"Wow... Lin Yu, you're simply incredible!" Shizuka exclaimed, unable to hold back her admiration. Compared to Lin Yu, she felt the gap between people could be truly immense.
"Careful, Shizuka," Lin Yu teased, giving her a playful wink. "Praise me too much, and I might actually get a big head."
Shizuka's cheeks pinkened again, but her curiosity about the drawing overpowered her shyness. She leaned a little closer. "You said you've already planned out the story... Can you tell me what it's about? The characters look so adorable!"
"Telling you is no problem, of course," Lin Yu started, then paused, gesturing towards Shizuka's open workbook. "But... how about we finish tackling these homework problems first? I can explain the tricky ones."
Shizuka finally remembered the homework she'd completely forgotten about. She stuck out her tongue playfully, looking slightly embarrassed. "Oops! If you hadn't mentioned it, I would have totally forgotten! Okay, okay, explain them quickly, Lin Yu! I want to finish fast so I can hear about your manga!"
Eagerly, she scooted closer, holding her workbook out. Neither of them consciously noticed that in her enthusiasm, the comfortable distance they'd maintained across the small round table had shrunk considerably, leaving them sitting quite close together.
The simple elementary school exercises were no challenge for Lin Yu, of course. With his clear explanations, Shizuka, who had mostly just been stuck on the approach, quickly grasped the solutions. Her previous confusion vanished.
"I get it now! Thank you, Lin Yu!" Having solved all the remaining problems, Shizuka looked up happily to thank him properly. As she did, their eyes met.
Looking into his clear, deep eyes and seeing her own reflection mirrored there, that same strange, fluttery feeling from the morning surged back unexpectedly. Shizuka couldn't quite name the feeling, nor understand what it meant, but her heart suddenly started beating faster, thumping erratically against her ribs. The atmosphere in the quiet room shifted subtly, becoming charged with a delicate, unspoken intimacy.
Just as Lin Yu saw Shizuka's face beginning to flush rosy red again and was about to clear his throat to break the slightly awkward tension, a familiar, panicked voice suddenly yelled from the street outside.
"Shizuka!"
"Help me, Shizuka! Gian and Suneo are gonna beat me up!" Nobita's tearful cry shattered the quiet atmosphere in the room instantly.
Lin Yu raised an eyebrow, subtly shifting his gaze away from Shizuka, and asked with feigned curiosity, "Is that Nobita's voice?"
"Yes, it's Nobita," Shizuka confirmed, pressing her lips together. For some reason... she felt a flicker of annoyance. Nobita often ran to her for help when Gian and Suneo were after him; she was used to it. But hearing his voice just now... it felt like an unwelcome interruption, disturbing the quiet focus she'd been sharing with Lin Yu.
"Let's go see what's wrong," Lin Yu suggested calmly. "He sounds pretty desperate."
Shizuka nodded. As they came down the stairs and reached the entryway, they saw Shizuka's mother had already opened the door and was ushering a distraught Nobita inside. Nobita stumbled in, sobbing, his face already showing bruises.
"Nobita! What happened to you? Did Gian and Suneo bully you again?!" Shizuka's mother exclaimed, her voice filled with indignation at his pitiful state. "Honestly! How can they be so cruel? I'm going to call their parents right now and have a word with them!" Like her daughter, Shizuka's mother was a very kind soul and naturally felt sympathy for Nobita's plight. This wasn't the first time, sadly; she'd witnessed similar scenes many times before. "You just rest here for a bit, dear. Would you like me to walk you home later?" she offered gently.
By now, Shizuka and Lin Yu had reached the bottom of the stairs and saw the full extent of Nobita's condition. Despite her lingering annoyance from yesterday, seeing him looking so beaten up made Shizuka gasp. "Nobita! How did you get like this?" Although yesterday's prank still left a sour taste, they had been friends since kindergarten. Seeing him hurt still sparked her concern. And this time, it looked like he'd taken a particularly bad beating.
Seeing Shizuka, Nobita quickly wiped his tears. He might be a bit of a coward, but he didn't want to look too pathetic in front of the girl he liked.
"Shizuka, Gian and Suneo... they went too far!" Nobita began, trying to sound angry, but the effect was rather comical combined with his bruised and tear-streaked face. He was about to launch into his usual tale of woe when he noticed Lin Yu standing beside Shizuka. He stopped short.
"Lin Yu? W-what are you doing here? At Shizuka's house?"
Seeing Lin Yu standing there, right next to Shizuka in her house, a potent wave of anxiety washed over Nobita. He'd always thought of Shizuka as his future wife, and her house had always been his safe haven when fleeing Gian. Lin Yu's presence here felt like a serious threat on multiple fronts.
"Shizuka and I made plans yesterday to do homework together today," Lin Yu explained with his usual easy smile, acting as if yesterday's prank hadn't bothered him in the least. "Didn't expect to run into you here, Nobita."
But Nobita's mood was far from beautiful. Yesterday's scheme had backfired spectacularly. After a long night of Doraemon trying to talk sense into him, Nobita had briefly convinced himself he was overthinking things. But now, seeing Lin Yu here, all his anxieties came flooding back, stronger than before. And compounding his anxiety was deep frustration. He'd come here hoping to hide from Gian, only to run into his perceived 'rival' and have Lin Yu witness him in such a pathetic, beaten-up state.
"Nobita, don't just stand there," Shizuka said kindly, her earlier irritation fading in the face of his obvious distress. "Come sit down. I'll go get the first-aid kit and patch you up." Years of friendship made it impossible for her to ignore him when he was clearly hurt. She headed upstairs to fetch the kit.
"I can help too," Lin Yu offered, stepping forward and gently patting Nobita's shoulder. "Gian and Suneo really went too far this time. Don't worry, I can talk to them tomorrow."
But Nobita barely registered Lin Yu's comforting words. The physical pain from the beating was nothing compared to the cold dread gripping his heart. His mind was completely consumed by the terrifying vision of his future: married to Gian's sister