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

Amane picked up a chocolate with a "Arisu" label on it, put it in her mouth, and immediately bit it after tasting the bitterness on her tongue.

Unlike Kiryuin Fuka, who was completely in an uproar, Amane seemed to be thoroughly enjoying herself.

"I didn't expect you to drink alcohol, Tianyin. I remember that minors aren't allowed to buy alcoholic beverages, right?"

Actually, Kiryuin Marina had just tried to stop Amane, but Amane glanced at her out of the corner of her eye. That one glance made her move a beat slower, and by the time Kiryuin Marina reacted, Amane had already started slowly chewing the chocolate.

"So why not just not buy it yourself? It's a pity, you can't feel that spiciness, so it doesn't taste like anything when you drink it."

Tianyin also couldn't taste what spiciness was like. Although spiciness should be a taste sensation, it was actually a type of pain sensation. This meant that when Tianyin ate spicy food, she could only feel a slight numbness on the tip of her tongue but couldn't describe what it was.

For a moment, both of them fell silent.

After a period of drunken rage, Kiryuin Kaede, who was standing to the side, regained her senses somewhat.

"Huh? Tianyin, how come you have two people now..."

Well, I've regained some of my senses, but not much.

"Maple Flower, your alcohol tolerance is really too low. You can't even handle one chocolate. It's really..."

Amane sighed. She had thought that since she often saw Kiryuin Fuka drinking beer, she should be able to hold her liquor better than Sakayanagi. But now it seemed that unless Sakayanagi got drunk and passed out after just one meal, Kiryuin Fuka was destined to be the worst drinker among the three.

"I'm not drunk... hiccup~ Heaven, Heavenly Sound, how could you hiccup~ out of nowhere... to... to slander someone's innocence..."

Seeing that Kiryuin Kaeda had gone from being slightly tipsy to being somewhat drunk, Amane gently tapped her head.

"Alright, alright, I know you're not drunk. While you're still a bit sober, go back to sleep."

Upon hearing that Tenon was going to send her away, Kiryuin Kaede pouted in dissatisfaction.

"I'm not going back! You've ruined my life and you still won't take me home! What a jerk! I hate Tianyin the most! Humph~"

Kiryuin Kaede's sudden display of coquettishness made Amane's eyelids twitch.

"Actually... I feel that you're not very good at acting cute, Maple..."

"I don't care, I don't care!!! I just want Tianyin to take me back! I just want it!! Otherwise, I'm not leaving."

After saying that, Kiryuin Kaede sat down on the ground like a spoiled child, occasionally swinging her long white legs.

"But I haven't finished making the chocolates yet... It's too late to change the ingredients now, so I can only make do with what I have. You have to wait until I'm done with my work. Or... how about I trouble Manager Kiryuin to take you home?"

Amane proposed a compromise-like solution, and Kiryuin Fuka tilted her head, thought for a moment, and then nodded.

"I'm fine with this. Anyway, the dormitory isn't far from here, so it won't take long. Tianyin, you can just stay here and make the chocolate at your own pace."

"Then I'll have to trouble Manager Kiryuin."

Tenon bowed slightly to the shopkeeper, Guilongyuan.

This action startled Kiryuin Marina for a moment, and she quickly shook her head.

"No need to be so polite."

Just as Kiryuin Marina grabbed Kiryuin Kaede and was about to take her back to the dormitory, Kiryuin Kaede suddenly pointed curiously to one of the chocolates on the table.

Why does this chocolate have a name on it?

"Because this is a White Day gift, otherwise why would I prepare chocolates? Maple, are you spoiled?"

"What do you mean 'broken'? But speaking of which... Valentine's Day... Tianyin, you never gave me chocolates for Valentine's Day, did you?"

Kiryuin Kaede finally understood why she felt these chocolates were so out of place. For Kiryuin Kaede, let alone White Day, no one ever gave her chocolates on Valentine's Day.

Because I'm usually even more of a loner than students like Koenji in class, I didn't even receive a friendship chocolate this year.

So much so that she even forgot that Valentine's Day existed.

"Huh? Didn't I deliver it?"

No! Absolutely not!

Seeing Kiryuin's extremely aggrieved look made Amane feel a little sorry for him, but there wasn't a good way to make amends at the moment, so Amane could only point to the liqueur-filled chocolates that had already been made on the table.

"Why don't you take a few as Valentine's Day gifts?"

"Huh? This Valentine's Day gift of yours is really perfunctory! Humph! I'll let you off this time, just give me my chocolate-covered liqueurs, the ones with my name on them... Hey! Tianyin, what's with that expression? You don't mean... you weren't even planning to give me a chocolate for White Day, did you?"

Kiryuin Kaede instinctively wanted to roll up her sleeves in anger, but after glancing at Amane's exposed arms, she silently buttoned the cuffs back up.

She was in the right, but one punch from her would have left her lying down listening to Tianyin's lecture.

"H-How could this be? I... I was planning to make you a special chocolate last, but I didn't expect you to come so early. Just wait a moment, it'll be ready soon!"

As Tianyin spoke, she quickly found a few pieces of chocolate that hadn't completely solidified on the outside and engraved the word "maple flower" on them.

They also engraved a small heart shape to indicate the 'special' nature of this chocolate.

"Look! Maple, your chocolate is different from everyone else's!!"

Kiryuin Kaede picked up the chocolate and looked at it. She noticed that it did have a heart shape on it, which made her smile.

"I knew you wouldn't forget me!"

"But wasn't Tianyin just added to your account at the last minute?"

Marina Kiryuin, who was standing to the side, couldn't help but make a comment.

Kiryuin Kaede blinked, then suddenly seemed to realize something. Just as she was about to say something, Amane swiftly grabbed a piece of chocolate and stuffed it into Kiryuin Kaede's mouth.

"Alright, Manager Kiryuin, you can take her away now."

Amane clapped her hands, signaling to Kiryuin Marina that she could take that idiot Kaede away.

Kiryuin Marina glanced at Kiryuin Kaede, who was starting to feel dizzy again, and sighed once more.

As expected, Feng Hua was no match for Tian Yin.

Just as Kiryuin Marina was about to say a few more words to Amane before leaving, she felt an itchy sensation in her palm.

Seeing this, Kiryuin Marina could only nod, and then, supporting Kiryuin Kaede, she left the bakery first.

When they left the bakery, the two of them were still very cautious. It wasn't until they reached the dormitory building that Kiryuin Kaede stood up from Kiryuin Marina's arms.

"Fortunately, Tianyin didn't discover anything, otherwise I really wouldn't know how to handle this situation today."

At this moment, although Kiryuin Kaede's face was still slightly flushed from the alcohol, her eyes had become very clear, and she no longer had the drunken, unruly, and unreasonable demeanor she had just displayed.

The thought that she had actually managed to fool Tenon made Kiryuin Kaede feel a little smug. She and Tenon had fought countless times, but unfortunately, she had never had the chance to win.

Especially since even Sakayanagi could occasionally get Amane to let her win a few games of Go, Kiryuin Fuuka felt extremely unbalanced when she thought about it. Now, however, she had successfully fooled Amane with her acting skills, and she would have something to brag about to Sakayanagi in the future.

Unlike the cheerful Kiryuin Kaede, Kiryuin Marina calmly looked up at the already darkening sky.

"She probably knows everything, doesn't she?"

"Huh? Really? She seemed perfectly normal just now, didn't she?"

"Tianyin seems perfectly normal, but I feel like I can hear that child's heart crying."

Kiryuin Kaede frowned deeply, completely unable to understand what Kiryuin Marina meant by "the heart is crying."

This kind of statement is really hard to understand...

Seeing Kiryuin Kaede's bewildered expression, Kiryuin Marina had no intention of explaining. She also had no evidence to prove that Amane had seen through her identity, but she just had a feeling.

Tianyin already knew everything, but for her safety, she chose to suppress her emotions and pretend nothing was wrong.

Amane probably also could guess what the consequences would be if Marina's identity were exposed.

That's why...

Marina Kiryuin felt an unprecedented sadness, a feeling of wanting to cry but being unable to, which made her silently swallow the bitter sorrow in her mouth.

Her sadness did not come from herself, but from the heartache of Tianyin's maturity. What would a child who had never seen his mother do when he saw his long-lost mother?

Of course, she would run into her mother's arms and secretly cry while enjoying her mother's warm embrace. Although she had no experience in this area, Kiryuin Marina really couldn't imagine what else would happen after she and Amane recognized each other.

Marina Kiryuin even practiced this scene specifically, even though she didn't know if it would be useful, she still practiced very seriously.

It's just in case we need it someday.

Now it seems... Amane is much more mature than she imagined, which should be a good thing, but Kiryuin Marina feels a little regretful. If Amane is so mature, then she probably won't hear the word "mother" from Amane's mouth. Logically speaking, Amane at her age should call Marina "mother," but for Marina, who has never heard the word "mother" before, the term "mother" seems a bit unfamiliar.

"I really want to hear her call me 'Mom,' but well, that's probably wishful thinking, isn't it? Tianyin isn't a child anymore."

Chapter 204: Then I'll have a taste.

As dusk gradually fell, the streetlights along the campus roads turned on right on time.

Sakayanagi Arisu glanced at the time; it was only six o'clock, but for the students, that was already quite late.

Because school ends relatively early, everyone has plenty of time to do what they like, whether it's playing on campus or actively participating in club activities. Almost everyone is making the most of their short but happy time on campus, because in this school, no one can say for sure whether a surprise or an accident will come first.

Unfortunately, these recreational activities had almost nothing to do with Sakayanagi. Sakayanagi's only interest was to have a cup of coffee at the Palette, and only when there was nothing else to do in Kamuro. Otherwise, the thought of how difficult it would be for her to walk alone would deter her from going to the Palette.

Today was just like that. Kamuro said he had made plans to go to karaoke with other people and even tried to invite her.

Sakayanagi had never been to such a place. Although Amane liked noisy occasions, Sakayanagi preferred quieter places if possible.

She knew perfectly well that Kamuro was only extending a polite invitation.

A normal person would just make up some excuse or refuse outright at this point, since the other party didn't expect you to agree anyway.

Even if rejected, they won't say anything.

Sakayanagi, however, agreed with a hint of mischievousness.

Sure enough, the next second Kamuro showed an expression of disgust and disdain.

Perhaps this will make her less happy at the karaoke bar?

If that's the case, I'm so sorry.

After explaining that she was joking, Kamuro quickly left with the rest of the class, seemingly afraid that she would actually do what she did in the past.

As the leader of Class A, Sakayanagi was well aware that her arrival would put immense pressure on them, which would cause them to lose their enjoyment.

So, in order for the other students in the class to have more fun, she was happy to be a little bored by herself.

Sakayanagi picked up his cane and used it to support himself as he slowly moved towards the kitchen.

The dishes and chopsticks were left in the sink unwashed after the meal.

Sakayanagi, who had finished eating early, originally planned to be lazy and do the washing later. However, thinking that he might forget about it, he decided to finish it now while he still remembered it.

If it were the old Sakayanagi, she wouldn't have been so lazy. But after living with Amane for a year before coming to this school, she almost forgot everything she learned in home economics class.

At that time, Amane took care of all her needs, including food, clothing, shelter, and transportation. Even when she went to the bathroom, that guy would insist on carrying her there. As a result, the first thing Sakayanagi had to learn before coming to this school was how to walk.

Thinking back on all the little moments she shared with Amane, a smile involuntarily appeared on Sakayanagi's face.

Speaking of which...

Today seems to be White Day. As for Amane... she'll probably spend it with Horikita, right?

Sakayanagi seemed to want to avoid thinking about those unpleasant things and chose to close her eyes, but after closing her eyes, her mind was filled with images of Amane interacting with other girls.

"Alas, every cloud has a silver lining. Was it right or wrong to ask my father to invite Tianyin to study here?"

Just as Sakayanagi was starting to have wild thoughts, a knock came from the direction of the entrance hall.

"Please wait a moment."

Although I don't know who it is, it's already evening, so the person must have something important to tell me at this hour.

Sakayanagi, disregarding the dishes he had only half-washed, hurriedly picked up his cane and, somewhat unsteadily, quickened his pace toward the door.

However, what is something that can be done by ordinary people by jogging a few steps is something that is still very far away for Sakayanagi Arisu, who has a congenital heart disease and a frail body that makes it impossible for her to even walk normally. Even though she tried her best to speed up her pace, the door was still very far away for her.

Boom boom boom! ! !

The knocking on the door continued.

Sakayanagi frowned slightly, feeling that the person outside the door seemed rather impolite.

I had already asked the other person to wait a moment. Even if my voice was a little soft and the other person didn't hear me, I shouldn't have knocked on the door so loudly and made so much noise when I was visiting someone at night.

At this point, Sakayanagi had made up her mind that no matter who the other party was or what kind of favor they needed her help with, she planned to ignore them as a way of teaching them a small lesson.

Thump thump thump thump!!!

Seeing that she had only gone about halfway, the knocking on the door became even more intensified, and Sakayanagi subconsciously became a little angry.

It's rare to see someone so lacking in common sense...

Sakayanagi suddenly remembered a certain idiot who seemed to fit his impression of her.