Green plums cannot become lovers.

An and Asuka sat by the bed for a while before gently getting up and walking to the other bed. He turned off the light, plunging the room into darkness, with only the faint light of the city outside filtering through the curtains.

He stared at the ceiling, the words of Matsue Sakura echoing in his mind. So that's what lay behind all that quiet attention, that deliberate preparation, that long and arduous effort—such a profound sentiment.

"Thank you, teacher," he whispered in the darkness.

Outside the window, the Tokyo night continued. Cars flowed like a river of light, and skyscrapers twinkled like a sea of ​​stars. In this vast city, the connections between people were sometimes as fragile as spider silk, and sometimes as strong as steel cables.

Volume 1: Chapter 192 Spring Day

Night slowly settled in the hotel room, enveloping everything in soft darkness. Songyue Ying opened her eyes, quietly listening to the even, gentle breathing coming from the other bed.

She was indeed somewhat drunk—the aftereffects of the sake quietly surfaced in the silence, making her consciousness feel as if it were floating in warm water, but not completely unconscious.

From the restaurant to the hotel, from the lobby to the room, she clearly knew everything about the boy's every move—his worried tone when asking for the address, his careful restraint when taking off her coat and shoes.

He was still a very gentle boy, and Matsue Sakura smiled silently in the darkness.

Three years have changed a lot—he's grown taller, his face has lost its childishness, his voice has become more mature, and he now possesses the radiance of "Flying Bird" when he stands on stage. But the gentleness and thoughtfulness in his bones are no different from the boy who made tea for her in the music classroom and listened attentively to her explanation of music theory back then.

She turned her head, using the faint light filtering in from the window to look at the other bed. The boy's silhouette was blurred and soft in the dim light, the blanket rising and falling slightly with his breathing. Songyue Ying stared at him quietly for a long time, until her eyes began to sting, before gently turning her head back to look at the ceiling.

This time, we won't be apart again.

She repeated the sentence to herself.

Age won't matter—she's no longer his teacher, but a partner who can walk side by side; distance won't matter—they'll be working at the same company and seeing each other every day; time won't matter—this time, she'll cherish this renewed connection.

"Birds..."

She uttered the name softly, her voice barely audible in the silence.

In the darkness, a complex and gentle light flickered in Songyue Ying's eyes—there was relief, expectation, pride as a teacher witnessing the growth of her students, the touching feeling of being treated gently as a woman, and a deeper tenderness that she herself did not want to delve into.

But for now, that's enough. To be by his side again, to be a part of his life in a new capacity, to be able to support him when he needs it—that's enough.

She closed her eyes, letting sleepiness envelop her once more. This time, she truly drifted peacefully into a dream.

In April, the cherry blossom season in Tokyo was coming to an end.

The last petals on the roadside trees danced their final dance in the spring breeze, while the vibrant green of new leaves covered the branches with unprecedented vitality. The new school year began in this atmosphere of renewal.

In the lobby of Toyonosaki Academy, the class assignments for the new school year were posted. Students gathered in front of the bulletin board, searching for their names and classes. An and Asuka, along with the three girls, stood on the outskirts of the crowd, waiting for it to thin out before looking.

"I'm so nervous..." Marina grabbed Shizuka's arm. "I wish the four of us could be in the same class."

"It's unlikely," Shizuka said gently. "Each class has thirty students, and there are over two hundred first-year students in the whole school. The odds of all four of them being grouped together are..."

"Stop calculating!" Marina covered her mouth. "Let me keep a sliver of hope!"

Xiao Ai tiptoed and looked around: "It seems like there are fewer people now, let's go take a look."

The four of them crowded in front of the notice board and started searching from Class A. Marina's name appeared first—"Class A, Marina Kirasaka".

Next up are Shizuka and Ai, who are also in Class A.

"Great! The three of us are together!" Marina cheered.

Anwa Asuka continued searching for her name. In the middle of the Class B list, the four characters "Anwa Asuka" caught her eye.

"I'm in Class B."

"Eh—!" Marina's face immediately fell. "How could this happen!"

Shizuka patted her shoulder reassuringly: "It's okay, Class A and Class B's classrooms are right next to each other, we can meet anytime."

"That's true..." Marina muttered, "but then I can't pass notes with Asuka during class..."

Xiao Ai, on the other hand, was quite optimistic: "We can chat together during breaks! And lunch break is so long!"

An and Asuka continued browsing the list of Class B, and then saw two familiar names: "Sawamura Spencer Eriri" and "Kato Megumi".

It wasn't surprising that Eriri was in Class B—she was originally an art student, so the possibility of her being in the same class as him was always high.

But Kato Megumi... An and Asuka recalled their chance encounter on Detective Hill a month ago, remembering the quiet girl who always sat in the front row with a barely noticeable presence. Now they were going to be classmates again, and if the seating arrangement didn't change much, they would likely still be sitting at adjacent desks.

After the class assignments were finalized, the four of them went to their new classes. When An and Asuka entered the classroom for Class 1-B, there were already quite a few people sitting inside. His gaze swept across the classroom and quickly found Kato Megumi in the fourth row by the window—she was sitting quietly, with a notebook open in front of her, twirling a pen in her hand, and looking out at the cherry blossom petals falling.

Eriri, meanwhile, was sitting on the other side of the classroom, towards the back, chatting animatedly with a girl who also seemed interested in art. When she saw An and Asuka enter, Eriri's eyes visibly lit up, but she quickly turned her face away, pretending not to see them—a typical Eriri-style tsundere reaction.

An and Asuka walked to the empty seat behind Kato Megumi. As they sat down, the girl in the row in front seemed to notice them and turned around. When she saw him, Kato Megumi's eyes widened slightly—that familiar expression, tinged with a hint of surprise.

"Anhe," she greeted softly, "we're in the same class again."

“Hmm, and it’s back-to-back desks again.” An and Asuka put down their bags. “It seems the seating arrangement this year is similar to last year.”

Kato Megumi nodded and turned away. A few seconds later, she turned back, this time holding a brand new notebook: "Anwa-kun, could I borrow a pen? Mine seems to be out of ink."

An and Asuka took a ballpoint pen from their pencil case and handed it to her. As Kato Megumi took it, her fingertips inadvertently brushed against the back of his hand, feeling its cool touch.

"Thank you," she said, then paused. "Last time on the slope, thank you Anhe for taking pictures for me. I've developed the photos, and they're very beautiful."

"You're welcome." An and Asuka shook their heads.

After a brief conversation, the school bell rang. The homeroom teacher walked into the classroom and began the first lesson of the new school year. During breaks in the lesson, An and Asuka's gaze would occasionally drift to the back of Kato Megumi in the front row.

She listened attentively in class with her back straight, taking notes carefully but slowly, occasionally pausing to think for a few seconds.

When the bell rang, Kato Megumi closed her notebook, turned around, and handed the pen back to Anwa Asuka: "Thank you."

"You're welcome." An and Asuka took the pen. "Kato-kun, where do you usually eat your lunch?"

This question seemed to give Kato Megumi some thought.

She blinked. "Usually on the rooftop, or on the benches in the courtyard. What's wrong?"

"Nothing, just asking," An and Asuka said. "It's just that you're always alone, it's a bit..."

"A little lonely?" Kato Megumi finished his sentence for him, then shook her head. "No, not at all. I'm used to being alone, and sometimes being with a lot of people actually makes me feel tired."

She spoke frankly, without any self-pity or bravado.

Looking into her calm eyes, An and Asuka suddenly understood—Kato Megumi's "alone, like a ghost wife" wasn't forced loneliness, but a lifestyle she actively chose. She enjoyed this quiet, enjoyed the freedom of not being noticed.

"I see." He thought for a moment and said, "But if you sometimes want to eat with someone, you can come find us. Marina and the others are in Class A, and we usually have lunch under the cherry blossom tree behind the school building."

Kato Megumi nodded: "Thank you for the invitation. If there's a chance..."

She neither said "yes" nor "no," but simply left open the possibility. This is Kato Megumi's style—neither rejecting nor readily promising, letting everything take its natural course.

Over the next few days, An and Asuka interacted more with Kato Megumi. Sometimes they would borrow notes, sometimes they would discuss class questions, and sometimes it was just a simple greeting.

An and Asuka found that talking to Kato Megumi was a very comfortable experience—she was always calm, expressed her views logically and clearly, and rarely showed personal emotions. Like a calm lake, she could clearly reflect the content of the conversation without stirring up unnecessary ripples.

What surprised him even more was Kato Megumi's keen observation skills. One afternoon during lunch break, as An and Asuka were casually sketching character sketches for "Ember Knight" in their notebooks, Kato Megumi turned around, looked at them for a few seconds, and whispered, "Is this a character from An's new game? It's very well designed."

An and Asuka looked up in surprise: "How did you know it was a new game?"

“Because it’s different from the style of ‘Where the Stars Fly’,” Kato Megumi said. “And Anwa was very focused when he drew it, as if he was conceiving something important.”

“I really like it.” Kato Megumi nodded and said, “The music and the story are both great. I especially liked the monologue at the end about ‘the meaning is in the process of pursuing it’.”

This was the second time she had mentioned liking that monologue. Looking at her calm profile, An and Asuka suddenly realized that this often-overlooked girl might have a richer inner world than she appeared.

The next day after class, as Anwa and Asuka were packing their bags, a sheet of music slipped out of their folder and floated to Kato Megumi's feet. She picked it up and glanced at it: "Is this Anwa-kun's new piece?"

"Yes, it's still being revised."

"I see. Then I'm really looking forward to Anwa's new song."

The girl rarely showed even a slight smile, and she seemed to really like it.

As the new semester began, time in the activity room gradually returned to its usual rhythm. Sunlight streamed through the blinds, cutting strips of light and shadow across the long table, while the air was filled with the faint scent of old book pages mixed with new paint.

More than half a year has passed since the completion of the previous work, "Where the Stars Are", and everyone in the club has found their own pace during this time.

Marina's manga serialization is progressing smoothly, Shizuka's new book is nearing completion, Ai's idol schedule is well-organized, and Kaori Miyazono has fully integrated into school life. Everything is moving forward steadily, like a stream that has passed through rapids and then entered a wide section of the river, the surface calm but undercurrents surging forward.

An and Asuka knew that once the development of "Ember Knight" was finished, they should start preparing for the new club project. He would occasionally catch a glimpse of Eriri's gaze at the whiteboard between drawings—where the scattered notes she had written last year when discussing "Where the Stars Go" still remained.

Everyone must be looking forward to it, looking forward to getting together again and pouring their passion into a common goal.

"Hey, I said—"

Eriri's voice suddenly broke the silence of the room, carrying obvious suppressed dissatisfaction. She put down her sketching pencil, the tip making a soft "tap" sound as it touched the paper.

On the other side of the activity room, Anwa Asuka and Marina were huddled together looking at the same sketchbook. Their shoulders were close, Marina's left hand resting naturally on Anwa Asuka's right arm, and her cheek almost touching his ear as she spoke. From Eriri's perspective, the posture was almost excessively intimate.

"At least we're still here," Eriri said, her tone a mix of helplessness and a hint of irritation she herself didn't realize. "You guys could at least tone it down a bit."

Of course she knew that the two were childhood sweethearts and had always been close. But their past closeness was an open and honest kind, without any ambiguity, as clear and transparent as a stream under the sunlight.

But recently—especially after the start of the new semester—something else has entered their closeness. There are subtle, barely perceptible touches, moments of eye contact that linger for half a second, and smiles that only they understand.

And now, in the club room, with others present, they were so intimately close together without any hesitation. Marina's warm breath almost brushed against An and Asuka's neck as she spoke, and An and Asuka's slightly tilted head to listen conveyed a sense of complete trust and relaxation.

Marina looked up at the sound, a smile still lingering on her face. She blinked, as if only then realizing what Eriri was saying, and slowly released her hands from An and Asuka's.

“Hehehe,” she scratched her hair, her signature silly grin showing no remorse, “I hope you’re not laughing at me.”

"You bastard!"

Looking at Marina's smug expression, Eriri felt a surge of inexplicable anger. That smile was too bright, too satisfied, too... blinding. She gripped her pen tightly, her knuckles turning slightly white, and finally couldn't help but ask the question that had been lingering in her mind for so long:

"Is your relationship... a little too good lately?"

"Really?" Marina tilted her head, looking innocent and naive, but her eyes gleamed with cunning.

"What do you think?" Eriri almost rolled her eyes.

Marina exchanged a glance with An and Asuka, then turned back to Eriri, a bright, almost dazzling smile spreading across her lips:

"Hehe, then that must mean—we're already together with Asuka, right?"

"what?"

Eriri froze. The short syllable escaped her lips, so soft it was almost inaudible.

The activity room suddenly fell silent. Kasumigaoka Utaha's hand, which was arranging the pages of her book, froze in mid-air. Even the sound of the wind blowing through the treetops outside the window became exceptionally clear.

The sunlight continued to move slowly, illuminating every speck of dust in the air. Within that luminous dust, Marina's smile was bright and serene, while An and Asuka's expressions were calm and gentle.

Everything is the same as before.

But everything is different now.

Volume 1: Chapter 193 The Boy's Past

The air in the activity room seemed to freeze.

After Marina's lighthearted words fell, an eerie silence descended upon the entire space. The wind outside the window stopped, and even the light and shadow seemed frozen in the gaps of the blinds, no longer moving.

Time seemed to stretch out, each second so heavy that I could hear my own heartbeat.

After what seemed like an eternity, Eriri finally seemed to have learned to breathe again. She slowly raised her eyes, her gaze somewhat unfocused as she looked at Marina, then at An and Asuka, and finally back at Marina's face.

Her lips moved, producing a dry, involuntary sound:

When did this happen?

Her thoughts were still struggling to process. The boy and girl were childhood sweethearts, so their close relationship was only natural. She had long known that one day they might go from friends to lovers—it was almost a predetermined ending, just a matter of time.

But when the truth was actually presented to her, she was still caught off guard and shocked. It was like walking on a familiar road and suddenly missing a step, her heart plummeting.

“It happened in winter,” Marina replied, her voice still carrying a lingering smile. Her amber eyes curved into crescents, and she radiated the unique glow of a girl in love.

“Winter…” Eriri murmured repeatedly.

It's April now, which means it's been a full four months. For four months, she'd been completely oblivious. Meeting them every day in the activity room, watching their natural interactions and occasional closeness, she simply assumed it was the usual intimacy between childhood sweethearts.

It turns out that beneath that intimacy, different emotions had already taken root.

"Yeah, what's wrong?" Marina tilted her head, seemingly confused by Eriri's reaction.

"No, it's nothing." Eriri quickly shook her head, trying to calm herself down. "I was just curious."

Even so, her gaze unconsciously drifted towards An and Asuka. The boy sat there quietly, his face displaying its usual calm expression—no panic, no embarrassment, only a serene acceptance of reality. The afternoon sun fell precisely on his profile, outlining his defined jawline, his eyelashes casting soft shadows beneath his eyes.

Eriri felt a sudden pang of pain in her heart.

From that rainy day they met, this boy slowly but surely entered her world. His musical talent, his keen insight into game creation, the earnest look in his eyes when he spoke, and the maturity and gentleness beyond his years in his interactions with others—little by little, like spring rain seeping into the soil, he silently nurtured a kind of emotion she had never felt before.

She once thought there was plenty of time. Once they were more familiar with each other's club activities, once their collaborative game projects progressed, once she could stand more naturally beside him instead of always using arrogance to mask her nervousness—then perhaps she could muster the courage to say something.

But now, this "maybe" seems to be ending before it even began.

"What did Marina mean by 'we' just now?"

A cool female voice broke Eriri's turbulent thoughts. Kasumigaoka Utaha had closed her book at some point, her wine-red eyes sharply scanning everyone in the activity room. As she spoke, she leaned slightly forward, her long hair cascading over her shoulders, exuding the aura of a detective scrutinizing a witness.