Chapter 3: Childhood Friends Are Adorable...

10 exchange points, with nothing to show for it but a single lonely work—a set of reaction stickers. Because they were easy to draw and rather cute, this character enjoyed considerable popularity in the world of stickers. Yes, it was Northern-chan.

In this world, everything supported official licensing. Even stickers required payment. Piracy? Sorry, the minimum sentence was ten years, and the maximum was death. Every piece of culture was the result of a creator’s painstaking effort and thought; theft was intolerable. This was the guiding principle of the Ministry of Culture.

There were dedicated places to submit stickers, far simpler than publishing novels or manga. A creator simply made their stickers, uploaded them to the sticker download site, and upon passing review, could set a price. Users paid with gold coins, which could be converted to cash on the site and transferred straight to a bank card.

Sticker reviews were even stricter than those for novels and manga. There was virtually no chance of duplicate stickers, unless they were made by QQ’s own team.

With his computer, Yun Xuan completed the Northern-chan sticker series in less than an hour. Northern-chan’s smile, Northern-chan’s tsundere pout, Northern-chan acting pitiful, Northern-chan holding up signs—every kind of adorable expression, even a full-color Northern-chan.

He uploaded everything through his own QQ account, listing the creator as Northern-chan.

A protesting rumble came from his stomach. Only then did Yun Xuan turn off the computer and get dressed.

He opened the door and was stunned by the sight before him.

A young girl stood there, not a thread on her body, having just stepped out of the bathroom on her way back to her room. Her skin was snow-white, her long hair still damp, her features delicate, her figure not too big nor too small, a little shorter than Yun Xuan himself.

This was Yun Xue, the girl whom Yun Xuan’s previous self had acknowledged as his sister at the orphanage.

“Ahem, good morning, Xue’er.” Yun Xuan gave her a quick glance and greeted her calmly.

“Good mor—ah!” She instinctively began to reply, but as she felt the chill all over her body, her face flushed crimson. She darted into her room.

“A little sister with no tsundere tendencies, and no blood relation—this really is a setup for the classic forbidden-route,” Yun Xuan muttered as he headed downstairs.

Just as he reached the bottom step—

“Good morning, Xuan-kun. Sister Kaoru has already left for work. I had nothing to do, so I thought I’d come over and make breakfast for you and Xue-chan.” A clear, ringing voice came from the kitchen.

Yun Xuan froze. Childhood friend? So the inevitable had finally arrived.

He sat at the dining table and looked toward the kitchen. There stood a person with short silver hair, fair skin, and an adorably cute face, wearing an oversized white T-shirt and humming an unfamiliar tune in a crisp, pleasant voice.

“This feeling… really…” Yun Xuan turned away, not daring to look for long.

“Xuan-kun, your breakfast—I… I hope it’s to your taste,” said the owner of the clear voice, blushing as she set down soup and pancakes before him.

“Ahem, Qingyu, you’re too thoughtful. It smells wonderful, I’m sure I’ll like it,” Yun Xuan replied, eyeing the miso soup. The person before him had a Chinese father and a Japanese mother, inheriting silver hair from her mother—almost unbearably cute.

“That’s great. I was worried you might not like it,” Lin Qingyu smiled gently, sitting down beside him and watching.

Hearing her laugh, Yun Xuan seemed to steel himself for a tragedy, turning to face Lin Qingyu. “Qingyu, we’re good friends, right?” he asked seriously.

“Of course. Why do you ask, Xuan-kun?” Lin Qingyu looked at him with wide, innocent eyes.

“I just wanted to confirm. Qingyu, as a boy, you should act a bit more like one.” Yun Xuan withdrew his hand. Good grief, his skin was as soft as any girl’s.

“What do you mean by that? Xuan-kun, do I not seem like a boy to you?” Lin Qingyu puffed out her cheeks.

“You do, you really do…” Yun Xuan was overwhelmed by her cuteness. The fact that Lin Qingyu was a boy pained him.

It didn’t matter that his childhood friend was a boy; what mattered was that such an adorable boy existed. It was enough to scare Yun Xuan away from the childhood-friend route.

Lin Qingyu was in the same class as Yun Xuan and extremely popular at school. With her high looks and clear, melodious voice, boys often tried to chat her up. That wasn’t the problem—the real terror was that even after learning Lin Qingyu was a boy, some boys still formed a knightly order around him.

Most outrageous of all, in a single semester Lin Qingyu received more love letters than even the school’s most celebrated young lady.

Prettier than girls, cuter than girls, more suited to cross-dressing than girls, and often sporting a shy, captivating expression.

A dozen of this sort of childhood friend, please—no, no, no! If only such a childhood friend were a girl…

Yun Xuan said no more and began eating breakfast. Pancakes and miso soup—favorites of his previous self.

The old Yun Xuan had been a simple soul, harboring no complicated feelings toward Lin Qingyu, just viewing her as a regular good friend.

But the present Yun Xuan did not possess such a pure and unshakable heart.

“Qingyu-chan, good morning.” Yun Xue came downstairs, greeted Lin Qingyu, and took her seat opposite Yun Xuan, her cheeks tinged pink. She said nothing, just began eating.

After the three had finished breakfast, Lin Qingyu cleaned up the kitchen, then looked at Yun Xuan as if she had something to say.

“Come with me,” Yun Xuan said, scratching his head. Faced with a childhood friend like this, he truly had no idea how to cope.

“Haven’t been to your room in a while, Xuan-kun,” Lin Qingyu replied, following him upstairs.

Yun Xue had already returned to her room. She was a part-time light novel author, with her series just starting out on Manga World, already signed, and seemingly doing well.

“Wow, so many manga volumes! Looks like you’ll have to study hard, Xuan-kun,” Lin Qingyu exclaimed as she entered Yun Xuan’s room, covering her mouth in surprise at the bookshelf.

“More or less. If you have something to say, just say it,” Yun Xuan replied, closing the door.

“Um… Xuan-kun, are you feeling better now?” Lin Qingyu asked carefully, watching his expression.

“You mean being rejected by her?” Yun Xuan recalled the young lady in question.

“Yeah. She was really too much, treating your feelings that way.” Lin Qingyu clenched her tiny fists, indignant on his behalf.

“It’s fine, Qingyu. No one grows without setbacks. In another week, summer vacation starts. Any plans?” Yun Xuan shook his head, changing the subject.

“I’d like to visit Japan after the break. It’s my mother’s homeland, after all. Would you come with me?” Lin Qingyu looked at him hopefully.

“Of course. Let’s bring Xue’er along, too,” Yun Xuan agreed.

“That’s wonderful! With you there, I’ll feel at ease,” Lin Qingyu beamed.

“With you there, I feel anything but at ease…” Yun Xuan thought awkwardly.

PS: For Lin Qingyu, please imagine someone resembling Ayaka Hotozuka. Please add to your collection, vote for recommendations, and expect daily double updates.