Chapter 118 New Year's Soba Noodles... So Sour

Although Japan's New Year's Eve has been moved to December 31st, many New Year customs inherited from China have been retained.

For example, on New Year's Eve, the whole family sits together to have a reunion dinner.

But why did it turn out like this?

Looking at the dining table of Ryougi's family, Nanaya sighed deeply.

A rare holiday after a busy year.

And they spent the New Year holidays in the mansions of wealthy people.

These two things combined should have made for a very happy, leisurely and relaxing vacation.

but,

Why?

Why did it turn out like this?

Nanaya looked at the dining table where only he and the Ryougi couple were sitting, and sighed again.

Because the other members of the Ryougi family were not ready to confront Ryougi Kiyomi, Ori discussed with her father and decided to secretly switch identities with her sister.

This was to prevent Ryougi Kiyomi from noticing the flaw when she visited. After all, the hospital gown was very large and thin, and could not cover Ryougi Shiki's figure at all.

I don't know what kind of physical condition this sister has. She has been a vegetable for so many years. Although her body is a little thin, her cup size has not dropped much.

Although I haven't measured it specifically, but based on my visual observation seven nights ago and my years of experience in observing women, I estimate that this lady is at least at the B level, and with a little more effort, it is not impossible to reach C.

With a figure like that, it's impossible for her to dress up as a man while wearing a hospital gown. Hiding in the quilt or using a chest binder would be a stupid move, which might even arouse Ryougi Kiyomi's suspicion.

However, Miss Ryougi Shiki was not a quiet person. When her brother and father were focusing their attention on her mother, she sneaked back home disguised as Ori.

Shiji, who had lost her appetite in the hospital, had originally planned to use Ori's identity to have a big meal at home. However, she collapsed after eating only a little bit of daifuku before she could even exert any strength.

Although she had begun to have normal human cravings for taste, Ryougi Shiki's stomach, which had not been used normally for many years, was clearly not yet prepared.

Fortunately, the doctor said that apart from indigestion caused by eating glutinous rice, there was no major problem. It was just that Miss Ryougi's complete recovery would be delayed because of her greed.

"Fortunately, Miss Shiki only ate some sticky rice and suffered from indigestion. If she had ordered food outside and let oil and water enter her stomach, it would have been more troublesome and she might have needed gastric lavage."

The doctor's diagnosis made everyone feel a little scared. After giving the doctor a severe scolding, Ryougi Shun, who was afraid that his daughter would do something weird again, directly asked Morikawa Sugai to keep an eye on her.

In fact, Ryougi Shun originally planned to let Shiki return to his own ward to recuperate, but Ryougi Kiyomi went to the hospital to visit her son every day. In order to prevent being exposed, Ryougi Shun simply went all out and directly opened rooms for his son and daughter in the hospital.

The explanation he gave to his wife was that Shiki had lived in New Zealand for too long and missed Japanese daifuku so much that he accidentally ate too much and was admitted to the hospital.

Although Nanaya felt very embarrassed about this excuse, Ryougi Kiyomi believed it.

Now, what Mrs. Ryougi does every day is to go to the hospital to visit her children and stay there until night before going home.

In the end, because Ryougi siblings were both in the hospital, this New Year's Eve dinner inexplicably turned into a reunion dinner for Nanaya and the Ryougi couple.

[So, what is this all about? ]

Nanaya felt a little crazy, of course, because he was alone with the Ryougi' couple, and it was on New Year's Eve, a time with special significance.

Nanaya felt uncomfortable all over during this dinner, as if he was suffering from embarrassment.

Nanaya had thought about just walking away, but that would have been too impolite. So even though he wanted to leave, he had no choice but to eat with the Ryougi couple.

"Nanaya, you don't look very well." "What's wrong? Is the dinner not to your liking?"

Ryougi Kiyomi asked after seeing that there was still a large portion of soba noodles left in Nanaya's bamboo drawer.

"I'm sorry, because of my family's tradition..."

Ryougi Kiyomi's tone was filled with great care, and in her eyes, she obviously regarded Nanaya as a member of the family.

Ori has very few friends, and Nanaya is almost his only friend of the same age.

Since his son had deceived him about his gender, Nanaya was naturally considered by Kiyomi to be the only member of the opposite sex that his daughter was interested in - that is, the designated son-in-law.

Therefore, Ryougi Kiyomi genuinely cares about Nanaya's distress.

Nanaya was a little speechless. He stammered, "No... I just..."

The food on the table was of course the same buckwheat noodles as last year. Although it couldn't be called simple, it was definitely not rich either.

Although there are still many Japanese families that still keep the habit of eating soba noodles on New Year's Eve, for most families it is just an extra addition to the New Year's Eve dinner table, just like the eight-treasure rice pudding that Nanaya ate in his hometown in his previous life.

It can be said that the form is more important than the meaning. There are definitely few families like the Ryougi family who treat soba as a formal meal.

Nanaya could only be thankful that he was still a guest and that the sauce he used was not the traditional bitter dipping sauce of the Ryougi family, otherwise he would really have lost his appetite.

"Isn't it because your body is not feeling well?"

Ryougi Kiyomi, who was sitting opposite Nanaya, had a look of concern on her face.

"Uh, nothing really..."

Before Nanaya could finish his words, Ryougi Kiyomi leaned over and put her hand on Nanaya's forehead to feel his body temperature.

"I don't have a fever..."

"Maybe because Shiki was absent, he was distracted and had no appetite."

Ryougi Shun winked at Nanaya, but was glared at fiercely by Nanaya.

Ryougi Shun, who found Nanaya's reaction very funny, immediately burst into laughter.

"My dear, please don't tease Nanaya casually."

Unable to bear it, Ryougi Kiyomi scolded her husband, and then she complained in embarrassment: "Really, I don't know what that girl is doing. She's actually in the hospital because of indigestion during the New Year. Daifuku tastes good but she doesn't have to eat so much, right? I remember that girl doesn't like sweets very much? Hey, Nanaya, is the food in New Zealand very bad?"

Nanaya lowered his head and answered in a low voice: "Well... it can't be said to be bad, there are still a lot of fish and meat. But there is not much glutinous rice. Maybe she is greedy."

"You can't be so greedy..." Ryougi Kiyomi kept complaining, "Could this girl have gone wild after being abroad for half a year? Nanaya, you have to keep an eye on that girl. If she indulges herself now, she will suffer a lot when she gets married in the future."

Nanaya felt uneasy and couldn't sleep or eat. He picked up the juice on the table helplessly, hoping to use it to relieve his anxiety.

Just as Nanaya raised his head to drink the juice, Ryougi Shun interrupted and said, "Hey, Kiyomi, don't teach the younger generation how to live. They are so inseparable now, so it's normal for Nanaya to be well-behaved and obedient."

"Puff! Cough cough!"

The juice that had just entered his mouth was sprayed out with great force, followed by an uncomfortable cough from Nanaya.

"Nanaya, what's wrong with you?"

Ryougi Kiyomi hurriedly stood up from her seat, she quickly walked to Nanaya and gently stroked his back, trying to make him feel better.

[Damn it, uncle, you old fool, what are you saying? ]

"No…it's okay…"

Nanaya was about to wave his hand to indicate that he was just choking.

However, when Nanaya's eyes met Ryougi Shun's, he found that he was showing a very rude smile. Moreover, as time passed, Ryougi Shun not only did not restrain himself, but became even more aggressive.

As if demonstrating to himself, Ryougi Shun's lip shape kept changing, but Nanaya could tell that he was repeating the same word.

Shiki.

Nanaya wasn't sure whether Ryougi Shun was talking about his sister or brother, or both. He just hoped that this unruly uncle could be more stable.

"Cough! Cough cough!"

Nanaya coughed heavily twice to signal Ryougi Shun not to go too far, but Ryougi Kiyomi obviously misunderstood his meaning.

"Nanaya, are you okay? You're coughing so badly, are you sick? Do you want us to take you to the hospital now?"

Perhaps because she had been hanging around in the hospital for the past few days, Ryougi Kiyomi was particularly concerned about the health of the younger generation. She looked at Nanaya nervously and was about to call the maid over.

Nanaya felt his arm being grasped tightly and quickly waved his hand and said, "It's nothing, I was just scared by what my uncle said and choked."

"Are you sure it's okay? It can be dangerous if the drink gets into your lungs!"

"Really, it's okay."

Nanaya had a few black lines on his face. Although it was a good thing that this aunt cared about him, could she please not make the matter sound so serious?

"That's good." After seeing that Nanaya was indeed fine, Ryougi Kiyomi finally relaxed. She said to Nanaya, "Really, none of you kids are worry-free."

"I'm sorry to have made you worry."

"Kiyomi, you are too cautious." Ryougi Shun laughed, "Nanaya is just a little worried about Shiki in the hospital."

"You talk as if you don't care." Ryougi Kiyomi rolled her eyes at her husband.

"I care about you, too, but Nanaya's level of concern is different from ours. He cares about Shiki just like I care about you. After all, although they are not related by blood, they are still family."

[You have to make it so ambiguous, don't you? ]

The corners of Nanaya's mouth twitched slightly.

"What nonsense are you talking about." Ryougi Kiyomi patted her husband's shoulder, but her face was full of smugness.

"Oh, my dear wife. I am telling the truth."

"You still say that!"

Nanaya ate the dog food in front of him and silently took a big sip of the soba noodles dipped in sauce.

"It's so sour... too much vinegar."