April 13th.

Inside a coffee shop called "Melancholy Forest" near Teyama Kita High School.

The girl wore a pleated skirt that reached to the middle of her thighs, a warm brown jacket over a white shirt, and a red ribbon tied at the neckline in the shape of a bow.

Her hair is very short, barely covering her earlobes, and her bangs are tilted to the right, blocking part of the end of her eyebrows.

The girl was sitting on the window seat, holding a library book in her hand. The small cup of espresso coffee on the table was still steaming. This was already her second cup.

The time is 4:37 pm.

The store is very quiet. There are only three customers and the girl. A young man and woman are sitting on the seats not far away. Looking from the girl's sight, the back of the man's head just blocks the woman's face. The soothing light music is like a lullaby for falling asleep.

, the girl seemed to be able to hear the ticking of the second hand of the clock hanging on the wall, and she yawned lightly.

At this time, the store door was pushed open, and the bell hit the door frame and made a crisp sound, "Welcome." The store manager or clerk's voice was not loud, just right. Then there was the low sound of leather shoes touching the wooden floor, which continued until the girl's body

beside.

"Sorry." The man sat down across from her, first put the small bag aside, adjusted the most comfortable sitting position, subconsciously fiddled with his bangs, and finally looked directly at her with her bright eyes.

The girl put down her library book, clipped the bookmark to the current page, and closed it.

"You're late," she said, and checked the clock behind the other party. It was four forty-one. "You're forty-one minutes late. Well, it's forty-two now."

"Sorry, I walked around a lot, got lost, and wasted some time," the person opposite smiled a little apologetically, "I'll pay the bill and apologize."

"That's okay. Do you want something to drink?"

"Whatever." He said and ordered the same espresso as the girl.

After a while, the coffee was brought to her. She took a sip, frowned, then put two cubes of sugar on it, stirred it briefly with a spoon, and then ignored it.

"Introduce yourself again," she said, "Nanase's friend."

"I mentioned it on the phone last time, but I didn't expect that it would be delayed until today, more than half a month later."

"I've been very busy lately. To be honest, I don't get enough sleep every day." Wu Geng tilted his head and sighed.

"The second single will be released soon, right?" the girl asked casually.

"You know."

"I saw the news on the official website."

"You don't look like someone who chases idols," Wu Geng smiled, "Is it because of Nanase?"

"..."

The girl raised her eyes and glanced at her, then moved the book aside.

"Nanase told me about the past," Wu Geng said, "I also told you on the phone last time, briefly."

The girl took a sip of coffee and then put it down. The bottom of the cup collided with the porcelain plate, making a very crisp sound.

"...How did you guess that Nanase and I were friends before?" she asked.

"Didn't you say on the Shijo Bridge last time, 'I am also her friend'."

"Anyone who hears that will just think it's ironic, right?"

"I can feel it, maybe it's talent or something. In short," Wu Geng's index finger tapped lightly on the table, "You were very firm at the time and didn't have any malice. It was like you were just stating a fact."

That's the truth, the girl secretly thought.

"Malicious..." She sighed, and then as if she wanted to change the subject, she said, "Nanase shouldn't tell others about her past easily."

"She does have a slightly autistic character. It's just a coincidence this time."

"I don't think it's a coincidence. Being able to tell you this means that she trusts you very much."

"As if I trust you as much as I did before?" Wu Geng asked back.

Her voice was not loud, but very powerful, and she spoke at a slightly fast pace, as if she wanted to observe every subtle expression on the other person's face and stare at it closely.

The girl's breath froze, as if she didn't know how to answer this question.

"...No," she denied hesitantly, and then added, "In Nanase's memories, I am just a betrayer."

Wu Geng stared at her for a while before looking away.

"Really," she looked out the window at the street and asked, "You go to school in Tezhan North, right?"

The girl didn't reply. Wu Geng kept to herself and spoke:

"I just took a look around here. There is a game center and karaoke."

"What's the meaning?"

"You don't have to go to Shijo Bridge that day," Wu Geng said. "After all, it takes nearly fifty minutes by bus. At that time, you and your friends had a completely playful attitude. There are enough interesting things nearby.

There is no need to look far away for entertainment facilities and venues.”

"..."

"Or did you go there on purpose? Because you saw the news on Twitter, and you went specifically to see Nanase?" Wu Geng asked.

"On purpose?" the girl smiled, "On purpose to ridicule?"

"I said, I didn't feel any malice in you at that time." Wu Geng put her hands on the table, leaning her upper body forward slightly, her eyes shining, "You're lying, right?" She said every word.

road.

The girl did not look at Wu Geng. She looked at the ripples in the white porcelain cup when the coffee was stirred by the spoon.

"...Intuition?" she asked.

(ex){}&/"When Nanase collapsed and ran out of the basketball club and hid in the sports equipment storage room, you knew it, right? It was raining at the time, and Nanase's footprints should be clearly visible. You didn't

There is no reason to see it, and there is no reason for such a big warehouse to wander around outside without going in to search."

"I didn't want to give up halfway," the girl said. "I pretended to be far away, but actually I kept hiding nearby and observing. I didn't feel relieved until I confirmed that Nanase came out. I admit that I was betting, but the transfer procedure will be officially approved in a few days.

Come down, I don’t have much time.”

"Fortunately, Nanase has a strong enough core. When I saw her recovering quickly and clumsily trying to contact others, I felt relieved."

After the girl finished saying this, she looked out the window in silence.

Following her gaze at the fifth watch, an older girl on the street picked up the yellow hat that the boy had dropped and carefully helped him put it on. It looked like a pair of siblings.

The clerk came over to collect the girl's empty cups and saucers and asked her if she wanted a refill. She shook her head and refused.

"Why, you asked me out today just to know this?" The girl rubbed her red eyes and pretended to be relaxed.

"This is to satisfy my curiosity. I don't think anyone can feel calm after listening to Nanase's words, right?" Wu Geng said with a smile.

"That's true."

"More importantly, I still owe Nanase a gift." Wu Geng said.

"Gift?"

"Christmas gift." Wu Geng did not explain more, but asked: "Aren't you going to explain these things to Nanase?"

The girl smiled a little lonely: "Is it necessary?"

"Nanase is much stronger now than in junior high school. You still like Nanase, right? Don't you want to reconcile with her?"

Wugeng's words made her expression come alive.

"...will you help me?"

"Of course, if you have that wish."

Nanase will also be happy, Wu Geng thought in his heart.

--idiot.

A voice suddenly emerged in my mind.

At the same time, I felt like the world was shaking.

——Big idiot.

The voice continued.

——Why are you pretending to be a good person? Why don't you be honest? You actually hate the person in front of you.

——What a good friend from the past? Nishino Nanase’s best friend is only Wu Geng Shi Xiao.

She felt a falling feeling, a strong falling feeling, and her mind was dizzy, but this feeling came and went quickly, almost in an instant.

"What's wrong?" Sensing the discomfort at midnight, the girl asked with concern.

"...It's okay, I'm probably a little anemic."

Wu Geng explained it far-fetchedly.

Here we go again, she thought. Last time, when chasing Nishino, this voice sounded in her head. At that time, she thought it was an auditory hallucination.

Although it was the voice that sounded in my mind, the timbre, intonation, and the yin and yang of the speech were clearly expressed. It was the voice I heard in the recording studio at Wu Geng, and it was my own voice. Only the intonation was smoother, with almost no fluctuations.

Ups and downs, like holding a script and reading without emotion.
To be continued...