My stepmother's burden is my ex-girlfriend.

Page 101

The situation just now was also like that; it couldn't really be described as a conversation between "step-siblings who get along well"—it was more like a conversation between a couple going through a period of burnout, or between real siblings.

Dad and his family might also think that the two people who haven't known each other for long are adapting too quickly.

We need to remember our original intentions...

Jie Nu looked like she had a lot of grievances on her face and told me.

"We need to recapture the tension we felt four months ago—when we first started living together."

"That's true. Putting aside what Dad and the others think, you've been too lax lately. You call me on your cell phone at night like it's the real deal, and you come to the living room dressed so casually."

"I... I didn't just wear anything! I just wanted something cool to wear in the summer!"

The woman hugged the cushion tightly to cover her body and dragged herself backward.

At this moment, the girl was wearing an oversized shirt with a short skirt, probably because she was afraid of being hot. Her socks were not the usual knee-high socks but long socks.

She would never show her legs in public, but now half her thigh is showing. Her shirt, because it's a large size, droops loosely at the collar when she bends over, making her chest vaguely visible. I didn't peek. I said I didn't peek, and I meant I didn't.

Moreover, she was wearing glasses.

I usually wear contact lenses, but during summer vacation I go out less, and I probably find it troublesome so I end up wearing glasses all the time. This makes me think back to my junior high school days, which is quite detrimental to my mental health.

"...You have a lecherous eye."

Her half-open eyes behind her glasses glared at me coldly. I really wanted to say that she was saying such things while simultaneously raising her knee to show me her thigh—was it intentional? But I held back and looked away.

"...In short, you definitely wouldn't have dressed so unguarded in front of me four months ago. To put it nicely, you'd let go of the feelings you had during junior high..."

"Okay, okay, I got it! Stop rambling! Just get through the burnout period, and you'll be fine!"

"I told you we're not dating, so it's not a period of burnout... No, wait, maybe this can be used as a typical example?"

"A typical example?"

"What I mean is that maybe we can use the methods that couples use to overcome burnout to help us regain our sense of excitement."

"Oh, I see... That makes sense, otherwise I wouldn't know what to do at all..."

The woman pressed her thumb against her soft lower lip and spoke hesitantly.

"But... how can I overcome this period of burnout?"

"........."

Why aren't you saying anything?

"No... I just thought that we broke up because we didn't succeed."

"…………indeed…………"

We perfectly fit the pattern of "exaggerating the other person's shortcomings".

We didn't think of this name at the time, but the six months that started last summer were probably our period of burnout.

Nothing really happened during that period, so there's nothing to reminisce about.

"In that case, we can only rely on the wisdom of our predecessors."

"The wisdom of our predecessors?"

"Also called the Internet."

"...You wouldn't just try to find a solution online every time something goes wrong between us, would you?"

"I...I didn't!"

Her gaze was shifting. No wonder she sometimes does strange things to me.

Jie eagerly picked up her phone and searched for "what to do about burnout" using voice input. Although doing so was both shameful and dishonorable, the truth was that we had no one else to rely on right now.

"Let me see..."

The girl tapped the screen repeatedly with her fingers, her eyes moving up and down.

"How about it?"

"...'If the burnout period comes early, it will arrive about three months after starting the relationship.'"

...That was actually the best period of our relationship.

"To overcome burnout, the key is to re-examine your love for your partner"—that's what it says above.

She glanced at me through her glasses. What do you want to hear me say?

"Enough with the nonsense. Get to the specifics and get to the point."

"You're so quick to jump to conclusions. That's what I've always disliked about you."

"Oh! So we've successfully re-evaluated our performance? And we're out of the burnout phase, right?"

"I'm smoothly evolving from a period of burnout to a period of aversion."

"Let me see—" Jie Nu's eyes returned to her phone, and she said:

"One way to overcome burnout is to plan a date at a place you wouldn't normally go."

We remained silent for a long while.

……Dating.

To prevent our parents from mistaking us for a couple, we had to do things that couples do—it's really bizarre.

"……what to do?"

The girl hugged the cushion tightly, put her legs down and sat in a mermaid princess pose, tilting her head slightly to look at me.

"...Want to go on a date...?"

I would prefer that she just laugh it off.

...I told you, things have been really lax lately.

"...Even if we were to go, where do you think we could go? Are there any places we wouldn't normally go?"

"Anywhere other than bookstores or libraries?... Ah, no, that was only the case in junior high."

Indeed, when we were in junior high school, we spent all our time going to bookstores or libraries, but since we started living together, we don't go to those places together as often anymore.

It should be said that if we shift our perspective to eliminating places we usually go—

"...As long as it's not at home or school, it should be fine, right?"

"...That makes sense."

Indeed, it could be said that our relaxed attitude towards each other, coupled with our shared home and school affiliation, led to us being labeled as a couple going through a period of burnout.

In that case, changing the environment might be a good solution.

"Hmm...I see, I see......"

The girl muttered to herself as she scrolled through her phone for a while. So that's what happened.

"...In that case, perhaps this is a good opportunity."

"What opportunity?"

"As long as it's not home or school, it's fine, right? I happen to need to buy something, could you come with me?"

"Is there something you want to buy...?"

And it's not a book? Buying summer clothes now is too slow...

Jie rested her chin on the cushion she was hugging, and gave a wicked, mocking smile.

"I want to buy a swimsuit."

I'm going to the bookstore.

"Okay—be careful not to get heatstroke—"

"Be careful on the road—"

My complete lie didn't arouse any suspicion from my dad or Aunt Youren. Going to the same places every time we went out was especially convenient in this situation.

I stepped out of the foyer, walked a short distance in front of my house, and then stopped after turning the first corner.

It's so hot...

I looked up from the shadow of the telephone pole at the summer sky, where cicadas chirped incessantly. The sweltering heat, like a sauna, seemed to be relentlessly raising my body temperature. I wanted to go back to an air-conditioned room after only a few steps.

The woman said she needed to change clothes and told me to go out first. Could she be trying to make me die of heatstroke?

"Sorry to keep you waiting. Are you still alive?"

Just as I began to have such doubts, Yui suddenly peeked out from behind the corner.

I thought to myself that she was probably wearing her usual socialite outfit again, but when I saw her, my mind went blank for a moment.

Because I didn't recognize her at first glance.

The girl's outfit today can be described in one sentence: full of youthful energy. She wore a white shirt on top and denim shorts on the bottom, with black knee-high socks on her legs.

What surprised me was how cool it was. The shirt sleeves only reached the shoulders, and the collar was wide open, revealing a glimpse of the collarbone. The thighs were exposed between the shorts and the knee-high socks, with the elastic band of the socks slightly digging into the skin.

But for me, the most dangerous part is the area above the neck.

Perhaps it was for sun protection; she wore a bowler hat, and her long, annoying black hair was tied into two bunches hanging down in front of her shoulders.

Just that alone stirred up some memories for me. But what's worse is my eyes.

I just wore the glasses at home, and now I'm wearing them outside.

"Hmph hmph hmph!"

Jie looked at my face and swayed her shoulders slightly, like a child who had successfully pulled off a prank.

"Method Two for Overcoming Burnout..."

I frowned unhappily.

It was definitely intentional.

With her low double ponytails hanging over her shoulders and glasses, she looks exactly like Yui Ayai in her middle school days.

However, the impression it gives is quite the opposite.

"Hey, it might be troublesome if someone I know sees us, so let's just treat it as a disguise... Oh, right. Here you go."

As she spoke, Yui handed me a blue hat that looked like a baseball cap. Hmm?

"Ever since you got first place in the midterms, you've gradually become a celebrity at school. Wearing this makes it harder for people to recognize you, right?"

"...acting like a celebrity."

"If you're not worried about rumors spreading that we're on a date after summer vacation, then it's okay if you don't wear it, right?"

"……Uh-huh……"

"We'll see..."

Before I could even agree, Jie Nu had already nimbly placed the hat on my head.

"The sun is really strong today. I'd be in trouble if you got heatstroke."

The face I saw through the brim of the hat didn't resemble Ayai Yui at all, the one who would only follow me around.

I don't know if it's because I've grown taller, or because my style of dress creates a different vibe.

It could also be that spiritual growth manifests in this feeling.

However, I still have no intention of becoming your younger brother.

"Okay, I understand."

"very good."

I pulled my hat down low.

Then I thought we could leave, but before that, the ghost girl kept sneaking peeks at me.

"What's up? Is there something else?"

"Well, I guess so, it's just that... there's only one left..."

The girl timidly took the item out of her shoulder bag.

A pair of glasses.