I save a pathological girl with a twisted love story.

Her face flushed as she laughed, her hair seeming to defy gravity.

—Soaring high.

The loafers were soaked with rainwater, and the cotton socks were also wet.

Her laughter stopped, and her smile disappeared.

She forcefully brushed aside her thick bangs and looked up at the sky.

"The sky is gray, but I don't dislike it."

Looking at the gray clouds in the sky, she squinted and guessed what the sun was hiding inside.

Aoi Asahi felt extremely relaxed.

Laughing and crying in secluded places are simply ways to vent one's emotions.

To vent the emotions that have been building up inside under layers of pressure.

After each session, it felt like I had shed a heavy backpack, and I felt incredibly relaxed.

This station is her favorite place.

On a normal day, there would be many people waiting at the station. But now it's raining, so Aoi is all alone.

She does this every time it rains.

Refresh your mood at the train station.

She is expressionless now, or rather, in her initial, blank expression.

When a person is relaxed, they have no meaningful expression.

This is Aoi's most relaxed expression, just like a dazed NPC.

The tram cut through the rain, standing out clearly in the hazy rain.

It has a hard texture.

"This tram is really annoying. If it weren't for it, I might have been able to stay here longer. This little world under the station might have lasted longer."

"But without this tram, people would probably be in a lot of trouble. It would be very inconvenient to get from the seaside to the other side without a tram."

She waited for the tram doors to open, then went up and paid the fare.

He then bent down and said to the tram driver, "Thank you."

The tram driver was a very kind middle-aged man, a local. He drove this old-fashioned tram along the tracks, and through the glass, you could see the green-painted control panel inside.

This old-fashioned tram has only one or two short carriages, each of which is like a large bus.

It wobbles when you drive it.

In fact, these are some of the few old-fashioned trams; the rest are all new trams that are fast and efficient.

But because of the occasional tourists, these old-fashioned trams, which don't make much money, continue to run.

The driver simply waved his hand; he was already used to this girl who often appeared on rainy days.

At first, I was quite startled.

I thought it was a rain woman, a yokai!

Aoi found a seat and sat down. The seats on the tram were on the sides of the carriages, with standing room in the middle.

As an old-fashioned tram, the windows on both sides can be opened.

When it's not raining, tourists who occasionally come here will sit on these trams, open the windows and watch the lush plants passing by.

When they pass by the sea, they cheer and shout as they look at the sparkling surface of the water.

Sometimes, some oddballs who like to look at the buildings in the sea will come by.

However, on normal rainy days, the windows are not opened.

Asahi opened the window a crack, and the wind rushed in, making her damp hair flutter.

It fluttered like silk or a flag.

Rain occasionally drifted in through the window and landed on her sailor uniform.

The driver glanced at Asahi Aoi, and after a while said, "Miss, the tram isn't going very fast. Jumping off won't kill you; you'll only get injured in vain."

Aoi said, "I won't jump."

The driver was skeptical. He said, "Young lady, I have a feeling you're going to jump. Please don't do that."

Aoi Asahi stopped explaining and just lowered her head, clutching her schoolbag.

A cheap, transparent umbrella leaned against the seat, water droplets trickling down its pointed tip and onto the floor. The droplets coalesced into a winding stream that flowed horizontally along the seat's frame.

Asahi simply watched the water flow freely, its direction unpredictable due to the vibrations of the car, as if it were alive.

She frowned and vigorously rubbed the water against her loafers.

It was as if it were done on purpose, like cutting the water with a knife.

Let the small streams of water disperse completely, spreading the moisture across the floor.

There is a semi-abandoned train station by the sea, which is usually deserted.

We only stop here when there are tourists.

But today there was someone standing there. The driver glanced at him and was a little surprised: "Why is there someone waiting here today?"

He stopped the tram in front of the station, and only after the other person closed his umbrella and boarded did he ask, puzzled, "Young man, why are you waiting here?"

Xia Wuzhao simply thanked her modestly, offering an excuse: "Because my home is nearby."

There are no residential areas here.

The driver looked at Xia Wuzhao with a puzzled expression, finding it rather strange.

But after following Xia Wuzhao's gaze, he couldn't help but laugh.

Ah, I see. He understood.

Once he closed the door, he stopped paying attention to the two people behind him. Both of them were high school students, and their school uniforms had the same school badges on them.

Looks like they're classmates.

What could possibly happen between a man and a woman?

Ah, youth!

Xia Wuzhao sat next to Asahi Aoi and placed her umbrella next to it.

"What are you doing?"

Asahi Aoi stared blankly at the opposite side, as if she were speaking not to Natsugiri Kai, but to the trees outside the opposite window.

"Put down the umbrella."

"Why did you put it on my umbrella? It's disgusting."

"Because this is where you leave your umbrellas."

Can you tell whose umbrella this is?

"It's just a cheap umbrella that costs 100 yen, cheaper than a carton of milk."

"But we need to be clear about what's mine."

“My umbrella is newer than yours. You should be happy to receive mine.”

"I just want my old umbrella."

Asahi Aoi spoke with absolute certainty, without the slightest wavering.

"Oh."

Xia Wuzhao simply responded calmly, her expression remaining unchanged.

"That's disgusting."

Aoi Asahi said those words once again.

Natsugiri Kai, however, ignored Asahi Aoi.

Asahi Aoi looked at Natsugiri Kai: "Aren't you going to spout those self-righteous boasts anymore?"

Xia Wuzhao said calmly, "There's no need to say those words a second time."

"Because once it's said, it will be etched in your memory." Aoi scoffed, "Is that what you're trying to say?"

"This is really boring."

Natsugiri Kai showed no emotional change in response to Asahi Aoi's words.

He casually said, "Although even girls who cry in front of me won't receive special treatment, I hate the trouble that follows, so I'll be more patient than usual."

Chapter 12 Double Opposite Luck

"So, you're admitting defeat?"

"No, I was just saying I hate trouble, not that I'm accommodating you. If you're smart enough, you'll understand that I'm actually warning you to watch your words."

"You're so arrogant, not only arrogant, but you also have bad eyesight. In your eyes, are all other girls people who cry all the time? Are they all people who will get you into trouble?"

Asahi Aoi didn't look at Natsugiri Kai, but she spoke coldly and sarcasticly.

This was quite different from her personality; when facing Xia Wuzhao, she seemed like a completely different person.

She said, "You really underestimate me."

Xia Wuzhao glanced at Asahi Aoi and chuckled lightly, "Asahi Aoi, if only you could be this sharp-tongued at school."

The expression on Aoi's face gradually disappeared. She even became somewhat depressed.

"Yeah, what's the point of me doing this? At school, I'm still that gloomy sunflower. Still that transparent sunflower, what's the use of putting on a brave face in front of Natsugiri Kai?"

"He must be laughing at me. I'm such a person at school, but in front of him I'm so sarcastic and mean."

"Perhaps that's really what he thinks."

Her fists clenched secretly, as if she were trying to grasp a thread.

It's like trying to grasp at a straw.

"But I absolutely cannot admit defeat in front of him. If I'm really no different from the girl I was at school, then wouldn't I just be that boring and gloomy girl?"

"School is just a place to learn. Is it really that important to get along well with your classmates?"

She said in a tone that seemed indifferent, yet subtly revealed a hint of resentment, "I just need to study hard. As for what those people think of me, I don't care at all, because I'm a good student. Our futures are different."

As she spoke, it was as if she were declaring something, or perhaps admonishing herself.

The driver couldn't help but say, "Young lady, this won't do. High school life is a very important part. After all, it's your youth. Youth is rosy, something you can reminisce about in the mundane life that follows."

“I prefer gray,” Aoi replied immediately, as if refuting the driver’s words.

Faced with such a retort, the driver could only shake his head helplessly.

He wouldn't argue with a little girl; he'd seen plenty of high school students struggling with their anxieties and worries.

Not to mention, I also have a high school daughter at home. Every day is truly a worry, and I only have a little peace and quiet when I'm driving.

Xia Wuzhao casually said, "Youth is like a painkiller; you'll find it works really well when you're in despair."

"Despair? My despair is far heavier than you know."

She suddenly felt a sense of pride and self-satisfaction.

It seemed that her mother's treatment gave her the leverage to start a conversation.

This allowed her to outshine Xia Wuzhao in the conversation for the first time.

She raised her voice: "Xia Wuzhao, you don't understand any of this. You're just spouting nonsense here, talking about painkillers. They have absolutely no effect."

"Because this is my personal experience. So-called youth is gray and painful. It's about running hard under the whip and being anxious in self-blame."

She said, "So-called youth is just ordinary people's resentment at their current predicament and their regret about their youth."

"Youth is not rosy in color; only the youth we remember is rosy in color."

Aoi sneered.

She tilted her head slightly, and there was even a glint in her eyes.