“So, in this world, do girls this stupid… really exist?”
This thought was like a stone cast into a calm lake, creating ripples of complex, unspeakable emotions in Minazuki Ruri’s heart.
She had just cut off that sudden phone call, and the cool sensation of the screen glass still lingered on her fingertips.
The light in the bedroom was soft, but her gaze was unfocused as she let her eyes slowly drift over the assortment of small trinkets on her nightstand—
A few roughly woven but thoughtfully colored bracelets, several fuzzy yet slightly worn animal plushes, and some long-outdated accessories…
These were all things that the girl named Su Yuqing had given her.
During that brief and intense “dating” period in the past, she had been like a little squirrel trying to trade her most precious belongings for favor, shyly and expectantly handing them over one by one.
They were cheap, but they carried the most sincere passion of that age.
At this moment, these “gifts”—which she hadn’t cared about and even secretly found troublesome—seemed like silent mirrors reflecting the cruel core hidden beneath her elegant exterior.
‘Su Yuqing… Su Yuqing…’
She whispered the name as if chewing on a distant and foreign word.
Her tone was a mixture of slight mockery, a hint of pity, and a trace of melancholy she hadn’t even noticed herself.
‘Back then, I was just playing around.’
‘It was just a small Emotional Experiment born of a whim to observe human emotions.
You… actually threw yourself in so unreservedly and took it so completely seriously?’
This realization caused the usually calm and composed Liuli to fall into a brief, deep contemplation.
In truth, regarding whether or not she actually liked girls, Minazuki Ruri had a very clear answer from the beginning.
Regarding her personal romantic orientation, she had little interest in the handsome boys most girls her age were obsessed with.
Similarly, she had never felt that “fated” spark for girls either.
Her emotions seemed isolated by a layer of transparent glass.
She could observe and understand, but it was difficult for her to truly “empathize” or invest herself.
At least, she had believed that and lived peacefully with it until that day on the Rooftop, when she had unexpectedly pulled that “unprecedented Confession Letter” written in elegant handwriting from her drawer with a mix of playfulness and curiosity.
Then, a thought that seemed perfectly natural at the time—even sparking a bit of eagerness—turned like the key to Pandora’s box.
‘So… why not give it a try?’
It must be said that some people in this world are simply born with such a nature.
They are like moths chasing shadows, possessing an intense curiosity and a desire to experience anything unknown, fresh, or different.
They don’t act out of malice; rather, they want to see with their own eyes what shape and color the “love” so many people praise will take in different hands.
‘This will definitely be interesting.’
Fortunately, Minazuki Ruri was exactly that kind of person.
She possessed an Elf-like appearance and the sensitive soul of an artist, making it easy for her to attract the eyes and hearts of others.
Simultaneously, she held the nearly cold heart of an “experimenter” who enjoyed observation and dissection.
And so, the memories played back clearly—
On that Rooftop where the twilight gathered, she looked at the dark-haired girl in front of her, who was so nervous she could barely move her limbs, and asked in a guiding, slightly mischievous tone:
“So you—”
“Think that the person I like… is actually a girl, right?”
And the other party, Su Yuqing, whose eyes seemed filled with starlight, nodded vigorously.
Her voice was trembling but incredibly firm as she replied:
“…Yes. I-I think so.”
Then, she heard her own voice, like a final judgment, carrying a subtle sense of satisfaction and control:
“Then, congratulations—”
“You guessed right.”
That “congratulations” was the start of the experiment, the prologue of the script, but it was anything but a sincere promise.
Time flew by.
Years later, another unexpected phone call reached out like an invisible hand, roughly brushing away the dust covering her memories.
That familiar yet strange voice, full of cowardice and sobs, acted like a rusty key, prying open the most inconspicuous corner of her emotional safe.
In that blurry landscape of memories, she finally pieced together that dark-haired girl standing before her—the one whose face had instantly lit up with a brilliant, massive smile of happiness because of a single ambiguous sentence, and who had trembled with excitement over that “unique” recognition.
Then there was the final sentence of the call, filled with self-loathing and a crying tone:
“It’s… that Big Idiot from middle school… the one who secretly gave you that Confession Letter.”
Yes.
The corner of Liuli’s mouth twitched upward ever so slightly in a way no one could see.
It wasn’t joy, but rather… the calm scrutiny of a creator.
‘This is exactly the effect I wanted!’
A complex cocktail of guilt, relief, and artistic greed surged within her.
That girl, that Big Idiot named Su Yuqing—her pain, her humility, and the lingering attachment and despair she showed on the phone even after being trampled… wasn’t all of that the most authentic, vivid, and “interesting” emotional sample?
Suddenly, a bolt of inspiration struck, clearing the chaos and blankness that had lingered in her mind for so long!
‘I have it.’
Regarding the new work that had troubled her for days, it seemed Minazuki Ruri had finally caught that elusive soul.
She stood up abruptly from the bed and walked over to the blank canvas.
Her eyes became sharp and focused as if she could already see the scene that was about to spring to life.
‘That’s right, a girl like that does exist!’
‘The special quality I wanted to capture, that thing between the mundane and the beautiful, carrying both purity and pain… that kind of girl really exists in this world…!!!’
At least, based on the memories remaining in her mind, Liuli was certain—
Back then, Su Yuqing was the kind of person who seemed very ordinary at first glance.
She was someone who would be hard to find once lost in a crowd, but if one could quiet their heart and truly appreciate her, they could find something incredibly clean and moving in her clear eyes, her unguarded smile, and her clumsy yet sincere emotions.
That image perfectly matched the Muse she had subconsciously been searching for.
However…
A cold, realistic question surfaced in her heart.
‘I wonder…’
‘After all this time, after being ground down by society and enduring the “lesson” I gave her… does the person with the trembling voice on the other end of the phone still possess that almost foolish yet incredibly precious quality from her youth?’
Curiosity, like a ticklish feather, began to scratch at her heart once more.
Without any hesitation, she picked up the phone she had just hung up, her fingertips quickly finding the number that had just called, and dialed back.
The call was answered almost immediately, as if the other party had been waiting by the phone.
“Hello, Su Yuqing.”
Liuli’s voice returned to its usual calm, even taking on the commanding tone of an artist.
Su Yuqing’s response came from the other side, clearly not having recovered from her earlier emotions:
“Ah…? Wh-What’s wrong…?”
The nasally sound of someone who had just been crying still lingered in her voice.
But Liuli ignored her distress and asked directly:
“Do you have some time—”
“Lately?”
“Uh… I should be okay.”
Su Yuqing’s answer was cautious and uncertain.
“So… what is it?”
Hearing this, a hunter-like smile curled on Liuli’s lips.
“I want to meet up with you.”
She didn’t even ask “if she could”; she simply stated her decision.
“That’s all.”
Liuli hung up the phone decisively once again, leaving all the shock, hesitation, and potentially churning old emotions to the bewildered Su Yuqing on the other end.
She turned back toward the blank canvas, her eyes shining with the light of someone who had found the perfect model.
A relationship she had long since ended personally seemed… as if it was about to be forcibly pulled back into reality by the call of art, becoming new material and a sacrifice for her brush…