Chapter 163: The World Beyond the Second Round (3)

Shimizu looked in a certain direction outside the window in shock.

Seeing Shimizumi's sudden change of expression, Sakurai Shio asked with concern:
"What's wrong with you? What happened?"

Shimizu Ken didn't even bother to answer Sakurai Shio, because outside at this moment, a giant that was as big as the castle, or even larger than it, was standing there!
Just like the dragons guarding the castles in fairy tales, the giant stood motionless outside the castle.

But Qingshuijian was sure that the huge figure was looking through the window at the situation inside.

A giant statue walking around the castle.

This picture is not only shocking, but the huge size also creates an oppressive feeling that makes people feel very small even if they just look at it.

Qing Shuijian never thought that he would see such a scene one day.

But if you think about it carefully, this is Sakurai Haruka's world of mind. Any unrealistic fantasies and things that are impossible to happen in reality may change according to her will.

Shimizu took a deep breath and was surprised to recognize that the giant was Sakurai Haruka's father, Sakurai Sosuke!
There was a loud bang, followed by a continuous roar that shook people's minds and hearts.

As the giant moved around the castle, the deafening sound was like a magnitude 10 earthquake and could not be ignored.

Qingshuijian felt that the whole castle was shaking, and he himself seemed to be in an endless shaking, and the air around him seemed to be trembling.

The huge roar hit his senses like a huge wave, making it impossible for him to remain calm.

"Did you feel anything?"

Shimizu tried hard to steady himself and asked Sakurai Shio.

"Such as sound, vibration, etc..."

"No."

Sakurai Shio shook her head.

From this point of view, at present only Shimizu Mi is affected, but as time goes by, perhaps the giant will have an impact on other people, and may even destroy Sakurai Haruka's world of memories.

If that were the case, Sakurai Haruka would most likely lose this part of her memory forever, and there might even be serious consequences that Shimizu could not even imagine at the moment.

[Countdown to World Collapse: 31:52]

There is only half of the time left. If this anomaly cannot be resolved in the remaining time, not only Sakurai Haruka's memory, but the memory of everyone in this world will be cleared.

But where is Sakurai Haruka?
When dancing with Sakurai Shio just now, Shimizu Mi took the opportunity to observe but did not see Sakurai Haruka in the crowd.

It's as if Sakurai Haruka doesn't even exist.

But this is the world of Sakurai Haruka's heart, how could she, as the owner, not exist...

……

……

"See!!!"

"See!!!"

Sakurai Haruka called out anxiously, her voice echoing all around, but she received no response.

She looked around and saw endless darkness everywhere, which made her heart palpitate with panic and her spirit almost collapsed.

And every time she tried to move, she would encounter something like a cold and hard barrier.

At this moment, she seemed to be trapped in a small, closed space with extremely limited movement.

This made her feel like she was locked up and had completely lost her freedom.

The most important thing is, for her, this is a world without Qing Shuijian!
Without him, the world became meaningless to Haruka Sakurai, and she simply couldn't bear to live like this.

Anxiety, depression, fear, terror, uneasiness, despair, suffocation...

These emotions were like surging tides, constantly hitting Sakurai Haruka's heart, like a terrible storm that was getting more and more intense, making her feel as if she was surrounded by endless darkness and despair.

"See!"

Sakurai Haruka shouted desperately, as if to cheer herself up: "Jian will definitely look for me again like before! Absolutely! I, I just need to wait..."

In an instant, Sakurai Haruka's mind flashed the scene of herself throwing herself towards Shimizumi and the two of them being hit by a car.

"no, do not want!"

The scene of Shimizu Mi bleeding from the head and falling to the cold ground with a weak breath replayed in Sakurai Haruka's mind again and again.

"No, don't... Why... It's all my fault. If I hadn't run away, Jian wouldn't have come to find me... It's all my fault... As expected, someone like me should stay alone in a place like this. In this way, Jian wouldn't... Mom wouldn't..."

Being in such an environment easily caused Sakurai Haruka's many emotions to be infinitely magnified. The fear, self-blame and anxiety in her heart surged like a tide, as if to completely drown her.

boom!
At this moment, Sakurai Haruka suddenly heard a loud noise like thunder.

What happened?!

At this moment, a huge floor-to-ceiling mirror appeared in front of her.

Haruka Sakurai looked at this strange mirror that looked like a magic mirror, and the scene that appeared in the mirror made her even more confused - the mirror reflected her back, not her face.

"This is……"

Sakurai Haruka raised her right hand and touched herself in the mirror.

However, the moment she touched it, the figure in the mirror began to ripple like a lake blown by the wind, and then spread out in all directions.

As the water waves fluctuate, the image in the mirror begins to change miraculously.

The originally clear back gradually blurred, and was replaced by——

"See...and, sister?!"

Sakurai Haruka saw the two of them dancing lightly with their arms around each other's shoulders.

"They look...so happy...They never look like that when they're with me..."

"As expected, as long as I'm not around... just having my sister around is enough..."

Sakurai Haruka's voice gradually became weaker. She squatted down, hugged her knees, and her slightly trembling body was like a weak and helpless little duck shivering in the cold wind.

……

The hall was a gorgeous sight. From afar, the colorful dresses flying around looked like cherry blossom petals.

There is a saying that blooming flowers are beautiful because they will wither.

This scene seems beautiful perhaps precisely because it is about to end.

Soon after, a heavy bass sound similar to a bell announced the end of the magical time.

The remnants of the finale gradually faded away, and the lights gradually dimmed.

Everyone realized that the dance was over and the time to say goodbye was approaching, and they greeted this moment with applause.

"Thank you for accompanying me today..."

After she finished speaking, the sound of Sakurai Shio's receding footsteps echoed in Shimizu's ears.

There are no glass dancing shoes and no beautiful feet.

When the magical time is over, you have to return to the dusty room like Cinderella.

Waiting for Cinderella to return home after the spell is lifted are her evil stepmother and stepsister.

Who will be waiting for Sakurai Shio?

As Shimizu thought so, the noise in the venue died down, and Sakurai Sosuke and someone else appeared on the stage in front of the hall.

Shimizu thought for a moment and recognized that it should be Miura Subaru's father - he wore glasses like Miura Subaru, and they had many similarities.

As expected, Sakurai Sosuke informed everyone present of his engagement with the Miura family.

The only thing that Qing Shuijian didn't expect was——

The person to be engaged to was not the Sakurai sisters, but was clearly specified to be the younger sister, Sakurai Haruka.

At this time, Sakurai Shio immediately ran up from the side stage.

"Father, why don't you reconsider it? Yao doesn't want to at all. I think we should not..."

Seeing this, Sakurai Sosuke immediately frowned uncomfortably and said:

"Nonsense, didn't I tell you a long time ago that the company will need the help of the Miura family in the future? How can you just cancel your engagement with them?"

Sakurai Sosuke tried to lower his voice as much as possible. In this occasion where all the partners and company employees were present, the engagement, having been announced, could not be withdrawn at will.

Therefore, Sakurai Shio's move was undoubtedly a slap in the face of Sakurai Sosuke, and people off the court began to talk about it.

Sakurai Shio is not the kind of person who doesn't know the atmosphere. She must have her reasons for doing this.

“…I know all of this.”

Sakurai Sosuke's tone made Sakurai Shio's voice much quieter, and then she bit her lower lip as if she was hesitating. That was not for thinking, but for making up her mind.

"Father, how about this..."

Shimizu couldn't see Sakurai Shio's expression clearly from the audience, but he could still hear the sadness in her barely audible voice.

"What did you say?! Asking you to marry Miura Subaru instead of Haruka?"

"Yes……"

Sakurai Shio lowered her brows in embarrassment, but still nodded.

"What nonsense! Get down now!"

Sakurai Sosuke rebuked mercilessly.

"But father..."

Sakurai Shio was about to say something, but then Miura Subaru's father interrupted for the first time:

"Sousuke, how about this? They are still young now, so why not wait until they grow up and then decide who will fulfill the marriage contract. What do you think?"

"This...that's okay."

Sakurai Sosuke seemed to think about it, then nodded.

Seeing this, Shimizu finally understood why his future marriage date would be with one of the Sakurai sisters.

But he still couldn't believe that Sakurai Shio would actually take the initiative to say that she would marry Miura Subaru instead of Sakurai Haruka.

The person standing on the stage was undoubtedly Sakurai Shio, but why did she make such a strange move?

Sakurai Shio doesn't like Miura Subaru, so the reason for doing this is probably for Sakurai Haruka.

However, Shimizu felt strange because he had asked Sakurai Shio in a cafe the night before the cultural festival.

At that time, Sakurai Shio personally answered that she didn't want to help Sakurai Haruka. Even though Shimizu Mi didn't think so, she still said sadly that she was a selfish person.

The reason is of course self-evident.

Only one of her and Haruka Sakurai will marry Subaru Miura. If she helps Haruka Sakurai, then she will be the one to marry Subaru Miura.

But why did the current Sakurai Shio take the initiative to ask to replace Sakurai Haruka?
This is Sakurai Haruka's memory, which means that Sakurai Shio did do this in the past.

If you think about it carefully, Sakurai Shio is still young now, so it is natural that her ideas and thinking patterns will be different from when she grows up.

However, for a person's perspective to undergo such a huge change, there must be a turning point, or in other words, someone who changed her.

Just as Qingshui was thinking of this, a deafening sonic boom suddenly exploded outside, enough to pierce the eardrums.

He covered his ears with his hands and looked quickly towards the window.

I saw a shocking big hole in the window broken by a giant's fist, and the giant seemed to be bending down, with his face pressed against the hole, and constantly looking inside through it.

The huge eyeball that was spinning wildly as if looking for something and was so close to him looked extremely creepy.

And as soon as he got close, the giant would immediately move, ready to attack him and drive him back, as if wanting to trap Shimizumi inside forever.

[Countdown to World Collapse: 25:22]

Shimizu remained calm. The threat from the giant seemed to be increasing step by step with the passage of time. If the time came, he might completely destroy this place.

While thinking about these things, Sakurai Haruka's memories seemed to be coming to an end.

After the party was over, everyone gradually left, leaving Sakurai Shio alone, still standing on the stage in a daze.

There are giants guarding outside, so it is impossible for Shimizu to get out, but the abnormality in Sakurai Haruka's heart world cannot be solved without a solution.

Qing Shuijian looked at the lonely figure on the stage. Could it be that...

Soon, he came behind Sakurai Shio.

"You haven't left yet..."

Sakurai Shio, who noticed the footsteps, answered in a low voice without turning around.

"Why did you take Haruka's place at that time?"

Sakurai Shio obviously hadn't anticipated this question, and when she turned around she showed a somewhat surprised expression.

"Because mom said that everyone has their own life, and as a big sister, I promised Haruka that I would always protect her."

Sakurai Shio's eyes were quite lonely, but there was a gentle smile on the corners of her mouth.

After she answered, the topic was temporarily interrupted. After a short silence, Qing Shuijian spoke:
"What is this? As a sister, I want to protect my sister..."

"Of course, I am your elder sister after all..."

Sakurai Shio's words were interrupted by Shimizu Mi.

"It seems that you are really a 'good' sister."

Sakurai Shio looked cute when she acted like a strong older sister. Shimizu raised the corner of his mouth and smiled sarcastically.

His words cut through the harmony of the scene like a sharp knife.

"what do you mean?"

Sakurai Shio naturally heard something wrong in Shimizu's words.

"I mean, are you a pig-head?"

Driven by emotion, Qing Shuijian said these words.

"Pig, pighead...are you scolding me?"

Upon hearing this, Sakurai Shio's smile quickly disappeared and an expression of disbelief appeared on her face, as if she couldn't believe her ears.

She is such an outstanding person. She has probably been praised by others since she was a child. How could such a person ever be scolded by others?

Qing Shuijian was the first person to curse her in person like this.

"Any questions? I think I described it very well."

"Why are you……"

Sakurai Shio pursed her lips and spoke incoherently without getting to the point.

"Isn't it stupid and foolish to sacrifice my own future for the sake of others?"

"Others? What are you talking about? I'm doing this for Yao. She's my sister..."

However, Sakurai Shio's words were interrupted again by Shimizu Mi.

"Sister?... Am I going to sacrifice my future and lifelong happiness so easily for my sister and marry someone I don't like?"

As an older sister, Sakurai Shio undoubtedly conveyed her desire to protect her younger sister, but Shimizu Mi could not agree with it.

"It's really stupid..."

By the time Qing Shuijian reacted, these words had already come out of his mouth.

Sakurai Shi's back trembled.

At this moment, Shimizu belatedly remembered that he had said the same thing to Sakurai Shio in the coffee shop the night before the cultural festival.

"But, but what about Haruka? If Haruka marries him, then what will happen to Haruka's future and life?"

As if to refute Shimizu Mi, Sakurai Shio's tone obviously became a little higher.

Looking at Sakurai Shio, who was driven by emotions and seemed a little childish, Shimizu suddenly realized that he had done something wrong.

Because in his understanding, Sakurai Shio has always been the older sister who is a few years older than him.

Therefore, he subconsciously regarded Sakurai Shio, who was still a child in front of him, as the older sister and forcibly applied the adult thinking mode to her.

Sakurai Shio probably didn't want to continue debating with a boy who was a few years younger than her, so she turned and walked towards the door of the hall.

Looking at the figure gradually moving away, Qingshui Jian stretched out his hand, but a hint of hesitation arose in his heart.

He knew very well that this was just a memory.

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't change the past.

And to be honest, there was not much time left, and Shimizu didn't need to touch that hand at all.

However, the reasons do exist.

I always feel like...if I let go now, I'll never be able to catch it again.

Following the impulse, Shimizu grabbed Sakurai Shio.

For the first time, he took that surprisingly slender wrist into his palm.

(End of this chapter)