The person who likes me is a yandere.

After having in-depth conversations with her like this, I realized that she wasn't the narrow-minded person I had imagined.

Even if I make some silly jokes, she doesn't get angry on the spot or look down on me.

"Isn't this good too? At least it's much better than the previous situation where we were constantly running away, isn't it?"

"Perhaps. As the saying goes, 'You can't fight city hall'?"

"It feels a bit strange to use it here."

On my way home, I stopped by Shui Jing's house again. The conversation was the same as always, but this time there was no awkwardness; it felt much more relaxed.

Looking back, I realize I've been thinking about Tohka a lot this past year. It must have put a lot of pressure on me.

The so-called psychological pressure is not the kind of malicious irritation, but rather the fatigue that comes from being constantly distracted by her actions over a long period of time.

Without realizing it, I started to wonder what would have happened if she had lost her memory of the past.

How does Tohka think? What are her thoughts about me? If we had talked properly like before, our relationship might have become completely different.

At this point, thinking about it won't help.

Our relationship, which had once gone awry, has somehow returned to normal, and even reached its current state.

Therefore, if Tohka regains her memories, perhaps everything will end.

After thinking about it this way, I feel that things have become more complicated.

After being called out by his family, Aki Tomoya returned to his room and asked me if I wanted to have dinner with him.

"Well, let's skip it today. There's another place I have to go to later."

The place I had to go to was the largest supermarket in my area. My mother texted me to go there to buy eggs. After leaving Aki Tomoya's house, I took a longer route to reach my destination.

For quite some time now, a very strange old man has been coming to this supermarket frequently.

His name is Tadokoro. Every Wednesday evening, he would appear at the supermarket, holding a can of empty liquor in his hand, talking loudly as he walked around.

After attracting the attention of the store staff and other customers, her emotions escalated, and she began to shout and make a scene.

To put it bluntly, this person is annoying.

I asked the older women working at the supermarket, and they all said they were planning to ban him from entering.

Even so, the old man remained unchanged.

Therefore, I couldn't help but start looking for him today.

While wandering aimlessly through the sales area, I discovered a noisy corner that caught the attention of most of the customers.

The aged male voice came through clearly, and I immediately realized that Grandpa Tadokoro had gotten into trouble again.

Listen carefully, and it seems like they're arguing about something.

The scene was noisy, but just then, a woman's voice came from behind. It sounded vaguely familiar, so I quickly walked towards the corner—

"This will cause trouble for the supermarket, please leave."

Why do I need to do this?

"I've already said it. The supermarket will..."

"You're a shop assistant? Hey. Hey, hey? Who do you think you are? You're just a little kid, you're really annoying!"

"Even if you're not a staff member, anyone can say that! The other customers are also annoyed. If you want to drink, please go somewhere else."

A girl was standing in front of the noisy old man, arguing her point...

That's definitely Tohka-san, isn't it? Yes, it's her.

She was arguing with a man several times her age, using the same tone she used to reprimand other classmates.

Why would she show up in this place at this time! If this situation is left unchecked, it will become very bad, won't it?

"This is so annoying! What bad thing have I done!? Hey, anything like a crime, have I!?"

"Although it's not a crime, what you did was very unreasonable."

"You said it wasn't a crime?! You said it wasn't a crime?! What's there to say then? If it wasn't a crime, you're just framing me!"

"So..."

"A miscarriage of justice! You're going to get arrested. People like you are really annoying!"

"It's annoying," was the old man's catchphrase. He would say it whenever a woman walked by.

Regardless of his looks, he would, like someone declaring a draw in shogi, first gather his strength, then quickly and loudly announce it.

He casually uttered this catchphrase.

Honestly, ignoring this kind of person is the best option.

"Police! Call the police right now! You! You're the one who's here to arrest you!"

"I have no reason to be arrested."

Wow, this is adding fuel to the fire!

"What are you saying! What are you saying! You're making me angry!"

"It doesn't matter, but please leave the store quickly, it's very troublesome."

Oh no. This is really going to happen. My gut feeling tells me so.

In fact, the old man did raise his wrist.

I probably won't get hit, but I might get my clothes pulled.

The old man's hands were black and withered, his fingers were yellowed, his nails were black, and his clothes were dirty.

All of this is about to affect Tohka.

I had a premonition of what was going to happen, and it felt as unpleasant as if caterpillars were crawling all over my back.

After thinking it over, I stomped my foot on the floor.

"Alright! STOP!!"

Then, saying this loudly, he stood between the two of them.

...Ah, I did it anyway.

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Because You're Too Beautiful

...Ah, I did it anyway.

"Eh, Qianyu?"

"Well, um, I'm not entirely clear on the reasons, but could you both please calm down for a moment?"

Ignoring Tohka's surprised exclamation, I turned my back to her, faced the old man, and began to smile. A smile is important; a smile is proof of friendliness.

"What? You..." the old man stammered, his face suddenly turning hostile. His smile had no effect whatsoever.

Stepping forward on impulse may have backfired.

"Grandpa, losing your temper like this is bad for your health. You should calm down first."

"What's it to you!"

The old man tried to push me away with his hand, and then grabbed Tohka behind me.

Upon closer inspection, I noticed he was indeed very short, and his eyes and nose were small; it looked rather unpleasant.

I can't take it anymore.

Thump, the old man bumped into me. I easily deflected his frail and aged body.

"Um, are you alright?"

"...This is violence!"

"Uh?"

"What?! This is violence! You're so noisy! Call the police right now!"

"Please calm down first."

"So noisy! So noisy!"

Suddenly I felt someone hit my face, and my facial bones ached.

"Simple language!"

I heard Tohka's urgent voice calling out to me.

The old man seemed to have hit me directly with the canned liquor bottle in his hand, and I was still able to calmly analyze the situation at that moment.

Just as I was covering the sore spot with my hand and looking down in thought, I was hit on the head again.

"it was all your fault!"

"Go to hell! It's all your fault!"

After leaving those words behind, the old man quickly left the supermarket as if he were fleeing.

"Ah, don't run! Qianyu, are you alright? Are you hurt? Let me see your face."

"Yeah, it's nothing."

My face was grabbed forcefully by Tohka in a panic, forcing me to show her my injury.

"It's nothing. I just got hit in the face."

"They actually hit someone with a bottle... I'm going to go and bring that person back!"

"Forget it, it would be more dangerous for you, Tohka, if you went."

"but……"

"That person was also frightened by the fact that they hit someone, and ran away because they were scared. How pitiful."

Although I had just been subjected to violence, I felt a sense of exhaustion, as if my knees were completely weak.

Being the target of someone else's malice is more painful to the mind than to the body.

Anyway, I found a nearby chair and sat down. At this moment, I noticed that Tohka kept repeating "I'm sorry" in a low voice.