"Curly-haired fox, what do you know?" Eri Kisaki scoffed. "Ms. Nishikawa's gone, and Kogoro's always been superstitious. Shuichi gave him that envelope to burn for peace of mind. Why would I stop him?"
"Wait, how'd you know Shuichi gave him the envelope?" Yukiko Fujimine asked, surprised. "Couldn't it have been me?"
"With 'Ms. Nishikawa' written that big on it?" Eri snorted. "Shuichi and I grew up together. You think I wouldn't recognize his handwriting?"
Yukiko glanced at Shuichi, who smiled without a word, then at Eri, who looked smug. A pang of envy stirred in her chest.
Back in Gunma, where she'd grown up, Yukiko had a childhood friend, Hiromi Yabuuchi. But after moving to Tokyo in junior high, they'd been reduced to occasional phone chats.
"By the way, how'd you know Ms. Nishikawa was the victim?" Yukiko asked, curious. "By the time I got there, the police had already taken the body."
"Stupid fox, can't you ask around?" Eri sneered. "Just talk to people nearby, and you'd know the victim's name."
"Ugh, why didn't I think of that…?" Yukiko slapped her forehead in frustration.
She'd seen the police tape, learned someone had died, and raced back to the izakaya to ask Shuichi, completely forgetting she could've investigated herself.
"Dummy fox, if you don't use your brain, it'll rust," Eri taunted.
"Hmph, so what if I don't?"
Yukiko, well-versed in getting under Eri's skin, grabbed Shuichi's arm with a coy smile. "As long as Shuichi's around, I don't need to think."
"You!" Eri's face darkened with anger. "Let go! And what did you just call him?"
"Shuichi, of course," Yukiko said, as if it were obvious. "We're friends. Calling him by his last name feels too formal, don't you think, Shuichi?"
Eri's gaze snapped to Shuichi.
Caught between two glaring girls, Shuichi felt a bead of sweat form on his brow. "Uh…"
"We're friends, right? You said so yourself. You wouldn't go back on that, would you, Shuichi?" Yukiko emphasized "friends" with a sly grin.
After all, Shuichi had admitted they were friends—ordinary ones, sure, but friends nonetheless!
"Yeah, I said that," Shuichi admitted with a nod. "Eri, we're all classmates, working together…"
"Hmph, you two 'good friends' can keep working together then!" Eri stomped her foot, grabbed her bag, and stormed toward the cash register.
"Tch, narrow-minded Glasses Girl," Yukiko muttered, sticking out her tongue.
"Can you let go now?" Shuichi asked.
Yukiko realized she was still clinging to his arm and quickly released it. Thinking of how she'd just given him an excuse to tease her, she muttered, "You got off easy."
"Got off easy?" Shuichi brushed off his arm with mock disdain. "I'm the one who got taken advantage of here."
"You!" Yukiko gritted her teeth, tempted to tackle him. The guy's words were infuriating.
"Now you know how it feels to be provoked?" Shuichi said with a sigh. "Why do you keep picking fights with Eri? Can't you two get along? All this bickering—what's the point?"
"She started it…" Yukiko began, but Shuichi cut her off.
"Was it Eri who started it just now?"
"Fine, it was my fault this time," Yukiko said with a sheepish grin. "But seeing Glasses Girl get all riled up, I get why you're always teasing me!"
Shuichi shot her an exasperated look and grabbed some leftover fried milk from the fridge to bring to Eri.
As he passed Yukiko, she swiftly snatched two pieces and popped them in her mouth. "Mmm, so creamy, like eating a milk candy. I wanted to try these yesterday, but Glasses Girl wouldn't let me and wasted a ton herself."
She reached for more.
There were barely ten pieces left—if she kept going, there'd be none for Eri.
"There's double-skin milk in the fridge," Shuichi said quickly. "It's way better than this."
"Really? The one that little girl ate yesterday?" Yukiko's eyes lit up, and she darted to the fridge.
Shuichi walked to the cash register and set the fried milk beside Eri. "Still mad?"
"Nope," Eri said without looking up from her book. "I'm studying. Don't bother me."
Shuichi leaned down, peering at her face over the book to gauge her mood.
"What're you doing?" Eri gave a playful huff and pushed his head away.
"You're really not mad?" Shuichi asked, surprised.
"I'm not an idiot," Eri said, rolling her eyes. "She was obviously trying to get a rise out of me. If I got mad, I'd be letting her win."
With that, she popped a piece of fried milk in her mouth, her face softening with delight.
Seeing she was genuinely fine, Shuichi turned to head back to the kitchen. But Eri's voice stopped him.
"This afternoon, a teacher told me about a Tokyo University admissions survey this weekend. If I do well, they're willing to recommend me for Harvard."
"Got it," Shuichi said without turning around. "I'll go with you this weekend."
Eri quietly flashed a victory sign. She was dead-set on studying abroad and planned to drag Shuichi along.
In America, she wouldn't have to deal with Yukiko's annoying fox face anymore.
When the teacher mentioned extra spots for the survey, Eri had taken the liberty of signing Shuichi up too.
At Teitan High's entrance exam, Eri had aced every subject, claiming first place. Shuichi, losing a few points in Japanese and English, came in second.
Having studied together since junior high, they knew each other's academic strengths well. In Eri's mind, if Shuichi put in the effort, getting a Harvard recommendation alongside her was entirely doable.
But from their usual talks, she sensed his reluctance to go to America. Convincing him would have to wait.
What Eri didn't know was that Shuichi's hesitation stemmed from fear of America's anti-Japanese movement. The frenzy could turn violent—Asians were sometimes attacked on sight. One wrong move, and he could end up dead in the States.
(End of Chapter)
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T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
patreon.com/TripleCrown07
If you guys wanna check it out.