"Get in, I'll drive you home."
Seeing the girl's forced smile, Shiratori Seiya didn't listen to her explanation. He waved his hand in front of her, then walked towards the car. However, Hōjō Suzune didn't follow. She lowered her face, her hands clasped behind her back, her toes drawing circles on the ground like a compass. From her lips came a hesitant refusal:
"I… I don't need to, do I? I'll just have my sister pick me up. I won't trouble Seiya."
Upon hearing this, Shiratori Seiya stopped, turned his head to look at Hōjō Suzune, and just felt like she was sulking. He rubbed his slightly throbbing temples and said, "But even if Shione comes to pick you up, you'd still have to wait a while, right? And I have to pick someone up too. It's on my way to drop you off, so let's go."
With that, he didn't give Hōjō Suzune another chance to object, directly grabbing her wrist and walking forward.
"Eh…"
Hōjō Suzune didn't react in time and was pulled, stumbling. However, feeling the warmth and the sense of restraint from his grip on her wrist, the sour feeling that had gathered in her heart gradually dissolved, and her almond-shaped eyes sparkled with tears of emotion. The world seemed to tilt on its axis, and for a brief, blissful moment, nothing else existed but the pressure of his fingers around her arm.
"Buckle up."
Once in the car, Shiratori Seiya reminded her, not rushing to start the engine. He naturally saw the sadness on Suzune's face just now. Even though his cold was affecting his thinking, if he couldn't tell that everything she said was a lie, then he had lived in Japan for so many years in vain.
Not to mention that Shione had been busy with company contracts recently and didn't have much time to spend with Suzune. Even if she did manage to free up some time, she wouldn't leave when he was about to get off work; waiting for him with Suzune was the normal thing to do.
So, this child most likely waited for him all afternoon at the cafe, just to bring him medicine… or rather, she didn't just want to bring medicine, she wanted to see him. As for why she waited all afternoon at the cafe… Shiratori Seiya didn't want to think about it. Just Shione, Mio, and Saori were already enough to give him a headache.
He did like Suzune; she was small and very cute. Even though she was a bit spoiled and willful in front of others, she was practically obedient in front of him. What reason was there not to like her?
Of course, if it was the love of a lover, it was far from that. Influenced by his previous relationship with Shione, it was more like the love for a younger sister.
However, it seemed Suzune didn't think so, but he also didn't think that Suzune, being so young, could truly love him to the same extent as Shione or Saori. She was still young; whether her values were even fully formed was debatable. What could she possibly know about love between a man and a woman?
But no matter what, what needed to be clarified should be clarified, at least so she wouldn't wait for him all afternoon only to be heartbroken.
With this thought, Shiratori Seiya hesitated for a moment before explaining, "My sigh just now wasn't because I found you troublesome, Suzune. It's just… you waited for me all afternoon, didn't you? There really was no need…"
Click.
He had only spoken half his sentence when he heard Suzune unbuckle her seatbelt again, lift her bottom, and crane her neck to stare at the car ceiling, saying, "Huh? What's this?"
As she spoke, she raised her hand and rubbed it twice with her thumb, murmuring, "Seiya's first car, hope it lasts forever…"
Hōjō Suzune suddenly burst out laughing halfway through reading, then turned to look at Shiratori Seiya, saying, "What do you mean, Seiya? Haven't you already broken up with my sister? Why is her stuff still in the car?"
Upon hearing this, Shiratori Seiya hesitated for a moment before explaining, "It's just been in the car all this time…"
"Oh."
Hōjō Suzune nodded thoughtfully at his words, then narrowed her almond-shaped eyes and used her fingernail to peel off the sticky note. She shook it lightly and smiled, saying, "Alright, I've taken it off for you."
With that, she crumpled the sticky note into a small ball and threw it out the car window. She then took out a pen and a new sticky note from her sling bag and wrote a line of text:
"My first time in Seiya's car. I hope Seiya is always healthy and happy! — Suzune."
"Out with the old, in with the new." Suzune sighed, saying, "Honestly, my sister only thinks about herself. It's most important that Seiya is always healthy and happy."
As she spoke, the girl turned to look at Shiratori Seiya. The car's interior light shone on her face, and her eyes reflected a light as bitter as coffee. She opened the package containing the cough syrup and said softly, "Actually, Seiya doesn't need to explain; Suzune already knows."
"Seiya doesn't want to see Suzune sad, but actually… even if Suzune really suffers a little grievance or something, it doesn't matter. I'm very worried about Seiya, so worried that even knowing it's just a cold, I can't help but care."
At this point, she bit her lip, opened the cough syrup, poured a small capful, and brought it to Shiratori Seiya's mouth. Her almond-shaped eyes narrowed into crescents as she smiled and said, "But, Seiya, for you to specifically explain it to Suzune, to consider Suzune's feelings, and not want to make Suzune sad, Suzune is already very happy!"
"…"
Shiratori Seiya was dazzled by the girl's bright smile, his gaze momentarily stunned. The warmth in her words washed over him, disarming his carefully constructed defenses.
Even if you don't respond, it's okay, but as long as you do respond to me, everything I do is worth it.
Although she didn't say it directly, the meaning in her words was more than obvious. Shiratori Seiya's heart stirred. He came back to his senses, lowered his gaze to the syrup at his mouth, hesitated, and then raised his hand to take it.
Hōjō Suzune didn't stubbornly insist on feeding him, instead, she gently let go. He took a mouthful of the syrup. The slightly bitter herbal taste, mixed with the sweetness of mint, spread through his mouth, and as it slid down his throat, he felt a cooling sensation.
Caring for others seemed to be ingrained in women's genes, or perhaps when facing someone they like, it particularly ignites the maternal side of a girl. Both Mio and Suzune, despite being only eighteen or nineteen, usually seemed to struggle to take care of themselves, but at this moment, they both showed a thoughtful side.
"Want some water to wash it down?"
Hōjō Suzune brought a palm-sized bottle of mineral water to Shiratori Seiya's mouth. After he drank, she handed him a tissue.
"Thank you."
As he twisted the cap back onto the mineral water bottle, Shiratori Seiya's heart skipped a beat as he looked at the girl's eyes full of concern. He had seen that kind of look from Shione, Saori, and Mio…
His brows furrowed unconsciously. He had a vague feeling that Suzune's feelings for him weren't as simple as he thought… Between her and Mio, who liked him more?
This question involuntarily arose in his mind. Or, to be more direct, to what extent did Suzune like him? Surely it couldn't be a hundred, too?
With this thought, Shiratori Seiya directly brought up the system interface. However, the moment he saw the system interface, Shiratori Seiya's eyes suddenly widened, and the hand holding the mineral water bottle instinctively tightened.
Screech.
Water squeezed from the bottle cap squirted onto his face.
[Detected that love target 'Hōjō Suzune's' favorability has reached the maximum value of one hundred…]