Tanaka Masao, whose leg was cramping, was no match for Yukinoshita Haruno at all; his calf was almost ruined before she let him go.
Tanaka Masao limped, pushing his bicycle, walking in the setting sun, his back looking very lonely.
It was like a pitiful girl, after suffering inhumane torture from her enemy, dragging her tattered body into a defeated CG scene.
"My body is all broken now."
He looked up at the sky, a tear tracing a path down his cheek.
"Alright, Tanaka-kin, no need to keep acting pitiful. No one will feel sorry for you."
"Yukino is too much."
Tanaka Masao looked at Yukinoshita Yukino, who was indifferent to him, and condemned her.
"I'm already this miserable, and not only do you not care, you even coldly mock me, saying I'm acting.
Where has the love and warmth between people gone? This world is so cold..."
Yukinoshita Yukino just stood there quietly watching Tanaka Masao's performance, and when he finally stopped, she spoke.
"Are you done, Tanaka-kin? Do you need me to say a few words too?"
Tanaka Masao, who was still vigorously performing, heard this and asked, somewhat puzzled.
"Say what?"
"I saw it all, Tanaka-kin. Every time my sister touched your leg, although you would let out a loud scream, the smile on your face never faded."
Hearing Yukinoshita Yukino's words, Tanaka Masao's body stiffened, and the wronged smile on his face also disappeared for a moment.
"Was... was there?
Yukino, you must have seen wrong. How could a smile appear on my face during such a painful thing?
It must have been a painful grimace."
"Oh, really?"
"Definitely, definitely."
Tanaka Masao nodded frantically.
Under Tanaka Masao's expectant gaze, Yukinoshita Yukino showed a convinced expression.
"But that's a normal person, and you are Tanaka-kin. How can you analyze it with a normal person's mindset?"
"Yukino, that's too much, to speculate about me like that, Eek!"
Tanaka Masao, who was in the middle of complaining, suddenly felt his calf being gently kicked.
Although it didn't hurt much, the feeling of an electric shock throughout his body still made him subconsciously let out a cry.
He looked at the perpetrator, Yukinoshita Yukino, who at this moment showed a faint smile.
"Tanaka-kin made a cute sound."
"Hey, hey, don't take other people's pain as your own pleasure."
Looking at the villainous Yukino, Tanaka Masao let out a cry of defiance.
"Yukino is the worst person in the world!"
...
Yukinoshita Yukino did not torment Tanaka Masao too much. She even very kindly lent her electric bicycle to Tanaka Masao, allowing him to return home more easily.
Tanaka Masao was very touched by this.
"Yukino is the best person in the world!"
Watching her son return home looking exhausted and trembling, Tanaka Kazumi asked, somewhat puzzled.
"Masao, what's wrong with you? Was Yukino's training intensity so high today?"
She fully supported Yukinoshita Yukino supervising Tanaka Masao's weight loss, but usually, the other party would leave Tanaka Masao with some energy. Why was he half-dead today? Could it be...
[Masao made Yukino angry again. If that's the case, being trained like this by Yukino is actually a bit light.
Indeed, that child Yukino is still too gentle.]
Tanaka Masao: Mom, do you want to hear your inner thoughts? Do you even have me, your son, in your heart?
Tanaka Kazumi: Masao, look at what you're saying, this is all for your own good.
"It wasn't Yukino, it was Yukino's older sister. During training today, she was with us, which led to an excessive amount of exercise."
Tanaka Kazumi was completely confused.
Why would adding one more person lead to an excessive amount of exercise?
Aren't you trying to lose weight? This kind of thing only requires you to move yourself. How can it be affected by the number of people?
However, compared to such an insignificant minor matter, Tanaka Kazumi was more concerned about something else.
"So Yukino has an older sister? What does she look like?"
"Here."
Tanaka Masao took out his phone and handed it to Tanaka Kazumi. Inside was a group photo of himself and Yukinoshita Haruno.
Or rather, it was a screenshot taken by Yukinoshita Haruno using his phone.
In the picture, Tanaka Masao lay on the ground, looking utterly despondent, while Yukinoshita Haruno smiled broadly at the camera.
Looking at the picture on the phone, Tanaka Kazumi gasped.
She pointed at the person in the phone and asked, somewhat incredulously.
"Are you sure this is Yukino's older sister?"
"That's right, her name is Haruno."
After receiving an affirmative answer, Tanaka Kazumi shifted her gaze back to the phone.
[Although the face does look somewhat like Yukino, this 'capital'...]
Biological sisters shouldn't have such a big difference. Could it be...
"Is Haruno already married with children?"
"No, Mom, why are you asking that?"
"Oh, it's nothing, just curious. After all, she gives off a very mature feeling."
Tanaka Kazumi casually brushed off Tanaka Masao and fell into deep thought again.
[Since she's not married and doesn't have children, there's only one explanation.
This is the accumulation of time.
Go, Yukino, you can do it too.]
Tanaka Kazumi reaffirmed her identity as a Yukino supporter.
...
Tanaka Masao took a hot bath and felt much of his body's fatigue dissipate.
He returned to his room and received a message from Sawamura Sayuri.
[Tanaka-kun, good news, JUMP has agreed to publish our doujinshi.]
[Xiao Baihe-jie, please pay attention, what we drew is a serious manga.]
[Ah, right, right, I got it wrong, what we drew is a serious manga.]
[Then, Xiao Baihe-jie, have you decided when to print and release it?]
[It's already decided, it will be released with next Monday's weekly magazine.]
[That fast!]
Tanaka Masao was a little surprised, not expecting Sawamura Sayuri's efficiency to be so high. Could it be that she used her family's background?
[Hehe, actually, it shouldn't be this fast, because the weekly magazine's content is usually decided much earlier.
But the author of one manga fell ill and went on hiatus, and they couldn't find a suitable work to fill the void for a while.
Coincidentally, our manga came along. It's of good quality and has a gimmick. The key is that the content isn't much, one issue is enough, which is all good and no harm for them, so they added it.]
[Oh, I see. I'm already looking forward to next week.]
[I'm also looking forward to it. It would be even better if I could personally see the smiling faces of others after reading the manga.]
[By the way, Xiao Baihe-jie, should we promote it ourselves?]
[Oh, yes, that works. JUMP will also be releasing an announcement soon. After they release it, you and I, along with Eriri, will post the news on social media.]
[Okay, Xiao Baihe-jie, pick a more exquisite picture then. Everyone will definitely like it.]
[Hehe, Tanaka, you're so bad, but I like it. It's settled then.]