My stepmother's burden is my ex-girlfriend.

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Even I feel uneasy. It's just that my senior isn't in the same bed, yet I feel so lonely now.

We now sleep together at least twice a week.

My insatiable need for self-esteem seems to be telling me that this isn't enough—could I be developing dependency disorder? No, no, let's try to put it more nicely. My body has already been tainted by my senior's colors. Ugh, how lecherous!

Actually, I guess I'm just being childish and unwilling to accept the fact that my senior will no longer be my senior.

To me, "senior" has been "senior" since we first met. It has never been anything else, so even now that we're lovers, I still call him "senior" and don't intend to abandon the honorific.

My senior would occasionally ask me, "How long are you planning to keep using honorifics?"... But surprisingly, being a junior in this situation felt quite comfortable and at ease. It felt like it was okay to be affectionate or dependent on him. Receiving gentle care like a younger sister while also being able to be affectionate like a girlfriend—doesn't that sound amazing?

In short, I guess I lack self-confidence.

I lack the confidence to be on equal footing with my senior—I've always been like this. On one hand, I'm eager to be pampered by everyone, but on the other hand, I inexplicably know my limits and just want to be a nobody. I haven't made any progress since I started harboring a serious resentment towards Rin.

But starting next month, I'll have to live in a school without any upperclassmen.

"Sister! What time are you going to sleep?! Isn't today your graduation ceremony?!"

My powerful alarm clock rang loudly, and I crawled out of bed to peek out.

The student council is the behind-the-scenes team and organizer of the graduation ceremony. I experienced it last year, but Lanlan and Xiaojiezi are probably still quite unfamiliar with it.

I have to go.

Because I'm already a senior student.

The graduation ceremony concluded successfully.

After the graduates left, we folded up the rows of chairs in the now empty gymnasium. From outside, we could faintly hear sounds that were a mixture of cheers and sobs, a blend of joy and sorrow.

I—did not cry.

After all, besides the senior students, the only other senior students I knew were the administrative staff. And I kept in touch with them through social media, so it didn't feel like saying goodbye.

To be honest, I'm the type who doesn't cry at graduation.

Although I would hope that someone would cry for me when I graduate, my tear ducts didn't react at all when my seniors graduated. That's the kind of cold and heartless type.

Or is it that... I'm unwilling to accept it?

I accept the fact that my senior is graduating—the fact that I am no longer his junior.

"Esa".

While I was folding up the chairs and moving them away, Ling Lili came over and spoke to me.

"That's enough for now, go find him."

"Um……"

Although her words were very thoughtful, I was still a little hesitant at the time.

Then, what came out of my mouth was an ugly excuse.

"No need, they all hate me. If I go and steal the spotlight, it will ruin this precious moment of emotion."

Ling Lili frowned suspiciously.

"...You've become so sensible. All you're good for is stealing the spotlight."

"Is this what you call the demeanor of a first wife? Don't worry, I've arranged to meet my senior."

Yes—today is not only the graduation ceremony, but also March 14th.

White Valentine's Day.

My senior has already contacted me and said he will give me a Valentine's Day gift in return.

So it's okay if we don't meet at school.

"Maybe some other female student is confessing her feelings to him."

A chill ran down my spine.

"After all, today is the last chance. You don't care—"

"Sorry, I'm leaving the rest to you!"

I shoved the folding chair I was holding into Ling Lili's hands and rushed out of the stadium as fast as I could.

I know.

I know worrying like this is pointless. The senior doesn't care that I'm no longer a junior, and even if other juniors confessed to him, he wouldn't care. I went through so much trouble to win him over; a junior who suddenly appears can't possibly do anything to him.

Even so, I still hope that to my senior, I am the junior he values ​​most.

Until the very last moment. Not a single second can be conceded.

Because—to me, this senior is the senior I value most…

"Senior...! -- Senior?"

I rushed to the school gate to look for him, but the scene I had imagined never happened.

There wasn't a bunch of female students surrounding the male students.

There was only one senior student, leaning against a pillar at the school gate, playing with his graduation certificate tube.

then……

"Hmm? Oh—you finished so quickly."

Just that simple sentence... He looked at my face and said it as usual.

I looked around the school gate several times to make sure no one was there except for the senior students, and then I said:

"Huh? Um... senior? Where's the person who saw you off...?"

"Not many. After all, I quit the club in my first year—but a few guys I knew from the student council did show up. But I left early."

"Huh? Why...?"

"Because I have an appointment with someone."

The senior student revealed a sarcastic smile.

"I can't keep my lovely girlfriend waiting—didn't you say that last month?"

...That was just a joke.

The senior is probably just joking now.

But... it must be true that he prioritizes me first...

"...Senior."

"Um?"

I'm an easy person to deal with, so this little gesture was enough to make me forget my unease.

"You...have really bad interpersonal skills!"

Did I dress up as a little devil?

Does a genuine sense of peace show on your face?

This is the only thing that makes me uneasy right now.

"Don't underestimate the former student council president. There will definitely be one reunion after another."

The senior student joked as he approached.

Then, as he put his hands in his pockets, he said, "Bend over a little."

"Huh? Senior, what's all this time—"

As my senior instructed, I bent down slightly, and his hand immediately went around the back of my neck.

There was a light, delicate touch around my neck.

A thin necklace hung around my neck.

"White—ah…I've heard 'Happy Valentine's Day,' but would I say 'Happy White Valentine's Day'?"

I looked down at the necklace hanging around my neck.

This is...this is!

"Senior, this...!"

"It'll replace the collar. I won't be able to keep an eye on you directly at school anymore."

"Besides..." the senior added, turning his eyes, which resembled those of a delinquent, away in embarrassment.

"...This is just right, so you won't be bothered by pests."

…………Wow…………

Wow, ah, ahh ...

"Senior!"

"Huh?... Ugh—"

I pressed down hard on my senior's shoulder.

As soon as their lips came close, I immediately folded my own over them.

(Illustration 008)

To make the sensation linger clearly, I held my lips firmly together for ten seconds, then peered into my senior's eyes.

"Congratulations... senior, you've graduated."

“…Thank you.”

When I saw my senior cover his lips with the back of his hand and answer rudely, I chuckled to myself.

Only I know how adorable this senior is.

If it were a senior like that, I wouldn't just want to act cute, I'd also want to be acted cute myself... I genuinely feel that way.

"By the way, did you know that school rules prohibit wearing necklaces?"

"Just don't get caught, it's okay."

"Excuse me, is this something a former student council president should say?"

My senior is my favorite senior.

And I was also his favorite junior.

Nan Xiaoyue◆ You can do whatever you want with her.

Did you guys know?

After being childhood sweethearts for ten years, we'll have used up all our options for White Day.

At first, he was so innocent and adorable. I gave him ten yuan worth of chocolates, and he gave me thirty yuan worth of old-fashioned snacks in return. It seems he really believed in the common saying that White Valentine's Day involves giving three times the amount in return.

If I remember correctly, I first made chocolates for him by hand when I was in the first year of junior high school. A month later, he brought over a jar of cookies that looked really nice. I think his parents had asked him to bring them. We ate them together while playing games.

Every year I only need to prepare chocolates, but for White Day I have to be creative, so he seems to rack his brains every year. Actually, I don't mind receiving cookies or candy every year, but his pride doesn't seem to allow him to reciprocate with the same thing as last year.

The last time I received a return gift was in my second year of junior high school.

These are cookies shaped like English letters; rearranging them will turn them into a message.

Looking at that guy's current state, it's hard to imagine he could come up with such a unique surprise. I guess it's probably thanks to his rich sensitivity from being a second-year middle school student. It seems his self-awareness, which always emphasizes individuality, can occasionally have a positive effect.

After thinking for about two hours, the cookie pieced together the sentence.

── "HUNT OKAY".

Hunt, okay? Welcome to the hunt? Hunt what? Could it be—

I reiterate, this happened when I was in the second year of junior high school.

It happened during the period when I was sentimental, ignorant, and narrow-minded, a time that is most unbearable to witness.

—Could it be that… I am his prey?

Ahhhhhh! I unleashed my powerful imagination, but I soon learned that the correct arrangement was "THANK YOU," and that's how the story ends.

I spent two whole hours thinking and still couldn't come up with this simplest answer. I'm really amazed at myself—I must be trying to find any clue in it. I want to prove that Xiaoxiao has feelings for me beyond just being childhood sweethearts.

Two years later.