Green plums cannot become lovers.

She stared at the line of text for a few seconds, then replied:

Eriri: I memorized it.

Anhe: Good luck with tomorrow's rehearsal.

Eriri: Hmm.

Anhe: By the way, in the scene on the balcony, the line you hesitated on was "Do you love me?", followed by "I know you'll say yes," remember that?

Eriri: ...I've got it.

Anhe: Okay, good night.

Eriri: Goodnight.

She put down her phone and buried her face in the pillow.

How can he remember even such details so clearly?

And why did you specifically send her a message to remind her?

She turned over, looked at the ceiling, and couldn't help but smile slightly.

—Read-Yi·Erjiuqilusanbaliu—However, it doesn't seem so bad.

Keep going tomorrow!

-

The next day after school, the rehearsal for the stage play proceeded as scheduled.

When An and Asuka entered the classroom, Eriri was already standing next to the makeshift "balcony," holding a script and muttering to herself. Her golden twin tails cascaded down her shoulders as she lowered her head, and sunlight streamed in through the window, casting a soft halo around her.

She seemed much more focused than yesterday.

An and Asuka walked over: "How are the preparations going?"

Eriri raised her head, a hint of nervousness flashing in her azure eyes, but it was quickly masked by her stubbornness.

“Of course I’m ready,” she said. “After I got back yesterday, I memorized my lines three more times, and I definitely won’t stumble again.”

"That's good."

"What kind of look is that?" Eriri glared at him. "Don't you believe me?"

“No.” An and Asuka smiled. “Then let’s begin.”

-

After rehearsals began, Eriri's performance was indeed much better than yesterday.

The first few scenes went smoothly.

Her dialogue with An and Asuka was fluent and natural, with only a couple of minor stumbles, but she quickly recovered and didn't get stuck like she did yesterday.

The girl in charge of directing put a checkmark on her notebook and smiled with satisfaction.

"Very good! Keep it up!"

Eriri secretly breathed a sigh of relief, a small sense of pride welling up inside her.

See? She's not the kind of person who gets stumped by the same question twice.

Then--

The balcony scene has begun.

An and Asuka stood on the low platform, looking up at her. The afternoon sun shone from behind him, making his silhouette exceptionally clear. His deep brown eyes were fixed on her intently, as if she were the only person left in the entire world.

Eriri stood on the chair, looking down at him.

The lines from the script flashed through her mind.

I know what I'm going to say next.

I've memorized it countless times.

I'm ready.

but--

Do you...do you love...me?

As soon as she uttered the words, she knew she had stumbled over her words again.

"I...I know..."

What were the words that followed again?

"You would say yes?"

No, it should be, "I know you'll say yes, and I believe you."

Or is it "I know you'll say yes, so I believe you"?

Eriri's mind went completely blank.

She opened her mouth, but couldn't utter the line she had memorized countless times.

An and Asuka looked at her, their eyes showing no blame, simply waiting quietly.

The students around her quieted down and focused their attention on her.

The feeling of being watched by everyone made Eriri's face turn increasingly red.

"stop."

An and Asuka called a halt.

He walked down from the low platform and said to the female director in charge, "Take a five-minute break."

"Okay." The director nodded and clapped his hands. "Everyone, take a break, we'll be back in five minutes!"

Eriri jumped off the chair, lowered her head, walked to the corner, plopped down, and buried her face in her knees.

A wave of frustration washed over me.

It was clearly memorized.

They had clearly practiced.

Clearly... Clearly, after she went back yesterday, she practiced in front of the mirror countless times, and could recite every line fluently.

But when I met those eyes, I forgot everything.

"I'm sorry everyone," she said in a muffled voice, coming from her knees and sounding somewhat indistinct.

"It's okay, Sawamura-san," a classmate came over to comfort her. "After all, it's your first time on stage, it's normal to be nervous."

"Yes, yes, you've done a great job!"

"Just practice a few more times and you'll get it!"

Eriri's classmates' words of comfort only made her feel worse.

She knew everyone meant well, but the more they did, the more she felt like she was holding everyone back.

An and Asuka walked over and sat down next to her.

Are you alright?

“No good.” Eriri said without looking up.

An and Asuka were silent for a few seconds.

"Didn't you practice well yesterday?"

“Yesterday is yesterday!” Eriri looked up, looking utterly defeated. “I don’t know what happened to me today… I was so determined to pass this time, but the moment I met your eyes, my mind went blank…”

As she spoke, her voice grew softer and softer.

An and Asuka looked at her.

Eriri turned her face away, avoiding his gaze.

“...There’s something wrong with your eyes,” she muttered softly.

"My eyes?"

"Yeah, who can stand staring at someone like that?"

An and Asuka were stunned for a moment, then couldn't help but laugh.

"why are you laughing!"

"It's nothing." He put away his smile, thought for a moment, and said, "How about this, let's shorten that line."

"Simplified?" Eriri turned her head and looked at him in confusion.

An and Asuka stood up and walked towards the director and several classmates who were in charge of the script.

"I have a suggestion: could we shorten the dialogue in the balcony scene?"

"Simplify?" The director blinked. "How do you mean simplify?"

"Simply put, 'Do you love me?'"

Everyone was stunned for a moment.

Then, someone was the first to react: "This is great!"

"Yes, that's the core issue!"

"And wouldn't it better reflect Juliet's feelings at the time? Asking directly would actually be more impactful!"

"Yes, yes, yes!"

The discussion grew increasingly heated, with everyone agreeing that it was a good idea.

Eriri stood frozen in place, her cheeks flushing red at a visible speed.

Do you love me?

Just... just this one sentence?

How should she respond?

Are An and Asuka going to say "I love you"?

The scene flashed through her mind—he stood under the balcony, looking up at her, his deep brown eyes fixed intently on her, and then he said—

stop stop stop!

Eriri shook her head violently, trying to shake that image out of her mind.

But the temperature of her cheeks didn't drop; instead, it went up even higher.

"Sawamura-san?" someone called her. "What do you think?"

"Huh?" Eriri snapped out of her daze, met everyone's expectant gazes, and opened her mouth, "I...I..."

“She agreed,” An and Asuka answered for her.

"I didn't—"

"It's settled then!" the director declared decisively. "Let's give it a try!"

Eriri glared at Anwa and Asuka.

An and Asuka shrugged innocently.

-

After a five-minute break, rehearsals resumed.

It's time for another balcony scene.

An and Asuka stood back on the low platform, looking up at her.

Eriri stood on the chair and took a deep breath.

This time, there was only one line.

There is only one sentence.

She can.

An and Asuka spoke, reciting Romeo's lines: