Oh no! They all seem a bit off!

Chapter 118 A Twisted and Obsessive Mind
night.

After dinner, Akizuki Makoto called Shimizu Rei to ask if she was free and if they could meet to talk.

As expected, Shimizu Rei did not answer the phone, but he did not give up and sent a message on Line, expressing his strong desire to meet.

The message was sent and showed as read within minutes, but there was no reply.

Qiu Yuecheng waited quietly. If it didn't work today, he would try again tomorrow.

He just stared at the chat box with Shimizu Rei, scrolling up aimlessly.

Their chats were intermittent, consisting of everyday trivia or occasional spontaneous greetings.

"Ugh……"

Looking at the endless chat history, Akizuki Makoto couldn't help but sigh, recalling the bits and pieces of his life with Shimizu Rei over the past ten years.

They had been playing together since kindergarten, and this bond, stronger than family, should have been incredibly strong, but it was about to be destroyed because of his momentary impulse.

"Ding dong~"

Just as Akizuki was feeling frustrated, his phone vibrated, and a new message appeared in his chat with Shimizu Rei.

"Come on, I'm waiting for you."

He muttered the newly popped-up message to himself, paused for a moment, then stood up excitedly and ran to the entrance to put on his shoes.

Fuyuko, who was also sitting on the living room sofa, watching TV while holding a black plush rabbit, noticed Akizuki Makoto's actions and asked softly, "Brother, are you going out?"

"Yes, I'm going out for a bit, I should be back in about an hour."

As he spoke, Akizuki Makoto changed his shoes. He opened the door, turned to look at Dongzi, and instructed, "Dongzi, take good care of the house. Be careful when you take a bath later, don't soak for too long and get dizzy."

"I know, brother."

Dongzi nodded obediently, watched Qiuyue Cheng leave, then hugged the black plush rabbit in her arms and continued watching TV.

……

After leaving home, Akizuki Makoto jogged all the way to the hotel where Shimizu Rei was staying, reducing the ten-minute journey to five minutes.

When he arrived at the hotel, he was slightly out of breath. Before he could catch his breath, he ran into the hotel and took the elevator to the fifth floor.

Shimizu Rei's room number was 502. He had been here before, so he went straight to the door of room 502 and rang the doorbell.

Only then did he take a deep breath, suppressing his rapid breathing and pounding heart.

A few seconds after he rang the doorbell, the door clicked open from the inside.

Rei Shimizu seemed to have just taken a shower; she wasn't wearing her usual sportswear anymore, but a yukata, and her body smelled faintly of shower gel.

She glanced at Akizuki Makoto and noticed that he had jogged all the way over. The corners of her lips turned up slightly, almost imperceptibly, and she secretly rejoiced.

But she didn't say anything, glanced at it, and then turned and went into the room.

Seeing this, Akizuki Makoto followed into the room and closed the door behind him.

"Li, I'm sorry, I doubted you yesterday."

Upon entering the room, Akizuki Makoto immediately bowed his head and apologized for what happened the previous night.

Shimizu Rei sat on the bed, her face tense, and remained silent.

In Akizuki Makoto's view, this was only natural; a few words of apology were not enough to make Shimizu Rei forgive him.

So he lowered his head and spoke again: "After you left last night, I thought about it for a long time. I also think I'm crazy for suspecting you and even calling you over to question you without any evidence."

"……snort."

This time, Shimizu Rei snorted coldly, her expression softening slightly.

“I don’t know how to get your forgiveness, so I can only keep apologizing and begging for your forgiveness, because I value etiquette and don’t want to lose it.”

Qiu Yuecheng lowered his head and said sincerely, "I'm sorry, Li, I hurt you yesterday. You can hit me or scold me if you want. I welcome your criticism. As long as you can forgive me, I will do anything."

"Can you do anything?"

Shimizu Rei smiled and mocked, "Acheng, you're not the kind of person who would say such things, because you know better than anyone that saying such things is just lying."

Upon hearing this, Akizuki Makoto remained silent for a long while before replying in a low voice, "...As long as it doesn't violate morality or bottom lines, I will do it."

"Forget it, I don't need Acheng to do anything for me. Acheng can do it for your President Ji Ye. Anyway, you've already made such unrealistic suspicions about me without any evidence because of her."

Akizuki Makoto understood the implication in Shimizu Rei's words and protested, "Rei, don't be like that. It's not what you think. President Himeya didn't..."

"enough!"

Shimizu Rei abruptly interrupted Akizuki Makoto, glaring at him and shouting, "Even now, you're still defending her? Don't you realize you've been completely fooled by her?"

"..."

Qiu Yuecheng was speechless, unsure how to explain to Shimizu Rei that Ji Yexue had absolutely no intention of deliberately sowing discord between them.

He knew the inside story, but Shimizu Rei did not. From her perspective, or from the perspective of other outsiders, they would all think that Ji Yexue had bewitched him.

She suddenly claimed to be feeling unwell and suspected someone was trying to harm her, even though Shimizu Rei had been standing right next to him the whole time. There was no way she could have attacked him unless Shimizu Rei was lying to him.

But how could that be? He no longer wanted to doubt those close to him; it was too exhausting.

Moreover, he couldn't accept that outcome. If Shimizu Rei had clearly harmed Ji Yexue but was just acting and deceiving him, then he really couldn't forgive Shimizu Rei.

Taking action against Ji Yexue can be explained as a momentary impulse. Everyone has moments of irrationality and impulsiveness, and as long as it doesn't lead to an irreparable mistake, it can be forgiven.

But making the same mistake again and again cannot be forgiven, especially when it is a malicious deception that can hurt people.

"Acheng, even now you still think I'm being unreasonable, right?"

Shimizu Rei stood up, moved closer to Akizuki Makoto, glared at him fiercely, and shouted, "You think I've misunderstood you, that your President Himeya isn't that kind of person? Then why do you suspect me? Why!"

She didn't understand, she really didn't understand, why Akizuki Makoto would suspect her, and this was the point that bothered her the most.

If it weren't for Ji Yexue's instigation, she couldn't imagine what other reason Qiu Yuecheng could have to suspect her.

After all, they had known each other for over a decade and knew each other inside and out. Qiu Yuecheng would never suspect her.

That's why she was able to conclude that Ji Yexue was trying to sow discord between her and Qiuyue Cheng. So she decided to do the opposite, to sow discord between Qiuyue Cheng and Ji Yexue, making them quarrel or even break up.

However, Akizuki Makoto didn't seem to have argued with Ji Yexue at all, and even continued to trust her, which she found hard to accept. If she didn't destroy their trust sooner rather than later and create a rift in their relationship, Akizuki Makoto would eventually become Ji Yexue's plaything.

"Li, calm down."

Akizuki Makoto placed his hand on Shimizu Rei's shoulder and said softly, "The reason I suspect you is because there are only a few of us here."

This explanation was weak, but he had no other choice.

He couldn't very well reveal that Ji Yexue, Dongzi, and he himself all possessed superpowers, could he?
While that would provide a clearer explanation, it would only make the situation worse and more chaotic.

"Acheng, you're really going too far."

Shimizu Rei laughed bitterly, full of bewilderment, "She said she wasn't feeling well and suspected someone had done something to her, and you actually believed her? Don't you think that's ridiculous?"

"Are you that stupid? Dongzi and I have been by your side the whole time, so why would you suspect us?"

"In the end, you've just been played, haven't you? Your current logic is based on the premise that Ji Ye didn't lie, so how can you say you weren't deceived?"

"Now that she wasn't lying, and I didn't say anything, are you going to suspect Dongzi and question her next?"

Shimizu Rei really couldn't understand what Akizuki Makoto was thinking.

Now that things have come to this, how can Akizuki Makoto still protect Hime Yuki?
She even began to suspect that Qiu Yuecheng had been brainwashed by Ji Yexue, which was why he trusted Ji Yexue so much.

"...Li, I believe that Ji Ye's discomfort is real. As for what someone did to her, I think it's fake."

Akizuki Makoto sighed helplessly, not knowing why, but he felt that the more he explained, the more confused things became.

It might be a problem with how he expressed himself, or it could be that he couldn't tell the inside story, which made it impossible to explain clearly.

"You still don't understand."

Shimizu Rei looked at Akizuki Makoto with eyes full of disappointment and said sadly, "Never mind whether she's upset or not, I'm just asking you, did she achieve her goal of sowing discord between us?"

"..."

Once again, Akizuki Makoto was speechless.

In fact, he did come to question Shimizu Rei, which put their relationship on the brink of collapse.

But he didn't think that Ji Yexue did it on purpose; he believed that.

As for Ji Yexue's true intentions, he had no way of knowing; he could only make a judgment based on the information he had.

If Ji Yexue's intention was truly to sow discord between him and Shimizu Rei, then he had nothing to say and could only blame himself for trusting the wrong person.

"...Li, let's not talk about Ji Ye anymore, okay? This is between the two of us, and has nothing to do with anyone else."

"I do not accept your apology. Go back."

Shimizu Rei stared coldly at Akizuki Makoto. She couldn't bear the fact that Akizuki Makoto could still believe in Ji Yexue even now; it was utterly unreasonable.

Although it was indeed she who harmed Ji Yexue, and she also deceived Qiu Yuecheng, she couldn't accept that Qiu Yuecheng trusted Ji Yexue so much.

Doesn't this imply that his trust and feelings for Ji Yexue are even deeper than those for his childhood sweetheart of over ten years?
"Li, do we really need to escalate this much?"

Makoto Akizuki was also losing control of his emotions. He was already feeling annoyed today because of Himeyasu and Shiina Maki, and now his communication with Shimizu Rei was going so badly, with them arguing all the time.

The matter is very simple; he takes the blame entirely, it's all his fault, and he is deeply aware of that.

But Shimizu Rei insisted that he give a clear answer, demanding that he and Ji Yexue cease all contact.

This changed the nature of the situation, forcing him to choose between Ji Yexue and Ji Yexue.

But this wasn't Ji Yexue's fault; Ji Yexue was also a victim. How could he possibly cut off all ties with Ji Yexue because of this?
"It's Acheng who insisted on making a scene!"

Shimizu Rei glared at him and shouted, "Can't you listen to my advice? In your heart, your childhood sweetheart of over ten years, your so-called half-family member, is not as good as Himeya, is that it?"

"...Li, I reiterate, my doubts and questioning of you are based on my personal will."

Qiuyue Cheng took a deep breath, forcefully suppressing the emotions that were about to erupt within him, and said word by word, "Suspecting your actions has nothing to do with Ji Ye. She has never mentioned you, but instead suspects that I did it, so I will not suspect that she wants to sow discord between you and me."

"If you really want me to distance myself from Ji Ye and cut off all contact because of this, then I'm sorry, I can't do it, because Ji Ye is a victim, and so are you."

“Only I am at fault in this matter, so I sincerely apologize to you and beg for your forgiveness. I will do whatever you ask of me, as long as it does not violate my morality and principles.”

After he finished speaking, he noticed that Shimizu Rei's eyes were red, and tears were silently streaming down her cheeks.

She stood there, tears streaming down her face, silently watching Qiu Yuecheng, her expression incredibly complex, making it impossible to tell what she was thinking.

"...Sorry, I'll head back now. We can talk again later."

Akizuki Makoto dared not look at Shimizu Rei again. After taking a deep breath, he fled as if escaping, looking quite disheveled.

Shimizu Rei didn't try to stop him, but stood there until she heard the door close. She couldn't hold back any longer and squatted down on the ground, crying loudly.

For both her and Akizuki Makoto, today was truly the worst day ever, a day they would never forget.

Today marks a turning point in their relationship, and the beginning of a web of lies between them.

Akizuki Makoto did not open up to Shimizu Rei and reveal the truth, and Shimizu Rei also deceived Akizuki Makoto with lies.

If either of them had been open and honest with each other, things wouldn't have escalated to this point.

At one point, Shimizu Rei also regretted deceiving Akizuki Makoto. If he had honestly admitted it, Akizuki Makoto would probably have forgiven him.

But the cost of doing so frightened her.

If she did that, she really wouldn't be able to win in the battleground.

Having made her decision, she had no choice but to go down this path to the bitter end, for there was no turning back.

From now on, whether it's despicable or selfish, she will use every dirty trick in the book to win in this hellish situation.

Her determination to win Akizuki Makoto was so strong that it bordered on obsessive and twisted.

During the year they were separated, she missed Akizuki Makoto every day, and this increasingly intense longing twisted her heart.

She could no longer distinguish whether her feelings for Akizuki Makoto were love or a possessive reluctance.

only know……

She would rather die than not have Akizuki Makoto.

(End of this chapter)