“Ok?”

Hearing this unexpected line, the two people who were about to sit down were stunned.

“As for the content of the competition… Grandma is old, and her body can’t handle eating or running. Why don’t we just use the video games you usually play to decide the winner? As long as any one of you beats me, you win.”

“Confused. Grandma, what do you mean?”

Looking at the confused Yamai sisters, Guan Meng continued,

“If I win, you can’t use any competition method to decide my path.”

Hearing this, Yakuya and Yui raised their eyebrows and immediately understood Guan Meng’s plan. The other party was going to use the method they were most familiar with to stop them.

“Granny, are you serious? Challenge us, Yamai.”

Guan Meng nodded slowly.

“Well… I am serious. After all, I am your guardian, so I cannot just ignore your work. You must be tired of hearing the same old sermons.”

“Question. What if Xixian wins?”

“That’s true… If you win, I won’t ask you how you decide to volunteer. Also, I’ll double your pocket money for next month.”

Hearing the tempting conditions, the two couldn’t help but be moved.

“Understood. Then Xixian has no objection.”

“Kuku – you are worthy of being my caretaker. I deeply appreciate your kindness. Once a word is spoken, it cannot be taken back. Be prepared, grandma! I will not let you off just because you are older!”

……

[——KO! You Dead~]

“………………………………”

Looking at the English letters appearing on the LCD screen, Yakushi opened his mouth blankly and the game controller fell to the ground.

“This means both of them have won nine games in a row…” Putting the game controller gently on the table, Guan Meng first glanced at Yejuya, then turned to Xixian and asked.

“Do you want to continue…Xixian?”

“Give up. Xixian admitted defeat wholeheartedly.”

Xixian shook her head and gently hugged Yakuya. Then, Yakuya came back to his senses, with tears of grievance in his eyes.

“WuwuqAq…I’m sorry Xixian…I lost.”

“Negative T^T. Yakuya tried very hard, it was Yui who lost because she didn’t live up to her expectations.”

“Really…”

Looking at the two people crying, Guan Meng sighed with a wry smile, and waited until the two calmed down before speaking.

“Yuu-chan, Yaku-ya. Do you understand why… why I must stop you from deciding your volunteer through the competition?”

“Because…I was wrong.”

“What’s wrong?”

In response to Guan Meng’s question, Yakushi hesitated for a moment and then answered.

“Because I and my half…want to take over each other’s future for our own selfish desires.”

“……wrong.”

Guan Meng shook her head.

“Answer me. Yui and Yakuya are too conceited, and their consideration of career paths is too rash and insufficient. Competition in society is very fierce. If we make decisions based on competition, we will suffer a great loss in the future… or something like that?”

Xixian said speculatively.

“…That’s not right.”

Guan Meng still shook her head.

Looking at the confused Yami sisters, the wrinkles on Guan Meng’s face relaxed slightly, and her voice gradually softened along with her expression.

“The reason why I want to stop you… is not because you don’t value the future enough, nor because you don’t respect each other enough. On the contrary, I hope you can value yourself and cherish yourself.”

As if a certain string in their hearts was plucked, surprise flashed in their eyes.

“Yakuya, if Yui chooses to give up her own aspirations and go to the same university with you for your dream… would you be happy?”

“I……”

“Yushin, if Yakuya gave up his dream for you… would you accept it?”

“This one……”

Faced with Guan Meng’s hypothesis, the two seemed to be choked in the throat and were speechless.

“Sacrificing yourself for others is a great thing. But… people who cannot cherish themselves cannot bring happiness to others.”

With a slightly hoarse tone, Guan Meng spoke slowly.

“Maybe you don’t care about getting hurt, but people who care about you will worry and feel sad for you. In the end… no one will be happy. So, even for the happiness of others, you can’t put your own feelings aside.”

A gentle yet helpless voice reached their ears, and feeling the kindness and concern in the words, the two of them woke up as if from a dream, and feelings of shame surged in their hearts.

“Grandma. I…”

“…Apologize. Xixian…I know I was wrong.”

“It’s fine.”

Gently holding the two of them in his arms, Guan Meng’s eyes sank slightly and he said with a wry smile.

“What you worry about will not happen. Because no matter where you go, this is your home.”

……

At night, after returning to their room, Yakuya and Yui sat back to back on the bed, staring at the ceiling in a daze, chewing on their grandmother’s teachings to them.

“Hey, half body.”

Yakushi suddenly spoke.

“Answer me. What’s going on, Yakushi?”

“Grandma is really amazing. I’ve never seen her try video games before. I didn’t expect she’s so good at it.”

“I agree. To be honest, Xi Xian is almost losing confidence. This is probably because there are always people who are better than you.”

“Well, after all, he is our Yamai’s adopter, so he is definitely not an ordinary person. This is only natural.”

“I agree. Grandma, you are really amazing.”

Xi Xian smiled and nodded. The warmth and weight from her back, a feeling of being supported by someone, made her feel extremely at ease.

The casual conversation continued like this, but the two of them did not turn their heads, and their backs were facing each other tacitly.

Maybe it’s because this distance is just right. If you look at the other person’s face, some of the things you want to say will become difficult to say.

“Xixian. Why do you want to be a nurse?”

Suddenly, Yakuya asked a question. After noticing that the other party did not call him “half body” as usual, Yui was a little surprised, then smiled slightly, hugged his knees, and spoke as if reminiscing.

“Answer me. Yakuya, do you remember? When Yui and Yakuya were still in the hospital, they often sneaked out.”

“Of course… I got into a lot of trouble while trying to investigate the enemy. I also caused a lot of trouble for the white-robed apostles.”

“Of course. The nurse sister didn’t get tired of us. Instead, she was always worried about us and took good care of us. At that time, I just thought that it would be great if I could become a nurse in the future.”

“I see. Xixian, you will definitely become a good nurse.”

Hearing Xixian’s answer, Yajuya nodded in understanding.

“Question. Why does Yakuya want to learn scriptwriting?”

“I…” Yakuya hesitated for a moment and then spoke honestly, “I don’t have any special opportunity. I just like to write down the stories I imagined in my mind. Then gradually, I was not satisfied with my own settings, and wanted to convey the world, thoughts, and feelings in my heart to others in a more concrete and real way. So that others would recognize and praise me. It’s nothing great.”

“No. That’s not true. I do it because I like it. This reason is more important than anything else.”

“Yes, yes…”

After getting Yui’s affirmative answer, Yakushi scratched his head embarrassedly.

“Hey… Xixian. If I told you that I wanted you to become a nurse, and therefore gave up the major you wanted to study, what would you think?”

“Answer quickly. Yuigen will be furious and will never forgive Yakuya for the rest of her life.”

“That’s true. If Xixian gave up her dream of becoming a nurse for me, I would never forgive her.”

Speaking of this, the two couldn’t help but laugh as they recalled how they had concealed their own thoughts at the beginning and pretended to make the other party give up their volunteers in order to compete.

“Sure enough, if grandma hadn’t intervened, I don’t know how long it would take for Ru and I to struggle with this matter.”

“I agree. It’s great that it was grandma who adopted Yui and Yakuya.”

——Those who cannot cherish themselves cannot bring happiness to others.

——No matter where you go, this is your home.

Silently reciting in his heart, Xixian extended his hand to Yakuya, and Yakuya seemed to sense Xixian’s thoughts and held the other’s hand in tacit understanding.

The ten fingers were tightly clasped together, and then slowly relaxed.

“… the other half of my body. This separation will not be a farewell.”

“Nod. Xixian understands.”

“This is a test. It is for us, Yama, to eliminate the weaknesses in our hearts and gain stronger strength to protect the people we cherish.”

“Understood. Yui will work hard to become a person who makes Yakuya, grandma, and everyone else happy.”

“That’s right!”

Taking a deep breath, Yakushi swore in a high voice,

“Separated wings are not broken. One day they will intertwine again, merge into a pair of stronger wings, and fly across the blue sky!!”

……

“Cross the finish line. Looks like Xixian wins this time.”

“Wu Nu Nu… a mere half of the body is so arrogant.”

At the station, looking at Yui with her chest puffed out proudly, Yakushi pursed his lips and let out a low moan of unwillingness.

“I will definitely win next time, just wait and see.”

“Answer. According to the result, the fare this time will be reimbursed by Yakushi.”

“Of course I know, I will admit defeat.”

After finishing the written test that they had decided on a whim, Yui and Yakuya sat on the seats on the platform, waiting for the bus to arrive.

“Question. Yakuya, how is the script writing going at the company recently?”

“Hmm… It’s hard to explain. Teamwork is more troublesome than you might think. Compared to coming up with a good script, it takes more effort to get other contractors in the team to work together to complete the work. I finally understand why Nia was so resistant to the anime adaptation.”

“I feel so emotional. Yakushiya must have worked so hard.”

“Where is your half body? How are you in the hospital?”

“I have no choice. It’s the peak season for seasonal colds recently, so I’ll probably be very busy. I may also have to deal with some patients’ complaints, so I may have to come home late tonight.”

“Me too, I may have to work overtime for a meeting tonight.”

“I feel emotional. Every job has its own difficulties.”

“There’s still a long way to go.”

After that, Yui and Yakuya listened carefully to their teacher’s advice and went to different schools according to their own wishes.

Taking this as an opportunity, they met a lot of people and saw a lot of things. When their focus shifted away from each other, they realized their own narrowness in this vast world.

Although life without each other made them feel somewhat uneasy and confused at first, looking back on the past, Yakuya and Yui are glad. If they had not chosen to separate at that time, they would have left each other with nothing but regret.

On the contrary, now, although they can’t see each other as often as before, in their hearts, each other is still an irreplaceable and important existence.

Perhaps, this is the bond that they feel when they wake up after losing their memory.

“Ah, my car has arrived.”

“Coincidence. So do I.”

Looking at the bus gradually approaching, the two stood up, looked at each other, and smiled.