Chapter 84: What’s wrong with only thinking about myself?

Zhong Shuixi’s first encounter with her Senior was half a month ago at the school gate.

At that time, her Senior was walking toward the school with her best friend, Yukina, while arguing.

“We’re already at school! Are you going to stick with me all the way?”

“Who wants to stick with you! My class is in this direction too!”

“Then hurry up and go! Stop lingering here!”

Yukina harshly stomped on the foot of the boy she was bickering with, which made the boy look thoroughly displeased.

“I’m so unlucky to have a tyrannical sister like you.”

After chasing the boy away, Yukina noticed Zhong Shuixi was nearby and walked up to her.

“Xiaoxi! Good morning!”

“Yukina! Good morning!”

After a simple greeting, Zhong Shuixi couldn’t help but ask Yukina in confusion.

“Yukina, who was that person just now?”

“Just an insignificant person,” Yukina replied casually.

“Eh? But I heard him call you his sister just now?”

“You can hear that clearly from this distance?” Yukina frowned, then sighed and introduced the nightmare that had plagued her for three years to her best friend.

“That boy is my brother. But this brother seems particularly useless. I do not want anyone to know that I have such a worthless brother, so I has always kept it a secret. I usually go to school at a different time than him.”

“But something unexpected happened today. Our alarm clock broke, so we woke up late. We didn’t even have time to make breakfast, so we had to rush to school together. Fortunately, we made it just in time.”

“In any case, Xiaoxi, you must not have any association with my useless brother. I don’t want him to taint you with his strange aura, which makes people lazy and degenerate. Do you understand?”

Under Yukina’s repeated instructions, Zhong Shuixi agreed repeatedly.

And then, three days later.

“Hello, I’m the temporary worker introduced by Miss Aiba.”

Hearing the voice, Zhong Shuixi, who was cleaning the restaurant, looked surprised and locked eyes with the speaker.

“Um, I remember you…” The boy clearly remembered Zhong Shuixi and immediately started a conversation with her.

“I’m Yukina’s classmate, Zhong Shuixi. You can just call me Xiaoxi, Older Brother.”

“No, no, you don’t need to be so formal with me. It makes me sound like some kind of heinous villain.”

“Then,”

“You can just call me Senior.”

“Alright, Senior.”

After a brief exchange, a flood of customers rushed into the restaurant, keeping them so busy they didn’t even have time to catch their breath.

“Waiter! Order!”

Since everyone was busy, Zhong Shuixi was assigned the task of taking customer orders.

However, being timid, she wasn’t good at smoothly communicating with strange customers. Under the customers’ constant questioning, Zhong Shuixi became flustered, not knowing what to do.

Just then, the boy suddenly appeared in front of Zhong Shuixi and skillfully answered the customer’s questions, saving Zhong Shuixi from the awkward situation.

It was then that Zhong Shuixi realized that the “useless” brother Yukina spoke of might not be as incompetent as she thought.

After work, on the way home, Zhong Shuixi thanked the boy and asked him about Yukina.

“Her? She’s an idiot.”

“Huh?”

“Haven’t you seen how groggy she is in the morning?”

Zhong Shuixi shook her head, saying she had never seen it.

“She always whines and throws tantrums when she can’t wake up in the morning. If no one pays attention to her, she’ll burrow into the blanket.”

“Also, she loves strawberry shortcake,” the boy added.

“And, she has a secret!” the boy leaned close to Zhong Shuixi mysteriously.

Zhong Shuixi thanked him.

“Thank you, Senior. If you hadn’t helped me today, I might have caused big trouble.”

“It’s nothing, just a small matter. As partners working together, helping each other is only natural! By the way, Xiaoxi, why are you working this job? You don’t seem very good at interacting with strangers.”

As if a sore spot had been touched, Zhong Shuixi lowered her head and fell silent.

“Eh? Did I say something wrong? I’m sorry, just pretend I didn’t say anything.”

“No, it’s alright. Just as you saw, Senior, I’m indeed not very good at this.”

“If that’s the case, then why are you doing something you’re not good at?”

“Because Yukina is my only friend. To me, this friendship is very precious. It’s something that absolutely cannot be destroyed. Yukina’s birthday is in a few days. To make her as happy as possible on that day, I’m working here, planning to use the money I earn to buy the most suitable gift for her. As long as I can make Yukina happy, I’ll force myself to do even the things I’m worst at.”

“You’re a very strange person, Xiaoxi!”

“Eh?”

“How should I put it? You worry more about other people’s affairs than your own. While there’s nothing wrong with thinking of others, if you neglect yourself because of it, you’re missing the point.”

The boy saw the warped nature of Zhong Shuixi’s lifestyle and enlightened her.

“There’s nothing wrong with being selfish. If you don’t want to do something, you shouldn’t endure it. Just courageously refuse. After all, you are first and foremost a girl named Zhong Shuixi, and only second is your relationship with Yukina. You mustn’t lose yourself entirely just to preserve that friendship! If you do, you’ll become a tool, someone else’s puppet, and I wouldn’t want the friend of my sister to end up like that!”

Hearing the boy’s words, Zhong Shuixi paused. Only then did she realize how twisted her lifestyle had been.

“I should worry more about myself? I see, I understand. Thank you, Senior. I’ll remember what you said for the rest of my life.”

“No, remembering it for the rest of your life is too long! That’s just a little bit of experience I gained from my past.”

“By the way, what kind of birthday present did you get for Yukina, Senior?”

“Uh…” For some reason, the boy’s eyes became shifty, and he started to change the subject.

“Senior, you didn’t forget Yukina’s birthday, did you?”

“No, no, no, no, no, how could I forget? Yukina’s birthday is so easy to remember! I’ve prepared a huge surprise for her. I guarantee she’ll be utterly shocked when she sees it!”

“Oh? In that case, I can’t lose to you, Senior!”

The gift the boy prepared ultimately shocked Yukina, just as he said.

Yukina never expected her brother to give her March 7th as a birthday present.

In return, Yukina “rewarded” him with a flurry of her favorite fists.

The gift Zhong Shuixi prepared for Yukina was a crystal necklace that, while not particularly extravagant, she had personally made.

“Yukina, may our friendship last forever!”

Seeing Zhong Shuixi’s gift, Yukina was so moved that she shed tears of gratitude.

“Xiaoxi, I’ll wear this necklace for the rest of my life! Let’s be best friends forever!”

Seeing Zhong Shuixi and Yukina getting along so harmoniously, the boy, bruised and battered on the side, also showed a look of relief.

However, no one could have predicted.

Five days later.

A sudden car accident took her Senior’s life.