Tokyo: To reiterate, this is not a dating system.

It's probably because very few people use it, or it's well-maintained, that there's no odor in the toilet.

The soft rubber soles of the indoor shoes effectively masked the sound of footsteps, allowing Genji Aoyama to successfully sneak into the cubicle next to Yuko Asahi's.

Yuko Asahi spoke in a very low voice, but her voice could still be heard clearly through the thin partition.

There was a moment of silence, followed by a soft sigh from Yuko Asahi.

"...I've already said it, I have no money, and the little money I have left is for living expenses."

"..."

The voice on the other end of the phone seemed very loud, but it was completely impossible to understand what was being said.

Genji Aoyama frowned.

"I'm no longer working."

"..."

"There's no reason why, school rules just don't allow students to work."

"..."

"I will not give up my studies."

"..."

"That's all I have to say. I'm hanging up now. Take care of yourself, Mother."

The call has probably ended.

Genji Aoyama heard a slightly heavy sigh from Yuko Asahi next door.

The toilet door was then opened and closed a second later.

His first thought was that Yuko Asahi hadn't rinsed the water, and only then did he begin to analyze the logical connections involved.

An alcoholic father, a gambling mother, a sick sister, and a broken woman?

wrong.

Genji Aoyama suddenly realized another problem.

He's still in the women's restroom.

While no one's around, let's slip out quickly. We can think about Asahi Yuko's problem outside.

After quickly calculating the time it would take for Asahi Yuko to leave, Aoyama Genji prepared to open the door and go out.

But just as he put his hand on the doorknob, he heard voices coming from outside.

"I was a little worried about you, so I thought I'd come and check on you."

!

The voice was bright and clear; it belonged to Izumo Saki.

Then let's keep thinking about it. We'll consider leaving the women's restroom after they've left.

"Um—Asahi-kun, please wait for me in the activity room for a moment. I'm going to the restroom first."

Aoyama Genji: "..."

Why did things turn out this way?

Genji Aoyama had a vague feeling that something was wrong.

The footsteps grew closer, and he even had the thought, "Could she be going into this room?"

It wasn't until Izumo Saki opened the door that she saw Aoyama Genji standing in the cubicle, looking up at the sky.

"Eh—!"

The girl's voice was about 80 decibels. Although she was screaming, there was no fear in her eyes, and she was even excited.

Because this girl was so easy to understand, Genji Aoyama read her eyes.

It's basically like this: "Are you a pervert? Great! Me too!"

"Saki".

Genji Aoyama looked at her and explained solemnly, "If I said I went to the wrong place but was too scared to go out because I found someone next door, would you believe me?"

"I believe you! Of course I believe you!"

Saki Izumo nodded, walked in, and locked the door behind her. The lock made a clicking sound, probably because it hadn't been used for a long time.

Leaving the door unlocked is the right thing to do.

Aoyama Genji was thinking.

"I'm wearing very sexy lingerie with lace trim today."

Saki Izumo's face gradually flushed pink, her beautiful almond-shaped eyes began to flutter, and at the same time, her well-developed body was slowly approaching Genji Aoyama.

this is not right.

Genji Aoyama wanted to say something.

……

To clarify, they didn't do anything.

Asahi Yuuko heard Izumo Saki's extremely piercing scream just now.

"Izumo-senpai... are you alright?"

A clear and melodious voice came from a short distance away, but it could still be heard.

"fine!"

Saki Izumo thought for a moment, then added, "I was just scared by the big bug!"

"...But I think I just heard a boy's voice. Are you sure it's okay?"

Genji Aoyama gritted his teeth.

Inhale—exhale—exhale—

"I was inside."

After saying that, he reached around Izumo Saki, whose cheeks were flushed and who was trembling, opened the door of the toilet stall, and came out.

"Aoyama-kun...?"

Yuko Asahi's clear eyes gradually lost their sparkle.

"Sorry, I just happened to see you on the phone, walking this way in a hurry, and you didn't look well, so I followed you because I was a little concerned."

Upon hearing Genji Aoyama's explanation, Yuko Asahi's shoulders shrank like a rabbit's, and her feet involuntarily took a small step back.

Before she could leave, Aoyama Genji spoke up: "If there's nothing else, I'll be going now."

After he finished speaking, he left with a light step.

The women's restroom is indeed quite remarkable.

Having reached a conclusion, Aoyama Genji went down the stairs and came to the entrance of the teaching building from the corner on the first floor.

After he changed his shoes, he realized that the rain had stopped sometime earlier.

Walking the path back, Genji Aoyama felt much lighter.

"An incompetent mother and a strong daughter?"

On his way home from school, he kept thinking about Yuko Asahi.

Reclining in his chair, Genji Aoyama opened his phone and glanced at the call log on the dial pad.

About forty minutes had passed since the last call, and the other party—Yuko Asahi's mother—had not called back.

Aoyama Genji couldn't understand why the other party hadn't called back. After thinking about it for a moment, he decided to call again.

The call was disconnected after a series of beeps.

Genji Aoyama sighed and exited the dialer.

If you call again, you might get blocked. It's better to call again when you have another chance.

hum.

As he was about to put his phone away, a slight vibration came from his palm.

Yuko Asahi sent him a message.

As expected, it's another long post.

[Yuuko: I'm sorry, Aoyama-kun. I've troubled you again with things concerning me.]

The psychological counseling, and what just happened—I had no idea that Aoyama-kun had done so much for me behind the scenes.

This made me feel both guilty—guilty for not being honest, even guilty to the point of wanting to run away—and genuinely warmed my heart.

I want to show you my true self without reservation, but my instincts are resisting the urge to speak to you.

Aoyama-kun is intelligent and probably sensed something from the phone call.

However, if possible, please allow me to confront this issue myself.

"Does this seem a bit redundant?"

Genji Aoyama fell into a brief moment of thought.

Yuko Asahi no longer needs to be saved.

She has recognized the problem, deeply accepted it, and actively wants to change it; her presence at the Department of Psychological Problems Research today is a good example of this.

What he had to do was leave her the right to "face it alone" and just wait and see.

Genji Aoyama smiled silently, simply replied with an "Mm," and then turned on his computer.

Today he received a notification from Odakura Shi that everything that had been arranged before had been completed, which was one of the reasons why Aoyama Genji returned early today.

In the days prior.

In a specially created work group, he consulted back and forth with the few people who were working overtime to take charge of the project, and made several revision suggestions.

After several revisions, a satisfactory answer was finally obtained today.

Genji Aoyama went through the work again.

The background piano had a bright, clear tone and played fast, lively chords in the piece. Aoyama Genji watched the virtual girl singing on stage and tapped his fingertips rhythmically on the table.

I watched it once, and even watched it again.

Genji Aoyama cut out the first 30 seconds from the PV and put them in a separate folder.

He doesn't plan to release the complete piece directly.

Given his current popularity and the high quality of his work, releasing it directly would indeed instantly generate a huge amount of traffic.

However, this kind of "one-time explosion" is actually a huge waste of the hype.

"The anticipation is often more expensive than the finished product itself."

Genji Aoyama has uploaded the teaser clips for the "World's Number One Princess" PV to all platforms.

Scheduled release: 20 PM sharp.

◇

Department of Psychological Problems Research.

Please state your question.

Saki Izumo placed her hands on her chin and looked at Yuko Asahi in front of her.

Yuko Asahi took a deep breath, her tone more resolute than ever before:

"I discovered that I have an avoidant attachment style and am unable to face the people I care about normally. I want to change and stand by their side."