"Not explaining to my face is your last act of kindness, right?"
She felt as if she were smiling.
Although my chest felt empty, no bubbles of joy rose to my throat.
——So, what is the answer?
The alarm clock that brought her beautiful dream back to reality, the cold spring that extinguished her warmth, the answer that made her fall back to the ground from the clouds of happiness.
Ming Hai...
What on earth are you thinking about?
Nagasaki Suyo stared blankly at the floor-to-ceiling window, as if she had forgotten even to breathe.
I don’t know how long it took.
She suddenly exhaled towards the window glass, and the white mist condensed into a piece of answer paper that was neither short nor long.
She raised her white fingertips and slowly wrote down three words, then just stared at the answer.
“A sense of distance.”
……I see.
Murmuring softly, she raised her hand and erased the writing.
The still cold glass reflected the expressionless beautiful face and the empty eyes that were the same color as the night.
Tonight, the stars and the moon are dim.
-
"Good morning, Narumi~"
"Good morning."
With a kind and gentle smile, Nagasaki Motoyo greeted Ming Hai who had just walked out of the elevator.
As if nothing had happened yesterday, she maintained her usual distance, walked to a position not too far from him, and left the apartment with him.
Amidst the relaxed and natural chat, we boarded the train and parted ways in front of Tsuki no Mori Academy.
The smile on his face never changed until he walked into the classroom, pulled out a chair, sat down, and placed his phone on the table.
"Eh? Nagasaki-san, did you change your pendant?"
Some sharp-eyed students came over and looked at the pendant that looked like a rice ear curiously.
Nagasaki Suyo simply picked up her cell phone, waved it left and right in front of the other person, and laughed with joy.
"Yes~ The gift I received yesterday, it's beautiful, isn't it?"
"Yeah! It matches your hair color very well, it suits you perfectly!"
"Thank you. That's what the person who gave me the gift said~"
"That person?" The other students who came closer seemed to have noticed something and couldn't help but ask curiously, "Shigasaki, could it be that this gift was given by a boy?"
Nagasaki Suyo scratched her cheek shyly, but as if unable to suppress the happiness in her heart, she nodded and acknowledged it.
"He gave it to me yesterday when we were hanging out."
"ah--"
Screams of young girls immediately rang out all around. These young ladies, who had rarely come into contact with men and had only experienced the feeling of love in novels, movies and TV shows, instantly became excited. Their little faces flushed and they were full of interest. They surrounded her and began chattering.
"Shigasaki-san, who looks so gentle and dignified, actually has a boyfriend! That's great~"
"Yes, Tsuki no Mori prohibits impure relationships within the school, but it doesn't say that it's not allowed outside of the school..."
"There are only girls in the school, how can we have an impure relationship?"
"You should ask those seniors who have violated school rules..."
"Shigasaki-san, when did you two start dating? Who confessed first?"
Seeing that the discussion was getting more and more heated, Nagasaki Suyo quickly raised her hands and tried to ease the chaotic atmosphere with a troubled look on her face.
"Everyone, please calm down! Don't get so excited, I'm not dating him yet..."
"Not yet?" Everyone was stunned.
"Well, he is just a very important person to me now."
Looking at the pendant with gentle eyes, Nagasaki Suyo looked around, and suddenly winked at the classmates who were looking forward to her love story, put her finger in front of her lips, and said playfully:
"If we really start dating someday, I'll tell everyone quietly! For now, please keep it a secret for me, otherwise if he gets the news, I won't know how to face him..."
"Did it get to him?" Someone smart reacted instantly, "Nagaki's boyfriend... No, the person he likes, could it be that he's a student at Meiwa Junior High School?"
After all, the only mixed-system school that has frequent exchanges with Tsukinomori and might let rumors reach the other side is the private Minghe Junior High School.
Seeing Nagasaki Suyo blushing and agreeing, the girls gathered together again and started to make a noise.
"Ah, it turns out to be a student from Minghe Middle School. Isn't this very close?"
"So, when the two schools hold joint events, we'll be able to see the person Nagasaki-san likes?"
"Shigasaki-san is so pretty, the guy she likes must be very handsome too..."
"Compared to this, I'd rather know how your date went yesterday!"
“Hey~ I feel a little embarrassed if I say it out loud, what should I do~”
Although she said this, Nagasaki Suyo, with a gentle and sweet smile, still handled everyone's curiosity with ease.
——It was as if the current situation was all within her expectations, and all the shyness was just a disguise.
So before long, almost all the girls in the class knew about it.
[Nagaki has a handsome and gentle "boyfriend-to-be" who is studying at Meiwa Junior High School. They even gave each other a token of love.]
In this space, fueled by love topics, it becomes extremely hot early in the morning.
"Well, the effect shouldn't be too exaggerated~"
Nagasaki Suyo lowered her eyebrows, pursed her lips, and seemed to chuckle.
The fingertips on the knees rubbed each other unconsciously.
Suddenly, she raised her eyes and looked towards the corridor outside the classroom.
There seemed to be a sky blue figure, clear and elegant, flashing in the sunlight.
Skirt~
Volume 38: Chapter Chapter Nagasaki Suyo: Gradually Understanding Everything
This afternoon was the first band meeting after [CryCHIC] gathered all the members.
Ming Hai sent a special message of encouragement to Toyokawa Shoko.
"Even though I won't be there, I'll be watching you from a distance. Come on."
"far away?"
"There's a convenience store across the street, and its seats are by the window."
"…Rather than spying over there, wouldn't it be better to show up openly?"
"If I wasn't worried about you getting into trouble, I wouldn't even go."
"What could possibly go wrong at a band meeting?"
"For example, a rival of the Toyokawa family suddenly appears and tries to take you, the young lady, away at gunpoint."
"... Narumi-kun, have you watched a similar TV show recently?"
"No, I was just thinking, this way I can rush over and save the girl."
"Really... Even if I didn't save the damsel in distress, you would have already..."
"Already what?"
"Nothing! Have a nice lunch!"
"Shy young lady is so cute."
Putting down his phone with a happy smile, Minghai stood up and walked to the back of the classroom and threw the empty bread bag into the trash can.
Glancing at his deskmate's seat which had disappeared since the lunch break, he thought about it and finally gave up the idea of actively looking for her to communicate with him and introduce her to Toyokawa Shoko as soon as possible.
Now that things are going smoothly, there's no need to rush to create opportunities for communication; just let things develop naturally.
He was not interested in doing such boring things as counseling a socially anxious girl. It didn't matter even if the two of them couldn't talk at all in the end, as long as nothing went wrong with Teacher Xiaoxiang.
Time flies, and in a blink of an eye, the school bell rings throughout the campus.
"Bye-Bye."
"Ah, bye, bye..."
After saying goodbye casually to his socially anxious deskmate who answered reflexively without even raising his eyes, Ming Hai quickly left the school and arrived at the convenience store opposite Yuze Cafe in less than half an hour.
There were already quite a few people sitting in the window seats, so he quickly went to buy a special surveillance set meal - red bean bread and milk - and successfully occupied the last position where he could observe the interior of the cafe.
Sitting on a bench outside the cafe, there was a beautiful black-haired girl, looking down at her phone, apparently waiting for someone.
"It should be one of the members, right?"
Ming Hai guessed and picked up his phone, ready to take a picture to confirm with Toyokawa Shoko.
Although there is no point, they will naturally recognize each other after arriving... But if it really needs to be meaningful, he would not be peeping here now.
It can also be said that everything related to Toyokawa Shoko has the same meaning to Ming Hai.
However, the moment the camera was pointed at the girl, as if sensing something, she suddenly raised her head and stared straight at him with a pair of sharp eyes that seemed full of murderous intent.
Ming Hai was not in a hurry, as if he didn't notice the girl's cold expression. He took out his earphones and put them in his ears. He tapped the screen twice casually with his fingers, then started eating bread while shaking his head.
Soon, the girl's expression turned into confusion, as if she was doubting whether there was something wrong with her feelings.
After looking at it carefully, she lowered her head expressionlessly and continued to scroll through her phone.
"What a keen sense, and his eyes are really scary... I hope he's an easy person to get along with."
Ming Hai gave up taking pictures and silently cheered for the leader of [CryCHIC] in his heart - although he believed that the gentle and cheerful teacher Xiao Xiang could calm any troublemaker down.
And so I waited for about fifteen minutes.
A group of four, all beautiful girls, appeared in front of Yuze Cafe.
Toyokawa Shoko was the first to step forward and talk to the black-haired girl. After a brief chat, she extended her hand to her with a warm smile, making an invitation gesture.
The sharp look in her eyes just now completely disappeared. The girl's face was slightly tense, and she seemed a little introverted and embarrassed. She nodded and stood up with her schoolbag.
When entering the coffee shop, Toyokawa Shoko, who was originally the leader, deliberately walked to the back and let others go in first.
When there was no one outside the door, she turned around and looked at the convenience store across the street.
Just one glance and we met eyes.
Ming Hai waved and smiled.
Toyokawa Shoko subconsciously wanted to smile, but suddenly stopped. No one knew what she was thinking about, but she actually stuck out her tongue at him rebelliously, and her eyes conveyed dissatisfaction.
"..."
Are you protesting against my peeping?
Ming Hai was a little confused, but he had to admit that his heart beat faster and faster because of Teacher Xiaoxiang's increasingly lovely and rich expressions.
I always feel like the wall of Maria in my heart seems to have been breached by this "tongue-sticking impact".
Seeing him stunned, Toyokawa Shoko seemed to want to say something with her lips, but after responding to the person inside the door in a hurry, she finally just waved goodbye to Minghai and slipped into the cafe lightly.
The door closed, and Minghai followed her with his eyes, coming to the window seat that seemed to have been specially chosen.
-
In order to avoid being noticed, Toyokawa Shoko resisted the urge to look back at him through the window, and smiled and nodded to the waiter who came over with the menu.
"Hello, sorry to bother you again."
"Hello, I should thank you for coming again~" Tsugumi Yuzawa looked at the two violin cases they placed next to her curiously. She didn't ask any more questions, but showed the professional attitude of a waiter and said with a smile, "What would you like to drink today? Ah, you don't need to take out the coupon yet. I'll give you the discount after we settle the bill."
