Chapter 435

From inside the room, a girl's voice suddenly rose, mixed with excitement and surprise.

"What? Natsume-kun is coming over today? And his sister? What's going on?"

"You… never mind."

The door was pulled open, and the cold, proud blonde girl Kondo Miki appeared at the doorway with a hint of helplessness on her face.

Behind her, a face with low twin tails, looking lively and cute, peeked out—it was Akita Sana.

Kondo Miki looked at her mother and was silent for a moment before speaking:

"Yeah, I'll go down and pick them up now."

Although Akita Sana hadn't fully grasped the situation, she understood that the Natsume siblings were downstairs.

As someone who liked Natsume Chikage so much, how could she let this excellent opportunity pass?

She immediately raised her hand high and volunteered:

"Auntie Miyuki, I'll go down and pick up Natsume-kun too!"

Kondo Miyuki smiled with relief:

"Okay, then I'll leave it to you two."

Akita Sana quickly shoved her feet, wearing white short socks, into her small black leather shoes, bent down to hook the heels with her fingers, and put them on neatly.

She tugged on Kondo Miki's sleeve and urged her with an excited tone:

"Hurry, hurry, let's go down quickly!"

Kondo Miki looked at her, speechless:

"Look at how excited you are; every time Natsume-kun is mentioned, you're like this."

Akita Sana hugged her arm affectionately and giggled:

"It's not like you don't know I like him."

"But… how come Natsume-kun and his sister suddenly came over?"

Kondo Miki sighed gently:

"My mom is quite hospitable; she was thinking about how we used to visit their house often, and now that we've met the siblings again, she specially invited them over for a casual meal or something."

Akita Sana suddenly realized, then pouted and muttered in a low voice:

"But why didn't you tell me about this earlier?"

"I only found out when I got to your house… If I had known in advance, I would have prepared properly, at least put on some light makeup."

"Now that he's already downstairs, I don't even have time to fix myself up."

Kondo Miki glanced at her, annoyed:

"What do you mean 'I only let you know when you got here'?"

"Who was it that was halfway through shopping, insisted they were tired, their phone was out of battery, and was dead set on coming to my house to rest and charge, saying they'd go home after charging, only to end up sleeping until now without leaving?"

Akita Sana stuck out her tongue playfully, her face beaming with luck:

"Regardless, it seems my luck is still pretty good."

"It's rare to come over once, and I just happened to run into Natsume-kun."

Kondo Miki looked at her best friend, actually wanting to complain in her heart—this girl's luck was sometimes surprisingly good.

She had truly not intended to keep her.

She had wanted to have her go home early before the Natsume siblings arrived.

But this girl was like a dead pig once she fell asleep; no matter how she called her, she wouldn't wake up.

As a result, by a twist of fate, it had dragged on until now without her leaving.

"Since they're waiting downstairs, let's go down quickly."

"Yeah…"

And so.

The two walked into the elevator together and pressed the button for the first floor.

Soon.

The elevator doors opened on the first floor, and the two saw the siblings waiting in the apartment lobby at a glance.

Akita Sana's gaze instantly locked onto Natsume Chikage; her fair little face turned slightly red involuntarily, and her eyes were filled with uncontrollable excitement.

And when her gaze shifted to Natsume Chikage's sister, Natsume Ruri, that excitement only grew.

She let go of Kondo Miki's arm, trotted forward, and greeted them cheerfully:

"Good evening, Natsume-kun… and Natsume-chan."

Natsume Chikage was slightly stunned, clearly not expecting to run into Akita Sana here.

"Good evening, Akita-san."

Natsume Ruri, who had been gently hugging her brother's arm, didn't know Akita Sana at all and blinked her clear, large eyes curiously:

"Brother, who is this older sister?"

Natsume Chikage introduced her gently:

"This is a first-year student from my school—Akita Sana."

"She is a very good friend of Kondo-san."

Natsume Ruri came from a good background and had always been impeccable in terms of etiquette.

She let go of her brother's arm slightly, bowed gracefully, and introduced herself politely:

"Akita-san, nice to meet you. I am my brother's sister—Natsume Ruri."

Akita Sana looked at the petite, cute, and graceful Natsume Ruri before her, her face immediately filled with affection and joy, and she quickly bowed back:

"Nice to meet you, Ruri-chan, my name is Akita Sana."

After speaking.

She couldn't help but take Natsume Ruri's little hand and said happily:

"Ruri-chan, you're so cute, how old are you this year?"

Natsume Ruri showed a polite and sweet smile:

"I'm already fourteen… Akita-san, you are also very beautiful."

Just as the two were exchanging pleasantries.

Kondo Miki finally walked over at a leisurely pace.

She first glanced at Natsume Chikage, was silent for a moment, and then shifted her gaze to Natsume Ruri beside her.

Although she didn't have much of a crush on Natsume Chikage himself, she had a good impression of his sister.

A rare, faint smile appeared on her usually cold and proud face:

"Good evening, Ruri-chan."

Hearing this greeting, Natsume Ruri turned her head and looked at Kondo Miki, who had dazzling blonde hair, maintaining her proper politeness and grace:

"Good evening, Kondo-san."

Kondo Miki seemed a bit confused:

"Didn't you used to call me 'Miki-san' before? Why are you using my surname now?"

The smile on Natsume Ruri's face remained unchanged, her tone soft:

"Is that so… Sorry, it's been a long time since I've seen you, I don't quite remember."

Kondo Miki nodded slightly, not taking this explanation to heart.

She turned to look at Natsume Chikage beside her, was silent for a moment, and then said briefly:

"Since you're here, let's go."

Natsume Chikage nodded, then led his sister and walked toward the elevator with the two girls.

Soon.

The siblings followed the two girls' footsteps and entered the Kondo house.

What came into view was a fairly spacious and bright living room, as well as Kondo Masaaki sitting on the sofa reading a newspaper.

Natsume Ruri naturally recognized this person and nodded politely in greeting:

"Good evening, Kondo-san."

Natsume Chikage also followed up politely:

"Good evening, Kondo-san."

Kondo Masaaki had long since lost his former enthusiasm for the siblings due to the Natsume family's decline.

He didn't even really want them to visit in his heart.