Chapter 10
The room had wooden floors, curtains made of two layers of pink blackout fabric and white gauze, a Western-style high bed, and neatly folded quilts with cartoon patterns. There were also a few plush toys on the bedside table. Next to the bed was a desk with several books on it, and many photos were pasted on the wall behind the desk.
Yuko immediately spotted the funny face photo of the three of them in the picture, and she said shyly, "Emma, why did you print this photo?"
Emma smiled and said, "Hehe, because it's cute."
"Okay." Yuko sighed, noticing a childhood photo of Emma next to her. Yuko knew Emma's family situation was complicated; she and her brothers were half-siblings, and their parents hadn't fulfilled their parental responsibilities, so the three siblings were raised by their grandfather.
The photo was a family portrait, though it only showed three children and an elderly person. Yuko looked at each one.
Emma was indeed very cute as a child.
Ah, it's Emma's older brother when he was little, he looks so smug...
This must be Emma's older brother, right? That pompadour... he's a delinquent.
Yuko thought to herself that Emma's older brother looked familiar, but she couldn't remember where she had seen him before.
"Xiaoyou, sit here for a moment. I'll go get some snacks," Emma said before leaving the room.
"Okay," Yuko replied obediently. She was still looking at Emma's photo wall. There was a picture of Emma at her elementary school graduation ceremony, standing at the school gate with her grandfather behind her. There was also a picture of her wearing a crown on her birthday, closing her eyes, making a wish, and blowing out the candles.
Yuko, who was looking closely, suddenly noticed that there seemed to be another photo covered up behind the funny face photo. She lifted it up, and although the person in the photo wasn't looking at the camera, probably because it was taken secretly, she could still make out who it was. Golden braids, a dragon tattoo on his head—it was Draken, but he seemed to be a little younger than he was now.
Yuko put the photo back in its original place, feeling a little melancholy.
This hidden feeling must have been there for a long time.
Oh my god... having a crush is so painful.
I think I can understand Emma's brother's feelings a little better.
Even I'm starting to worry about her.
"Emma, help me comb my hair—what are you doing here?" The tone of her voice, meant to order her sister around, took an abrupt turn. As the door opened, Mikey, his hair disheveled, appeared in the doorway, looking at her with a puzzled expression.
"Hello, Sano-kun." Yuko said calmly, as if nothing had happened. "As for Emma, she went downstairs to get something."
"Oh." Mikey came in by himself and rummaged through Emma's desk looking for a comb.
His sister has always taken care of his hair, and he always loses his comb, so Emma has no choice but to keep it for him.
After finding it, he picked up a comb and started raking his hair haphazardly, as if he had no sense of pain.
Yuko, who has long, smooth, black hair that reaches her waist, felt a slight pain in her scalp just by looking at her.
She took a breath, then slowly exhaled, and said to him, "Sano-kun, do you need my help?"
“You…” He seemed to have something to say, but suddenly lost interest in saying it, and just curled the corners of his mouth, “Fine, since you want to do it, then I’ll leave it to you.” Then he handed her the comb.
"It's not that I want to comb your hair, it's that I can't stand watching it..." Yuko silently retorted in her heart, thinking to herself, "What a willful and self-centered person." But she still took the comb.
Mikey sat lazily on the floor, while Yuko knelt behind him. Her movements were not gentle; to avoid pulling his scalp, she used one hand to press down on the roots of his hair to smooth it.
"I have no feelings for Draken that go beyond friendship." The girl's voice came from behind and above.
"so?"
Mikey couldn't see her face, but he could imagine that she was explaining herself in a very serious tone. He felt he could guess what she would say next—probably something like, "I'm sorry, I made you misunderstand."
I always feel that people like this are really boring.
Yuko silently repeated what Ichigo had said in her mind: she should be more confident and speak her mind.
"So, you need to apologize to me."
Mikey was taken aback: "Huh?"
He then burst into laughter: "Haha, what will you do if I don't apologize? Pull my hair out?"
Yuko replied, "It's not impossible."
Mikey laughed even harder. He turned to look at her. The girl's expression wasn't a fake, polite smile, nor was it a conventional calm. Instead, it was a vivid expression of anger with her lips pursed.
At this point, it wouldn't be manly to be stubborn. Mikey thought to himself and compromised: "Okay, I apologize for what I said yesterday. I'm sorry."
The clouds cleared up, and Yuko smiled, her eyes crinkling: "Yes, I accept your apology."
Because of the close distance and his direct view of her face, Mikey noticed a shallow dimple under the left corner of her mouth when she smiled. Like him, she had black eyes, but her skin was very fair. Due to the lighting, from his angle, he could even see the fine downy hairs on her face, making her appear quite youthful. Her features seemed clearer now.
Yuko stopped laughing, looked at him seriously, and asked, "Do you want to continue combing?"
It's back to normal now. A pang of regret crossed Mikey's mind, but he replied, "Okay."
Just then, Emma returned from downstairs to get some food.
"Mikey, what are you doing here?"
Mikey casually replied, "Oh, it's Yuko who insisted on combing my hair."
“You’re lying, but Xiaoyou doesn’t seem upset.” Emma didn’t press the matter. She put down what she was holding. “I’m telling you now, don’t tease Emma’s friends.”
"I know, I know. Yuko is my friend too."
"When did Xiaoyou become your friend?"
"That's clearly it. Don't believe me? Ask her."
Yuko, being watched by the two siblings: ...I don't even know when I became a friend, don't ask me.
"What is this?" Yuko's attention was drawn to the uniquely shaped plastic bottle of beverage that Emma had brought out.
“Oh, this is Ramune soda.” Emma’s attention was also diverted, and she explained, “I knew Xiaoyou hadn’t seen it before, so I brought it up specially.”
"This is my Ramune soda, Emma, why are you giving it to her to drink?" Mikey shouted, snatching the soda from her.
Emma, hands on her hips, said, "This is what I bought. If you want some, I'll buy it for you later. Honestly, let Xiaoyou have it first."
"Tch~" Mikey reluctantly handed the soda to Emma, then suddenly had a flash of inspiration and asked Yuko, "You've never had it before?"
Yuko didn't know why he asked that, but she nodded.
Mikey smiled mischievously: "Let me teach you how to drink it. This drink is very interesting; there's a glass bead inside." Then, while removing the plastic seal from the bottle neck and taking off the T-cap, he showed her the bottle neck, and sure enough, there was a bead blocking the neck.
"Use this to align and press it down." He gestured for Yuko to put the T-cap in, "You have to use force."
"Ah, Yuko..." Before Emma could stop her, Yuko followed Mikey's instructions and pressed down hard. Sure enough, the glass bead fell down, but the soda gushed out.
"Oh no!" The unexpected situation left Yuko flustered; the soda kept gushing out, even splashing onto her clothes. Yuko was frantic.
Mikey laughed triumphantly as he watched her stomp her feet.
Emma quickly took the soda from Yuko and put it back on the plate, then found some tissues for Yuko to wipe her hands. She glared at Mikey and unceremoniously kicked him out of the room. Mikey resisted and acted spoiled, but Emma ignored him, pushed him out of the room, and slammed the door shut.
Finally, it was quiet. Emma leaned against the door and said to Yuko, "Yuko, don't pay any attention to him."
"It's okay, I was just a little startled." Yuko waved her hand. She wasn't angry at all, and even found it a little funny to recall how she had overreacted.
She tentatively picked up the now-flattened soda and took a sip. The unique taste of the carbonated beverage stimulated her tongue and throat; it was slightly spicy and irritating when she drank it, but left a sweet aftertaste—a rather novel experience. Just as she was about to speak, she let out an unseemly burp.
Yuko immediately covered her mouth, her face turning bright red.
Emma comforted her, "It's okay, Xiaoyou. Everyone burps when they drink soda, it's normal. We're girls, not robots. Burping and farting are not impolite at all."
"How was it? Did you feel a strange sense of satisfaction when you burped after drinking soda?" Emma asked her.
"Uh-huh!"
Although they are the same age, Emma often feels that Yuko is younger than her and wants to touch her and protect her.
What Emma didn't know was that she felt the same way in Yuko's heart. Whenever Emma needed her, Yuko would be there immediately, standing in front of her to protect her.
Girls who understand each other perfectly, the bond between them.
It's selfless dedication, mindless protection, and unwavering support on your side.
It is invincible love.
Yuko remembered the photo Emma had hidden, and although she hesitated, she decided to speak up: "Emma... what if Draken-kun falls for another girl..."
Emma knew what Yuko wanted to say as soon as she heard it, and she gave a very sincere smile: "I will wish him well, because I hope Draken can be happy."
Yuko couldn't understand and murmured, "But what about Emma..."
"I don't know. I might be sad for a while..." Emma said, but in her heart she thought it probably wouldn't be just a while, she might be sad for a long time.
Upon hearing this, Yuko was on the verge of tears: "Waaah, I don't want Emma to be sad."
"Huh?" Emma, who hadn't expected to make Yuko cry, was a little flustered. "Don't cry, I'm not crying. Besides, it's just a hypothetical situation, isn't it?"
She walked over helplessly and put her arm around Yuko: "Really, why do I have to comfort you now?"
Yuko leaned against her chest, sobbing. For once, she felt an unreasonable urge to blame Draken; it was all his fault!
In Mikey's room next door, Draken sneezed violently: Who's talking about me behind my back?!
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