I'm in a real religion, why are all the people who confess to me girls?

"Rin, let's go check that out over there? Everyone seems to be watching something; it might be interesting!"

At this point, Horikita Manabu had completely lost the aloof and unapproachable image he would have as an adult; instead, he was showing signs of developing into a hot-blooded, idiotic, and somewhat immature character.

When did he start to become like that?

Horikita Suzune has completely forgotten everything.

"Okay."

Anyway, what's meant to happen will happen. Horikita Suzune followed Horikita Manabu and squeezed into the crowd from the outermost circle. Along the way, she bumped into many people, but Horikita Manabu obviously had no intention of apologizing. He just kept pulling her to squeeze in.

However, the people who were hit didn't argue with them too much after seeing that they were two children. Everyone was talking about something, mostly about the chess game.

So even before she squeezed in, Horikita Suzune knew what was inside. She finally remembered what she had done that day, and... why this day was so important to her.

In the very center of the crowd, a girl who looked only five or six years old was playing chess with an old man. Judging from the pieces on the board, it was Go. A five or six-year-old girl playing Go with an old man, and both of them knowing how to play Go, the five or six-year-old girl could not possibly have the same level of experience as the old man.

Even if she had only studied a few more sets of chess scores, her chess skills would be far superior to those of a little girl.

But at this moment, sweat kept pouring out of the old man's forehead. Even when he wiped it away with a tissue, it quickly covered his forehead again. It was not hard to see that the old man was no match for the little girl.

Without even thinking, Horikita Suzune knew that the old man had probably encountered a monster of the genius type.

"You lost."

A cold yet familiar voice rang out.

Horikita Suzune abruptly raised her head to look at the source of the sound.

The little girl holding the white lettering seemed to realize that someone was watching her, and their eyes met for the first time.

"How is this possible..."

Horikita Suzune's eyes widened in surprise.

Even though she still looks quite young, there's no doubt that she's Tianyin.

Only Tianyin could make her feel this familiar feeling.

But... why did Tianyin also become like this, and even appear in her dream? Why is she playing chess here?

Tianyin frowned. She hated making eye contact with stupid people, as it would infect her with their stupidity. The little girl looked quite cute, but her mouth was wide open. You really can't judge a book by its cover.

"Oh dear, oh dear, this old man has really lost this time. A bet is a bet, so all the canned beef is yours."

"grateful."

As the old man took out various canned goods from the plastic bag, Tianyin expressionlessly accepted them and set them aside.

The open space next to them was now filled with various packaged portable food and drinking water. Why was Tianyin collecting these things?

"It looks interesting, I want to try it too."

Before Horikita Suzune could gather all the information, Horikita Manabu had already darted out and arrived in front of Amane.

Facing a boy much taller than herself, Tianyin remained as calm and composed as ever.

"Hello, my name is Horikita Manabu, and this is my younger sister, Horikita Suzune. I'd like to play a game of Go with you."

"This isn't something you can just play casually; it's a gamble, and if you lose, you'll have to pay a price."

"What price do you want? I don't have any canned beef here..."

Horikita Manabu scratched his head in annoyance. If the rule of the game required a can of beef, that would be troublesome. He should have asked his parents to buy him a few cans.

"The rules are simple: if you win, you can take anything you want from here, including this."

Tianyin pulled out a plastic bucket from under the chessboard. It was full of shiny little stones, which looked like they had been washed by the sea and were now strangely shaped. They seemed to have been carefully selected and engraved with animal patterns.

Although it wasn't a particularly valuable item, it looked very nice. Horikita Manabu glanced back at Horikita Suzune and made his decision.

"What if I lose?"

"Anything that can be eaten or drunk cannot be instant noodles or other foods that require secondary processing with water. It can be snacks, pastries, or puffed foods, and even mineral water is fine."

Horikita glanced at the dozen or so bottles of mineral water piled up to the side and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. If these were all spoils of war... then she might actually have some skill.

Horikita Manabu took two chocolates from the bag that Horikita Suzune was holding and placed them on the chessboard.

"Is chocolate okay?"

"of course can."

You could tell that Tianyin's tone was tinged with joy. It seems that whether she was a child or an adult, Tianyin has no resistance to sweet things.

However... Amane probably won't be able to take the chocolate, right? In her memory, Horikita Manabu was known as a child prodigy when he was young. Although he rarely showed his skills outside, he was quite good at Go. At least Horikita Suzune had never beaten him.

When Tianyin meets her brother... and Tianyin is so young, she might lose.

However, the result was a huge surprise to Horikita Suzune.

Amane seemed to transform into a different person in order to get the chocolate, defeating Horikita Manabu in a hundred moves. In the second game, Horikita Manabu, who was not in good form, was defeated by Amane in just twenty-one moves.

It was completely different from what she had imagined; it was a one-sided massacre, but... that couldn't be.

She remembered that apart from that one time when Tianyin played checkers and used her 'King' to utterly defeat her, Tianyin seemed to have never beaten her in any other game of chess. How could she be so good at it?

Besides... if she had met Tianyin when she was a child, how could she not remember Tianyin's name? Dreams are indeed unreliable.

Even such a bizarre event could be pieced together based on her memory.

Tianyin got the chocolate as she wished. She wanted to tear open the packaging and enjoy it right away, but after hesitating for a moment, she carefully put the chocolate into her pocket.

"Want to play a round too?"

Amane took the initiative to speak and asked Horikita Suzune.

She had just seen Horikita Manabu take the chocolate out of her bag; if she won a few more games...

"Then let me give it a try."

Horikita Suzune guessed Amane's thoughts from her longing gaze, but she didn't mind. Only under such circumstances would Amane seriously fight her.

"Lingyin, be careful, she's really good at chess."

"No problem, leave it to me."

Horikita Suzune was quite confident in her Go skills, but unlike others, she often participated in Go competitions at school.

The number of awards she has received is almost equal to the number of awards she has won for her academic achievements. With rich practical experience, Horikita is confident that even her brother cannot beat her in Go, not to mention that Amane has basically never won against her in Go games, so the advantage lies with her.

Having a clear understanding of Tenon's style, Horikita immediately took the black stones and then habitually began to occupy a corner. This move was specifically designed to counter Tenon's style, which likes to get entangled with opponents from the start.

But after making several moves, Horikita Suzune couldn't help but let out a "Huh?"

The Amane before her had an incredibly serious expression, and her playing style was completely different from the Amane she knew. Amane had chosen an opening almost identical to Horikita Suzune's, leaving Horikita Suzune somewhat at a loss. If they continued like this, they might not finish until dawn, but if she were to take the initiative to attack...

Looking at the somewhat unfamiliar Tenon, Horikita dared not take the risk. The result of his hesitation was that after Tenon quickly occupied a corner, she began to fight fiercely for the center of the board and then engaged in a fierce battle with Horikita.

Soon, Horikita was reduced to just the initial piece, but Amane relentlessly pursued her. Finally, after barely surviving a hundred moves, Horikita Suzune had no choice but to resign. This calculated and deliberate approach to the game was completely different from the familiar style she remembered. She had originally planned to bully Amane properly today, but unexpectedly, she suffered a setback.

"Is there any more chocolate?"

Having won the match, Tianyin revealed her true colors and started asking for chocolates directly.

Horikita Suzune sighed helplessly and began rummaging through her schoolbag, but no matter how hard she searched, she couldn't find any extra chocolate.

"..."

When Horikita Manabu saw Horikita Suzune's pale face, he immediately realized what was happening and quickly came over.

"I remember grabbing a handful of chocolates when I left."

Horikita Manabu's voice held a hint of doubt as he took his schoolbag and began rummaging through it.

Horikita Suzune looked at the chessboard in front of her with some frustration.

As time ticked by, Tianyin began to grow impatient.

"You're not trying to renege, are you? Fine, if you don't have chocolate, then follow the old rules: food or drinking water, you can choose one."

Tianyin waved her hand in disappointment.

Just then, Horikita Suzune seemed to remember something and took out a small pink water bottle from her schoolbag.

"There's juice in it, would you like some?"

Tianyin frowned, stared at the water glass for a long time, and finally shook her head.

"I can't take this cup with me, can I? It seems you don't have anything else to offer, so let's call it a day."

Tianyin returned to her original seat and began to wait for the next destined person.

"How can this be? We clearly agreed on the rules. You have to keep your word. Wait here for me for a moment."

After Horikita finished speaking, he shoved the schoolbag into Horikita Suzune's hand and ran off into the distance.

It was at this moment that Horikita Suzune noticed something strange.

That is... she can see Tianyin's face!!! It looks exactly like a normal person's, but apart from Tianyin, everyone else's face is blurry, even her brother's.

Why did this happen? Did I really meet Tianyin back then?

No matter how hard Horikita Suzune searched her memory, she couldn't find any name related to the words "Amane".

So what exactly went wrong?

"Hello, your chess skills are very impressive. May I ask your name?"

It was just a simple question, yet it seemed to stump Tianyin.

“My name is… Ling, you can just call me Aya.”

Aya...

Now all the mysteries were solved. It turned out that the guy had never told her his real name. No wonder she couldn't remember knowing a girl named Tianyin a long time ago.

"I bought drinks."

Horikita Manabu ran over from a great distance, holding a drink.

When Horikita Suzune saw the familiar canned packaging, her eyes widened. If she could mistake other things, she absolutely, positively could not mistake this.

Isn't this tomato juice?

Could it be... my brother?

"Drinks count too."

Without the surprise of chocolate, Amane's tone became much flatter. Just then, Horikita Manabu placed another jar in front of Amane.

"What? Are you coming again?"

Amane glanced at Horikita Manabu; from the previous two rounds, she could already tell that this person was no match for her at all.

"No, no, this is just for you to quench your thirst. You must have been playing chess here since this morning, right? Have some drinks. Consider this a gift from me."

Tianyin looked at the drink in front of her, somewhat tempted, hesitated for a moment, and then put it away.

"I'm not backing down."

Tianyin pulled the tab with some effort and then gulped down the drink.

She looked like she had been thirsty for a long time, but even after being thirsty for so long, Tianyin still showed a disgusted expression after drinking the tomato juice.

"What is this? It tastes awful."

Amane threw the remaining third of the tomato juice on the ground, which shows how much of an impact the taste had on her. Horikita Manabu, who was next to her, also took two sips and couldn't drink any more. Ya bought a few cans from the vending machine, but he didn't expect them to taste so bad.

???

Amane actually finds tomato juice unpleasant? Why would this happen? Doesn't Amane love tomato juice? Could it be that this person isn't Amane? Impossible. Although the person in front of me calls herself Aya, I, Horikita Suzune, am absolutely certain that she is Amane.

How did it turn out like this?

"If I remember correctly, your name is Horikita Suzune, right? Are you not feeling well? You don't look too good. If you're not feeling well, you should go back and rest before the fireworks show starts, it might be very noisy then."

"Thanks for reminding me, but I don't think there's anything seriously wrong with my body, just some things that bother me... Brother, let's go back."

"Oh? Okay, then this one..."

"Just call me Aya, I can't reveal my surname."

"I see. Then Lingyin, go and say goodbye to Aya."

"Goodbye, Aya. I hope we can play chess together again next time."

"goodbye……"