Want to be human, but cube-like

"Ugh……"

With a soft sigh, Aine became somewhat troubled.

With her current level of spoken English, is she really capable of living alone in the UK?

Even Alex sometimes says she can't quite understand the pronunciation of certain words and has to read them a couple of times before she knows which word it is.

If she went to England, the strangers there might not have had Alex's patience to slowly understand her non-standard Japanese-accented English.

I'll be going abroad to study in less than two months.

Is it really possible for me to learn standard English pronunciation before then?

Aine's feelings suddenly became complicated. She even struggled with whether or not to let Alex continue to help her correct her English pronunciation.

It wasn't that she wanted to back down, but rather that she felt indebted to Alex for wasting so much of her time.

Holding her phone, Aine tiptoed around the screen in the room and climbed back into bed.

With her eyes lowered, she shrank back into bed, lying on her side, holding her phone in both hands, staring blankly at Alex in the video.

She slept very soundly.

Her silvery-white hair, as fine as silk, lay neatly on the other side of the pillow, as if she hadn't moved since she tidied herself up and lay down.

Even in her sleep, that delicate little face held a faint smile. Her small, exquisite nose twitched almost imperceptibly, and her long eyelashes were slightly upturned, without even a hint of trembling. If it weren't for the sound of her breathing, the scene would be so beautiful that one might doubt whether it was a painting created by a master artist after painstaking effort.

Ai Yin gazed intently at Alex's beautiful face, which was so docile and endearing in her sleep that it was impossible not to feel pity for her. She seemed to never tire of looking at it, and the chaotic thoughts in her mind gradually subsided.

A long time passed before Ai Yin seemed to be suddenly awakened when a low battery warning popped up at the bottom of the screen.

Her pupils trembled slightly, her fingers twitched, and her gaze fell on the camera frame on the screen. Only then did she notice that, without her noticing, a somewhat unseemly smile had appeared on her face.

Moreover, his thumb was pressed against the screen, next to Alex's little face.

It was almost as if he was mesmerized by Alex's beautiful sleeping face.

Aiyin propped herself up, looking around somewhat helplessly. After a moment, she realized what she should do, so she pulled a charging cable from the bedside table and plugged it into her phone.

Then, I lay down again, still holding my phone.

"Goooo..."

She hunched her head, burying her mouth and nose in the soft cotton.

Under the soft blankets, a slight blush rose on her cheeks, but she couldn't help but look at Alex's sleeping face.

Feeling her little heart pounding wildly, Aine started to let her mind wander.

Why am I staring blankly at Alex's face?

And...and he was laughing so strangely...

It must be because Alex is too beautiful...

Surely it can't be because I have some strange feelings for her?

Suddenly, a thought popped into her mind, and Ai Yin immediately panicked, her eyes flickering.

Just kidding... I'm not a woman, how could I possibly have those kinds of thoughts...

Taking a deep breath, Aine forced herself to close her eyes. She carefully considered her inner thoughts while she was lost in thought. After a long while, she opened her eyes with some uncertainty.

I think, probably, really did get me mesmerized simply because I thought Alex was pretty.

Yes, that's right, I didn't have any other intentions.

With her head buried in the blankets, Aine nodded vigorously, convinced of this fact.

"call……"

She stuck her head out and let out a small breath.

It's so late, you should go to sleep.

Thinking this, Ai Yin raised her hand and turned off the bedroom light. She lay down on the bed and was about to end the video call when she suddenly stopped.

She hesitated for a moment, but still couldn't bear to end the call. Instead, she lay on her side, placing the phone against the wall inside the bed with the screen facing her.

That way, she could lie on her side in bed and fall asleep while watching Alex on the screen.

A blush crept across her face at the thought, and Aine blinked her tired eyes gently.

Goodnight... Ellie...

She whispered a goodnight, gazed at Alex's adorable sleeping face, and slowly closed her eyes.

She also drifted off to sleep.

…………

P.S. Whether Aiyin goes to study abroad or not, she has ample reasons. Whether she was determined to go but changed her mind and didn't go in the end, or hesitated and said she wouldn't go but ultimately chose to go due to certain circumstances, she has prepared a reason. It's just a matter of which one I choose. Hmm, I haven't decided yet. I'll stop here and continue writing.

Just a quick note: tomorrow is sticky rice, the day after is Chinese New Year, and afterwards, there's a custom in Guangdong of people visiting their maternal grandparents' homes, so I'll be quite busy. Updates might be irregular for the next few days; there might only be one update a day, or I might not update at all, depending on my availability.

Volume 1: Chapter 91 Why are they still living together?

Meanwhile, in another guest room at the hamburger shop.

"Well--!"

The blue-haired girl, who was sitting on the bed with her back against the headboard and holding a study book in her hands, put down the book and slowly stretched.

She rubbed her tired eyes, which had been strained from prolonged use, and picked up her phone from the side to take a look.

Before I knew it, it was already past midnight.

Just as Alex knew, Xiangzi now goes back to his room early every night, and even if he wants to take a shower, he does so late at night.

But she wasn't just fiddling with her keyboard in the room; in fact, not entirely.

Recently, Xiangzi has been studying and reviewing the knowledge from his third year of middle school.

Although Xiangzi had already submitted her withdrawal application from Tsuki no Mori due to the high tuition fees, this did not mean that she would never return to school life. After a while, she would still have to take the exam to enter a higher education institution.

She had already done everything she could to survive and fill her stomach each day, and had temporarily put her studies aside. Now that her life was a little more stable, it was time to think about her future.

Shoko planned to enroll in Haneoka Academy, but the tuition at Tsukimori was too expensive for her to afford, and the academic atmosphere at Hanasakigawa Academy was somewhat lax and did not meet Shoko's expectations. In contrast, Haneoka Girls' Academy focused more on college entrance exams, and students with excellent grades could apply for scholarships, which was just right for Shoko.

However, if you don't go directly from Haneoka's junior high school to the senior high school, in addition to the unified exam that all junior high school students have to take, you have to take a separate entrance exam to test your academic ability in order to get into Haneoka.

To ensure that there would be no unexpected problems with the entrance exam and to successfully apply for a scholarship based on his grades, Xiangzi, who was temporarily unable to attend school, could only rely on home-based self-study to ensure that his grades would not drop.

So, tonight, Xiangzi also immersed himself in the sea of ​​learning and spent the night peacefully.

It's been a long time since I've been able to study peacefully in such a comfortable environment.

When Xiangzi thought back to not long ago, when he was still living in that dilapidated rented room, running around during the day for a hundred or two yen, and having to endure the stench of alcohol on his father when he returned home at night, he felt as if he had lived in another world.

Suddenly falling from a wealthy and carefree noblewoman to a state where she couldn't even afford basic necessities, and then returning to a normal life thanks to Alex's help, this huge contrast always evokes an indescribable sense of unease in Xiangzi's heart whenever she thinks about it.

In fact, the only reason Xiangzi is still living in Alex's house now is because he works at the hamburger shop.

The main reason they ended up living together was that the banker witch and all the problems stemming from her witch's kiss had been resolved by Alex. According to Xiangzi's own thinking, now that she was no longer threatened by the witch's kiss, she should have had no reason to continue living there.

After all, as an employee of Alex's burger shop, she has already received enough kindness and help. Now, if we compare her to what Alex has given in terms of her status as an employee, it can be said to be a completely unequal exchange.

But neither Alex nor Xiangzi himself ever brought up this issue.

Alex, who was afraid of being alone, was overjoyed that Xiangzi was able to live with her. She was indifferent to many things and of course would not mention these things. But why did Xiangzi himself keep deliberately avoiding this topic?

Sometimes, she doesn't quite understand what she's thinking.

Is it because you crave the warmth here and are afraid to return to that cramped rented room?

Xiangzi doesn't think she's that kind of weak person. Now that she has an income from working at a hamburger shop, even if she goes back to living in a rented room, she will live better than before. She doesn't have to worry about returning to her previous impoverished state.

Recently, she has been able to start saving a little money. After all, she eats and lives for free at the burger shop, and there are basically no extra expenses. Moreover, Xiangzi has gradually paid back the expenses that Alex helped her pay when she was in the hospital through her work at the burger shop.

Although she handled all the finances herself, and decided how much she would pay herself, Ellie, who knew nothing about these things...

Whether Ke Si will suffer as a result depends entirely on Xiang Zi's conscience and self-control.

Sometimes, she felt helpless about Alex's almost unconditional trust. It was only because she was the first person Alex met when she first came into this world; otherwise, if it had been anyone with ill intentions, Alex would probably have suffered a great loss.

So why have I been avoiding the issue of living together?

It's just a place to sleep for one night anyway. Even if she moves back, she'll still come to work at the burger shop during the day.

He could still see Alex every day, and he was still the only one who stayed by Alex's side the longest...

No, that's not right!

Suddenly realizing that her thoughts had become very strange, Xiangzi's thoughts abruptly stopped. She was stunned for a while before shrinking her head, pulling up the quilt, and wrapping herself tightly around herself as she sat on the bed.

What was I thinking just now?!

However, a few seconds later, she felt hot again due to the inexplicable increase in temperature, so she threw off the blanket and tried to cool down physically.

Her cheeks were slightly flushed. Xiangzi subconsciously picked up the study materials she had just placed aside, wanting to organize her thoughts through studying. However, she couldn't absorb the words into her mind after looking at them for a long time. Instead, she started to let her mind wander again.

The main reason... the main reason is that I don't trust Alex enough!

Right, that is it!

She doesn't understand anything, and leaving her here alone feels like something bad could happen at any moment, which is why I want to stay here. Moreover, compared to others, there's an even more important factor between me and Alex.

A factor called trust.

Only she knew Alex's true identity, and only she could help Alex handle the affairs of the Sky Island without any risk of revealing her secrets.

Alex trusts her, and she will not betray Alex's trust.

That's right. The reason Xiangzi still lives in Alex's house is simply because he doesn't trust her and he is the only person she can completely trust.

There is no other reason.

After thinking for a long time, Xiangzi finally found a suitable reason for himself and breathed a sigh of relief.

She gently touched her face, which seemed to have cooled down considerably.

Upon closer inspection, I realized that I had been holding the book upside down.

No wonder I couldn't understand what was written on it after looking at it for so long.

Xiangzi, whose cheeks had regained some color, put the book on the bedside table next to her with her hands clasped together. Without bothering to tidy up, she lay down directly.

Looks like I'm too tired from reading... I'm a little out of it...

Anyway, let's go to sleep first.

She reached out to turn off the light, pulled the blanket over herself, and hugged the octopus doll Alex had given her. Just as she was about to rest, Xiangzi suddenly paused slightly.

She remembered the conversation between Aine and Alex earlier that day.

This doll, was it Alex holding Aine and pressing it between her legs?

Taking a deep breath, he threw the doll out of his warm bed. It hit the wall next to the bed, bounced back, and landed not far in front of Xiangzi.

She glanced at the octopus's displeased expression with its mouth drooping down, decided to ignore it, and closed her eyes.

"..."

But a few seconds later, Xiangzi opened his eyes again.

Once again, I met the gaze of the unhappy little blue octopus.

She's been sleeping with this little octopus for a few days now, and she seems to be getting used to it. She feels a little uncomfortable if she doesn't hold it while sleeping.

After hesitating for a long time, Xiangzi finally stretched out a slender arm, grabbed the little octopus, pulled it into the quilt, and hugged it tightly.

Then, with mixed feelings, Xiangzi finally drifted off to sleep.

Hopefully, she won't dream of Alex and Aine embracing tonight.

…………

P.S. I've managed to free up a little time, so I'll post a chapter to prove I'm still alive.

After watching episode 5 last night, I was completely stunned. Is Motisse really that bad? The other four characters were the same; compared to their explosive performances in the first four episodes, their reactions, especially Xiangzi's, gave me the impression that the deceased was currently emotionally stable.