Can Lixi look at me alone?

Just as she poked her head out of the bathroom and looked around to make sure it was class time and no one was in the hallway, the little octopus, who had been searching for her since learning she wasn't in the classroom, also came to the bathroom, worried about the light.

"Hello... Ah, hello, student."

Xiangzi stared in surprise at Deng, who was asleep in Aine's arms, and at the school uniform that Aine was wearing, which clearly did not belong to Yuqiu.

The hypothesis that an outsider was trying to abduct the little penguin was quickly established, but she herself rejected it. After all, if the light could be so easily abducted, it wouldn't exist anymore; how could it still be alive and well today?

"Um...please don't misunderstand, this student just hugged me..."

Aine skipped over Akari's constant apologies and calling out Yuzuki's name, and poured out everything else to Shoko. After all, the three of them were now, in a sense, accomplices.

"So this is ah…"

So, it turns out that Deng hasn't been sleeping well lately?

Xiangzi nodded and picked up the lamp for Aiyin. The two of them went one after the other to the infirmary to rest for a while…

Anyway, skipping a class wouldn't matter to Xiangzi, and Deng needed more time to rest, so the little octopus didn't feel there was anything wrong with it.

However… Aine thought about the female principal who was still waiting for her in the principal's office and rubbed her fingers awkwardly.

I was trying to help a classmate who was crying in the bathroom, so she hugged me and kept apologizing. Then, another classmate and I took her to the infirmary...

So what is our relationship now? Are we friends? So can I say goodbye now?

Xiangzi noticed Aiyin's embarrassment and realized that she was probably an outsider who had come to the school to handle some matters, so he simply told her to go and take care of her own business first.

She alone is enough to take care of the lights here.

The girl, feeling as if she had been granted a pardon, gave Xiangzi a warm smile before pushing open the door and leaving. She then ran up the stairs and, somewhat embarrassed, knocked on the female principal's door.

Watching her disappear from sight, Xiangzi had no choice but to get up and close the door to the infirmary, inwardly complaining that this pink-haired girl didn't even know how to close a door, while praying that no one would notice the two of them.

Otherwise, she'll have to tell everyone she doesn't recognize the lamp.

By the way...

"Sorry, light."

She whispered an apology to her sleeping companion.

"I shouldn't have ignored Yuzuki's situation. And..."

She shut her mouth, thinking to herself that if Yuzuki didn't destroy Crychic beforehand... then she herself would probably have to do it because of life's problems.

The community of shared destiny I promised could not ultimately continue.

Sorry.

Looking at the lamp lying asleep on the bed, she finally spoke all the words she had kept hidden in her heart for so long.

The peaceful and warm time they spent together was easily shattered by the ringing of the phone. Startled, Xiangzi quickly answered the phone to avoid waking the lights. She got up and went outside to listen carefully... It was a call from the head of the Toyokawa family, her grandfather.

"Xiangzi, have you had enough fun? When are you coming home?"

The voice on the other end of the phone was old, yet full of authority. She could almost see her father again, arms crossed, sitting at his desk, criticizing her.

“I’m not playing around, I’m at school. If you don’t need anything else, I’ll hang up.”

She had lost all affection for the old man the moment he disregarded her mother's pleas and drove her father out of the house.

Even when she was little, her grandfather always played with her.

Knowing he was not suited for conversation, the elderly man accepted his granddaughter's malice and revealed the whole purpose of his phone call.

Your mother is in the hospital right now.

Xiangzi's hand holding the phone trembled violently, almost causing him to drop the smooth phone casing.

"What happened to Mom?"

"Just like her mother."

The old woman's brief answer left her somewhat dissatisfied; she had no memory of her grandmother in her decades-long life. Naturally, she had no idea what had happened to her mother.

So she had no choice but to answer…

"I see."

A few simple syllables revealed her attitude, and also cost her... the chance to look at her mother a few more times.

Xiangzi hung up the phone, took a deep breath, and returned to the infirmary.

Mother is in the hospital...? Like Grandma? Grandma was sick... so is Mom sick too?

Xiangzi scratched her head in frustration, completely baffled as her grandfather didn't explain things clearly and instead made her guess.

I'll go see Mom at the hospital on my day off...

After all, she now understands her mother who once prevented her from leaving with her father.

I... also owe my mother an apology.

Sitting beside the lamp, Xiangzi made a decision.

After completing all the formalities with the principal, Aine received her school uniform in her size, bowed in gratitude, and left the principal's office. Looking at the empty corridor, she reminisced about her study abroad experience and almost jumped for joy.

With your talent, you could have shone brightly in high school no matter what! Why did you have to go abroad to study so recklessly? Honestly…

"I was probably an idiot back then..."

Aine, who had already begun to decide in her heart how she would enjoy her high school life, set a big goal.

He is running for student council president at Haneoka University.

After all, she used to be the student council president.

She didn't need to worry about her academic performance. What she needed was to quickly build up her popularity. Although her excellent grades and pretty appearance already gave her a decent following, it wasn't nearly enough for a student council president…

She had to take the initiative to approach those high-quality female students.

What is high quality?

Aiyin has her own set of judgment criteria.

First, she has to be a popular girl; second, she has to be approachable; and third, it's easy to become friends with her. In Ai-yin's view, a girl who meets these three criteria is a high-quality female classmate.

If she makes friends with more high-quality female classmates, her popularity will definitely rise as well.

Everyone will then...

"It's President Chihaya!"

Everyone will cheer for me, right? I'm going to take back everything I couldn't get in England!

Still fantasizing about what to do, Aine pushed open the door to the infirmary and met the gaze of the newly awakened lamp.

Hello, student!

luck

That's great! Judging from experience... this student is the kind of person who's very popular, after all, she's cute and easy to approach...

Unaware that she had been labeled, the lamp stared wide-eyed at Aine, looking her over from left to right... and finally confirmed that she had really mistaken her for someone else.

The sins that had been forgiven crawled back into her body, but this time… she could hold on for a while.

After all, Xiao Xiang said that the classmate at noon wasn't actually a "July" (a term used to describe someone who is pregnant at the time of birth). It was someone he had been considering as a "July" since then.

Doesn't that mean that Yuzuki doesn't dislike me to the point of not wanting to hear my apology?

Having figured all this out, the lamp raised its head and gave Aine a cute smile.

"Hello, my name is Takamatsu Akari... I'm sorry for causing you trouble."

A lamp...? That's a nice name!

Aiyin glanced at Xiangzi, who was still sitting to the side in a daze, and then gave her name.

"My name is Chihaya Aine~ Nice to meet you, Takamatsu-kun~"

Her voice woke Xiangzi, who was still thinking about what to do. After a brief self-introduction, Xiangzi pulled Aiyin away from the infirmary.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry for the trouble you've caused, Chihaya-san."

Hearing Chihaya's name again from someone else's mouth sent a shiver down her spine; she almost thought it was her best friend from middle school calling her…

Let me forget about my escape from England...

"Um, Aine! Please just call me Aine!"

Xiangzi frowned slightly at the somewhat impolite request, but considering that the lamp had troubled her, he was still willing to listen to her request this time.

"Okay, Ai-yin."

Xiangzi was somewhat disgusted by Aiyin's attempt to close the distance, so he subtly took a step back to create some distance.

The two stared at each other in silence for a while...

Finally realizing that serious matters were more important than boosting popularity, Aine flashed her canine teeth at Shoko.

"Um... excuse me, Toyokawa-san, what kind of girl is Yuzuki, the one Takamatsu-san mentioned earlier?"

Seeing that she not only wanted to get closer to the lamp and herself, but also wanted to get closer to Yuzuki, Xiangzi's heart pounded with alarm. The girl, who was already in a bad mood because of the bad news of her mother's hospitalization, could no longer maintain the calm on her face. After saying goodbye, she turned and left.

Watching her retreating figure, feeling somewhat bewildered, Aine returned to the infirmary, intending to ask the seemingly more approachable Akari…

"Hmm... I see. The Yuzuki that Takamatsu-san mentioned, has she hurt many people in the past?"

The lamp waved its hand forcefully at the murmuring Ain, taking all the blame upon itself.

"No, it's all because of me that Yuzuki... she did a lot of things..."

Seeing her reaction, the pink-haired girl, completely relieved, tried to hug her and pat her back to comfort her.

I thought it was my little Yuzuki, but how could that be? Yuzuki isn't the type to abandon anyone so easily. Misunderstanding cleared up!

The woman she was referring to, Yuzuki, had already locked herself in her room, leaving Mu, who had walked with her all the way, anxiously waiting.

Having exhausted all other options, the blue-haired girl turned to her friend for help. Mortis, awakened by her friend, inquired about the current situation…

"Xiao Mu is saying that because you said something wrong, Jie Yue walked straight home from the coffee shop, so Xiao Mu followed her the whole way without saying a word, right?"

"What you mean is, Xiaomu just watched Yuzuki go into her room and lock it for almost an hour... without saying a word to Yuzuki, right?"

"Xiao Mu..."

Dividing line

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Volume 2, Mygo! Chapter 32: Xiang, Moving

Mortis looked at the small hand in front of him, repeatedly trying to clench and relax it. After a brief adjustment to his body, 'Mu' raised his arm and knocked hard on Yuzuki's door.

"..."

The sudden knocking made the girl hiding in the room flinch, then she buried her head under the covers to hide.

Mu shrugged helplessly, then continued to knock on the door repeatedly at the same frequency. When her left hand hurt, she used her right, and vice versa.

She kept banging on the door, the clear, annoying sound constantly bothering Jieyue.

Even a thin blanket can't block out the noise, and even adding your palm won't stop it.

The pink-haired girl took a deep breath, trying to concentrate and avoid being distracted by the noise, but Mortis could always make her attention be completely drawn to the fluctuating noise.

Just as Mortis's left and right hands were throbbing with pain from the tapping, she finally heard footsteps that were clearly tinged with emotion. She quickly composed herself and hugged Yuzuki, who had opened the door to greet her.

While still wondering who this annoying pink-haired girl was, she belatedly realized that she seemed to have left Mu at the coffee shop.

Because she had experienced it herself, Yuzuki knew just how repulsive her actions were. Especially… what she had done to Mutsuki…

Will Xiaomu hate me? Will Xiaomu leave me? What will Xiaomu think of me...?

Mortis felt the soft warmth in his arms without moving, so he simply hugged Yuzuki's arm even tighter and gently shook it, acting coquettishly towards her.

"I'm very worried about my period ending."

The blue-haired girl, who was being hugged from behind, revealed a slight smile in a blind spot where Yuzuki couldn't see her.

Jieyue thought that no matter what, she should take good care of Xiaomu first. She stroked Xiaomu's soft hair and pulled her into the kitchen.