I really don't want to have a girlfriend.

"In that case, we must not disappoint her."

Sky Temple murmured softly.

After all, he had already promised to let her witness him pass the trials and find happiness.

He's not fighting alone in this world!

After changing her clothes and putting on socks, Yuu Tenkuji grabbed her phone and keys and prepared to go downstairs.

He suddenly wanted to send a message to Tachibana Kanade to check on her situation and see if it matched his guess.

Before I could do that, my phone vibrated slightly, signaling a message notification.

It was sent by his younger sister, whose true form is Kasugano Sora, who has already come of age in a certain timeline.

But the first sentence made Yuu Tenkuji's eyes widen, and he stopped in front of the door with a look of surprise on his face.

"Yu, there's been a problem with the second reincarnation, and the situation is urgent!"

"I have to deal with a certain nasty cow monster here and can't leave for the time being. Due to system limitations, I can't go outside to explain to you either. Sending you these few messages is already the limit."

"So what I'm about to say is very important, and I hope you'll remember it."

"First of all, before I say yes, you need to ignore my existence for now. Don't knock on my door or come in. Just go and do your trial mission. I won't starve to death in there."

"Next, as you've probably already noticed, Xiaozan's situation is very strange. She should have disappeared, but she hasn't... Someone must have interfered in some way. I need you to find her as soon as possible to find out why."

"Finally, don't worry about me. If I really can't handle it by myself, I'll just ask you for help without hesitation."

"You promised her you'd be happier than anyone else, so keep striving for that... I'm waiting for you to create a miracle."

"I have my own battlefield too. I'll tell you about those annoying guys after everything settles down."

"Alright, I'm going into seclusion now."

"Keep it up, we're waiting for your good news!"

After a moment of surprise, he quickly composed himself.

Yuu Tenkuji, holding her phone, went to the corridor and looked towards the girl's room on the other side.

There was no sound at all; it was completely quiet, as if no one was inside.

He really wanted to knock on the door and ask Qiong if there was anything he could help with, and he also wanted to go into her room to see what had happened that made her say "emergency" in such an anxious tone.

But since Sora has put his mind at ease, Tenkuji Yu won't insist on interfering—just like Tachibana Kanade said not long ago, he hates it more if he ends up making things worse than if he doesn't help at all.

After much hesitation, he left Kasugano Sora's room and decided to leave her alone for the time being, ready to step in whenever needed.

As he walked downstairs, he was also thinking about the message left by Kasugano Sora—for example, just how urgent was the situation?

What exactly is wrong with reincarnation?

Who is that wretched dairy cow? And why can't I go into her room...?

Of all these things, he was actually more concerned about Tachibana Kanade's matter.

These few words, though brief, stirred up Yuu's worries and curiosity—even if Kasugano Sora hadn't specifically mentioned it, he had originally planned to go and ask her a few questions.

But thinking about this, he couldn't help but wonder: "Even if I have to find her as soon as possible... won't she come to find me with Aya later?"

Or has the past changed, and she won't do the same thing as last time?

After pondering for a while, Yuu Tenkuji finally decided to call and ask about the situation before heading out for his morning run.

Of course, out of caution, he did not call Tachibana Kanade directly, but instead tried to get information indirectly through Iroha Isshiki.

The busy voice made two or three sounds, which were quickly replaced by a lively and delicate voice.

"Senior? Why are you calling me all of a sudden? Are you trying to wake me up?"

Hearing her lover's familiar yet slightly childish voice, Tenkuji Yu couldn't help but smile, and said in a similarly light tone, "Afraid you'd oversleep when school starts? What, did I wake you up from your nap?"

"Huh? No way! I got up even earlier than usual today, and I'm still putting on makeup! If you don't believe me, you can video call me, and I'll do my makeup right here!"

Isshiki Iroha paused for a moment, then pouted with a mixture of joy and dissatisfaction, her wonderful mood seemingly conveyed through the phone, revealing the girl's little thoughts.

Yuya Tenkuji replied with a smile, "There's no need for that. I don't want to see my junior with a bare face on the screen."

"What do you mean?! You jerk, she's cute even without makeup, okay?!"

Yes, yes, yes~

The feeling of a familiar conversation.

Although they are not yet boyfriend and girlfriend, the sweet affection conveyed in her words makes it more direct for people to perceive her feelings for him than any confession.

Even after returning to a year ago, this mischievous junior still liked him, just waiting for the thin veil between them to break—like someone always waiting for him to come home, Tenkuji Yu felt at ease and satisfied by this.

Although she wanted to chat with her a little longer, or even confess her feelings and see how she would react, she had already said that she would put aside all romantic feelings and focus on finishing her business before considering anything else. So, Yuu Tenkuji suppressed this impulse and casually asked:

"By the way, are you coming over for breakfast later?"

Isshiki Iroha was taken aback: "Huh? Senpai, how did you know about my plan...?"

Yuu Tenkuji chuckled, "Otherwise, you wouldn't have gotten up so early, right? You're so easy to read."

Iroha snorted in dissatisfaction, too lazy to argue with him, and then asked, "That's true, so what?"

"Will you come with Li Hua? If so, I'll make extra for both of you."

"Probably? Anyway, I'm planning to go to her house to pick her up first." Iroha Isshiki didn't doubt it at all and said decisively, "We already agreed to go to the student council to clean together when school starts, so even if it's a surprise visit to my senior's house, I can't just leave Kanade behind."

“I see…” Yuu Tenkuji nodded to himself.

The Iroha in this world has memories that he doesn't have. In other words, time has indeed gone back to a year ago, but he himself is the only one who is not affected by the time reversal and is still in the same state as at the graduation ceremony.

Having gotten what he wanted to know from Iroha Isshiki, Yuu Sora quickly ended the call and turned to walk towards the kitchen.

Morning exercise was completely unimportant to him. He decided to make breakfast while waiting for Aya and Tachibana to arrive at home, in order to avoid any accidents after he left.

Even though I hadn't gone out and hadn't finished making breakfast, the unexpected still happened.

"Senior! Did Kanade go to your house?"

Isshiki Iroha called again, this time with a tone of doubt and a hint of unease.

"No, what's wrong?"

Tenkuji Yu turned off the stove fire, his brows furrowed slightly, a bad premonition brewing in his heart.

Isshiki took a deep breath, trying her best to explain what had happened clearly and simply.

"I just called her, but she didn't answer. I went straight to her house, but her parents said she left home about 10 minutes ago..."

"I understand." Tenkuuji Yu interrupted her abruptly, taking off his apron and getting ready to leave. "Did they tell you where you're going?"

"No, he was just wearing his school uniform but didn't bring his backpack, and he looked really strange, like he was in a hurry..."

A thoughtful look flashed in her eyes, and Tenkuji Yu quickly made a decision: "I'll go to the school to look for it. You can come to my house and sit down first. The key is under the carpet. If you have time, you can make me breakfast."

Seemingly not wanting to be left behind, Isshiki instinctively raised her voice: "Wait! Senpai, I also—"

Tenkuji Yu said without any room for argument, "I can run faster than you can take the tram. It's the least efficient thing for you to do to keep up."

"..."

When the atmosphere turned cold and quiet, he chuckled softly, his voice softening like a boyfriend soothing a sulking girlfriend.

"Sweetie, wait for me to contact you at home. Call me anytime if anything happens. Whether I find her or not, I will come back as soon as possible."

As soon as he finished speaking, there was a long silence on the other end of the phone.

After a long while, the girl's soft, obedient, and delicate voice finally rang out.

"Yes, I'll listen to you, senior."

Chapter Seventy-Four: Saying Goodbye to Hundreds of Years of Time in the Final Four Minutes and Thirty Seconds

Taking the tram is definitely not as fast as running there directly from Tenkuji Yu.

Even with traffic lights obstructing the way, he reduced a journey of about an hour to less than ten minutes by driving at full speed—on a clear road, even cars could only look at him from afar.

As if nitrogen were exploding beneath his feet, he kicked up a trail of dust, ignoring astonished gazes, and dashed straight to the gate of Zongwu High School like a phantom.

Without giving herself a moment to catch her breath, Tenkuji Yu pursed her lips slightly and continued walking, accelerating as if she were about to crash into it.

Fifty meters, twenty meters, ten meters...

He didn't know why he was in such a rush.

Perhaps it was because of his sister's instructions, or perhaps he didn't want to keep his "ex-girlfriend" waiting too long.

Perhaps he was influenced by some inexplicable premonition, and felt anxious because he was afraid that if he was a step too late, he would miss her.

Even though it's unclear whether she actually went to school.

He hadn't even figured out what to say when he saw her.

But even so.

"...I always felt that you were waiting for me to come over."

A slight smile unconsciously curved the corners of her lips.

Five meters in front of the school gate, Tenkuji Yu stomped his foot, and amidst the flying pebbles, his figure soared up, like an eagle spreading its wings and soaring towards the blue sky.

He stood ramrod straight as he "stepped over" the three-meter-high school gate. Science, clinging to its last shred of dignity, quickly pulled him back to the ground, but then, the moment his toes touched the ground, he inexplicably exerted force again.

boom!

With a brief, dull thud, the boy ignored the proper recovery maneuver and continued forward without stopping. His figure shot through the fountain in the square like an arrow and hurtled towards the school building, leaving only a pair of similar small craters in the concrete ground five meters in front of and behind the school gate.

In the early morning, before the sun had fully risen, even the security guards hadn't started their shifts yet, let alone the students from the sports clubs. There were also no pedestrians around the school gate.

Only the surveillance cameras faithfully recorded this special effects-like scene. I guess the school will call him over to question him after the security guard checks the surveillance footage during his shift.

Now, Yuu Tenkuji is too lazy to care about such trivial matters.

He had long since ignored the passing scenery around him, until he followed his instincts and rushed into the teaching building. Only then did he slowly stop in front of the wooden corridor, adjusting his breathing as he looked around at the rows of shoe cabinets, his gaze sweeping over the name tags as if searching for something.

"Lihua...Lihua..."

Most schools in Japan have a rule that students must change into indoor shoes inside the school building.

Given Tachibana Kanade's honest nature, even if she had to rush to the school for some reason, she would definitely change her shoes at the shoe locker—completely different from how she almost stepped into the building in muddy, dusty shoes. As long as her shoes were there, it meant she was definitely there.