It was only when that figure with long chestnut hair appeared in her sight that Xiao Chun Miura realized the girl hadn’t gone to the railing to look out after reaching the school rooftop… she had been hiding in the blind spot behind the door from the very beginning, waiting for her arrival.
“Miss… Miss Kiyono…” Xiao Chun’s voice was completely hoarse, and she instinctively took a step back.
Arisa slowly walked out from the shadows.
This was the first time Xiao Chun Miura had seen her face without any cover, any disguise, and in a state of calm.
It was naturally different from how she appeared in the game, but truthfully, Arisa Kiyono was worthy of being an idol.
However, the sunlight hitting her flawless face failed to melt the frost in her eyes.
“This morning, as soon as I entered the classroom, someone kept staring at me.”
“I originally thought something had happened, but after asking around, one girl actually told me that for the last few days, a very gentle and quiet-looking girl had been squatting outside my classroom door waiting for me.”
Arisa Kiyono’s voice was flat and without inflection, yet it carried a faint sense of oppression to Xiao Chun’s ears.
“I wondered who it was, but I didn’t expect it to actually be the first face that popped into my head.”
“The person who picked up my things at the KTV and ran into me many times before.”
She took a step forward, her indoor shoes making a crisp sound as they stepped on the concrete floor of the rooftop.
“So, I decided to confirm it.”
“I deliberately had that person tell you I came to the rooftop… and sure enough, you really followed me.”
Stopping three steps away from Xiao Chun Miura, the wind blew through Arisa Kiyono’s long hair, but her bright eyes appeared even sharper.
“Miura… that should be your last name, right? I remember that boy named Kanzaki Sou calling you that when he was sticking his nose into my business.”
Xiao Chun’s heart skipped a beat.
“Though I don’t know your full name.”
The corners of Arisa’s mouth curled into an arc — a cold smile clearly laden with defensiveness.
“So, my persistent good Samaritan. I’ve already thanked you, and I consider us even.”
“What exactly are you trying to get from me by going through all this trouble to find me, even tracking me all the way to the livehouse?”
The moment she spoke those words, Arisa Kiyono tilted her head slightly while facing Xiao Chun, and her gaze became extremely dangerous.
” — Or rather, what exactly do you know?”
“…”
However, as Xiao Chun Miura looked at the girl before her — covered in thorns like a startled peacock that still insisted on maintaining its pride — the fear in her heart actually faded a bit in an instant.
She knew this was just the stubborn way Arisa Kiyono maintained her defenses.
Xiao Chun clenched her fists, and although her legs were still trembling, she slowly raised her head to meet Arisa Kiyono’s aggressive gaze.
The game had only just begun.
***
“Miss Kiyono…” Xiao Chun spoke, her voice sounding exceptionally clear in the wind.
“I know my next words might seem absurd to you, even… a kind of unreasonable harassment.”
“But the reason I’ve been trying so hard to see you these past few days is because I discovered something, something… that could be very bad for you.”
Arisa Kiyono did not speak. She simply maintained her posture against the wall, her brow furrowed slightly.
That detached calm was like an invisible wall, blocking all external interference behind a thick shell of ice.
Xiao Chun Miura took a deep breath and began to recount her findings fitfully.
“On the forum… in the discussion section for Sugar Starlight, I found a very strange account,” Xiao Chun said, observing Arisa Kiyono’s expression.
“That person’s ID is a string of meaningless numbers, and they said some… very specific things. They mentioned you eating those meager nutritional meals in the cafeteria, they mentioned your subtle rejection of physical contact during stage movements, and they even said…”
Xiao Chun paused, her voice becoming even softer yet carrying a blade-like sharpness. ” — That this ‘Flower on a High Peak’ illusion will soon rot from the inside. She seems to be planning something, wanting to personally tear off your mask on that stage during the Anniversary that all of Japan is watching.”
As Xiao Chun narrated, Arisa’s cold eyes flickered slightly. Although the movement was tiny, Xiao Chun, who had been staring at her intently, caught that moment of fluctuation. It was surprise, or perhaps a stress response to having a secret poked.
Arisa’s brow remained tightly furrowed. The tension formed from being in a defensive posture for so long made the lines of her face appear cold and hard. She didn’t interrupt Xiao Chun; she simply let those words, which carried fragments of the truth, drift in the rooftop wind.
Xiao Chun tried to make herself appear more sincere. She laid out all her investigations from the past few nights at the computer — the background of classical dance, the deduction regarding possible voyeurs in the class, and the hidden intentionality — both subtly and earnestly.
“I’m not trying to pry into your life, Miss Kiyono.”
Xiao Chun’s voice gradually became firm, despite her legs still trembling slightly. “But I believe that person is hiding right next to you. They might not be your teammate, because this level of hatred and twisted jealousy resulting from ‘shattered dreams’ shouldn’t exist in your teammates’ eyes after only a few months… I mean, that person is more like someone in your class, or someone who can watch you eat and practice up close but is being ignored by you.”
After Xiao Chun finished speaking, the rooftop fell into a strange, dead silence.
There was only the sound of the wind and the faint sound of a whistle coming from the distant sports field.
Awkwardness.
A massive awkwardness capable of making an ordinary person flee in panic spread between the two like a thick fog. Xiao Chun was so nervous she could almost hear her own heartbeat; every throb was like a heavy drumbeat striking her eardrums. She felt like a suspect who had presented all the evidence to a judge but was waiting indefinitely for a verdict.
Arisa did not reply. She just stood there quietly, her gaze passing by Xiao Chun’s side to the distant, blurred silhouette of the city. Her expression did not soften in the least because of Xiao Chun’s “sincerity”; instead, it became even more cold and detached because of the revealed privacy.
After an unknown amount of time — perhaps only dozens of seconds, but to Xiao Chun it felt like a century.
“Are you done?” Arisa finally spoke.
Her voice was as cold as a scalpel fresh from an ice cellar, precisely and heartlessly cutting through the courage Xiao Chun had worked so hard to build.
“Eh…?” Xiao Chun was stunned, looking at her blankly.
Arisa slowly straightened her body and left the cold wall. She began to approach Xiao Chun step by step. The oppressive aura belonging to a top idol, tempered under countless spotlights, became overwhelming as she drew near.
“Miss Miura, right?” Arisa stopped less than half a meter away from Xiao Chun. She was slightly taller, and now she looked down slightly, her eyes carrying a bone-chilling scrutiny.
“You say you saw these things on a forum, and you say you looked for me for four days because of these things. Then, let me ask you — “
Arisa’s voice lowered slightly, carrying a trace of faint irony.
“Where exactly did you learn these things? Don’t give me that ‘accidentally saw a forum burner account’ line. That kind of transparent excuse might work on a guy like Kanzaki Sou, but don’t think you can fool me. How did you lock onto that account? And on what basis did you decide that person was around me?”
Her questions were like a rapid-fire series of bullets, catching Xiao Chun off guard.
“I… I just…” Xiao Chun stammered, trying to defend herself, only to find that all her logic appeared pale under the other girl’s rational scrutiny.
“One more important point.” Arisa interrupted her, a cold smile appearing on her lips.
“Why did you come to meet me? What do these things — whether it’s my identity as an idol or my private troubles — have to do with you, a ‘common classmate’ I’ve only met once and haven’t even exchanged names with?”