The surrounding scenery is still vague and hazy under the gray rain.

After saying goodbye to his seniors, Sakakihara Raku held up his umbrella and walked home with his sister who didn't say a word.

It was around 10 p.m. and the neon lights on the streets of Tokyo began to flicker, and the colors of the street lamps and billboards on the wet pavement became more and more dazzling.

From time to time, cars sped by on the road around me, and the sound of splashing water rang in my ears.

"The guest has been waiting for a long time, the takoyaki you ordered."

"How much?"

"1,200 yen."

Sakakihara put away his umbrella, took out a banknote and two coins from his wallet, and handed the money over to catch the octopus balls that were still steaming.

The takoyaki is sprinkled with bonito flakes and cheese, and even on a cold rainy day, there is a faint aroma.

Sakakihara turned around and handed the freshly baked takoyaki in his hand to Suzu Sakakihara, who was still sulking in front of him:

"Oh, take it, it can be regarded as an apology."

"Stinky Rakule..."Suzu Sakakihara muttered in a voice that couldn't be lower, then grabbed the takoyaki in his hand, pinched a toothpick and inserted it directly into his mouth.

"Be careful." Sakakihara subconsciously admonished.

"I didn't know you could see the sound room."

"It's your fault anyway!"

"Okay, my bad."

Seeing her angry appearance now, and thinking of the blushing expression she had just said she liked Ni-chan, Sakakihara couldn't help laughing.

"Poof—"

"Still laughing! Don't laugh! Sakakihara Suzu is now quite sensitive to his laughter, with unfinished takoyaki in his mouth, puffing out his face, and stepping directly on his shoes.

"Okay, then I won't laugh. Poof—"

"Sakakihara Raku!" Suzu Sakakihara almost broke.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I accidentally didn't hold back." Seeing Ah Ling's eyes that turned red in an instant, Sakakihara quickly suppressed his smile.

When he put away his mind again and looked at his sister, he noticed that the corners of Sakakihara Suzu's eyes were shining with water.

Her quivering eyes stared at him for a long time, and then she turned back decisively, not wanting to see him again.

Really angry?

"Ah Ling... Ah Ling...... Ah Ling? Ah Ling, are you alright? ”

Sakakihara shook her shoulders behind him, constantly calling her nickname, and trying to look at her face many times.

But every time she probes, Suzu Sakakihara doesn't look at her face, let alone her expression, and Sakakihara Le hasn't even seen her side face.

She didn't even eat her favorite takoyaki anymore, she just held it in her hand.

Sakakihara looked at her little back in a school uniform, thinking that she wouldn't really make her sister cry, right?

The last time I made her cry was a long time ago.

To be clear in advance, he is not the kind of person who likes to see girls cry.

But as an elder brother who has watched her since he was a child, he has quite complicated emotions about Ah Ling's crying.

First, I think it's funny and funny.

I like to see my sister crying in front of me or something... I don't know if it's a bad taste shared by older brothers all over the world.

This is second, that is, after finding it interesting, it is inevitable that you will feel distressed.

"Really crying?" Sakakihara lowered his hand and looked at the back of her snow-white neck and asked.

"Who cried... I didn't cry... What is this kind of small thing......" A slightly choked voice came from Suzu Sakakihara's back.

"Hard-mouthed." Sakakihara smiled at her back.

"I don't have a hard mouth......"

The air was silent for a long time, and the only sound on the street was the sound of rain and cars.

"Ah Ling."

"Why ......?"

"Don't be angry."

"I'm not angry......" Suzu Sakakihara didn't turn to look at him.

"Your brother didn't mean it, I just went in to take a look when I heard Miss Yoshihara say that it wouldn't affect your work."

"But!" The voice changed from loud to small, and Suzu Sakakihara's shoulders, who only left her back, fell slightly, as if she was saying angry words, "But you just heard ......"

"It's nothing if you hear it, and the relationship between us won't change anything because of two sentences."

"Then you're still laughing at me, and... Still laughing all the time! ”

"No," Sakakihara smiled lightly, "I really didn't laugh at you, I just thought you were cute, don't you often say you're cute in front of me?" ”

"That's all — that's all because of ——!"

Suzu Sakakihara turned around suddenly, choking back tears, her eyes were red and she raised her little face and stared up at him, but as soon as the words came to her mouth, she suddenly broke off again, and she didn't even know what she should say.

"I said I didn't cry." Sakakihara smiled at Suzu Sakakihara and wanted to comfort her.

"I just didn't cry! Stinky dude...... Stinky old brother, stinky old brother, stinky old brother! ”

After Suzu Sakakihara closed her red eyes and shouted out a few words to the stinky old brother, she directly grabbed the umbrella in his hand, took the takoyaki that she hadn't eaten twice, stepped on the rain, and quickly turned around and ran briskly to the other end of the street.

Soon, her back disappeared from the end of Sakakihara's sight.

Sakakihara smiled, he knew Sakakihara Suzu very well, she just needed a little time to be alone now, don't worry.

Sakakihara looked up, his gaze swept over the eaves of the street, staring at the drizzle of rain falling down the street between the tall buildings.

The rain was so heavy that there were few pedestrians in sight on a single street, and the usual and ordinary figures became blurry and hazy in the falling rain curtain.

Sakakihara looked at the rain and was in a trance.

He suddenly realized a problem.

The umbrella was snatched away by Ah Ling, how do you go home now?

......

When Sakakihara saw Suzu again, it was at the door of the house.

She squatted in the hallway of her apartment and slowly slid her phone, beside her an open umbrella and an octopayaki box with only a toothpick left.

The fluorescent glow of the phone screen illuminated her pretty face, and now it looked like her eyes weren't as red as they had just been.

Since she finished eating, it means that her anger has disappeared.

Sakakihara, who was covered with some rain, came to her and squatted down, put his hands on his knees, and said to her with a smile:

"Do you feel better now? If you're still angry, I can apologize to you again. ”

Sakakihara Suzu knew that he was coming, so she turned off the screen of her phone and whispered with her back against the wall, "Then you apologize." ”

"I'm sorry, Suzu." Sakakihara said in a sincere tone, and said with a smile, "Is this okay?" ”

"It's not enough."

Sakakihara re-moistened his throat: "I'm sorry, Ah Ling, I shouldn't have just peeked at your work. ”

“......”

After a long moment of silence, Suzu Sakakihara puffed out her cheeks and raised her head again, her red eyes had not completely subsided, and now she looked like a little girl who had just sulked.

"Stinky Lele."

Sakakihara didn't care that she said that she was happy, and reached out to touch her head: "Wouldn't it be nice to be happy." ”

"Don't touch my head......" Suzu Sakakihara buried her head again and muttered in a low voice.

"Okay, I won't touch it," Sakakihara smiled and withdrew his hand, "I haven't eaten dinner yet, as a second atonement for accidentally hearing your work, what do you want to eat tonight?" Your brother will do it for you. ”

Suzu Sakakihara lowered her head and grunted twice.

"What?" Sakakihara didn't hear clearly.

"Beef curry rice... And passion fruit ice powder made at noon......"

"Both."

"Can't?" Sakakihara Suzu clasped her legs in her hands and looked at him with resentful little eyes.

"Yes! I'll make it for you if you want to eat it! But I'm running out of passion fruit, so I'll go out and buy it for you. Sakakihara put the shoulder bag he brought from school on the ground, took out the key and handed it to her, "Come, take it, I know you don't want to disturb the two of them sleeping, so I squatted here to play with my phone, and I didn't knock on the door." ”

"What do you want the keys to do for me?" Suzu Sakakihara looked up at him.

"Open the door for yourself, I'll go out and buy passion fruit."

"Are you really going to the supermarket?"

"Or else?" Sakakihara smiled, "Don't say I don't care about you, except for Mom, isn't the person who has known you the longest is me?" I'm your brother, just tell me what you want to eat. Hands outstretched. ”

Sakakihara Suzu stretched out his hand in a daze, and took the keychain he handed over.

The hallway lights were a little dark in the middle of the night, but Suzu Sakakihara could still make out a small dolphin with battered batter on the keychain in her hand.

Suzu Sakakihara looked at the little dolphin twice with red eyes.

"Okay," Sakakihara got up with his hands on his knees, and said to his sister below: "Then I'll go downstairs, don't keep squatting here, come into the house quickly, it's raining outside, be careful of catching a cold." ”

"Got it, got it." Suzu Sakakiwara, who was squatting at the door, just hugged her legs again and nodded slightly.

When Sakakihara walked downstairs, Sakakihara Suzu stretched out his right hand again.

In her hand, it was the keychain that Sakakihara had just handed her.

The little dolphin above the keychain had half of its dorsal fin broken off due to wear and tear, and the crescent-shaped tail fin was only a bare pole, which looked ugly and desolate, something that should have been thrown away a long time ago.

With the white glimmer falling from above the hallway, Suzu Sakakihara's gaze locked on to it for a long time.

She pursed her lips, put her hands on her knees again, buried her head, listened to the rain, and muttered in an inaudible voice:

"Why are you still ......?"

The rain was still falling, and there was only a white light in the narrow corridor of the apartment, and Suzu Sakakihara, who was huddled in the corner and holding her legs, was talking to herself in a voice that no one could hear......