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

Zuoqiu Hangyu, imitating the psychologist at the time, said many comforting words before finally managing to calm the idol down.

The sky gradually darkened.

Seeing that Kurimaki Tsuruo's face had regained some vitality, Zuoqiu Hangyu sighed helplessly.

"Actually, I'm the same as you. My most important person is also buried here, which is why I can comfort you with such empathy."

Perhaps it's because of shared experiences that people are more likely to sympathize with them.

Zuoqiu Hangyu forced a smile.

They wanted to project an image of a senior, saying, "Look, my lover died too, but I still made it through, didn't I?"

But they failed, and their spirits, which had been held high, deflated like a punctured balloon...

In the dim light, the two remained silent for a long time, until the cemetery streetlights turned on at set times.

At this moment, Zuoqiu Hangyu said softly:

"I heard that Xia Weiyu once confessed to you... You clearly liked him so much, why did you reject him?"

"..."

"Ah... exactly the same."

Zuoqiu Hangyu muttered to herself, her head bowed as she rubbed her fingers.

"I don't know your reason, but my reason is that I feel I'm relying on that guy a bit too much..."

At this moment, Kurimaki Tsuruo finally looked up, saw the regretful expression on the other person's face, and remained silent.

She wasn't unaware of the meaning of the sentence; rather, she... questioned it.

Tsuru's instinctive reaction was that the other party had fabricated a lie and was condescendingly bestowing undue kindness upon her.

Annoying...

But she didn't say much, silently turning her gaze away, her mind somewhat dazed.

"Speaking of which, after I rejected his confession, the very next day, he..."

"Can you shut up?"

The next moment, a surge of anger rose within Kurimaki Tsuruo, and she gritted her teeth, interrupting Zuoqiu Hangyu's words.

"Is it funny to make jokes like that?"

"what?"

Zuoqiu Hangyu was somewhat surprised by the other person's sudden change in mood. She quickly noticed the regret hidden beneath the anger in the other person's eyes.

"So you regret refusing back then?"

The next moment, Zuoqiu Hangyu looked at the other person's gloomy face, pursed his lips, and said...

"I'm just giving you a friendly reminder, you should see a psychologist."

"..."

Kurimaki Tsuruo didn't answer, remaining silent through gritted teeth, her emotions reaching their breaking point.

But Zuoqiu Hangyu's calm voice arrived even before her anger.

The girl took out a medicine bottle from her inner pocket and shook it.

"Just like me, I saw a psychologist for a long time and took medication for a year."

"...Huh?"

Kurimaki Tsuruo was taken aback. Only then did she realize that the other person was not deliberately teasing her.

But because I hadn't eaten for a long time, I felt my body trembling slightly, and for a moment I didn't want to talk.

The only sounds in the entire cemetery, besides the rustling of leaves in the wind, were the gentle, melodious sounds of the Zuoqiu Hangyu fish.

"The person I like is a really amazing detective. Unlike those detectives who only catch cheaters or collect other people's private information, 'Mr. Night' is like someone straight out of a detective novel."

Recalling that time, Zuoqiu Hangyu can't help but reveal a faint, adorable smile from the bottom of her heart.

"He likes to wear black trench coats that are several sizes too big for me; they really have a mysterious charm. When I first met him, I was just a newcomer to the world of magic."

Then, I don't know how it happened, maybe that guy really likes petite girls... He kept trying to bump into me in various ways, and then he helped me a lot, he was really amazing..."

"Just like my first lawsuit, he investigated all the crucial evidence by himself. He was the only one who took such a huge risk, acting like a fool..."

at this time,

Zuoqiu Hangyu paused, noticing that Kurimaki Tsuruo's legs were trembling and her whole body seemed weak.

Her delicate brows furrowed slightly, and she asked with concern:

"There are fast food stalls in the park not far away; you should go grab something to eat there."

Before Kurimaki Tsuruo could react, Zuoqiu Hangyu grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the quiet cemetery.

I bought some food from a street stall at random.

Perhaps due to the hunger from not eating for a while, coupled with the memory she had just recalled, Tsuruo Kurimaki unusually accepted something from a stranger.

Considering the other person's identity, Zuoqiu Hangyu, like a caring older sister, led her to sit down by a sparsely populated pond in the nearby park.

Kurimaki Tsuruo lowered her head, taking small sips to replenish her body's energy.

Try to maintain the dignity that idols should have.

But you also need to eat faster than usual...

Zuoqiu Hangyu squatted down beside Hexu, consciously maintaining a proper distance from him.

Looking up at the birds perched on the treetops in the park, she had never wondered what was so interesting about birds.

Until I saw the magpie carrying a twig, a little black and white sprite in the night...

"Senior sister bird..."

A twitch appeared at the corner of her mouth as memories flooded back, and the girl sighed softly.

"Once, that guy had a school uniform jacket he'd gotten from somewhere, the kind high school students wore, a classic loose-fitting dark blue and white one."

He let me change into it, and after I finished, he showered me with compliments, saying I was beautiful and had a great presence. I was so embarrassed; it was the first time he'd ever complimented me like that, and my heart was pounding in my chest.

A soft chuckle made He Xu turn his head, and he spoke in a slightly hoarse, cool voice, somewhat strangely:

"Could he... really have some strange fetish?"

Does liking to watch birds count?

"Hmm?" Tsuruo Kurimaki paused slightly, as if remembering something...

"Bird watching?"

"Yes, you don't know, he took pictures of me very seriously back then, but he only took pictures of my back..."

Thinking back on this, the memory is still vivid; Zuoqiu Hangyu seemed to laugh in exasperation.

He said I looked like a magpie, and then he put my photo in the "magpie" category on his phone...

"..."

"Forget it, let's not talk about this anymore."

No sooner had they finished speaking than a rather large bird flew over and landed in the gap between the two of them.

With its neck hunched in a slightly sleazy manner, it looked remarkably like a cockroach...

"Sorry, I didn't bring any fish."

"A night heron?"

"Yes, when it was still a cub, the detective and I raised it for a while before releasing it back into the wild. I never expected that even after a year, it would still recognize me."

Zuoqiu Hangyu reached out and touched the feathers on the bird's back.

"Tell me, if I hadn't made that impulsive choice back then... to independently complete a court hearing, insisting on proving my abilities, not wanting to appear too dependent on him, and instead accepted his confession at that time, wouldn't that retaliatory shooting have been avoided?"

This statement was not solely directed at Tsuruo Kurimaki.

After a long silence,

Zuoqiu Hangyu then looked at Li Juan Hexu.

"I'm probably a lot like you, always wanting to prove I wouldn't completely depend on him. In fact, after the shooting, I did indeed complete the shooting trial independently."

But ironically, standing before his grave, I realized that I was like a bird that would never soar, how could I not rely on his shoulder?

"..."

That final sentence, like a sharp sword, severed the last shred of stubborn dignity in Tsuruo Kurimaki's heart.

On the one hand, her conflicted personality makes her want to be independent, but on the other hand, she takes for granted the sense of security that Xia Weiyu provides.

It's really kind of ridiculous...

"Don't you find it strange? A younger brother who suddenly appeared out of nowhere and took over everything? Just like that, so easily, without any sadness..."

Zuoqiu Hangyu slowly stood up and revealed her true thoughts.

"Just a few hours ago, Xia Weichan was smiling alone at her brother's grave."

.......

P.S.: The character Xiaoyuer was actually modeled after a magpie.

As shown in the picture—