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"Alright, let's continue."
After secretly grabbing a jelly from beside her pillow and eating it, Yanami patted her cheeks and buried herself in her studies again. In the afternoon, she still had private tutoring.
Reading, studying, attending private tutoring.
During this time, she also received advice from her friends.
"Anna, taking an hour each day to run and exercise is better for studying! It gets blood flowing to the brain!" — This was Lemon.
She's been running. She's been running.
"Hmm, I think the key to studying hard is to make yourself interested in books, right? Or think about someone important." — This was Karen.
I really can't do the former, but I've been thinking about the latter!
From time to time, a familiar face appeared before the blue-haired girl; that person looked at her, wearing the same smile as always.
Days passed.
Reading attentively, thinking attentively, working hard attentively.
Repeat, repeat, and repeat again.
Gradually, it felt as if only that single goal remained in the world. Even while eating and sleeping, her mind was filled with what she'd studied. Occasionally, when she woke in the middle of the night, she would vaguely wonder: what am I working so hard for?
Under this wholehearted dedication, summer passed and autumn came; fallen leaves sighed, and time slipped by quietly. Looking back, she'd already walked a long way.
Even her parents felt she was very different.
With the seasons changing, everyone temporarily suppressed the emotions in their hearts and moved toward their ideals.
But the blue-haired girl was not made of iron. Sometimes she wanted to rest or recharge. Whenever that happened, she rewarded herself with a delicious meal and chatted with a certain boy on her phone.
Just like now.
The time was 11:30 p.m.
Yanami, fresh from a shower, returned to her room. Her skin, steamed by the heat, looked even more delicate, tinged with an alluring pink that made one want to pinch it to see if water would bead up.
She yawned, lazily dried her hair in front of the mirror, tied her now slightly longer, soft blue hair into pigtails, slipped into cute pajamas, lay on the bed, and sent a message.
"Are you lying down right now?"
Ding-dong. The reply came in under a minute.
"Are you stalking me? That's right, I'm in bed scrolling through Twitter."
Smiling, the blue-haired girl's thumbs flew: "Then what position are you in right now?"
"Lying on my back, phone in my right hand—also, what's the point of this question?!"
Ignoring his complaint, she continued, ordering:
"Turn to your left side. Now."
"I'm not your pet. I don't want to." Kiyono was as aloof as ever.
"Hurry up. If you honestly do as I say, I'll give you a reward later!" Yanami had figured out how to deal with him and pressed on.
"…"
No reply, but the message was read. Her lips curled slightly, as if she could see him through the camera.
"Are you lying down properly?"
After sending it, she also turned to a side-lying position, holding her phone with both hands as if facing him; her pretty face flushed slightly.
On the other side of the screen, Kiyono—obediently lying on his side—snorted. He was just tired of lying down and wanted to change positions…
Immediately, another message arrived.
"Let's play Truth or Dare."
"Huh?"
"From now on, you guess whether what I say is a lie or the truth. You just answer 'true' or 'false.'"
One could imagine the blue-haired girl's sly expression.
It felt like she was plotting something… But since he was only guessing, it didn't matter, right?
Without waiting for him to reply, Yanami started.
"I really want to eat snacks right now."
"True."
"√"
Yanami: "Strawberry pudding is delicious."
"True."
"√"
Yanami: "I will successfully get into my desired university."
Kiyono paused, then replied:
"True."
"√"
Yanami: "I'm very tired right now."
"…True."
"√"
His expression softened. For an average student to get into a top university, the effort and pressure could be overwhelming.
The clock hand slipped past midnight. Kiyono stared at the screen. The next second, a new message lit up.
Yanami: "When I'm tired, I think of someone."
"…"
The phone fell onto the bed.
His heartbeat inexplicably quickened. What—what was this! Why did it feel like he was being played!?
Even through a screen, his ears grew hot, and unease fluttered in his chest. He picked up his phone, typed for a long time, and didn't send anything.
She messaged again.
"And then I'm not so tired."
"…"
He dared to send a message even less.
Kiyono took a breath, put his phone down subconsciously, then couldn't help picking it up again—then put it down again. Am I a girl or what!
At that moment, Yanami's message arrived again—along with a call.
Kiyono glanced at the flood: "Why aren't you talking?", "Person?", "Hmph, you're not asleep, are you?", and "Call not connected" filled the chat.
Ding-dong, ding-dong.
After the read receipt appeared, Yanami quickly sent two more messages.
"Pajamas, pigtails.jpg"
"This is the reward I promised you. Good night."
In the photo, the blue-haired girl faced the camera, her snow-white, delicate neck and collarbones exposed.
Crap—he was about to be captured by his good buddy.
Kiyono instantly face-planted his phone into the sheets, took a deep breath, and rolled around on the bed in anguish.
Tonight was destined to be sleepless.
The leaves shifted from emerald to withered yellow; trees passed from lush to bare.
Autumn fell away like leaves.
In January, it snowed.
Snowflakes fluttered. Steps and eaves turned white. The world seemed paused, with only a distant Ferris wheel slowly revolving in the snow.
Yanami walked the snow-covered street, the cold tightening the red scarf around her neck.
Was the final time approaching…
At the end of all her hard work, the world would end, too.
Footsteps crunched. At the intersection, while waiting for red, an ethereal, stirring melody touched her ears. She looked up to the high-rise's ad screen and saw a beautiful scene.
It was a certain someone's animation promo—nearly three and a half minutes long, every second exquisitely crafted.
"Wait for me…"
Yanami exhaled a soft puff of white. Snow dusted her lashes and hair, and her expression was incomparably gentle.
A year like a day.
Countless fragmented scenes flickered by: joy, pain, struggle, collapse.
Now—
She saw again the vast, white, ethereal snow.
Today was the national unified university entrance examination.
The morning air was particularly cold.
Before the alarm rang, Yanami woke naturally. She drew a light breath; the chill in her lungs made her shiver.
Despite the inexplicable throbbing in her heart, she pressed it down, threw off the quilt, and got changed as usual.
The first thing she did wasn't to wash up—it was to go to her desk and carefully check her stationery, books, and admission ticket. When her fingers brushed the smooth tabletop, a dreamlike trance washed over her.
I… really persevered.
Giving up entertainment time, giving up her favorite foods, bowing her head beneath the lamplight night after night—step by step to now.
But after today, the seal could be lifted!
After the exam, she would eat a lot, eat something special—eat explosively!
Yanami clenched her fist.
Just then, her mother's gentle call came from outside the door:
"Anna, come eat!"
The girl answered and went to the living room. Mother had already risen to make breakfast; Old Father, unusually, sat on the sofa watching TV. And besides her parents, someone she didn't expect was there.
"Little Senior…?" She blinked, wondering if she was hallucinating.
"Oh." Kiyono turned and smiled. "I'm here to give you a friendship buff."
"However, the power of family bonds is the strongest," Old Father added.
"Indeed. Uncle took special leave today to cheer Yanami on and provide chauffeured escort—truly a role model of a family-loving man."
"Oh my, Little Senior is not bad either. He rode his bicycle over in this snow—must've been pelted by it. Having such a friend is a great blessing in Anna's life."
Old Father handed him a steaming cup of coffee, gratified.
"Go wash up, Anna," Mother urged gently.
The scene moved her. She nodded, washed up, and then ate with her family.
"Speaking of… I'm curious about something."
The blue-haired girl took a sip of warm milk and leveled her gaze at Kiyono across the table. "Kiyono, aren't you also an examinee like me? Why are you so relaxed and comfortable?!"