8:17 PM.
In the bathroom behind the Heilai Main House, the sound of water had just stopped.
And in Hisaki’s room at the deepest part of the inner residence living area, Rinna was currently lying in bed.
She was wearing a set of cotton pajamas that Hisaki had also prepared in advance.
On her toes that she had just stretched out from under the covers, a very thin layer of nail cream had been applied.
Of course, she hadn’t applied it herself; Hisaki had crouched on the floor after dinner and helped her rub it on bit by bit with her fingertips.
The reason was that the edges of Rinna’s toenails occasionally formed a thin layer of white flakes.
People with weak constitutions have poor peripheral circulation, so their nails are always dry. Hisaki had noticed this detail for a long time.
They also ate dinner out, at the soup curry shop on the third floor of the Sunshine Town shopping district that they hadn’t had time to try during lunch.
Rinna ordered a black chicken medicinal stew. The broth was boiled with Codonopsis pilosula, goji berries, and a small amount of angelica.
The flavor was light and not greasy, and the chicken was braised so tender that it slid off the bone with a light pinch of her chopsticks.
She ate half the pot.
To be precise, Hisaki had ladled four spoonfuls onto her rice, picked up six pieces of meat for her, and finally used the spoon to scoop up the remaining Codonopsis pilosula root from the bottom of the pot and put it in her bowl, saying, “You can eat this too. It’s good for your qi and blood.”
Dr. Qi Lai had clearly stated that Rinna should absolutely avoid spicy, stimulating, raw, cold, and hard foods.
Hisaki hadn’t forgotten a single word.
Now, dinner had been mostly digested, and she had taken her medicine on time.
Rinna was leaning against the headboard, her back propped up by Hisaki’s small beige cushion.
She had just finished a quick wash, and the ointment left a cool, refreshing taste on her lips.
Her long white hair was spread out on the pillow, the ends still slightly damp.
When Hisaki helped dry her hair, she had refused the hair dryer because it was too noisy. Now her hair was slowly drying on its own, leaving a very faint damp mark on the pillowcase.
Rinna stared at the washi paper hanging lamp on the ceiling, her mind idly circling one question.
Hei Lai Qi…
Hisaki’s younger brother hadn’t come home for dinner again tonight.
She thought about the impression of that boy in her memories.
Actually, it wasn’t really memory. The memories left by Shirase Rinna were gradually fading to some extent; only in certain specific scenes would some images suddenly pop up.
For example, when she saw Hei Luan Yu Si sitting at the head of the table during lunch drinking miso soup, she inexplicably remembered a little boy who always sat in the last seat on the right side…
And then there were some even more fragmented images.
Rinna was sitting next to Hisaki eating snacks, and when she turned her head, she saw that boy standing at the corner of the hallway, holding his school bag with both hands, staring straight in their direction.
That look wasn’t fierce, nor was it cold. It was just very quiet, so quiet that it bordered on stubborn.
Every time his eyes met Rinna’s, he would turn his head away with a very stiff motion, then silently walk off deeper into the hallway.
Rinna turned over, burying her cheek in the pillow, thinking, ‘Could this boy be the type with a sister complex?’
Because Hisaki had focused all her attention on her, he had developed some kind of indescribable emotion toward Rinna.
Not exactly resentment, but more like a kind of dazed, sulky, clinging feeling that emerged after having a position that should have been his occupied.
Rinna finished a rough character sketch in her mind, then felt that this inference was too hasty.
After all, her understanding of Hei Lai Qi was almost zero. Those fragmented memories were also scooped from other people’s perspectives. Maybe he wasn’t really like that.
Maybe there’s even a big contrast.
For example, on the surface he might be as well-behaved as an honors student cut out from a textbook, but in private he’s fanatically collecting various limited edition figures, or he loves watching Uma Musume so much that he bawls his eyes out, or he secretly keeps a horned frog with strange patterns in his room.
Well, whatever.
Anyway, tomorrow is Saturday. If he comes home for dinner, I can observe him from a distance.
Rinna mentally checked a small “to-do” box for her curiosity.
Then she withdrew her thoughts and opened the system panel.
A pale blue translucent interface floated above her field of vision, the light casting shadows of her eyelashes onto her cheekbones.
The number in the upper right corner had already dropped from 47 in the afternoon to now staying still: [Malice Points: 47]
This number had stayed long enough that she habitually wanted to sigh.
Then she saw the small text that made her eyes widen.
Below the Vitality Pill icon, that light green small text she looked at countless times every day now had an extra detail next to the exchange button that she hadn’t noticed before… [Purchase Limit: 9]
This thing has a purchase limit.
Rinna closed her eyes tightly and opened them again, confirming she hadn’t misread.
That “9” didn’t change or flicker, just lay there quietly, like a fact that had existed for a long time but had always been overlooked by her.
She began calculating quickly in her mind… The first purchase had consumed 100 points and gained 0.1 physique, with 9 purchases remaining.
She could buy it 9 more times, meaning she could increase physique by another 0.9.
3.1 plus 0.9 equals 4.0, just enough to raise physique from the 3rd tier to the 4th tier.
But after that?
If the purchase limit of 9 means she can only buy ten pills in total, then her physique cap would only be 4.0, and that’s it.
Rinna let out a breath and sank the back of her head deeper into the cushion.
Damn it. It was bad enough that the 0.1 bonus was pitifully small, but now there’s a limit too.
Nine times, ten pills total. At best, it can only increase physique by a full 1.0.
This is all this system’s charity to her broken body… just enough to go from “could drop dead at any moment” to “barely functional.”
Screw you, garbage system.
She raised one arm and gently placed the back of her hand over her eyes.
The sound of the sliding door gliding across its track was especially clear in the quiet room.
Rinna looked up toward the sound and saw Hisaki.
Hisaki was wearing a yukata.
Black, exactly the same one she had worn at the hot spring last time… Pure black background, the sash neatly tied at her waist, the collar slightly open.