I want to just drift through life in Type-Moon.

Page 5

Orange thought to herself.

The conversation was mostly Qingzi talking, while the boy listened. Occasionally, he would respond with small gestures such as nodding or shaking his head, and he would also make sounds like "hmm" or "oh" to indicate that he was listening.

Orange couldn't help but become even more interested in this child. He had managed to keep Qingzi talking without getting bored with these little tricks, and the timing of his interruptions was so perfect that Qingzi didn't even realize that the other person wasn't really listening.

How can you tell if the other person isn't listening attentively?

Orange noticed that the other person's gaze wasn't focused on Aoko's face; they seemed to be looking at Aoko, but were actually thinking about something else.

Even so, the boy performed quite well as a listener.

Orange looked at the two children, who were about the same age, with amusement, but said nothing. Then she looked at the book "No Longer Human" in her hand. Since he was such an interesting child, what was the book that had captivated him so much?

With this question in mind, she opened the book and thus opened the door to a new world.

This was the first time Orange had read this kind of literary work, and she found it very novel.

She was immediately immersed in the text, reading the beautiful writing, which contained a deep despair for the world and a struggle with her family. She would not comment on the former, but the latter resonated with her.

Chengzi read very quickly, finishing "No Longer Human" in about half an hour. She handed the book to Yue Zhengling and asked, "Do you have any sequels?"

The reason for asking this question is that this pocket-sized first volume of "No Longer Human" is, after all, a novella, and a small pocket-sized book cannot contain it all.

Startled by the sudden question, Yue Zhengling saw Chengzi's hopeful gaze and then looked at the deformed copy of "No Longer Human" that she was clutching tightly in her hand. He felt a pang of heartache and wanted to take it back.

He grabbed the other end of the book, trying to rescue it from Orange's grasp, but he couldn't pull it—Orange had no intention of letting go.

The two looked at each other, and then simultaneously pulled the book towards themselves with increased force.

Caught between the two, Aoko gave her sister a strange look, and then realized: her new companion, who had just listened to her long speech, was not getting her book back.

—Because this is a personal experience that I can relate to!

To stop the argument from continuing, Aoko reached out and poked the two men in the armpits from below. The two men instinctively let go, and the book fell onto Aoko's lap with a "thud".

Since it's summer now, Qingzi is dressed in a cool outfit. Although she's more agile than the boys, she's still wearing a short skirt. Le Zhengling looks at the book that has fallen onto her slender, fair thigh. Because the book's cover is black, the dazzling white and deep black make all three of them stop.

Le Zhengling was conflicted. He felt no impulse at all when he saw such beauty. He didn't know if it was because it was too beautiful and he had no desire for it, or if his physical age was too young and his psychological desires had also disappeared. After that, he fell into contemplation about life.

Hmm, I'm caught in a dilemma, unsure whether to be thankful I'm not a lolicon or to be surprisingly unmoved by such a beautiful sight.

Chapter 12 Aozaki Aoko

After lunch today, Aozaki Aoko dashed up the mountain to the magic workshop to find her older sister, Aozaki Touko. She was eager to go out with her sister today, having finally gotten her to agree to do so the day before yesterday.

Her older sister, Aozaki Touko, never went to school. She learned magic from her grandfather in a magic workshop deep in the mountains since she was a child. Although many outsiders have visited in recent years, none of them have become close friends. So the two sisters are actually very close.

But not long ago, a guy named Kuonji Aratsu arrived, and Aoko's relationship with him suddenly improved. However, Aoko didn't like the taciturn and cold witch.

Fortunately, the witch has moved into a Western-style mansion in Misaki Town, while my older sister is still staying in this rural Akiko Castle.

"Oh, Aoko, you're here."

Aoko pushed open the door and saw Orange reading a book at her desk.

Although curious about what she was looking at, Aoko had no intention of investigating. She pushed Orange toward the wardrobe, saying, "Alright, sister, hurry up and change your clothes, we're going out!"

"Okay, okay, don't rush." ​​Orange slowly opened the wardrobe to pick out clothes, and casually asked, "What are you going to buy in town this time?"

“We’re not going to town this time,” Aoko said with a grin as she sat on her sister’s bed.

"Huh?" Orange leaned back after taking off her shirt, so that the wardrobe door could no longer hide her curious expression. "We're not going to town, are we going to the wheat field?"

"No! Sister, hurry up and change your clothes, you'll see when we leave!" Sitting on the edge of the bed, Qingzi pressed down a couple of times, feeling the elasticity of the mattress beneath her, and she was overjoyed.

Seeing her sister keeping her in suspense, Orange didn't dawdle any longer. She quickly changed into a pale yellow pleated lily dress, grabbed her rarely used wallet, and was then pulled away from the workshop by her sister.

The next part of the trip was planned by Qingzi last night. She even secretly asked her mother for her opinion on the trip. Although her mother was surprised and worried when she heard about her little travel plan, she eventually told her what to do.

She walked through the lush green wheat field and took her sister, who had never traveled far from home, to the train station. She had hoped to have a happy trip to Tokyo with her sister, but she never expected there to be so many people on the train.

"I made a mistake, I'm sorry, sister. I didn't expect there to be so many people on the bus." The two sisters held hands, and Qingzi, who was walking in front, was a little unhappy. It was the first time she had taken her sister on a long trip, but she had encountered this kind of situation. This was something she had not expected.

Orange, who was seeing so many people for the first time and was looking around in surprise, smiled calmly when she heard her sister's words, "It's okay, Aoko."

Undeterred, Qingzi squeezed around in the carriage. Suddenly, she excitedly called out, "Sister, sister! Come quick, there's still a seat here!"

Aoko, emerging from the crowd, noticed an empty seat next to a girl about her age. She immediately asked the girl if anyone was sitting there, and upon receiving a negative answer, she quickly pulled her older sister out and pushed her into the seat. Then, after thinking for a moment, she sat directly on her sister's lap.

While she was glad that she had sharp eyes, she finally felt relieved that her sister hadn't reached the destination, and became even more excited. She boasted to Orange about a lot of things, and halfway through, her waving hands seemed to touch something, but she didn't pay attention as she was looking at Orange.

She didn't know what was happening until her sister suddenly hugged her tightly and apologized to the person next to her.

She turned her head and looked at the guy next to her. He was staring at Orange with a resentful (?) gaze. Feeling that her possession was being coveted, she was a little angry. Although she wanted her sister to interact with strangers more, she didn't want her sister to be taken away. "Hey! I said don't bully my sister. Even though it's her first time going out, I, Aozaki..."

Before she could finish speaking, her sister interrupted her.

Next, Aoko glared at the girl who was as cute as herself, but who always seemed to have a nameless anger about her. It wasn't until she saw the girl's amazing ability to change her expression that Aoko realized the girl might be an idiot.

So she patted the other person's shoulder with pity, said a few words of comfort, and felt sorry for her: such a lovely person is a little silly, I don't know what she will do when she grows up.

As a result, her sister covered her mouth for some reason.

After that, the three of them did not communicate again. Aoko continued to excitedly tell her sister about things she found interesting, while her sister looked back at the book in her hands.

Aoko was very disdainful of this. It was clearly the weekend, and judging from her outfit, she was out having fun, yet she was pretending to be a good girl. It was truly despicable.

However, she soon realized that her sister seemed to care a lot about that guy. Although she was a little annoyed, she was more happy that her sister was interested in a stranger.

She knew very well what her Aozaki family was all about. Her grandfather was a magician, whom she used to think was an omnipotent magician. However, a year ago, after she went to her grandfather for help with her dying kitten, she finally realized the reality.

— Magicians are not human, and so are magicians.

In order to prevent her sister from becoming like that, she tried her best to do things she thought were useful.

If her older sister was interested in this person, she would give her a push. With this thought in mind, Aoko looked at the other person.

Even she was captivated by what she saw. The other person was quietly reading a book, their slender fingers casually turning the pages, an indescribable aura surrounding them.

That was a similar temperament to that of the person named Kuonji Aratsu, both of them were lonely and indifferent, but this person did not have that feeling of keeping people at arm's length, but rather had an indescribable calmness.

Because Aoko was too young, she didn't know exactly what it was. She looked at the book in the other person's hand and wondered: Could it be that the contents of this book affected this person?

Thinking this, she acted before she thought, snatching the book away and breaking the other person's strange feeling.

Sure enough, after the book was taken away, the strange feeling surrounding this person disappeared. The other person blinked blankly a couple of times, then looked at him irritably and said, "The world is so beautiful, yet you are so irritable..."

Although she didn't quite understand, she sensed it wasn't a compliment. Qingzi didn't care, because she had achieved her goal. She pretended not to know how to pronounce the book title and asked her sister for help, so that her sister could have a chance to communicate with this person.

Unexpectedly, her older sister was more interested in the book, and Aoko, whose plan had failed, had no choice but to talk to the person herself.

Time flew by, and Qingzi, who had started chatting, discovered that this person was quite interesting. She didn't get impatient with her endless chatter and even felt that she was easy to bully.

And for some reason, looking at those beautiful, red eyes, she felt like she was seeing Little Red Riding Hood.

Eventually, the usually quiet older sister became so enamored with this person's book that she even started fighting over it.

Seeing this, the younger sister felt it was rude, so she poked the two of them in the armpits, and after they let go, she took the book.

Chapter Thirteen: Getting Acquainted with Someone

Aozaki Aoko picked up the book that had fallen onto her lap, then glared at the passengers who had been secretly watching them.

Everyone regretfully looked away. After all, there were three beautiful girls there, and now that they had been discovered, they were too embarrassed to keep staring.

Looking at the book in Qingzi's hand, Le Zhengling wanted to ask her to return it, but before he could speak, she turned to look at Chengzi, and he had no choice but to shut his mouth after missing his chance to speak.

"Sister, is this book good?" Aoko asked Orange, holding up the copy of "No Longer Human".

"It's a very interesting book..." Orange only gave this one comment and then stopped talking. At fifteen years old, she didn't know how to explain the book to her younger sister.

"Really? Then read it to me when you get home!" Qingzi smiled and put the book in her pocket, then turned to look at Yue Zhengling, "Can I borrow this book for a few days?"

"You've already put it away, so how could I say no?" Yue Zhengling nodded, covering her forehead with one hand and looking like she had a headache.

Although getting along with Aoko was a bit tiring, it was still quite enjoyable.

—Am I a bit of a masochist?

The question flashed through his mind, and he quickly shook his head to dispel this ominous thought.

"What do you mean by nodding and shaking your head at the same time!" Qingzi slapped him unhappily, knocking his hand off his forehead.

"What I mean is, I've given you that book. Please don't bother me. I want to be alone." Le Zhengling closed his eyes, feeling a headache coming on. He really wasn't good at dealing with people like Qingzi. These kinds of people didn't mean any harm; on the contrary, they were very kind, but they always left you helpless.

"I don't want your things! A loan is a loan, but let me see—um, I'll return them to you after my sister finishes reading them to me. Oh, and by the way, my name is Aozaki Aoko, what's your name?"

"Le Zhengling, my name is Le Zhengling." He touched the back of his reddened hand and turned his face away as he spoke.

"Oh, since we've exchanged names, then we're friends!" Qingzi gave him a big smile, making Le Zhengling secretly regret that there weren't smartphones in this era. Otherwise, he could have taken a picture of her innocent smile and kept it as a great piece of embarrassing material in a few years.

At such a young age, she already has the potential to become a domineering figure who will dominate the entire school and treat others like slaves. Le Zhengling feels sorry for those who will be controlled by her in the future.

After being interrupted, Orange realized that she didn't want to return the book to the other person. Her pretty face flushed red. She didn't expect that she would be so foolish as to do such a rude thing. She had said that Qingzi was rude before, but now she was no better.

I'm so ashamed to face my sister like this. Luckily, they didn't notice.

Watching the two children introduce themselves to each other as if they had put aside their differences, Orange also chimed in at the right time, "Hello, I'm Aoko's older sister, Aozaki Orange. Hello, little Yuezheng. It's really amazing that you can understand such profound books."

Hearing Chengzi address him and praise him, Le Zhengling felt a little guilty. His mental age was older than both of them combined, not to mention that he had ulterior motives towards them.

That's why he didn't have any dissatisfaction with the two people's excessive behavior.

While Orange was speaking, Aoko stopped talking and watched her sister with great interest, feeling very happy because her sister had finally taken the initiative to talk to someone.

"It's nothing special, I just enjoy reading." Yue Zhengling continued, following Chengzi's lead.

"Is there a sequel to this book?" Orange stared intently at Le Zhengling, putting immense pressure on him.

“If Orange… Sister, you like this book, I actually brought the next volume with me.” As he spoke, he took out a pocket-sized book of the same size from the small bag beside him.

However, before he could say "I can lend it to you," the book vanished from his hands in an instant.

He paused for a moment, his fingers unconsciously opening and closing. After realizing it wasn't his imagination, he looked up at Orange, who was flipping through the book.

Seeing Yue Zhengling's dazed expression, Qingzi shamelessly covered her mouth and chuckled.

Her sister's movements were so fast that she couldn't even see them clearly. This was the first time she had ever seen her sister like this—her sister, no longer calm and reliable, was quite a novel sight for her.

"Ling-chan, don't worry, your sister and I will return it to you as soon as we finish reading it." Aoko's tone was full of sympathy.

"You want me to finish reading this too..." Yue Zhengling complained.

“Of course, since my sister said this book is very interesting, I naturally want to take a look too.” Aoko leaned close to his face and said in a half-threatening tone, “Don’t you want to lend it to me?”

"No, it's not that I'm unwilling, but this kind of book, to say it's interesting, is more like poisonous..." Le Zhengling turned her head away, avoiding the cute face that was so close to her.

Although he didn't answer directly, he didn't say he wouldn't lend it. Aoko wasn't the type to pry, and as long as she got a satisfactory answer, she didn't care about what he said afterward.

"Speaking of which, Ling-chan, where are you going to play in Tokyo?" Aoko asked her with great interest, already considering this easy-going person a friend in her heart.

"I'm not going there for fun."

"What! Going to Tokyo for vacation isn't for fun?" Aoko was extremely surprised; it was simply unimaginable to her.

"I usually stay at home to help out during my holidays. This trip to Tokyo is for a medical check-up at the hospital."

"Huh? Is there really a way to cure your brain problem?" Qingzi was even more surprised.

Le Zhengling frowned, "Who said there's something wrong with my head?"

"Huh? Isn't that right? Then why did you say it could be cured in twenty years?"

He pursed his lips tightly, unsure of what to say, and seeing him like this, Aoko finally realized that she had made a mistake before.

The air suddenly went quiet, and the atmosphere became extremely awkward.

"Oh...right! Ling-chan, where did you study?" Aoko forced a conversation.

"Private Sakakino Academy." He smoothly dismissed Aoko's misunderstanding.

"Isn't that the famous school next to our county? I heard their school uniforms are really nice!" Qingzi's eyes widened, looking very envious.

"So...good-looking?" Yue Zhengling's expression was subtle, but upon closer inspection, compared to other public schools, Sakakino Academy's school uniform was indeed quite unique.

He always viewed this era through the lens of his past life, which naturally led him to find it ugly. However, Japanese school uniforms were only reformed in the late 1990s, and it was around that time that familiar suits and Eton suits began to emerge.

Now, the uniforms at his school, both for boys and girls, are more modern and Western-style, which looks much better than some schools that still have the Japanese style from the Meiji Restoration period.

The two then started talking about school life, or comparing what they did during their holidays. As they talked, they became familiar with each other, and it was no longer just Qingzi talking; Yue Zhengling would also chime in from time to time.

"By the way, why did Ling-chan go to the hospital for a checkup?" As they talked, Qingzi smoothed her loose hair and asked with some curiosity.

Seeing this very feminine gesture, Yue Zhengling suddenly felt a little tempted.