“……”
The atmosphere was awkward.
Mr. Courage, who had mustered up his resolve, wilted like a deflated tire in the face of the girl’s unreadable expression.
Jiang Jian Yue’s initial surprise faded, and she calmed down.
Yuki Asahi had only acted on a momentary rush of emotion.
But deep inside, she actually wished Yuki Asahi would say something like “I want to care about you.”
It wasn’t that she liked this kid.
After all, if she added up her mental age, it was probably older than Yuki Asahi’s father.
Sympathy took up most of it, mixed with a bit of frustration, and a slight hope for a Kingdom Story.
If you can’t even convey your sincere feelings to someone else, no matter how dramatic the story of a comeback is, it just feels unsatisfying.
No, actually, Jiang Jian Yue herself probably couldn’t do it right now, either.
Damn tongue-tied fool.
“I… I’m sorry.”
Yuki Asahi lowered his eyes, the gloom in his golden pupils almost turning solid.
The hand that had been tightly grasping hers slowly loosened.
Jiang Jian Yue glanced at him in disappointment, then turned and walked out of the restroom.
It wasn’t really Yuki Asahi’s fault.
Maybe he just hadn’t been through enough yet, and hadn’t completely emerged from the shadows.
How had she herself gone from being weak and self-conscious due to bullying to becoming normal?
Oh, right.
She’d started working at Chick Station, and with the experienced staff quitting, she ended up running the store alone.
Imagine this: During the busiest time, a delivery guy drags in over two hundred packages and dumps them on the floor, covering every inch of space.
You have to scan hundreds of packages into inventory while being squished by the crowd; help customers who can’t find their packages; deal with a customer who lost a parcel yesterday and wants to check the surveillance; the auntie who returns a piece of women’s clothing every day comes in on time to ship another package; someone loudly asks where XX is; someone gets lost and wanders into the wrong station; someone finds their own package in the freshly delivered pile and wants you to scan it; WeChat pings.
“Why hasn’t my package arrived yet…”
All of these things happen simultaneously.
Any introversion or self-doubt is beaten into numbness, leaving only a mechanical smile on your face.
Since then, Jiang Jian Yue was no longer introverted.
***
“What are we doing today?”
Yuki Asahi messaged on LINE.
Jiang Jian Yue, squeezed to the edge of the train door, looked up at Yuki Asahi, who was bracing a hand beside her to block the crowd.
Still pretty gentlemanly, huh~
But Senior Jiang’s soul was that of an old man, so she didn’t feel touched.
“Date,” Jiang Jian Yue typed back.
“Huh?”
Yuki Asahi stared at his phone, unconsciously letting out a rude sound, then hurriedly muttered, “Sorry.”
“I’ve already made arrangements. Your mission today is to accompany me.”
“If things go as planned, we’ll catch the culprit soon.”
Jiang Jian Yue finished typing and stretched lazily.
She had no intention of playing the Detective Playhouse Game.
Since the other party’s target was Yuki Asahi, she just needed to stay by his side.
A Human Flesh Investigation Network had already formed around Tokiwagi High School, but the other side didn’t know about the sudden school holiday today.
Most likely, they’d show up at the school as usual, only to find it empty.
If they could use the characteristics she provided to identify the target, that would be best.
But she didn’t expect them to catch someone with invisibility abilities.
Even if the culprit didn’t go to the school but had some other means to locate Yuki Asahi, it didn’t matter.
In the end, these were just idle moves.
Other idle moves included a blanket search of Cheap Apartment 318 locations along the Mita Line.
The method was simple and crude: hire the Yakuza Organization to knock on every 318 door, eliminating a large number of non-target locations.
“The Police received a report about the missing boy from yesterday. They’re going to investigate the school.”
Morita Aoya sent a message.
“Let them.”
A missing persons case couldn’t be solved in just ten days or half a month.
The two of them got off at Ikebukuro 4-chome Station.
It was Jiang Jian Yue’s first time on the Tokyo Metro, a curiosity sparked after watching anime the day before.
It felt youthful, like something a normal JK would do on a day out.
***
Sunshine City Aquarium.
Jiang Jian Yue held up her phone, taking photos of penguins swimming above the glass.
She had to admit, this kind of outdoor, borderless design was impressive—it made it feel like penguins were flying through the sky.
Beside her, Yuki Asahi looked uneasy, his gaze drifting toward other visitors.
“Nervous?”
Jiang Jian Yue glanced sideways at him and asked casually.
“It’s impossible to relax here.”
Yuki Asahi sighed and typed on LINE:
“Honestly, someone like me who’s being targeted shouldn’t be in a place like this. If innocent people get caught up again, I won’t be able to excuse myself.”
Yuki Asahi’s words were slightly sarcastic, indirectly criticizing Jiang Jian Yue’s plan.
“Think more.”
Jiang Jian Yue typed, tapping her head.
“Why dispose of the body?”
“Why destroy the surveillance?”
“Jiang, you need to think more.”
Yuki Asahi was startled, then quickly grasped the key point—the culprit didn’t want the incident to blow up.
“But we can’t rule out the possibility of another attack, right?”
“Eh~ Is that so.”
Jiang Jian Yue didn’t type back, responding instead with a formulaic reply.
Clearly, she didn’t want to continue the conversation.
Yuki Asahi could only pull himself together and focus on the ‘date.’
If only it were a real date.
After touring the aquarium, the two strolled through the mall inside Sunshine City.
Outside an arcade, several Crane Game Machines stood in a row.
Jiang Jian Yue suddenly stopped and looked at one of the machines.
It wasn’t because she wanted to experience the must-do date activity of claw machines.
Her gaze was fixed on a girl in front of the machine—short blonde hair, emerald green eyes, wearing a hooded beige sweatshirt, and a bunny-shaped shoulder bag slung across her chest.
Kaori Onishi.
Yuki Asahi’s Class President.
Kaori Onishi was frowning, pressed against the glass, staring at the plush toys inside the machine.
Suddenly, as if sensing something, she turned around—and saw the two of them walking side by side.
“Oi! Yuki-kun!”
Kaori Onishi waved with a smile, then her eyes widened as she saw the girl beside him.
“Eh eh eh… For real? Big news! The legendary Senior Jiang is actually on a date with our class’s Yuki-kun~”
Her eyes sparkled with the excitement of a gossip hunter spotting prey, and she quickly ran over.
Legendary Jiang?
Looks like her popularity at school really was high, even the underclassmen recognized her.
“Hello, Senior Jiang. I’m Yuki Asahi’s Class President, Kaori Onishi. Just call me Kaori-chan.”
Kaori Onishi patted her chest as she introduced herself, the impressive motion making Jiang Jian Yue stare in a daze.
That big?
It wasn’t like that in the anime, was it?
“Hello, kaoringo.”
“Eh~”
Kaori Onishi let out a cute sound, pouting in mock grievance.
“N-nothing.”
Jiang Jian Yue instinctively turned her face away, accidentally blurting out the pun.
Damn tongue-tied fool.
Fortunately, as a Genki Girl, Kaori Onishi didn’t mind at all.
In an instant, she brushed it off and asked excitedly:
“Hey hey, Senior Jiang, are you dating Yuki-kun?”
“Onishi—”
Yuki Asahi hurriedly interrupted, glancing awkwardly at the girl beside him.
“Just friends.”