Chapter 189, Welcome Back (Part )

"You are really cute in your ignorant and flustered attitude towards love. But what I said is not true. It's not about who she is. You just like her, and it's not just ordinary like."

"When she's around, you feel at ease. When she's not around, you'll miss her. When she's happy, you're happy. When she's sad, you're sad. For her, you're willing to suffer, change your personality, and be attentive. Even if you spend every minute with her, you won't get bored, even if you just sit side by side like this without saying a word. As long as you can see her profile, you'll be filled with joy. The reason is that you just like her."

"You're just scared."

"Okay, no matter what I said before, it doesn't matter. I've said everything I need to say. The rest is up to you."

"I now declare—"

"——Sister's sugar-coated bullet is about to begin, please get ready."

"See you tomorrow."

——Zhuo sat blankly on the chair, amid the noisy coming and going of people, amid the noisy classroom, declarations, and jokes.

Su Enxi's words washed over his soul over and over again.

Boredom, trouble, habit, possession... Is it possible that the final destination of this line is love?

And Su Enxi's word "afraid" was like a sharp weapon that fearlessly struck the protective barrier that had long been formed in his heart.

Zhuo seemed to have quickly jumped out of the vortex of "whether he likes Ling or simply wants to possess him".

Has it become a question of whether or not?

This period lasted less than a day.

His thoughts changed so fast that he couldn't adapt. Zhuo even suspected that all this was just a dream.

Zhuo didn't even know whether Su Enxi was too sensitive and noticed something, or he had been waiting for this opportunity to be exposed.

Zhuo Heren was walking on the way home in a daze, his mind was in a mess and he walked a little dazed, and somehow he entered Master Yue's ramen stall.

When he turned around, he saw Master Yue and Ren were looking at him. From time to time, they put their heads together and whispered to each other, and it was obvious that they were not saying anything good.

Two bad guys.

Although Zhuo didn't understand what they were whispering about, he could tell it was definitely related to him. He glared at them and pretended not to see anything.

When the two saw it, Ren smiled and said, "See, I'll tell you."

"This is youth." Uesugi Yue sighed, stroking his non-existent beard.

"..."

Zhuo glanced at the old guy and didn't bother to pay attention to him.

Watch out, I'm going to seduce your daughter, old man!

"…Utsunomiya boy, can I ask you a question?"

Master Yue obviously couldn't read his thoughts, otherwise he wouldn't still be smiling so happily and meanly.

"No."

Zhuo flatly refused.

Calling Ren means Kiritani-kun, and calling me Utsunomiya-boy… old thing.

"…This should be a confession, right?" Kiritani Jin pinched his chin and analyzed while observing Zhuo's expression.

"Not necessarily. It could be that he has made up his mind." Master Yue also pinched his chin and said logically, "Once a man makes up his mind, his eyes will become completely different."

"Zhuo, let me ask you something." said Kiritani Ren.

"what."

Zhuo said unhappily.

"I think if you don't like it, you won't be like this, right?"

I am not sure what exactly happened.

But I got the general idea.

"It's so noisy. Is that not okay?"

Ren could see it clearly from Zhuo's attitude, and he widened his eyes in surprise.

Zhuo answered with a grouchy mood and took a sip of the ramen he ordered.

Then Ren nodded in understanding, with an expression of admiration. Rather than being teasing Zhuo, it was more like he had expected things to turn out this way. "I'm actually very happy for you. It's a good thing to have someone you want to cherish~"

"Really?" Zhuo looked at the noodle soup in the bowl.

“It would be great if it could succeed,” Ren said.

"..." Zhuo said after a silence, "...I think it doesn't matter if it can't be realized. Failure means she thinks it's better that way. As long as the other person can make that guy happy, it doesn't matter if it's not me."

Of course, Zhuo hopes that the "other party" can be himself. But if Ling chooses the original route, he should also bless him.

Although Zhuo was not sure what he could do, he thought that he should not make things difficult for Ling because of his personal opinion.

That's not love, that's just possessiveness.

"……coward."

"So noisy... You only know how to criticize me with your mouth, but you are still the same."

Kiritani Jin and Yamamoto Yurina, these two people's affairs are much more delayed than hers.

"How can you say that, idiot!"

"That's it."

Zhuo shrugged.

"You're... so negative."

"It's noisy."

In the final analysis, it is impossible to treat zero with a half-hearted attitude of giving it a try or playing around. There is no hope.

Even if he took into account his mother Sachiko's words...keep listening to the songs he likes, keep eating the food he likes, hold the person he likes tightly...Zhuo still couldn't express his thoughts easily.

Besides, there is no chance now.

Instead of thinking about these things, he thought about Ruri Kazama's performance at the weekend and what to wear.

According to the text message sent by Ruri Kazama, the performance venue is the "Time Club" on the top floor of the Quartz Building.

Located on the 35th floor of the tallest building in Bunkyo Ward, you can imagine the level of the guests inside.

Ok.

A little uncomfortable.

……

Come back home.

In front of the door.

When Zhuo opened the door of his house, he smelled the aroma of food, heard the gurgling sound of the washing machine in the bathroom, and saw a figure sitting on the sofa in a daze.

Zhuo was still distracted, and then his mind skipped the "unbelievable" stage directly. The cheering elves in his heart rushed into his mind, clamoring, avoiding the fight between contradictions and cowardice.

How long has it been since we last met?

It feels quite long anyway.

When I saw her again, I felt like I was already very old.

There was even a moment when Zhuo thought that this was another prank of Su Enxi's, and the person sitting on the sofa was an actor she had invited with a similar appearance.

But soon, this uncontrollable mood calmed down.

Really, whenever I see her, I can't help but calm down.

Maybe it was because we hadn't seen each other for too long and we felt really strange, or maybe he had some resentment in his heart... Zhuo stood in front of the door with his head tilted, and didn't go to say hello.

The three-no girl sitting on the sofa also slowly turned her head and looked at her.

Two seconds later.

"Welcome back, go wash your hands first."

Ling's expression was normal, and his voice was as flat and silent as ever, but he looked listless.

(End of this chapter)