How can I let go of the matter of saving my stepsister?

His mind was completely lost, and Qiong uttered the forbidden words that he had always tried to avoid.

She was running out of time.

Tears burst out, and even the vow she made that she would never cry in front of Sato Yu collapsed.

Weeping bitterly, Qiong expressed her feelings and made a sad request.

"In the last moments, please only look at me."

Volume 39: Chapter Chapter . What He Expected

So irritable.

So upset, so upset, so upset!

If Qiong was not standing in front of him at this moment, if he was the only one on this empty cliff, then Sato You would definitely shout at the top of his lungs to relieve the distress in his heart.

Qiong wanted him to come home earlier, Qiong wanted him to accompany her more, Qiong wanted him to only look at her.

How could Sato Yu not think of the same thing?

He also wanted to be with his children who had little time left. He also wanted to sit at home and write light novels in a leisurely manner. He also didn't want to make animations, doing the slave work that required getting up early and going to bed late, being overwhelmed by deadlines, and falling into the bottomless abyss at the slightest mistake.

He doesn't like making animation, he doesn't have the same persistent animation ideal as Nanae Mochizuki, and he has no feelings for the Sister, Sister Project.

The so-called agreement, the so-called promise to make the most exciting animation in the world for my sister, was nothing at all. It was just an excuse from beginning to end.

He just wanted to protect the dying fire of life in his chest like a candle in the wind, and he just didn't want it to go out.

I really want to tell Qiong everything and solemnly tell him:

To create the most amazing and acclaimed animation in the world is my promise to you, but it is also my only way to save you.

A fool like my brother was given the power to change his destiny, and he chose to resist. He is fighting a lonely and magnificent battle that only happens once in his life. He is forcing himself to praise the suffering that he should not have endured, just to keep your infatuated smile.

Even if I am still unable to do it, even if I am not understood, even if there is little hope, for you, I am willing to fight to the end of my rope, to the end of the world!

I really want to express the expectations that have been suppressed in my heart for a long time, and I really want to tell Qiong about the grievances.

However, due to the system's secrecy, Sato Yuu couldn't speak these words out loud even if he wanted to gain understanding.

If you choose animation, you won't be able to accompany her; if you give up animation, you won't be able to protect her.

Sato Yu could only swallow silently all the hardships, sadness and grievances of not being understood, until he buried the bitterness completely in his heart and only smiled in front of Qiong.

However, if this was the price to pay for a miracle, he was willing to pay it.

No matter how Qiong complained, didn't understand, or even said she hated him, it didn't matter as long as he could cure her terminal illness.

There are only results, not to mention the process.

Sato Yu had already realized this in his heart.

"Try again."

Sato Yu said firmly, wiping away the tears on Qiong's face and her running snot with his sleeve.

"I have tried very hard to be patient, very hard..."

"I mean trying to fight it again, going back to the hospital again."

“…I don’t want it!”

After hearing the unexpected words from Sato Yuu's mouth, Qiong pushed him away forcefully and shouted.

Living with her brother, a simple but happy life, she had been struggling in the darkness until she touched the light, broke free from the constraints of the tiny world in exchange for a warm embrace. She could no longer endure the coldness and smell of death in the hospital.

Besides, if I go to the hospital again...

"If I need treatment, how will I pay for the medical expenses? Will I have to take on millions or tens of millions of dollars in foreign debt just because of a useless burden like me who is doomed to die? Where can I borrow the money from? Loan sharking, crime, organ trading? My brother will only do things that hurt himself, right?

Brother! You deserve to have a glorious life of your own, and you should live well even without me.

I just want to drag you down once in my last days, but I don’t want to drag you down for the rest of your life!"

"But I want to, and I am willing to."

Everything is the result of his choice, and all blessings and misfortunes are brought upon himself.

He had nothing to do with all this. He did all this for Qiong, but he would not change because of Qiong.

"I am using my sister's non-sister's experience to accumulate experience. I am working hard to paint and make money. My talent also supports me to reach higher places. Soon, I will earn enough money to hospitalize you and provide you with the best medical care. I will not stop until you are completely cured."

"To say something like that... you're just a stupid, foolish brother. You can't do it! You can't repay mom and dad's kindness, and you can't save me!"

He is a useless burden, and his brother is a fool. He even brings up his deceased parents. When he gets angry, he speaks without thinking. Qiong Zhen will say anything.

Or perhaps, at this moment, she was actually more sober than ever before.

It was because she was extremely clear-headed and knew that she could no longer indulge Sato Yuu like this that she said such heartbreaking words.

He was able to tear off the strong shell he had been wearing, and he was able to express all his complaints and true feelings to Sato You regardless of the consequences.

His, hers, this pair of siblings should put an end to their ostrich-like self-deception. They should have had such a quarrel to make each other recognize their own hearts and their own powerlessness, and then act on the premise that she is about to die, and spend the last moments of their lives in pain but realistically.

"No, stop dreaming!"

It's time to accept this shitty fate.

However...

"I've been having dreams a lot lately."

Sato You lowered his head, put one hand around his neck, and said in a low voice.

"In my dream, there was a cute girl with slightly developed breasts. Judging from her height, she should be in high school. She was wearing a sailor suit and holding a school bag in both hands. She called me and smiled at me like a flower under the cherry tree.

I wanted to answer but couldn't make a sound, so I stretched out my hand to wake him up, but after waking up, I even forgot what the child looked like.

"!"

Who could that girl be? And who could it be?

Her watery eyes trembled, creating ripples. Qiong was finally no longer hysterical. Too much yelling made her voice hoarse, and her hoarseness revealed an air of death.

She gritted her teeth and turned away, saying bitterly.

"that's not me."

"But I don't want to give up."

"Stop talking about this and that in a disjointed way. Let's discuss the current issues properly and stop harboring unrealistic fantasies..."

Qiong suddenly stopped scolding, and no further sound came out of his aching throat.

She just turned her face away for a moment, and when she turned back, tears fell from her eyes with such force, the big tears hit the ground as if they were going to wear through the tiles. Those were not her tears, but belonged to Sato Yu.

"But I don't want to give up."

"My Qiong, you are gentle and virtuous. No matter how early I wake up, I will see your thin and almost broken figure busy in the kitchen, and I will receive your smile that dispels the haze in my heart. I don't want to persist in this crappy job, this torturous road with no end in sight, but Qiong gives me strength every day.

Just a smile is enough. Qiong who will prepare a meal and wait for me at home, Qiong who will pretend to be asleep and wait for me to touch your face before falling asleep happily, Qiong who will run to me with a 10-pound lunch box because she is worried about me...

How can such garbage as animation be as good as you?

The meaning of making animation is only to make you smile, it is useless and incompetent. The only way to save you is to keep making animation.

I want to make money, I want to send you to the hospital, I want you to get the most advanced medical assistance...

Even if it's just wishful thinking, even if it's just a dream, so what?

I know that too, but I still dream and fantasize about her. Not the current Qiong, but a taller one with a rosy face, who controls her diet every day for fear of gaining fat on her belly, and who wears a school uniform.

There is also Qiong who is dressed up fancy, Qiong with long hair tied into a pigtail, Qiong who is shy when talking about her lover, Qiong who is wearing a wedding dress, and Qiong who has become a mother...

I am hopeless like this. I always talk about my sister all the time, and everyone in the working group jokingly calls me the "ultimate sister-con who only thinks about my sister" idiot. "

"elder brother......"

It didn't matter what the reality was like, and it didn't matter whether she lived or died. Her beloved brother was sobbing right in front of her. Her little heart was gripped by the words and the flowing emotions. Qiong tried to stand on tiptoes to wipe away her brother's tears.

During this wiping, the waves in the heart were smoothed out and the hand was also grasped by Sato Yu.

He had already collapsed, as if he was the one who was about to die and could not hold on any longer. Sato You slowly squatted down and buried his head in his knees, in Qiong's thin arms.

All I could hear was a low voice drifting away in the cold wind.

"I want to see what you look like when you grow up."

".....Um."

Volume 40: Chapter Chapter . Dilemma

I had a fierce argument with my sister. I was heartbroken when I heard her say that she was going to die soon. I also felt wronged for not being understood and not being able to tell the truth...

This way and that way, thousands of thoughts are tangled together, making people feel uneasy.

In the end, he was unable to truly gain his sister's understanding, and was unable to dispel the melancholy in her heart. It was only because of the painful crying of her most beloved brother that Qiong was forced to smile at him, saying that it was all her fault and that she would not be so willful in the future.

Only then did Sato You realize that he was even more helpless against Qiong than he had imagined. She was willful, and her words were as sharp as knives, which hurt him and caused him great pain. She was sensible, but she was like a branding iron, burning his heart like fire.

They returned home in silence. Qiong stayed in the living room, washing the lunch boxes silently, while he curled up in the room like a dead tree, curled up in the quilt.

I thought I would not be able to sleep, but the mental damage caused by using the [Fast Painting] buff for a long time was more severe than I had imagined. During this period, I only slept for two hours. In addition, I was still feeling depressed and tears were hanging in the corners of my eyes. Sato You lost consciousness and fell into a deep sleep.

When he woke up again, it was 1:30 in the morning. The alarm that he had set at the company unexpectedly worked, allowing him to wake up at this special time.

He frowned and covered his head which was still a little painful and groggy from lack of sleep. He squinted and looked down. The quilt that he had crumpled into a ball was lying flat on top of him.

He stood up, his cheeks felt refreshed and free of tears.

Feeling dry in the mouth, there was a glass of water on the bedside table. He gulped it down in one gulp. With a vague premonition in his heart, Sato You stood up and went out.

It was clearly this time, but Qiong was still awake. She was fiddling with an old notebook in the living room. Her long eyelashes were heavy and fluttering, revealing her deep sleepiness.

She didn't rely on the alarm clock to wake up, but she endured the sleepiness and waited until this time.

"Qiong?"

“The animation is about to be broadcast.”

"Ah."

The aftermath of the previous argument was still there, and the relationship had not yet returned to normal, and the two people's voices were a little low, clearly containing such strong yet passionate emotions, but they were both controlled and self-righteously suppressed.

He walked over with a heavy heart, and Sato You tried to comfort him.

"You don't have to listen to Supervisor Mochizuki. Just wait until you wake up and watch."

"I want to sleep, but I can't. I want to finish watching before going to sleep, Director Mochizuki..."

When mentioning Mochizuki Nanae, Qiong pursed her lower lip and said dejectedly.

"She's really beautiful. She's a great beauty."

“…Yes.”

"I care about my brother too."

"Probably. After all, I'm pretty useful."

"..."

Hearing Sato Yu's unconscious words, Qiong turned around and glared at him fiercely, hugging the pillow in her arms and feeling inexplicably angry.

"That's clearly not the reason."

"What other reason could there be for her anime-crazy self to care about me?"

"Humph."

Qiong snorted coldly, tapped his fingers on the keyboard to find the live broadcast interface of the TV station, stared intently at the advertisement that was still playing, and said no more.

At that time, in front of the company, when Sato Yu was being comforted by Qiong, Mochizuki Nanae, who had just handed over the original animation film to the TV station, happened to return to the company. The two people, who had different but similar feelings for Sato Yu, met for the first time.

Sato Yuu, who lost control of her emotions and cried bitterly on the street, looked embarrassed, Qiong, who cried loudly with tears all over her face, looked embarrassed, and the beautiful and charming animation director Nanae Mochizuki also looked embarrassed.

She was not allowed to know the truth about Qiong's serious illness, but after further questioning, she learned the reason for their quarrel.

After learning the whole story, she humbly and solemnly bowed to Qiong for a long time and apologized to her in a humble manner.

[I was too pushy, too selfish. Because Sato was so useful as a fighting force, I used him recklessly, forcing him to work overtime so that he had no time to accompany you. From now on, at six o'clock, no, five o'clock, I will definitely send him home! ]

At the same time, she made a pious request, so pious that both Sato Yu and Qiong felt that if necessary, this woman would even give up her dignity and ask Qiong to give up her seat.