I save a pathological girl with a twisted love story.

She cursed and told Asahi Aoi to get back home immediately, wishing she would never come out again.

Pushing the sunflower like it was a piece of trash.

Asahi looked at the sky, which had blurred into an orange-yellow hue, she couldn't help but think to herself.

"I hate the night."

Looking at the clear, mirror-like sky, I felt a sense of relief.

"It's good that Xia Wuzhao doesn't know what's going on here."

-----------------

When Yajima Jiro returned home, he made a point of picking up the necklace box from the passenger seat.

He pushed open the door, sat on the entryway to change into slippers, and shouted inside, "I'm home!"

Sitting on the sofa, Risa Yajima smiled disdainfully. She said to her mother, Momono Yajima, "Mom, just you wait. Watch how I drag that woman out of there."

Momono Yajima nodded silently.

Risa Yajima rubbed her face and quickly walked to the entrance.

With a smile on her face, she said to Yajima Jiro, "You are not allowed to come in!"

Jiro Yajima was taken aback, looking at Risa Yajima who had opened her arms to block him, somewhat unable to understand.

"Ok?"

He hesitated.

"Dad hasn't forgotten what he said this morning, has he?"

Risa Yajima seemed somewhat dissatisfied.

"Ah, so it's a gift." Yajima Jiro suddenly realized that this was a good opportunity.

"Look, what's this?" He took the box out.

"It's jewelry?!"

Risa Yajima was overjoyed, and she excitedly ran to hug Jiro Yajima, saying, "I love you, Daddy!"

After laughing for a while, Yajima Jiro asked, "Did you go to the izakaya to look for me today?"

Risa Yajima feigned ignorance and said, "No."

Jiro Yajima was a little disappointed. He said, "Someone called me and said you went to an izakaya."

He said righteously, "Do you know that it's dangerous for a girl to go to an izakaya?"

"Huh?" Risa Yajima feigned surprise: "Did Sato's father tell you that?"

“Let’s talk about your lying first.” Yajima Jiro was very angry. “However, I can also tell you. Actually, I didn’t go to the izakaya at all. I met Sato’s father at a parent-teacher conference. He’s a very nice person, so when he saw that a high school student like you had gone to an izakaya, he hurriedly called me.”

“Dad, I didn’t lie on purpose.” Risa Yajima pretended to be aggrieved. “I went there to see Natsugiri Kai.”

“Natsugiri Kai?” Yajima Jiro suddenly realized. He thought for a moment and then said, “That child is a very good one, diligent and studious. Although his family is poor, he is very resilient.”

Risa Yajima looked at her father with some surprise.

That Xia Wuzhao was just a question she used to test whether her father had actually gone to the izakaya.

She knew nothing about Xia Wuzhao's situation, but she never expected her father to know so much about her.

After regaining his composure, Yajima Jiro asked again, "Is this true?"

“Of course it’s true!” Risa Yajima replied immediately. “He complained before that there was only one waiter at that izakaya, which made him very busy. So, I just wanted to go and help him out.”

"As for why I'm using your name, it's just because I didn't see Xia Wuzhao. So I was really scared and had to bluff that I was looking for my father."

Risa Yajima used excuses to fob off Jiro Yajima.

Jiro Yajima, however, didn't seem to notice anything amiss. He said, "Sato's father mentioned this to me. But you really shouldn't help him. After all, it's really strange for a boy to need your help."

He comforted Risa Yajima, who nodded.

But her gaze grew increasingly somber.

When Jiro Yajima went to take a bath, Risa Yajima went to her mother's side.

He gripped his mother's hand tightly: "Mom, that bitch really was the waitress at that izakaya."

"If Dad hadn't gone to the izakaya, how could he have known that Xia Wuzhao knew so much?"

“I deliberately used Natsugiri Kai to trick him. He must have known through Sato’s father that I didn’t know anything about izakayas. That’s why he casually said that the izakaya only had one waiter.”

Risa Yajima said through gritted teeth, "But he didn't know that I also learned through Sato that the only waitress in that izakaya was Aoi Asahi's mother."

"When I entered the izakaya, I didn't see any waiters. The customers and the owner were all acting suspiciously, so my guess was definitely correct."

She looked at Momono Yajima with a sinister expression and said, "Mom, don't worry. I will definitely avenge you. I will make everyone know that Aoi Asahi's mother is a shameless bar hostess, a despicable woman!"

Chapter 51 Fruits Called Real and False Hanging on the Branches

The next day, when Xia Wuzhao woke up and washed up, it was already around eight o'clock.

Today is a gloomy, rainy day, and everything outside the window is gray.

Xiao Ai floated around in mid-air and said, "Are we still going out today? It's already raining."

"Yes, we still need to go out."

Xia Wuzhao said, "We should go out even if it rains."

"Is it because of the promise with Aoi?" Xiao Ai said, "It's really troublesome not having a cell phone. If we had cell phones, we could send each other a message and cancel today's promise, right?"

"Even with a cell phone, Aoi Asahi will keep her promise."

Xia Wuzhao responded casually.

Xiao Ai understood immediately.

She sighed, "Aoi Asahi is such a twisted and morbid girl. She's frantically trying to maintain a facade of respectability in front of you. But she doesn't know that you've already seen through everything."

"That stubborn and sharp-tongued woman was like an exquisite shell, concealing her timid heart."

"Is that what you think?"

"Isn't that right?" Xiao Ai looked at Xia Wuzhao with doubt: "That girl only showed that attitude in front of you, wasn't it just to maintain her dignity in front of you? She likes you so much, and only wants to maintain that blooming attitude in front of you."

“I think her stubbornness is her true self,” Xia Wuzhao said. “Perhaps it’s because she’s been silent for too long, or perhaps it’s because she’s hidden herself too deeply. Even she herself has forgotten what she was originally like. It’s only when she’s out of touch with reality that she reveals that stubbornness and sharp tongue.”

Xiao Ai thought about it carefully, and realized that the sunflower really was just like that.

Only when no one is around does the sunflower truly shine.

Only when Natsugiri Kai is there does the sunflower bloom as beautifully as a flower.

But when there are people around, the sunflower turns into a gloomy one.

Xiao Ai said, "Are you saying that the gloomy demeanor is the sunflower's armor?"

Xia Wuzhao said, "That is not the armor of the sunflower, but a burden that binds the sunflower."

"Is that so?" Xiao Ai floated back and forth: "Then what kind of girl do you think Asahi Aoi is, Lady Natsugiri?"

“Just a girl whose soul is bound by gravity,” Xia Wuzhao replied casually.

After hearing Xia Wuzhao say this, Xiao Ai finally stopped talking.

She believed that Lady Natsume would make the right decision.

Because it was raining, Xia Wuzhao took an umbrella and went out.

But this umbrella wasn't Xia Wuzhao's original umbrella; it belonged to Asahi Aoi.

It's a damaged umbrella that keeps leaking water droplets.

Xia Wuzhao bought a roll of tape at a convenience store and stuck it on the transparent umbrella, barely managing to repair it.

An umbrella costs only 100 yen, but a roll of tape costs more than that.

Almost no one would choose to repair it unless it has sentimental value.

When I got on the tram, I ran into that driver again.

The driver said, "Young man, are you going to see that pretty girl again today?"

"Ah."

"She's waiting for you at that abandoned station," the driver said cheerfully. "But she left much earlier than you. You see, after making one round trip, I know how long that girl has been waiting for you at that abandoned station by the sea."

"Really?" Xia Wuzhao looked at the drizzle outside. "Then it will take quite a long time."

The driver shook his head: "As a guy, you should never waste a girl's feelings."

He sighed, looking like a seasoned veteran.

Perhaps he has also been through something.

Xia Wuzhao neither asked nor explained.

Seeing this, the driver said nothing more.

They were simply driving the tram to the abandoned seaside station, the tram rattling and swaying.

It travels along the established tracks day after day.

Xia Wuzhao asked, "Have you thought about finding a new job?"

The driver chuckled and said, "Last year marked my thirtieth year as a tram driver. Now, besides this job, there's nowhere else to accommodate someone like me who's practically beyond repair."

"Besides, this salary of mine isn't just for myself. It's for my family. If I find a new job, I won't be able to support my family."

Xia Wuzhao looked at the driver and said, "Judging from your appearance, you must have a very happy family."

"No, not at all," the driver said. "My wife is just an ordinary person, and we argue from time to time. My daughter is also an ordinary person; she used to be quite rebellious. But, after all, they are my family, and it's my responsibility to support them."

The tram creaked and swayed on the tracks, and as the two chatted idly, it finally stopped at the station by the sea.

Xia Wuzhao spotted the sunflower at first glance.

Her attire was no different from before; she still wore the white sailor uniform and black plaid skirt.

Although she was still wearing pantyhose, the color of her calves was a bit darker than the other colors.

—It's probably wet from the rain.

Even Aoi herself seemed somewhat somber, like a sculpture.

She didn't even notice Xia Wuzhao next to her.

Xia Wuzhao asked, "Have you been here for a long time?"

Asahi Aoi was startled, but after seeing that it was Natsugiri Kai, she looked unhappy and said, "No, I've only been here for ten minutes."

She retorted sarcastically, "Did you think I waited a long time? Not at all."

"Yeah."

Xia Wuzhao sat down beside her, her fingers rubbing the scratched umbrella handle.

The two of them sat under the station, watching the sea rippling with rain.

What are we going to do today?

Xia Wuzhao asked casually.

"Watching the rain."

Asahi pointed to the raindrops falling from the sky, as if explaining something: "I was originally going to go to another place to do some field picking today, but because of the rain, I'll just stay here and watch the rain."

She turned to look at Xia Wuzhao again and said unhappily, "Don't you like rainy days?"

The girl seemed like a child who wanted to share what she liked with the person she cared about most, but didn't receive any recognition.

It's like a child who is sad because they are not appreciated for sharing their precious treasure.

She said, feigning a teasing tone, "How heartbreaking, Xia Wuzhao. I even shared such precious scenery with you, and you have absolutely no sense of romance."

"Is that so?" Xia Wuzhao asked casually.

“Of course it’s fake.” Asahi Aoi smoothed her sideburns.

She seemed to be laughing as she said, "So, you're the really boring one."

She bent over, resting her cheek on her hand: "I was just bored, that's why I called you out."