“Ahahaha, seriously, why does a message have to come right when I’m getting sticky with my little sister. How annoying.”
Onee-chan scratched her head and forced out an awkward laugh.
Her fingers tightly clenched the edge of the phone case until the knuckles turned white.
She turned her head.
A smile still hung on her face, but it was extremely stiff.
Her eyes were dodging, as if she was still afraid of something.
“The content on the phone just now… did you see it?”
I didn’t see anything.
If she answered like that, Onee-chan definitely would not believe her.
In order to put Onee-chan at ease, Yukina could only answer:
“I saw it.”
In the instant Onee-chan’s pupils contracted sharply, she pretended to look puzzled and tilted her head slightly.
The pad of her index finger pressed against her cheek as she lightened her voice:
“It seemed to say something about a report not being submitted. Is it a message from Onee-chan’s company?”
“Y-Yes, yes, it’s a message from the company.”
Onee-chan’s shoulders relaxed by an almost imperceptible degree.
“Those old fossils at the company are coming to push for my life again. All they know how to do all day is squeeze the employees. I really want to beat them to death.”
She completely switched back to her previous state.
Her tail lifted accordingly and smack smack smacked the invisible people in the air.
“It was clearly almost finished. Just that last tiny bit of data hadn’t been filled in yet, and they already sent a message to rush me, even threatening to dock my pay. True capitalists. Evil capitalists. Sooner or later I’ll hang every last one of them from the streetlamps!”
Onee-chan cursed with great energy, her brows flying and her expression lively, just like usual.
However, Yukina knew very clearly that this was all just an act.
The content of the text message was not that simple.
As mentioned before, this family had suffered a major upheaval.
The parents had suddenly disappeared one day, leaving behind a huge debt.
The creditor of that debt was none other than “Feilin Corporation.”
According to the game’s description, it was a company infamous for being black-hearted.
In order to repay that money, and also to protect her young little sister, Onee-chan had no choice but to agree to work at a company under Feilin to pay off the debt.
Most of her monthly salary was deducted. Sometimes she even had to take on side jobs just to maintain the two of them’s livelihood.
And that troublesome little sister of hers—the original owner of this body—had actually sensed this matter to some degree.
After all, Onee-chan always left early and returned late.
Sometimes she would even fall asleep on the sofa the moment she got home, never managing to make it back to her room.
Yet she had still spent money recklessly, and had even mixed together with the young lady of the creditor “Feilin Corporation,” Harugami Yumiko, doing things like bullying classmates.
Thinking about it this way, she really was a small-fry villain who deserved to be cut down by the female protagonist in a single stroke.
“…Onee-chan, do you have to go back to the company again?”
Yukina raised her eyes. Her fingertips subconsciously clenched the edge of the skirt hem.
“Haha, I don’t want to go… although I’d love to say that, there’s no helping it.”
Yuna sighed, the ending of her voice drawn out long. A trace of fatigue that could not be hidden showed in her expression.
She lowered her head and glanced at the screen. Her thumb slid across those dense lines of text. The cold light reflected in her pupils.
Her long eyelashes trembled lightly.
For a brief moment, it seemed even her smile was on the verge of collapsing.
Yet after turning off the screen, she raised her head again. She was still that dazzling older sister.
“But it’s fine. Onee-chan’s ‘little-sister energy’ is already fully charged right now. Working overtime ten times in a row is no problem at all!”
“…Onee-chan.”
Seeing Onee-chan forcing herself like this, Yukina’s chest ached faintly.
Could spirit truly overcome physical exhaustion?
All that talk about “little-sister energy” was clearly a lie at first listen. Onee-chan simply did not want her to worry.
How could a person who had worked overtime through the entire night until dawn fully recover just by absorbing two mouthfuls from her little sister?
It was not as if she was a real power bank. What if something went wrong with her body.
“Is it really fine? Onee-chan, you haven’t slept at all for a whole day, right?”
“Something as small as sleeping can be handled by napping a little on the way there. A corporate slave like Onee-chan has already evolved to the point of being able to jump around lively after only thirty minutes of sleep a day. There’s no need to worry.”
Onee-chan walked forward, reached out, and gently ruffled Yukina’s head.
The sunlight outside the window brightened a little more.
Yukina noticed some details she had not seen clearly before—for example, the white shirt that Onee-chan had not changed for a long time and that was already stained with coffee spots, as well as the dark circles under her eyes that even thickened foundation could not completely hide.
Calculating by age, Onee-chan was only in her early twenties.
Many people of the same age were still at the age of attending university. Yet she had to carry so much.
“…Onee-chan.”
“Hm?”
The words reached her lips, then were swallowed back down.
She really wanted to ask clearly about the debt, but she suddenly realized—even if she asked clearly, what could she do?
She did not have the ability to change anything. Onee-chan would still be exhausted, and the company would not change its ways.
Asking would only add another layer of worry for Onee-chan.
This small concealment was probably the last bit of dignity Onee-chan wanted to maintain.
Just like… the wounds currently on her own body. Precisely because the other person was someone she cared about, she did not want them to know.
We are both hiding some secrets, aren’t we.
“…Be careful on the way.”
Yukina slightly lifted the corners of her mouth, compressing all the accumulated worry in her heart into these four words.
“Mm.” Yuna also smiled. “What do you want to eat tonight? Onee-chan will buy it for you on the way back.”
“No need.” Yukina shook her head. “I don’t need anything. As long as Onee-chan comes home safely, that’s enough.”
“…Yukina.”
Onee-chan’s throat choked for a moment. She suddenly bent down and wrapped Yukina’s entire body in her arms, holding her very tightly. Through the shirt, she could feel her body temperature.
“You’ve really grown up.”
Her voice was trembling. Not only her voice—even her body was trembling slightly.
“Onee-chan, it’s okay to rely on me a little more.”
Yukina gently stroked her back, trying hard to straighten her body that looked somewhat petite in front of Onee-chan, attempting to give her a tiny bit of support.
She could not support Onee-chan’s entire weight, but just a portion of it, just a brief moment of reliance—that she could still manage.
***
Not long after, Onee-chan released her, turned around, and walked to the entrance, preparing to leave.
Before going out, Onee-chan did not say much. She only waved at the doorway, said “Onee-chan will be back soon,” and then disappeared to the other side of the door.
The living room suddenly grew quiet.
On the sofa still remained the dent left by Onee-chan’s sitting.
The body heat that had once filled the entire sofa seemed not yet completely dispersed.
On the table, the cake on the plate had completely collapsed. The cream and juice had melted into a light pink liquid film. The remaining strawberry lay stranded alone on top of it.
Yukina stared at the strawberry in a daze for a while, then suddenly realized something.
Had Onee-chan really just happened to buy a cake while passing by a bakery this morning when she came back?
Or was it that after receiving the school’s message, she had been unable to rest easy, so she had secretly left the company and rushed back to talk with her before she went to school?
It was possible.
Thinking back now, those overly intimate behaviors of Onee-chan’s were less like clinginess and more like the release of some long-suppressed emotion after she had finally been put at ease.
Honestly.
Why do I always end up bringing trouble to the people who like me?
Yukina lowered her head. Her emotions sank along with it.
Meow.
A soft meow interrupted her train of thought.
Huahua jumped onto the sofa and affectionately nudged Yukina’s wrist with its fluffy head, letting out a continuous purring sound. Its amber eyes blinked.
“…I’m going out.”
She stroked Huahua’s head.
These words seemed to be said to Huahua, and also to herself.
She still had to go to school today. Yesterday’s early departure had already made Onee-chan worry.
If she took another leave of absence today, the school would definitely notify Onee-chan again and leave her with no mind for work or rest.
Besides…
Right now, there was still a female protagonist trapped inside a cardboard box in the rain, waiting for her to appear.
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