Shizuka Kudo's gaze also settled on Eri, particularly on her smooth, long hair, which had clearly been carefully styled.
The corners of Shizuka's lips first curved into a faint, meaningful smile, and a trace of understanding flashed through her eyes, along with... barely suppressed amusement.
Of course she remembered Eri, and she knew how the girl felt about Ryota. She also remembered that the last time they met, Eri had still been a short-haired tomboy.
Such a striking contrast...
"Pfft..." Shizuka failed to hold it in, and an exceedingly quiet laugh escaped her.
She quickly covered her lips with the back of her hand, but her curved eyes and slightly trembling shoulders still betrayed her amusement.
To Eri, however, that tiny laugh sounded like a thunderclap!
Already wound tight with nerves, she now felt even more certain that Shizuka was mocking her.
A surge of hurt and anger rushed to her head. Her little face flushed scarlet, and like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, she opened her eyes wide and stared fiercely at Shizuka.
While Ryota's mother held him close, fussing over him, and Aunt Michiko went to the restroom, Eri could no longer hold back.
She abruptly leaned toward Shizuka and demanded, in a voice only the two of them could hear, thick with suppressed tears and anger, "Wh-what were you laughing at just now?
"Were you laughing at me? Laughing because I look stupid dressed like this?"
Caught off guard by this sudden "attack," Shizuka froze for a moment. Then, seeing the stubbornness, hurt, and undisguised hostility in the girl's eyes, she found her even more amusing.
Rather than getting angry, she softened her voice, teasing her a little like an older sister. "Of course not, Fujisawa.
"Quite the opposite." She tilted her head slightly,