9:45 a.m., December 14, 2013.
Su Qing'an had just closed the shop when his phone rang with a pleasant melody.
Who could it be? The phone he had originally brought from his own world couldn't be used here. The one Su Qing'an used now was the phone left behind by his counterpart in this world. But according to his memories, the version of himself who had come to Japan without even attending university had an even smaller social circle than he did before.
At least he had been part of his middle and high school classmates' group chats. But the social app in this world's version of himself—which was similar to QQ or WeChat—was practically empty. Aside from his parents and a few friends who were close to them, there was no one else. He was practically a shut-in.
Even Satou Yunona and Kiana, who could barely be considered his friends, had only added his Japanese contact information.
But the sound ringing now was the special-alert notification from the Shenzhou app.
Was it that older sister? As far as he could remember, she seemed to be the only person who would come looking for him. Although he had inherited all of Su Qing'an's memories, he could only describe as "older sister" the person whose appearance and name even he himself didn't know.
In his memories, that older sister's father had been very close to his parents. But when Su Qing'an was thirteen, he had never seen that man again. According to his memories, the two men should have been colleagues, both working in academia, because Su Qing'an had never understood anything they talked about beyond household matters.
Maybe he had been an archaeologist too? That older sister had only met Su Qing'an before he turned thirteen, so apart from memories of her naturally gorgeous red hair and her gently stroking his head, he had nothing else.
Even her name was listed simply as Older Sister in his contacts.
The awkward situation of being so familiar with someone yet having to ask for her name had been forcibly created by the fact that he had disliked talking since childhood.
Put simply, although he could manage normal social interactions, "Su Qing'an" never engaged in any unnecessary conversation beyond that.
Clearly, he considered that older sister's name to be unnecessary information. It seemed that, to him, a name was truly nothing more than a code.
And there was only one older sister in his world, so an extra code had no meaning.
Those thoughts and behaviors had led to the current awkward situation.
That older sister seemed to be very busy. She had never posted anything in her social feed.
And the reason "Su Qing'an" had been able to open a shop while still underage was because of her. To be clear, the somewhat dispirited "Su Qing'an," after losing his parents, had never intended to open a coffee shop.
But she had directly used the excuse that this was the dream he had once spoken of, along with a plane ticket to Japan and several photographs of a fully renovated coffee shop, to send him muddling his way to Changkong City.
According to that older sister, she was currently working in Japan, so she had dragged him over because she wanted to stay closer and look after him more conveniently.
But several months had passed since he came to Japan, and he hadn't seen her even once. He hadn't even received another email.
It was impossible not to wonder what her work actually was.
If she was an archaeologist too, Su Qing'an could understand. After all, when his parents had been archaeologists, the frequency with which they called or met him had been about the same.
Well, if his parents really had been archaeologists.
Putting all that aside, Su Qing'an unlocked his phone and began checking the newly received message.
As expected, it was a message from his older sister.
He skimmed through it. She explained that she had been busy lately because of an accident at work. She had originally planned to meet him when he came to Japan, but the accident had prevented her from doing so. Recently, however, her work had come to an end, and she had some free time. She might come to see him sometime soon.
That was the gist of it. The message also contained some complaints about her work, as well as concern and curiosity about his recent circumstances. He didn't know whether she had also seen the posts about his coffee shop online and become curious.
She had even included such pointless remarks as asking whether he had been eating properly and reminding him to exercise regularly to stay healthy.
Judging from the tone and content of the email, that older sister really did care about him.
What kind of person was she? After not seeing her for so many years, Su Qing'an found himself looking forward to meeting her. Hopefully, she wouldn't happen to come during the Honkai outbreak in Changkong City. There were still three months before that Honkai.
She was probably a gentle person.
Relying on his childhood memories, Su Qing'an was certain of it.
He began typing a reply to the email.
--divider--
A woman took a can of beer from the refrigerator. The cold metal against her skin brought some clarity to her mind after waking. She pulled the tab and, on an empty stomach, tilted her head back and drained the entire can.
Perhaps because she had drunk too quickly, the liquor ran down her neck, slipped into her beautiful collarbones, and continued winding downward. The oversized white shirt she used as pajamas became soaked, and the absence of anything beneath it made her mature, ample curves look rather erotic.
"Ha~" The woman, now completely awake, let out a pleasant sigh. At least, it should have been pleasant.
But the sigh she produced was far from cheerful. It even sounded somewhat downcast, its ending falling through the empty room and making the solitude all the more apparent.
Her mind once again recalled the garish blood she had seen inside the ruins that day.
In theory, it shouldn't have been her fault.
No one had said that she had failed in her duties.
Even her usually somewhat foolish boss had seriously comforted her, saying it wasn't her fault and that no one could have imagined such an accident would occur inside the ruins.
Yes, an accident.
An accident was something beyond one's control, like an earthquake, a tsunami, or a volcanic eruption. When faced with such things, one could understand what it meant to be powerless.
The woman had experienced too much powerlessness in her life. But the consequences of her powerlessness this time had nearly broken her.
No one had placed the blame on her.
But the woman had chosen to carry the heavy burden alone and keep it on her shoulders. That was her decision. It had nothing to do with whether she should or shouldn't, whether it had been an accident or not.
By now, the burdens weighing on her had grown heavier and heavier. No one could truly empathize with what she had been through, and she didn't need anyone's pity.
But sooner or later... sooner or later, this battered shell of a body and that weight would make her collapse along the road ahead, wouldn't they?
But at least until then, she would never choose to abandon the things she wanted to carry.
I'll send that little guy an email. Wearing a kitchen apron, the woman flipped the half-cooked egg over. That was what she thought.
Drinking on an empty stomach was bad for the stomach. If that little guy knew she had downed an entire ice-cold beer the moment she woke up, he would probably frown and say that.
Whether he had been a child or was nearly an adult, his stubborn insistence that he didn't need friends remained just as pathological.
Even with such a handsome face, finding a girlfriend would be difficult for him.
She placed the fried egg onto a plate, then took another bottle of beer from the refrigerator.
Murata Himeko thought to herself.
Before you continue