Anime Crossover: About How I Spoiled an Angel

Page 284

Upon closer inspection, Yukino noticed that the transparent protective film was brand new and reflective.

Twenty roses were neatly arranged in an absorbent sponge, each petal maintaining the perfect curve of greenhouse cultivation.

Yukino then realized that the other person was not a lost child.

"Big brother, you're so handsome!"

The little girl looked up and praised.

Her voice was very childish, and judging from her height and appearance alone, she was roughly ten years old.

Selling flowers at such a young age, especially in such cold weather?

"Well, thank you."

Logically speaking, children don't lie, so he should be very happy.

However, Su Qing's reaction was very calm, which can only be attributed to her personality.

The little girl didn't seem to mind Su Qing's attitude at all. She turned around and tilted her head back with a grin.

The snow quickly fell from her crooked ponytail.

"Big sister, you're so pretty! Big brother is so lucky to have a girlfriend like you!"

"Eh……?"

The little girl's words were like a boomerang, even though she had just been vaguely envious of the others.

Yukino's heart skipped a beat, her eyelashes trembled like butterfly wings, and her pupils reflected the snowflakes that had just fallen to the ground.

Why would someone think that way?

She was clearly trying to maintain the proper distance between friends tonight.

Or perhaps she simply doesn't understand the appropriate level of understanding, leading to a misunderstanding?

"Hehe, so big brother, are you going to buy a flower for your girlfriend?"

The little girl seemed completely oblivious to Yukino's astonishment, assuming it was just the shyness of someone experiencing first love. So she playfully winked and held up the flowers—roses.

"One cherry blossom costs 3000 yen. It's imported and a very high-quality variety, so it's a bit expensive..."

"I think it's called Ecuador...?"

"Ecuador?"

"Yes, yes, big brother knows a lot!"

Su Qing glanced at the rose; it did indeed resemble that variety.

It was late autumn, and roses don't bloom during this season, so it must be a variety that has been artificially controlled.

Even so, 3000 Sakura Coins is actually quite expensive.

However, if it's an imported Ecuadorian variety, then it makes sense.

Of course, this is all on the premise that it's true.

"No need, thank you. Besides, this lady and I are not in a romantic relationship."

Having a girlfriend makes all the difference; in the past, given his personality, he wouldn't have emphasized this point.

Yukino glanced at Su Qing, then quickly looked away.

"How about a lower price, 2500 Sakura Coins?"

The little girl paused for a moment, then quickly lowered the price.

"I'm sorry, little sister, we don't really need these flowers."

Yukino crouched down, trying to keep at the same height as the girl, and spoke in a gentle voice.

"Eh……?"

A hint of disappointment flashed in the little girl's eyes, but she quickly hid it, as if it were an illusion.

"Alright then, goodbye big brother and big sister."

The little girl, holding roses, left trails in the snow as she walked back, the trails shimmering with the colors of neon signs, like a dying rainbow fish.

Yukino stared at the girl's back.

The blurry reflection of the corner glass revealed the flickering silhouette of a red down jacket, like the wolf in a fairy tale who would devour lost children.

"and many more!"

Yukino reached out her hand, as if to grasp something, her voice brief and hurried.

"Is there anything else, big sister?"

The little girl turned around and tilted her head.

The light shone on her face, which was red from the cold, and even the roses seemed less vibrant.

Anyone would feel sympathy in such a situation.

However, Su Qing noticed a glimmer of secret joy hidden in those clear, innocent eyes.

"May I ask you why you're out selling flowers alone so late at night?"

"My mom is sick, and I want to earn some money... but I'm not alone, my mom is with me!"

That childlike voice was so innocent and pure that Yukino's eyes softened instantly.

"Then...where is your mother?"

"My mom?" The girl smiled, her eyes crinkling, and then, under Yukino's puzzled gaze, she pulled out a hand and pointed to the sky.

"My mom is getting treatment in a very, very far place, and it costs a lot of money. But everyone tells me that my mom is always by my side. Look, that's my mom!"

Yukino and Su Qing looked up in the direction of the girl's gaze.

The night was boundless, with stars forming lines, and faces, indistinct, disappeared into the snowy landscape.

It really does resemble the silhouette of a mother.

"My mom's surname is Hoshino, and her given name contains the character 'star' because she used to love looking at the stars!"

The child's voice, sweet as honey, crashed onto the snow.

The girl had probably said or thought about this more than once.

It was as if he had rehearsed similar lines countless times in a theatrical play.

Skilled in making people feel distressed.

……

……

Chapter 340 Ecuador

(After doing some research, I've revised the information about the unit price of roses in the previous chapter.)

?

"So whenever I miss my mom, I look up at the stars."

The little girl holding roses smiled innocently at the two of them.

The dimples on her cheeks were filled with the golden light of the streetlights, like crumpled tin foil roses flickering in the light and shadow.

Su Qing's expression remained unchanged.

Yukino felt as if she was breathing in shards of glass.

The child's down jacket sleeves were frayed, his snow boots were stained with mud, and there was a tremor hidden in the deliberately raised tone when he said "a very, very far place".

As she gazed at the girl's smiling face, she wanted to say something, but when she opened her mouth, only a few blank syllables came out.

The snow seemed to be falling even harder, and all comfort seemed so pale and powerless at this moment.

No matter how you look at it, the other party's mother has probably already passed away.

That's why it's described as "a very, very far place," right?

That was probably a fairy tale woven from a series of lies.

It is illusory, yet beautiful because of that.

The snowflakes suddenly became sharp, cutting through the gaps in the silence.

The mechanical sound of the convenience store's automatic doors opening and closing drifted from afar, carrying the aroma of takoyaki.

"Well... if you're all done, big brothers and sisters, I'll be going now. I still need to keep selling flowers!"

The little girl blinked and asked tentatively.

Seeing that the two of them didn't make any move, she rolled her eyes, then turned to leave.

"Wait! I've already bought the flowers!"

Yukino was a decisive woman, and without further hesitation, she called the little girl to a stop.

"Oh, really? Hehe, thank you so much, big sister! Mom will be so happy."

The little girl turned around, a perfectly timed smile playing on her lips.

They appear well-behaved and sensible.

“Um… one cherry blossom costs 2500 cherry blossoms, and there are 22 here, so it is… it is…”

The little girl stammered for a long time, as if such arithmetic was very difficult for her.

At this moment, no one would blame her, nor would anyone consider whether a child of this age should be able to mentally calculate such numbers.

Yukino quickly took out several ten-thousand-yen bills from her wallet, squatted down, and looked at the rosy cheeks softly, saying:

"No need, let's just say 3000 per flower. If it's 22 flowers, that's 6.6 Sakura Yuan in total."

"Um, is this okay?"

The little girl blinked, her eyes revealing a longing look, but her hand remained suspended in mid-air, not reaching for the banknotes.

"The prices are clearly marked, aren't they? Keep the change from the remaining thousand cherry blossom coins. It's late now, so go home early after you sell the flowers, okay?"

Yukino shook her head, her voice soft yet firm.

"Yes, that's right! The prices are clearly marked." The little girl smiled. "Thank you, big sister!"

Just as she was about to take the seven banknotes, Su Qing stopped her.

"I also want to buy it. I'll offer 30,000 yuan. Let's consider it a joint purchase."

Su Qing looked at Yukino, and Yukino also raised her eyes and looked at Su Qing in surprise.

Those clear, bright eyes suddenly held a strange emotion, and even her voice became lighter.

"Okay, let's buy them together then."

Crackling.

Accompanied by intermittent electrical hum.

The malfunctioning colored light came on again, its blue-purple glow mingling with the cool scent of roses and bursting forth in the night.

I suppose... it must have been the efforts of the electrical engineering senior.

……

The little flower girl seems to be just a minor episode.

The two continued walking along Marunouchi toward the subway station, their footsteps muffled by the snow.

Two or three minutes later.

The warm waves and the hustle and bustle of the crowd in the subway station made Yukino stop in her tracks.

"These ten flowers should be yours."

Yukino had the roses she bought tucked in her arms, but her expression was somewhat conflicted.

Because these twenty-two roses were not individually packaged, the little girl probably didn't intend to sell them by the stem in the first place.

Bundled sales?

Yukino wasn't thinking about that right now.