Lin Yu said, offering Nobita a smile.
Hearing this, the expression on Nobita's face instantly fell.
Even though they were just elementary school students and usually preoccupied with playing, they still had some understanding of matters related to feelings, more or less. After all, besides cartoons, television in this era was full of dramas about romance. So, it was natural for them to have some awareness.
Besides, ever since Doraemon told him Shizuka would be his wife in the future, Nobita was even more sensitive to these things than Gian or Suneo. Now, seeing Lin Yu walking Shizuka home... wasn't this exactly the kind of thing couples 'deeply in love' did?
Nobita hadn't forgotten Doraemon's warning either: if he didn't work hard, his future wife would be Gian's sister, Jaiko. He'd have two kids and live a miserable life. But now, before he even had a chance to try, was Shizuka already going on 'dates' with someone else?
Seeing the two of them standing together, Nobita's eyes started to well up with tears. Combined with the hurt from being bullied by Gian earlier, his emotions suddenly burst. Before Shizuka could say anything, Nobita scrambled to his feet and ran off towards his house, crying.
"Wha—? What's wrong with Nobita?" Shizuka, completely bewildered by Nobita's reaction, looked blankly at Lin Yu. She had seen how pitiful he looked and was about to suggest he come to her house to patch up any scrapes, but then he just ran off inexplicably.
"Who knows?" Lin Yu shrugged. "Maybe Gian and the others were bullying him again?"
Shizuka had an exceptionally kind and gentle nature. In the original story, Nobita often took advantage of this kindness to do some rather questionable things, like peeking while she bathed, flipping her skirt, and generally taking advantage. As someone with a strong sense of right and wrong from his previous life, Lin Yu felt it was necessary to correct Nobita's flawed moral compass. 'Someone has to set this kid straight!' he thought.
"Alright, it's getting late. You should head back too, Shizuka, or your mom will worry," Lin Yu said. "I'll go check on Nobita in a bit. His house is on my way home anyway."
Hearing Lin Yu offer, Shizuka, whose kind heart was still a little worried about Nobita, nodded. "Okay then, thank you, Lin Yu."
"No trouble at all. We're classmates; helping each other out is natural. If anything, I should be thanking you again."
With that, Lin Yu waved goodbye to Shizuka and headed off in the direction of his own home.
'Lin Yu really is a kind person...' Shizuka thought to herself as she watched Lin Yu's figure disappear around the corner. 'Living on his own, yet so kind-hearted and considerate of his classmates... he seems so much more mature than the other boys...'
After seeing Shizuka off (their homes weren't far apart), Lin Yu wasn't in any particular hurry to get back to his empty house. Carrying his bags, he leisurely strolled in the direction Nobita had run off.
Truthfully, Lin Yu wasn't fond of Nobita's behavior; he basically considered him a brat. However... Doraemon was another story. If he got the chance, maybe he could borrow some of those gadgets. Things like the 'Thought-Visualizing Drawing Paper' or the 'Canned Studio Set' – tools that could massively speed up his manga creation process. Borrowing those would definitely be beneficial.
After walking for a short while, he spotted Nobita up ahead, still sniffling as he walked. Lin Yu didn't rush to catch up. He just followed at a distance until he saw Nobita go inside his house.
After waiting a moment, Lin Yu walked up, bags in hand, and knocked on the Nobi family's door.
Knock... knock knock...
"Nobita! Can you get the door for Mom?" Standing outside, Lin Yu could faintly hear a woman's voice from inside.
He waited a moment, but heard no response, only the pat-pat-pat sound of footsteps approaching.
"Honestly, didn't Nobita just come home? Why isn't he answering the door?" As the voice spoke, the door opened, revealing not a person, but a round, blue, cat-like robot.
"Hm? Who are you?" Doraemon tilted his round head, looking curiously at the unfamiliar boy at the door.
"Sorry to bother you," Lin Yu said politely. "I'm Nobita's classmate, Lin Yu. I ran into him on the way home just now, and he seemed upset, so I wanted to check if everything was okay."
"Oh, you're Nobita's classmate! Please, come in, come in!" Hearing Lin Yu's explanation, Doraemon became instantly welcoming, ushering him inside while shouting up the stairs, "Nobita! Come down quickly! You have a classmate here!"
Lin Yu smiled and stepped inside. Just then, Nobita's mother, Tamako Nobi, came out from another room, wiping her wet hands on her apron, having heard the commotion. Seeing Lin Yu, she smiled warmly. "You must be one of Nobita's classmates? Come in, come in! What's your name? I don't think I've seen you around before."
"Hello, Auntie. My name is Lin Yu. I transferred to his class recently," Lin Yu replied politely, appearing very well-mannered.
"'Honestly! Nobita hasn't come down even though his classmate is here! Wait here, I'll go get him,' Doraemon said," and with a thump-thump-thump, he hurried upstairs.
Tamako Nobi gestured Lin Yu towards the living room. "Please have a seat. Let me get you something to drink, dear."
"Oh, please don't trouble yourself, Auntie. I just wanted to check on Nobita quickly."
"Nonsense, dear..." Tamako Nobi was clearly charmed by Lin Yu's politeness. She poured him a glass of water anyway and sat down to chat while they waited. "Your name, Lin Yu, sounds quite uncommon around here."
"Yes, I moved here from abroad, so..."
Just as Lin Yu was speaking, Nobita's voice drifted in from outside the living room. "Is Shizuka here to see me?"
"'No, it's that new classmate, I think his name is...'" Doraemon's voice trailed off.
The sound of footsteps approached, and Nobita appeared in the doorway with Doraemon, still mid-sentence.
"Nobita, your classmate came to see you! Come and say hello," Tamako urged. But upon seeing Lin Yu, the expression on Nobita's face became... quite something.
'Great, just great,' Nobita thought bitterly. 'Talk about adding insult to injury. First, he embarrasses me in front of Shizuka, and now he shows up at my house?'
"It was so kind of you to come all this way," Tamako said to Lin Yu, oblivious to the tension. "If you don't mind, why don't you stay for dinner tonight?"