043. Injured Umaru Doma

Before long, the warning bell rang, and the students in the classroom gradually returned to their seats. Lun also made a gesture to Jiang Yu before heading back to his own seat, bowing his head to scribble who knows what, busy with something mysterious.

So the afternoon classes passed quickly, with Jiang Yu frowning in frustration the whole time.

After school, even though Jiang Yu hadn’t paid attention in class, he still found himself able to manage the small pile of homework. He couldn’t help but feel an almost reverent admiration for his predecessor.

Just how strong was your academic foundation, you absolute genius!

Surely this wasn’t all your own doing, right? Weren’t you one of those legendary high schoolers who battled through the hell-level final boss known as the National College Entrance Exam?

Ah, no, no, it’s all thanks to your solid foundation!

Wait, no, it’s your achievement after all~

Perhaps this was the classic mutual flattery found in business circles.

But come to think of it, Jiang Yu found it odd that ever since that day when a computer from his previous life inexplicably appeared in his mind, some of his old memories had become remarkably vivid.

For example, the high school biology and chemistry knowledge he’d long forgotten after four years of college now seemed etched into his mind. The moment he tried to recall something, the memory would come back effortlessly, as if the famous forgetting curve so many professors had researched simply did not apply to him.

But considering that even something as absurd as transmigrating souls had happened to him, Jiang Yu didn’t bother to dwell on these minor details. Besides, he’d been so busy lately he barely had time to worry about anything else.

Unable to figure it out, Jiang Yu simply tossed the question aside. After finishing his homework in a few strokes, he began to pack up his things and prepare to go home.

Speaking of which, Kato and Lun always left rather quickly if there were no club activities. Lun at least had his part-time job as an excuse, but who knew what Kato was up to, heading home so early every day?

Judging from today’s rice balls, though, Kato’s cooking skills were pretty impressive. Maybe she was responsible for making dinner at home?

Jiang Yu’s mind instantly conjured up the image of Megumi Kato in an apron, cooking in the kitchen.

Heavens, stop it—she’s almost too virtuous, it’s enough to make anyone’s heart flutter...

While packing his bag, Jiang Yu’s mind was running wild—a process commonly known as daydreaming. That about summed it up.

On the way home, Jiang Yu stopped by the nearby supermarket to pick out ingredients for dinner. To be honest, he was getting a bit tired of shopping for groceries every day.

Next time, maybe he’d do all the week’s shopping in one go over the weekend? He could even take the opportunity to ration Umaru’s snacks for the week—perfect!

With that plan in mind, Jiang Yu picked up some pork and vegetables, paid at the register, and headed home.

When he opened the door, he was greeted once again by the Arashiyata High School uniform that stretched all the way to Umaru Doma’s bedroom.

The bedroom door was tightly shut, though from inside came the sound of his little sister humming a tune, mixed with the ruckus of rummaging through drawers.

With a helpless sigh, Jiang Yu closed the door, set the groceries by the entrance, changed his shoes, gathered up the discarded uniform, and tossed it into the laundry basket, planning to wash it all after his own shower that night.

Hearing sounds at the door, Umaru Doma opened her bedroom and poked her head out, hamster hood in place, peeking around the room.

Jiang Yu emerged from the bathroom just in time to catch his little sister peeking about. He walked over, exasperated, and tapped her on the head. “Next time, at least put your dirty clothes in the laundry basket, okay?”

Umaru yelped, turned her head, and promptly bumped into her half-open door, crouching down in pain and rubbing her reddened forehead.

Jiang Yu’s heart skipped a beat. He crouched down as well and opened her bedroom door, asking worriedly, “Umaru, are you alright?”

Umaru pouted, her eyes glistening with tears as she looked up at Jiang Yu, aggrieved. “It’s all your fault, Onii-chan! You scared me!”

At this point, how could Jiang Yu possibly say it wasn’t? He could only bow his head, offering a sheepish smile. “Yes, yes, it’s all my fault. Are you okay, Umaru?”

At the same time, he gently pulled her hand away from her forehead. “Stop rubbing it, or the swelling will get worse. I’ll put some ice on it, and later tonight I’ll dab on some liniment before bed.”

At his words, Umaru obediently stopped fussing and followed Jiang Yu to the living room sofa to lie down.

Jiang Yu quickly fetched some ice from the freezer, put it in a bag, added some cold water, and prepared the ice pack for Umaru.

Watching her brother bustling about, Umaru felt a warm glow inside. Even the pain in her forehead seemed to fade.

When Jiang Yu pressed the ice pack to her forehead, Umaru even managed to chuckle, “Onii-chan, it’s so cold~”

Jiang Yu couldn’t quite understand how she’d switched moods so quickly—she was just wailing a moment ago, wasn’t she?

Suppressing the urge to tease her, Jiang Yu reminded Umaru not to move around too much before heading to the kitchen with the groceries to prepare dinner. Umaru, meanwhile, lay on the sofa, turned on the TV, and started watching her nightly dose of late-night anime.

Glancing at the screen, Jiang Yu thought it looked familiar. Wasn’t that The Irregular at Magic High School? Lun had recently recommended it to him, saying it was a rare gem.

You two have clearly never been exposed to the “face-slapping” tropes in certain webnovels...

Shaking his head, Jiang Yu focused on the task at hand—cooking dinner.

Soon, a freshly prepared plate of twice-cooked pork was set on the table. Luckily, Umaru wasn’t picky about Chinese cuisine, so he could put his skills to good use. After all, compared to the hamburger steak he’d improvised the other day, his proficiency with these dishes showed both in the taste and the presentation.

After removing Umaru’s ice pack, he was relieved to see the swelling had subsided somewhat. “I’ll put on some ointment for you tonight,” he said with a smile, “so there shouldn’t be any mark left by morning.”

Jiang Yu knew how much this mattered to girls, especially at Umaru’s age—just awakening to the world of fashion, every little detail became important.

Umaru’s eyes sparkled with delight at his words. “Thank you, Onii-chan~” She’d already forgotten her earlier grievances.

After dinner, having cleaned up the dishes, Jiang Yu checked the time and got ready to leave for his part-time job. Before going, he reminded Umaru yet again not to touch her injury, not to open the door for strangers, that he had his own key and would let himself in, and a slew of other precautions...

It was almost as if he was talking to a daughter rather than a sister, such was the extent of his worrying.

Naturally, this earned him an eye-roll and a look of impatience from Umaru. Realizing he might be going overboard, Jiang Yu could only laugh at himself, shake his head, grab his work uniform, and head out to the café.