Forced Smile

The next day.

Gu Xue deliberately woke up early, finished washing up, changed her clothes, adjusted slightly to the discomfort in her chest, and opened the front door.

Yesterday, she had made plans with Mihara Chisa to go clothes shopping. Although the other party hadn't replied for a long time when she first sent the message and seemed rather reluctant, Gu Xue hadn't given up; she invited her again with great sincerity, and in the end, the other party agreed.

As expected, Mihara-san is super nice.

It's just that her personality is a bit awkward.

That was Gu Xue's thought at the time, and she felt a bit relieved.

It was a good thing Mihara Chisa agreed, otherwise she wouldn't have dared to go... well, maybe not "dared," but she would have felt very awkward.

Who has ever gone to that kind of place before...

Getting on the train, because it was still early, Gu Xue didn't see many people.

Gu Xue had specifically chosen this time. She was heading to a very large shopping mall, and calculating the time, most of the shops should be open by the time she arrived, but there wouldn't be too many people yet, which was perfect.

The trip was uneventful.

Nearly twenty minutes later, Gu Xue got off the train, walked a short distance, and arrived at the entrance of the shopping mall. The time she had agreed upon with Mihara Chisa was ten o'clock. She had left early, originally thinking she would have to wait a little while for Mihara-san.

But as soon as Gu Xue reached the entrance, she saw a familiar figure.

Mihara-san was standing by the edge of a flower bed at the mall entrance, still wearing her office skirt and white shirt. Although her charm remained undiminished, she lacked any sense of vitality. What was even more excessive was that even though she could have sat on the edge of the flower bed, she just stood there, not even playing with her phone, staring straight at the path everyone had to take to enter the mall. She didn't move an inch until she saw Gu Xue, at which point she half-raised her hand and gave a tiny wave.

She was probably trying to say... I'm here?

Gu Xue trotted over to Mihara Chisa, feeling both annoyed and amused. "Mihara-san, may I ask what you are doing?"

Mihara-san slowly lowered her hand and said softly, "Waiting for you."

"Then why didn't you sit down?"

"...I just got here."

"Why are your dark circles so heavy?"

"...I'm used to staying up late."

Just as Mihara Chisa finished speaking, an elderly man out for a morning stroll wandered over. Seeing Mihara Chisa, he said in a loud voice, "Young lady, you finally waited for your friend?"

He paused, then looked at Gu Xue and said in a lecturing tone, "You young lady, really, if you can't arrive on time, you should notify others. I've seen your friend standing here for almost an hour. I've walked around the plaza a few times, and I could see her every time."

Mihara Chisa: "..."

"..." Gu Xue was silent for a moment, then said, "I really thank you, sir."

Seeing that Mihara Chisa wasn't speaking, the old man assumed the two were having a cold war over the timing, so he shook his head and wandered off.

Gu Xue withdrew her gaze from the old man and looked at Mihara Chisa.

Mihara Chisa turned her head to the side, refusing to meet her eyes.

Gu Xue's anger flared up. She stepped closer, placed her hands on her sides, and started tickling her.

"Don't be a fool! Mihara Chisa-san! We are going out to have fun and buy things, not working. Why are you being so serious? Give me a smile, and what the hell were you doing coming so early!"

Gu Xue said loudly while tickling her.

Mihara Chisa finally couldn't hold it in anymore.

"Wait... wait... S-small... ha..." Mihara Chisa seemed extremely sensitive to this. Her upper body twisted back and forth, and slowly she couldn't even stand steadily. She grabbed Gu Xue's shoulders for support, hid her face against the side of her neck, her cheeks bright red, unable to speak clearly because she was trying to hold back her laughter.

Most of her body was leaning against Gu Xue.

Gu Xue tickled her for a while, and seeing that she was truly uncomfortable—even having trouble breathing—she finally let her go.

"How is it? Doesn't it feel nice to laugh?" Gu Xue couldn't help but chuckle as she watched Mihara-san, who had been cold-faced just a moment ago, holding onto her shoulders and struggling to stand while trying to suppress her laughter.

Mihara Chisa took a deep breath, lifted her head, straightened her back while still holding Gu Xue's shoulders, and glared at her with a flushed face. "Please don't do that..."

"If you use honorifics again, I won't be polite."

"..."

Seeing that Mihara Chisa didn't speak, Gu Xue sighed, smoothed out her skirt, sat on the edge of the flower bed, and said, "Mihara-san, you are such a hassle."

Mihara Chisa: "..."

"If you really consider me a friend, then loosen up. Don't think that friendship is so fragile, okay? At the very least, I won't think differently of you because of some trivial matters; there's absolutely no need to worry about that. You might not know this, but you are a very important person to me. Unless you do something truly heinous, that won't change."

Mihara Chisa was the first friend Gu Xue had in this world in the true sense of the word; she was indeed very important.

"...Mm." Mihara Chisa was silent for a long time before responding.

"That's it? At least give me a smile?"

Mihara Chisa actually smiled.

"Hey, isn't that cute?" Gu Xue stood up and patted her skirt.

The smile on Mihara Chisa's face vanished instantly. "Please don't do that next time."

Gu Xue: "..."

Mihara-san really is such a hassle.

Moving directly behind Mihara Chisa, Gu Xue said, "I won't lower myself to your level," and ignoring her protests, began pushing her toward the shopping center.

The old man who had been wandering around returned to the spot where Gu Xue and the other girl had been standing earlier.

He happened to see Mihara Chisa, whose face was flushed red as she fidgeted while being pushed along, and Gu Xue, who was pushing her with a mischievous, delighted grin. He stood stunned for a moment before sighing that youth was truly wonderful.

After pushing Mihara Chisa into the shopping center, Gu Xue found herself in a dilemma regarding where to go; she wasn't familiar with the place, and in fact, it was Mihara Chisa who had chosen this location.

Gu Xue took her hand off Mihara Chisa's back, moved to her side, and leaned in to whisper a question into her ear.

After hearing Gu Xue briefly explain the items she wanted to buy, Mihara Chisa finally understood what Gu Xue had meant in her text message yesterday about everything being her fault.

She tilted her head slightly to look at Gu Xue's chest and whispered, "Don't listen to rumors. Milk has almost no effect; you're just going through puberty..."

"I know that!" Gu Xue raised her hand and pushed her head back forward. "I already reflected on it properly yesterday, just look ahead."

"..." Mihara Chisa pursed her lips, revealing two shallow dimples on her cheeks.

"Don't think I can't see that..." Gu Xue bit her lip. "Just hurry up and take me there."

Mihara-san let out an "un" and began leading the way, but the dimples on her face never faded.

Gu Xue couldn't be bothered to care anymore; she had a feeling this kind of thing would happen again, so next time, she would just come by herself!

Fake sister! Fake friend!