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

"It seems that the name Miyako Arisu is indeed quite good. Let's go with that from now on."

Sakayanagi Arisu snapped her fingers, then lay back down on the hospital bed with a happy expression.

Just as Tenon was still confused, Sakayanagi's urging voice rang out again.

"Go quickly, and remember to thank them properly for me."

"I will. Arisu, if anything happens, just press this button to call the doctor, understand?"

"Okay, okay, I'm not a child anymore."

They're just kids.

Looking at Sakayanagi's petite figure, Amane silently said something to herself before opening the door to the ward.

However, Horikita Suzune was nowhere to be seen in the hospital corridor. After thinking for a moment, Amane quickly found a nurse on duty.

"Where are the vending machines located in the hospital?"

……

Horikita Suzune looked at the unopened cup of noodles in her hand and sighed softly.

Originally, I wanted to say goodbye to Aya and leave, but I ended up sitting there like an idiot for half a day. I finally had a chance to join and get information about Aya, but I messed it up.

Even what she was thinking was seen through by Amane. The moment Amane gave her the answer, Horikita Suzune felt a chill run down her spine, as if she were standing naked in front of Amane. This feeling, combined with her inability to adapt to the blissful atmosphere, ultimately led Horikita Suzune to flee in panic, even planning to leave without saying goodbye.

Since we'll most likely never see each other again, standing each other up once shouldn't be a problem.

However, Horikita Suzune couldn't help but feel frustrated when she thought that she couldn't even do something as simple as saying goodbye properly.

"Horikita... so you really are here."

Horikita Suzune was planning to hand the cup noodles to the on-duty nurse and ask her to pass them on to Aya before leaving, but before she could do anything, she heard Aya's voice coming from behind her.

"Huh? What are you doing here? Did something happen to Arisu?"

Seeing that Aya's breathing was a little rapid, Horikita Suzune subconsciously thought that Arisu's condition had suddenly worsened, otherwise the usually calm Aya would not have acted in such a panic.

"No, no, actually I came to thank you."

"Thank you? Oh, you mean cup noodles? It's nothing, it won't cost much. Oh, I forgot to tell you, I just called my mother. She said she's booked a hotel room and I should hurry over. Please give the cup noodles to Arisu for me, and wish her a speedy recovery."

Horikita Suzune shoved the cup noodles into Amane's hand and turned to leave.

Tianyin, who was encountering this situation for the first time, had no idea how to handle it, so she had to use the simplest method to achieve her goal.

Then, Amane grabbed Horikita Suzune's wrist.

"I have something I want to tell you."

"And...me?"

Horikita Suzune glanced around.

The huge hospital was eerily quiet at night, especially around the vending machine in the corner, where there wasn't a soul in sight.

"Yes."

"Yes, it's something very important, right?"

Horikita Suzune asked in a tone that sounded as if she were trying to convince herself to stay.

"This is a very important matter!"

Horikita Suzune's expression immediately relaxed upon hearing Amane's words.

It wasn't that she wanted to stay here, but Aya told her that she had something important to tell her, so she stayed to listen to what Aya had to say.

After silently repeating it a few times in her mind, Horikita Suzune's expression had become no different from before.

"Then I'll listen and see."

"sorry!"

Amane's sudden apology made Horikita Suzune's heart skip a beat, and then some strange scenarios from the depths of her mind immediately surfaced.

Before she could react, she heard Tianyin speak softly.

"I'm sorry, I was too serious during the game that day, and you lost badly."

Okay!

As soon as the topic of chess came up, Horikita Suzune's face immediately darkened. Her 'ill-fated relationship' with Aya stemmed from that game of chess at the amusement park. She was already angry, but when she realized that it was because of her lack of skill and there was no point in being angry, Horikita Suzune had no choice but to put the matter aside for the time being. However, to her utter surprise, Aya actually dared to bring it up again!

That woman is awful!

Although in her heart she had already stomped on the little doll with Aya's name written on it countless times, on the surface she still showed a slightly reserved smile that was not impolite.

"Oh, so it was that day at the amusement park. It's alright. I almost forgot if you hadn't mentioned it. I'm not a petty woman, so I won't hold a grudge against you for something like this. After all, I made you use your full strength, right? The fact that you took it so seriously is already an acknowledgment of my abilities. There's no need for you to apologize to me."

"No, I only used about 30% of my strength when I played chess with your brother that day. When I played chess with you, I just played casually..."

???

Aya, are you sure you've come to apologize?

You'd better have something to do.

Horikita Suzune crossed her arms in anger, clearly unwilling to communicate with Amane any further.

Amane, on the other hand, had no idea what she had done wrong. She was just telling the truth, but seeing Horikita Suzune's angry expression, even Amane, who was slow to react, knew that she had said something wrong. Since things hadn't gone well from the start, she had no choice but to get straight to the point and thank her.

"Also, I'm here to express my gratitude. If it weren't for you and your parents lending me the car, I probably wouldn't have made it here in time. I'm here to thank you and your parents on behalf of Arisu. Arisu said she will definitely repay this favor, and I will try my best to meet all your requests."

"Anything you ask for? Really?"

Horikita Suzune asked suspiciously.

"of course."

"The meaning of 'everything' should be more than one, right?"

"I'll try my best to meet your needs..."

Sensing something was wrong, Tianyin quickly added.

"Then I must state my demands. First, you are not allowed to beat me in chess from now on! Even if you win, you must let me win. Also, you must greet me first whenever you see me, even if I act like I dislike you. You must remember everything I say, and unless I don't want to talk to you, you must wait for me as a friend. Furthermore, even if others don't believe me, you must believe me. If I have a conflict with your friends, you must protect me and not take sides..."

Horikita Suzune rattled off dozens of strange requests right from the start.

Tenon was sweating profusely from listening to her. If someone unfamiliar with Horikita Suzune were to see these 'unreasonable' demands, they would probably think that this woman was crazy or an unreasonable person.

But only Horikita Suzune understood the meaning behind her actions.

No one knew better than her that this was a chance encounter. Even though Amane hadn't told her her real name, Horikita Suzune could tell from Sakayanagi and Amane's words and actions that they came from well-off families.

This means that they are almost never going to have a chance to meet, and that he is just a passerby in Aya's life.

So how can a passerby make others remember them?

The answer, naturally, is to deepen her memory.

Perhaps ten years from now, when Aya takes an afternoon nap, she will still remember that night by the vending machine, when a girl named Horikita Suzune made a bunch of unreasonable demands on her that could never be fulfilled.

If Aya develops an interest in her, perhaps they will have a chance to meet again.

Horikita Suzune, who had been talking until her throat was dry, finally stopped. Looking at Amane, who was almost seeing stars, Horikita Suzune smiled so happily for the first time.

"Are all of these things absolutely necessary?"

Tianyin swallowed hard, her face full of conflicted emotions.

"Of course, but if you don't plan to meet me, then you don't need to do that."

"I'm not that heartless."

Despite Amane's serious emphasis, Horikita Suzune simply smiled and shook her head.

How many people can still keep the promise they made when they were twelve?

"By the way, do you remember my name?"

"Horikita..."

"Horikita Suzune! Suzune! Repeat that for me!"

"Horikita... Suzune"

"Okay, remember that. Just call me Lingyin next time we meet."

"Oh."

"Oh?"

"I understand, Suzune."

"That's more like it. I'll be going now... I almost forgot, what if we don't recognize each other in the future? We're still young and don't know when we'll see each other again."

Horikita Suzune deliberately left a clue.

If given the chance, this would be the only possibility for them to reunite.

"If you don't know each other, introduce yourselves again. If you still can't remember... then let's leave a secret code that only we know."

"What code?"

"Let me think... how about tomato juice? It's such a awful drink, no one else would deliberately drink it every day. If she can't remember our appointment today, then I'll just drink it in front of her every day. Sooner or later she'll remember."

Amane's suggestion made Horikita Suzune's expression change. Drinking something so awful every day? Even though it was a code... what if Amane didn't remember her words? Wouldn't she be...?

The thought of the awful taste of tomato juice made Horikita Suzune's face fall, but knowing that this was indeed a secret code known only to them, she gritted her teeth and agreed.

"Then let's use drinking tomato juice as a code. You'd better not forget today's agreement and the promise you made to me."

Horikita Suzune emphasized it again, still feeling uneasy, even though she had already given up much hope.

"Yes, I will definitely keep my promise, Rin."

Chapter 131: One More Time

Amane took the cup noodles Horikita Suzune gave her and returned to the ward where Sakayanagi was.

The IV equipment had been removed, indicating that during her absence, Sakayanagi had finished the IV and called the on-duty doctor and nurse to help remove the needle.

On the table to the side were several blank packages of pills and a prescription sheet listing the required medication and approximate dosage.

Tianyin picked up the prescription and glanced at it. It mostly contained anti-inflammatory drugs and cold remedies, but unfortunately, none of the medications on the prescription were available for purchase. Because prescriptions and medications are separate here, the hospital can only issue prescriptions for the medications you need; you have to go to a pharmacy to buy them.

However, although there are pharmacies that are open 24 hours a day, those pharmacies are usually big-brand chain pharmacies and are mostly concentrated in wealthy and densely populated big cities. In remote cities like the one where Tianyin and her friends live, pharmacies usually close around 11 p.m.

It's past the pharmacy's opening hours, and there are no vending machines for medicines in this country, so getting sick at night is a very troublesome and unpleasant experience.

Even Tianyin couldn't think of a way to get the medicine in her haste, so she could only wait until the pharmacy opened the next day to buy the medicine she needed.

Fortunately, the doctor seemed to be used to this situation and had prepared some commonly used medicines in bulk for emergency use. It should be fine to get through today.

"It's over so quickly? I thought you guys were going to have some farewell chat and come back at least half an hour later."

Sakayanagi glanced at the time on his phone and said to Amane with a mischievous look.

"No, I've only known Lingyin for two days."

Tianyin glanced at the cup of noodles in her hand, then at the empty medicine packaging on the table, and finally put the cup of noodles down.

Sakayanagi just finished taking fever reducers and anti-inflammatory drugs. If she eats instant noodles now, it might affect the effectiveness of the medication.

Therefore, Amane can only ask Sakayanagi to be patient for now.

"We've known each other for less than two days."

After deliberately mimicking Amane's calm and even voice, Sakayanagi suddenly switched back to her teasing and doting tone.

"You've started calling her Lingyin now~"

"Arisu!"

Amane placed her hand on her forehead; the type of person she was least adept at dealing with was Sakayanagi Arisu, who seemed possessed by a little devil.

Every time Sakayanagi speaks to Amane in this tone, Amane gets completely bewildered. Even though Sakayanagi is telling the truth, why does her face feel hot and her lips dry?

"Alright, alright, I'm not teasing you anymore. Tianyin, I'll help you change your old-fashioned personality one day. Otherwise, I won't be able to fully enjoy the fun of bullying you every time I see your expressionless face."

Sakayanagi said strange things in front of Amane.

Tianyin didn't take it seriously. She knew that her personality was a bit rigid, but being expressionless... wasn't like that. It was just that Tianyin didn't know how to respond reasonably to people's emotions and out of consideration for some unnecessary trouble, so she always had a serious face.

It's not that she was born with a cold personality, but it seems that when she uses this expression, whatever she says is easy to convince people, so Tianyin has become too lazy to take off this useful mask.