School Bullying and Family

It wasn't until they got closer that Liang was somewhat surprised to find that her younger sister was among the girls. However, her sister seemed a little distracted, twisting her hands together as if she hadn't noticed anything.

This relieved Liang. Ying wasn't the kind of girl who was particularly spoiled. If she knew that Liang had been secretly working without her knowledge, she might not have wanted the pencil case anymore.

"Oh, sorry, sorry, I need to go home early today. My brother has already prepared dinner."

After hesitating for a long time, Ying finally put her hands together in front of her chest, lowered her head, and said.

It seemed this wasn't the first time something like this had happened. The other girls didn't seem to care much; they just nodded and waved. The girl in the lead even took the flyer Liang handed her, and the group walked into the store chatting and laughing.

In fact, the house was deserted; the father was definitely not there, and his part-time job hadn't ended yet.

Liang watched sadly as Ying ran away with her schoolbag, but there was really nothing he could do about it.

Thinking that tomorrow is Hotaru's birthday, and that he has just enough money to buy her the pencil case she's been wanting, Ryo managed to pull himself together.

"It's getting cold, would you like to come in and have a hot cocoa?"

The weather seemed rather bad today; it soon turned gloomy, and then snowflakes began to fall.

The shop owner opened the door and waved to the cool breeze:

"Come in, there's hardly anyone outside now, it'll warm you up."

"Wait until the snow lightens a bit before going out."

Before Liang could even feel touched, the shop owner's next words shut her up.

It's always good to have a break, so Liang found a corner to stand in. His leather suit was covered in dust and snow, so it wasn't a good place to sit, or the shop owner would scold him, and it wouldn't be good if he lost his wages because of it.

The temperature inside the store was indeed much higher than outside, and a warm breeze was blowing, making Liang feel warm even through the leather cover.

[If it snows, be careful not to let the faucets freeze tonight.]

[It seems the thermos at home is empty of hot water. I told Ying not to boil water alone. Hopefully, it will be empty when I get back.]

While pondering the potential impact of the snow, Liang casually glanced around the shop. Although she was a shop assistant, she actually rarely spent much time there.

Not far away, the girls who had just been with Hotaru seemed to be huddled together doing their homework, because Ryo saw several "castles" growing on the table.

"Wow, it's snowing! How romantic!"

"I want to take a picture."

"Drinking hot cocoa on a snowy day like this is pure bliss."

The girls chattered excitedly, and some even took out their phones to take pictures out the window.

Suddenly, someone with sharp eyes spotted the mascot in the corner and waved to him.

"Shop assistant! Could you come here for a moment?"

Although Liang really wanted to explain that he was just using it to hand out flyers, the shop owner's gaze was also on him, so he could only bite the bullet and walk over.

"Is there anything I can help you with?"

Actually, we'd like to take some photos. Could you cooperate?

The other party probably had their eye on my rabbit costume.

Liang nodded and replied:

Are there any specific requirements?

"Hmm, let me think."

The girl in the lead clapped her hands:

"Could you bring us the hot cocoa again? Hehe, it feels like Christmas, especially for a rabbit like that."

"Hey, shouldn't Christmas be about reindeer?"

"The rabbit is for Resurrection, isn't it?"

"There's nothing to worry about with this, hey."

The girls burst into laughter. Just as Liang was about to take away the cup of cocoa that he had only taken a sip of and serve it again, he suddenly heard the girls talking again:

"This won't do, I can't feel anything at all."

"The Christmas bunny must have walked out of the snow, right?"

"I already said there won't be any bunnies for Christmas."

So I was asked to go back to the coffee shop, and as the snowflakes fell softly on my body, I felt a pang of sadness for the steaming cup of cocoa I was holding, since it was so expensive.

Fortunately, the rabbit's costume always has a smiling face.

Through the glass window, a smiling little rabbit was holding a hot cocoa in the snow. The girls in the shop took a picture of it and then had Liang change the pose a few more times.

When they returned to the shop, ten minutes had passed. Liang, feeling a bit frozen, looked at Coco, who had grown cold and was covered in snow, and hesitated whether to take her back.

However, it seemed the other person had no intention of drinking any more, because a brand new cup of cocoa had already been placed on the table of the person who had the hot cocoa.

The shop owner, who was standing close to the counter, asked in a low voice:

"Can I take this back with me?"

It's already cold.

The shop owner casually remarked while grinding coffee beans:

"If you're not worried about getting diarrhea, then take it home."

"It'll be fine after heating it up."

Having earned an extra cup of cocoa for free, which he had only taken a sip of, Liang finally shared the same expression as the rabbit costume and laughed, something he hadn't done in a long time.

Just as Liang was about to finish his part-time job, the entire coffee shop suddenly went dark amidst the girls' gasps.

"... It seems the power lines on this street collapsed under the weight of the heavy snow."

The shop owner took a flashlight out of the counter, and upon receiving the message, he was somewhat helpless:

"Please leave, everyone."

Under the beam of the flashlights, the remaining guests at the few tables packed up their belongings and left one after another.

"Hey Liang, could you help me clear the tables? I'll give you a little extra pay."

Because it was dark and he wanted to get home as soon as possible, the shop owner said this to Liang, who had already changed out of his leather case.

Upon hearing that the price would be increased, Liang readily agreed.

Holding a flashlight, Liang walked over to the table where the girls had been sitting. She carefully tidied up the tea set and plates; in this pitch-black environment, breaking them would be disastrous.

As Liang was tidying up, his hand suddenly touched a long, narrow object. He shone his flashlight on it—

It's a multi-functional pencil case, the kind that unfolds like a castle.

My heart skipped a beat.

These must have been left here by those girls because it was too dark.

A highly agile mind quickly analyzed the current situation.

I won't be an employee at this store tomorrow.

Because of the power outage, the store's surveillance cameras were also out of service.

There appears to be no risk.

But Liang immediately dismissed the idea.

Regardless of the circumstances, this is still theft, and it's wrong.

Moreover, their wages are enough to buy an identical, or even brand new, pencil case.

Thinking of this, Liang took her pencil case and walked back to the counter:

"The guest left here."

"Oh, just leave it there. They should come and ask about it tomorrow."

The shop owner didn't seem to care much.

After everything was tidied up, the shop owner handed over the wages to Liang in full.

"What about today's addition?"

Although the number was correct, Liang clearly remembered that the shop owner had said that he would give her extra pay for helping with the cleaning.

"Haha, actually, the kitchen just happened to have an extra cup of cocoa today. I checked, and the price is about the same as the extra I was going to give you."

The shop owner chuckled and handed Liang a cup of hot cocoa, then pushed Liang out the door.

"It'll warm you up."

Somewhat speechless, Liang looked at the greedy shop manager. Having received the portion of the money he wanted, he didn't pay much attention to the extra bit of money. He turned around and bowed.

"Thank you for taking care of me, store manager."

"No, no, not at all."

The store manager seemed a little embarrassed by the gesture of letting it cool down.

With a cup of hot cocoa and a cup of cold cocoa in her arms, she braved the snow and walked to the nearby stationery store.

"It tastes good, doesn't it?"

Liang patted Ying's head, and the other nodded, whimpering through her straw.

"Brother, would you like a drink? You look so cold."

Hearing Hotaru's concern, Ryo smiled and raised the remaining cup in his hand, pretending to take a sip:

"I have one too."

Even when it's cold, the cocoa is still very sweet.

Snow is falling heavily outside the window. Today is Christmas Eve, and my sister's birthday is December 25th, Christmas Day.

There was already a gift that Santa Claus had delivered in advance under her pillow.

Chapter 3: School Bullying and Family

"Hey, your phone."

Hearing the summons, Ryo stood up from the corner of the room. His dark eyes seemed to reflect a silvery-white luster under the flickering incandescent light, carrying a sharp edge that sent chills down the spines of the staff outside the room.

Considering the case file of this boy who was actually younger than their own son, the staff avoided Liang's gaze and handed him an old-fashioned flip phone through the window in the door.

"Thanks."

Liang took the phone, bowed her head, and said thank you.

Most of the teenagers detained here were street thugs or delinquents. It was rare for the staff to hear them say "thank you." He paused slightly, then nodded and said:

I'll come back to collect it in half an hour.

Each student gets half an hour every evening to receive their own cell phone. Whether they use it to contact their family, browse the news, or play games, this time of day is always the most anticipated and exciting moment for these energetic teenagers. Even through a wall, Liang can hear the excited cheers coming from the next room.

However, compared to the various smartphones available to others, this flip phone in my hand looks like a product from twenty years ago. I lightly flipped the phone open with my thumb; the upper half was a small screen, and the lower half had a row of buttons.

The staff had already closed the small window, and now the only light in the room was the hanging chandelier with its incandescent bulb flickering.

The lamplight in Aomori cast a shadow on Ryo's face as he sat on the bed, preparing to text his sister.

The younger sister, who was still in the hospital room, wanted to avoid disturbing the patients in other beds, so the two decided to communicate by text message.

Not knowing when they could get out, the endless wait was the longest. Liang began typing.

However, Hotaru's text message arrived first, and Ryo guessed that she must have finished typing the message beforehand, since it was quite long.

"Elder brother."

Liang smiled slightly. Although it was just text, she could almost hear Ying's voice, the clear and crisp voice of a little girl just beginning to change.

"The nurses came three times today, and the doctors came four times. They said I'm doing very well and there's nothing to worry about."

"But eating is still very difficult. I can't swallow it down. It feels like there's something stuck in my throat, and it's itchy. I always feel like coughing, but coughing makes my chest hurt."

"Because my right hand has been on an IV drip, I'm eating with my left hand. Actually, the nurse offered to feed me, but I'm already thirteen years old, so I eat a little slower."

"When I took a shower, a nurse accompanied me. They put one of those tubular waterproof bags on my hand because they had some kind of auxiliary needle in my right hand. I don't really understand what it is, but they said my veins are too thin to be easily inserted, so they used this."

"It's uncomfortable to shower with one hand, and my brother knows I'm terrified of washing my hair, and I always feel uncomfortable with my eyes closed, so I washed it super fast today, but it seems like I didn't rinse the foam off completely."