Although she had already eaten at the Yuigahama house, Kotomi Izumi still sat down to join her parents for breakfast. Eating wasn’t important—it was more about sitting together and chatting.

“Let’s not bother cooking lunch. We’ll eat out. Kotomi, what do you want for lunch?” Kaneyoshi Izumi asked.

“Talk it over with Aimi. I already have plans to go shopping at the Chiba mall with Megumi this morning—we arranged it a few days ago.”

When Akina Izumi heard this, she didn’t say anything, but she did raise her eyebrows slightly, as if thinking: Goodness… straight from Yui’s bed in the morning, and then off to go shopping with Megumi? Switching seamlessly between girls, huh?

“Do you have enough money?” Kaneyoshi asked automatically, the moment he heard his daughter was going shopping. He even started reaching for his wallet.

“I’ve got enough. I just got my manuscript payment this month.”

“Don’t spend it all once it comes in. You need to learn financial management. If you don’t understand something about it, just ask me,” Kaneyoshi said with a smile. Even though Kotomi was already earning money herself, every month he still gave her 50,000 yen in allowance.

Every time Kotomi said, I’m already earning my own money, Kaneyoshi would always laugh and reply: “In your parents’ eyes, you’re still a child.”

“When you’re out shopping with friends, at the very least you should take the initiative to pay a few times. If you’re too generous, they might think you’re looking down on them, but if you’re too stingy, you’ll gradually have fewer friends. You need to find the right balance.”

While saying this, he still transferred 100,000 yen to Kotomi through his phone.

“I understand, Dad.”

“Want another bowl?”

“A big one!”

“Haha, alright.”

After breakfast, Kotomi volunteered to wash all the dishes and pots until they were spotless.

“Aimi’s still not up?”

“She was up late doing homework last night, so she’s sleeping in,” Akina replied.

After washing up, Kotomi tiptoed upstairs and gently pushed open Aimi’s bedroom door.

Sure enough, she was still sleeping in.

Kotomi was well aware of her sister’s beauty—that delicate, lovely little face, that fair and tender skin. They all spoke of one truth: as Aimi grew up, she would only become more and more charming.

Thinking this, Kotomi’s smile softened. She stood quietly by the bed for a while, watching her sister sleep, before chuckling lightly and turning to leave.

Smack.

Just as she expected, the moment she turned away, her wrist was caught by Aimi’s hand.

Your sister will always be your sister. Kotomi had already seen through her sister’s act of feigned sleep while standing by the bed. So she had only pretended to leave, teasing her a little.

Sure enough, the moment she turned, before she even took a step, Aimi grabbed her wrist.

Kotomi looked down at her with a smile. “Awake?”

Aimi blinked, then realized she had fallen for her sister’s trick! She pouted unhappily. “So you do remember to come back home…”

Her sulky look made Kotomi want to laugh but also feel helpless. She had only spent one night at the Yuigahama house—was that really worth acting like she’d been gone for ages?

“How could I not come home? My cutest little sister is waiting for me here.” Kotomi sat down by the bed, smiling warmly.

Such simple words were surprisingly effective for Aimi. Her pretty face flushed pink, and she muttered shyly: “Always such a smooth talker…”

Her words sounded like she didn’t like Kotomi’s flattery, but in truth, Kotomi knew if she hadn’t said it, Aimi would have sulked at her for the entire day.

Seizing the moment, Kotomi suddenly pulled back Aimi’s blanket, making her yelp. Who just ripped off the covers in the middle of a cold morning?! She was about to grab her pillow to smack her sister when Kotomi tossed her coat onto the floor and slipped right into Aimi’s bed.

“O-Onee-chan! What are you doing?!”

Aimi’s mind blanked for a moment.

“Are you hungry?” Kotomi didn’t answer her question, but instead asked one of her own.

“Not really.” Aimi shook her head. She really wasn’t hungry—she had already decided to just wait until lunch.

“Alright then, I’m still sleepy. Keep me company and let’s nap a little longer!” Before she even finished speaking, Kotomi pulled Aimi into her arms.

Aimi didn’t resist. In fact, why would she? Her expression practically said: Happiness came too suddenly.

And just like that, nestled in her sister’s embrace, the just-awakened Aimi quickly drifted back to sleep.

Once Aimi was fully asleep again, it was nearly 10 a.m. Kotomi carefully slipped her arm out from her sister’s hold. Even though she had been the one to hug Aimi first, Aimi had soon taken over, holding on tightly.

Picking up the coat she had tossed onto the floor earlier, Kotomi returned to her own room to change clothes. After all, today she was going shopping with Megumi Kato. Putting on fresh clothes and a touch of light makeup was only natural.

Once she was dressed, there were still twenty minutes left until 10.

“Megumi is always the one waiting for me. This time, I’ll be the one to wait for her.” Kotomi decided to head straight over to Megumi’s house and wait at her door. She wanted to see the look of surprise on Megumi’s face when she came out and found her already there.

She grabbed a small handbag, slipped in a fully charged power bank and charging cable, along with some spare change, then headed downstairs, ready to leave for Megumi’s house.

But just as she pushed open the front door, Kotomi spotted a familiar figure standing under a streetlight not far away.

Short black hair, slender legs wrapped in pristine white stockings, the perfect lines disappearing neatly into round-toed shoes. A girl of flawless beauty who always carried a faint, understated presence—fresh and graceful as always—was standing beneath the streetlight, waiting for her. When she saw Kotomi step out, her face lit up with a smile.

“Kotomi~!”

“Megumi, you came early again. I was planning to head over to your house this time and surprise you, just to see what kind of expression you’d make when you walked out and saw me waiting!”

Kotomi puffed her cheeks in mild annoyance as she walked over, realizing that even though she had left twenty minutes early, she was still beaten by Megumi.

Megumi could never resist Kotomi’s pouting lips. Every time she saw them, she would lean in and kiss her deeply. Only after a long while did she let go, pinching Kotomi’s cheeks affectionately.

“My little cutie, why do you tempt me the very moment we meet?”

Megumi Kato already had a good figure, and today she was dressed in pink tones, paired with white over-the-knee stockings that tightly hugged her slender legs.

Kotomi couldn’t help thinking to herself: Megumi has torn so many pairs of my pantyhose. Maybe… today I should seize the chance to turn the tables? You know, give her a taste of her own medicine.

“What are you thinking about?” Megumi asked with a laugh, instinctively taking Kotomi’s hand and noticing her restless expression.

“Nothing at all!” Kotomi shook her head firmly.

A cold gust of wind blew by, and Megumi instinctively shrank her neck. To match her white over-the-knee stockings, she had worn a skirt today. Even though Japanese girls were used to wearing skirts in autumn and winter, it was still a little chilly.

Kotomi, however, had gone against her usual style and wasn’t wearing pantyhose today. Instead, she wore loose brown pants, paired with brown-and-white platform sneakers and short white lace-edged cotton socks. On top, she wore a dark blue loose hoodie. One word summed her up—warm!

Halfway along, Megumi lightly stamped her feet. “Kotomi, I’m cold.”

“Then… how about we skip shopping today and head home instead?” Kotomi suggested with a mischievous grin.

“No way!” Megumi shot her a glare. This little penguin was definitely asking for trouble!

Kotomi chuckled, then took Megumi’s hand and tucked it into her own pocket. “Is that warmer?” she asked.

“Still a little bit cold.” Megumi’s eyes glinted mischievously as she glanced at Kotomi’s collar, clearly wanting to slip her chilly hands inside and make Kotomi shiver.

With just one look, Kotomi immediately knew what Megumi was planning. She had plenty of experience pulling that trick herself. Quickly, she warned:

“Megumi, I’m telling you—if you dare stick your icy hands in here today, I won’t let you touch me for six months!”

“Okay, okay~” Megumi replied with a carefree smile, completely unconcerned. After all, Kotomi had made this kind of threat before.

And what happened then? Not even half a day later, Kotomi had grabbed Megumi’s hand herself, dragged her to the sports storage room, and whined with tears in her eyes: “Why haven’t you kissed me all day today?”

And then she was the one to kiss first.

Not even half a day later…

After passing through two traffic lights, Kotomi asked:

“I haven’t been to the Chiba mall much before. Megumi, do you know the way?”

“Of course I do, don’t worry. I won’t let you get lost,” Megumi assured her.

“Getting lost isn’t the issue. What I want to know is—how much longer do we have to walk?”

As a homebody, even though she had the stamina of the Queen of All Females, Kotomi still kept her old habits: sit whenever possible, lie down whenever possible. For her, this weekend walk already felt way too long!

I just want to go home and play Apex… Kotomi thought to herself. Ever since she tried playing Apex with the Elite Series 2 controller the other day, she felt like she had discovered a new world.

So it can be this smooth with a controller?!

Of course, smoothness aside, maybe because she was still new to the controller, her already unreliable aim became even worse. She could empty an entire magazine and still not take down a single enemy.

“We’re still a bit away from the mall. Probably another ten or twenty minutes of walking,” Megumi estimated after thinking for a moment.

Kotomi immediately looked around for a taxi.

But then she thought again: the Chiba mall was a bit far from both her house and Megumi’s. Walking took about twenty minutes, but a taxi would definitely be faster—as long as there wasn’t traffic.

Still, taking a taxi for just a twenty-minute walk…

“Let’s just think of it as a stroll. We’ll take our time and walk there.”

The moment Kotomi thought of how much taxi fare would cost, she instantly found the motivation to keep walking to the Chiba shopping mall!

Back at the Yuigahama house…

Yui Yuigahama slept in until 9 a.m. After waking, she went to the bathroom to wash up. Once ready, she returned upstairs to her little sister Yuka’s room to wake her.

“Wake up, Yuka, the sun’s already shining on your butt. Didn’t we agree last night that we’d go to the Chiba shopping mall this morning to buy new clothes for Mom? If you don’t get up now, I won’t take you to Burger King for a kids’ meal with a toy at lunchtime.”

Yui held Yuka’s shoulders and shook her gently until she finally woke from her dreams. Who knew what kind of dream she had been having? The corner of her mouth was even wet with drool.

Yui wiped it away with her hand, suddenly feeling nostalgic for when Yuka still wore a drool bib.

At first, Yuka still wanted to flop onto her sister and keep sleeping. But the moment she heard about Burger King and the kids’ meal toy, her eyes flew wide open. In a flash, she stripped off her pajamas and quickly changed into her outfit for going out.

“Let’s go, Onee-chan!”

“We should at least have breakfast first…” Yui said with a helpless smile. It was the first time she had ever seen Yuka change clothes so quickly.

She picked her up and carried her to the bathroom.

“Yuka, what were you dreaming about? You drooled in your sleep.” Yui asked as she set her sister on a little stool. At her height, Yuka still needed a step stool to reach the sink.

“I dreamed Penguin-Oneechan and Mom were sleeping together…” Yuka said innocently while brushing her teeth.

Bonk!

Before the words had even finished, Yui smacked her on the head with her hand, scolding her sternly:

“You must never say things like that to Mom, and you can’t say them to your Kotomi-nee either. It’s way too rude, got it?”

“Uu…”

Yuka rubbed her head, pouting. It hurt a little, and she felt wronged. She really had dreamed that Kotomi and Mom slept together. Even if Kotomi didn’t become her sister-in-law, becoming her new mom wasn’t bad either!

Yuka could hardly remember how many times she had called Kotomi “Mom” in her dreams last night.

Stupid Onee-chan. You lost to Mom in my dream, letting her marry Penguin-Oneechan, and now you’re just taking it out on me, huh?

Yuka finished washing her face and brushing her teeth with her little face scrunched up in an adorable pout. Even through breakfast, she stayed sullen, unable to figure out why she was being scolded when she was only telling the truth.

Tomoka Yuigahama noticed Yuka’s mood and quietly pulled Yui aside. “What’s wrong with Yuka?” she whispered.

“She’s just sulking. Don’t mind her,” Yui said irritably. She really thought it was time to discipline her little sister properly. They had spoiled her too much, and now she dared to say anything that popped into her head.

After breakfast, once Tomoka had changed clothes, the three of them headed out together toward the Chiba shopping mall.

On the way, Yui bent down and offered Yuka a piggyback ride. Yuka didn’t say anything, just obediently climbed onto her back, letting her sister carry her.

Moments ago the two sisters had been sulking, but just like that, their little quarrel had silently disappeared.

—

—

40 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon:

Patreon.com/DaoOfHeaven

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep