Green plums cannot become lovers.

"Flying Bird? You're here."

The two turned around at the same time and saw Akane Akasaka walking towards them. She was holding a glass of champagne, walking with an elegant gait, and wearing a perfectly appropriate social smile, but there was a hint of fatigue in her eyes—clearly, socializing was not something she enjoyed.

As she approached, Akane Akasaka's gaze lingered on Eriri for a moment before she quickly recognized the young lady of the Sawamura family. She gave a professional, friendly smile: "Good evening, Miss Sawamura. Your mother was just looking for you; it seems she has something to discuss."

Eriri immediately regained her composure as a young lady and bowed politely: "Good evening, Ms. Kousaka. I'll be right there."

She glanced at An and Asuka again, her eyes filled with complex emotions—unspoken words, unresolved questions, and a hint of lingering affection that she herself didn't even realize. But she said nothing, only nodded slightly, then turned and walked towards the hall, lifting her skirt.

Under the moonlight, her departing figure stretched long in the corridor, her long golden hair swaying gently with each step, like flowing honey.

After her figure disappeared behind the archway, Akane Akasaka turned to Asuka An and said with a half-smile, "You certainly know how to find a quiet place, and you even ran into the eldest daughter of the Sawamura family."

"We met by chance," An and Asuka replied simply, then asked, "Are you going back?"

"It's still early." Akane Akasaka sighed, rubbing her temples, a gesture that betrayed her true condition. "There are still a few groups of people to greet Grandma Tendo, it'll probably take at least another half hour. But you can rest a little longer, and come find me in the rest room on the east side in half an hour, we'll sneak away from there."

She paused, then looked An and Asuka up and down, before suddenly laughing: "But seriously, bringing you here tonight was the right decision. Do you know how many people secretly asked me which family's young master you are? Even the president of Shinazugawa was impressed by you."

An and Asuka shook their heads helplessly: "Sister Zhu Yin, please stop joking with me."

“Who’s joking?” Akane Akasaka said seriously, but her eyes gleamed with slyness. “Even Grandma Tendo was secretly praising you tonight. She said you have more poise and manners than many of the scions of noble families she’s met, and you’re also sincere.”

These words silenced An and Asuka. He looked toward the hall, where he could see figures moving through the glass windows and hear faint noises—a world he had always thought he would never set foot in.

“Asuka.” Akane’s voice suddenly softened. She walked to his side and stood beside him, looking at the night view of the courtyard. “I know you don’t like these kinds of occasions, and you might even find them fake. But sometimes, people need to learn to navigate between different worlds. You have talent and dreams, and you will definitely reach greater heights in the future. It’s not a bad thing to adapt to these rules and occasions sooner rather than later.”

An and Asuka listened quietly, offering no rebuttal. He knew Akane Akasaka was right, but...

"Sister Zhu Yin, what if I get lost one day?"

He spoke softly, his voice light yet clear in the night breeze.

“You won’t.” Akane patted his shoulder, her tone resolute. “Because you have something more important than these superficial things in your heart—your music, your friends, the people you cherish. These are your anchors, ensuring you won’t lose your way no matter where you go.”

She paused, then laughed again: "Alright, enough of this deep talk. Let's go, help me deal with the last few groups of people, then we'll find a chance to slip away. I also asked the driver to buy some oden from that famous oden shop nearby, we can eat it on the way back."

This suggestion made An and Asuka smile: "Okay."

The banquet finally came to a close around 10:30 p.m. Guests left one after another, and luxury cars drove away from the manor one after another, their taillights forming a flowing ribbon of light in the night.

An and Asuka quietly left through the side door with Akane Akasaka, without disturbing An and Tendo who were still saying goodbye to their old friends. As they got into the car, they both breathed a sigh of relief, as if they had finally completed a difficult task.

The car slowly drove out of the manor gate. An and Asuka leaned against the window, watching the night view rushing past. The lights of Tokyo were especially dazzling at night, like an inverted starry sky.

In a room on the third floor of the manor's main building, Eriri was standing by the window, watching the black sedan gradually disappear into the end of the road through the gaps in the heavy curtains.

She was still wearing that pink dress, but had removed her makeup, and her long golden hair was casually draped over her shoulders. Her face was expressionless; she simply watched quietly until the car's taillights were completely out of sight, then gently lowered the curtain.

The main light in the room wasn't on; only a small nightlight by the bedside emitted a soft glow. Eriri walked to the desk, sat down, and opened her laptop. The screen's light illuminated her face.

She logged into Bicobico and clicked on the account she had been following for a long time—"Flying Bird." The latest post on the homepage was from three days ago, a simple piano improvisation with only two words in the caption: "Practice."

She clicked on the audio and put on her headphones.

Clear piano music flowed out, an unadorned improvisation. Some parts were slightly awkward, but the genuine emotional fluctuations could be heard. Eriri closed her eyes, and the conversation in the corridor just now floated into her mind, as did An and Asuka's natural and earnest smile when An said, "I just think Sawamura-kun has a kind of cute contrast."

Her face started to burn again, but she quickly shook her head, trying to shake off these distracting thoughts and bring her attention back to the music.

Outside the window, the Tokyo night continued. Inside the manor, servants began cleaning up the remnants of the banquet. In the distance, the faint sound of cars could be heard—the last group of guests leaving.

On this ordinary winter night, something is quietly changing. Some seeds have been sown, waiting for the right time to sprout.

Eriri doesn't know what the future holds, she doesn't know if An and Asuka are really "Asuka", and she doesn't know what the atmosphere will be like when they meet at school next Monday.

But she knew one thing—tonight's conversation in the corridor, those genuine and unpretentious exchanges, gave her a long-lost sense of ease. It was like finally being able to take off the heavy costume and breathe some real air.

This feeling... isn't bad.

She let out a soft breath, turned off the computer, and prepared to change her clothes and rest. Meanwhile, somewhere she didn't know, An and Asuka were sitting in a moving car, eating the oden box that Akane Akasaka had handed them.

He starved to death.

On Monday after school, the sunlight slanted through the windows of the school building corridor, cutting the floor into long strips of light and shadow.

The summer heat lingered, the air thick with the accumulated heat of the day, mingled with the faint scent of old books, chalk dust, and the pervasive, almost imperceptible, sweat of adolescence. Most students had already left, leaving the campus empty and quiet, save for the faint shouts from the sports department and the indistinct sounds of traffic from the distant road.

Eriri Sawamura stood at the end of the corridor on the third floor of the laboratory building, looking at the door marked "Game Development Department," her fingers unconsciously tightening around the strap of her backpack.

Today, she replaced her canvas backpack with the leather one she usually uses to school—exquisite yet understated, befitting her status as a young lady. Inside, besides textbooks and stationery, lay a club application form she had written at noon but only mustered the courage to submit after school.

Her feelings were complicated.

The conversation in the manor's long corridor on Saturday night played out in her mind like a movie on repeat. An and Feibiao's "adorable contrast," his helpless expression when he heard the "pretty boy" guess, his focused gaze when he talked about music, and that last smile that seemed particularly clear in the moonlight... all these fragments mixed together, making her restless all weekend.

She had originally planned to go to the activity room during her lunch break, but she saw An and Asuka walking side by side with a black-haired girl in the distance in the corridor. The two looked very close and seemed to be discussing something. The girl tilted her head slightly to listen, and the sight of her long hair swaying in the wind made her stop in her tracks.

However, her initial hesitation was ultimately undone by Marina's words in the art club room, which became the final force that pushed her forward:

"Asuka's game club is in a terrible state right now. He's the only one holding it together. Kasumigaoka-senpai is busy with her manuscript and doesn't have time, Shizuka is preparing a new volume, Ai's training schedule is full, and even I can't help much because of the manga competition... Sigh, he's been working so hard on the project..."

The word "alone" felt like a thorn stuck in my heart.

So now, she's standing here.

The girl wore a summer school uniform, the blue pleated skirt rising and falling slightly with her nervous breathing. The window at the end of the corridor was open, and the afternoon breeze, carrying heat, rushed in, ruffling the golden hair on her cheeks.

After hesitating for three minutes, five minutes... or even longer, Eriri finally took a deep breath, walked to the door, raised her hand, and gently knocked three times.

"Knock, knock knock."

The knocking sounded particularly clear, even a little abrupt, in the empty corridor. She subconsciously pursed her lips, waiting for a response.

A voice came quickly from inside the door, calm and clear: "Please come in."

Eriri pushed open the door.

The activity room was tidier than she had imagined, but also more...lonely. Afternoon sunlight streamed in through the west-facing window, bathing the entire room in a warm amber hue. Fine dust particles floated in the air, slowly swirling in the beams of light.

On the long table by the window lay a laptop, several thick programming books, scattered notes, and white paper covered with relationship diagrams. The whiteboard in the corner was covered with dense writing—plot points, character relationships, technical challenges—the handwriting neat and strong.

And An and Asuka sat there in the sunlight.

He was facing away from the door, intently staring at the computer screen, his fingers flying across the keyboard. He only turned around when he heard the door open.

Backlit, his silhouette was edged with a fuzzy gold, his face showing a slight bewilderment at being interrupted from his work, but the moment he saw who it was, a clear look of surprise flashed in his usually calm eyes.

"Sawamura-kun?" He stood up, the chair scraping slightly on the floor. "What brings you here?"

There was no impatience in his voice, only pure surprise. He was still wearing his school uniform shirt, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing his well-defined forearms. His dark hair was slightly disheveled, probably unconsciously fiddling with it while he was thinking.

Eriri's heart skipped a beat. She forced herself to raise her chin, adopting her usual slightly haughty posture: "What, aren't you happy to see me?"

She regretted the words as soon as they left her mouth—they sounded too provocative. But An and Asuka simply smiled, a smile that appeared exceptionally gentle in the setting sun.

“No.” He shook his head and reached out to pull out another chair next to the table. “Please sit down. Would you like something to drink? We have barley tea.”

"No need." Eriri walked over and sat down, placing her backpack on her lap. The leather surface was slightly warm from the sun, feeling real to the touch. She hesitated for a few seconds, then pulled out the beige folder from a compartment inside the backpack and handed it over.

The edges of the folder were slightly wrinkled from her gripping, and her fingerprints were clearly visible.

An and Asuka hesitated for a moment before taking the folder. He opened it, his gaze falling on the title on the first page, his expression clearly stunned. Then he looked up at Eriri, then looked down again to carefully read through the application before looking up once more.

“Sawamura-kun,” he began, his voice lower than usual, “did you decide to join because you think I’m the ‘Asuka’ you’re talking about?”

This question was so direct that Eriri almost jumped up.

"Stop being so narcissistic!" she retorted almost immediately, her cheeks flushing rapidly. "Who, who did it for that reason! I... I came to help because Marina said there was no one here, and I felt sorry for you!"

She spoke rapidly, as if trying to hide something, her bright blue eyes wide open, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

But after saying this, her momentum weakened, her voice softened, and her gaze drifted to the window:

"and......"

"And?" An and Asuka pressed, a hint of a smile playing on their lips.

Eriri bit her lower lip, her fingers unconsciously twirling a corner of her skirt. Sunlight shone on her face, revealing the fine downy hairs on her skin and her slightly trembling eyelashes.

“Besides, you’re good at music,” she finally said, her voice as soft as a whisper, yet with a resolute determination. “In that case… I think your club has potential.”

This isn't a lie; she has her own logic.

For a game project, a reliable script and music at least guarantee its core "soul." Art is certainly important, but that's something that can be meticulously crafted. And if this young man can play music, then that provides the complete framework.

For the rest, such as art, programming, project management... she believed she could always find a way.

No, it should be said that after she joined, at least the art side of the business was secured. It wasn't just that her comment of "cute" that night that made her happy that she chose to join.

In any case, this seemingly whimsical club might actually achieve something great.

The thought made her heart race, not with nervousness, but with a long-lost excitement and anticipation for creating.

An and Asuka looked at her quietly for a few seconds, then smiled. Not a social smile, but a genuinely relaxed, warm smile. The sunlight from the window fell into his eyes, causing gentle ripples to appear in his usually calm eyes.

“Thank you so much,” he said sincerely. “But are you really sure? Game development takes a lot of time, especially concept art and character illustrations. The workload is probably much greater than you think.”

"Nonsense." Eriri immediately reverted to her usual haughty demeanor, raising her chin. "Otherwise, what would I be doing here? Just handing it over for fun?"

"Then welcome." An and Asuka extended their hands, palm up, in a formal gesture of invitation. "The Game Development Department welcomes Sawamura Eriri to the team."

Eriri looked at his outstretched hand, hesitated for a moment, and then placed her hand on it.

His hands were a size larger than hers, his palms were warm and dry, his fingers were long and strong, and he could clearly feel the thin calluses on his fingertips and the base of his thumb—marks left from long-term practice of musical instruments.

The handshake lasted only two seconds before they let go. But the feeling lingered in her heart for a long time.

"Hmph." Eriri withdrew her hand, deliberately feigning a smug look to hide her suddenly racing heart, and glanced around the activity room. "By the way, where's the others? Didn't you say there was a script and a writer?"

“Everyone’s doing their own thing.” An and Asuka sat back down in their chairs and pointed to a line of text on the whiteboard. “Kasumigaoka-senpai is working on the manuscript for the third volume of ‘Love Metronome,’ Marina is preparing the final draft for the manga competition, Shizuka is revising the outline for the new volume, and Ai has intensive training and promotion this week… But once this period is over, things will be fine, and then Senpai should be able to free up time to participate in the script meeting.”

His tone was calm, without complaint, simply stating the facts. But Eriri sensed the loneliness beneath that calmness—alone in the empty activity room, facing a massive project, studying difficult programming books one by one, building the framework bit by bit.

"They really are pitiful," she said softly, her tone unconsciously carrying genuine pity.

But soon, her eyebrows lifted, and a bright light flashed in her azure eyes, as if she had made up her mind:

"But now I'm here."

She walked to the whiteboard, picked up a marker, and turned to face An and Asuka. Sunlight shone from behind her, outlining a bright halo around her, making her long golden hair seem to glow.

"Let me stay with you."

She spoke quickly, as if afraid she would regret it. After she finished speaking, her face flushed again, but this time she didn't look away. Instead, she stubbornly stared at him, waiting for a response.

An and Asuka were stunned. He looked at her standing in the sunlight, at her slightly flushed yet stubbornly upturned face, at the light in her eyes that was a mixture of shyness, determination, and a certain tenderness, and a corner of his heart was gently touched.

After a long silence, he said softly:

"Thank you then."

A smile bloomed on his face again, warmer and more genuine than before.

For the next two days, Eriri came to the activity room after school.

On Tuesday afternoon, she brought a thick stack of sketchbooks and a graphics tablet. An and Asuka were adjusting the melody of some background music when they heard the door open. They looked up and saw her, a hint of surprise flashing in their eyes, but it quickly turned into a smile.

"I thought you'd come later," An and Asuka asked. "Is your club activity over?"

“I’m drawing there anyway, and I’m drawing here too,” Eriri said casually, placing her schoolbag on the table. “Besides, there’s free air conditioning here.”

That's true; the air conditioning in the activity room was blasting, a stark contrast to the stuffy heat of the corridor. But the real reason was that she didn't want the boy to stay there alone until dark.

She sat opposite him, opened her sketchbook, and began to refine the heroine's character design based on the written description provided by Kasumigaoka Utaha. An and Asuka, meanwhile, put their headphones back on and continued adjusting the melody of the music.

The activity room was quiet, with only the scratching of pencils on paper and the occasional soft tapping of keyboards. Sunlight gradually slanted in from the west window, changing the color from bright white-gold to warm orange-red.

After some time, Eriri looked up and rubbed her slightly sore eyes. She looked across at the other side—An and Asuka were intently staring at the computer screen, their brows slightly furrowed, their fingers hovering over the keyboard, seemingly pondering some difficult problem.

The screen was covered with dense code, and next to it lay a thick book titled "Introduction to Game and Music Engines: A Practical Guide".

He was so engrossed in watching that he didn't even notice her gaze. His profile was sharply defined in the setting sun, his eyelashes cast long shadows beneath his eyelids, and his lips were unconsciously pursed, revealing a seriousness and focus beyond his years.

Eriri suddenly remembered the way he talked about music in the corridor on Saturday night—the same focused look.

"Hey," she couldn't help but say.

It took An and Asuka two seconds to react. They looked up and took off one earphone: "Huh?"

"You...are you really learning programming?" Eriri pointed to the book, which was so thick it could be used as a murder weapon.

“Yes, someone has to do this part.” An and Asuka frankly admitted, “And for the music engine part, it’s hard to achieve the desired effect if you don’t understand the basic principles.”

The music on the computer is different from the music in real life. He was a complete novice in this area, so he had to start learning all over again.

"Don't you think...it's too difficult?" Eriri asked cautiously. She wasn't doubting his abilities, it's just that the code seemed like gibberish to her.

An and Asuka smiled, a smile that carried a reassuring power: "It's definitely difficult. But everything starts from not knowing how to do it, so just learn slowly."