She looked down, fiddling with the hem of her skirt, "I know, but what does it matter, Mayi is going to college soon, we won’t see each other again."
For a moment, the trio found themselves unable to speak.
Dubian Che watched her downcast face, feeling a sense of pity for her.
She had liked him since middle school, followed him to Goda, joined the Wind Instrument Club, won the national gold, and in order to increase her slim chances, even believed in the dubious Human Observation Department, telling other people about the girl she liked.
Who had the right to mock her small pursuit?
Dubian Che wanted to say something, but when the words reached his lips, he didn’t know what to say.
’Good luck’ felt too hypocritical.
"This is what love is," Kiyono Lin murmured softly, "Knowing it’s futile, yet still striving forward relentlessly."
"R-san, we were talking about Ichiki’s issue, please don’t use such a cold expression and start observing humans out of the blue, and, if possible, please use simpler language for summarizations..."
Dubian Che admitted his fault too decisively, too adeptly, that it made Ichiki Aoi, who had just been feeling down, suddenly burst into laughter.
She clenched her fist and said, "That’s right, it’s not time to talk about the reasons for failure, please continue to stay with me and try!"
"That’s true, after all, it’s just a confession failure, everyone’s been through it once or twice," Dubian Che agreed.
"Ah?" Ichiki Aoi felt like what she and Dubian Che were talking about weren’t quite the same thing.
But there was something else she was more curious about.
"Mr. Dubian, has someone like you ever been rejected?"
Dubian Che didn’t answer her question, instead turning to Kiyono Lin, "R-san, please go out with me."
"I’m feeling extremely physically uncomfortable right now, at least wait until you break up with your Meiji before saying such things to me."
Dubian Che looked at Ichiki Aoi, "See, failed."
"...Oh, right." Ichiki Aoi forced the words out.
After going through all the magazines and selecting a few places, Ichiki Aoi left with gratitude.
Kiyono Lin and Dubian Che happened to be going the same way, so they walked to their places together.
On the way, Kiyono Lin recalled Dubian Che’s intentional humor from earlier and said with a smile, "I didn’t expect you to be unexpectedly gentle."
"That’s right, I’m a gentle male protagonist from light novels, the world misunderstands me too much," Dubian Che nodded, believing it to be true.
Kiyono Lin pondered for a moment, "Now that you say that, I start doubting my own judgment again."
"...R-san, everything about you is great except that sometimes you really are too rude."
After parting with Kiyono Lin, Dubian Che walked alone on the way back to his rented place.
The distant sun was about to set, and the shadows of the utility poles lazily came to life, as if ready to clock off work at any moment.
It seemed like he had forgotten something but couldn’t remember what it was.
Oh well, if it’s forgotten, it means it wasn’t something important; he’d better hurry and organize his math notes to avoid becoming someone who breaks promises.
Dubian Che took out his phone, finally remembering what he had forgotten.
He opened Line, and sure enough, his chat history with Chisako was filled with bizarre geisha emojis that no amount of scrolling could bring to an end.
Pale face, sinister smile, it gave one the shivers.
If received in the middle of the night, one might not be able to help but look back while on the way to the bathroom, fearing a ghost was following.
Better to pretend he hadn’t seen it.
Before Dubian Che could put his phone back in his pocket, Chisako had already sent him a message.
"Finally ’Read!’ I thought you were dead!!!!"
"Chisako, I need to discuss something very serious with you."
"What exactly is the name of that river?"
And then, a string of Capital City geisha emojis followed.
"As a high school girl, I’m concerned about your taste, and also, I’ve decided on the destination for the school trip."
"So, what is the name of that river?"
"Uji River! Welcome!"
So, it’s called the Uji River, Dubian Che finally felt relieved inside.
Finding out the name of the river overgrown with reeds, that was the thing he had forgotten.