My stepmother's burden is my ex-girlfriend.

Page 266

It must have taken a tremendous amount of determination to add those two words.

I'm not arrogant enough to think I can predict a woman's mind, but I know it's not something that can be said lightly. If possible, if you don't mind, if you have the time—there are plenty of defenses you can set up. The possibility of casually brushing it off is something I can do as many times as I want.

This is the easiest way.

In short, let's leave it at that for now. Let's wait a while and let our minds cool down. Let's use these excuses to postpone dealing with the huge, insurmountable problem at hand, and then cleverly dodge it later.

It should be doable. Tomorrow or the day after, when we bump into each other at school, I can just approach her and start a conversation as usual. Just by doing this one thing, at least on the surface, I can return to my daily life before the confession. For Senior Asou, there shouldn't be a sweeter or more tempting option.

The senior student declined the opportunity.

Choice—Face the high wall.

Unlike me last night... I only chose to run away.

There's really nothing to talk about when it comes to love.

There are too many things that make you sad. There are too many things that make you annoyed. They can make you uneasy, dizzy, and self-loathing, and nothing will go right. It's much more interesting to simply be an observer.

Therefore.

Those who dare to face all of this are truly precious.

"...Ah──"

Xing Ge shifted his gaze away.

Then, in a perfunctory manner, he said:

"I'm sorry... please help me reject Ya Shuang. Just tell her I have nothing to say to her—"

wrong.

That's not right.

This shouldn't be right. It shouldn't be like this. This should be wrong.

These are not the answers you should give.

"—President."

At this moment, I broke free from the ROM.

"Please rest assured, President. I will definitely bring Brother Xing there."

When I came to my senses, I realized that I had grabbed Xing Ge's arm from behind and said those words.

"Hey, Kawanami, why did you make this decision on your own?"

"I'm sorry. But I'm the kind of person who only accepts happy endings."

"Huh?"

"Brother Xing—when someone is serious about you, you should respond seriously too."

Ugh, how could I have the nerve to say something like that? Shameless, utterly shameless—you need a death wish to be this brazen. That's what you call shameless. You haven't even done what you're supposed to do, yet you dare to demand it of others. You'd only feel good if you threw a few boomerangs at yourself.

But—

"—Brother Xing, didn't you say that when you were talking about your junior high school days... that you thought that girl was really brave to confess her feelings?"

"…………this……"

"Which do you think is more impressive? One is to try your luck confessing to someone you don't know well, and the other is to weigh your current relationship against others and ultimately decide to confess. Which do you think is braver?"

Yes, it must take courage to do that.

ten years.

They gave up their long-standing childhood friendship and chose to become lovers.

"If you truly believe this is brave—then no matter how many times you come, you should... spend quality time with her, right?"

Instead of retreating, escaping, or settling for the status quo.

"Show me some guts, senior."

Turning your back to a girl who is seriously facing you... that's so lame.

The president listened to what was said in silence, chuckled softly, and looked up at Brother Xing.

"You'd better set a good example for your juniors, President."

"...I'm no longer the president."

After muttering to himself, Xing Ge cursed angrily, "Damn it!"

then……

"Fine, I'll go, okay?"

He spoke as if he had given up on himself.

"I'm not so pathetic as to run away after being talked about like this—damn it. Why are all the younger students I know so nosy?"

"She must have been subtly influenced by her seniors, right?"

After saying that, the chairman chuckled twice. Xing-ge was indeed quite fond of meddling in other people's business.

"Sigh!" Xing sighed and looked at us.

"That's settled then, I'll go for a bit. Yuba, you're the oldest of the remaining people, so keep a close eye on the first-years, understand?"

"Huh? No, President—"

"Just do what I tell you to do. Besides, I'm not the president."

After unilaterally uttering these words, Xing Ge moved his long legs and walked towards the bus stop.

His back view seemed to have grown a little bit larger than before.

"...Weren't you originally a ROM specialist?"

Irito spoke with a slightly dumbfounded expression.

I shrugged and said:

"Sometimes I get a little carried away by my own desires."

There's really nothing to talk about when it comes to love.

But—if fate brings you together, there's nothing you can do about it.

Star-edge remote guidance ◆ Go all out

A throbbing pain shot through my shoulder.

It's my left shoulder. There's no need to worry about it normally. It's not my dominant hand, so it doesn't affect my daily life at all. I actually feel it more when I get vaccinations.

Even so, I still feel a stinging sensation occasionally.

Every time the pain strikes, a scene comes to mind. The distant basketball hoop—hands that can never reach the backboard no matter how far they stretch—the utterly defeated seniors—they're like Pavlov's dogs. A bottomless, boundless sense of powerlessness is inextricably intertwined with the pain.

It was as if it was telling me that this was the inevitable ending.

Everyone has their own identity. If you hold onto ideals that you are not worthy of, the more you force yourself to maintain them, the greater the lessons you will learn. Unless you are a genius like Hong, that ceiling is actually surprisingly close at hand.

Therefore, you should always reserve some energy.

This is the only way to adapt to any changes and to retreat in time when danger arises. One must have sufficient resources, remain calm and composed, and leave room for maneuver.

Anyway—even if you give it your all…

They will only suffer terrible consequences.

"……Hi."

At the top of the narrow spiral staircase, that guy was waiting for me.

A light, long dress, different from yesterday's, fluttered in the wind. Although the dress was the same as usual—a rather unflattering style with lots of wrinkles—it didn't make anyone feel embarrassed as usual. Perhaps it was because she wasn't wearing any jewelry? From her—there was no trace of her usual desire to be the center of attention.

Ya Shuang pressed her hair down and turned towards me.

Behind her, the Kobe cityscape, as fine as grains of sand, unfolds vast and boundless. At night, it must transform into a beautiful sea of ​​light—like the night view we see from the Ferris wheel.

Perhaps it was because it was midday, but there was no one else around. Even if there were people, Ya Shuang would probably just wait until everyone left. Her almost expressionless face certainly held such great determination.

"...You've arrived, senior."

"Oh right—there's another person threatening me after I became famous."

I felt like they were interrogating me—are you planning to live like this, like a loser for the rest of your life?

I couldn't retort at that moment. Just from that point alone, I can say that I admitted I was pathetic.

So what if it's bad?

That's what I originally thought—but it seems I still really want to show off a bit.

"...Let me state this first."

I forced myself to speak, my heart heavy with emotion.

No matter how many times you confess your feelings to me, my answer will not change.

Ya Shuang smiled somewhat forlornly and said:

"That's okay. I don't think you're the kind of person who changes your mind about what you said yesterday—besides, come to think of it, I've actually been dumped by you countless times before and now, so it's not that different, right?"

"Those were all just jokes, okay...?"

"Yes...but this time, I'm serious."

Seriously...right?

"Senior...no matter how much I bothered you before, you would still talk to me, right?"

"Because if I ignore you, you'll pester me until I can't be bothered to pay attention anymore."

"Since that's the case, why don't you just tell me... why won't you date me? Are you really that... averse to being a couple with me?"

Sigh, I sighed.

Kobe is located so low, yet the azure autumn sky seems too far away to reach.

"I... didn't feel any aversion to it either."

I've run out of excuses.

"I find you annoying, but I don't dislike you. I might be too lazy to talk to you, but it's not to the point of mental exhaustion. That's how I feel when I chat with you. Of course... sometimes, I'm genuinely happy too."

"But...it still doesn't work?"

"...Yes, no. That's it."

As soon as I spoke, I felt a bitter taste seeping from behind my teeth.

"It's not that there's anything wrong with you. This is probably... a problem on my end. No matter who it is... even if a girl who's closer to me than you confesses to me, I'd probably give the same answer... I can't date you. My answer isn't that you're not worthy—yes. The whole thing is, I just don't have that ability."

I can't interact with people—I'm incapable of interacting with people.

I don't have the ability to become a couple with someone and continue dating them as a boyfriend.

"That kind of interpersonal relationship is beyond my capabilities. I can't handle it. Even if we were to date, I definitely wouldn't be the boyfriend you're imagining."

Just like that girl from junior high school.

You'll definitely find that this is different from what you imagined.

"Therefore, I can't date you. Precisely because it's you—I want to make things clear before my rash actions hurt you."

I was a little surprised myself.

I actually said—precisely because the object of my attention is you?

It was only then that I realized that this junior student held an unexpectedly significant place in my heart.

That being said, the conclusion remains unchanged.

Because no matter what kind of person the other person is, I just don't have that power.

"………………few……"

"Um?"

Ya Shuang seemed to have said something.

I listened intently to those words carried away by the mountain wind...