Chapter Seventy-Seven: Home Invaded

Saori Amamiya had imagined hundreds of ways she would meet her sister again, but when the moment finally arrived, all the words she had rehearsed melted into a single call.

“Sis.”

With that, Saori stepped forward and embraced Sagiri Amamiya, her tears spilling uncontrollably from her eyes.

Feeling the trembling girl in her arms, Sagiri opened her mouth, momentarily at a loss for what to do. She could only reach out to gently stroke her sister’s back.

“Who’s there?”

A voice called from the living room. Anwa emerged, yawning, and was momentarily surprised at the sight of the two at the door.

“Saori, you’re here so early?”

His words snapped the sisters back to reality. Saori quickly released her sister, her cheeks flushed as she wiped the tears from her face and explained, “I wanted to see my sister as soon as possible, so I asked Uncle to bring me here first thing in the morning.”

“I see.” Anwa nodded in understanding. Hearing this, Sagiri felt a warmth in her heart and took the initiative to hold Saori’s small hand.

“Come in.”

Anwa waved them inside and turned toward the kitchen.

By the time Saori had changed her shoes and entered the living room, Anwa was already carrying two cups of hot milk from the kitchen.

“Sit down first; I’ll make breakfast.”

He handed the milk to the sisters. Saori took it with both hands, bowing deeply in thanks.

“Thank you, Anwa, but I already ate before I came, so please don’t trouble yourself for me.”

Seeing her nervousness, Anwa laughed lightly.

“It’s fine, since your sister and I haven’t eaten yet.”

At his words, Saori’s cheeks reddened as she realized she had assumed too much.

“All right,” Sagiri chimed in, smoothing things over. She led Saori to sit by the sofa and then asked Anwa softly, “Do you need any help?”

“No need, you two sisters should chat for a while.”

Anwa waved his hand and returned to the kitchen.

Once he was gone, Sagiri turned to her little sister, who was sitting with her head down, wringing the hem of her dress nervously between her hands.

Sagiri reached out and held her hand gently, speaking softly.

“Saori, how have you been lately?”

Saori looked up at her sister, and as their eyes met, her unease gradually faded.

By the time Anwa returned carrying three bowls of spring noodles, the awkwardness between the sisters was gone.

Saori was nestled against Sagiri, listening to her funny stories and laughing merrily, a far cry from her refined and reserved demeanor.

“You’re having a lively chat—what’s so funny?”

Anwa placed the noodles on the table. Saori quickly disentangled herself from Sagiri’s arms, blushing as she tidied her disheveled clothes.

---

Anwa smiled and took a seat across from them.

“Thank you for your work,” Sagiri said, pushing a bowl of noodles toward her sister. Saori wanted to refuse, but seeing that both Anwa and Sagiri each had a bowl, she finally accepted it.

“Try it. I’m a good cook,” Anwa encouraged.

Saori nodded, awkwardly picking up her chopsticks and lifting some noodles to her mouth. The next moment, her eyes lit up and she exclaimed in surprise, “Delicious!”

“Right?” Anwa said with a proud smile, and Sagiri couldn’t help but smile too.

Saori’s face reddened at their reaction.

The sound of slurping noodles echoed through the living room, and soon breakfast was finished.

Sagiri took the initiative to wash the dishes, and Anwa followed her into the kitchen.

For a moment, Saori was left alone in the living room, giving her time to look around.

The room was small, even smaller than her own bedroom. The television was one of those old, bulky models.

As she looked around, Saori suddenly realized something.

There were only two visible doors in the apartment—one frosted glass, probably the bathroom, and another likely the bedroom.

But wasn’t her sister living with Anwa? If there was only one bedroom, where did her sister sleep?

Could it be...

A thought flashed through Saori’s mind, making her cheeks instantly flush bright red.

She remembered the scenes from a manga she had confiscated from some male classmates recently...

Meanwhile, in the kitchen.

Sagiri and Anwa were caught in their own dilemma.

“What should we do? Should we tell Saori about us?” Sagiri asked, nervously scrubbing a plate.

“Why not?” Anwa replied, wrapping his arms around Sagiri from behind and murmuring into her ear.

“Don’t tell me you aren’t planning to take responsibility for me, Sagiri?”

“Stop teasing...” Sagiri shrank her neck, set the plate down, and turned to face Anwa, answering him with action on tiptoe.

“Um...”

---

Suddenly, a girl’s voice startled them both. They turned to see Saori standing dazed in the doorway, her face turning red at an alarming rate.

Seeing them look her way, Saori’s heart skipped a beat. She quickly lowered her head and covered her face with her hands.

“Sorry, I didn’t see anything!”

With that, she fled the scene in haste, leaving Sagiri and Anwa staring at each other.

“What now?” Anwa asked.

Sagiri pursed her lips and suddenly suggested, “How about I help you hold her down?”

“Really?” Anwa’s eyes brightened, but the next moment he felt a sharp pain in his waist. Looking down, Sagiri had twisted his hand at a ninety-degree angle, glaring at him with a hint of menace.

“Uh... Haha, I was joking,” Anwa said sheepishly.

Sagiri finally released his hand.

“I’ll go talk to her.”

She took off her apron and turned toward the living room.

When Anwa emerged from the kitchen, the sisters were sitting on the sofa, whispering to each other.

Seeing Anwa approach, Saori stood up, as if summoning all her courage, and suddenly called out, “Brother-in-law...”

“Uh...” Anwa was stunned and glanced at Sagiri, his eyes saying, “How did you manage that?”

Sagiri beamed, winked, and signaled back with her eyes, “Saori is easy to fool.”

Anwa was speechless.

...

From then on, whatever Sagiri had said to Saori worked wonders. For the rest of the day, Saori cheerfully called Anwa “brother-in-law,” which delighted him to no end.

But soon, the cheerful atmosphere was shattered by a phone call from Saori.

“What? You said Father and Mother’s plane crashed?”

“Yes.”

A somber male voice came from the other end of the line.

Hearing the confirmation, Saori dropped her phone helplessly to the floor.

(End of chapter)