Chapter 97 Your Entertainment Circle is a Mess: Welcome Back, Champion
The sound in the headphones suddenly disappeared.
Risa paused for a moment, thinking she had accidentally pressed a button.
Looking down, I realized that my phone screen had gone dark.
The battery ran out and it shut down automatically.
"Ah... the call was forcibly disconnected."
She quickly plugged in the charger, turned on the phone, and immediately sent Yukimura a Line message:
My phone died and shut down. It's nighttime where you are, right? Get some rest! (￣v￣*)
After sending the message, she stretched and reached for her cup. Only then did she realize that the water in the cup was already gone.
So I slipped on my slippers and went downstairs to get some water. Just as I reached the top of the stairs, I heard voices coming from the living room.
"Risa?" Kirihara Akina looked up and waved at her.
"Akina-nee, aren't you planning to go out and have fun during winter break?" Risa asked as she walked to the living room and sat down. Her gaze swept over the rental advertisement spread out on the coffee table, and she looked at it with some confusion. "Huh, you're looking to rent a place?"
"Yes, the school dormitories need to be renovated, which will take about five months," Akina sighed. "We're currently looking for temporary accommodation."
Risa rested her chin on her hand and picked up one of the flyers: "Rent in Bunkyo Ward isn't cheap..."
Suddenly, as if she had just thought of something, her eyes lit up, "That's right! Sister Qiu Nai, would you like to stay at my place?"
She remembered that before her mother immigrated to Australia, she transferred a house in Tokyo to her name, and that apartment happened to be near Bunkyo Ward.
Akina blinked: "Huh? Is it okay? Wouldn't that be inappropriate?"
Risa waved her hand and laughed, "Not at all! That house is just sitting empty anyway, Akina-nee moving in would actually make it more lively."
She tilted her head and thought for a moment, "But I need to make sure the water and electricity are working properly first... Oh, right!" She suddenly clapped her hands, "Does Sister Qiu Nai have any plans this afternoon? Should we go check out the house first?"
“Sure.” Qiu Nai glanced down at her phone. “The school requires us to move out of the dorms by the end of winter break at the latest. I’m so worried.”
“Then it’s settled.” Risa stood up. “I’m going to change my clothes and grab the keys.”
On the train to Tokyo, Risa's phone vibrated.
She looked down and saw Yukimura's reply:
I just took a shower.
It seems even doctors' equipment needs regular charging.
Risa's lips unconsciously curled into a smile as she typed rapidly:
The patient's husband is quite the worrywart!
Good night, sweet dreams.
After sending the message, she looked up and found Akina looking at her meaningfully.
"Boyfriend?" Qiu Nai asked with a smile.
"...a very annoying guy."
Akina nodded knowingly, deliberately drawing out her words: "Oh~ I see—" but considerately didn't ask any further questions.
Risa's former home was a two-story Japanese-style house with a small garden in Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo. The camellia trees in the garden are still lush and green this season.
It was only a ten-minute walk from Akina's school. After a quick clean-up, the two went to the dormitory to move their luggage.
By the time everything was settled, dusk had already enveloped the streets of Tokyo.
"Gurgle—" Risa's stomach protested at just the right moment.
Akina couldn't help but chuckle: "Thank you for your hard work. How about I treat you to dinner? There's a really good oden place nearby."
The two enjoyed a hot meal under the warm yellow lights before boarding the last train back to Kanagawa.
-
One evening, as winter break was drawing to a close, Risa's phone was flooded with notifications from social media platforms—the U-17 World Cup final had concluded, and the Japanese team had once again lifted the championship trophy.
She gazed at Yukimura standing on the podium on the screen, her fingertips unconsciously tracing his smiling face in the photo.
[Risa: Congratulations, my champion.]
The phone vibrated as soon as the message was sent. Looking at the four characters "Yukimura Seiichi" flashing on the screen, Risa blinked in surprise—according to the time difference, it should be afternoon in Spain right now.
"Hello?"
"Yes, it's me." A familiar voice came from the other end of the phone, the background was unusually quiet. "I'm going back to China tomorrow, my teammates have all gone out to buy souvenirs."
"So... Mr. Champion called me from an empty hotel room?" Risa couldn't help but tease.
A soft laugh came from the other end of the phone: "After all, someone said they would be the first to congratulate me."
"What time will you arrive at Narita? I'll come pick you up." The excitement in his voice was impossible to hide.
“Around five o’clock in the evening.” Yukimura paused for a moment, “...it’s been two months since I last saw him.”
That almost sighing whisper made Risa's heart skip a beat. She gripped her phone tighter, her flushed cheeks reflected in the windowpane: "Mmm."
Ten minutes after the call ended, a Line notification sounded.
[Yukimura: Flight Information for JL782]
[Yukimura: See you tomorrow]
Finally, here is a photo of your boarding pass.
-
The arrival hall at Narita Airport was packed with people.
As soon as the electronic screen displayed the information for flight JL782, Risa couldn't help but stand on tiptoe. Akina gently pressed her shoulder, saying, "Don't rush, it'll take at least twenty minutes to get off the train."
“I’m not in a hurry at all,” Risa retorted stubbornly.
Akina looked at her reddened ear tips and smiled knowingly.
Suddenly, the crowd waiting to pick up passengers began to stir.
A group of spirited young men appeared, pushing luggage carts, with Yukimura Seiichi leading the way. He was thinner than he had been two months ago, and his iris-colored hair shimmered softly under the airport lights.
Risa held up a support sign, and the fluorescent pink words "Okaeri, Champion" stood out among the crowd of people waiting at the airport.
"That kid Akaya is definitely going to get all cocky..." Kirihara Akina muttered to herself, her own lips curving into a smile that reached her ears.
"Big sister! Sister Risa!" The seaweed-haired boy rushed over like a cannonball.
Kirihara Akina skillfully dodged to the side, then reached out and grabbed her younger brother's ear: "How many times have I told you, in public you should... huh?"
She suddenly stopped, her fingers tracing the bandage on Akaya's forehead: "How did this happen?"
"I fell while catching the ball in the final! But it was worth it! Look!" Akaya proudly pulled out his gold medal, turning to show it off to Risa, only to find that she was no longer there.
Two meters away, Risa was looking up at Yukimura as she spoke. The boy bent down slightly to listen to her, his slender fingers naturally taking the support sign from her hand.
Sunlight streamed through the glass, casting shadows on the two people that almost merged together on the ground.
"Oh my." Akina squinted, "So our Risa..."
"What?!" Akaya exclaimed, pouting. "Risa-nee, you actually prepared a support sign for the club president?!"
Risa flicked the boy's forehead: "Idiot! Don't you want to take a closer look?"
Yukimura chuckled and held up the support sign, revealing the fluorescent pink lettering on the back: "To the world's number one younger brother".
Akaya's mood instantly brightened: "Hehe, this is still missing... wait! Why is mine on the back?!"
Risa had a sudden inspiration: "What if you read it all together?"
"Read them together?... Welcome back, champion. To the world's number one's little brother." Kirihara Akaya's eyes sparkled as he proudly shouted to his teammates behind him, "See! I told you Risa-nee came especially to pick me up!"
Risa breathed a sigh of relief and quickly changed the subject, "You've gotten so tanned... Did the Spanish sun make you even dumber?"
"No way! During the finals, I was—"
"7-6, 6-4, with 5 aces and an 87% volley success rate." Yukimura's voice came from the side. His gaze lingered on the support sign for a moment. "Oh, I see, it's for 'little brother'."
Risa stood frozen in place.
We're doomed; we're robbing Peter to pay Paul.
They appeased the single-celled organism, but forgot about the even more troublesome one.
She stole a glance at Yukimura, who was looking at her with a half-smile, a dark glint flashing in his violet-blue eyes.
“Um…” Risa’s brain raced, “This is a pun, do you understand puns?”
Sanada pulled down his hat brim: "Too lax..."
Liu Lian'er silently opened his notebook: "According to the data, this 'younger brother' is not that 'younger brother'..."
Niou magically produced a bag of Pocky: "Puri, I've figured out the word game. Anyone want a ticket to this chaotic scene?"
Yukimura nodded thoughtfully, then reached out and ruffled Akaya's kelp-like hair: "Indeed, Akaya is just like my younger brother."
"Minister?!" Akaya, who was being patted on the head, was so startled he almost broke.
“So…” Yukimura gently took Risa’s banner, “Onee-sama, you wouldn’t mind sharing half of the welcome with me, would you?”
Marui's bubble gum popped open with a "pop".
Yagyu's glasses reflected light: "Your circle is truly chaotic."
Kuwabara clasped his hands together and said, "Amitabha..."
"Come on, champions, look at the camera~" Not far away, Qiu Nai held up a professional SLR camera.
She had a smiling face on her face, and I don't know how long she had been secretly taking pictures.
"Wait, sis, don't suddenly...!"
"Aka, be careful, ouch...that hurts!"
"I'm sorry, Risa-nee."
"Yukimura-kun, please come a little closer to Risa~"
Click.
The photo captures the moment when Akaya stumbles backward and bumps into Risa, who angrily tugs at his ear, while Yukimura stands behind her, his fingers lightly touching her waist, his eyes filled with a gentle smile.
On the bus ride back, Risa was forcibly shoved into the last row. Akaya was pulling her left arm while explaining the details of the match, and Yukimura was holding her right hand with his fingers intertwined with hers. She looked like a toffee that had been torn apart.
"Oh, right," Yukimura suddenly leaned close to her ear, "You just said..."
"Um?"
A hot breath reached her ear, and Risa's ear tips instantly burned.
"......"
Akaya: "Risa-nee, you're smoking!!"
The bus slowly pulled into a stop, and the boys who had reached their destination got off one after another.
In the back of the carriage, Risa was fast asleep, her head tilted against Akaya's shoulder, while the boy with the seaweed-like haircut also tilted his head, completely unguarded. The siblings' breathing rose and fell, like two cats snuggling together and dozing.
Akina watched this scene with a slight smile on her lips: "Risa really likes Akaya."
“I can tell.” Yukimura’s gaze fell on Risa’s sleeping face.
"Aren't you worried, Yukimura-kun?"
Akina changed the subject, tapping her chin lightly with her fingertip, "Although Risa is nominally Akaya's cousin, she is not related to our Kirihara family by blood."
Yukimura chuckled upon hearing this, tucking a stray strand of Risa's hair behind her ear: "Is Akina-senpai testing me?"
"I'm just curious." Akina blinked. "After all, although our Akaya is slow-witted, he's surprisingly loyal and difficult to deal with."
Yukimura smiled slightly: "If the opponent is Akaya..."
"Um?"
“I’m actually more at ease. After all…” he lowered his voice, “if I could make the people in charge of her family feel threatened, I would be a terrible boyfriend.”
Akina chuckled, then gestured meaningfully with her camera, "I took some pretty good shots at the airport, didn't I?"
Yukimura calmly took out his phone: "Would you mind sharing this with Akina-nee?"
Outside the car window, the sunset was ablaze with color.
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