I save a pathological girl with a twisted love story.

But after Natsugiri Kai really changed, Chiho realized that unease as cold as an iceberg.

Jealousy, and even something called resentment.

"Now is good. Now I can enjoy everything all to myself. The secret that Xia Wuzhao's memories haven't disappeared is something only I know."

"My relationship with Xia Wu will never change. It will always be the best and the truest."

She frowned slightly, not minding the darkness in her heart.

"What I used to do was just the ease and confidence of a strong person. Now that I'm really close to success, I'm actually a little scared and want to oppose it."

"However, I'm really lucky. I didn't succeed in doing that, so I'm able to maintain the status quo."

Chiho has no complaints about the current situation.

On the contrary, she is very satisfied with the present.

While their family life wasn't exactly happy, it wasn't exactly miserable either.

—It can only be considered average.

But it's not the worst of times; compared to suffering, it's still considered a kind of happiness.

In other aspects of my life, I am also quite fulfilled. Every day after school, I talk about mundane topics with those around me.

Whether it's doing strange things with Natsugiri Kai, Chiho feels very satisfied.

"Or, it can also be called happiness."

Chiho, lying on the bed, turned to look at Natsugiri Kai.

Her arms rested naturally on her slender waist, her fingers hanging down in front of her.

She pressed her fingers into the pristine white sheets, leaving dents, and smiled faintly: "Are you curious?"

Chiho's expression conveyed a subtle hint.

—Perhaps, I might tell you.

"Yes, I'm very curious."

Xia Wuzhao neither denied it nor made any excuses. She simply said she was curious and then looked at Chiho.

I'm not telling you.

Chiho couldn't help but chuckle, clutching her stomach and rolling around on the bed.

The creaking bed frame swayed, and her crimson hair clung to her body like a cocoon.

She watched quietly until Chiho calmed down a bit. Then, Natsugiri Kai finally asked, "Is it interesting?"

"Hmm, that's interesting."

She rolled over and sat up in bed, in an adorable duck-like position. Her legs were together in front of her, with her calves dangling to her sides.

Tilting its head and blinking.

The long eyelashes seemed to blur the light and shadow.

So Xia Wuzhao looked at the window behind her and at the bushes outside.

"The cicadas and birds are chirping quite loudly today."

"Is there?"

Slowly combing her hair, Chiho said, "I feel fine."

"It's probably because summer has arrived, so all the cicadas that were lying on the ground have come out."

"However, after thinking about it carefully, summer and cicada chirping are already inextricably linked. It would be disappointing if there were no cicada chirping."

"Ah."

Xia Wuzhao responded with a sound of agreement, and then fell silent.

Ultimately, Xia Wuzhao wasn't really a talkative person. Or rather, she didn't know how to talk about a topic.

So he fell silent.

After a long silence, he said, "If there's nothing else, I'll head back."

After saying that, he stood up and prepared to go back to the classroom.

"Hey--"

Chiho pouted and called out to Natsugiri, "My hair is all tangled up!"

"Help me with this."

He pointed to the strands of hair that were tangled together and stuck to his clothes like a cocoon.

She looked at Xia Wuzhao with confusion and distress.

After thinking about it, Xia Wuzhao had no choice but to help Chiho with this kind of thing.

Chiho was sitting with her back to Natsugiri Kai, seemingly fixing the strands of hair in front of her.

Xia Wuzhao then had to deal with the hair at the back, which was a messy, tangled mess, perhaps due to static electricity.

But when you rub it with your fingers, it is very smooth.

He carefully gathered strands of hair from the girl's back into his hands, his fingers occasionally brushing against her clothes.

You can also feel the skin underneath the sailor uniform.

Chiho, seemingly oblivious, asked, "Natsugiri, are you this quiet at home too?"

"Ah."

"Then why?"

"Because I don't like chatting."

"Heh heh, is it that you don't like it, or that you're not good at it?"

"I guess it's because I don't like it, and I'm not good at it either."

"I don't believe it," Chiho said deliberately. "If you're with someone you like, you'd want to chat all the time."

"For someone who is not good at something, no matter who they are, they are not good at it."

Xia Wuzhao calmly retorted.

"No, no, no, that's not how it is." Chiho shook her head slightly, her hair swaying from side to side.

The strands of hair held in Xia Wuzhao's hand fell away like the smoothest silk.

Xia Wuzhao sighed subtly.

"If it's not like that, then what is it?"

"If you're with someone you like, even if you're not good at chatting, they'll guide the conversation and bring up many interesting topics."

"It will keep you from getting bored, and she will always cheer you on after you give an answer. It will make you feel like you're amazing, and everything will go smoothly for you, like a gentle breeze."

Chiho counted on her fingers: "So, there's no such thing as someone who's bad at chatting. It's just that they haven't met someone who likes them yet."

"Oh." Xia Wuzhao neither denied nor admitted it.

"I think we had a very pleasant conversation."

Chiho squinted, enjoying the sunlight streaming in through the window.

The sunlight felt comfortable on Chiho's body.

Xia Wuzhao did not answer Chiho's question, but quietly tidied up Chiho's hair behind her back.

A short while later, the school bell rang.

Chiho seemed not to hear, and neither did Natsugiri Kai.

"We skipped class," Chiho reminded her.

"I know."

"It's just one class." Chiho tilted her head slightly to look outside. "I often see other people online saying that if you don't skip classes when you're young, you'll miss out on a part of your youth."

"It seems a bit like a scam."

"But what does it feel like to skip class? Many people really don't know." Chiho swayed slightly, making it very difficult for Natsumi to work.

Xia Wuzhao ignored Chiho and simply combed her hair back neatly.

"All right."

He was speaking to Chiho.

Chiho handed Natsumi a hair tie, and asked her to use it to tie her hair into a loose, low ponytail.

After dealing with these matters, Chiho turned around again: "There seem to be some strands of hair on the front of my clothes too."

She said this with distress.

Chiho's hair is very long, almost reaching her waist.

Some of the hair was broken and stuck to the clothes. The bright red hair stood out against the white sailor uniform, and if it wasn't cleaned up, it would probably look messy.

"You didn't do anything about it?"

Xia Wuzhao looked at it.

"Hehe." Chiho chuckled sheepishly.

"That smile looks a bit fake," Xia Wuzhao commented on Chiho's smile.

"How about this?"

Chiho gave a mischievous smile.

"is acceptable."

Xia Wuzhao had no choice but to start picking the strands of hair off Chiho's clothes.

—It doesn’t feel like a chore; it feels more like a reward.

To be able to touch Chiho's body, to be so close to Chiho.

—That's how it should be understood normally.

But Xia Wuzhao remained calm and simply carried out these tasks silently.

Chiho looked at Natsumi Kai in front of her, tilting her head.

"Does Natsugiri often do these kinds of things for Asahi?"

"I just combed my hair," Xia Wuzhao said calmly.

Chiho simply wore an expression that said she understood, leaving it unclear what exactly she had come to understand.

"However, I feel that this kind of thing makes my body feel a little tingly."

"How about you take a shower? Maybe it's because it's too hot."

Xia Wuzhao's answer was ordinary and utterly uninteresting.

"is it?"

Chiho hugged Natsumi's neck and snuggled close to him: "I don't think it's too hot right now. The school clinic is actually quite cool."

"Smell it, there's no sweat smell."

She said it with an innocent and naive expression.

Xia Wuzhao opened her arms.

Chiho didn't have much of a sweaty smell; instead, she had a rich, pleasant fragrance.

"You're wearing too much perfume."

Xia Wuzhao tidied up the strands of hair that were stuck to her face.

Chiho then took a comb out of her pocket and handed it to Natsumi.

And she smiled faintly.

Xia Wuzhao had no choice but to start combing Qianhui's hair.

"It's not perfume, it's my natural body scent," Chiho said with a grin.