Anime Heart

Tsubaki Sawabe still couldn't see her true feelings for Kousei Arima. "I'll introduce you to Kaoru later!"

"It's alright, no need, Xiaochun."

Arima Kousei suddenly looked up, smiled slightly, and said with a hint of self-deprecation, "Besides you, Tsubaki, there probably wouldn't be any other girl who would want to be with me!"

"Oh dear! That's such a gloomy statement!" Sawabe Tsubaki thought to herself with a hint of pleasure, but she still didn't want to see Arima Kousei so downcast.

Not far from them, Ma Xiandong and Gongyuan Xun sat side by side on a double chair, a few fists' distance between them, looking neither distant nor intimate.

However, the atmosphere between them was somewhat awkward at the moment. Arima Kento did not speak, and Miyazono Kaoru wanted to find a topic to talk about, but found that she knew nothing about the other person.

"Hey, when you're sitting with a girl, shouldn't you take the initiative to start a conversation? Otherwise, it'll be too awkward!" Kaori Miyazono couldn't help but say.

"But it has to be a girl I'm attracted to!"

Arima Kento spoke frankly, and since the other party spoke first, it made him want to clarify things.

Kaori Miyazono made an angry face and said, "Didn't I make your heart flutter? What a failure! I want to die! Ugh!"

Arima Kenji initially thought the other person's lively behavior was just an act, but after observing carefully, he realized that the other person seemed to genuinely have this personality.

Or rather, she is now striving to radiate her own light every moment, trying to illuminate something.

Given the previous scene and the girl's personality, how could a normal man not be moved?

But what good is having feelings for someone?

It must be said that various reasons led Arima Kento to consider retreating.

His past life made him overly attached to his family, so much so that when he discovered that the first girl who made his heart flutter was actually in love with his brother, he wanted to back out.

Perhaps in his heart, family is the most important thing.

Of course, his desire to quit wasn't solely due to this reason; it also stemmed from the inferiority complex he developed in his previous life, a trait often associated with otaku.

If someone is a proactive and independent person, they will definitely try it and strive for it when faced with such a situation, and they won't regret it much even if it doesn't work out.

However, it would be even better if there were results. As the saying goes, "There is no impenetrable wall, only a hoe that is not used with full force," which is indeed the truth.

However, everyone has the right to make their own choices. Making a choice and bearing the corresponding consequences is the normal behavior of a mentally sound person.

Although Arima Kento has many flaws in his personality, he lived independently for so many years in his previous life, and he also had his own choices and considerations.

Just like now, Arima Sen-dong wants to nip this relationship in the bud before it even begins.

"Miyazono-kun, you do indeed make my heart flutter. That's undeniable, but I haven't made your heart flutter. And you shouldn't deny that either, because there's always someone else in your heart."

"If I'm not mistaken, that person is my brother, Arima Kousei!"

Arima Kenjiro said that after making the decision, he almost transformed into Sherlock Holmes, Conan and other characters, and saw through Kaori Miyazono's thoughts by recalling the details.

Of course, a large part of it was just his guess.

"Haha, how could that be?! How could I like a boy like Kousei Arima who's a bit gloomy? Our personalities are completely incompatible!" Kaori Miyazono continued to deny it.

"But you seem to have been paying attention to Kousei the whole time, not just when we first met, but also at school. And, let me tell you, your most beautiful smile is the one that appears the moment you see Kousei."

In fact, Ma Xiandong had sensed it back in school: whenever the four of them were together, there were always people watching them.

However, with so many people and so much gossip at school, and no one being able to find that person, Ma Xiandong didn't tell anyone about it and instead put it out of his mind.

Seeing Kaori Miyazono, Arima Kenji realized that this was the girl who had been spying on them at school.

However, she probably only changed her hairstyle and clothes in the last couple of days! Because before, she had her hair tied up on both sides of her shoulders, with her bangs slightly covering her face.

That look was completely different from her current style; one was unremarkable, while the other was youthful, beautiful, and full of energy.

That's why Ma Xiandong didn't recognize her at first.

"Alright, don't deny it, and don't feel guilty towards me. If a girl like you could win my heart, I'd be overjoyed, let alone have any other feelings."

Seeing the other party's conflicted expression after being exposed, Arima Kento couldn't help but say something.

"But this shouldn't be the case! That's not how I wrote my script!" The girl's smile gradually faded, and she said somewhat angrily.

"So, if you don't mind, could you tell me about your script? And tell me why you're interested in Kousei Arima? Is there anything between you two that I don't know about?"

Arima Kento couldn't help but say, "This is the true nature of a girl!" Her smile was genuine, but it was only for Arima Kousei.

"I'm sorry, I can't tell you what you want to know."

Kaori Miyazono paused for a moment, then smiled again. "With such a cute girl in front of you, don't you want to have a proper romance?"

"I don't want to," Arima Kento refused, not wanting to change the decision he had just made.

"Besides, I've never seen a cute girl boast about being 'cute'!"

The other party didn't want to talk about it, and Arima Kento didn't mean to force her to. Besides, it was just Miyazono Kaori's own business.

However, Kaori Miyazono doesn't seem to appreciate it.

Then forget it!

At three o'clock, Kaori Miyazono stood up and said to Arima Kenji, "I'm sorry, although I seem to have disappointed you a little, can I ask you for a favor?"

"If you want me to pretend that we have a pleasant conversation and are on the same wavelength, then at least tell me why you're doing this."

Understanding what the other party wanted to say, Yu Ma Xian Dong spoke it out for them, while also making his own demands.

"Alright! But I'll have to tell you about this later. Okay then. Thank you, Arima-kun!!"

Chapter Thirty: Pretending to be a Couple

According to Kaori Miyazono, in order to make the situation look more realistic, the two of them held hands and came to the location where Kousei Arima and Tsubaki Sawabe were.

Arima Kento had almost made up his mind, so he could relax a bit. Holding the girl's soft hand, he teased, "Since you like my brother, aren't you afraid that this will cause him to misunderstand?"

"I just want him to see that I want him to get out of his slump, but I don't want to have too much to do with him." Kaoru Miyazono blushed. Although she didn't have those feelings for Arima Kento, the fact that he looked so much like Arima Kousei made her feel like she was holding hands with him.

However, she did not realize that she had inadvertently revealed the purpose of what she had not wanted to tell Arima Kento.

Arima Sento didn't feel much, even though it was the first time in both his lives that he had held a girl's hand, he remained calm.

However, he heard what Kaori Miyazono said. So that was her purpose! This girl is really cute. She kept her secret tightly under her belt, not wanting anyone to know, but she didn't pay attention and accidentally let the news slip out.

As Kaori Miyazono walked forward, she suddenly noticed that Arima Kento had stopped moving and she couldn't budge him when she tried to pull him.

She doesn't even realize what she just said!

This phenomenon is called dullness when applied to unattractive people, but it's called "cuteness" when applied to beautiful and cute people.

"If you're going to pretend, you have to pretend very well, otherwise Kousei will find out. By the way, just to remind you, you already told me your purpose." Arima Kento couldn't help but remind her.

"Huh?! It really is!"

Kaori Miyazono covered her face with one hand, her face turning even redder. What was just a faint blush had now turned bright red.

"Honestly, why did you remind me! Otherwise, wouldn't it be better to just be happy?" Kaori Miyazono lightly punched Arima Kenjiro's chest, revealing her little fangs to express her anger.

But this doesn't have any deterrent effect; instead, it's inexplicably cute.

"You just said that you have to pretend to be very similar, so how do you know if you're very similar?" Kaori Miyazono asked.

Arima Kento stroked his chin, thought for a moment, and said, "How about we change how we address each other?"

“It’s possible ε=(′ο｀*))) Sigh.”

"From now on, I'll call you Xiao Xun. You can call me Xian Dong. That's what my close friends call me."

“Okay! Xian Dong.” It seems that Miyazono Kaoru doesn’t particularly like complicated etiquette either; Japan is a place that values ​​etiquette.

By the way, during the conversation above, the two of them never let go of each other's hands, just like a real couple.

Seeing his brother's bewildered expression, Arima Xiandong could only apologize in his heart. He would do his best to fulfill the promises he made to others.

Besides, Kaori Miyazono only wanted to rescue her brother, which is why she cooperated so readily. Otherwise, why should he listen to her? Just because she's cute and pretty?

When Tsubaki Sawabe saw the two of them walking hand in hand, she breathed a sigh of relief. She patted Kousei Arima on the shoulder and said, "Kousei, you see now! They have feelings for each other. As a friend and family member, you should give them your blessings."

"I know Xiao Xun is a good person, but isn't our friendship the most important thing?"

Arima Kousei remained silent. Although he had prepared himself mentally, he still felt an indescribable sadness upon seeing this scene.

It's as if, if I don't pull my brother away from that girl today, I might never have a chance with her.

Just as she was about to speak, Kaori Miyazono spoke first: "It's already three o'clock. I'm going to participate in a violin competition later, the Fujiwa Music Competition held at TOWA HALL. I'm number four, and I hope everyone can come and watch my performance."

As she spoke, Kaori Miyazono pointed to the TOWA HALL building in the distance. Although she said it was in the distance, it wasn't actually that far away; it would only take a few minutes to walk there.

"Wow, that's amazing!" Arima Kento exclaimed. He hadn't been told about it by Miyazono Kaori, and he only found out now.

Sawabe Tsubaki looked surprised; it seemed she was only finding out now as well.

On the contrary, Kousei Arima's face became even more gloomy. Music was already the source of his pain, and now, coupled with his first love that ended before it even began, he was in a terrible mood.

"I'm not going, you guys have fun!" With that, Arima Kousei turned to leave.

But how could Kaori Miyazono just let him leave like that? This was the first step in her plan to help Kousei out of his slump. If the protagonist left, what would be the point of her participating in this competition?

"Wait a minute!" Kaori Miyazono ran towards Kousei Arima, and pulled Kouichi Arima along with him.

"Come on, come on! Don't you want to see how good I am? Or is my violin completely unappealing?"

Faced with Kaori Miyazono's words, Kousei Arima couldn't pretend not to hear them, because the other party had already stood in front of him, but why was she still holding Hitoshi's hand?

"I..." Kousei Arima was interrupted before he could finish speaking.

Kaori Miyazono released Arima Kenjiro's hand and prepared to grab Arima Kousei's hand, but Arima Kenjiro beat her to it. She looked at Arima Kenjiro with some confusion.

"Let me do it!" Arima Kento left with these words.

"Brother, no matter what, if a girl invites you to watch her competition, wouldn't it be boring to refuse without a reason? Also, what are you going to say? Don't say things like you're no longer involved in music."

As he spoke, Arima Kento took Arima Kousei's hand and looked into his eyes.

"I heard you say you wanted to try your best, but is this what you mean by trying? Trying to run away again?"

"Come on! Face it like a real man, with dignity. Nothing in this world is invincible, as long as you have a brave heart."

“I believe you have that kind of heart, brother. The boy who practiced the piano so hard to make our mother happy is the real brother to me. I really look forward to seeing that version of you. I think our mother in heaven would be happy to see you like that!”

That's all I have to say; there's no point in saying more.

Although this direct statement is somewhat sudden, there is no better opportunity than today. It is unknown whether such an opportunity will come again in the future, but Ma Xiandong is unwilling to give up any opportunity.

If nothing changes after this, then we can only consider starting from other places, since this path has been blocked.