114. Spring, the Season of Encounters

Suddenly, the sound of a door opening interrupted the two, who on the surface appeared to be verbally sparring, but in reality, one was simply tormenting while the other endured it quietly.

There stood Umi Doma, dressed in pajamas, wrapped in her hamster cloak, rubbing her eyes and yawning as she said, “What’s going on? Big brother, it’s so noisy!”

The four people in the living room fell silent for a moment. Renya Aki, who had seen Umi before, stayed composed, but Kasumi Shinohama and Eriri Spencer Sawamura, seeing her for the first time, had expressions that were quite telling.

Kasumi Shinohama first scrutinized the obviously just-awakened girl—a delicate face, a graceful figure, a sweet voice, and shining flaxen hair. She was, without doubt, a flawless beauty in every respect.

Kasumi then shifted her gaze to Jiang Yu, her eyes narrowing slightly, taking on a meaningful look.

“So the junior has this kind of hobby, huh?”

Jiang Yu clearly caught the message behind Kasumi’s strange look and shook his head with a wry smile, signaling that it was all a misunderstanding.

Eriri, after similarly assessing Umi, drew the same conclusion as Kasumi. Then she suddenly turned her head sharply, staring blankly at Jiang Yu with a flushed face, pointing a finger at him and stammering, “Y-you-you…”

Seeing that this person also wore an unmistakably misunderstood expression, Jiang Yu could only smile helplessly, standing up to pull the still half-asleep and utterly confused Umi over. Facing the other three—mainly the two girls meeting her for the first time—he introduced, “This is my little sister, Umi Doma. Umi, these are my friends—Renya Aki, whom you know, and this is senior Kasumi Shinohama, and this is my classmate Eriri Spencer Sawamura.”

Umi opened her mouth wide in surprise, looking first at the three seated before her, then back at Jiang Yu, her gaze flickering repeatedly before settling on him. She took a small step back, covering her mouth, incredulous: “Big brother, you actually have friends other than senior Aki?!”

At Umi’s words, the previously quiet atmosphere turned awkward, as if a brief calm before a storm. Kasumi and Eriri both looked at Jiang Yu with strange expressions, perhaps tinged with a hint of sympathy. Renya Aki, pointing at Jiang Yu with a barely contained grin, said, “Pfft— I never thought Yu, in your sister’s mind, you were such a character! Whatever, I can’t handle this… hahaha…”

Jiang Yu slapped away Aki’s trembling hand irritably and said in resignation, “Enough, okay? I don’t have many friends! Besides, Aki, you don’t really have many friends either!”

Wait, what happened to the person who said that later? Jiang Yu felt a slight unease, as if some mysterious force was warning him not to speak so casually.

Aki finally calmed down, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes but still panting slightly. “I have… cough, cough… at least Yoshihiko as a friend at school, right? And even more otaku friends online… I never realized you’ve been living such an interesting life, Yu! No wonder you can write those light novels with such unique protagonists—are you drawing from yourself?”

At this, Aki slipped into a serious mode, clearly earnest in discussing creative matters.

Jiang Yu inwardly mused, “Aki really turns into a different person when it comes to the two-dimensional world.” Before he could answer, Umi suddenly said, “Huh? So, senior Aki means… Big brother, you write light novels?”

Kasumi responded, “Though it’s hard to tell, this guy is indeed an upcoming light novel author.”

Faced with Umi’s eyes filled with curiosity, excitement, puzzlement, and surprise all at once, Jiang Yu smiled helplessly and nodded, confirming their words.

Umi, after receiving Jiang Yu’s affirmation, stood dazed for a moment. Then, looking at him, a subtle unfamiliarity washed over her, but what dominated was a deep worry.

It was as if… she had been left behind by the person closest to her, watching him walk ahead alone, trying desperately to catch up but feeling no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t.

That complex feeling of panic mixed with helplessness compelled Umi to step forward instinctively, reaching out as if to grasp something.

Suddenly, she felt a hand holding hers. Coming back to herself, she saw the worried and apologetic eyes of her brother, who said, “I didn’t mean to hide it from you… But, well, it’s not exactly something to boast about, right? Besides, my submissions haven’t even been published yet… But no matter what, I’m sorry, Umi. Please forgive your brother, okay?”

Jiang Yu firmly adhered to the principle of “whatever the woman says, it’s always my fault,” even though the other was his sister.

“...Mhm!” Umi smiled brightly and nodded vigorously.

Jiang Yu gently ruffled her hair with a smile, then pulled her toward the group who had looked bewildered since earlier, saying, “Alright, say hello to everyone, Umi?”

Umi composed herself from the inexplicable flood of emotions and reverted to her usual demeanor. She tidied her disheveled hair and smiled at Kasumi and Eriri, saying, “Nice to meet you, I’m Big Brother’s little sister, Umi Doma. Thanks for looking after him. If you don’t mind, just call me Umi.”

Eriri seemed somewhat unsettled by the polite greeting, opening her mouth to say something several times but swallowing her words each time.

Kasumi, on the other hand, displayed a side of herself rarely seen, the dignified senior, and smiled gently in response, “Then I’ll call you Umi, okay? I don’t mind. You can call me ‘Senior Shinohama.’”

At these words, Jiang Yu, Renya Aki, and Eriri all looked at Kasumi in surprise. Especially Aki, who knew Kasumi’s usual demeanor at school, could not comprehend why she would be so warm to a girl she had just met.

After all, compared to the aloof aura she usually projected toward strangers, those close to her often bore the brunt of her sharp tongue.

Even her class teacher, who once confronted her about sleeping in class, had been rebuked by Kasumi and eventually decided to let the matter drop—especially since her consistently top-ranking grades in the year made it hard to press the issue further.