Substitute Toyokawa Shoko, you can become stronger by breathing

Except English.

As she said this, she unconsciously straightened her chest.

--flat.

Kujo Renji responded, watching Aine skipping back to her friend.

The girl's long pink hair glowed softly in the sunlight, like a light cloud.

He watched the two girls sit down in the seats far away, and Aine didn't forget to turn around and wave at him.

......

PS: There are two more chapters in the early morning

Chapter 29: The Bullied Girl

In another corner of the library, Eri and Chihaya Aine were sitting side by side.

Eri would occasionally glance at Kujo Renji who was studying seriously, with a hint of curiosity in her eyes.

"Anon-chan, was that your classmate just now?"

Eri asked in a low voice, drawing small circles on her notebook with a pencil in her hand. Her long black hair was tied into a ponytail, exuding a quiet temperament.

Chihaya Aine was flipping through her English textbook. When she heard the question, she looked up, her pink twintails swaying gently.

"That one just now? That's my friend. Her name is Toyokawa Shoko. She's very famous in our school."

"Eh?" Eri's eyes lit up. "Famous?"

"Uh-huh!"

Chihaya Aine nodded, her little canine teeth faintly visible as she spoke:

"He has excellent grades and a gentle personality. He's a very popular person in school."

If it was a month ago... Although Shoko Toyokawa was quite popular, it would be a bit of a stretch to call her the "most popular person".

But in recent times, she has obviously become much more popular.

"I see..."

Eri looked at the figure in the distance thoughtfully: "It does give people a very gentle feeling."

Chihaya Aine seemed to have thought of something and was a little confused:

"But Xiaoxiang seems a little strange lately."

"strangeness?"

"Well...I can't really put it into words, but I just feel like I've become a little different."

Chihaya Aine said this, and seemed to feel that her words were somewhat ambiguous, and quickly added: "Of course, it's a good thing -"

"Although Xiangzi used to be very gentle, he always seemed to be hiding something. But recently..."

"What's going on recently?" Eri became interested.

"Lately... I've been more willing to communicate with people..." Chihaya Aine held her chin in her hand, "And I don't keep my thoughts to myself like I used to."

"I see..." Eri thought thoughtfully, "Maybe the problem that has been bothering her has been solved?"

"Maybe." Chihaya Aine looked at the figure studying diligently in the distance and chuckled, "But it's a good thing after all."

"Anon-chan seems to care about Xiangzi-san very much." Eri said with a smile.

"Eh? Is, is there?" Chihaya Aine blushed slightly.

"Pfft, your face is blushing."

"Eri-chan!"

The two girls started to play around quietly, and after looking at each other, they couldn't help laughing.

The sunlight shone through the window onto the textbook. Eri looked at Chihaya Aine who was writing the homework beside her seriously, and a smile unconsciously appeared on the corner of her mouth.

Aine can be a little vain sometimes, like showing off her poor English pronunciation or the makeup skills she learned from magazines, but these little shortcomings seem cute in Eri's eyes.

She knew that Aine would never really hurt anyone, she just simply wanted to be noticed and liked.

For Eri, such friends are real and precious.

The same was true of the new friends she met at Hanaoka Girls' College - she liked the feeling of having them around her, the warmth of being accepted and needed, which made her feel like she finally had a haven where she could breathe.

Whenever she laughed and played with them, or shared snacks in the classroom in the afternoon, she couldn't help but think: Maybe, she has really completely broken away from the past that she doesn't want to look back on.

But such a time spent in Hira Eri was once an unattainable luxury for her.

She still remembers herself, always crying alone in the toilet cubicle, the shredded textbooks, the graffiti-covered backpack, and the never-to-be-found indoor shoes. She also remembers the whispers in the hallway, the deliberate isolation during gym class, the forced pocket money during lunch break...

——And all this was just because she was "suspected" of seducing the boyfriend of a bad girl.

The fact is, she had never even heard of the other person's boyfriend's name.

The school was very big at that time and there were many students, but her world was pitifully small.

It was so small that it only occupied the corner in front of the desk, and the ground could only be seen when one walked with his head down.

She tried to resist, but all she got in return was even more vicious revenge.

She tried to ask for help, but the teacher just perfunctorily said, "Just bear with it and it will pass." Her classmates kept their distance, fearing they would get into trouble. At that time, Eri felt like a discarded rag doll, dirty and useless.

Eri still remembers the day when she was closest to death.

She stood on the rooftop, looking at the empty ground below, imagining the relief of everything being over.

The feel of the wind on my face, the taste of rust in my mouth, my fingers white from gripping the railing.

At that moment, she almost let go.

But just then, she heard laughter coming from afar - several lower grade students were chasing and playing on the playground, laughing so carefreely.

She was stunned, and a faint desire suddenly surged in a corner of her heart: she also wanted to live like that.

So she persevered. She began to study secretly, staying up late into the morning, just to get into Haneda Girls' College - the place she had heard of and full of hope.

On the day of the exam, her hands were shaking so much that she could hardly hold the pen, but she still gritted her teeth and finished every question.

When the acceptance letter was handed to her, she hid in her room and cried all night. It was not sadness, but relief after surviving a disaster.

Every day in Hanaoka is so beautiful.

Memorizing words with classmates in the morning, sharing lunch boxes on the rooftop during lunch break, going to the dessert shop together after school... These daily routines that couldn't be more ordinary were the life she had always dreamed of.

Sometimes she would think that if she had really given up, she would never know that life could be so beautiful.

Eri gently touched her ponytail, which was her new hairstyle after coming to Hanaoka.

She no longer had to let her hair down to cover her face, walk quickly down the corridor with her head down, or worry about what kind of bullying she would encounter in the next second.

"Eri-chan? Are you daydreaming?" Chihaya Aine's voice brought her back to reality.

"Ah, nothing." She smiled and shook her head: "Just thinking about something."

"Are you thinking about the questions? Do you want me to teach you?" Chihaya Aine tilted her head.

"Well, okay." She also said with a smile.

Fortunately, everything is over.

fine...

......

Chapter 30: Can you stop pretending to be Bai Xiang?

As the sun sets, warm orange light shines through the library's floor-to-ceiling windows, giving the interior a gentle golden edge.

The closing announcement sounded in An's space, and melodious music reminded people that it was time to pack up and leave.

“Ah—studying is so tiring!”

Chihaya Aine stretched out her body, her pink ponytail swaying gently with her head:

“It felt like my head was going to explode.”

Eri couldn't help laughing at the girl's exaggerated words:

"Anon-chan was clearly just peeking at Xiangzi-san, not studying properly."

"Huh?! Huh?" Chihaya Aine's face flushed instantly, and she hurriedly put away the textbooks on the table, "I didn't peek the whole time, I just took a few glances——"

"Yes Yes Yes."

Eri blinked and put her textbook neatly into her schoolbag. "By the way, I remember there's a new crepe shop in the shopping street. Do you want to try it?"

"Okay!"

Chihaya Aine immediately became energetic.

"I saw online that the strawberry crepes at that shop are super delicious!"

The two packed up their things and walked out of the library.

When passing by the seat where "Toyokawa Shoko" originally sat, Chihaya Aine was somewhat disappointed to find that the other party had left.

"Hey, Xiaoxiang has already left..." She complained with a pout, "I was going to ask her if she wanted to go with me."

"Let's find another opportunity next time." Eri comforted.

The setting sun stretched their shadows very long as they strolled along the shopping street. The aroma of various foods wafted through the air, whetting their appetites.

Chihaya Aine excitedly pulled Eri's arm and chattered about what she wanted to eat.

Just then, a burst of shrill laughter came from the front.

The voice was like a sharp knife, instantly piercing Eri's heart.

Her body suddenly froze and her face turned pale. It was a voice she would never forget, a nightmare that would haunt her dreams.

"Hey, isn't this Asada?"

Several girls with highlighted hair and wearing uniform skirts shortened to their thighs stood on the side of the road.

The leading girl, holding a lollipop in her mouth, looked at Eri with contempt.

When Eri saw the girl in the lead, her brain buzzed.

She subconsciously took a step back, and her fingers holding the straps of her schoolbag turned white from the force.

Chihaya Aine noticed something strange and looked at Eri in confusion.

She had never seen the usually gentle Eri show such an expression - like a frightened little animal, her eyes were full of fear and despair.

"Eri...Eri-chan?"

"Oh, I didn't expect to meet you here... We have such a good relationship, but you are deliberately avoiding me. It really makes me sad."

Sato Misaki said exaggeratedly, with a chilling smile on her face:

"I heard you got into some all-girls school? Looks like you've really risen to fame."

Hearing this, Eri's breathing became difficult, as if an invisible hand was strangling her throat.

The memories she had tried so hard to hide came flooding back to her - being pushed into a toilet cubicle, having dirty water splashed on her, having her wallet stolen, being forced to kneel down and apologize...

"Hey, are you her friend?"

Sato Misaki suddenly turned to Chihaya Aine, pulled the lollipop out of her mouth, and made a "pop" sound:

"Do you know what she was like in school? Back then, she was a notorious spy."

After hearing this, Eri finally came to her senses, and seemed to not want them to slander her in front of her friends.

Her voice was very soft, but with a hint of trembling:

"shut up..."

"She seduces other people's boyfriends and pretends to be innocent, but she's actually a bitch at heart."

Sato Misaki continued, her tone filled with malice:

"What? Now that you've changed your surroundings, you're pretending to be aloof again?"