My daily life in love is too contrary to my character.

Taking a deep breath, as Chiyo began searching for a seat in the store, Shiraishi Sawa waved to him.

Chiyo's eyes showed a hint of surprise as she gracefully walked over and sat down opposite Shiraishi Sawa.

"How could it be your baby dog, Suwo?"

"What would you like to drink, waiter? Please come and take our order." After Chiyo Ichigo placed her order, Hideaki Shiraishi took a sip of his now-cold latte and said:

"I didn't know. I didn't even know you were coming. The president said she had something to tell me."

“Su asked me to come too, she didn’t tell me you were coming.” Chiyo took out her phone from her bag and started typing a message, “I’ll tell her I’m here first, she reminded me.”

"it is good."

Cold coffee is hardly a good drink.

Shiraishi Sawa glanced at Ichiyo Ichiri, and when Ichiyo Ichiri noticed his gaze and looked at him, he shifted his gaze to the window.

"Do you hate rainy days, fox?"

"Ugh, why wouldn't I hate it? It's so annoying!" Chiyo picked up a tissue from the table and wiped her rain-soaked ankles and shoes.

"I asked the driver to park the car outside, so I didn't actually walk more than a few steps, but I still got wet. It's so annoying. I always get in a bad mood when it rains."

"We are surprisingly in agreement on this point: I really hate rainy days."

Before Shiraishi Sawa could say anything more, the phone on the table rang.

The caller ID showed Soga Kirei, so Shiraishi Sawa Hide didn't avoid it and answered the phone directly.

"Hello, Chairman."

Good afternoon, Shiraishi.

"Good afternoon is nice, but where are you, President? Ichiri-san and I have already arrived."

Chiyo rested her chin on one hand, turned her head to the side, and looked at the busy waiters in the coffee shop, glancing occasionally at Shiraishi Sawa, who was on the phone.

"Sorry, I might not have planned to come. Um, could you please put the phone on speakerphone and place it on the table so that Ichiro can hear it?"

On the other end of the phone, Soga Kirei made a strange request.

“Okay.” Although he didn’t understand Soga Kirei’s purpose, Shiraishi Zexiu remained silent for a few seconds before turning on the speakerphone and placing it in the middle of the table.

Seeing Chiyo's puzzled look, the sign inside read, "What is this for?" Shiraishi Sawa Hide shook his head slightly, indicating that he didn't know either.

"Hello, Ichiru, and Shiraishi, can you hear me?" Soga Kirei's voice was very calm on the phone, asking without any inflection.

"Ah."

"What's going on? Why aren't you coming over, Chairman?"

"I'm afraid that once I get here, I won't be able to say it." There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, then the voice continued:

"Exactly, could you please stick to your decision and confess your feelings to Ichigo, Shiraishi?"

The noisy Ginza fell silent in that instant.

Chiyo turned her head away from the phone in the middle of the table, but her eyes were on Shiraishi Sawa Hide out of the corner of her eye.

“...Wh...what.” With a branding iron stuck in his throat, Shiraishi Sawa said with difficulty and obscurity.

"Could you please stick to your idea and confess to Ichiru?" On the other end of the phone, there was a gasp first, followed by the repetition of the question.

Hearing that neither of the two people responded, Soga Kirei continued:

"I'm sorry, Shiraishi. I know everything that happened yesterday afternoon. So I understand that I lost. The reason you didn't make a choice in the end was just because you felt sorry for me and because of my mother's pleas."

“That’s not how it is…” Shiraishi Sawa wanted to say that there was another big reason, because he knew that she was still ‘Tokyo is so boring’, but before he could finish, he was interrupted by her voice.

"But! Shiraishi, when you sent that message yesterday, you chose 'Ichiru,' didn't you? Please answer me."

“…Yes.” Shiraishi Sawa glanced at Ichiyo Ichiryu, remained silent for a moment, and then nodded.

Chiyo's expression was strange; she seemed uninterested, lowering her head to add creamer to her coffee and slowly stirring it.

"So, that's enough. I lost, and that's that. But it doesn't mean I'm giving up. I will still like Shiraishi and try to win you back someday."

However, today, please, Shiraishi, grant me this request. Follow your heart and confess your feelings to Ichirin. Thank you. Shiraishi, you still owe me a favor, right? I want to use it on this.

It's rare to see such a long passage from Soga no Ume.

Neither side spoke. Chiyo raised her head, a blank expression on her lips, and looked at Shiraishi Sawa:

"Want to confess your feelings, baby dog?"

"Please." Soga Kirei said over the phone.

The sounds of rain outside the window, the clinking of coffee cups against the table, and the conversations of the guests surrounded Shiraishi Sawa's ears, yet he couldn't penetrate them.

"Okay." A single word, but it was slow and heavy. Shiraishi Sawa Hide didn't even know if he was the one who uttered it.

There was no sound on the phone; Chiyo simply stared at him.

"I like you, will you be my girlfriend?"

Chiyo's lips curled into a mocking smile. She moved closer to the phone, as if the words weren't directed at Shiraishi Sawa, her expression tinged with amusement.

"Okay, I agree."

She then pressed the close button, ending her conversation with Soga Kirei.

He confessed his feelings successfully, and it seemed that Chiyo was already his girlfriend, but Shiraishi Sawa Hide didn't feel happy at all.

On the other end of the line, Chiyo Ichiriki's smile vanished after the call ended. Seeing Shiraishi Sawa Hide's head bowed and his silence, she sighed and asked, "..."

"Baby dog, tell me what happened yesterday afternoon."

"Huh? Okay." Seemingly not thinking straight, a few seconds after Chiyo finished speaking, Shiraishizawa Shusai came to his senses and began to recount everything that had happened yesterday afternoon.

"That day, I walked to the stairwell and sent you this message..."

"...From my conversation with Su's mother, I also realized that the president was an online friend I had known for a long time."

“I know that, please continue,” Chiyo urged.

"How did you know?" Shiraishi Sawa was somewhat surprised, but seeing that the other party didn't seem to have any intention of explaining, he could only continue, "...After leaving the coffee shop, I didn't know what to do again."

"That's how it is, so I still plan to run away. I can't decide which one to give up. Now the president has made the choice for me, but I... don't know how to describe how I feel right now."

After telling everything, Shiraishi Sawa slumped against the glass wall and closed his eyes wearily.

However, he managed to struggle his way out from between the camel's back and the straw.

"So, you decided to choose me that day, right?" Chiyo scooped up a spoonful of coffee and placed it between her cherry lips. Her fair neck twitched slightly, and her calm expression revealed no emotion.

Yes, I think I like you more.

“Yes,” Chiyo smiled, a look of reminiscence on her face, “who else could compare to the souls that are so perfectly aligned between us? You should have chosen me.”

"So, let's break up." The smile vanished in an instant, and Chiyo slowly uttered these words.

Shiraishi Sawa opened his eyes, without changing his posture or offering any opinion, simply looking at her quietly, without surprise, anger, or sadness in his eyes.

Chiyo, unperturbed by Shiraishi Sawa's silence, continued:

"Suwo, she's quite clever." Chiyo sneered, her voice tinged with helplessness or perhaps contempt.

"Actually, Su, I probably imagined that I would have rejected you when you first confessed to me. In fact, I wanted to do that. But that would have been too much to her liking, so I agreed and even hung up on her. She's probably worried sick right now."

"And no matter how it ends, we'll still be each other's first partner, which isn't bad."

But she really knew my personality. I simply can't accept a victory like that. What I want is a decision made purely based on your own thoughts, like the one you made yesterday at noon.

Chiyo reached out and grasped Shiraishi Sawa's hand, which was resting on the table. She held his palm with one hand and stroked each of his fingers with the other.

"Your hands are so cold, remember to wear more clothes."

"And now, can you say that your confession was entirely because of yourself? Can you say that you have completely severed your relationship with Suga and no longer consider her?"

"No, her intervention, seemingly to urge us on, is actually just making things more complicated between us." Chiyo asked herself.

Chiyo's hand intertwined with Shiraishi Sawa's.

"That's not the whole reason I broke up with you. I could have continued to agree. As long as you were my boyfriend, I was confident I could have made sure Su couldn't do anything about it."

But, baby dog.

Chiyo's hand clenched tightly, very forcefully. She raised her head, meeting Shiraishi Sawa's gaze, and said, word by word:

"I want to know, yesterday at noon, and now, after we're together, what are your plans for 'Tsukimi'?"

"You know." Shiraishi Zexiu's heart clenched, pounding wildly as if it would jump out of his chest. He said in a slightly hoarse voice.

"Yes, I understand. So, what do you plan to do with her?" Chiyo's expression grew colder and colder, a look that Shiraishi Sawa had never seen before.

"I...I don't know." Shiraishi Zexiu was speechless; he didn't know what to say.

"Heh, then will you abandon her?" Chiyo's face was as cold as moonlight.

"No." The hand that Shiraishi Sawa was holding, held by Ichiyo Ichii, fell limply onto the table, causing broken ripples to spread across the surface of the two coffee cups.

"I promised myself I would never abandon her."

"That's what she said too. Your gentleness is something that's both likable and annoying. Sure enough, rainy days tend to make people feel bad, and I will always hate rainy days."

Chiyo put her phone back into her bag.

"I accepted your confession simply because I like you, I love you, and I wanted to reciprocate your love. I broke up with you because your love wasn't pure, it wasn't complete, and it wasn't what I wanted."

"I understand. I'm sorry, I accept your breakup." Shiraishi Sawa's lips curled up slightly as he looked at Ichiyo and said slowly.

"Besides being my ex-husband, you're also my ex-boyfriend now," Chiyo said with a smile.

But the distance between the two seemed to be growing further and further apart.

"Yes, it's an honor."

Silence fell between them, as if they had fallen into the ocean a thousand meters deep, the damp, fishy smell of the sea permeating their bodies.

"I'll remember this rainy day. I'm in a bad mood right now and don't really want to see you. I'm leaving now." Chiyo picked up her bag and started walking towards the door.

......

“I…” Shiraishi Sawa finally opened his mouth.

I stopped once I entered Chiyo.

"I also hate rainy days."