I have bound two systems.

It was obviously your fault, and I was even planning to forgive you, but now you don’t even want to talk to me?

Leave now...where do you want to go?

Are we going to Touma Kazusa's house, or to the other girl you mentioned?

Kasumigaoka clenched her hands tightly and clenched her teeth to prevent the thoughts in her heart from being expressed in words.

She couldn't accept this suffocating silence.

With a chill in her heart for a moment, she took a deep breath to adjust herself, then slowly raised her head and looked at Chisato Suzumiya.

She had made up her mind that no matter what happened after she looked up, she would maintain her emotions and make Qianli give up the idea of ​​leaving and stay here.

However, when he looked up, he saw out of the corner of his eye the apartment key placed on the table at the entrance, with a letter underneath it.

Suddenly, without warning, past memories came flooding back, gripping her throat tightly.

Such a familiar scene happened again in reality.

However, the positions of the two characters were reversed in reality.

Kasumigaoka felt it was difficult to breathe, her eyes became empty, her body went limp, and she slowly slid down against the gate.

A pair of strong hands grasped both sides of her shoulders, supporting her body.

The two extra lives of experience in her mind enabled her to try her best to stop the bitter tears from flowing out, but she could not stop the emotions of inner collapse from expanding and spreading.

“…No…I don’t want to leave.”

A low and painful plea came out of Kasumigaoka's mouth.

She felt sorry for herself for ending up in such an embarrassing situation, but at the same time she was even more afraid that the man in front of her would just leave without looking back.

Compared to this, a little bit of self-esteem is nothing.

I don't want that to happen... I don't want it anyway...

The life experience in the first dream was desperate enough that I never want to experience it again.

Suzumiya Chisato sighed softly and held Kasumigaoka, whose trembling body looked nothing like her, in her arms.

"……do not leave Me."

it works!

He still cares about me!

Through Suzumiya Chisato's actions, Kasumigaoka Utaha clearly realized this fact.

Therefore, when she spoke again this time, her tone was even more delicate and helpless, and she undisguisedly gave resonance to her crying voice.

Kasumigaoka Utaha's mood gradually brightened.

Because she could feel that the strength with which Chisato Suzumiya was holding her was slowly increasing.

Moreover, he gently rubbed her cheek with pity, and said the words she hoped to hear in an extremely gentle tone.

"Shiyu, don't worry, I won't leave you."

His words of assurance made Kasumigaoka's heart, which had been hanging high, feel relieved.

She let the other person hold her in his arms and whisper sweet words in her ears that made her feel at ease.

After her emotions had calmed down a little, Kasumigaoka slowly pushed away Chisato Suzumiya, and the two separated and faced each other again, leaving room for a conversation.

"I do want to leave, but I definitely don't mean to abandon Shiyu. Rather, even if Shiyu doesn't want me anymore, I will do everything I can to keep you by my side."

Looking at Suzumiya Chisato's expression that didn't seem to be lying, Kasumigaoka Utaha, who was happy about it, pursed her lips and glanced with a little concern at the letter that was pressed by the key not far away.

If it wasn't what she thought, then what was in the letter?

Chisato Suzumiya turned her head and looked in the direction she was looking, and without much hesitation, she took the letter.

"I think these words may seem a bit hypocritical to others, but this is indeed what I have always thought in my heart."

Kasumigaoka Utaha took it and opened it after the other party nodded slightly.

There was a short paragraph written on it.

[Shiyu, being with you and Eriri makes me feel more and more that you are excellent and irreplaceable, but I still can't live comfortably in the apartment you arranged for me. I am also afraid that I will lose myself and give up my position in such a situation, so please give me some time to prove that the man you are interested in is not just a guy who relies on women to survive.]

Kasumigaoka Utaha took a quick glance and read through the contents of the letter in just a moment.

"So, it's not because of what happened today..."

"It has nothing to do with what happened today."

Suzumiya Chisato shook her head.

"It's just that today just happens to be a good time to confess to you, Shiyu."

After a moment of silence, he added an apology.

Kasumigaoka Utaha shook her head subconsciously. It would be good if the situation was not what she thought.

"If you go out now, Qianli, where are you going? You have already checked out of the previous apartment, right?"

"Let's stay in a hotel for one night. I'll look for a suitable apartment after school tomorrow. I've saved some money from working part-time during this period."

Seeing Chisato Suzumiya's confident expression, Kasumigaoka Utaha's mood quickly fell in a completely different direction from before.

"...Do you really have to leave? In fact, neither I nor Eriri have ever felt that you, Chisato, depend on us for your life. Everything we do is of our own will..."

"That's why I can't let myself accept all this with peace of mind."

Suzumiya Chisato interrupted Kasumigaoka.

Kasumigaoka Utaha was silent for a long time.

"Then at least wait until tomorrow. It's too late today. If you take it with you, it will be troublesome if a hotel refuses to let you stay."

The two of them looked at the dark wings at the same time.

This time, Suzumiya Chisato did not insist any further. After thinking for a while, she nodded slightly.

…………

Chapter 230 Disagreements and Agreements

"So, you just nodded in agreement?"

On Monday, the morning classes ended. Sawamura Eriri, who had made an appointment with Kasumigaoka to meet on the school rooftop, looked incredulous after reading the letter she handed over and patiently listening to her talk about what happened last night.

She really didn't expect that so many things would happen after the phone call last night.

It's just one night!

Kasumigaoka Utaha closed her eyes and rubbed her temples, adjusting her breathing.

"Please speak more quietly. I'm different from you. I didn't sleep well last night and now my head hurts terribly."

After a pause, she sighed and continued,

"What if I don't agree? Qianli has already said that. He wants to seek a more equal and independent relationship with us. This approach is natural from any perspective. And under the circumstances last night, how could I possibly shake my head and refuse?"

"Even if it's hard to refuse in person, you can't just nod and agree right then and there. If you really can't think of a way to refuse, you can just hold off on giving an answer for now and wait until today to discuss it with me before making a decision."

Honestly speaking, with Eriri's knowledge of Kasumigaoka, she shouldn't have been unable to think of such a simple thing, but that's what happened.

"…My mind was in a mess at that time. I'm sorry."

Contrary to her usual behavior, Kasumigaoka did not argue, but took the initiative to show weakness and apologized.

This made Eriri feel more unfamiliar with her. She had a lot of complaints in her heart, but now she couldn't say them at all. The feeling like there was something stuck in her throat made her feel a little irritated.

She paced back and forth on the rooftop anxiously, like a bored dog who hadn't gone out for a long time.

Kasumigaoka was not too surprised. She was in a similar state as Eriri when she rested in the guest room last night. She tossed and turned in bed until around four in the morning when she barely fell asleep under the influence of sleepiness.

Neither of them spoke as they walked from the edge of the rooftop to the bench near the center and sat down.

It was a cloudy day today, with a fairly cool breeze, which helped to calm them down somewhat.

Rubbing her brows, Ying Lili took a deep breath.

"Okay, now that things have come to this, nothing you say can change what has already happened."

Kasumigaoka looked up at the sky in silence. In the past, she would have complained about such seemingly blaming words.

But now, she really didn't have the energy to argue with Eriri.

As far as she personally felt about last night, she had done the best she could.

"In short, there are three problems facing us now."

Seeing Kasumigaoka nod slightly, Eriri sorted out her thoughts and continued speaking.

"The first is Touma Kazusa, the second is the second girl that Chisato mentioned whose name we don't know yet, and the last is the fact that Chisato wants to move out of the apartment we rented."

"...We can put the first two things aside. The most important thing is that there is no point in being anxious. It would be too reckless to make a decision without understanding the situation. So the most urgent thing is to solve the last problem as soon as possible."

Eriri looked at Kasumigaoka who answered faintly, with an expression that said, "You're not too hopeless."

Kasumigaoka rolled her eyes at her in annoyance.

"What are Qianli's plans for today?"

"He said that he would take a day off from the store where he worked part-time today and would look for a place to live after school."

"No matter what, we can't let Qianli move out. That's for sure. We finally managed to keep him by our side, and we absolutely can't go back."

"I would like to do the same thing. Do you have any good ideas?"

"Now that we understand Qianli and our demands, we can find a balance that both of us can accept."

Eriri answered firmly. Now that Kasumigaoka was an unreliable woman, she was the only one who stood up.

"I can probably understand what Qianli is thinking. From an objective point of view, it's a good thing that he doesn't want to rely on us for his life. In this case, he wants an equal relationship and to face us confidently and calmly. Then we just need to give him these, and he can achieve these facts without moving out."

"..."

Kasumigaoka didn't have to think too much. Just by hearing what Eriri said, she knew what she was going to do.

She suddenly felt lazy and thought that it would be a good choice to let others take care of all the troublesome things and then she could just sit back and enjoy the results.

At least, I won’t have such a huge headache and feel that damn powerless like I do now.

Kasumigaoka Utaha took out her cell phone.

"I see. I'll make an appointment with Qianli to meet at the apartment after school. Anyway, we have to talk to him in person, right?"

"kindness."

Eriri nodded decisively.

She was not like Kasumigaoka, who felt a little relieved after the current problems were solved.

You know, the two girls who suddenly appeared are the most troublesome and difficult to solve problem.

What a headache! There are far more things to consider than what I just mentioned.

----

Sobu High School, Service Club.

"So, any findings?"

Shizuka Hiratsuka walked in without knocking, just like usual. Under the half-helpless and half-complaining gaze of Yukinoshita Yukino, she pulled a chair and sat in front of her.

"Teacher, knocking on the door before entering a room is basic etiquette."

After closing the book, Yukinoshita Yukino sat up straight and answered the client's questions.

"Unfortunately, I did not find out what the teacher said about Isshiki. From my observations of her during this period, I concluded that she is no different from other high school students."

"Really? It's strange. This shouldn't be the case."

Shizuka Hiratsuka pressed her toes against the ground slightly, and as her body leaned back, her two front feet on the chair were suspended in the air. She maintained her balance only by relying on the two back feet of the chair.

It was a very childish act. Logically speaking, this was not something a teacher as an educator should do, but on the contrary, there was no sense of incongruity in Shizuka Hiratsuka's action.

Perhaps it has something to do with her straightforward and generous personality.

Yukinoshita Yukino's gaze shifted from the imageless adult in front of her to the scenery outside the window.

"Teacher, do you think my judgment is wrong?"

"It's not good to speculate on other people's thoughts without authorization. I never said anything like that from beginning to end."