Oh no! They all seem a bit off!

Chapter 59 Dongzi
Seeing Dongzi's unhappy expression, Qiuyue Cheng could only smile bitterly and sigh inwardly.

I wonder when Dongzi will grow up and stop depending on him so much.

"Hey, Cheng, I have something to tell you."

At this moment, Shimizu Rei seemed to notice Akizuki Makoto's embarrassment and difficulty, and suddenly changed the subject.

"I'm going to Tokyo this weekend. I was originally planning to surprise you, but now that I have the chance, I'll just tell you directly."

Are you coming to Tokyo?

Upon hearing this, Akizuki Makoto couldn't help but feel puzzled, putting on a "why" expression.

Seeing this, Shimizu Rei put her hands on her hips, puffed out her cheeks, and said angrily, "Well, you've met new people in Tokyo and haven't been contacting us much, fine, but now you've even forgotten why I went to Tokyo?"

"what……"

Upon hearing this, Akizuki Makoto suddenly remembered that Shimizu Rei was the ace of the badminton club at Minegashiro University Affiliated High School. He had participated in the inter-school competition for two years, but had not achieved any good results. His best achievement was last year when he reached the top eight in the national competition.

Judging by the time, the city-level competition has already ended, and the national preliminary rounds are about to begin.

Last year it was held in Kyoto, and this year it's Tokyo's turn.

"Are you here to participate in the competition?"

"You finally remembered?"

Shimizu Rei raised an eyebrow and said smugly, "This time I'm competing as the top student in the city, I'm definitely going to win!"

"...Isn't this because you're already a senior in high school? Your former opponents have all gone on to university and are competing in adult competitions."

Akizuki Makoto felt somewhat embarrassed and directly exposed Shimizu Rei's lie.

This made her cheeks flush and burn, and she shouted back, "So what! I'm the top student in the city this year, are you not convinced?"

"Is my sister going to Tokyo?"

Fuyuko, who had been kneeling obediently waiting for Akizuki Makoto and Shimizu Rei to finish their conversation, tilted her head and couldn't help but ask, "Can I come along? I want to see my brother."

"This……"

"No, Dongzi."

Before Shimizu Rei could say anything, Akizuki Makoto refused in a gentle tone and with a smile: "Touko's health isn't good. What if something happens on the way to Tokyo, or once we're in Tokyo? My brother has to go to school and won't be able to take care of you."

"Well……"

Upon hearing this, Dongzi immediately became dejected, her lips pressed tightly together, and she was on the verge of tears.

"I'm sorry, Dongzi, this is..."

Qiu Yuecheng paused halfway through her sentence, then took a deep breath and uttered the three words with difficulty: "For your own good."

Seeing his beloved younger sister so vulnerable, her heart seemingly on the verge of breaking apart, he felt a pang of pity.

But considering the consequences of spoiling Dongzi, he had to harden his heart.

Dongzi is too innocent and naive. Although she is very smart, her mind is as immature as that of a child who has never experienced the world.

Akizuki Fuyuko couldn't understand why she and her brother, who were the closest of relatives by blood, had to be separated and why they couldn't see each other.

She also couldn't understand why her parents restricted her contact with her brother, and even urged him to go back home when he finally came back.

Even when she was very young, her parents told her that she could rely on her older brother more, and that she could ask her brother for help if she needed anything or wanted to act spoiled.

At first, parents would watch over them with warm eyes and smiles, but as they grew older, their eyes gradually became more worried, and eventually turned into distress and sorrow.

Dongzi didn't understand what her parents and her brother, who had suddenly become distant from her, were thinking.

They said that living separately was for her own good, fearing that she would become more and more dependent on her brother and eventually become a complete useless person.

"Sorry, let's call it a day... Xiao Li, let's talk again later."

Akizuki Makoto took a deep breath, hurriedly said goodbye to the bewildered Shimizu Rei, and hung up the video call.

He lay in bed, his arm under his forehead, staring at the white ceiling, and couldn't help but sigh. "I really shouldn't have agreed to the video call."

Akizuki Makoto originally intended to chat casually with old friends, reminiscing about the leisurely days he spent in his hometown, in order to relax his mind and body.

Now, instead of relaxing, it has made me feel even more heavy and tired, both physically and mentally.

It seems he had lived in Tokyo for too long and had forgotten that the reason he came to Tokyo was to leave his hometown and make his life easier.

"President, I don't have the unwavering and powerful spirit you describe. I have my own troubles too. No one in this world is without troubles..."

Suddenly, Akizuki Makoto thought of Ji Yexue's jealousy towards him again, and couldn't help but laugh self-deprecatingly.

……

Meanwhile, at Akizuki's home.

"Hey, wait..."

Seeing that Akizuki Makoto was about to hang up the video call, Shimizu Rei quickly tried to stop him, but she was too late.

The video froze the moment she spoke, followed by the message "Call ended."

"Brother... doesn't want me anymore."

Akizuki Fuyuko could no longer hold back, and tears welled up in her eyes as she began to sob softly.

“Eh… eh…”

Looking at Fuyuko, who was crying with tears streaming down her face, Shimizu Rei was at a loss for what to do.

At that moment, she began to regret suggesting a video call to Akizuki Makoto.

If I had known, I would have just texted and kept it from Dongzi; then none of this would have happened.

Now that things are going well, Akizuki Makoto, seeing that things are not going well, simply hung up the phone.

He escaped, but what about her? How could she escape?

"I'm sorry, Dongzi..."

Shimizu Rei patted Akizuki Fuyuko on the back and apologized to her with a heart full of guilt.

"Sister...sister...no need...to apologize..."

Akizuki Fuyuko sobbed, her voice breaking as she said, "It's... Fuyuko... I'm bad... I made my brother... angry..."

Even now, she doesn't blame her brother or parents. She only feels that she did something wrong to make her brother angry, which is why he went to Tokyo to study.

She didn't understand what her brother and parents meant by being too dependent, to the point of becoming useless, so she could only blame herself for being too willful and making her brother angry.

So when her brother decided to go to school in Tokyo, she didn't really stop him. She just looked at him with very sad eyes, as if she had lost everything.

"...No, that's not true. Dongzi, you didn't do anything wrong, and Acheng isn't angry either."

Shimizu Rei gently patted Fuyuko's back, sighing inwardly.

She meant well but ended up doing something wrong. She knew that Dongzi missed Qiuyuecheng very much, but her aunt and uncle wouldn't let them contact each other, so she couldn't bear it and thought of making a video call to Qiuyuecheng so that Dongzi could see him.

...Even though she knew she shouldn't let the two of them contact each other, Akizuki Touko was just too pitiful.

I spend my days holed up in this little Japanese-style room reading, painting, carving, and writing in my diary.

She had read Akizuki Fuyuko's diary, which contained not only daily records but also words she wanted to say to Akizuki Makoto.

Even without meeting or contacting each other, Akizuki Touko's feelings for him did not diminish in the slightest; on the contrary, they grew stronger.

That pure and straightforward sentiment deeply moved Shimizu Rei.

Since then, she has often come to visit Dongzi, hoping to alleviate Dongzi's loneliness.

Brothers, don't talk nonsense! This is just a little sister who hasn't grown up and is dependent on her older brother! Isn't it normal for a childish little sister to want to rely on a gentle and reliable older brother?

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(End of this chapter)