Can Lixi look at me alone?

playmate?

Upon hearing something extraordinary, Xiangzi opened her eyes. Although her father on the other end of the phone couldn't see her expression, he could still detect a hint of urgency in her voice.

"What do you mean by 'playmates acquired through exchanges of benefits'?"

Li Xi frowned; the situation was...

It could be more serious than she thought.

Her father's voice came through the phone.

"Simply put, it means... the Toyokawa family is giving up some benefits to the Chika family in order for them to send that child over to be your friend, so that you can use her if needed in the future."

The middle-aged man, who guessed that she must have asked her mother first and not gotten an answer before asking him, opened a can of beer.

This matter is complicated, and he felt there was no need to explain it clearly to Xiangzi.

He would say whatever Xiangzi wanted to hear.

"This can be considered a marriage alliance, but there were some problems along the way. The Toyokawa family wants a Chika family heir who can be controlled by you at any time, but that child... you know. Your mother doesn't like her."

So, so Yuzuki...

Xiangzi was unaware of how terrible her expression looked, and she didn't care whether anyone saw her in such a hysterical state.

She just wanted to hear her father continue.

Mom didn't like the end of the month, so what did Mom do...?

"But because that child always makes you stand out, your mother only complained to others in private. She felt that this was the purpose of that child's existence, which was to highlight your excellence."

To highlight my excellence...?

If, if Yuzuki were slow to notice, that would be fine... but...

It seems like she always knew, and always... let me have my way.

The man heard a faint sob, took a large gulp of beer with satisfaction, and continued speaking.

"It's a pity that the child has this problem."

Xiangzi interrupted his father's seemingly aimless narration and asked him directly for the reason.

"Why did Yuzuki have this problem? Why...why was she sent to the hospital?"

The whole thing is because of a medical malpractice at the hospital…right?!

Since that's the question, it means Xiangzi can't remember exactly what happened.

After a brief moment of thought, the man gave his revised answer.

"Because you kept saying things like 'Yuzue isn't a normal person, Yuzuki is mentally ill.' Your mother was worried that she would affect you, so she contacted the child's parents and asked them to send the child to the hospital."

Xiangzi's mind went blank; she didn't want to believe her father's words. But... if her father was wrong, why was her mother treating Jieyue this way?!

Why does Mutsuki keep saying that it's my fault for letting Yuzuki down...?

Why would Mu say that I've always been the one giving and giving, while I don't know how to reciprocate?

Because what my father said was the truth.

Yuzuki was a playmate my family found for me… She was also a friend who always tried to please me in various ways, all to make me happy. And then… I…

She thought of one last question and took the opportunity to ask it as well.

"Then why... Yuzuki-kai..."

The answer came to her as soon as she spoke.

Memories of playing with Yuzuki flashed through her mind again and again.

Rather than saying she was playing with Yuzuki, it would be more accurate to say that she was manipulating an intelligent toy to play with on her own.

Whatever she liked, Yuzuki gave her.

She had no dignity, no bottom line. She even suspected that... that argument, that argument about whether Yuzuki was a normal person, was all intentional on Yuzuki's part.

After all, who would think a doll could talk? Yuzuki… is she trying to make me laugh at her for not being normal… right?

That's why Yuzuki kept arguing with me, letting me win and gain emotional value.

But what about me?

I…

She grabbed her hair and yanked it hard, trying to ease the stinging pain and her guilt.

The thought of how she had ruined Yuzuki and then carelessly dumped her in a mental hospital, only to have her emerge all alone...

And then she forgets me again…

"That child is indeed pitiful, after all, she only got out of the mental hospital after a failed suicide attempt. But your mother won't let you play with her."

suicide…!

"The child later heard that he couldn't go to school either, as no school was willing to accept a mentally ill person. So he had no choice but to stay at home alone..."

I can't even go to school...

Haha, I, I'm actually still thinking about how annoying it is that Yuzuki keeps skipping school and coming to find me...

The phone fell onto the cold tile floor, but no one paid any attention to it.

Xiangzi leaned against the wall, slowly accepting this fact.

She saw before her eyes everything she had done to Yuzuki.

When we were kids, I bullied Jieyue, then I played with her until she was worn out and then locked her up in the hospital.

Driven to the brink of suicide, Yuzuki escaped that place, and then... forgot about her.

If Yuzuki can't go to school... won't all the school admissions offices treat her the way she is because she's Tsukimori-sensei?

Contempt, discrimination, respect to her face, and talking about her mentally ill behind her back...

Because of the illness, I have no other friends or family to care for me.

One person, living to this day.

I met Lixi and fell in love with her.

And the result...

I know perfectly well that Riki likes Tamamo, right? I also know perfectly well that... Yuzuki likes Riki, right?

But I still insisted that Yuzuki help me maintain Crychic, and then when Yuzuki couldn't take it anymore and came to me crying, begging me...

She slammed her head against the wall to make herself feel a little better.

Yes, I hurt Yuzuki time and time again, and personally destroyed Yuzuki's life little by little.

Without me, Yuzuki would definitely have many good friends now, right?

Mu is right, it's all my fault.

But even if it's all my fault, what can I do?

Do I... have the capacity to bear the burden of Yuzuki's life?

Even if we try to make amends now, can we cure Jieyue's illness? Can we piece together Jieyue's shattered life?

Compensation is useless. All I can do is spend the rest of my life working hard and carrying the burden of what's left of Kizuki's life.

She wouldn't shirk her responsibility, even though she had forgotten about Yuzuki. But now that she knew everything, she was even less likely to run away; she had to ensure Yuzuki lived happily ever after.

We must do this no matter what.

After composing himself, Xiangzi decided to go home and cry some more, wiping away the tears on his face.

"So what are you going to do?"

When Yuzuki is unhappy and wants to comfort you, should you simply accept her kindness?

You get something good from her and then gladly accept it? You call that compensation?

Li Xi's gaze filled Xiangzi with an unprecedented fear.

The fear stemmed from the unknown, from the fact that she had no idea what to do.

"I will try my best."

Pale and weak words could not possibly be an answer that would satisfy Lixi.

at the same time.

Chu Hua coughed twice as Yuzuki fed her more and more food.

"I'm sorry, Yuzuki. I really can't eat anymore. Would you like some?"

After all, you are a patient…

Afraid of upsetting the girl in the hospital bed, Chu Hua, who had chosen to swallow her last words, touched her stomach.

He realized that he could no longer eat.

"I'm not hungry yet."

Jieyue forked a piece of beef and held it to Chuhua's lips, clearly ignoring her claim that she couldn't eat it.

She forced Chu Hua to eat the food bite by bite.

She didn't know why she was doing this; she just felt happy seeing Chu Hua's pained expression.

However, she probably has more enjoyable things to do.

"I'm so sorry, Yuzuki, I shouldn't have said that to you."

Chuka's apology failed to move Yuzuki's heart; she was met with a forkful of food as well.

"Please don't do this... I..."

"Chu Hua only came to help me because of Xiao Xiang, right?"

She knew the answer to the question, so there was no need for Chu Hua to reply.

"So, if Chu Hua doesn't take good care of me, will Xiao Xiang dislike her?"

Despite the alarm bells ringing in her mind, Chu Hua managed a weak smile.

"It doesn't matter if Xiaoxiang hates me, because Jieyue is the more important person."

She said what she thought Yuzuki would like to hear, but she forgot that the girl in front of her was the mentally ill person she spoke of, saw, and loved.

She should have thought about this day when she was freely expressing her feelings.

"lie."

Yuzuki's expression turned cold.

How could a dog possibly think its owner isn't important?

You lied to me, you deceived me, and you think I'm mentally ill so you can't see through your lies.

whee.

She beckoned to Chu Hua with her finger, ordering her to stick her head over.

Then he placed the lunchbox, still full of food, directly on her head, watching as her golden hair and beautiful face were covered in oily soup.

"How was it! Aren't you happy? Look, look, it's all because of you that I got splashed with so much stuff. It's all your fault! When Xiaoxiang comes back later, I'm going to tell her you didn't take good care of me~"

Love you guys

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Volume 1 Crychic! : Chapter 158 Collapse

Watching Chu Hua's soft, pink lips constantly opening and closing, Jie Yue happily tossed the lunchbox aside. Completely unconcerned about whether it would dirty the floor—everyone knew she was mentally ill anyway, so what was the point of pretending?

"Hurry up, stop spacing out!"

A bandaged hand patted Chu Hua's cheek as she excitedly looked at the teenage idol in front of her. She waited for Chu Hua to reach out and hit her, kick her… or something even more exciting!