At this moment,
The black long-haired little girl's eyes reflected Kyou Fujibayashi's beautiful figure. Under the blowing of the gentle breeze, the young girl's long purple hair fluttered with the wind.
"Fujibayashi-sensei, did you come back to submit your resignation report?"
In Rumi Tsurumi's view, Kyou Fujibayashi, who had already experienced the Strange event at Chiba Elementary, would likely not stay at the school to teach anymore. Coming to school before the May Day Golden Week holiday this time, barring any accidents, should be to formally propose her resignation.
Facing this little girl who was different from ordinary elementary school girls, Kyou Fujibayashi smiled slightly. She took the initiative to half-squat down, looking at the little girl at eye level, and spoke, "No! It's because I took leave for so many days. Before the May Day holiday, I thought I still needed to come back to school to take a look."
"Is that so."
"Yes. Regarding the previous matter, thank you."
Although she still encountered the Strange little boy at Chiba Elementary, experienced a terrifying scene, and perhaps even almost died, she still thanked the girl before her. This girl had warned her from the very beginning and was genuinely considering her safety.
How could she not be grateful for the kindness of such a little girl!
"I didn't help you with anything."
Rumi Tsurumi shook her head gently, her exquisite cheeks full of indifference. "If Fujibayashi-sensei really wants to give thanks, you should thank Brother Lin Ye."
"Thank him..."
Kyou Fujibayashi was astonished, her eyes flickering with a stunned expression.
In this moment, she associated this with the words written crookedly on the palm of her left hand after waking up this morning. If those words weren't in her own handwriting, she would have suspected her sister Ryou wrote them; after all, the fragmented content information above was related to her sister.
But after thinking about it for a long time, she still felt it shouldn't have been written by Ryou.
Her analysis finally concluded that the greatest possibility was that she had been entangled by that kind of weird Strange again, and then wrote this content.
Kyou Fujibayashi wanted to find a way to solve the anomaly on her body, but didn't know how to solve it.
But now, these words from Rumi Tsurumi instantly made her realize something.
The content written on her hand seemed to be... true! At least the Strange at the school was solved by Lin Ye, and it was Lin Ye who saved her.
"Rumi-chan, do you know what happened that day?"
Kyou Fujibayashi's breathing was a bit rapid. She didn't think there was a possibility that Rumi Tsurumi was deceiving her again, because Rumi Tsurumi had no motive to deceive.
"Did Big Brother not tell you?"
Kyou Fujibayashi thought for a while but still shook her head. "He didn't say much. I don't know many details. I still don't know who saved me from its hands, only that Lin Ye and a young girl escorted me back home together."
Upon hearing this, Rumi Tsurumi realized that Lin Ye did not have the idea of using the grace of saving her life to take the opportunity to establish a friendlier and closer relationship with Kyou Fujibayashi.
"Sensei, you should go ask Big Brother!"
She declined politely.
But how could Kyou Fujibayashi give up this opportunity.
"Rumi-chan, please tell me. Actually, some conflicts occurred between him and me. I'm embarrassed to face him and ask him directly."
The black long-haired little girl was still a bit hesitant.
Realizing that Lin Ye didn't intend to say it, was it really okay for her to take the initiative to tell Kyou Fujibayashi?
Rumi Tsurumi wasn't old, but she had a shred more consideration in her conduct.
"If he isn't willing to say it, and you also don't say it, the misunderstanding between us..."
Kyou Fujibayashi's face revealed a troubled look. Internally, she exclaimed that elementary students nowadays were truly mature, considering so many things.
When she was in elementary school, how could she have considered so many matters? If a teacher asked, she would have answered directly; how would she not tell?
"Sensei..."
"Please, Rumi-chan."
"I..."
Finally, Rumi Tsurumi soft-heartedly compromised. She told of the events of that day.
From meeting Lin Ye on the street, to discovering Lin Ye was searching for Kyou Fujibayashi at Chiba Elementary but couldn't find anyone, and finally transforming to lure out the Little Boy Strange entity, eventually disappearing into Chiba Elementary.
"Sensei, I only know what happened after that. I thought Big Brother disappeared just like you, but I went to Sobu High to find him later, and he indicated that you were already fine and had been brought back."
In this moment,
Kyou Fujibayashi realized she was saved by Lin Ye.
"Thank you."
"Sensei, you believe me? You have to know there was a transformation..."
Normal people wouldn't believe this kind of thing, right!
"I believe."
Kyou Fujibayashi nodded. Lin Ye himself indeed possessed odd abilities; having one more transformation wasn't unacceptable.
"Sensei, please keep this a secret for me. Don't say I said it."
Rumi Tsurumi urged.
She didn't want Lin Ye to know she had told Kyou Fujibayashi about the events of that day.
Although she felt Lin Ye didn't care much, what if he did care! Then Lin Ye would be unhappy, right!
"I will. Rest assured, I won't tell him you said it."
"Thank you."
Rumi Tsurumi expressed her thanks. "Um... Sensei, that thing at the school... should be gone. I haven't seen it appear again recently, so Sensei can actually continue to stay here."
If Kyou Fujibayashi had already made up her mind to leave Chiba Elementary and resign to work elsewhere, Rumi Tsurumi wouldn't have mentioned this matter.
But since Kyou Fujibayashi didn't plan to resign now, she naturally informed her of this matter, allowing the teacher to continue staying at the school with peace of mind.
"Thank you."
"No need to thank me. I actually think Sensei is a very good person, better than the other teachers."
This was the conclusion Rumi Tsurumi reached after coming into contact with many teachers.
The black long-haired little girl bowed and left, leaving only Kyou Fujibayashi alone in place.
Currently, she didn't even have the mood to eat lunch.
Growl...
She still moved her chopsticks to eat first.
During the ten minutes or so, she pondered while eating, while on her phone screen was a photo.
A photo of her left hand, with some text written crookedly in gel pen on it.
Only key phrases; evidently, it was written very anxiously and hastily, in a very short time.
'Lin Ye saved you', 'Give yourself to him', 'Promise cannot be forgotten', 'Don't oppose Ryou being with him', 'Elementary School', '■■ Game'.
Combining it with the matters Rumi Tsurumi just spoke of, she already had a rough guess.
"I... realized I would lose this part of my memory, so I chose to use a pen to write these down in an extremely short time to remind myself."
This was her guess.
And the method to verify it was also very simple.
After finishing her meal, Kyou Fujibayashi drank the milk in her hand in one gulp, and finally edited a message to send to Lin Ye.
Writing every character consumed the courage in her heart.
Tap tap...
Clearly it was a touchscreen,
Yet Kyou Fujibayashi felt that every touch of her thumb emitted the sound of a button press.
Finally...
Looking at the composed message, she closed her eyes and tapped send.
Based on Lin Ye's reply, she could judge her conjecture.
...
...
Chiba Sobu High,
The bell for the lunch break rang.
Students in the classroom left one after another, beginning their short and wonderful rest time, boys and girls forming groups of twos and threes.
Finally, only Lin Ye and Yukino Yukinoshita remained.
In the past, the two would not head to the Service Club together.
Lin Ye took the initiative to avoid it, preventing discussion and gossip among Sobu High students. Students of this age always held a considerably high interest in romance and ambiguity between men and women.
Especially Yukino Yukinoshita, the undisputed Cool Beauty school flower of Sobu High; she received the attentive gazes of many people.
She was the focal point wherever she went, and if one day a male constantly accompanying her suddenly appeared by her side,
How could the students of Sobu High not let their imaginations run wild and be curious!
But now,
Yukino Yukinoshita actively proposed 'no need to deliberately avoid', and that normal interaction was fine.
As for the students' gossip, ignoring it was the right thing to do.
Since the girl said so, Lin Ye naturally had no objections either.
A few minutes later,
The two arrived at the Service Club.
"Yahallo, good afternoon, Yukinon, Lin-kun."
The pink dumpling girl was already there. She waved, her sweet smile forming a sharp contrast with the black long-haired girl's cold face.
"Good afternoon."
Yukinoshita replied calmly.
She stepped to her own seat and opened her bento box.
Yui Yuigahama continued to be very curious about what cuisine Yukino Yukinoshita had prepared today.
It should be very lavish too, right!
The bento box opened.
It was a Beef Rice Bowl. The aroma quickly permeated the air. White sesame seeds and green chopped onions added a unique aesthetic to the rice bowl. "So lavish."
Yui Yuigahama looked at the lunch in the bento box, looking at the side dishes of fried egg, broccoli, and boiled vegetables, and couldn't help but exclaim in admiration again.
"Yukinon will definitely be an excellent wife in the future. I wonder who will have the luck to marry Yukinon as a wife in the future!"
Yukino Yukinoshita subconsciously glanced at Lin Ye, coincidentally meeting Lin Ye's line of sight.
The girl came back to her senses, a flash of shyness passing by, and immediately retracted her gaze.
Why did she look toward Lin Ye just now?
Yukino Yukinoshita felt regret in her heart, only hoping Lin Ye wouldn't think too much, and hoping even more that Yui Yuigahama hadn't noticed that micro-movement of hers.
"If only I were a boy, I would pursue and confess to Yukinon just like Lin-kun."
"And then you would experience the taste of a rejected confession."
Lin Ye added calmly.
These words made Yui Yuigahama awkward.
"I-I wouldn't confess casually either. I would definitely confess only when I was ninety percent sure, unlike Lin-kun."
Lin Ye's case had already been used by Yui Yuigahama as a negative example.
"Student Yuigahama, you have too much confidence in yourself. Yukinoshita isn't someone you can pursue just by chasing. If it were really that simple, she wouldn't hold the title of Iceberg School Flower at Sobu High."
"I-I'm different from other boys. My relationship with Yukinon is very good."
"That is because you are currently a girl. If you swapped genders? Would Yukinoshita let you approach like this? Impossible. Don't fantasize, better accept this cruel, cold fact!"
Yui Yuigahama was stunned by the blow.
It wasn't that she felt Lin Ye's words made no sense, but because what Lin Ye said really conformed to reality, so she felt uncomfortable.
The next second,
Yui Yuigahama looked toward Yukino Yukinoshita with teary eyes, seeming to want to receive comfort.
"Alright, Student Yuigahama, you aren't a boy, so don't think about such impossible things."
"Woo."
Yui Yuigahama was instantly filled with grief.
She knew Yukinoshita's answer represented her denial of this hypothesis of hers.
"I wonder who Yukinon will marry in the future."
Knock knock knock...
The Service Club's door was knocked.
"Please come in."
Swish!
The classroom door opened.
Iroha Isshiki had also arrived.
"Senpai, Senpai, good afternoon!"
With an enthusiastic greeting, Iroha Isshiki quickly arrived by Lin Ye's side and skillfully pulled out the chair placed at the end of the table. She wasn't polite at all and sat down directly.
"Student Isshiki, I recall you are not yet a member of the Service Club."
"Eh!"
Iroha Isshiki exclaimed, "I-I'm still not?"
"Yes, I haven't received your application."
"Is Iroha-chan going to join the Service Club?"
Yui Yuigahama became excited upon hearing this. In her view, Iroha Isshiki was already her friend too. Having one more friend in the Service Club made her even happier.
"Um, I actually think it's okay too, but it still depends on whether Senpai agrees to me joining."
She acted coyly, her gaze looking back and forth.
"What is your purpose for joining the Service Club?"
"Of course it's Senpai... cough cough, Senpai and Senpai are both here. The Service Club's club activities are very interesting. I really hope to join in and enjoy this happiness."
"I understand. You are not suitable to join."
Iroha Isshiki's smile instantly stiffened.
"Our Service Club's activities are not for being interesting, but to help others solve difficulties. It is neither interesting nor happy. You are not suitable."
That's not even a reason!
Iroha Isshiki retorted inwardly.
"Senpai, I-I... am truly sincerely joining the Service Club. I will definitely complete the Service Club's activities well and make huge contributions to the club."
The female high school student with chestnut shoulder-length hair wasted a lot of breath and finally obtained Yukinoshita's approval, but the next sentence made Iroha Isshiki's expression change again.
"You need to ask if the last member agrees to you joining. Our Service Club's members are all equal; it's not something I, the President, can decide alone."
This made Lin Ye, who was silently eating and enjoying the midday deliciousness, pause.
Yukinoshita was kicking the ball to him, letting him refuse!
Lin Ye cast his gaze. In the instant their eyes met, he realized his conjecture was correct; Yukino Yukinoshita didn't seem very willing for Iroha Isshiki to join.
"Senpai, Senpai, you also really want to participate in club activities with a cute junior and enjoy a rose-colored youth, right!"
Iroha Isshiki blinked her beautiful eyes. Her slender body leaned closer. Vaguely, a certain part not yet fully developed also added a beautiful arc, and there was also a pleasant sweet scent constantly permeating and stimulating.
Her slender finger poked her own cheek. Her moist skin was white with a rosy tinge, revealing her most beautiful side.
"Senpai..."
She emphasized her tone, speaking urgingly.
"A cute junior is waiting for your answer!"
"No interest."
Iroha Isshiki stiffened in an instant.
I requested you so cutely, and you still won't agree?
The anger in the heart of the chestnut shoulder-length haired girl!
"Senpai is an idiot. Ignoring Senpai for three seconds."
Iroha Isshiki turned her head away and buried herself in eating her own lunch.
Yukino Yukinoshita and Yui Yuigahama also moved their chopsticks one after another.
Midway,
Yui Yuigahama wanted to comfort Iroha Isshiki and signaled Lin Ye, but Lin Ye shook his head indicating it was fine. He didn't think a girl with a little devil personality like Iroha Isshiki would really be sad because of this matter.
This was all her act.
Time passed minute by minute.
The four finished their lunch one after another.
"Wa!"
Suddenly,
Iroha Isshiki let out an exclamation.
She widened her eyes looking at the message content on the phone screen. "So romantic!"
Once these words came out,
The first one attracted was Yui Yuigahama.
The pink dumpling girl stood up with shining eyes and immediately came to Iroha Isshiki's side. "Iroha-chan, what, what is so romantic!"
"Yuigahama-senpai, look."
Iroha Isshiki immediately handed the phone over.
Yui Yuigahama browsed quickly, and soon revealed a look of amazed joy. "It really is so romantic! I didn't expect there was still someone searching for a girl he fell in love with at first sight like this, pursuing his own love!"
"Right, right!"
Iroha Isshiki nodded repeatedly. "Sure enough, everyone is full of curiosity and expectation for sincere love. I wonder, when this girl who is being secretly loved knows there is a boy who likes her waiting at the place they first met, will she go to meet him?"
"She should go, right!"
"If a boy searched for me through the internet like this, I... would definitely agree to his confession!"
Iroha Isshiki cupped her hands, her eyes becoming increasingly bright. Her gaze finally fell on Lin Ye. "If Senpai had such courage and sincere emotion, you definitely would have taken down Yukinoshita-senpai and officially dated Senpai long ago. How would you still be single until now like this!"
"Senpai, I suggest you also learn well from him."
She handed the phone in front of Lin Ye. "Look at how people pursue this Miss Sakurajima!"
Once this surname came out,
It immediately aroused Yukinoshita's alertness.
Searching for someone, Sakurajima. These keywords combined together made her involuntarily think that this matter Iroha Isshiki and Yui Yuigahama were paying attention to and surprised by was very likely her sister Haruno's masterpiece.
Lin Ye's gaze fell on the phone's display screen.
A picture with only the back view of a girl with long black hair, accompanied by text.
"Miss Sakurajima, hello!"
"When seeing this message, do you still remember that ramen shop in Tokyo's Akihabara where we accidentally met for the first time?"
"The first moment I saw you, my heart throbbed endlessly. That was excitement, bitterness, joy, and other overloaded emotions."
"I thought that after we parted that time, we would never have any interaction again, but I didn't expect that at dinner less than six hours later, we met again,"
"I mustered my courage and issued an invitation to you. I was already mentally prepared to be rejected, but I didn't expect you agreed. You accepted. In that moment, I was ecstatic. I thought I was the happiest man in the world,"
"We went to watch the idol's performance together,"
"We strolled together on the streets of Tokyo under the night curtain,"
"We chatted freely about beautiful life and the future,"
"The neon lights were colorful, the radiance splendid, but they still couldn't conceal your dazzling brilliance and charm in my eyes."
"I think I have already fallen in love with you. I think I have already fallen into the whirlpool named romance. It seems I only wish to spend the rest of my life with you alone, rushing toward a beautiful future."
"But I don't know when,"
"I realized I lost you,"
"I looked everywhere but couldn't find you. All contacts related to you vanished cleanly. My world seemed about to lose you,"
"In this instant, my world was icy cold and pitch black. I am unwilling for my world to be without you, for my future to be without you,"
"Therefore,"
"I wrote this message. I think if one day you see this message,"
"Please head to that place where we first met,"
"Every night from eight to nine o'clock, I am waiting for your arrival."
"An ordinary boy who searches for you thousands of times and is unwilling to give up."
"We... will not leave until we see each other."
...
...
After reading it,
Lin Ye's eyelids twitched, and he was rendered directly silent.
After Yukino Yukinoshita took it and read it, her mood was terrible.
Even knowing it was fake, fabricated by her sister, this information announcing to the whole world 'I like Mai Sakurajima' and 'working hard to retrieve Mai Sakurajima' left a completely bad taste in her mouth.
With her prospective fiancé being so ambiguous and intimate with other women, and this romantic confession letter being commented on and hotly discussed by countless netizens, her mood became even worse.
"Yukinon, Yukinon, isn't it very romantic."
Yui Yuigahama waited for Yukino Yukinoshita's answer with a giggle.
"It is quite romantic."
She took the opportunity to glare heavily at Lin Ye.
Lin Ye smiled awkwardly.
But he wouldn't carry this responsibility. This was Haruno's fault. If Yukinoshita really wanted to blame someone, she should blame Haruno.
"Right, right! Hehehe, I really don't know if this Miss Sakurajima can see this deep-feeling boy's message,"
"She should be able to see it!"
"What a pity, the specific location isn't mentioned here. Otherwise, I would want to go to the scene to observe. The moment they reunite again must be very happy!"
Yui Yuigahama had even begun fantasizing about the scene of the two reuniting. She directly substituted the touching scene of the male and female protagonists reuniting in idol dramas.
"Senpai, Senpai, learn well. If you learned from this unknown deep-feeling boy, how could you not succeed in confessing? How could you not find a girlfriend!"
Iroha Isshiki began teaching again.
"If Senpai confessed to me like this, I wouldn't refuse, you know!"
She said to Lin Ye with a grin. Those smiling eyes seemed both real and fake, making it impossible to distinguish her true words.
But Yui Yuigahama believed it.
She always felt Iroha Isshiki liked Lin Ye. Otherwise, why would a cute junior be so proactive and close to Lin Ye?
Only when liking this boy would a girl be proactive.
Yui Yuigahama had certain cognitive experience regarding this.
The pink dumpling girl widened her eyes, slightly nervous and looking forward to Lin Ye's answer.
To confess, or not to confess?
"Afraid of being rejected, dare not confess again. Wait for the next life! If I really have to confess, might as well choose someone else more secure... but Isshiki, you definitely aren't it."
As the voice fell,
Iroha Isshiki suffered a critical hit once again.
"Senpai, excessive. Not being friends with you anymore. Always bullying me, letting down this sincere heart of mine. Continuing like this, you will lose a cute junior."
Iroha Isshiki stared.
While Yukino Yukinoshita and Yui Yuigahama both watched.
"I actually have quite a lot of juniors,"
"Woo woo woo woo..."
She started wailing, wiping her eyes, but there wasn't a single teardrop. It was acting from start to finish.
Lin Ye had only one word for Iroha Isshiki's acting skills—impressed.
In some aspects, Iroha Isshiki and Haruno's levels could be considered on par.
Letting Iroha Isshiki grow for a few more years, who knew what level she could grow to.
Lin Ye took out his own phone and clicked open the browser, quickly seeing this information on the trending search.
Haruno had already bought traffic over there, pushing this entry into the ranks of trending searches, and constantly expanding the scope of influence, letting more people see it, letting more people participate and actively forward and spread it.
Within a short time,
This information could be spread into the field of vision of the majority of people as quickly as possible.
Although Lin Ye expressed no interest in the content Haruno composed, this topic mixed with the beautiful and pure love of a young boy and girl was indeed full of gimmicks. Haruno only needed to push slightly hard in the beginning; in the middle and later stages, she completely didn't need to expend much effort to spread this information as quickly and widely as possible.
It was much better than a simple missing person notice.
"Eight to nine in the evening."
This time was also suitable.
After school tonight, he would head to Tokyo's Akihabara.
If Mai Sakurajima saw this message, and if she could understand the meaning within, she would definitely appear outside that ramen shop.
Even if she didn't appear tonight, he could look around in Tokyo tomorrow morning.
Wait,
Lin Ye remembered one more thing.
Tonight he had a dinner appointment with the Tachibana sisters, Hina Tachibana and her sister.
"Can only eat dinner earlier and rush over earlier."
Tomorrow was the May Day Golden Holiday. The Service Club wouldn't have activities after school today either, so his time was considered relatively abundant.
"Cough cough cough,"
Yui Yuigahama coughed twice to ease the atmosphere. "Actually, Lin-kun just hasn't completely walked out of the shadow of his confession being rejected yet. Iroha-chan, wait a bit longer, it will definitely be okay."
In the whole venue, really only Yui Yuigahama alone believed Iroha Isshiki.
This pink dumpling was truly simple!
Lin Ye sighed with emotion.
Compared to Ai Hoshino, she probably wasn't much better off.
"Yuigahama-senpai, it's fine! Hahaha, I was just making a joke. Senpai is firstly not handsome, secondly has no money, and his personality isn't good either, always bullying me. If such a boy confessed to me, I would definitely refuse immediately, just like Yukinoshita-senpai, not giving Senpai any chance. Hahaha."
But in Yui Yuigahama's view, this looked like Iroha Isshiki comforting herself.
"Mn mn mn, Iroha-chan can definitely find a boy she likes. Jiayou."
After Yui Yuigahama finished encouraging, she felt something was wrong, so she smiled awkwardly.
And Lin Ye's attention at this time wasn't placed on Yui Yuigahama and Iroha Isshiki. Instead, he placed his attention on the message just received.
The content of this message made his expression change slightly.
...
...
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