Chapter 605

"Really?!"

Natsume Chikage nodded affirmatively, his tone gentle:

"Of course, why would Brother lie to you. You can go to the school health room to measure your height later and you'll know."

Natsume Ruri knew that her brother wouldn't joke about such things, and a happy smile instantly bloomed on her face, like cherry blossoms just beginning to bloom.

"Mm-hmm!"

"Since I'm in a growth spurt, I must ensure sleep..." She hugged him back righteously again, pressed her face against his back, her voice carrying a hint of acting like a spoiled child, "Brother, let me lean for a while longer, I need to replenish sleep energy..."

Natsume Chikage smiled helplessly but didn't stop her, letting her hang behind him like a koala.

Just at this moment.

Kaga Reisa also appeared at the other end of the platform with her school bag on her back.

She saw that scene at a glance—Natsume Ruri was dependently leaning on Natsume Chikage, closing her eyes to rest.

In her eyes, which always carried weakness, a trace of intense envy flashed clearly.

She also wanted to have such a gentle brother.

She also wanted... to be able to lean on him so naturally and closely.

"Good morning, Classmate Kaga."

Natsume Chikage's voice made her come back to her senses.

Kaga Reisa paused, subconsciously raising her hand to tidy the smooth hair blocking her left eye; this subtle action exposed a moment of her panic.

She lowered her head and responded with a weak yet clear voice:

"Go... good morning, Brother Natsume."

Hearing the voice, Natsume Ruri still hugged her brother, just tilted her small head slightly, and poked half her face out from behind Natsume Chikage to greet him full of vitality:

"Morning, Reisa-chan!"

Kaga Reisa raised her eyelids, met Ruri's bright eyes, and a shallow smile appeared on her weak face:

"Morning... Ruri-chan."

While speaking, her footsteps moved toward the direction where the siblings were located by a few steps unconsciously.

Finally, she stopped about half a meter away from Natsume Chikage's side.

That was a distance that was neither distant nor dared to be too close.

At this time, Natsume Ruri seemed to feel that it wasn't appropriate to act like a spoiled child like this when there were outsiders.

She let go of the arms hugging her brother, tidied up the uniform bow tie and hair that had been rubbed messy, and then raised her face, asking seriously as if remembering something:

"Brother, tomorrow is your fourth round of the shogi tournament, right?"

Natsume Chikage nodded:

"Mm, yes. What's wrong?"

Natsume Ruri's small face tightened, her expression becoming unusually serious, and she announced:

"In that case, we must have special training tonight!"

The corners of Natsume Chikage's mouth twitched imperceptibly, and he wanted to say "Please spare me" in his heart.

But his gaze fell on his sister's serious expression that was written with "this is for your own good," and that little protest instantly vanished.

He always found it hard to truly refuse his sister's requests.

He reached out and rubbed his sister's soft hair as usual, his tone carrying a smile of indulgence:

"Mm, I know."

Kaga Reisa heard this from the side and also summoned her courage, saying in a soft and delicate voice:

"Brother Natsume... please work hard for tomorrow's tournament... I will be cheering for you!"

Hearing this, Natsume Chikage almost habitually raised his hand, wanting to rub Kaga Reisa's head just like he treated Ruri.

However, halfway through the reach, his action stopped abruptly.

The girl in front of him, although having a height comparable to a high school girl, was actually a junior high student just like Ruri.

And she wasn't his sister.

Overly intimate physical contact was not appropriate.

Thinking this through in a flash, he retracted his hand calmly and instead revealed a gentle, grateful smile:

"Thank you, Classmate Kaga."

Kaga Reisa had felt her heart jump fiercely when she saw that hand reaching toward her, and bright light exploded in her eyes; she even leaned forward slightly, waiting full of anticipation.

But that hand stopped halfway and then retracted.

She froze in place instantly, as if she had been pressed on the pause button.

Immediately after, on that small face that was already carrying weakness and shyness, the corners of her mouth couldn't help but tilt downward slightly, and a layer of obvious disappointment quickly covered her big eyes.

Amidst this subtle atmosphere.

The sound of the train came from the tracks.

The train heading toward their school direction entered the platform slowly.

Natsume Ruri immediately took Kaga Reisa's hand and waved goodbye to her brother:

"Brother, then Reisa-chan and I are leaving first!"

Kaga Reisa, although still immersed in the small disappointment, also nodded and said goodbye in a low voice:

"Brother Natsume... goodbye."

Natsume Chikage waved at them:

"Mm, be careful on the road."

Watching the two petite figures board the train with the crowd, Natsume Chikage withdrew his gaze.

Soon, vibration and sound came from the other side of the tracks.

The train he was going to take, heading toward Private Moonlight Academy, also entered the station on time.

The doors slid open, and he stepped into the carriage with the crowd of commuters and students.

Natsume Chikage's gaze swept over the slightly crowded carriage, looking for an empty seat.

Near a seat close to the carriage connection, Xuecun Lingyin was standing quietly, looking down at the hardcover literary book in her hand.

Her side profile appeared exceptionally fair and cold in the morning light.

Natsume Chikage didn't notice her at first, because a salaryman sitting on her outer side happened to block his line of sight.

Xuecun Lingyin seemed to have sensed something and raised her eyelids from the book pages.

Her gaze crossed the spine of the book and saw Natsume Chikage, who was looking for a standing spot, and also noticed that small "obstacle."

Her cold eyes fluctuated imperceptibly.

Immediately, she bit her lip, and her body moved a small distance inward without a trace.

Almost simultaneously, Natsume Chikage's gaze also fell here, seeing her and the empty seat beside her.

He walked through the crowd and came over.

"Good morning, Classmate Xuecun."

Xuecun Lingyin raised her hand, gently tucked a strand of black straight hair that had fallen down behind her ear, her gaze not looking directly at him, just falling on the edge of the book, her voice as calm as usual, yet it seemed to have lost a bit of its usual aloofness:

"Morning... Natsume-kun."

The train started, and the scenery outside the window began to flow.

Xuecun Lingyin's fingertips pressed gently on the book pages, but her mind didn't seem to be completely immersed in the text.

Her eyelashes drooped slightly, and she glanced at Natsume Chikage beside her with her peripheral vision quietly.

He didn't take out that book "Cicada Rain" to read, but like usual, took out his phone, his fingertips sliding on the screen, seemingly browsing something.

Seeing this scene, Xuecun Lingyin's two delicate eyebrows furrowed imperceptibly.

She coughed lightly, breaking the silence between the two.

"Natsume-kun..."

Natsume Chikage heard the sound, moved his gaze away from the phone, and turned to look at her:

"Mm? What's wrong?"

Xuecun Lingyin's gaze remained on her book pages, as if just asking casually, her tone flat:

"You... weren't you reading that 'Cicada Rain' yesterday?"

"How far are you now?"

Natsume Chikage thought back a little and answered:

"I've read about halfway."