On the evening street, the sunset stretched pedestrians’ shadows long.
A high school girl and a middle school girl were walking hand in hand along a path dyed orange by the afterglow of the setting sun.
“Umimi?”
“Ju?”
Hearing that gentle voice from behind, the Kunomi sisters turned around at the same time.
It was Cao Qian Ju.
She widened her eyes, curiously studying the straight-haired little girl who was a head shorter than Umimi.
Her features resembled Umimi’s, but her hair was longer and smoothly straight, unlike Umimi’s slightly animal-like waves.
“Umimi, is this your little sister?”
“…Yes.”
Realizing this was her sister’s friend, Miho immediately let go of her sister’s hand, stepped back half a step, and bowed.
“Hello, I’m Kunimi Miho. Thank you for taking care of my sister in the group.”
Cao Qian Ju was taken aback by the formal display, then quickly bent slightly and waved with a smile.
“Hi there! I’m Umimi’s teammate. My name is Cao Qian Ju.”
“A teammate of my sister’s?”
Miho immediately leaned in, her big eyes sparkling as she questioned.
“Is my sister doing okay in the group? Can she talk normally with everyone? She isn’t holding anyone back during practice, is she?”
In response to this barrage of questions, Umimi’s face turned red with a shua.
She awkwardly reached out and gently tugged at her sister’s sleeve.
Cao Qian Ju couldn’t help but laugh at how Umimi looked like she wanted to crawl into a hole.
She reached out and gently patted Miho’s head.
“Don’t worry, your big sister works really hard.”
“I see.”
Miho let out a long sigh, her expression completely relieved.
Cao Qian Ju stood up, her gaze sweeping over the supermarket shopping bags the Kunomi sisters were carrying.
“Just got out of school?”
Umimi replied quietly.
“Yes.”
Just then, Miho suddenly reached back and grabbed both their wrists.
“Since we ran into each other, let’s go get dessert together! I’d love to talk more with my sister’s friend!”
Umimi looked at her sister’s excited face and smiled helplessly.
From afar came the incongruous honk of a car horn and the laughter of schoolchildren chasing each other.
The warm sunset light fell on Umimi’s face, and the breeze lifted her shoulder-length, slightly wavy dark blue hair, sweeping away her usual listlessness.
“You’re just craving sweets yourself, aren’t you?”
Umimi mercilessly called her sister out.
“Hehe~”
Miho didn’t even look at her sister.
She pulled both of them by the hands and bounced forward toward the bustling commercial street up ahead.
“Don’t eat too much—we’ll have dinner soon.”
“I know, I know!”
Umimi, who was timid even in front of her teammates, could talk normally in front of her sister.
To Cao Qian Ju, that felt a little refreshing.
Cao Qian Ju looked at the Kunomi sisters.
“Can I join?”
Miho tugged at Cao Qian Ju’s hand.
“Of course! I wanted to invite Sister Ju in the first place.”
Under Miho’s lead, the three of them arrived at a trendy dessert shop.
After sitting down, Umimi looked at Cao Qian Ju but didn’t meet her eyes.
“I’ll treat today.”
Even though Cao Qian Ju had already ordered her dessert, she pushed the menu slightly forward to decline.
“That’s not right. I’m older than both of you. I’m just a student, but a college student’s allowance should be more than a high schooler’s, right?”
Miho, with sparkling eyes browsing the cakes, replied.
“It’s fine, it’s fine. I invited Sister Ju. And treating to dessert is no big deal.”
“But—”
Umimi also joined her sister’s side.
“It’s okay, just a dessert… think of it as thanks for how you look after me in the group, Ju.”
“But I haven’t really helped you that much, have I?”
From the next booth came the playful chatter of female college students taking photos and checking in, making the atmosphere at their table feel a bit quiet.
The three of them fell into a brief silence.
The perceptive waiter took their order and quietly left.
“No.”
Umimi shook her head and lifted her gaze slightly.
“You’ve helped me a lot, really.”
Yes.
Cao Qian Ju’s personality was gentle and smooth—like the lubricant of the whole project.
She knew how to neutralize the awkward vibes that occasionally arose in the group.
Whenever she was around, a socially anxious person like Umimi never felt embarrassed or lost.
If a teammate felt uncomfortable, she noticed and cared about them immediately.
If there was something they didn’t understand, she actively asked the teacher on behalf of those who were too shy to speak.
She was always considering the team’s harmony and coordination.
For Umimi, whenever she saw Cao Qian Ju’s smiling face at a meeting, she felt sure that today’s training schedule would go smoothly.
Though Kunomi Umimi wasn’t good with words, after spending this time together, the one who could truly be called normal was probably only Cao Qian Ju.
Cao Qian Ju looked at the Kunomi sisters.
“Could it be… your family is actually rich, Umimi?”
At first, at the entrance, she thought eating dessert was no big deal.
But after entering this fancy shop, even if they each paid for their own, she found it a bit painful.
Not that she couldn’t afford it.
But based on her own high school spending level, casually treating someone to a shop like this was absolutely impossible.
Umimi glossed over it.
“It’s okay.”
And Miho had no qualms about using the buyout money from their scumbag father.
“It’s fine, it’s fine. As long as everyone has a good time!”
After all, it was what they deserved—they should use it without restraint.
Of course, Cao Qian Ju had no idea about the dramatic backstory.
The same went for Orange Quiet Forest’s relationship with the Kunomi sisters.
In the end, Cao Qian Ju glanced at her phone balance and gave in.
Might as well save a bit—this shop was way too expensive.
She’d find some way to return the favor later.
Even though the Kunomi sisters didn’t mind at all.
The three of them chatted away about trivial girl talk, blending naturally with the other young women in the dessert shop, and time passed quickly.
Cao Qian Ju set down her spoon, making a tiny clink.
“Umimi.”
“What?”
“Do you have any idea about our group’s debut song?”
This was definitely not Umimi’s strong suit.
She knew absolutely nothing about music production.
Caught off guard, she could only try to recall what Chu Yong had said during the meeting.
“Didn’t the boss say she already found someone to write the song? We’ve heard it before.”
Just like each person’s individual song—they had outsourced it to a well-known composer.
But Cao Qian Ju still felt something was off.