After getting off the train and walking all the way back to Kirino's old house, Yoshikawa stopped at the entrance of the yard.
"I won't go in."
"Um……"
Akane Kirino looked at her, very concerned about her increasingly depressed state, "Is it okay for Anko to go home by herself? Can Soya see you off?"
Yoshikawa glanced at Soya, then quickly looked away.
"No...I'm fine."
Akane Kirino thought for a while and handed the bag containing the swimsuit to Soya, "Then I'll give it to you."
"..."
After all, she couldn't refuse anymore and nodded.
"Then please."
Looking at the two girls walking away side by side, Zonggu turned around and walked inside.
He took the swimsuit to be washed and hung it in the yard to dry. As soon as he turned around, Asagiri Suzu appeared out of nowhere and handed over his swimsuit.
He hung up her swimsuit and the two of them returned to sit beside each other.
There are no clouds in the sky, the sky is blue, and the sun shines directly into the yard. Before noon, the little breeze blowing from the yard has already become hot.
After sitting for a while, Chao Wuling turned to look at Zong Gu.
"what happened?"
"..."
He remained silent and felt that his whole body was getting hotter and hotter, so he got up and went to the room upstairs to take down the electric fan.
Plug in the power, press the switch, the blades will fly at high speed, sending out a steady stream of cool air.
He sat down in front of the electric fan, and after just enjoying a few breaths, he stood up and came over to the fog bell, sitting between him and the electric fan, blocking out the wind.
"..."
Zong Gu sighed quietly, stretched out his hands under her armpits, and held the petite girl closer to him.
"Yoshikawa is going to confess."
The short hair beside her ears was constantly fluttering in the wind behind her, and Chao Wuling's expression remained normal, without any surprise.
"Do you still want to reject her?"
He didn't speak, just nodded.
She was also silent.
After looking at him for a while, she moved forward again, leaned down and pressed her side face against his chest.
Thump, thump——
"The regret has turned into pain, hurting you and her."
Zong Gu lowered his head, buried it in her short hair, and took a deep breath.
"It doesn't matter. The pain is only temporary, for me and for her...it doesn't matter."
Chaogiri Ling closed her eyes and stopped speaking for the time being.
...
"It's really hot under the sun..."
"Thank you, Akane."
When Kirino Akane was sent home, Yoshikawa pulled her and said, "Come in and have a glass of water before going back."
"Okay." Akane Kirino agreed happily.
After saying hello to Yoshikawa's mother, she came to the room on the second floor and sat down. Anko quickly came up with two glasses of juice.
"Good ice——"
After drinking more than half a glass of juice in one go, Kirino Akane shrank her neck.
The contrast created a gap. Yoshikawa picked it up and put it down again, and the juice in the cup barely changed.
"Anko is really not energetic." Akane Kirino looked at her and said.
"……Feel sorry."
She lowered her gaze and looked at the water droplets gathering and sliding down the glass.
"I woke up too early today... maybe I didn't sleep enough."
"Is that all?"
Yoshikawa raised his eyes, and Akane Kirino, who was sitting opposite, looked at her intently.
"I feel like Hongzi suddenly became lethargic after choosing a swimsuit...Did something happen in the middle?"
"..."
After a moment of silence, she forced a smile and said, "Qian is always particularly sensitive when she least expects it... She is usually very slow."
"Hey, are you complimenting me with this sentence? Are you complimenting me? If Hongzi says no, I will be angry."
Kirino Akane started to panic before she could pretend to be angry.
"Hongzi?"
She quickly stood up and sat across from him, looking at the two lines of tears that suddenly flowed from Yoshikawa's eyes, wiping them away while feeling at a loss.
"Hey, what's wrong...did I say something wrong?"
Yoshikawa shook his head, just sobbing, and the tears flowed more and more.
"Hongzi..."
Kirino Akane guessed the reason blankly, "I won't be really angry? I will always like Anko..."
She suddenly thought of something.
"Did Soya bully Anko when I was trying on my swimsuit?"
"..."
Yoshikawa paused and looked at her with tearful eyes.
It was like someone suddenly ripped open the film of memories, and what happened in the past few months appeared in front of my eyes one by one.
I first met the "handsome country boy" Soya at the gate of the middle school after school. I thought he and Akane were dating, so I started to pay attention to him;
Unexpectedly, they went to Danhai University together. Although they were just accompanying her and did not take the entrance exam, he got the admission notice earlier than her;
After he learned that he cared about Qian, he took him as the object of his confession without authorization, and then made a whimsical plan to attract Qian's attention by pretending to like him;
We also go to and from school together, handle inexplicable requests from inexplicable clubs together, go to Kyoto to play and spend the night together...
"...I act like a fool."
The person who made their relationship confusing and complicated was herself.
If there were no extraneous complications, she would naturally fall in love with him, and if she pursued him normally, would she get different results?
——Although until now, she still doesn't understand the real reason why he intends to reject her.
"Is it really because of Soya..." Kirino Akane looked at her, "What did he do to Anko? Did he peek at Anko while she was changing clothes?"
"No……"
Yoshikawa wiped it under his eyes and shook his head, "It has nothing to do with Soya."
Since she was destined to be rejected by him, she hoped that only he and herself would know about this matter forever.
Is it time to stop pretending to like him in front of Akane?
How should we get along with each other in the future?
Do you want to break off the relationship?
How should I explain to Akane if we break up with each other?
Or should we just get along normally like before?
But, can she do it?
"..."
She didn't want to admit it, but she had to admit that everything turned out to be a mess just like he said.
"I just suddenly don't know what to do in the future..." She looked at Akane Kirino, who was full of worry, and explained half-seriously, "But it's no problem now. I'm sorry for making Akane worry."
Kirino Akane was stunned for a moment, "'in the future' is...?"
"Just things like life and the future."
"Eh? Why are you suddenly considering such a thing?"
"I don't know. When I was changing clothes, I suddenly started thinking about it for no reason."
Yoshikawa gave her a smile, "In the end, I became depressed because of this kind of thing, and even cried in front of Akane...I must be a fool."
"Fool!"
Akane Kirino used both hands to pinch her cheeks and pull them left and right.
"I'm worried to death!"
"Sorry...it hurts so much, Akane."
She let go of her hand, put it on her shoulder again, and looked at her seriously:
"If Hongzi doesn't know what to do in the future, then leave your life to me. With Hongzi's share, I already have a long-term plan." 1
"Long-term plan..."
Yoshikawa looked at her blankly, "What is it?"
"that is……"
Kirino Akane suddenly remembered Soya's confession, "Ah, I can't tell Anko just yet. In short, I will not let Anko down."
"..."
Yoshikawa was dazed for a while, then leaned forward and hugged her tightly.
"Okay, I'm very happy...I'll leave my life to Akane."
It was because he wanted to stay with Akane forever that he became more and more involved with Soya... He was really a complete fool for putting aside the good and the bad.
"Now, I'm back with Qian again..."
"Eh?"
Kirino Akane looked down at her, "When did Anko leave me?"
"I mean... I will only like Qian from now on."
"Eh...what should Soya do?"
"..."
She rubbed her chest, closed her eyes, and said, "Let him be."
Kirino Akane was at a loss for a while.
Is Anko no longer able to use Soya... But her current condition is not stable, so she should just talk about it casually, right?
After staying in the room on the second floor for a while, Akane Kirino went back first.
After sending her to the entrance of the alley, her mother picked up the paper bag containing her swimsuit when she returned home.
"Hongzi, I washed this new swimsuit for you."
"Um……"
Just as he was about to go upstairs, Hongzi, who had recovered his senses, stopped.