I really don't want to have a girlfriend.

Leaving the luxury apartment, I stepped onto the sidewalk gently enveloped by the night, the evening breeze ruffling my shoulder-length hair.

Yukinoshita looked up and paused, slightly startled.

Not a single star was in the sky; a somber darkness enveloped the heavens, as if the night would last forever.

However, the sun rises after the sun sets, and when you wake up tomorrow, the sky will still be bright and clear, painted by the morning sun.

No matter when, no matter where.

The eternal night will not last; dawn will eventually break.

Gazing at the sky, she seemed to be eagerly anticipating that moment, a soft smile appearing on her lips.

"It's the weekend, and it's rare for me to go back to school!"

With a pleasant look away, Yukinoshita Haruno started walking.

△

Inside a detached villa.

All light sources in the room were turned off, leaving only the pale white light of the screen to dispel the heavy darkness.

"Damn it, how could this be... how could it be such a coincidence!"

The young man sitting in front of the computer slammed his fist on the table, his handsome face, illuminated by the light, contorted with rage.

"All the cameras that could see the camera were blocked by various things within those five minutes. How could there be such a coincidence!"

Seemingly affected by fear, his pupils, which had shrunk to pinpoints, were dart around, and his clenched fists were trembling slightly.

"Subconsciously doing what he said, can that be explained by hypnosis... Could the surveillance footage have been digitally manipulated? That's impossible too..."

"Most importantly, even though he beat me up so badly, and I felt like I had several broken bones—why didn't I have a single scratch on me after it was over?!"

Shojiro, his hands rummaging through his once-neat hair, muttered to himself. Suddenly, he swept everything off the table and stared at the skewed screen, his eyes red and his breath coming in gasps.

Those were surveillance footage that he paid someone to copy.

Unable to get rid of his family ties, he relied on his connections and money to copy down all the footage of the three of them meeting that day, hoping to find evidence of how that guy had tortured him.

As a result, nothing was gained.

The surveillance camera was either blocked by pigeons' rear ends or covered by newspapers, and it only returned to normal after he left—from beginning to end, there was no trace of any modification, editing, or compositing, as if even the gods were helping him punish himself, erasing all traces of those five minutes of torment from the world.

Nobuyuki Sugo couldn't understand how a mere high school student could accomplish these things.

Is he a monster or a superpowered individual? What if he kills me one day without fear of being found out?

All of this left Xuxiang feeling confused and terrified. Every time he woke up in the middle of the night, images of him punching and kicking himself, looking down at him with the eyes of someone looking at an animal, and then smashing his skull would appear in his mind.

I've been trying to avoid going to the company these days because I don't want others to see me looking so颓废 (颓废 is a difficult word to translate directly, but it implies a state of mental exhaustion, listlessness, and apathy) and almost driven crazy.

"That wretched bastard... that wretched bastard... that wretched, wretched, wretched, wretched, wretched, wretched, wretched, wretched little brat!"

The faces of the elite had long been twisted into those of demons. Sugo Shinichi kicked away the heavy desk in front of him, seemingly oblivious to the pain in his leg.

"Ha, so what if you have superpowers..."

Suddenly, he gritted his teeth and forced a ferocious smile.

Even a dog will bite when cornered, let alone an upper-class person like him. After being threatened and intimidated, his first instinct is naturally to retaliate.

There are plenty of ways to safely get rid of you!

With a gloomy face, Nobuyuki Sugo took out an old-fashioned mobile phone and dialed a number.

"I thought you wouldn't contact me first, Sugo." A deep male voice came from the microphone.

“If I could, I wouldn’t want to either,” Xu Xiang said coldly. “I’ve already provided you with food and shelter, and protected you, a vicious fugitive. Can you delete that file?”

"And then you're going to report me?" The man chuckled. "Xu Xiang, I'm not that stupid. You can't let the sheep graze until you've sheared it."

"You have to give me a deadline, right? Otherwise, we'll both go down together. If I lose my future, you'll go back to jail too."

"Alright, don't be so angry. Once I find somewhere I can go, I'll return all your dirty secrets, and we'll go our separate ways, even if we owe each other nothing."

"I never owed you anything. Ghost Field, if you hadn't..."

"Alright, alright, stop bringing up old stories." The fugitive—Ghost Field's voice grew impatient. "The longer you go on, the more flaws you'll find. If you have nothing else to say, I'm hanging up."

"Wait a minute!" After talking for so long, Nobuyuki Sugo finally got to the point. "Promise me one thing, and I'll find a way to send you abroad and give you some money!"

"Oh? You're giving me a mission." The other person chuckled with interest. "Let me think... Sugo, are you finally going to make your move on the president's daughter you've been eyeing for so long? I remember she has a nice figure, if you get tired of her..."

"Shut up!" Sugo gasped for breath, a nameless fear rising in his heart again, quickly turning into a fit of rage. "You, you're not allowed to lay a hand on them! No, I didn't intend to lay a hand on the Yuuki family either... Tsk, anyway, the person I want you to deal with isn't them, but a high school student..."

"A high school student? You've actually come to the point where you need to ask someone to target a high school student? Sugo, you're really getting more and more out of touch."

Guichang clicked his tongue a few times, and without waiting for his reply, said casually.

"Well, never mind... I recently got my hands on something fun, and it comes with the latest high-pressure syringe. I'm just worried about finding someone to test the drug on. It's okay if I accidentally kill someone, right?"

"Of course!" Sugo Nobuyuki's eyes lit up instantly, a twisted smile spreading across his face. "I'll tell you all his information. As long as you successfully take him down, I'm willing to give you whatever benefits you want!"

"Oh? So generous! Looks like there's some deep-seated grudge between you."

"Don't worry about it! I'll text you from another phone later, and you can go and get a new email address..."

Having quickly finalized the matter, Nobuyuki Sugo gripped his old mobile phone tightly in his hand, staring at the only light emanating from the screen in the darkness.

His eyes were bloodshot, and he licked his lips in a perverse manner, panting with barely suppressed excitement.

"Hmph, hehehehehe... Little brother Tenkuji, no matter how strong or strange you are, as long as I hide in the shadows and send people to deal with you, what can you do to me?"

"Keep disabling the cameras? Keep hitting me? Keep ordering me to stay away from the Yuuki family?"

"If this one doesn't work, we'll find the next one. As long as we have money and can find a way... I'll show you what happens when you humiliate me, Nobuyuki Sugo! You damn brat!"

It was as if they had found the weapon to trample on that fear, as if they were dreaming of a future where they could avenge their great humiliation.

In the dark room, the young man's cold and maniacal laughter echoed, a far cry from his former calm and mature demeanor, which, though hypocritical, at least appeared respectable.

Friday night, everyone has their own thoughts.

Time slips through our fingers, and before we know it, it's Sunday.

September 21, morning.

The preparations for Soubu High School's "Autumn Club Showcase" have begun.

Chapter Ninety-Six: Morning is a time of vibrant life.

4 8 8 ⑦ 4 9 ⑦ 9 9

"Your school has an event today, right?"

Just before Yuu Tenkuji left, Kasugano Sora called out to him.

Standing barefoot on the somewhat cold entryway floor, the silver-haired girl, holding a doll, looked over hesitantly, as if she wanted to say something.

Tenkuji Yu was stunned for a moment, then smiled.

"What, do you want to come along? Our club is having a performance that day, and your brother will be performing on stage. It wouldn't hurt to come and watch."

"No way, a place like school..." Kasugano Sora muttered, looking away and slowly hugging the doll in her hands. "If there were only two or three people in your school, that would be fine."

"There's no such thing as a school with only two or three students, okay?"

"Then I won't go."

Hearing her sister's resolute tone, Tenkuji Yu shrugged helplessly.

Qiong, who is fifteen years old this year, should have been attending junior high school, enjoying the youth that belongs to a young girl, and preparing to shed her childishness and move on to high school.

However, two years ago, she dropped out of school due to physical and mental health reasons and has been a complete shut-in ever since.

Learning can be done at home with self-study and tutoring from my older brother; meals and entertainment are all facilitated by the internet; even exercise is possible with fitness rings and treadmills, so all needs can be met at home.

Aside from going to the hospital for follow-up appointments, Kasugano Sora had no reason to go out, and naturally, she couldn't make any real-life friends.

She always says: It doesn't matter, as long as You is here.

But if possible, Yuu Tenkuji would still like her to go back to school—to experience more of the outside world, instead of waiting for him to come home every day, with her phone only having the doctor and his number as her contacts.

Even so, he would not force her to change.

I won't forcefully pull her out of her comfort zone to truly grow through pain.

Kasugano Sora is a smart, well-behaved, and precocious child.

Therefore, she should be able to choose her own life; as her older brother, Yuu Tenkuji only has one thing to do.

—Give her a gentle world where even if she fails or falls, she will never have to worry about crying her eyes out.

"It's okay if you don't go. I'll tell you some interesting things when I get back." Yuuto Tenkuji raised his hand and patted Sora's head with a slight smile.

"Don't be afraid if you want to go to school someday. I'll go with you. It's all up to you."

"Yu..."

Kasugano Sora looked up at him, and the light-colored water rippled gently, like the warmth of early spring reflected on it.

After a while, a small smile appeared on her cherry-colored lips.

"I'm not scared, I just don't want to... But since you've said that, you can't make excuses when I want to go to school."

"Of course!"

Tenkuji Yu puffed out her chest and solemnly promised, "Although I might fool you sometimes, I will never lie to you!"

"I will always keep my promises. You can trust your brother!"

"What?! This line is so melodramatic and childish..."

She gave him a slightly amused look, then Kasugano Sora suddenly paused, her brows furrowing slightly.

"You said you sometimes fool me? Yu, in what ways have you fooled me?"

"Ah, I'm running late, I have to go now." (Read in a monotone tone)

Seeing that things were not going well, Tenkuji Yu decisively turned around and opened the door: "Remember to lock the door. If nothing unexpected happens, you should be back around 3 p.m.!"

Kasugano Sora finally realized what was happening: "Wait, you stop right there! — You idiot, Yu!"