Tokyo Soft Rice King.

After waving goodbye to the two girls, Anri Hitomi and Haruka walked down the path together.

Anli's car was not far away, and Lin Ruiqing was waiting for his young mistress.

However, Anri Hitomi did not go over to get into the car, but stopped with Haruka under the torii gate. She knew that her friend had something to say to her.

After a moment's thought, Qingxia said to her.

"Xiaotong, you actually knew all along that the person I liked was Kuroba-kun, right? After all, my reaction was so obvious back then, you must have noticed it."

That time, when Anri Hitomi took Kuroba Akira to the Tomita family's new shrine, she must have already noticed it, because before that, Tomita Haruka had also consulted Anri Hitomi for some advice on love.

However, Hitomi Anri never tried to drag Haruka into the mess. Despite wanting her friends Momo and Shiori to join in dividing up Akira Kuroba's harem, Hitomi Anri was much more eager to do so.

why?

"Then, why?"

Anri Hitomi knew what she wanted to ask, and Haruka pressed for more details.

"I'm not complaining about you, nor am I blaming you... It's my fault for being slow, and it's my own fault for being easily overtaken. But why didn't you include me in your shortlist?"

Hitomi Anri gave the answer she had prepared.

"Xia, I think you should understand that we are the same kind of people."

"Are we the same kind of people... I don't think so, because you, Xiaotong, can overcome difficulties on your own, but I need someone to lend me a hand."

However, Anri Hitomi did not do that. In fact, Qingxia knew her reason, but she didn't want to admit... to admit that she was a burden.

"Xia, you overestimate me. I am also a selfish and despicable woman. The reason I don't want you to join is very simple: I don't want you to become my enemy. Apart from people like Zizhi Gong Ziyin who suddenly appear out of nowhere, the type of person I fear the most is someone like you."

Even in terms of the difficulty of handling it, Haruka is more difficult than Ziyin.

Because in Anri Hitomi's view, Haruka, like herself, is very clear about her weaknesses, which is why she is able to find ways to make up for them.

So the reason for excluding Qingxia is very simple... One person like me is enough, there's no need for a second one.

However, Haruka Tomita joined at the last minute as a newcomer, a situation that Hitomi Anri had not anticipated.

"I just didn't expect that you, Xia, would join us in this capacity..."

However, Qingxia's current position in the harem is actually safer.

It's much better than falling out with a friend and becoming a love rival.

"I think what you're doing right now is very meaningful, really great! I'll fully support you, Xia."

Anri Hitomi gave her friend an approving smile.

"I was originally worried about how to cool down everyone's overheated romance as a participant, thinking that I should start with their careers and dreams, so that they wouldn't be too obsessed with love... But you used the method of protecting the home to make everyone keep an equal distance from Kuroba-kun. That's really a great idea."

Today, seeing that her friend was able to get rid of that cat and even gain the cat deity as her support, she was very gratified.

"This makes things much easier for me, and I don't have to keep a close watch on that dramatic woman anymore... With you here, I feel much more relaxed."

Then Anri Hitomi revealed a meaningful smile and said.

“If it were Xia now, then I could be considered a ‘true companion’.”

The companions here do not refer to simple friends, nor to an alliance to divide up Kuroba Akira's harem, but rather to companions who can stay together until the end.

Hitomi Anri felt that if she were with Haruka Tomita, they might be able to build a harmonious family with one husband and two wives, free from competition for favor and jealousy.

Marrying the same man together, roasting tea together, getting pregnant together, sharing everything – that's what makes us lifelong friends, right?

Chapter 406 Only Pure Love Can Open a True Crystal Palace

Hitomi Anri now acknowledges the purity of Haruka Tomita's feelings.

Congratulations on joining my and that top-tier love-obsessed group.

"True companions, huh..."

"Yes, Xia, you are constantly refining yourself, moving towards the purest kind of love that I desire most. However, whether you can persevere to the end depends on yourself."

"Xiaotong, have you become so intolerant of even the slightest 'impurity'...?"

"Hehe, I've always had a kind of mental fastidiousness."

If someone has severe mysophobia, they probably wouldn't be able to tolerate their partner cheating.

However, Kuroba Akira's situation should be considered a guide, that is, an inducement to cheat. The person who induced him happened to be Anri Hitomi, and the person he cheated with was Murasomiya Shion.

Objectively speaking, that's the case, because it was Hitomi Anri who helped Akira Kuroba lose his virginity, and Shion followed closely behind.

Actually, if Anri Hitomi hadn't intensified the relationship between the three and accelerated the process of their feelings developing, Kuroba Akira and Shion would still have had to go through the process of confirming and accepting each other's feelings.

From this perspective, there is a contradiction between what Anri Hitomi said and what she did, but Haruka knows that what Anri Hitomi truly craves is the highest form of love.

Seeing the other person's soul, flesh and blood, and will, the resulting emotions are complex, profound, and continuous.

To remain loyal and supportive of someone even after seeing through everything about them is true love.

Therefore, Hitomi Anri gave up her possessiveness because she didn't want Akira Kuroba to make a choice she had no other option but to suffer emotional pain.

Vows can be fabricated, romance can be faked, but heartache is a genuine emotion from the heart; it cannot deceive others, nor can it deceive oneself.

This means that he has taken up residence in one's heart... and thus, the beloved comes into being.

One life embraces another, reflects upon it, and then merges into one.

Loving you is as you wish, and loving you is as I wish.

Of course, there was another reason why Hitomi Anri did this: she was afraid that she would be the one abandoned by Akira Kuroba.

In a one-on-one relationship where only one person can have the last laugh, all the other women will become complete losers, suffering a devastating defeat with far-reaching consequences that will last throughout their lives.

Anri Hitomi hates the feeling of losing the most, and she can't stand losing, so she chose a method that she absolutely cannot lose.

This is actually a kind of anticipatory defense, a breach that Anri Hitomi felt she had to make.

"Is it because Shion's pure feelings are dazzling to you that you're so afraid of her, Hitomi?"

“Being timid is not a shameful thing, Xia, don’t you think? Rather than being robbed and secretly crying in bed with regret, isn’t it better to get what you want by any means necessary from the beginning? You must think so too, right?”

"...That's true. It seems we really are the same kind of people."

After a long silence, Qingxia agreed with this viewpoint.

"I thought you, Hitomi, were like Ziyin, belonging to the genius group, but I didn't expect your way of thinking to be completely on my side. Even though we've been friends for so many years, it feels like I'm getting to know you all over again today, Hitomi."

"I just learn things a little faster than others, and my upper limit is a level that anyone can reach as long as they are willing to spend time. When it comes to the stage where talent really matters... I don't have my own 'weapon'."

Qingxia felt the same way.

She knew she couldn't compare to others, so she worked twice as hard, but even with all her efforts, she still couldn't catch up—that was the gap in talent.

"Besides, my opinion of you has changed. I originally thought you were like Shiori, someone who, like Icarus chasing the sun, would melt your wings to pursue your dreams..."

Seeing that Qingxia's eyes had dimmed, Anri Hitomi asked.

"But you chose to give it up... Xia, if you want to fully support the wise ruler, then swimming will probably have to remain just a hobby."

"At least I won't value grades and rankings as much as before. I've put in the effort and seen my limits... Maybe with more practice, I can become even faster, but that would require more time and effort... I can do it, but I'm afraid I'll feel it's not worth it, so I think now is the perfect opportunity to say goodbye to my past self."

Although Qingxia knew that she couldn't be concerned about gains and losses when she poured her passion into things she liked, otherwise she would feel that the effort and reward were completely disproportionate, and if she didn't achieve anything in the end, she would feel that she had wasted a lot of her youth.

This turns her into the kind of athletic girl in romantic comedy novels who often contributes to the world-famous scene: "The male and female leads are almost at the stage of having a baby, where is the second female lead?" Answer: The second female lead is running.

If she can really turn her life around through sports, at least she'll be the protagonist of a passionate sports story. But if she's eliminated in the second round, then she'll have failed in both sports and love, and might become a disheartened woman who is ultimately a useless middle-aged woman.

"Is that so... But the wise ruler would probably find it a pity, since he values ​​dreams more than talent. Even if you give up, he won't give up on someone who still has dreams."

"I know that, but in the end, I'm not the kind of person who would risk my entire life for a fleeting moment of glory. I'm just trying not to disappoint my teachers and seniors who support me..."

Moreover, there are countless cases where even if you gamble, you still can't win.

"Actually, what I wanted to say was that focusing on sports might actually make things easier, right? After all... Xia, the path you're taking is much harder than mine."

That was truly a path that even Hitomi Anri knew she couldn't walk.

It's too torturous, too agonizing, too painful.

Unless one awakens to the red hat slavery, transforms oneself into a psychopath, and converts pain into a sense of ecstasy, it's impossible to persevere no matter how hard one tries.

By 'opening up' Kuroba Akira's resources and introducing external women's crises, Anri Hitomi then provides Kuroba Akira with comfort and emotional support, thereby securing her position and reaping the greatest rewards.

To make up for this gap, Haruka chose to become Kuroba Akira's advisor. Although she quickly gained his trust and was given important responsibilities, she did not have the right to ask for meat. She was forced to be a vegetarian and had to cut meat out of her own mouth when she craved it.

To put it bluntly, Haruka Tomita is essentially a loyal dog kept by Akira Kuroba. She attacks whoever her master tells her to bite, and she only gets to taste meat when her master gives her meat to eat.

Qingxia shrugged and gave a wry smile.

"There's nothing I can do, I was just late."

"I sincerely hope that Xia Xia can persevere, because the wise ruler will definitely remember your kindness and give you pure love in return."

"However, when I use this kindness to seek a return, I will degenerate into an insatiable, thirsty woman begging for love from Kuroba-kun, and then I will become just another woman among the crowd."

"That's right... So Xia, can you endure it? As someone who's abstinent... can you hold on?"

"How will I know if I can stick to it if I don't try? But actually, I just saw you and Kuroba kissing, and my heart is already wavering. I can't help but swallow my saliva... I'm so drooling."

"It's normal to waver. Even someone as strong as Zhencheng almost had an emotional breakdown just because she stubbornly eavesdropped and missed out on something. I gave her the chance to feed the baby and had Mingjun comfort her before she calmed down."

"I know that too... Makoto is clearly much stronger than me. She can still reach the national finals without any kendo-related talent. That's an effort that ordinary people can't even imagine. But when the person she likes is taken away, she becomes weak, pitiful, and helpless, and goes crazy with jealousy... Love really does have the magic to completely change a person."

Especially after personally experiencing the mindset of wearing a red hat, Qingxia had a feeling that she might have stumbled into a demon's den.

Perhaps, as Hitomi Anri said, continuing to swim would be better, at least swimming would only make one feel resentful when failing. But given the number of women around Akira Kuroba, the "red hat experience" would probably be happening every moment from now on...

"The person who would definitely respond to me is right beside me, but I can't ask him for anything... It's like having a magic lamp right next to me and not using it... I might be undergoing the test of the Ring, I'm going crazy."

"That's why I said, if Xia can hold on until the end, we can become true companions, best friends sharing a bed. Mingjun can then have one on each arm, just right, hehe~"

While telling jokes, Anri Hitomi hugged Qingxia and snuggled up to her.

"Modern polygamy... if there are no vested interests involved, then it is indeed a purely emotional relationship."

In the past, in agrarian societies, polygamy was actually a system that protected the interests of women.

Because men are the primary providers of labor and food.

Economic foundation determines social status. Women were a vulnerable group in ancient marriages, which is an objective reality.

Men's pursuit of beauty is innate, and the better their economic conditions, the more resources they can obtain.

That's why some people say, "A man isn't romantic because he's poor." Some men aren't inherently honest; they just haven't experienced the joys of being rich.