The boy's hands were warm and dry, and with a gentle pull, he lifted her up. However, the moment her right foot touched the ground, a piercing pain shot through her, and she uncontrollably fell forward—
"careful."
Yuzuru Nan reacted quickly and caught her steadily.
Aoko threw herself into his arms, and a refreshing minty scent wafted over her, mixed with the smell of sunshine, making the girl momentarily dazed and forget to breathe.
"It looks like you're badly injured." Yu Sheng Nan looked down at her ankle and said gently, "Let me carry you to the hospital."
"No need!" Aoko quickly shook her head. "My house is really just ahead, I'll just rest for a bit..."
"I see..." Yuzuru said thoughtfully, then suddenly squatted down on the spot. "Then I'll take you home."
"Huh?! Wait a minute—"
In the end, at Yuzuru Nan's insistence, Aoko was carried on his back.
"So light." Yuzuru lifted the girl on his back. "Don't you usually eat properly?"
"N-no, I didn't!" Aoko whispered, clinging to his back, her voice barely audible. "I eat a lot at every meal..."
The boy's back felt warm and reliable, and Aoko unconsciously relaxed. The evening breeze carried the boy's faint fragrance, making her heart beat faster for no reason.
Even Kaito has never had such close contact...
"Um..." she tried to start a conversation to ease the awkwardness, "What are you doing here?"
"I'll have dinner with one friend." Yuzuru chuckled. "I saw a cute little cat fighting with a telephone pole, so I watched it for a while."
"I'm not a cat!" Aoko protested angrily, then muttered under her breath, "And I'm not even that cute..."
"Hmm?" Yuzuru teased her deliberately, "Is Nakamori questioning my taste?"
"N-no!"
Aoko shook her head frantically, her hair brushing against the boy's neck, tickling him.
The two chatted casually for a while, and soon arrived at the building where Nakamori lived.
Yu Sheng Nan gently placed her on the bench by the door: "Do you need me to take you upstairs?"
"No!"
Qingzi shook her head vigorously, "Mom's home!"
She dared not let her mother see her being carried home by a boy; the thought of that scene was terrifying.
"Ring ring—"
She had barely finished speaking when her phone suddenly rang.
Aoko hurriedly pulled the phone out of her bag and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that the caller ID read "Mom".
"Hello, Mom?"
"Aoko, I'm sorry." Nakamori Aoko's slightly apologetic voice came from the other end of the phone. "I have a case to deal with right away, so I have to go back to the courthouse. You'll have to take care of dinner yourself; there's a bento box in the fridge."
"Huh?" Aoko's face immediately fell. "But Mom said she was going to make fish this morning..."
"Sorry, honey, I'll make it up next time."
Nakamori Aoko hung up the phone hastily.
Aoko pouted, looking aggrieved, and her stomach rumbled at just the right moment.
She looked down at her swollen ankle and then at her empty home, and suddenly felt incredibly desolate.
My foot is injured, and the fish are gone too...
"Looks like our Nakamori is going to go hungry tonight?"
Yuzuru raised an eyebrow.
"N-no way!" Aoko stubbornly insisted, trying to maintain her last bit of pride. "I can cook!"
"Oh?" Yuzuru smiled enigmatically. "Then how will Nakamori, with his injured ankle, cook while standing?"
The girl was speechless, her face scrunched up in a frown.
"How about this?" Yu Shengnan magically pulled a tube of ointment from his pocket. "I'm going to eat at Kuroha's house next door. Chikage-neechan's fish is absolutely amazing. Why don't we go together? I can get you some ointment while I'm at it."
Aoko blinked, suddenly remembering that when she last met Yuusuke, he was indeed from the Kaito family and had said he was good friends with Aunt Chikage...
"This...isn't that a bit inappropriate..." she hesitated.
"Sister Qianying is a very nice person." Yu Shengnan seemed to see through her concerns and lowered her voice, "And... I'll secretly tell you that I can also cook all kinds of fish dishes~ sweet and sour fish, boiled fish, sauerkraut fish..."
As each dish was announced, the girl's eyes grew brighter and brighter, and her mouth began to water involuntarily as various fish dishes flashed before her eyes.
She loves eating fish the most!
"Well, then I'll bother you for a moment..."
The girl ultimately couldn't resist the temptation of the delicious food.
Yuzuru smiled and carried her on his back again: "Hold on tight."
He's very good at treating the root cause of a problem.
Aoko wrapped her arms around his neck, feeling the boy's steady steps. The setting sun cast long shadows of the two of them, like a warm and inviting painting. In a daze, a strange sense of harmony arose.
Unbeknownst to her, the curtains on the second floor of the Nakamori house were swaying slightly, and Nakamori Aoko was standing by the window, holding her phone, thoughtfully watching their departing figures.
.........
At the entrance of the Kuroba residence, Hanyu Nan had just rang the doorbell when the door opened with a "whoosh".
"host--"
Hei Yuqianying, dressed in a red, high-slit cheongsam, stopped speaking abruptly, her beautiful eyes widening as she stared at Qingzi on Yusheng Nan's back.
Her carefully applied makeup almost shattered.
What happened? Why did she see her son's childhood sweetheart on her master's back?
“Sister Qianying,” Yusheng Nan naturally took over the conversation, “I ran into Qingzi on the way here because she hurt her foot. I brought her here to get some medicine and also to grab a meal.”
Although Chikage Kuroba was full of doubts, she quickly adjusted her expression and showed a gentle smile: "Oh dear, Aoko-chan, what happened? Come in quickly!"
As she spoke, she stepped aside to make way.
In the instant she turned to the side, she subtly pouted at Yuzuru, silently protesting: This devil actually managed to kidnap Kaito's childhood friend too!
Yuzuru gave her an innocent wink and carried Aoko straight to the living room.
Kuroba Chikage followed behind, watching the boy carefully place Aoko on the sofa, and felt a strange pang of sadness in her heart.
Her master wasn't this gentle when they first met.
Aoko was settled on the sofa and looked at the two of them curiously: "Aunt Chikage and Yuzuru are really close."
"Of course, my little brother Yuzuru is mine..."
“Good friend,” Yu Sheng Nan chimed in, casually patting Qian Ying’s shoulder. “Right, Qian Ying-neechan?”
Kuroba Chikage's ears turned slightly red, and she softly hummed in agreement.
Aoko felt something was off, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it, so she could only say apologetically, "Aunt Qianying... I'm sorry to bother you..."
"Why call me Auntie?"
Kuroba Chikage affectionately pinched Aoko's cheek, "Call me 'older sister'~"
She wore exquisite makeup today, and her cheongsam accentuated her perfect figure. She looked as young as her older sister, without any signs of aging.
And who knows, maybe I'll really have to call her "older sister" in the future?
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