Oh no! They all seem a bit off!

Chapter 102 Shiina Maki Opens Her Heart to Him
"Ha ha…"

Makoto Akizuki ran up to Maki Shiina, panting heavily, bent over, and supporting himself on his knees with his hands, clearly exhausted.

He sprinted over as fast as he could to see Maki Shiina.

"Yes, I'm sorry..."

Upon seeing Makoto Akizuki, Maki Shiina immediately lowered her head and apologized like a child who had done something wrong.

"N-nothing, let's go upstairs and talk first, I'm so thirsty."

Akizuki pointed to the apartment building, sensing that Shiina Maki's matter would probably take some time to resolve.

Even though it's almost time for class, you can still call your homeroom teacher to ask for leave.

"...I feel like I'm taking one or two days off every week lately, and my attendance record is in jeopardy."

He thought to himself, "I just took a day off last Friday, and now I have to take another day off."

He took Shiina Maki up to the sixth floor, but instead of taking out his key to open the door, he rang the doorbell.

He had left the keys in his schoolbag, but he was in such a hurry that he didn't bring the schoolbag with him.

Fortunately, Dongzi inside the house had already woken up and was having breakfast in the living room.

Hearing the doorbell ring, she ran to the entrance and pressed her face against the door.

After seeing through the peephole that it was Akizuki Makoto, he immediately opened the door.

"Brother, welcome back!"

As soon as the door opened, Dongzi immediately pounced into Qiuyue Cheng's arms, so forcefully that she almost knocked him off balance and fell to the ground.

"Brother...brother?"

Shiina Maki stared in surprise, covering her mouth with her hand as she recalled the little girl who had rushed into Akizuki Makoto's arms—the same girl who had been holding hands with Akizuki Makoto in the cake shop yesterday.

"Dongzi, you can't do that next time. People will think you're too childish."

Akizuki Makoto smiled and patted Fuyuko's head, then turned to Shiina Maki and said, "Let me introduce you, this is my younger sister, her name is Fuyuko."

At that moment, Fuyuko peeked out from Akizuki Makoto's arms, looked at Shiina Maki curiously, and asked, "Brother, is she the older sister who works at the cake shop that you mentioned?"

"Yes, say hello to them."

Qiu Yuecheng smiled and nodded, then continued, "Call her 'sister' and act cute with her a bit, and she'll buy you a cake."

"Sister~"

The innocent Fuyuko, upon hearing that she could get cake by being cute, immediately let go of Akizuki Makoto and rushed into Shiina Maki's arms, hugging her tightly and saying sweetly, "Sister, will you buy Fuyuko a cake?"

“Eh… eh…”

Shiina Maki looked down at the adorable, angelic-looking Fuyuko, feeling completely lost and confused, her eyes swirling like whirlpools.

"Sister, will you buy a cake for Dongzi? Dongzi is a very good girl."

Seeing that Shiina Maki didn't speak, Touko rubbed her face against her body again, and her head just happened to be at Shiina Maki's chest, which directly caused a brain pad wave.

As Touko gently rubbed against it, the enormous evil trembled violently, making it unbearable for Akizuki Makoto to look at.

Seeing the two embracing each other affectionately, he couldn't help but laugh and scold, "This child is such a snob. He abandoned his brother for a cake. Who knows, he might be tricked out of his brother with a piece of cake one day."

"Dongzi would never do that!"

Dongzi pouted unhappily and retorted, "Dongzi thinks my sister is a good person!"

Perhaps it was because of her pure heart and exceptional intelligence that she could vaguely sense the good and evil in the hearts of others.

For example, if Ji Yexue had tried to tempt her with cake, she would have shaken her head and refused.

"Yes, that's true. It's rare for Dongzi to get close to people she doesn't know well."

Qiuyue Cheng nodded and then said, "Alright, don't stand at the door, come in and sit down to talk."

After saying that, he went into the entryway to change his shoes, took out a box of barley tea from the refrigerator, and gulped it down. Only then did he feel much better about his parched throat.

"Sister, come in quickly."

Fuyuko also took Shiina Maki's hand and greeted her with a smile as she came in.

Still bewildered, Shiina Maki followed Fuyuko into the room like a cow being led, and then sat down on the sofa.

Only then did she come to her senses and stammer, "Aki-Akizuki-kun, this...this is your sister?"

"if not?"

Akizuki looked puzzled, thinking that if Dongzi wasn't his sister, then who could she be? Could she be an adopted daughter?
The age difference between them isn't that big, even though Dongzi is still as young as a little girl.

"Then, what's the last one?"

Shiina Maki felt that her question was too strange, so she added, "The one with short hair, the one who came to the store with you all."

"Huh? You saw us coming yesterday?"

After a moment of confusion, Akizuki Makoto immediately laughed and said, "That's my neighbor from my hometown, or to put it simply, my childhood friend. She and Fuyuko came to Tokyo from our hometown together a couple of days ago."

"Childhood sweetheart?!"

Shiina Maki's eyes widened in shock, and her already soft voice immediately rose. In an instant, she felt a sense of crisis.

Childhood sweethearts are the real culprits when it comes to stealing fish.

She's the kind of bitch who takes advantage of her status to do things that are completely unapproachable!
Akizuki Makoto was startled by her sudden shout and asked in confusion, "What's wrong? You seem very surprised."

"No, it's okay..."

Shiina Maki realized she had lost her composure and quickly shook her head, whispering, "I'm just a little surprised that Akizuki-kun has a childhood friend."

"Shiina-kun, that's a bit rude of you. Why do you make it sound like I'm the kind of person who has no friends?"

"Feel sorry……"

At this moment, Fuyuko, who had been quietly listening to the two's conversation, saw that she might have a chance to interject. She grabbed Shiina Maki's arm, pouted, and asked, "Sister, brother said you would buy me a cake. Will you really?"

She still couldn't resist the temptation of the cake, because it really was delicious.

After all, it was baked by Maki Shiina with great care and effort, so of course it tasted good.

If the taste or shape is slightly off, she'll be scolded by the seemingly domineering shop manager, so she certainly wouldn't dare to be negligent or perfunctory.

"Of course!"

Shiina Maki nodded vigorously, grasped Fuyuko's soft little hand, looked into her eyes, and said solemnly, "I'll buy you lots and lots of cakes!"

She would, of course, try her best to fulfill her future sister-in-law's requests.

She would be willing to spend all her money to buy a cake for Dongzi.

"Hey, don't spoil Dongzi too much, or she might really become clingy. She can be quite persistent, you know?"

After saying this with a helpless expression, Akizuki Makoto looked at Fuyuko and said, "Fuyuko, go back to your room first. We'll talk about the cake later. Right now, your brother and sister have something to discuss."

"Good~"

Fuyuko wisely let go of Shiina Maki, jumped off the sofa, jogged back to the bedroom, and closed the door.

One of Dongzi's strengths is that she is sensible and knows her limits.

She knows when to be affectionate and when to apologize and bow her head immediately; she is both sensible and knows her limits.

This is also why Makoto Akizuki dotes on Fuyuko; she's just too adorable, making people want to cherish her.

"Drink of water?"

Akizuki took out a clean cup that had been washed, poured a cup of barley tea, and placed it on the coffee table.

Then, he sat down next to Shiina Maki and waited for her to finish her barley tea before asking, "So, what happened? Your eyes are so swollen from crying."

"..."

Upon hearing this, Shiina Maki lowered her head, crossed her hands, and fidgeted with her fingers, as if she was carefully considering what to say.

After learning about the relationship between Akizuki Makoto and the two girls, most of the grievances and sadness in her heart disappeared. She felt that Chun Chun was just being too sensitive and had misunderstood.

However, in the end, this was just a trigger.

The real reason she was so devastated and desperate was her job at the cake shop and her broken and devastated family environment.

Akizuki Makoto didn't urge her to speak, but waited quietly until, after a while, she whispered, "Akizuki-kun, do you think I've changed a lot?"

"Isn't it already great? It's big!"

Makoto Akizuki didn't understand why Maki Shiina was asking this, but he went along with her words anyway: "Not only has her appearance changed, but her inner self has changed too... Look, she has resisted domestic violence, gone to work, and is not so withdrawn and socially anxious anymore."

"..."

Upon hearing this, Shiina Maki fell silent, wondering if Akizuki Makoto truly believed it.

That makes sense. She kept all her grievances and unhappiness to herself, only showing Qiuyue Cheng her good side, just so he wouldn't worry.

But she couldn't do that anymore, because she couldn't bear it any longer.

"Akizuki-kun, I'm not as good as you think. I'm still as weak as ever."

Shiina Maki turned her head to look at Akizuki Makoto, revealing a bitter smile: "Actually, I didn't do anything right. Rebelling against my mother was just a compromise with her. I would give her money, so she agreed not to hit me."

"It was the same with part-time jobs. I applied to several companies but no one wanted me except for that cake shop."

"It's not because the shop owner is particularly kind; they just think I'm easy to bully and always willing to work hard without complaint..."

At this point, Shiina Maki felt the grievances in her heart surge up again, and she couldn't help but throw herself into Akizuki Makoto's arms, sobbing softly, her body rising and falling and trembling.

Akizuki felt the soft warmth in his arms, paused for a moment, then immediately hugged back, saying firmly, "Tell me all your grievances, and then... I will help you. I won't let any of those who bullied you get away with it."

The gentle, firm, and powerful words echoed in Shiina Maki's ears, making all her sadness and unhappiness disappear without a trace and soothing her inner pain.

All that remains is peace of mind and happiness.

As expected, Akizuki Makoto was her god, never despising her weakness or thinking her incompetent.

He will encourage her and protect her, and when she is about to fall into an abyss from which she cannot escape, he will always pull her back and give her salvation.

(End of this chapter)