Miss Heir wasn't very kind to me.

Chapter 144, Section 19: "When the Summer Grasses Wither"

JR Tokaido Sanyo Main Line, Shin-Kobe Station.

The sky was overcast and gloomy, making Monday after the holiday feel so somber, as was the weather.

The faint warmth lingering in the wind tells Masumi that autumn is approaching step by step. The sunlight, after barely breaking through the heavy, low-hanging clouds, has already exhausted itself, leaving one feeling listless.

The last few summer grasses swayed at the edge of my vision, their withered bodies seemingly pierced by transparent threads, appearing stiff and sluggish, lifeless, yet stubbornly refusing to fall.

"Oh dear, thank you all for coming to see me off," Mami said cheerfully in front of the station.

"Especially Rinne and Chia, two college students, taking time off to see me off, is it really okay?"

"...It's nothing, it's just one class, it won't affect anything."

Rinne shook her head slightly, concealing her emotions beneath an indifferent expression as always.

"Is that so?" Mami nodded. "I believe Rinne will definitely be fine. What about Chia? Hey, why do you look like that?"

The girl with emerald eyes couldn't hide her feelings at all; her gaze was misty as she uttered the words that had been stuck in her chest.

"That's so sudden, Mami-nee, suddenly saying she's going back to Kusatsu or something..."

"Well, there's nothing we can do about it," Mami sighed dramatically. "After all, this train only runs 96 times a day, so you can't always get a ticket."

"You're never serious, Mami-nee."

Dissatisfied with her still improper and frivolous tone, Qian Ai pouted.

Seeing this adorable expression, Mami, who had been laughing wickedly just moments before, vanished. She lowered her head, a gentle smile appearing on her lips.

Snap—she suddenly reached out and pinched Qian'ai's cheek.

"Cheer up, don't do something as embarrassing as crying."

"I'm not a child..." The childhood friend was about to protest, but she stopped halfway through her sentence, staring at Mami's somewhat lonely smile, and couldn't help but feel saddened and speechless.

"Oh yes, Chia is already a college student, but you're clearly acting like a child."

Mami smiled and comforted her, "It's okay, Kusatsu isn't that far from Kobe."

"Just take the JR Sanyo Main Line to Kyoto or Osaka, then transfer to the JR Biwako Line, and it will take about two hours. Well... since my home is in a rural area on the outskirts of the city, it will probably take longer."

After finishing her explanation, she clicked her tongue and concluded, "It seems quite far. Oh well, Kansai isn't as flat as Kanto."

These words slightly lessened the somber atmosphere of parting. Realizing her awkward reaction, Qian'ai blushed with embarrassment, her soft fingertips tightly gripping the hem of her skirt.

"It's all because of Mami-nee."

The hands cupping her cheeks were warm, like the summer sun. She lowered her eyelashes, tucked her chin in as if to encourage herself, inhaled, and murmured in a strained voice:

"Well, I see."

Upon hearing this, Mami smiled slightly.

“Mami…” The flaxen-haired girl slowly walked forward.

"Hmm? Little Moon, is there something you want to tell me?"

Mami released her hand, and Masumi handed a tissue to Chiai, whose eyes were glistening with tears. Chiai thanked her softly and sniffed gently.

"A farewell gift..."

Haiyue took a beautifully packaged gift box out of her hoodie pocket. The name of a department store flashed on the surface, and before Masumi could see it clearly, the girl handed it to Mami.

"Wow, a gift from Little Moon? Thank you, I'm so happy!"

Mami took the box with a smile and asked, "May I open it now?"

Haiyue nodded quietly.

Asami carefully opened the box, inside lay a small jellyfish hair accessory with a soft outline and a color that gradually changed from sea blue to pearl white, with exquisite details.

"How cute! This is the kind of gift Xiao Haiyue would choose." She smiled, her eyes crinkling. "Did Xiao Haiyue buy this especially for you?"

"No."

Haiyue shook her head slightly, "Because...there wasn't enough time..."

"This is a gift from my mom for my 18th birthday..." the jellyfish-like girl explained slowly, "I was worried about losing it... so... I've kept it in the box all this time..."

"It sounds so precious. Is it alright to give me such a meaningful gift?"

"Mmm." Haiyue nodded slightly, uttering a weak murmur from her lips, "Mami... is more reliable than me... she'll definitely be able to keep it safe..."

"Ah~ I really feel ashamed."

Mami scratched her neck a little embarrassedly, "I thought I had almost completely lost my image as an older sister, but I didn't expect that even Umizuki thinks so."

As she spoke, she reached out her soft, boneless hands and cupped Haiyue's cheeks.

"Well?"

The sound that escaped was slightly distorted, and Haiyue blinked curiously.

Asami ran her fingers through her radiant flaxen hair and pinned the jellyfish hair accessory above her ear.

"Indeed, very cute."

Mami nodded slightly, satisfied.

"This is for Mami...why..."

"It's the thought that counts. I've already received Xiao Haiyue's sentiment, so Xiao Haiyue should wear this jellyfish."

Mami smiled broadly and stroked the girl's head. The gentle touch made Haiyue close her eyes and nod as if she understood.

At that moment, Kurokawa Mio chimed in, "I also have a gift I'd like to give to Ms. Mami."

"Miss Mio, are you prepared too?" Asami's eyes widened slightly as if in surprise, then she smiled and said, "It seems like today is a very fruitful day."

Kurokawa Mio handed over a beautifully packaged CD.

"This is a CD I recorded when I was in music school, featuring performances by many outstanding orchestras."

After saying that, she seemed to suddenly remember something and asked, "Does Ms. Mami have a CD player?"

"Yes, my father has an old Sony CD player."

Asami took the CD. "Thank you, Ms. Mio. It's a gift that makes me look more elegant."

"If my parents found out I was listening to classical music, they would be very surprised and look at me in a new light," she said jokingly.

After carefully putting the CD and the gift box containing the Haiyue hair accessory into her handbag, Mami's gaze slowly swept across everyone's faces before she suddenly opened her arms.

"What are you doing?" Masumi asked, puzzled.

"It's obvious, isn't it? A hug is an essential part of any farewell or reunion," she said matter-of-factly.

Before Masumi could even complain, Chiai, who was the most emotional of the group, rushed into Mami's arms without saying a word.

"Sister Mami, I don't want you to leave."

"Don't do that. Girls' persistent pursuit doesn't work on other girls."

Ignoring Mami's teasing, Chiai buried her face in Mami's shoulder, from which came muffled sounds:

“After Asami returns to Kusatsu, we’ll definitely have fewer and fewer opportunities to meet, and we might even lose contact with each other completely one day. I don’t want to lose Asami as a friend.”

"That's an exaggeration." Mami gently patted her slender back.

Even the closest couples may experience estrangement due to long-distance relationships, let alone friends. Physical distance can ultimately lead to emotional distance.

Even if one party wants to maintain the relationship, they often hesitate because they cannot understand the other party's thoughts, worrying that it will become wishful thinking on their part, and thus lose synchronization and drift further and further apart.

"The reason I don't contact you first isn't because I think you're unimportant, but because I don't know if I'm important to you."

In response, Mami could only repeatedly assure Chiai that she would never distance herself from everyone because of the distance.

"If you miss me, you can come to Shiga to visit me on weekends or holidays."

"Ah."

After a moment, Chiai finally released Mami with satisfaction, her cheeks flushed, and she shyly grabbed her hair.

Haiyue took over her embrace, her soft hug like a jellyfish that opened its tentacles and then tightened them, numbing Mami's entire body.

"Waaah, Little Moon, you're hugging me too tight! I can't breathe!" "Ugh...sorry..."

"It's nothing, it's nothing." Mami took a breath and replied casually, then said jokingly, "I understand how Masumi-kun feels now."

"Don't drag me into this all of a sudden," Masumi protested.

These words drew Kurokawa Mio's gaze back to her.

"Next up is Rinne."

Because Kamishiro wasn't the type to actively express affection, Mami simply pounced on him.

Rinne immediately dodged backward like a cat splashed with water, but she was a step too late. Her firm yet soft waistline fell into Asami's arms, where she was held close yet distant.

The black-haired girl's eyebrows twitched, her lower lip tightened, and she said helplessly, "Sister Mami, is it really necessary to hug each and every one of them?"

"Eh, does Rinne hate me?"

"I didn't say that."

Rinne sighed, her lips twisting in a grimace, her tone tinged with loneliness.

"That's good. I wouldn't have dared to imagine this level of intimate contact before."

Asami gave a mischievous smile, and her teasing tone made Rinne's ears blush slightly. Her gaze inadvertently lingered on Masumi's face.

"Are you envious, Masumi-kun?"

"What nonsense are you talking about."

"Of course, it's the feel of Rinne's body,"

The slight upturn of her lips was full of provocation.

"Masumi-kun has never experienced this before, has he? Holding Rinne's waist so tightly like this."

"..."

"Why aren't you saying anything?" Mami paused slightly, then narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Did you really hug like that? Without the knowledge of the rest of us..."

"Of course not!" Masumi quickly denied, her voice sounding somewhat unsure for some reason.

The piercing gaze from Kurokawa beside him hurt. He unconsciously touched the back of his neck and felt a sticky sweat in his palm. The heat startled Masumi.

"Hmm? Something feels off," Mami said meaningfully.

"Rinne's temperature has also suddenly risen, is she alright?"

"no problem."

After Rinne finished speaking, she calmly broke free from Mami's embrace.

"Sigh, they were about to leave, but they still left me with such a big cliffhanger."

Mami puffed out her cheeks, as if she were sulking, "Isn't this just deliberately trying to make me lose sleep tonight?"

"In that case, Mami-nee, don't leave." Rinne said calmly.

"..."

After a brief silence, Mami gave an embarrassed, wry smile. "That won't do. The tickets have already been bought." She then shrugged as if she had no idea what to do with the two of them.

"Forget it, an older sister should act like an older sister and not pry into a girl's heart."

"So, next up is... Ms. Mio?"

"I'll forget it."

Kurokawa Mio smoothed her hair with her slender fingers, after all, she and Mami weren't that close.

"Eh, doesn't Miss Mio consider me a friend?"

"No such thing."

"Is it a friend who is closer to us than we are?"

"No, not really." Kurokawa Mio shook her head again. "Right now, the only people I can call friends are probably just a few of you."

"In that case, what excuse is there for not being able to hug?"

Asami maintained her pose and extended an invitation to Kurokawa Mio.

Faced with the hesitant blonde beauty, she blinked and said in a meaningful tone, "Even if you like Masumi-kun, you don't have to be this chaste, do you?"

"Ms. Asami is making fun of me now," Kurokawa Mio remarked. "You were a little afraid of me when we first met."

"This is proof that the relationship has improved."

Seeing that Kurokawa Mio did not respond for a long time, Mami said with great disappointment, "Well, if Miss Mio is not willing, then forget it."

Unable to bear seeing her so disappointed, Kurokawa Mio hesitated for a few seconds, then opened her arms and gave her a light hug before quickly letting go. She rested her hand on her chin, hesitated for a moment, and finally added:
Goodbye, Ms. Mami.

"Well, goodbye, Ms. Mio."

After saying that, Mami looked at Masumi teasingly, "Where's Masumi-kun? Aren't you going to give him a hug?"

"Please spare me," Masumi sighed.

"Hey, the most important thing for a boy is courage," Mami teased him with a disdainful tone.

Does that include lustful audacity?

"Of course, otherwise it would be too pitiful."

Although Mami wanted to laugh jokingly, her lips tightened unnaturally.

So she turned around, pulling her suitcase, and said, "Well then, goodbye everyone—"

She had only taken a couple of steps when her heel unexpectedly bumped into the wheel of her suitcase, as if telling a story of her embarrassment.

"Are all these things okay?" Qian Ai asked worriedly.

"It's okay, it's okay, I'm not that useless."

Because she was dragging suitcases in both hands, Mami couldn't wave her hand as casually as usual, and her nonchalant voice drifted through the air.

"Please help me send the luggage I left at Fanxing to Kusatsu. I've packed it all into boxes. Some of it I didn't have time to throw away, so I'll just throw it away on the disposal day."

"So—wait!?"

"Ah!" As she stumbled, Mami instinctively gasped, and Masumi quickly helped her steady her suitcase.

"Phew, thank you, Masumi-kun."

Masumi frowned slightly. "How about I take you to the station building? Can you even walk to the elevated station like this?"

Shin-Kobe Station is built right next to the foot of Mount Rokko. The platform and ticket gates are on the third floor above ground, and a tunnel leads to the station.

"I already said no thanks~"

In stark contrast to her languid tone, Asami's refusal, hidden beneath her gentle words, carried a subtle barb.

"Even if Masumi-kun takes me to Shin-Kobe Station, there's still Shin-Osaka Station and the JR Biwako Line. Can you really take me all the way to Kusatsu?" Her questioning tone unconsciously became serious.

"It's fine to send it to Kusatsu."

"...Don't joke around, I might actually take it seriously."

Asami's sentence trembled slightly at the end.

I'm not kidding, I'm serious. For some reason, the truth that was on the tip of her tongue was swallowed back down by Masumi.

Staring straight into those beautiful brown eyes, even if I said this to Seno, she would probably just take it as a joke and brush me off.

"Goodbye."

With those words, Mami continued on her way away alone.

Although she walked very slowly, she did not hesitate at all, refusing to look at the people behind her, like air being pushed forward by the seasons without explanation.

Masumi glanced at the summer grass growing by the roadside; it had finally reached its limit and withered and decayed helplessly on the ground.

It's getting colder, and many things are freezing in the cold air. Altocumulus clouds are almost stagnant in the autumn sky, like cement hardening in an iron bucket.

(End of this chapter)