Under the Cherry Blossoms

At noon, Yuko arrived on the school rooftop and found it completely empty. The black cat, Little Qin, had wandered off somewhere during her morning class.

“Not here?” Yuko muttered, feeling a little disappointed.

She gently unwrapped the cloth covering her lunch box. The clean lunch box from yesterday was still resting quietly in her desk drawer. She had washed it incredibly thoroughly, planning to return it to him when she saw him in the afternoon!

Next to her bento, she found a hand-drawn map starting from Shenchuan City Dongling Middle School and ending at the Cat King Bookstore. Beside the map lay a crisp one-thousand-yen bill.

“Qin-kun, you’re so thoughtful… too thoughtful, wuwuwu~” Tears fell uncontrollably, wetting the map and her heart.

Qin An was already on his way to Qin Yage’s school. He had skipped the last period of his morning classes and climbed over the school wall just to bring his little sister her lunch. He knew that stubborn girl would never carry cash—not even a single yen—relying entirely on lollipops.

“Yage-chan, someone is here to see you!”

A classmate shook Qin Yage awake from her nap at her desk. She had been too hungry to even move; any physical activity felt like a complete waste of energy.

“Who is it?” she mumbled discontentedly. Then, she spotted the familiar figure standing at the classroom door and couldn’t help but blush.

Hmph, even if you do something nice like this, I’m not going to forgive you easily, she thought to herself.

“Yage, this is the lunch you forgot this morning.”

“Oh!”

Qin Yage took the lunch box expressionlessly. Qin An scratched his head awkwardly, assuming she was still upset with him.

He could only reach out, ruffle her hair, and say, “Remember to eat your vegetables. Don’t just pick out the meat.”

“I know, I’m not a child anymore! You nag just like an old woman, hmph!”

Qin Yage hugged the lunch box tightly and ran back to her seat without looking back. She knew her face must be as red as a ripe apple.

Qin An shrugged helplessly with a gentle smile. He had to hurry back to his own school, or he would completely miss lunchtime.

“Hey, hey, that guy just now was wearing the uniform of Shenchuan City Dongling Middle School, right?”

“Yeah! I heard their admission score is the highest in the entire city. It’s super hard to get in!”

Qin Yage ignored the whispers of her classmates. She sat down and opened the lunch box. Inside was a neatly arranged spread of dishes, a balanced mix of meat and vegetables rather than the all-meat feast she preferred. She pouted in mock dissatisfaction.

“Yage-chan, tell me quickly—was that guy your boyfriend? He is so incredibly considerate!” It was the girl who had woken her up, Sakai Tomomi. She also wore her hair in twin tails with a matching hair clip, her style strikingly similar to Qin Yage’s.

“Yeah, Yage, tell us who he is! The whole class is buzzing. You’re always so cute but never interested in any of the boys. Honestly, I was starting to think you might not like boys at all.”

A short-haired girl named Seto Reiko leaned in curiously. She was exceptionally tall and well-developed for her age, looking far more mature than her peers. Both girls were Qin Yage’s closest friends in this school, always ending up in the same class. They stuck together constantly, gossiping about schoolgirl secrets and discussing which boys in the upper grades were handsome.

“What are you talking about! That person is my brother!”

Qin Yage shouted defensively, then immediately realized she had lost her usual composure. She quickly lowered her head and started picking out her vegetables. Stir-fried green peppers with shredded meat was such a chore to sort through, and he had even made onion scrambled eggs! Her brother was far too annoying.

“Yage-chan, your brother is so sweet. My older brother is just a brainless sports idiot. Reiko, don’t you have a brother too? What’s he like?”

“I don’t even want to talk about him! He’s absolutely disgusting. I want to kick him out of the house; he’s always locked in his room playing those gross video games.”

“Yage-chan, give me your brother’s phone number!”

“No way! That guy is actually a total idiot. If you talk to him, you’ll catch his stupidity.”

Qin An was unusually having his lunch under a cherry blossom tree on the school grounds today. Most students kept their distance. While others gathered in lively groups, chatting in circles, Qin An sat alone in the shade.

“Yo, if it isn’t Qin-kun. Why are you sitting all by yourself today?”

Qin An turned his head and saw Yamashita Ryo strolling by with a pretty girl clinging to his arm. He vaguely recalled her being a member of one of the school clubs.

Qin An just smiled and said nothing.

“Qin-kun, I really think you should find yourself a girlfriend or two. Otherwise, you look far too lonely. Well, we’ll be off!” Yamashita patted Qin An’s shoulder and guided the girl behind a more secluded cherry blossom tree nearby. Qin An could easily guess what they were going to do. That damn gigolo.

“Meow~”

Just as Qin An opened his lunch box, a little black cat leaned against his ankle, rubbing against his leg with immense enthusiasm. Its tail stood straight up in the air, the tip swaying lightly as it mewed softly, looking incredibly pitiful.

“Not eating with Yuko today?”

Qin An picked up a small slice of lean meat and placed it gently in front of Little Qin. The cat swallowed it without a second thought and looked back up at Qin An with hopeful eyes—or rather, stared intently at his lunch box.

Seeing this, the surrounding students looked at him with even stranger, more puzzled expressions.