After their confessions were rejected, they regretted it for the rest of their lives.

.......

In the dimly lit room, the phone flashed its light.

Anyone who comes here will feel depressed.

Inside the large space, piles of trash lay scattered about, as if it hadn't been cleaned for a month.

In the innermost corner of the room, Tsuruo Kurimaki was curled up.

I hugged the soft pillow tightly, even though this posture only brought me a negligible sense of security.

But this was all the girl could do.

Snacks were scattered on the ground, along with a bottle of melatonin pills. A few pills, as pale as Kurimaki Tsuruo's face, lay scattered around the girl's curled-up, slender, bare feet.

Those sheets of paper with lyrics written on them were tightly clutched to her chest. Ever since she left the entertainment company in a daze, these sheets of paper seemed to have never left Kurimaki Tsuruo's side.

After being read dozens or even hundreds of times, the paper became wrinkled and crumpled.

Trembling fingers sent messages again and again to that "specially followed" contact.

It has become a stereotyped behavior among young girls.

"Why aren't you replying to my messages...?"

"It's been too long, don't do this..."

"...Don't leave me alone...here."

"Please... reply to my message..."

"I'm sorry...it's my fault, I really like you..."

Of the thousands of messages sent to Xia Weiyu, nearly half were apologies.

Kurimaki Tsuruo stared at her phone screen, at the contact who would never reply, repeating these unheard pleas over and over again in a hoarse voice.

The girl had been here for so long that she herself didn't know; the concept of time... had disappeared from Kurimaki Tsuruo's mind.

She only remembered waking up from a nightmare in a cold sweat. Hearing the notification sound, she frantically reached for her phone, but because she hadn't eaten in a long time, she felt weak and fell heavily off the bed.

After a moment of confusion, I came to my senses and found myself curled up in this corner.

There are endless messages on my phone.

Because of Xia Weiyu's death,

Because she has been absent,

Those reporters and insiders were like scavengers sniffing out rotting corpses.

They rushed to find Kurimaki Tsuruo.

Unable to find her address, they found her contact information.

The messages bombarded the girl's phone screen like a whirlwind.

As Xia Weiyu's closest person before her death, and also a big idol who always appeared with a cold and indifferent persona.

What would you say after your producer dies? What kind of attitude would you show?

Whether they weep bitterly or remain silent, it will be a headline that grabs everyone's attention.

But no one expected that the popular idol who is now being closely watched and even frantically searched for by various media outlets...

At home, in this dejected state, he repeatedly sent messages to a dead person, messages that would never receive a reply.

Kurimaki Tsuruo dared not switch screens; she was afraid to see those messages that emphasized someone's death, or those news items that made her nauseous.

From the moment she woke up, Tsuruo Kurimaki had a feeling of wanting to be with him.

Whenever this thought arises, it acts like a painkiller, temporarily suppressing the growing pain within.

But the consequences were also obvious. Since developing this tendency, Kurimaki Tsuruo had more than once staggered to her feet to touch the knives in the kitchen.

On one recent occasion, the sharp blade of the fruit knife even touched her delicate, white wrist...

Perhaps next time, the knife tip will slice through the flesh.

"Ding-dong~"

The doorbell rang, interrupting Kurimaki Tsuruo's dejected thoughts.

Her mental state could be described as frail and unstable; she didn't even want to exert any more effort to get up.

"Ding-a-ling~"

Kurimaki Tsuruo remained unmoved, slowly burying her face in the pillow.

He just needed to wait until the person outside left; he didn't want to see anyone right now...

The doorbell didn't ring a third time.

Just as Tsuruo Kurimaki picked up her phone, preparing to continue her self-torture,

A familiar yet unfamiliar voice came from outside the door...

"Kurimaki Tsuruo, please open the door. I'm here to talk to you... about your future career at the company."

The sound startled Tsuruo Kurimaki, who then lowered his head again.

Idol career and all that...

"Anyway... it doesn't matter."

Without him, nothing matters anymore...

......

Xia Weichan waited outside the door for a while, but there was no movement from inside.

If a normal person were turned away like this once, they would probably assume that the homeowner was out or not at home and would turn back home.

But the person inside is Kurimaki Tsuruo, a girl who has virtually no social life in Kiyoshiro, and who utterly despises unfamiliar environments and hates going out.

If I'm not at the office, the only other possibility is at home.

"strangeness..."

Xia Weichan muttered something under his breath, then pressed the doorbell again, raising his voice slightly towards the inside:

"Ms. Kurumaki? I'm here to talk to you about your producer, Xia Weiyu."

Perhaps because Xia Weiyu was mentioned, there was finally some movement inside the house.

Xia Weichan heard a series of chaotic sounds, and then something heavy seemed to fall against the door from behind, making a muffled thud.

The next moment, the door opened.

"you..."

The light behind the door made Kurimaki Tsuruo lower her head and instinctively squint her eyes.

A moment later,

Besides the warm sunshine, there's also the feeling of a wet wipe on your face.

It feels so familiar...

Whether it's the feel of the wipes or the faint smell of alcohol...

"Xia Weiyu...?"

She froze for a moment, staring blankly upwards. The pent-up frustration vanished the instant she saw the figure backlit by the sun.

Under the glaring sunlight, the girl's dull eyes seemed to regain their vitality.

Upon seeing that familiar face, Kurimaki Tsuruo's gray-brown eyes instantly welled up with tears.

"I'm...I'm sorry..."

She reached out her hand, trembling, before touching the other person.

Xia Weichan took a step back in time, widening the distance between the two, and the wet wipe that had just been used to wipe the girl's face fell to the ground.

Unexpectedly, this has become an instinct...

Seeing the dirt on Kurimaki Tsuruo's delicate face, Xia Weichan actually inherited the habit from the previous timeline and subconsciously reached out to wipe it off for her.

It's terrible...

Tsuruo Kurimaki has a cold personality and dislikes strangers getting close to her.

However, to Xia Weichan's surprise, the other party just stood blankly at the door, staring blankly at the wet wipes on the ground, without making any move.

"..."

A strange urge to comfort the other person and move forward slowly welled up in Xia Weichan's heart...

Damn it, the Pavlovian dog effect!

But to be honest, Xia Weichan was genuinely worried about Kurimaki Tsuruo's current condition.

She's practically a completely different person from the idol she was on stage before.

A hoarse voice, arms clenched red from being gripped tightly, severe dark circles under the eyes, wearing loose and sloppy loungewear, and even standing barefoot on the hallway floor without any hesitation...

If it weren't for Tsuruo Kurimaki's excellent appearance stats, which allowed her to withstand such treatment,

Xia Weichan probably wouldn't recognize the other person immediately.

Anyone who sees a once exquisite young girl transformed into this state would feel a pang of pity.

The words she wanted to say were stuck in Xia Weichan's throat.