CHAPTER 382: CHAPTER 282 MR. REFLECTION_2

Knowing that the sisters’ mother hadn’t taken care of them for half a year, Uesugi Sakura was surprised to see the living room so tidy upon entering the house.

"Does Chiaei usually clean the room?"

"No, no... Aei sometimes helps too..."

Chiaei noticed him observing the room and spoke nervously, "Big brother, please have a seat for a while."

Uesugi Sakura assumed she was going with Aei to change their wet clothes, "Alright, go ahead."

It didn’t take long before Chiaei carefully placed a steaming hot cup of tea in front of him.

"Didn’t you go to change your clothes?" Uesugi Sakura saw the floating tea leaves in the cup.

"Aei went."

"I meant you."

Chiaei looked like a child who had done something wrong in front of him, "I... I thought I couldn’t let brother wait here, after helping to find Aei just now, drinking hot tea is better..."

They had only exchanged a few words; it wasn’t like they had been exposed to much wind and rain.

Uesugi Sakura remained silent for a moment, accepted her kindness, then said: "Go change your clothes quickly and take a bath to avoid catching a cold. Before, when your sister Hanabi caught a cold, I looked after her for a while. If you..."

He hesitated.

He originally wanted to say that catching a cold would worry their parents, but then he noticed the small tear mole under Chiaei’s left eye and suddenly remembered what she had told him.

— Their parents don’t care whether they catch a cold.

After Chiaei went to change clothes and take a bath, Uesugi Sakura sat in the living room and took a sip of the hot tea.

The tea was fragrant but lacked a certain flavor.

Probably because the tea hadn’t been awakened.

But also, a girl in her teens wouldn’t know much about awakening tea, maybe she learned to serve tea to guests from watching TV.

Thinking of something, he walked into the kitchen and saw a tea canister on the counter.

The canister was new, with only one tea bag used.

This indicated the tea was newly bought, and the cup he drank was the first.

But the sisters don’t usually drink tea; who was this newly bought tea meant for?

Uesugi Sakura also noticed instant coffee near the tea canister, equally new.

The combination of the tea canister and coffee reminded him of himself, but he hadn’t told Chiaei or Aei what he liked to drink.

Did they ask Hanabi?

He opened the refrigerator and saw some small cakes and puddings in transparent boxes on the upper shelf.

There was a conspicuous note warning Aei not to steal snacks, or her sister would surely know.

Besides convenience store-bought cold meals, there were also two plates of... food?

It seemed they were burnt, looking black and unappetizing.

If he made such dishes—eating cup noodles seemed more reliable.

No wonder Aei always complained about her sister’s cooking.

But Chiaei was very meticulous; cooking shouldn’t be that difficult for her.

Currently, the issue might be that there was no one to teach her.

After returning everything to its original place, Uesugi Sakura returned to the living room.

Being on the 14th floor, it appeared to be closer to the clouds outside.

The raindrops hitting the window seemed to transmit sound into the heart, staring at the storm long enough brought a chill to the body.

He picked up the cup again, the aroma filled his mouth, the hot tea slipped into his stomach, and warmth spread through his body and mind.

In the living room, he could hear the two young sisters talking in the bathroom.

It was mainly the sister asking if Aei had encountered anything, while Aei spoke of Mr. Reflection and other odd things.

The teacup was empty.

Aei, now in her pajamas, emerged from the bathroom, her small feet pattering on the floor, running over to him.

"Aren’t you going to soak in the bath for a while?" Uesugi Sakura, while replying to Hanabi’s message, looked up and noticed her hair was still damp.

"What’s the use of bathing?"

"It promotes circulation and helps to sweat; after getting rained on, it’s easy to catch a cold."

Aei made an intrigued "oh" sound and ran back to the bathroom, her feet tapping on the floor.

Her sudden opening of the bathroom door startled her sister.

Should this be called putting knowledge into practice?

Uesugi Sakura’s plan to say hello and leave was thwarted; he had to wait for the sisters to finish bathing before saying goodbye.

During the wait, he inspected the layout of the house.

Strangely, it was only a one-room apartment with a living room and kitchen.

Besides, the kitchen was open-plan, essentially part of the living room.

The decor was exquisite, and the location was great, with many companies nearby.

A house like this...

Uesugi Sakura was quite concerned about the man seen tying his tie earlier; if practiced to a one-bedroom level... this should be a single apartment...

Non-marriage is popular in Japan.

Young men are relatively passive and unwilling to actively pursue relationships, while young women prefer partners earning above a certain level, which is a tall order for ordinary young men.

Once young people become fatigued, many feel they can get by alone, why risk trying a relationship that’s likely to fail?

Online, endless news about divorces fueled single corporate workers’ fear of marriage, making them forget to seek partners amidst their busy work.

’I can take care of myself.’

’I entertain myself.’

’My family only needs me.’

’It’s not about managing alone; it’s about thriving alone.’

Such houses are custom-made for non-marriage individuals, a one-bedroom for one person.

Of course, for some, this is a good place to keep a lover...

So... the reputation of such apartments isn’t great; for men, it’s okay, but for women...

A home with only two little girls living here isn’t appropriate.

The sisters came out of the bathroom, and Uesugi Sakura thought it was time for him to say goodbye.

"Ah~ is brother leaving?"

"Do you want me to stay?"

"At home, it’s just my sister and me; if brother stays, we can have someone else to talk to."

"Wouldn’t it be better if I called your sister Hanabi over?"

"Really?" Aei’s curved eyebrows rose in delight.

Uesugi Sakura didn’t directly respond, "Aren’t you feeling unwell?"

"I’m feeling better now."

"Then what happened this afternoon, why were you alone in such a place watching Mr. Reflection?"

"Because Mr. Reflection looks at me, so I want to look at him too."

Very much the kind of strange words in line with Aei’s personality.

"Who is Mr. Reflection?"

"Mr. Reflection is just Mr. Reflection," Aei said.

Uesugi Sakura glanced at sister Chiaei, and from her expression, he realized she also didn’t understand Aei’s words.

Mr. Reflection watches me...

The words sounded eerie, but the inner meaning Aei wanted to convey was likely different.

"Let me ask differently; did you meet someone this afternoon?"

Aei suddenly became silent for a while, then nodded her little head.

Just when Uesugi Sakura was about to probe further, he recalled the silver watch from Lecture Hall No. on campus that morning.

"Did you see your father?"

Aei shook her head.

"Mother?"

Aei nodded.

"What did she say?"

"Mom just told me to go home and said she’d come see me and my sister in a couple of days... and then she left with an uncle after that..." Aei’s voice grew quieter.

Even though she said she’d return in a few days, it was clearly just a way to brush the little girl off, even Aei could tell.

She probably didn’t even look at her properly, just dismissed her and left.

The mother who had been gone for half a year, upon meeting her younger daughter, only left her with such an indifferent promise.

So she hid under the bridge in the rain, watching reflections.

Besides her sister, only the reflection in the water was willing to keep watching her.

Hearing about their mother, Chiaei’s voice also grew small, "Aei, Mom isn’t coming home again..."

Aei turned her gaze away from her sister, "Mom said she’d come see us in two days..."

"She won’t."

"She will, two more days."

"She’s not coming back." Chiaei muttered.

"She will, Mom told me so herself!"

Chiaei no longer argued with her sister; whether or not she’d return was already clear on the sisters’ faces.