I won't be a loser.

"But, nowadays, wise men don't care about these things anymore, right?"

"Having already published two works, I wonder if I can improve my own evaluation and pass the other party's assessment."

"Given Xianren's ability and his grades in private school, he shouldn't have any problems getting admitted, right?"

"perhaps."

He walked to the side of the girl, and his hand fell on Feng Xiaochun's slender shoulders, gently rubbing her shoulders, which were as soft as boneless. After rubbing them twice, he let go of his hand and looked at the photos that were posted all over the club room.

"I'm already in the third grade this year. By this time next year, I won't be in school anymore. What will I do with these photos then?"

"Move home."

"It's a huge workload. Instead of going through the trouble then, it's better to clean it up now, taking one down every day. By the day of graduation, I guess they'll all be cleaned up, right?"

"Stack them one by one and take them home together later."

She took out a small box from the drawer of the table, and Feng Xiaochun stood up. Her gray skirt fluttered slightly, and her legs were wrapped in white silk. She slowly walked to the wall, took down a photo of a wise man, put it in the small box, and closed the lid.

There was nothing special or ordinary in his movements, but he always felt inexplicably solemn and dignified, as if he was looking at himself - and put it into the small box. The subtle sense of sight made the wise man's expression suddenly become subtle.

"Isn't it a little bit?"

"Ok?"

"Nothing, there are probably over a hundred of these photos in total. There will only be about two hundred days until graduation next year, so that should be enough."

Watching Feng Xiaochun put the small box back into the drawer, Xianren stared at it for a while. He still had that subtle sense of déjà vu. It was inexplicably similar to when he was a child and saw his elders' shrines being placed somewhere. He felt a little strange in his heart.

At noon, I stayed with Feng Xiaochun for a while, and in the afternoon, I returned to the classroom.

During the break, he sat alone at his desk, staring at the blue sky and white clouds outside the window. When the teacher started teaching, he looked a little absent-minded. He was not very concerned about the content of the lecture. Only when he heard something interesting would he turn his attention back.

I carefully wrote down some notes in my notebook until school was over. When I packed my bag and was about to go back, a girl at the classroom door was looking into the class.

"Miyazu, the girl from the next class seems to be looking for you."

Sakamoto Yuji noticed the timid girl at the door and spoke to Xianren who was packing his school bag.

"The girl from the next class?"

Xianren was a little surprised and looked towards the door of the classroom. He didn't see the so-called girl at the back door. He looked towards the front door and noticed the girl named "Yoshida Saki". For some reason, she had returned to her previous appearance, with thick glasses and pigtails.

Under Sakamoto Yuji's loud voice, some girls in the classroom also looked towards the door. When they saw the girl standing at the door, they were stunned for a moment. They remembered that this girl didn't seem to be like this before, but she did have some relationship with Miyamizu in the class.

Kento was surprised to notice that the person standing at the door was Yoshida Saki. He paused for a moment, then quickened his pace. After packing up his things, he walked out of the classroom.

He walked to Yoshida Saki's side and looked at the girl who lowered her head when he approached. He didn't know what was wrong with her. He remembered that she wasn't like this before.

"What's matter?"

"Um, well...I have something to talk to you about... Can we go somewhere else?"

The girl lowered her head, not daring to meet Xianren's gaze, but she still spoke her words intermittently, not wanting to be stared at at the door of Xianren's class.

"I'll wait for you at the school gate."

"Ah."

After agreeing on a meeting place, Xianren left the school building first and came to the school gate. He found a less conspicuous place and waited quietly.

After about ten minutes, Yoshida Saki hurried out of the school gate, looked around, and saw Xianren standing near the wall. He trotted to Xianren's side and stopped panting.

"To a nearby coffee shop?"

".......Um."

Yoshida Saki did not refuse, and quietly followed Xianren's footsteps, walking towards a nearby coffee shop one after the other.

There are always some commercial stores near the school that meet the spending levels of students, such as the cafe that Xianren entered. The coffee there is not very expensive, only 100 or 200 yen, which is affordable even for students.

Xianren didn't know much about the quality of coffee, so it didn't matter even if it was instant. He sat down quietly and looked at the girl in front of him.

"What's the matter with you suddenly looking for me?"

There weren't many students in the coffee shop at the moment, and the place where Yoshida Saki was sitting was quite secluded. Xianren didn't like sitting in a more open area, as this would make it easier to avoid being noticed and eavesdropped on by others.

Generally speaking, you have to be a little polite, chat with the girl for a while, compliment her on something about her body to make the atmosphere relaxed, and then ask.

But the wise man thought that was too troublesome, and he didn't have any extra thoughts about the girl in front of him, so he went straight to the point.

- - - -

Thanks to Trees and Leaves, Chang Shengli, Mu Rongguang, Mu Chen, Lelouch VI Britannia, and Magical Girl Meili for their monthly tickets and blades! Thank you all for your recommendation votes!

Another year of budding: 317. A girl's attachment

"I know I shouldn't bother Miyamizu-kun with something like this, but... I don't know who to talk to anymore, so... I'm sorry, Miyamizu-kun."

The girl sitting in the coffee shop started to apologize. The wise man sitting opposite her didn't know what was going on. He just looked at the girl's apologetic face and felt a little uncomfortable. His expression relaxed a little and he looked at the girl in front of him.

"So, what happened is related to what happened at school?"

"No, ever since Miyamizu-kun helped me last time, my life at school has been peaceful... No one bullies me anymore."

"Is that what happened at home?"

She glanced at Xianren cautiously. The girl who had come to talk to Xianren was obviously a girl, but now she lowered her head. Her humble attitude made Xianren, who was sitting opposite her, feel uncomfortable. He pursed his lips and took a sip of the coffee in front of him.

As more and more people gathered in the coffee shop, some of them noticed the two people in the corner. Looking at the girl with pigtails and then at the familiar face, some people recognized the gossip writer who was now considered "famous" on campus.

From time to time, someone glanced at the corner where the two of them were, causing the girl, who was already feeling a little confused and uneasy, to lower her head again.

"Is it your parents' fault? Did the previous changes make your parents uncomfortable, forcing them to go back to the way they are now?"

"No, no, it's not about that. My mother supports my change, but..."

The girl lowered her head and suddenly covered her mouth with her hands. A strange sound suddenly came out of her mouth, like sobbing or gagging, and her body couldn't help but tremble.

"Your father...?"

"He was drunk and tried to do something to me... I pushed him away and ran away."

The girl in front of him was trembling, not knowing what to do, which made the wise man sitting opposite her stunned for a moment. The girl's simple words made his brain start to work continuously, thinking about the meaning of that sentence.

Even though he didn't want to think in a bad direction at all, the trembling reaction of the girl in front of him indicated that something bad had happened to her.

The girl clutched her arms tightly, and her helpless posture made Xianren fall into deep thought.

"When did this happen?"

"Three days ago... I ran away from home and hid at my grandmother's house. Later, my mother sent my daily necessities to my grandmother's house and told me not to go back for the time being. I don't know what to do now..."

It is the girl's misfortune to encounter such a thing.

The wise man sitting in front of the girl didn't know what to do for a moment, because the other party's problem was not a simple family conflict.

"Are you living with your grandma now?"

"Ah."

"Not going back?"

"I... don't want to go back now... and I don't know how to face it if I go back."

Yoshida Saki's answer was normal, and Kento also understood the girl's current situation, but he didn't know what to do if he wanted to help the girl get out of this shadow.

After finishing the coffee in front of him, he stood up.

"Let's go and explore some other places. There are too many people here, and it's not appropriate to stay here any longer."

"......"

Yoshida Saki looked at Xianren who stood up, and quietly stood up with him.

After paying for two cups of coffee, the two walked from the coffee shop to the nearby Lichuan Park and sat down on a park bench.

The girl looked at the boy who sat down on the bench, and was silent for a moment. She also slowly sat down at the other end of the bench, but kept a distance from the wise man. Watching the girl's movements, he looked at her, then stood up and moved closer to her, and then sat down again.

"That's it. We're too far away for me to hear clearly what you're saying."

He gently tapped his left ear, revealing a small hearing aid under his long hair. The girl couldn't help but open her eyes wide and look at Xianren in surprise.

"Miyamizu-kun? Why... is...?"

"Didn't you take a break from school a while ago? Something happened back then, and I was resting in the hospital. The doctor said there seemed to be a problem with my left ear, and the sounds I could hear had become much quieter, so I started using this."

"Are you alright?"

The girl, who was originally in a low mood, was now worried about the wise man beside her.

"It's no problem. Actually, it doesn't matter if I don't wear a hearing aid. I can still hear normally with my right ear, and it doesn't affect my daily life that much. It's been about half a year now, and I'm completely used to this special condition."

He did care about it at first, but now that he found that no one else noticed, and his life really wasn't affected at all, Xianren himself suddenly let it go.

"Let's talk about your situation. What are you going to do now? Are you going to completely cut ties with your parents and stop associating with those two people? Or do you want to resolve this matter and make your father pay the price for his wrongdoings?"

"I have no idea."

She lowered her head again. Yoshida Saki had no opinion of her own and was born with a weak character, so she couldn't give her own answer.

"You don't want to see him anymore?"

"......"

The girl couldn't help but bite her lips when she saw the drunken, ugly and terrifying face of her once gentle father under the light that night. She couldn't help but clasp her hands in front of her, holding her arms tightly with both hands. In the cool spring afternoon, she felt the chill of winter.

The beautiful memories and pictures were shattered, leaving behind fragments on the ground that could cut her. She no longer wanted to go back to that home, which should have been a safe haven, but now it was like a devil's cave.

"If you decide you don't want to go back, then use legal means to protect yourself and completely sever ties with your father. But be prepared to face some rumors as well."

Yoshida Saki fell silent. She couldn't do such a thing, nor did she have the courage to do so.

"Also, we can reach an agreement with the other party privately to confirm the relationship between the two parties and avoid any trouble in the future."

"protocol?"

"If this matter gets out, your father will probably also face social demise. Therefore, we can privately determine the needs of both parties and reach a mutually satisfactory agreement."

In the park, I chatted with Yoshida Saki about her family affairs. The wise man sitting next to her also gave her a lot of advice after experiencing misfortune. But as night gradually fell, Yoshida Saki looked at the boy in front of him, bit his lip, and said something that made him feel astonished.

"I don't want to go back."

"Don't you live at your grandma's house?"

"Yes, but even though I live at my grandma's house, I wake up every night, as if when I open my eyes, I can see that face, standing quietly by my bed... When I come home from school, it feels like he's standing at the door, quietly waiting for me..."

The psychological trauma left by the incident on Yoshida Saki is obviously not easy to heal. Even after three days, the girl still has not woken up from the nightmare.

I want to speak up to comfort the other person, but I know deep down that this won't give the other person any sense of security.

Perhaps, on that day, when she encountered such a thing, she had completely lost her so-called sense of security. The wise man sitting on the bench looked at the uneasy girl and the hope and expectation in her eyes, and he thought for a while.

"My apartment is not suitable for the time being. If you don't want to go back, then come with me."

He picked up his schoolbag, stood up, and threw the bottles and cans in his hand into the trash can. The girl next to him hurriedly stood up and followed Xianren. The two left the apartment and walked for a while before arriving at the subway station.

Yoshida Saki, who didn't know where to go, moved a little closer to Xianren in front of her, and followed Xianren into the subway. While avoiding the crowd, her body inadvertently pressed against Xianren's back.

"Smells so good..."

The pleasant smell coming towards her made the girl stunned for a moment, but looking at the sage walking forward, she also took a step forward, caught up with the boy walking forward, came to his side, and sat down next to the sage.

She didn't ask the wise man where she was going. Ever since the wise man helped her last time, the girl had already trusted him.

Take the Marunouchi Line from Korakuen, exit the subway station at Shin-Otsuka, and walk for a while to reach Gokokuji Station, where the "cafe" is located. It only takes about 20 minutes.

Yoshida Saki, who had been following Kento, suddenly stopped in front of a house when she saw Kento come to it, which made Yoshida Saki show a surprised expression.

"Miyamizu-kun, is this where you live?"

"Occasionally."

He smiled at the girl, and without pressing the doorbell, he opened the door with the key and entered the house. The wise man asked the girl to follow him in, and then led the girl to the room and casually pushed open the door of the currently empty bedroom on the 1st floor.

"There is a vacant room here for the time being, and there are beds and quilts that can be used. If you don't mind, you can stay here temporarily."

"This... is Xianren's apartment?"

It doesn't look like an apartment at all, but rather an ordinary residential house.

"Is it really possible to live here? Is it okay for someone like me...?"

"It's good to be here. Until everything is settled with you, you can live here without any worries. Besides, there are three other residents here. They should all be home by now."

He glanced towards the 2nd floor, not knowing whether the other three were at home. He asked Yoshida Saki to put her things down first and then led her to the 2nd floor.