“Takeshi Yamamoto…” Satsuki Momoi thought for a moment. “He’s the older guy from your neighborhood who came to see you before, right?”
Ringo nodded. “Mm, that’s him.”
“What did he send you?” Momoi asked curiously. “Can I take a look?”
“I don’t know either.” Ringo shook her head. “He never told me he was sending me anything. Satsuki, do you have a knife?”
“I do. Hang on a second.”
Ringo had never expected Yamamoto to send her anything, much less had any idea what it might be, so she was just as curious as Momoi.
Once Momoi brought back a utility knife, Ringo carefully cut through the packing tape and lifted away the layer of foam padding on top. The moment she saw what was inside, her eyes widened.
“Wow!”
Momoi leaned over too. “Candy! So much of it!”
Ringo took all the candy out of the box, dazzled by the sheer variety.
Milk candies, fruit candies, gummies, hard candies, and chocolate—not only were there countless kinds, but all of them came in beautifully designed wrappers.
“I don’t remember you having low blood sugar,” Momoi said, looking at Ringo in confusion. “Why would your neighborhood big brother send you this much candy?”
Scratching her short blonde hair, Ringo wore the same puzzled expression as Momoi.
“I have no idea. Ah, I should send him a message!”
She picked up her phone, took a photo of the candy spread across the table, and sent it to Yamamoto.
Ringo: Big Brother Takeshi, are these candies from you? I saw your name as the sender! o(≧▽≦)o
Yamamoto must not have been busy, because he replied almost immediately.
Yamamoto: Ah, yeah, you got them already? Hahaha, that was fast. I thought it’d take a few more days.
Ringo: But why did you send me so much candy? w(°ｏ°)w
Yamamoto: They’re Halloween candy. Every year, one of my younger coworkers comes around asking us all for candy. This year he found out your address, so when I bought some for him, I got you a box too.
Ringo: I see, but you really didn’t have to buy this much… I can’t possibly finish it all. o(╥﹏╥)o
Yamamoto: I wasn’t sure which kinds you liked, so I bought a bit of everything. Share them with your friends.
Ringo: Is that okay? ╰( ?﹏? )╯
Yamamoto: Of course. They’re your candy now. You can do whatever you want with them.
Ringo: Okay! Thank you, Big Brother Takeshi! I’m so happy! °。o(￣▽￣)o。°
Yamamoto: Does that last emoticon mean you’re so happy you’re bubbling over?
Ringo: Huh? I have no idea. I just thought it looked cute. (：3 」∠ )
Yamamoto: Hahaha, it is pretty cute. I’ve still got work to do, so go enjoy your candy, little Ringo. ( ·ω·)丿(._.)
She wasn’t a little kid anymore. Why did Big Brother Takeshi still treat her like one?
And he was even copying her emoticons!
Still, since Yamamoto said he had to get back to work, Ringo didn’t continue the conversation and simply sent one last message to wrap things up.
Ringo: Then I won’t keep bothering you! ＼（＠￣?￣＠）／
Yamamoto: OK
Huh? Was Big Brother Takeshi the type of person who always had to send the last message when ending a conversation?
Replying to “OK” would just be awkward, so Ringo decided not to send anything else.
After putting down her phone, she looked up and found Momoi resting her chin on both hands, watching her. The moment Ringo set her phone aside, Momoi immediately asked,
“So, can we eat the candy?”
Ringo nodded enthusiastically.
“Yep! There’s no way I can finish all this myself. I asked Big Brother Takeshi, and he said I should share it with my friends.”
Momoi unwrapped a piece of chocolate and popped it into her mouth. After hearing that, she thought for a moment before saying uncertainly,
“It kind of feels like he’s helping you manage your social life. You two grew up together, so he knows you’re socially anxious, right?”
“Mm, he does.” Ringo unwrapped a candy and put it into her mouth. “He feels just like my mom. He still treats me like a little kid.”
Wow, it was an apple-filled gummy!
“I actually think that’s great.” Momoi leaned back in her chair. “A mature, dependable older guy should be the one taking care of you, not someone who needs you to take care of him.”
She sighed.
“Unlike my boyfriend. He’s such an idiot that I’m always the one looking after him. You have no idea how worried I was when someone who barely passed English went off to America by himself.”
Ringo chewed on her gummy.
“Mm…”
Satsuki was showing off her relationship all of a sudden!
But… I have one too!
“Oh, right, speaking of boyfriends…” Ringo sat up properly and looked at Momoi without blinking. “What do you think of my boyfriend? You know, you said before that you wanted to meet him. Even though… it wasn’t exactly a formal introduction…”
Wanting your best friend to approve of your boyfriend was perfectly normal, wasn’t it?
“What do I think…?” Momoi rested her chin on one hand and thought for a while.
“I feel like…” She paused before sitting up straight. “He doesn’t like you that much.”
Her expression turned serious.
“I’m being honest. Being with someone who doesn’t care about you as much as you care about them is really exhausting.”
Momoi’s words were blunt, but she felt that was exactly why she had to say them. Ringo was her best friend, so she wanted to tell her what she truly thought.
After all, people often couldn’t see things clearly when it came to love—especially when they were deeply invested in the relationship.
Momoi had worried that Ringo would be upset after hearing that, so she carefully watched her expression.
Instead, Ringo simply nodded and even smiled.
“I know.”
“Since the way Zhijun and I started dating was kind of strange, there’s no way he’d suddenly fall in love with me. Whenever I ask him about it, he never answers. And because of my personality, I’m very sensitive to the emotions and attitudes of the people around me.”
She smiled softly.
“So I can tell that Zhijun doesn’t like me… at least not yet.”
Momoi couldn’t help staring at her in surprise.
“Then why are you still—”
“Because I like Zhijun,” Ringo answered earnestly.
“And lately, I think… he probably likes me a little too. Even though he hasn’t said it.”
Tilting her head slightly, her eyes curved into a gentle smile.
“I just hope I’m not imagining it.”
“I’m sure you’re not,” Momoi replied with a grin. “Our Ringo is so adorable. If he doesn’t like you, then he’d have to be blind. So, are you two spending Halloween together?”
“Mmm… we haven’t decided yet. He has to make sure he doesn’t have work first.”
“If he ends up being busy, then come back to Tokyo with me~”
“Just imagining it already makes me nervous!”