Today was the weekend. In a village near Takasaki, Yabuuchi Hiromi had once again driven her boyfriend's car to visit Yukiko.
The two girls held hands as they strolled leisurely through the village. The afternoon atmosphere was quiet and peaceful, with only the occasional barking of a dog or the chirping of cicadas breaking the silence.
Seeing that her friend seemed a bit depressed, Yabuuchi Hiromi's bright smile faded slightly. She asked in surprise, "What's wrong? Who upset you this time?"
"Who else could it be?" Yukiko bit her lip, her face full of grievance. "Ever since we parted ways on Monday, that guy hasn't called me once. He's definitely mixed up with that foreign woman and has completely forgotten about me..."
"It can't be that bad, can it?" Yabuuchi Hiromi raised an eyebrow with amusement. "Hayashi-kun doesn't seem like the type to be fickle in love, does he? I think he's quite nice."
"That's because you don't know him!" Yukiko stomped her foot. "That guy is an expert at eating from the bowl while eyeing the pot!"
"So, are you the one in the bowl, or the one in the pot?" Yabuuchi Hiromi the corners of her mouth twitching as she teased with a smile.
"I ran all the way here to Takasaki, so obviously I'm neither," Yukiko sighed helplessly.
After walking under the blazing sun for a while, both girls were sweating a bit. Seeing a shop not far away, they decided to go in and buy some ice cream to cool down.
Just as they reached the entrance, they heard a boy's complaining voice from inside: "Just my luck! It's another duplicate card."
Yukiko and Yabuuchi Hiromi walked in to see a little boy in a red vest holding a Kamen Yaiba card, pouting with a face full of disappointment.
While Yabuuchi Hiromi went to choose ice cream, Yukiko approached the boy. Her personality was naturally lively and active, and after spending over a week here, she had already become familiar with the village children. "Little Misao, did you fail to draw the card you wanted again?"
"Yeah," Yamamura Misao nodded gloomily, his head drooping almost to his chest. "I saved my pocket money for a whole week, but I didn't expect all the cards I pulled to be duplicates."
"Ohoho, then let me show you my luck!" Yukiko lifted her chin triumphantly. With a face full of confidence, she grabbed three packs of snacks that included Kamen Yaiba cards from the shelf.
After paying, and under Yamamura Misao's expectant gaze, Yukiko opened the first pack of snacks and pulled out a yellowish-brown card. "How about this? It must be a very rare card, right?"
"Che, this is clearly the most common card," Yamamura Misao curled his lip, a look of disdain on his face. "I have dozens of cards like this at home."
"R-Really?" Yukiko laughed awkwardly and opened another pack. Unexpectedly, the card she pulled this time was exactly the same as the previous one.
"Sister Yukiko, your luck really sucks," Yamamura Misao laughed at her. "There are over a hundred cards in total, yet you managed to pull a duplicate so easily?"
"Damn it! I don't believe my luck is really this bad today!" Yukiko clenched her fist to psych herself up, then focused all her attention on opening the third pack.
But just then, her face suddenly felt ice-cold, making her shiver instantly.
Startled, Yukiko instinctively took a step back, only to realize it was the ice cream Yabuuchi Hiromi was holding.
"How old are you, playing with this stuff?" Yabuuchi Hiromi glanced at the card-collecting snacks with a helpless smile.
"This is called being young at heart!" Yukiko retorted. She placed the ice cream on the table and was just about to continue opening the snack bag.
At that moment, the TV screen in the shop began broadcasting live news. Yabuuchi Hiromi took one look and hurriedly reached out to pull Yukiko.
"Wait a second, let me open this!" Yukiko said impatiently.
"Isn't that the Hayashi-kun you've been thinking about day and night on TV?" Yabuuchi Hiromi reminded her. "It seems he caught another criminal."
"Shuichi?" Yukiko forgot all about the snacks and hurriedly looked toward the television.
The news was playing Hayashi Shuichi's interview in front of the Beika Library.
"...I came here today not to look for drug dealers, but to accompany her while she read."
"Hey, that 'her' Hayashi-kun mentioned," Yabuuchi Hiromi nudged her friend with her elbow, a gossipy expression on her face, "that must be his childhood friend, right?"
"Who else could it be but that glasses girl?" Yukiko crossed her arms and huffed angrily. "Yesterday, she went to Moon Shadow Island with Shuichi to have fun. If only I had been there..."
"It's the big brother I saw before," Yamamura Misao also recognized Hayashi Shuichi on the TV, his eyes shining with admiration. "He's actually on TV! So cool!"
On the TV screen, the camera happened to pan to Kisaki Eri standing behind Hayashi Shuichi.
Yukiko took just one look and immediately frowned. "Something's wrong. That glasses girl isn't usually like this."
"What's wrong?" Yabuuchi Hiromi tilted her head, her face full of confusion. "She looks perfectly normal to me."
"You haven't seen her before," Yukiko explained. "That glasses girl usually looks like a resentful woman. Whenever she sees a girl getting close to Shuichi, she secretly grinds her teeth. But look at her now—her eyes are fixed on Shuichi, and there isn't a trace of resentment on her face!"
"Something definitely happened between her and Shuichi during the week I was away!"
"I say, aren't you overthinking it?" Yabuuchi Hiromi couldn't help shaking her head. "They are childhood friends, and that glasses girl likes Hayashi-kun. Isn't this perfectly normal?"
"I can't be mistaken," Yukiko slapped the shop counter in frustration. "My luck today is truly terrible!"
As she spoke, she subconsciously tore open the snack bag in her hand. Yamamura Misao leaned in to take a look and shouted in surprise, "It's the super rare Gold Card! Sister Yukiko, your luck is actually amazing!"
Yukiko shot the brat a grumpy look and muttered under her breath, "What use is good luck with this kind of thing? Here, this card, and this bag of snacks, you can have them all."
"Really? Thank you, Sister Yukiko!" Yamamura Misao thanked her with delight, grabbed the snacks, and ran out cheering.
After the two girls finished watching the interview on TV, Yukiko tossed one bag of snacks to her friend, picked up the remaining bag and her ice cream, and walked out of the shop with a depressed expression.
"Hey, is there any need to be so downcast?" Yabuuchi Hiromi patted her best friend on the shoulder with amusement. "Hurry up and eat some ice cream to cool down."
"Mn," Yukiko nodded and tore open the ice cream wrapper. Only then did she realize that because of the delay, more than half of the ice cream had melted. The sticky juice was now running down the wrapper and onto her hand...
(End of Chapter)
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