Heavy girl? I feel worse than Black Hole Trigger!

The flowers still fall, dancing with the breeze.

The fragrance of flowers floating in the wind mixes into your nostrils with your breath.

"...It turns out I misunderstood."

The girl finally realized something and breathed a sigh of relief, letting go of Gao Songdeng's hand.

"Well, I wish you good health..."

"I said--"

On the other side, the blond man seemed to see that she had finally calmed down and spoke.

The voice seemed to remind the girl, and she immediately came back to her senses. She bowed slightly to the man and said, "Sorry! I forgot to thank you for your help. Thank you for holding us, otherwise we would both fall to the ground."

"No, it's just a small favor... Uh, that's not what I meant to say."

The man looked at the girl, gazing at her with the same serious gaze.

"Are you okay? I was a little hasty just now. Are you hurt anywhere?"

"Injured?" The girl paused for a moment, rolled up her sleeves, and saw several deep red marks on her fair arms.

She reached out to touch it and gasped, "...it hurts a little."

"Maybe I was too forceful just now. Sorry. Can I pay for your medical expenses?"

"Medical expenses?" The girl smiled and waved her hand. "You don't have to pay for it! After all, it was just an accident."

The man frowned, nodded hesitantly, and said, "Okay. Sorry, I have something else to do later and can't accompany you to the clinic..."

"So, no need! Don't worry about it. It's just a minor injury, it will heal in a few days."

The girl covered her mouth and laughed a few times, seeming to find the man's serious look very interesting.

The man paused, then continued, "I thought you two had a feud and suddenly started fighting on the street, so I wanted to separate you two first. I was a little rough. Sorry."

After saying this, he bowed deeply, which made the girl subconsciously want to support him.

The blue-haired girl's eyes widened. "Making enemies? Why do you feel that way?"

"...He suddenly lunged at someone. No matter how you look at it, it looks like he's just going to knock them to the ground and beat them up."

Of course, this is already a bit obscure.

In fact, he first thought that the blue-haired girl was the perpetrator, so he gave her a light punishment.

Otherwise, with his precise control over his body and his physique capable of moving at super-high speeds, how could such a thing as "accidental injury due to hasty action" happen?

For example, the other gray-haired girl who was nearly tackled was unharmed.

"Eh, eh...?" The blue-haired girl had a look on her face that indicated something was wrong.

"Even if you didn't intend to wrestle someone in place... with the moves you just made, if someone gets knocked to the ground and hits their head, they might get hurt worse than jumping into the river from this height." The man spread his hands and said to the girl, who had a look of shame on her face, "Your kindness is commendable, but next time you make a move, think twice before you act. Don't mean well but end up with something worse."

"...I will keep your teachings in mind."

The girl bowed slightly, her expression solemn.

The man smiled and nodded, looking like a teachable child. "Well, I have other things to do, so I'll be leaving first."

The girl also smiled. "Okay. I'll take my leave now. Best wishes to you two."

……

At that moment, time seemed to slow down.

Gao Songdeng slowly opened his eyes.

The man looked away, and the girl was about to turn back.

One goes left, one goes right.

It's not even a fork in the road, but a straight bridge.

The parallel lines that finally intersected once again traveled far away to the other side——

For example, the flying flowers in the sky chose to wither at the most beautiful moment.

We clearly met, but left without any regrets.

"I'm the only one standing there..."

Chapter of Lost Stars, Act 1, Summer Time Record: Interlude Star

If you can collect your tears before you feel sad.

I thought to myself how nice it would be if this were possible.

"I've always felt a little out of touch with this world."

……

Gao Songdeng looked up at the night sky.

The sky that night was brighter than usual.

Arcturus, Spica, and the Spring Triangle are clearly visible. Changchen seems to be obscured by clouds, so we can only follow the Spring Arc to find the Big Dipper. It's a pity that we can't see the Spring Diamond...

Thinking about the starry sky, the girl who had just walked out of the planetarium hugged her notebook tightly and her steps gradually became lighter.

Sunshine City isn't particularly bustling on weekday nights. Near the station, a grand staircase stretching from the third floor to the first floor is a landmark of Sunshine City. Now, only a few lonely streetlights illuminate the path, and there's rarely a soul in sight. Perhaps it's the silence that makes Takamatsu Deng stare at the night sky.

For a moment, I even forgot that there was another staircase under my feet.

————Missed.

A strong sense of weightlessness brought her consciousness back to Earth from the vast universe.

She didn't even have time to be afraid, she just felt like the floor was collapsing in an instant.

She just subconsciously hugged the notebook tightly to her chest.

then,

"----Hello."

Someone grabbed her arm.

The sudden force made her, who was already off balance, think she was spinning in the air. Then another force supported her other shoulder, allowing her to step back onto the ground in a trance.

After the world spun around, nothing happened. Instead, after she stood steady, she felt her heartbeat quicken.

"…Are you okay?"

What reached my ears was a calm male voice.

Gao Songdeng slowly raised his head and saw a tall man with blond hair and blue eyes.

As if knowing that she had stood firm, the man had let go of his hands and took a step back. That was why she was able to see his face clearly through the dim light of the street lamp.

It was an expression that looked very serious at first glance.

The man looked in the direction Gao Songdeng came from.

"You just came from Sun City? The planetarium?"

"Eh? Ah, um, um..."

Her blank brain couldn't even understand what the man was saying for a moment, and she could only make vague sounds.

The man paused, glanced upwards, and then put his hands on his hips towards her.

"No matter how much you love the stars, you have to pay attention to where you're walking. If there's no one around, you're going to fall."

Listening to the other person's words, Gao Songdeng lowered his head and stared at his feet.

One step away is a flight of stairs.

The feeling of weightlessness experienced earlier was not an illusion.

She tried to imagine that if she missed her step and was not caught by anyone, she would have several more scars on her body and would have to use many more Band-Aids.

As she thought about it, her arms around the notebook tightened a little.

"That, that..."

Thank you. She wanted to say this, but the man immediately spoke again -

"...But I can understand that. Like the stars."

The man originally looked a little unkind with his raised eyebrows, but now his expression changed and he put on a bright smile.

Gao Songdeng looked at his smile in a daze.

"Do you also... like stars?"

--Huh?

Before the mind could react, the mouth spoke the words.

Gao Songdeng widened his eyes and raised his head hurriedly, but did not see the troubled expression as expected.

On the contrary, the man hugged his chest and looked at her seriously, as if he was thinking about something carefully.

The silence that made her want to escape lasted for a long time before it was once again broken by the man's low but warm voice.

"Yeah, I like it."

Gao Songdeng breathed a sigh of relief, "Is that so—"

“Because it’s delicious.”

“…………Huh?”

The girl stared blankly at the man's face.

The man looked serious, raised his index finger and started talking:

"The best ones are protostars. The collapsing molecular clouds are as pungent as spices, though a bit prickly. But 50 times the mass of the sun is still a bit tough. I usually prefer planets, right? They're not easy to fill you up, but they're not bad for your stomach, and they're delicious, so you can eat more."

"What about you?"

“…Ah, this…”

What should I say in a moment like this? Should I say I think it's delicious too?

"I'm just kidding~"

Seeing that Gao Songdeng's eyes were almost swirling into whirlpools, the man chuckled.

"Don't be so nervous. It's okay. I just happened to see you about to fall, so I came over to catch you."

Just happened to see...?

Gao Songdeng vaguely remembered that when he just walked out of Sun City, he clearly saw that there was no one around.

She didn't think about it, just took a deep breath.

"Um...thank you."

The man smiled and nodded, as if to acknowledge his gratitude. "You're welcome. It's getting late, so you should go home. Do you want me to take you to the station?"

The girl lowered her head, clutching her notebook tightly. "No, no need..."

"That's right." The man didn't sound particularly concerned. "Good night, then."

"besides--"

The man who had just turned around stopped and asked, "What's wrong?"

Gao Songdeng took a step forward, then reached into his pocket stiffly and took something out.

"this is for you."

With her lowered eyes, she couldn't see the man's expression, only his hesitantly extended hand.

Gao Songdeng tried to put the thing in his hand into the other person's palm.

Maybe she didn't hold it firmly, or maybe the other party didn't anticipate the timing of her letting go, so the thing didn't get caught, but fell straight to the ground, and then there was a snap -

Cracked into two pieces.

"……what……"

The girl's vision was a little dazed.