Chapter 48
School was over soon, and Uraraka Shige and Ochaco returned home along their usual route without incident.
When they arrived home, their father and mother were not there. However, since both Uraraka Shige and Ochaco, they only needed to heat them up a little to fill their stomachs.
After having dinner and quickly finishing her already limited homework, Uraraka Shige greeted Ochaco, who was still struggling with her studies.
"Ochaco, I'm thinking of going for a walk, do you want to come along?"
Ochaco looked up at Uraraka Shige.
"Yes! But..."
She responded in this way, but her gaze would always inadvertently sweep over her unfinished homework, her cute little face full of frustration.
Uraraka Shige had greeted her before she finished her homework, so even without seeing Ochaco's reaction, he could guess what she wanted to say but couldn't. Not to mention that Uraraka Shige was also watching Ochaco closely, and her little movements hadn't escaped his notice. Therefore, Uraraka Shige naturally knew even better what Ochaco was thinking.
"Ah, then..."
Uraraka Shige smiled and intended to keep Ochaco at home as planned, but he suddenly paused just before he could finish speaking. A vague sense of foreboding flashed through his mind, which he grasped very accurately. This made him frown slightly, pause in his speech, and then change his mind.
"Then I'll wait for you, don't rush."
As she spoke, Uraraka Shige returned to the seat she had been in when she finished her homework. She quietly watched Ochaco, and after Ochako hummed in agreement, she quietly lowered her head and focused on her studies again. Then, Uraraka Shige's gaze gradually became vacant, as if projecting onto another dimension that overlapped with Ochaco's current position at some angle and direction...
However, in reality, he simply began to fall into deep thought in his own mind, which is to say, he entered a state of absentmindedness.
As for Ochaco, she felt much more at ease when Uraraka Shige sat down again and quietly waited for her to finish her homework. She then began to focus on the remaining lessons she had not yet completed. However, after inadvertently discovering that her younger brother was quietly staring at her, Ochaco's feelings suddenly became strange.
When I try to concentrate on my studies, my attention gets completely distracted. I'm always bothered by Uraraka Shige's Uraraka Shige, and when I try to look up to see if she's staring at me, I have no idea if Uraraka Shige is. And wouldn't it be awkward if I suddenly looked up halfway through my work?
After struggling with this Ochaco finally decided to test the waters with words first, and then make other plans.
"Shige, how do I solve this problem?"
Ochaco chose a question that seemed difficult and asked Uraraka Shige about it. However, after a long time, Ochaco still did not receive a response from Uraraka Shige. After waiting for a while, Ochaco asked again.
"This question is difficult, Shige. Do you know how to do it?"
Uraraka Shige has still not responded.
Ochaco couldn't help but look up, only to find that although Uraraka Shige's gaze was fixed in her direction, it didn't seem like he was looking at her. Instead, it seemed like he was staring at her from behind, as if someone was standing behind her.
However, when Ochaco turned around, she found that there was no one behind her. When Ochaco turned her head back, Uraraka Shige was startled awake by her turning her head. He blinked his eyes, which were a little sore from being open for a long time, and then asked Ochaco a question.
"Ochaco, have you finished your homework?"
Those seemingly indifferent words suddenly made Ochaco puff up her cheeks with air, turning her into a steamed bun.
Feeling neglected by her younger brother and that he no longer cared about her, Ochaco immediately put aside her previous concerns and asked directly:
"Shige! Were you staring at me the whole time?"
Meanwhile, Uraraka Shige was so engrossed in thinking about the problem that he didn't even notice whether he had been staring at Ochaco the whole time.
Moreover, Uraraka Shige was waiting for Ochaco to answer his question, and at the same time sorting out the thoughts that had come to him during his previous thinking. Therefore, when faced with the situation Ochaco did not answer his question, but instead asked him a question, he answered almost instinctively.
Therefore, Uraraka Shige's answer naturally sounded very wrong and somewhat ambiguous.
"Ah... uh... no, right?"
Listen to this, look at this—three modal particles in just five words, and it ends with a question. How can that not seem ambiguous?
Ochaco could naturally sense the uncertainty in his words. If she were older, she might have been able to tell directly that Uraraka Shige had not been paying attention or did not know the exact answer when he gave that reply, so he gave a rather perfunctory one to get by.
However, at this moment, Ochaco was only nine and a half years old and did not possess a mature soul from another world. Therefore, she did not understand the reason behind Uraraka Shige's answer. At this moment, she could only sense from Uraraka Shige's words that her previous feeling was correct: her younger brother had indeed ignored her and had indeed begun to disregard her!
Ochaco, who was already fuming, suddenly became even angrier, glaring at Uraraka Shige with her wide, round eyes.
You were staring at me the whole time!
Then he emphasized and confirmed it in this way.
Fortunately, by this time, Uraraka Shige had recovered from his previous lapse in concentration. Looking at Ochaco's appearance and listening to Ochaco words, he understood what Ochaco was thinking. After all, although Ochaco was a woman, she was still a child, as mentioned before, and he was quite familiar with Ochaco personality.
Therefore, faced with this situation, Uraraka Shige explained the situation directly and sincerely apologized to Cha Zi in a kind and amicable manner.
"Ah! I'm sorry, big sister. I was spacing out and didn't even realize I was staring at you the whole time..."