's no storage space left. Of course it crashes," Yuyu said.
"I might be a bit sentintal, but I'm never promiscuous. As long as I like soone, no matter how many girlfriends I already have, I'll pursue her. And if I don't like soone, no matter how beautiful she is, I'll reject her. From that perspective, I'm actually a very devoted person, right?"
"Ah yes, yes, you're unbelievably devoted. A truly unparalleled good girl."
Yuyu chid in obediently. There was nothing she could do—she still wanted that computer. Then she asked,
"So Sister-in-law Kato and Sister-in-law Yui get along so harmoniously because they were moved by your devotion? They don't fight for your attention like palace drama rivals or pull each other's hair?"
Kotomi shook her head and said in a tone of exasperation, "Are you stupid? If I told gumi about Yui, or told Yui about gumi, do you think I'd still be sitting here in front of you alive and energetic, chatting like this?"
Yuyu shook her head. In the eyes of both girls, each believed she was Kotomi's legitimate girlfriend. Naturally, they would consider the other a howrecker.
When the rightful partner ets the so-called third party, if they don't grab each other's hair and fight, it almost wouldn't make sense.
Seeing Yuyu shake her head, Kotomi continued,
"Exactly. I haven't told either of them. gumi thinks I'm only dating her. Yui thinks I'm only dating her. See? As long as I don't say anything, both sides stay harmonious. Isn't it simple?"
After hearing this, Yuyu was dumbfounded for a long ti again before slowly saying,
"I really want to refute that, but I can't find a reason. But even if I could, I wouldn't argue. I still want a computer."
"Good. Very enlightened. As long as you behave, I won't harm your computer. You wouldn't want it to vanish into smoke before you even get it, would you?" Kotomi grinned.
After eating and drinking her fill and resting for a bit, Kotomi Izumi and Yui Yuigahama prepared to leave.
Third Uncle and Third Aunt wanted them to stay for dinner, but Kotomi refused. If she stayed too long, she didn't know exactly what Yukino would think, but she understood one thing—once she officially started pursuing Yukino, it would beco sowhat more difficult.
Before leaving, Kotomi also swiped another box of chestnut pastries from Yuyu. The expression on Yuyu's face was wonderfully dramatic. She thought her sister had beco addicted to challenging herself to eat an entire box without water.
Of course, Kotomi had no intention of repeating that challenge. She hadn't ant to challenge herself in the first place. This box was for Yukino.
They took a taxi from Sakyo Ward back to Harugamo Inn.
After returning to the room, Yukino Yukinoshita was lying under the kotatsu, wearing silver-rimd glasses and browsing Soushuba. A bag of honey butter-flavored potato chips rested beside her.
Yukino Yukinoshita looked up, adjusted her silver-rimd glasses, giving off a quiet yet slightly languid air, and said softly,
"You're back? I thought the two of you would return after dinner."
"Heh, how could we wait until after dinner? I can't even go an hour without seeing you without missing you terribly." Kotomi spoke in a deeply affectionate tone to Yukino, right in front of Yui.
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