"I am very grateful to you too." The words of gratitude carried a chilling tone, but the man did not mind.
"Now, let us discuss the matter of compensation properly." Looking at the blond woman still kneeling on the ground, the man said coldly.
...
The boy took the girl's hand, leading her away from the spiky-haired group of children, and then reached out, his hands dancing lightly as he communicated in sign language: 'Are you okay? Are you hurt?'
The girl shook her head, looking at the boy gently, but somehow, a tear could be seen slipping down her face, and seeing this, the boy felt a pang of pain in his heart.
'Don't cry, it doesn't look good when you cry...'
'I'm not crying...'
The boy looked helplessly at the girl who was crying softly while smiling gently, not knowing how to comfort her.
'Does Gongcheng-kun hurt?' the girl wrote in her notebook.
'I should be the one asking you that, you bled so much...'
'But... Gongcheng-kun looks more seriously injured...' Perhaps because it was the first time she had asked such a question, a blush involuntarily appeared on the girl's cheeks, looking quite cute.
'It's fine.' The boy scratched his head and smiled gently, but the girl was clearly still worried about him.
'Alright, it really is fine. Dad is going to take me to see the doctor in a little while, do you want to come along?' the boy asked.
The girl did not answer the boy; she just hugged her notebook tightly, holding back her tears.
Shoko, be strong... Don't cry...
The boy looked at the girl's lowered head, his eyes filled with worry.
At that moment, the office door opened, and stepping through first was the boy's father, Gongcheng Yuyi.
The man looked at the boy shielding the girl behind him, then glanced coldly at the group of children in the distance, before walking up to the two little ones.
Sensing the strange atmosphere nearby, the girl wiped her face with her sleeve, then raised her little head and looked blankly at the man beside her.
At that moment, the man handed his own notebook to the girl: 'Thank you, Nishimiya-san, for taking care of our little Yuandu.'
"Um..." The girl blushed and lowered her head again, letting out a tiny sound.
"Well then, Teacher, we will be leaving first." The man said to the person following closely behind him, then picked up the boy and left, while the boy waved goodbye to the girl.
From then on, the little group of bullies never dared to trouble the two of them again, and the boy and girl finally entered junior high school.
Only...
'I am going to leave ~' The boy handed his notebook to the girl.
'Where is Gongcheng-kun going? Why do you have to leave?' Panic appeared on the girl's face, and her eyes looking at the boy were filled with incomprehension.
'I have been away from home too long, I need to go back and take a look.'
'Then, will Gongcheng-kun come back?' The girl looked at the boy expectantly, his answer holding tremendous significance for her at that moment.
'I don't know... Dad didn't tell me.'
'Is that so...' The girl looked down at the words on the notebook with disappointment, and a sorrowful atmosphere spread.
'Let's exchange things! That way we can look at the object and think of each other ~' The boy comforted her thus, but this comfort hardly seemed like much of a comfort...
And so, the boy and girl swapped their notebooks, and even exchanged the notebooks they had used for chatting with each other. Along with those came their hearing aids; the boy handed his right-ear hearing aid to the girl, and the girl did the same.
Later, the boy left.
——————
'Will you still remember me, Shoko...'
Taking a small box out of the inner chest pocket of his clothes, he gently opened it to reveal a pink hearing aid. The boy treated it like the most precious treasure in the world, holding it in the palm of his hand and staring at it in silence for a long time.
Gongcheng Yue noticed that his fourth younger brother, who had been in a daze after chiming in with just a single sentence, was making a new move. It wasn't until Yuandu took out that pink hearing aid that Gongcheng Yue smiled knowingly.
To have someone to yearn for—how could that not be a good thing? He only wondered if his brother would successfully reunite with the girl he longed for day and night.
No matter what, he would support him, because after all... he was his younger brother.
——————
Arriving in Tokyo City, Yamato Province, after getting off the plane, a car was already waiting at the airport entrance, and as soon as the four of them emerged, someone stepped forward to greet them.
"Hello, Mr. Gongcheng Yue."
"Hello, Ms. Haino."
A mature-looking woman with long, straight black hair extended her hand to shake hands with Gongcheng Yue, and they quickly parted.
"These three must be your younger brothers and sister?" Haino smiled as she looked at the three people standing behind Gongcheng Yue.
"Yes, this is my third younger brother, Gongcheng Mu, my fourth younger brother, Yuandu, and my fifth younger sister, Yunling." Gongcheng Yue introduced the three of them to Haino one by one.
"Hello, Ms. Haino."
"Hello, Sister Haino, please take good care of us from now on!"
The two of them greeted the woman respectively, while Gongcheng Yuandu, relying on his hearing aid, managed to hear some of the words clearly. He placed his left hand flat against his lower abdomen, pressed his right hand tightly against his back, and bowed slightly to Haino.
Ever since he lost his hearing, he had become taciturn. Although he still spoke a few words to his family at times, his speech was always difficult to understand, and by now, his language system had essentially regressed.
"I am sorry, Ms. Haino. You probably already know about my brother's condition, so..." Gongcheng Yue said apologetically.
"I understand." Haino smiled gently.
"Well then, would you and your siblings like to come with me to see my mother first, or would you prefer to go check out the residence I have arranged for you all?"
"Well... allow me to consult with my brothers and sister."
Gongcheng Yue took out his phone and sent a message in the family chat group: 'Xiao Mu, Yuandu, Yunling, should we go look at the residence first, or come with me to the Yukinoshita Family to meet Madame Yukinoshita?'
Head of the Family: 'Already arrived in Yamato Province so fast?'
Xuansu: 'Dad, technology is advancing, you know. Arriving in Yamato Province in a single afternoon is a breeze.'
Head of the Family: 'Makes sense.'
Yunling: 'Well... I'm not going. I'm going to find my online friend! We're meeting up in real life!'
Yuandu: 'I think I'll go check out the residence first.'
Amu: 'I'll go with Second Brother. If Yuandu has nothing to do, why doesn't he go with Yunling? Meeting an online friend in real life always runs into surprises, what if the other person is a weirdo?'
Yunling: 'Third Brother! Komachi is not a weirdo! If you keep saying that, I won't talk to you anymore!'
Yuandu: 'Okay.'
Gongcheng Mu looked at his pouting fifth sister and shrugged helplessly; he still had no way of handling her.
"I'll go with Xiao Mu to meet Madame Yukinoshita. As for Yunling and Yuandu, they can go look around first." He said to Haino.
"Then I wish Yunling and Yuandu a pleasant time ~" With that, Haino led the two of them into the car and drove away.
Of course, their luggage was taken along as well.
"Hehehe, Komachi, we'll be able to meet soon ~" The girl fantasized about the scenario of meeting her online friend named "Komachi."
Seeing the silly-smiling little loli beside him, the boy rubbed the bridge of his nose and then knocked her lightly on the head.
'Let's go, time to find your online friend.'
The girl nodded quickly, tapped out a few messages on her phone, and then tugged at the boy's sleeve as she searched for the agreed-upon meeting place with her online friend.
Meanwhile, on the other side...
A short blue-haired girl was pulling along a boy with dead fish eyes. Without those dead fish eyes, the boy's looks and overall temperament would probably be even higher?
"Geez, Big Bro, hurry up and walk! If we're late for the appointment with Xiaoyun, that won't be good! Xiaoyun arrived in Tokyo today, you know!" Urged the boy lagging behind her, the girl complained.
"I'm telling you, Komachi, aren't you afraid this 'Xiaoyun' turns out to be a weirdo?" As a seasoned complex for his little sister, Hikigaya Hachiman naturally felt the need to protect her and couldn't let her be targeted by some weirdo.
"Hmph, that remark just now loses you points as far as Komachi is concerned, Big Bro!" Hikigaya Komachi looked at Hikigaya Hachiman with dissatisfaction.
"Besides, Xiaoyun is definitely not a weirdo!"
Clearly, the friendship between Xiaoyun and Hikigaya Komachi was not so easily shaken.