My stepmother's burden is my ex-girlfriend.

Page 124

“Wow!”

When I looked up, my cousin Yuanxiang leaned closer to look at my face.

"...Don't you like going to festivals?"

Seeing the concern in my cousin Yuanxiang's tone made me feel even worse.

Cousin Yuanxiang did nothing wrong.

The water bucket was the same; it did nothing wrong.

It's all my fault.

It's all my fault... I was too weak.

"But... there are some bitter memories."

"I see... Well, it's a festival, it would be strange if nothing went wrong. Getting lost is commonplace, or you'll fall and scrape your feet or get blisters from your shoes, it's a veritable accident-ridden event."

Cousin Yuanxiang chuckled, seemingly unconcerned, and said:

"I've had so many embarrassing moments on dates with my boyfriend!"

“…Huh?”

She spoke so naturally that I didn't have time to react.

Hmm? Hmm?

What did she just say...?

"Boy...boyfriend?"

"Huh? Hmm, my boyfriend."

"You...you have a boyfriend?"

"Yes, there is? Hmm? It doesn't look like there isn't?"

My cousin Yuanxiang, who said this with a smile, is just as beautiful as I, a girl, think. She also has a cheerful and charming personality.

Of course, it's impossible for it not to exist.

I never even considered it. Was it because I only saw her as a close female relative? Or was it because…?

"By the way, when did this start...?"

"Hmm? I think we met after we started college, so... about a year and a half ago. I also dated someone else in high school."

"Another boyfriend!"

"Yeah, yeah. But we didn't really click, so we broke up quickly. Hehehe."

Wearing stylish red-rimmed glasses, with an intellectual appearance like a secondhand bookstore clerk, he said something about "not being a good match".

There's a limit to how much you can deceive people with your appearance.

If it weren't for our family ties, I probably wouldn't have crossed paths with this type...

"Don't be so surprised~ I'm considered well-behaved, okay? My friends are even more outrageous, some girls have had double-digit boyfriends throughout their three years of high school. In comparison, I've only had two, you see, I'm pretty well-behaved."

"Huh? Two... So your boyfriend after starting university is your third...?"

"Oh, him? Actually, he was my first boyfriend."

"The third one is the first...??"

"We got back together~ We had broken up once before, but we ran into each other again in college."

I couldn't help but feel my whole body tense and stiff.

Get back together with your ex...

"Why...did they get back together?"

I managed to squeeze out a sound as my throat grew dry and thirsty.

"Didn't breaking up before mean... that you no longer liked the other person?"

"That's right. I also felt like I really couldn't take it anymore; he was going too far. That's what I thought at the time."

Cousin Yuanxiang gave a self-deprecating laugh.

"After some time, when we met again... I thought, 'Oh well, it's okay.' The things that used to make me angry no longer bothered me as much."

"You don't care...?"

"He was such a loser, unreliable, a complete failure—that's what drove me crazy and that's why I broke up with him. But you see, once you go to college, you have to rebuild new relationships, or rather, all your old friends are gone, right? When we ran into each other again, we naturally started hanging out together all the time again... and then... "

As her cousin Yuanxiang unfolded her bright blue yukata, she said:

"Regarding his incompetent, unreliable, and utterly useless aspects... I couldn't help but think, 'Forget it, I'll handle all those things.' I even gradually started to find those aspects rather endearing..."

"...Um, excuse me for being so forward..."

"Hmm—?"

"Cousin Yuanxiang, could she be... one of those 'bad men magnets'...?"

"...You think so too...?"

Based on what I heard her say, that's the only conclusion I can draw.

"My friends say the same thing about me all the time... My last boyfriend, whom I broke up with quickly after we started dating, was good at everything—academics, sports, he was practically perfect. But because I couldn't find any flaws in him, it made me really unhappy, so we broke up. When I dumped him, he cut me off without a second thought, which really infuriated me... I felt like, 'You're such a pretentious guy, you don't even really need me.' Unlike my previous boyfriend, who kept begging and crying to me."

Even Yuanxiang, who seems to be truly flawless, has an unexpectedly awkward side.

I felt inexplicably at ease.

"Anyway, it's impossible for people to really like everything about each other to the point of obsession—"

As she spoke, Cousin Yuanxiang held up her yukata and compared it to herself in the dressing mirror.

"No matter how much you like someone, there will always be one or two things you can't stand. That's why couples break up... But, if you can overcome this problem once, you should become more tolerant, right? Even if you still dislike the things, your mindset will become, 'Okay, I give up.'"

"...I lost to him..."

"Yeah, yeah, that's exactly what I'm going through right now. My boyfriend said he wanted to top up his game account, and then he actually asked me for money! I just kicked him in the butt. Hehehe!"

No matter how much you like someone, there will always be one or two things about them that you can't stand.

That's why couples in this world break up.

Cousin Yuanxiang's words carried great weight and resonated deep within my heart.

...But putting that aside for now, I'm starting to worry about my cousin Yuanxiang's future.

"So, Yui."

My cousin Yuanxiang changed the yukata she had held up to her own shoulders to my shoulders, and smiled.

"I don't know what happened between you and your cousin Mizuto... but I think you don't need to worry about the little details. Most people in the world are either people you don't really care about or, if you had to put it another way, people you find annoying. So, if you can meet someone who has just as many things you like as things you dislike, isn't that enough?"

Thinking about it carefully, that's exactly how it is.

Because the other party is a living, breathing person.

It is not the embodiment of one's own ideals or delusions.

I initially thought he was aloof and only kind to me, but it's normal that he suddenly gets jealous over something so trivial.

I originally thought he never interacted with others and was completely alone before he met me, but it turns out he had a first love—which is still quite normal.

Because the other party is not an idol star.

Instead, they are ordinary people who stay in the same place and share the same stance.

If you become disillusioned with him just because of jealousy or your first love... then the relationship will never end.

I see.

Actually, I've understood this from the very beginning.

"...Mizuto didn't do anything wrong."

As I lowered my head, a gorgeous and colorful yukata, seemingly out of place, came into view.

"I'm just... frustrated with my own pettiness."

If I had my cousin Yuanxiang's cheerful personality... I probably wouldn't be so easily discouraged by these kinds of things every time.

Because I don't have that right. Nor do I have the qualifications or the reason to.

Everything... is my fault for being so negative that it's annoying, and so narrow-minded that it's beyond redemption.

"...Hmm──"

My cousin Yuanxiang took the yukata off my shoulder and tilted her head slightly, looking a little troubled.

"Yume—isn't it a bit dusty here?"

"what?"

The topic suddenly changed, making me look up.

Then I saw my cousin Yuanxiang giggle like a mischievous little devil.

"After we pick out our yukatas, let's take a bath together!"

She told me to take a bath first, so I rinsed myself off a little and then let my shoulders and below sink into the spacious bathtub.

I looked up at the ceiling where water droplets had condensed and found that my thoughts had come to a standstill.

What's going on here?

Looking into the changing room, through the frosted glass, I could see my cousin Yuanxiang putting her hair up. She seemed to have already taken off her clothes, and her beautiful, curvaceous figure was reflected in the glass as a silhouette.

--What are we going to do? Of course, we'll talk about private topics between girls!♪

Cousin Yuanxiang was saying this with a happy smile, but...

I soaked in hot water and hugged my knees.

It seems like I haven't taken a bath with anyone other than my mother since my junior high school school trip?

The two of them bathing together alone might even be a first for them.

Why am I so nervous...? It's not like I'm with Xiaoyue!

"Sorry to keep you waiting—"

The door opened with a whoosh, and Cousin Yuanxiang walked into the bathroom.

There was absolutely no embarrassment or remorse about covering her body with a towel.

Instead, she placed her hands on her slender waist, exposing her dazzling naked body to me.

When she wore a swimsuit, her great figure was already quite evident... but now, she has a beautiful waistline, firm hips, and long, toned legs without any excess fat.

What's most impressive is her self-reported F-cup bust. Despite not wearing a bra or swimsuit, her bowl-shaped breasts showed no signs of sagging. Instead, they swayed gently with every movement, making me question the validity of the laws of physics.

"How is it?"

Seeing my cousin Yuanxiang's confident expression, I answered honestly:

"So beautiful..."

"Thank you~! You're so beautiful too, Yui! I'm so envious of how slim you are~! You're the perfect figure for a girl."

"No, it's not that good..."

I shrank back. Being praised by my cousin Yuanxiang made me feel extremely uneasy.

My cousin Yuanxiang scooped up hot water from the bathtub and splashed it on herself, then said, "Okay, please move aside~" and stepped over the edge of the bathtub where I was taking a bath.

At that moment, my eyes couldn't help but drift to the space between her legs.

Does the fact that it has been carefully trimmed mean that there is a chance for others to see it...?

"Phew~"

My cousin Yuanxiang sat down facing me and soaked her shoulders and below in hot water. The hot water immediately overflowed with a splash and flowed into the drain.

The bathtub in this house is fairly large, but it's a bit cramped for two people to soak in together. My legs, which were drawn up to my chest, would occasionally brush against my cousin Yuanxiang's thighs, and for some reason, it made my heart race.

"Ah~ I feel so relieved~"

Cousin Yuanxiang said this, her two white breasts floating lightly on the water.