A cat appearing in a shopping mall isn't really such a strange thing.
But how to put it!
That cat looked very much like a stray cat.
"What's wrong, Yukino?"
Haruno noticed her little sister's odd reaction.
"It's nothing."
Yukino shook her head. The instant she'd heard the cat's cry just now, her cat-lover's impulse had surfaced.
If that cat hadn't left, she basically would have gone over to pet it properly, to thoroughly enjoy the joy and satisfaction that came from petting a cat.
Today, she'd been bullied by Lin Ye so many times that she wanted to pet a cat to vent the stress and discomfort in her heart.
"Deliberately hiding things from your big sister won't do."
"I'm not."
Haruno looked toward Lin Ye, but Lin Ye just shrugged and said nothing, so Haruno could only let it drop.
It didn't seem to be any very important information.
The three of them walked through the mall.
Quite a few salespeople pitched their wares enthusiastically, and soon Haruno came to a stop at a men's clothing store.
"Let's take a look in this shop!"
"Welcome."
The saleswoman greeted them warmly. "Miss, are you picking out clothes for your boyfriend? Our shop currently has the most fashionable styles, very suitable for your boyfriend."
Haruno's smile grew thick—not, of course, because of these few words of praise, but because of Yukino's reaction.
"He's not my boyfriend."
Haruno sighed. "I'd certainly like for him to be my boyfriend, but he won't have it."
"Uh."
The clerk let out a sound of bewilderment.
"Then…"
"That's right, he's her boyfriend, my little sister's boyfriend. Alas, the man I've yearned for day and night has ended up becoming my future brother-in-law, and now I still have to pick out clothes for my future brother-in-law. This life… it's just too hard."
The clerk was stunned.
This relationship was so complicated.
Both of these sisters liked this same young man,
and in the end this young man had chosen the little sister?
But the seventy-percent likeness in the two girls' faces confirmed for her their identity as blood sisters.
They really were sisters.
Just what kind of charm did this man have, to make such beautiful sister-flowers fall for him.
"Sister."
"I know, I'll stop talking about my heartbreak."
She wiped at her tears and once again began choosing clothes.
Lin Ye handed the choosing rights over to the two women, and began strolling around the men's clothing store.
On the checkout counter,
a Lucky Cat was constantly waving its paw.
In Japan, there are Lucky Cats too.
A Lucky Cat could bring more customers and business to a shop.
Lin Ye's feeling about this was that it was purely psychological comfort, but since it was a long-standing cultural custom passed down to the present, he wouldn't say much about it.
Respecting it was enough.
"Lin-kun, come over here quickly."
"Okay."
Lin Ye turned and walked toward where Haruno and Yukino were.
The Lucky Cat kept swaying, its paw swinging, the mechanical, repetitive motion telling of some meaning.
"These jeans feel nice—Lin-kun, put them on and try them."
"Paired with this T-shirt, it's simply perfect."
Several pieces of clothing were placed into Lin Ye's hands, and he carried them into the fitting room.
Haruno, thick-skinned, walked right in after him, but was pushed back out by Lin Ye, while the clerk watched with her heart in her throat, terrified that the little sister would make a scene and get angry over the big sister's behavior, leading at last to a quarrel.
Regarding the relationship among these three, she felt more and more confused.
This couldn't really be a case of sisters fighting over a husband, could it!
This was too thrilling.
A few minutes later,
Lin Ye came out wearing the clothes Haruno had chosen.
His top was a loose black casual shirt, his bottom was jeans, paired with a peaked cap, which actually highlighted his youth and vitality.
Yukino's eyes lit up.
"Try on this set."
This was the one Yukino had chosen.
Lin Ye took it in hand and immediately went to change.
Haruno felt a slight pang of jealousy. "When Yukino gives him something he goes to change right away, but when I give him something he has to think for a while, mull it over for a while. So unfair, not fair at all—I'll be very heartbroken."
These words, through the door of the fitting room, Lin Ye heard, but he chose to ignore them.
Yukino's reaction was the same, but how could Haruno possibly let her little sister off so easily, let her little sister escape this calamity so effortlessly.
"Yukino, in the future lend Lin-kun to me to use, won't you."
Ugh ah!
Saying it like that—was that appropriate?
The saleswoman listened, dumbfounded.
The meaning of those words must surely be that kind of meaning!
Otherwise, she really couldn't think of any other meaning.
"Sister, stop spouting nonsense."
"I'm serious, more serious than anyone."
"I'm very serious too. You should just stop dreaming."
"How upsetting—we… are sisters, after all!"
"We are sisters, but you, as the older sister, wanting to steal my boyfriend—do you think that's normal?"
"It's normal. A good man should be shared together, shouldn't he?"
Haruno spoke even more spiritedly instead.
Yukino realized once more that her sister's goal wasn't at all to get her to agree, but simply to seek the pleasure of conversation over this topic.
And the thing she had to do was quite simple.
Still to choose to ignore it, to give no reaction at all—that way, her sister would find it boring and not do anything more.
After a short while,
Lin Ye opened the fitting room door again and came out.
A black trench coat set off Lin Ye's tall, straight figure to the fullest.
Even Haruno revealed a look of surprise.
"Lin-kun's everyday clothes are still too plain."
"Sobu High's uniform isn't enough."
"If you wore an outfit like this to school, who knows how many little girls at Sobu High would be charmed into endless screaming."
"With a hairstyle done up, you'd be even more handsome."
Haruno said with a smile.
Lin Ye did have a certain capital to work with; through the pairing of hairstyle and clothing, he could completely display a brand-new side of himself.
Under the clothing combinations chosen by the two sisters, his entire aura underwent a change.
"Yukino's eye is still very sharp—after all, she's experienced it firsthand, hasn't she."
Lowering her voice, Haruno softly said into Yukino's ear, that trace of a smile carrying over. Yukino took it calmly, her expression unchanging.
Some things,
once experienced enough times, one gradually grows used to.
Originally, in the presence of outsiders, her sister's earth-shattering remarks would surely have struck at her heart,
but now,
that was completely gone.
It could be said she gradually no longer had any overly strong reactions; all that remained were faint ripples.
And these could be ignored.
Yet another outfit was stuffed into Lin Ye's hands.
Lin Ye changed.
At last,
"Naturally we sisters will take responsibility for settling the bill on Lin Ye's clothes."
Haruno looked at Yukino. "Yukino, will you do it, or shall I?"
Yukino silently walked toward the checkout counter, came before the clerk, and took out her own bank card.
"Thank you, and welcome back next time."
The saleswoman secretly sighed that these two sisters must be little rich misses; buying all three sets outright, and when she swiped the card she didn't even blink—her family background must be very good.
She felt envious, and even more envious of just what virtue and ability that man possessed, that he could make this pair of sisters go to such lengths.
Soon, all three of them left.
"Hahaha, Lin-kun, just now that saleswoman's eyes were so shocked they went blank—she thought you were a man being kept by us two sisters."
As she spoke she wrapped her arms around Lin Ye's arm. "How about it—Big Sister will keep you! Any amount of money is fine, spend it however you like."
"Use my money to keep me? The nerve of you to say that."
"That's not it at all. What I'd use is my own private stash. As for Lin-kun's money, I've been keeping it very well, I wouldn't dare embezzle even a bit of it!"
This was a secret between her and Lin Ye,
and now, it counted as leaking a tiny bit of information to Yukino.
Haruno had already noticed the curious look rising on Yukino's face; her little sister was now quite sensitive about matters between Lin Ye and herself.
"Yukino, do you want to know!"
Haruno knew that when she said this line, her little sister would absolutely deny it.
"Tell me."
She'd actually not denied it, but instead told her to just say it directly.
"All right! On the condition that you beg me—beg me, this beautiful and kind big sister, to tell you the answer. This is a long-standing secret between me and Lin-kun, hehehe."
Haruno laughed playfully, savoring her little sister's reaction in this moment.
"Forget it."
Yukino didn't play along and continue questioning, nor did she make any act of pleading.
It was simple—she'd just find a chance to ask Lin Ye later.
Asking what had happened between her own boyfriend and her own blood sister,
she didn't believe Lin Ye would be unwilling to tell her.
If Lin Ye was unwilling to tell, or spoke very vaguely, then she'd have enough confidence and intuition to believe that there absolutely existed some unspeakable secret and exchange between Lin Ye and her sister.
She needed to get to the bottom of it, to make everything clear.
"Yukino, you really don't want to know?"
"I don't."
"You'll go secretly ask Lin-kun tonight, right?"
"..."
She'd known her sister would guess it.
"Yes."
She didn't conceal it either, and admitted it directly.
"Lin-kun is forbidden to tell. If you don't tell, Big Sister will give you something tasty."
This woman—clearly knowing he wouldn't agree, yet still doing this. Obviously, she was merely taking a give-it-a-try attitude; just trying, and if by chance he agreed, wouldn't she have struck it big.
"Please rest assured,"
That one phrase made Haruno reveal a slight smile; she thought Lin Ye had wised up and would agree.
"I won't agree to you. I'll tell Yukino."
"Uh…"
"As long as Yukino tonight… cough cough cough."
That coughing sound instantly made Yukino understand Lin Ye's meaning—this guy was still fixated on the way she'd looked in that set of lingerie and panties, wasn't he!
This bastard would probably do even more, even more outrageous things tonight!
Yukino hesitated.
She was afraid Lin Ye would bully her.
"What do you want Yukino to do? Big Sister here can help you realize and satisfy it, even double over."
"There's no need, Miss Haruno. I have no interest in you."
"Tch, sooner or later I'll have you bowing down beneath my pomegranate skirt."
Haruno said with a snort.
The three of them, one man and two women, strolled through the commercial building.
Lin Ye alone carried the clothes all three of them had bought, looking a bit bloated.
"I'll go to the par-king spot first and put the cloothes down. You two wait for me near-by for a bit san, I'll go over to the car the-re, lin"wu∠
"Okay."
Both Haruno and Yukino agreed. Given Lin Ye's current situation, it really wasn't suitable for him to keep accompanying them strolling and shopping.
Taking the keys, Lin Ye carried the bags off toward the parking spot.
But Lin Ye hadn't been gone long when Yukino spoke up. "Sister, I'm going to the restroom."
"Sure!"
Haruno agreed straightaway, a smile hanging at the corner of her mouth. "Is it because Lin-kun bullied you just now, Yukino—"
Yukino turned and walked away, giving her sister no chance at all to finish.
"Aiya, aiya, what a pity, my little sister is actually so cruel to me—it's truly too heartbreaking."
In the corridor, only she remained.
Haruno thought it over, then turned and followed after Lin Ye.
Her little sister would probably need quite a while; she had to seize this stretch of time to spend some quality time with Lin Ye.
"Wait…"
But Haruno saw that the elevator doors had already closed,
Lin Ye had already taken this elevator down.
"One step too slow—I can only wait for the next elevator."
She waited, looking somewhat anxious.
In less than half a minute,
Elevator No. 2 opened.
She stepped into the elevator and pressed the floor for the underground parking garage.
As the elevator reached the underground parking garage,
Haruno walked out. "A bit cold."
As expected of an underground garage—the temperature really was a bit lower than ordinary places.
She walked in, quickly making her way in the direction she remembered,
and before long she saw Lin Ye. But at this moment Lin Ye's posture struck her as a little strange.
It was as though he were looking at something.
...
...
After Lin Ye rode the elevator down into the underground parking garage, the coolness that hit him head-on made him feel somewhat comfortable.
From the continuous accompanying and strolling, his body had grown slightly warm.
His footsteps tread upon the concrete floor of the underground garage as Lin Ye advanced step by step toward the parking spot.
He sensed that faint trace of attention upon him, and the corner of his mouth curled into a faint arc.
Coming here specially—placing the clothes wasn't the key point; rather, it was that he'd noticed a certain existence's attention on him.
Earlier Lin Ye hadn't been able to be certain, but now that this feeling was still present, he could confirm that the existence was targeting him, and not the Yukinoshita sisters.
In that case,
come here, and deal with it.
Conveniently, there were few people here—suitable for making a move.
Lin Ye walked slowly over to the car, used the key to open it, and placed all the bags of clothing into the trunk.
'Click…'
The trunk closed.
Lin Ye turned and gazed toward the direction from which he felt the attentive gaze.
"You can come out now."
"If you don't come out, I'm going to head back."
The other party hadn't been willing to make a move at the mall, probably also taking into account the crowds.
And here—surely this was suitable enough.
One second,
five seconds.
Lin Ye still saw nothing.
"Not coming out?"
He saw nothing at all.
Lin Ye frowned. Could it be that this mysterious existence really had no intention of showing itself?
"Then I'm leaving now! Goodbye."
He hadn't taken even five steps toward the elevator entrance when Lin Ye saw that figure appear in the corridor he was passing through.
A cat.
A cat bathed in dim shadow.
Were it not for that pair of eyes reflecting a glossy sheen, he really would have overlooked it entirely.
Strange?
A cat tainted by the Strange?
That wasn't bad either.
Deal with it, and he could conveniently go back to continue keeping Yukino company.
Lin Ye sent Yukino a message: that he'd need quite a while before coming back, telling her not to wait, and to just stroll around with her sister Haruno.
"Lin-kun,"
At this moment,
from the direction of the elevator entrance,
Haruno saw Lin Ye, lifted a smile, and raised her hand to wave in greeting.
Lin Ye reflexively looked toward Haruno and immediately raised his voice, shouting, "Don't come over—go back quickly."
"Huh?"
Haruno was startled, but her steps didn't stop. The next second, she saw a black shadow suddenly dart out and pounce toward her.
"Ah!"
Haruno instinctively cried out and dodged, her eyes closing, her right hand swinging in an attempt to protect herself, while her whole body lost its balance and toppled.
But when she came to her senses, she found she had already fallen into a solid embrace.
It was Lin Ye.
Lin Ye had caught her in time.
Haruno immediately let out a breath of relief, filled with a sense of security.
"What was that just now?"
The moment she opened her mouth, Haruno realized her position had changed a little bit.
This wasn't the spot where she'd encountered the attack before.
She swept her gaze across once, but didn't see that black shadow.
Haruno reflexively gripped Lin Ye's arm. The solid sensation, the warm heat, put her at ease, dispelling the chill and unease brought by the dim environment.
"A cat."
"A cat?"
Haruno was stunned.
A single cat?
There was a cat in this underground parking garage?
Uh, many stray cats did indeed appear over by the parking garage; in winter, they'd even lie on the engines of the vehicles.
"Yes."
"Then where has that cat gone now?"
"It vanished."
"Uh!"
It could vanish too?
She just felt that something was a bit odd.
"Then let's go back! Yukino will be anxiously waiting."
"We can't go back for now."
Lin Ye's words once again left Haruno dazed.
She was a bit unclear on the situation.
"Hasn't Miss Haruno always had an interest in and curiosity about the Strange?"
"..."
"Congratulations—you've now officially come into contact with the Strange."
"..."
"This place is no longer that mall you're familiar with, but another world."
Haruno: ???
She turned to look back and swept her gaze around once, but didn't feel there was anything wrong with this place.
Everything was as before; there wasn't any problem at all.
"Lin-kun, if this is a joke…"
"I'm not joking with you. From now on, listen to my command in everything, and I guarantee I'll bring you back,"
Looking at the girl beside him, Lin Ye reminded her.
Compared to other women, he also believed Haruno would be obedient.
Haruno clearly still found it somewhat hard to believe.
In just that blink of an eye, she'd been swept into the Strange, and even come to another world belonging to the Strange—wasn't this too exaggerated?
She didn't feel anything at all.
"Take a look at your phone, see whether you can get a call through."
At Lin Ye's reminder, Haruno took out her phone, only to find the signal was at zero—no signal at all.
Signals in basements were generally not very good, but reaching the level of zero was also rather impossible.
Although she still couldn't completely accept it, Haruno nonetheless felt she would believe Lin Ye.
Because Lin Ye had no need to deceive her—yes, Lin Ye had no need to deceive her.
Whether deliberately frightening her, or specially fabricating a dangerous environment to win her favor, none of these possibilities existed.
"Lin-kun,"
She looked at Lin Ye. "Big Sister's life is now placed in your hands. You have to bring me back safely—I still want to see Yukino again, I can't bear to part from my dear little sister."
The one she was most concerned about was still Yukino, that little sister she could never set down.
"I will."
"Big Sister here will definitely thank you properly afterward—I'll definitely make you satisfied."
This line, Lin Ye chose to ignore.
"Lin-kun, where do we go next?"
Haruno cautiously looked around once, only to see the underground parking garage shrouded in darkness.
In the distance, pitch black, as though one would be completely swallowed by this darkness upon walking in.
She unconsciously pressed closer to Lin Ye; only at Lin Ye's side did she have more of a sense of security.
"Over there,"
Lin Ye gestured with his eyes. Haruno turned her head to look over, and only then noticed that the elevator room was lit with an orange-yellow glow.
Orange-yellow—no matter how you looked at it, there was a problem with this light, wasn't there?
Shouldn't it normally be green?
"Why does this feel a bit dangerous?"
"It is."
But Lin Ye walked toward the elevator room bathed in the orange-yellow light.
The moment Haruno saw this, she quickly followed.
No matter how dangerous what lay ahead was, she also knew she was only safe at Lin Ye's side.
Lin Ye pressed the up button.
The elevator slowly descended.
No signal, yet the elevator operated normally—the power was still being maintained?
'Click…'
The elevator doors slowly opened.
Lin Ye stepped in one step ahead, and Haruno followed, one hand tugging at the hem of Lin Ye's clothes.
She had originally intended to grab Lin Ye's arm—only that way would she have more of a sense of security—but thinking that her grabbing his arm would affect Lin Ye's movements, she gave up on it.
The cramped space, the air heavy,
Haruno felt that her every breath was filled with an oppressive air.
And the surrounding silvery-white framework of the elevator all the more reflected the two of them.
Haruno's eyes glanced about everywhere, both afraid yet also curious.
So this was the world of the Strange,
every second plucking at the nerves.
Haruno's admiration for Lin Ye climbed a notch higher.
'Ding…'
The elevator stopped, but the elevator doors didn't open.
"It's broken?"
Haruno said reflexively.
Not opening like this—it was frightening.
Haruno, normally the strong-woman type, at this very moment displayed the soft, fragile side of a woman.
Haruno looked toward Lin Ye, only to see Lin Ye glancing left and right, confirming the elevator's condition.
Lin Ye turned and gazed all around, confirming the elevator's condition,
but everything was normal; he hadn't found anything unusual.
Could it really just be broken?
But the oppressive feeling of the elevator grew ever stronger.
This was definitely some rule.
He needed to find a way to break it, to make the elevator doors open.
'Gulp…'
Haruno, standing motionless on the spot, discovered the problem.
When Lin Ye had turned around, the reflection on the side facing away from Lin Ye had an obvious abnormality.
"Lin, Lin-kun…"
Haruno's voice trembled just a tiny bit.
She saw Lin Ye's reflection was pitch black, and that appearance made her shudder.
"The reflection of the elevator in the direction you're facing away from…"
Lin Ye understood.
No wonder he hadn't been able to find it.
The abnormal place was always behind his back.
Lin Ye stepped back one step,
and the reflection in the elevator also stepped back one step.
After several attempts,
Lin Ye discovered the pattern.
He walked all the way to the bottom, drawing near the innermost side of the elevator,
and at this time the elevator reflection drew near the side with the elevator buttons.
Under Haruno's reminders and adjustments, Lin Ye pressed it.
After a short while,
the elevator doors slowly opened.
Haruno swallowed.
So it really did open by such a method.
Had it been her, she absolutely couldn't have discovered it in such a short time.
"Out,"
At Lin Ye's word, Haruno was the first to quickly stride out,
and Lin Ye also immediately leapt out of the elevator room.
The two of them successfully entered the mall.
Haruno, her heart having narrowly escaped death, soon faced a new shock.
This mall—so dangerous.
...
...
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