As the sun sets in the west, orange sunset fills the sky.
After leaving the old prefectural middle school, Sotani Yoshiaki just wanted to return to the children's welfare home in the suburbs as soon as possible, but the people behind him held him back.
——Although there is a distance between them, she is just walking slowly.
But he couldn't leave her and go back alone.
"bell."
Zong Gu called out, and she raised her gaze to look at him, still maintaining the same pace.
"..."
He didn't know the specific reason, but he knew that she was not in a good mood during this time.
Although her expression was as calm as ever in the past eight years, he had seen the anxiety in her heart more than once.
But if she didn't say it herself, he wouldn't want to know the reason.
After more than half a minute, Asagiri Suzu finally came closer, looking even smaller standing next to him.
Not only her face, but her body shape and figure also remained the same as when they first met seven or eight years ago. At that time, he thought she was a middle school student, and it was not until last year that she was promoted to the county behind her with him.
"Let's go, it will be troublesome if we miss the bus."
She nodded, but there was no corresponding expression in her actions.
When she approached again, Sogu simply took her hand and dragged her to speed up her pace.
"..."
Chaogiri Suzu glanced at him and wanted to pull his hand out. Sogu held it tighter.
After walking like this for a while, the two stopped at the first intersection between the county and the bus stop.
"Yo, Soya——"
Waiting at the red light were a few classmates and people in the same class as them, but their words and deeds were not very friendly.
"Are you coming to pick up your daughter from school today?"
"..."
"Hahahahahahaha!" "You guys, you are going too far - the father and daughter are obviously classmates!" "They became father and daughter in an orphanage... No, I was so moved that I almost cried.
"Wow, Koutarou's mouth is getting more and more vicious."
Zonggu had long been used to seeing this kind of situation. He looked at the red light and ignored it, only feeling that he was unlucky.
He and Asagiri Suzu usually did not leave directly after school, but chose to stay in the library and read, just to avoid meeting such people.
Bad luck today, he thought.
When the two first entered middle school, the situation was even more serious.
Taking advantage of his size advantage, Zongya also taught a few students who behaved inappropriately. However, when the matter reached school, it was the staff of the welfare home who ended up in trouble;
From then on, he could tolerate it as long as he wanted.
Fortunately, there are still more things to be happy about in life.
"Tch, it's boring."
The light turned green, and several people crossed the road without looking back. Soya and Asagiri Suzu were a few steps behind, and they stopped when they reached the bus stop.
While waiting for the bus, Sogu thought it would be better to chat with her.
"bell."
He looked at the clouds, and she looked over.
"What happened recently?"
"No."
"Really? I feel like you haven't been very happy lately."
"No."
"Yeah."
As expected, I didn’t want to tell him…
Zonggu took a deep breath and slowly exhaled it towards the orange clouds in the sky.
"It's almost dusk."
Chao Wuling glanced at the sky, then lowered his gaze.
"Why hasn't the bus come yet..."
He said to himself, "What is Teacher Tachibana doing now?"
"..."
She glanced aside, then stood up.
"Bell?...Oh, the bus is coming."
The two got on the bus and drove with stops all the way, and finally returned to the children's welfare home on the outskirts of the city before sunset.
"I'm back."
"Fangming, Ling, welcome back~"
"Brother Fangming!"
"Oh, it's Fangming."
After greeting the adults and children along the way, Soya walked up to the second floor and returned to his room.
Snap.
Then Asagiri Suzu came in and closed the door.
Since Soya came to this children's welfare home, he has lived in the same room with her.
There used to be other children living with them. There were seven or eight children living in one room, with bunk beds above and below them, regardless of gender;
It's just that he can't remember when it was just the two of them.
Later, as they grew older and needed to readjust the room, the two people of the opposite sex still did not separate.
No one came out to explain or explain, and he didn't ask. The two of them have been living in a double room in the children's welfare home until now.
When I get to high school, it seems like I will switch to a single room.
After that, whether he is admitted to college or not, he will have to leave the orphanage - unless he returns here as a staff member.
"Why don't you go back to work in a children's welfare home? Fangming's pursuit of the future is really simple..." He still remembered the evaluation of Tianzi Tachibana, a life teacher at the welfare home, "But, I think Fangming should not be limited to this."
"Your future will definitely be extremely dazzling."
Soya was immersed in his memories, and soon noticed the gaze looking at Kirisuzu from the other side, without realizing that his face was full of smiles.
"bell?"
She said nothing and turned to look out the window.
The sunset dyed the sky and walls red, and it was already dusk.
"..."
Zong Gu pursed his lips, and most of his good mood disappeared in an instant.
Ju Tianzi looks young and healthy, but he is actually suffering from a hidden disease. He gets sick every evening, is in great pain, and his body becomes extremely weak;
By this time, she would hide in her room and rest without seeing anyone.
"teacher……"
Zonggu walked to the window, leaned out, looked at the orange sunset in the west, and then looked up upstairs.
There are single rooms on the third floor, and Tachibana's room is at the deepest part of the corridor, not far from them.
He raised his head, but he couldn't see anything, until the last bit of sunset that shone on his face disappeared.
"ah--"
There was a sudden scream, which made the unprepared Zonggu instantly feel terrified and broke into cold sweat all over his body.
"..."
But when he came back to his senses and listened carefully again, he heard nothing again, as if the sound just now was just his illusion.
"bell……"
Just when Soya was about to ask Asagiri Suzu, who had squeezed in beside him at some point, a faint sigh penetrated his ears.
He stuck his head out again, turned around, and quickly determined that the source of the sound was the room upstairs.
"It's the teacher who's crying."
For a moment, the only thought left in his mind was to find her.
Asaguri Suzu saw through his plan and stopped him.
"..."
Zonggu lowered his head and looked at the girl hugging him in surprise. He never thought that she had such power in her small body.
"Teacher doesn't want to see Ming now."
"……I know."
She exploded with all her strength, but it was very limited in front of him.
"But I want to see her."
Soya easily broke through Asagiri Suzu's blockage. Knowing that her efforts were in vain, she didn't bother much and looked at him by the window.
"I just... want to comfort the teacher."
Without a word of explanation, he turned around and left the room, heading straight upstairs.
At this time, there was no one else on the third floor, but he unconsciously slowed down;
The closer he got to that room, the more obvious the low crying sounds coming from inside, and the harder it became for him to take steps.
"..."
The door was just ajar, and Zonggu stopped outside the door, not deliberately concealing his presence.
"who?"
"Teacher...it's me."
The ajar door suddenly opened, and Emperor Ju stood inside looking at him, pursed his lips and shed tears.
Without her usual elegance and carelessness, she looked even more pitiful than the toddler who had just arrived at the children's welfare home.
She probably didn't want others to see her appearance at this time...
Zongya thought to himself and took a step back, but Tachibana stepped forward and grabbed him.