I am a teacher at a girls' school in Tokyo

Page 289

She stood there for a long time, and then, without knowing why, she took heavy steps, not knowing where to go.

……

She stopped in front of the light.

Bright lights, reassuring lights, she looked up and saw a convenience store.

The convenience store where she worked.

Unconscious steps brought her here.

"Ye Yue, why are you here?"

Inside the convenience store, there was a girl who was on duty at night. The two often met during shift changes. Her surname was Konno.

Konno, who was standing behind the cash register, poked his head out and looked in her direction.

Then, after a few seconds, it seemed to notice something was wrong.

"Eh--?"

She shouted in surprise, quickly walked out from behind the cashier counter, walked out of the convenience store, and came to her.

Konno looked her over.

"Ye Yue...what's wrong with you?" he asked cautiously.

Ye Yue Li Ya opened her mouth, but no sound came out from her dry and swollen throat.

However, the tear-stained face and the disheveled look seemed to explain something.

Konno grabbed her wrist.

"I don't know what's wrong, but please go in first. It's so cold outside. Why are you wearing such thin clothes? Your hands are so cold."

"..."

Ye Yue Li Ya was led in and came to the chair inside the cash register and sat down.

"Okay, it's warmer in here... Are you okay?"

"By the way, my clothes are in there, wait a minute."

He hurriedly walked in and then hurried again. Konno came out holding a coat.

"Here, put it on... I'll do it."

Seeing that Reiya Hazuki was not in a good state, Konno, who had originally planned to let her put on her coat by herself, started to help her put on her coat as if taking care of a child who couldn't take care of herself.

"...Thank you." Hazuki Reiya said dryly.

"It's okay." Konno waved his hand. "Come to think of it, what happened?"

After a silent silence, Konno asked tentatively, "Did you have a fight with your parents? That's why you can't go home?"

"Well... I often had this kind of thing when I was in high school. I would run out at night..."

"Oh, I...Okay, I won't say anything more."

Seeing that Hazuki Reiya seemed to be in discomfort and was about to retch, Konno quickly stopped the topic.

"By the way, have you had dinner?"

"When this happens, it's usually because I didn't eat dinner and I'm very hungry... I have experience."

"Really?"

"Would you like something to eat? Help yourself, and remember to pay attention to the manager... hehe."

"…We have guests—welcome."

……

The convenience store would occasionally have a few customers late at night, but it was quiet most of the time.

Konno stood behind the cash register.

After drinking some water and eating a bite of bread, Ye Yue Li Ya sat on a chair with his back against the wall. He fell asleep without knowing when.

"..."

Konno went to the changing room, took out a staff uniform, and carefully put it on Reiya Hazuki.

When she was putting on her clothes, the girl's face showed an extremely painful expression.

……

When Ye Yue Li Ya woke up, the sky was slightly bright. Her whole body was sore and she was wearing a staff uniform.

She rubbed her swollen and sore eyes hazily and sat up a little straighter.

"Are you awake?" Konno, who was playing with his mobile phone next to him, heard the noise, put down his phone and turned around.

"..."

Ye Yueli was stunned for a while, as if he was thinking about something, and I couldn't hear it.

"What's going on?" Konno took a step forward and bent down.

Only then did Ye Yue Li Ya raise her eyes, glance at Konno, and slowly shook her head.

"never mind?"

"..."

"You must be hungry, right? You didn't eat much last night."

"...Thank you." Ye Yue Li Ya took the milk and bread handed to her by Konno. There was a small bite on the bread packaged in the bag, which was what she had eaten before.

"It's okay."

It became quiet again.

Hazuki Reiya ate in small bites while Konno yawned and went back behind the cash register.

As dawn approached, another visitor arrived.

"welcome."

……

After finishing his meal, Ye Yue Liya sat in his chair in a daze again. He didn't know how long he had been there, until a customer walked out of the store.

"Ye Yue." Konno came over again.

Hazuki Reiya looked up and Konno had a smile on his face: "How are you now? Are you okay?"

"..."

"Have you thought about going back?"

"..."

"Well... it's okay if you don't want to go back. I used to be like that too. But it's almost morning now, and I have to change shifts... I'm so tired, I'm going to go back to sleep."

"What about you? Do you want to stay here or go out for a walk? Or you can go to a friend's house and have a good rest."

……

When Konno was changing shifts, after changing clothes, Hazuki Reiya walked out of the convenience store with her.

It was a gloomy early morning and the weather was not very good. The sun was blocked by clouds, and yellow light was emitting from the edges of the thick clouds.

The two walked together, and Ye Yue Li Ya didn't know where to go, she just followed her without any thoughts.

Along the way, Konno kept telling about her glorious story of running away from home thirteen times in high school.

"Youth is always like this... I can't help it - well, I'm leaving now."

At the intersection, Konno said goodbye with a smile.

"Goodbye."

"……goodbye."

"Well, adjust your mood. Quarrels are inevitable. Bye." Konno waved his hand, yawned again, and left.

Ye Yue Li Ya stood there, watching her back as she walked away.

"..."

……

Vehicles were driving, people were talking on the road... time passed, the early morning light broke through the clouds, and the streets were filled with the presence of people.

Ye Yue Li Ya stood there blankly for who knows how long, and then came back to her senses when the noise in her ears gradually became louder.

She glanced up at the sky.

The sky brightened, and my swollen and sore eyes felt sore.

She lowered her head again.

Now, where should she go?

He turned around blankly, his eyes sweeping over the familiar street scene.

The streets of Kyoto are full of beauty under the morning light.

……

I didn't know where I was going, but when I came to my senses and didn't know what time it was, Ye Yue Li Ya was standing in a very unfamiliar place.

This is the rooftop of a high-rise building.

Ye Yue Liya poked his head out and looked down.

A street scene in Kyoto, with a few tiny pedestrians. Dizzying heights.

A different kind of impulse seemed to be born in her heart, an impulse... an impulse to jump down.

"..."

She looked away.

I stood there in a daze for a long time, and the sunlight tilted at an angle.

Suddenly remembering something, after hesitating for a moment, Ye Yue Li Ya reached into the pocket of her uniform shirt.

My fingers felt something cold.

Ye Yue Li Ya took out her cell phone.

After staring at the black screen of his phone for a long time, Ye Yue Li Ya reached out and lit up the screen.

The screen was glaring as she stared at the dozens of missed calls and messages that appeared during the silent period...all from her mother.

"..."

After hesitating for a long time, Ye Yue Li Ya took a deep breath, unlocked the screen with her still trembling hands, clicked on the text message interface, and saw a message from her mother.

It's all densely packed with: