Oh no! They all seem a bit off!

Chapter 149 In Place of an Apology
"I also hope it was my oversight, but unfortunately, that's impossible."

"..."

Akizuki Makoto didn't know what to say. His thoughts were in turmoil, and he couldn't understand how Shiraishi Rin's legs had healed without surgery.

Also, why did her personality suddenly become completely different?
Is the Rin Shiraishi standing there now, hugging Rie Niijima and Maki Shiina and crying out that he wants to form a band for life, really Rin Shiraishi?

"Could it be... a superpower?"

Ji Yexue suddenly made a bold guess. Because she had witnessed and realized that there were other people besides her who possessed superpowers, she guessed that Shiraishi Rin was one of them.

However, her guess was immediately rejected by Akizuki Makoto.

"No, this shouldn't be due to superpowers."

Why are you so sure?

"because……"

After hesitating for a moment, Akizuki Makoto said frankly, "Shiraishi does have superpowers, but the power she possesses is hypnosis."

Since Ji Yexue was willing to share information with him so frankly, he shouldn't hide anything from her.

Moreover, he also thought about the consequences of concealing the truth from Shimizu Rei.

If he had explained to Shimizu Rei why he suspected her, she might not have used her superpowers on him out of jealousy and resentment, thus avoiding doing something irreversible.

Even now, when Akizuki Makoto recalls that day, he still feels a pang of heartache and pain, and he desperately wants to talk to Shimizu Rei about it.

Unfortunately, Shimizu Rei didn't dare to face him. In order to avoid him, she had deleted all of his contact information, including the one from Fuyuko's side.

Makoto Akizuki was too embarrassed to call each other's relatives and ask them to help contact Rei Shimizu.

"Hypnosis?"

Ji Yexue's eyes widened slightly as she asked in confusion, "How do you know that Bai Shi's superpower is hypnosis? Could it be that she used it on you?"

"Hmm, her superpower is used with a mobile phone, probably one of those hypnosis apps?"

Makoto Akizuki thought of the classic plots in those doujinshi. If it weren't for the system, he probably would have become material for those doujinshi as well.

"...What did she do to you?"

Ji Yexue's eyes suddenly turned dangerous, and her tone became low, containing a kind of anger that her prey had been defiled.

She couldn't even imagine what Shiraishi Rin, with her superpower, would do to Akizuki Makoto.

Akizuki Makoto scratched his head, somewhat embarrassed, and said, "I didn't do anything, I just asked him a few questions, and then, like you, I played a prank on him, right?"

"Is that really all? Nothing else was done?"

Ji Yexue looked at Qiuyue Cheng's expression suspiciously, feeling that he was still hiding something.

But it's unlikely that Akizuki would tell the truth about what Shiraishi Rin did.

Akizuki Makoto also has a sense of shame; he doesn't want anyone to know that he kissed Shiraishi Rin's feet and swore allegiance to her.

"...Never mind that for now. Let's get back to the fact that Shiraishi didn't go to the hospital, but his leg is healed."

Ji Yexue knew it was impossible for Qiuyue Cheng to explain everything clearly, so she took the initiative to change the subject.

But since it wasn't a superpower, they couldn't figure out how Shiraishi Rin's leg had healed, nor could they understand why her personality had changed so drastically.

Asking Shiraishi Rin directly would be too presumptuous, as it's none of their business and wouldn't have any negative impact on them.

After learning that Shiraishi Rin had neither gone abroad nor undergone surgery at a local hospital, Ji Yexue tried to investigate Shiraishi Rin's recent itinerary and anything about her or her relatives, but to no avail.

"We can't figure it out right now, let's observe it some more?"

After making this suggestion, Akizuki Makoto added, "However, my personal opinion is that we should leave Shiraishi alone. Whatever happens to Shiraishi is her business and has nothing to do with us. We don't need to dig into other people's secrets."

Now, he really doesn't want to get involved with abnormal women anymore.

The thought of digging deeper into Shiraishi Rin's secrets sent a chill down his spine, as if behind those secrets lay a bottomless abyss, ready to devour anyone who dared to betray him.

When he reveals the secret, he too will be swallowed by the abyss, trapped within it, unable to escape.

His premonitions are usually very accurate, so recently he has been trying to avoid contact with Shiraishi Rin.

After spending more than a month with several women who were not conventionally attractive, his personality changed to some extent.

If it were him at the beginning, he would definitely want to uncover Shiraishi Rin's secrets.

But now, he just wants to try to avoid it and just want to do his own thing.

"Sincerity..."

Ji Yexue also clearly sensed Qiu Yuecheng's avoidance, which surprised her.

But upon closer reflection, Akizuki Makoto's words made sense; whatever happened to Shiraishi Rin was indeed none of their business.

Suddenly, Ji Yexue remembered something that had happened a week ago, so she asked, "Cheng, there's something else that's on my mind. Could you please tell me about it?"

"Well, you ask."

Akizuki Makoto clearly didn't realize what Ji Yexue was going to ask, and nodded in agreement without thinking.

The moment Ji Yexue asked the question, his expression changed instantly, and he regretted agreeing.

"Last Saturday, didn't you go to watch your childhood sweetheart's competition? Dongzi said you went there specifically to make up. Did you two make up in the end?"

She asked this not for any other reason than that she was very concerned about what Dongzi had told her back then.

She wanted to know if what Fuyuko said was true, and whether Akizuki Makoto really hadn't reconciled with Shimizu Rei, and that they had actually parted on bad terms.

"..."

Faced with Ji Yexue's question, Qiuyue Cheng felt his breath catch in his throat, his expression became blank, and his throat felt as if it were being tightly gripped by a hand, making it impossible for him to say anything.

He didn't know how to answer Ji Yexue, so he could only remain silent, his expression revealing a hint of pain.

Ji Yexue also noticed Qiuyue Cheng's change in mood and immediately said, "Sorry, forget I asked."

As expected, just as Fuyuko had said, Akizuki Makoto not only failed to reconcile with Shimizu Rei, but they also parted on bad terms.

This made her feel incredulous, after all, even Akizuki didn't know that Shimizu Rei had lied to him, so how did Fuyuko know?

"...You don't need to apologize."

Akizuki Makoto shook his head and said in a low voice, "There's nothing I can't say. I couldn't make up with Rei, and instead, we had a very unpleasant falling out."

"Yeah……"

Ji Yexue nodded, a hint of joy in her heart.

She knew her thoughts were dark, but she couldn't help being happy that there was no one left to steal her fish.

I should also apologize to you.

Akizuki lowered his head and, on behalf of Shimizu Rei, apologized to Himeyasu with deep remorse.

"sorry."

"Why are you apologizing to me? What did you do to offend me?" "No... this is in lieu of a proper apology. She did something terrible to you."

Upon hearing this, Ji Yexue instantly understood what Qiuyue Cheng was apologizing for.

"So, was it her doing?"

Ji Yexue's face turned grim. She was still haunted by the sudden pain she had experienced that day and couldn't shake the feeling of unease.

Especially when she thought about how it was Shimizu Rei who had attacked her that day, her anger burned even more fiercely.

Please forgive her; she won't do it again.

Akizuki Makoto saw Ji Yexue's anger and sighed softly, "The reason I argued with Li Hui was because you told me that day. I went to question her, and the result was... she lied to me."

"Did I lie to you?"

Ji Yexue was stunned. If it was Shimizu Rei who lied to Akizuki Makoto, then shouldn't it be Shimizu Rei who should be begging for forgiveness and wanting to make up?
So why is it that Akizuki Makoto wants to reconcile with Shimizu Rei?
Why does Makoto Akizuki show such pain and sadness?
Shouldn't he be angry? Just like he was towards her or Shiina Maki.

"Forget it, let's not talk about these things anymore. We should go back now."

Akizuki Makoto didn't want to continue the conversation, so after saying that, he walked towards Fuyuko.

Dongzi was still eating her cake when she saw her brother arrive. She immediately smiled sweetly and asked, "Brother~ Are we going home?"

"Well, let's go."

Akizuki Makoto extended his hand to Fuyuko, and Fuyuko immediately took it.

Afterwards, they said goodbye to everyone and left the coffee shop.

In the end, Ji Yexue never had the chance, or rather the courage, to ask Qiuyue Cheng why, despite being deceived, she still wanted to reconcile with Shimizu Rei.

She could sense that even if she asked, Akizuki Makoto wouldn't tell her the truth.

After Qiuyue and her brother left, the others also said goodbye and went home.

Rin Shiraishi rubbed her red eyes and contacted Rieko Shimada, asking her to pick her up and take her to Jimbocho to give her daily routine report to her main body.

Although she really didn't want to tell her true self about her happiness and joy today, lest her true self ruin her mood, she had no choice; it was her duty.

Just as she had expected, when she arrived at the apartment in Jimbocho and entered the main room where the main body was located, she reported everything that had happened that day to the main body. The main body was furious and kept cursing her.

"He's just a fake who's going to die tomorrow night. He's disgusting."

"Do they know you're going to die tomorrow? Do they know you exist to drain my life force?"

"Do you know you're a fake person who's taken over someone else's place? You've taken my face, my family background, everything about me, and integrated yourself into human society. You're really disgusting."

"Go die, go die, go die now! Don't wait until tomorrow, just die now!!!"

Rin Shiraishi, the original, is filled with envy and hatred for her clone who is able to live in human society like a normal person.

Her vicious words tore Shiraishi Rin's heart, which was a copy of her, to pieces.

The clone Shiraishi Rin realized once again that her existence was not allowed, and that she would die at midnight tomorrow night.

She can no longer feel that joy and happiness, or even the sadness she is experiencing now.

She could no longer enjoy delicious food, sweet cakes, or bitter yet rich and aromatic coffee...

She is a fake human created to live for only one week, and everything she has now is plundered from others.

Her happiness and joy are built on the suffering of others.

"How dare you cry? Have some self-awareness! What gives you the right to cry?"

"Shouldn't I be the one crying? Who gave you permission to be happy and joyful on your own?"

"Have you ever thought about me? Everything you have belongs to me. You stole my life, you stole everything from me!"

The original Shiraishi Rin kept cursing the clone, while the clone could only sob, tears streaming down its face, and kept apologizing to the original.

Only when the main body was tired of cursing and ran out of energy, its voice hoarse and filled with hatred and murderous intent, telling her to get out of there, was she able to escape from this little hell.

"sorry Sorry……"

Even after leaving the apartment, the clone Shiraishi Rin was still sobbing and muttering apologies to herself.

Seeing this scene, Shimada Rieko, who was waiting downstairs, couldn't help but feel a little sorry for her.

She felt even more pity, especially when she thought about the clone dying tomorrow.

Although it is a replica, she is no different from a real person.

It possesses body temperature, breathing, heartbeat, and the seven emotions and six desires.

I cry when I'm sad, I laugh when I'm happy, and I even cry while laughing because of happiness.

"Get in the car first."

Rieko Shimada opened the back door for Rin Shiraishi and invited her to get in.

She then got into the car, started it, stepped on the gas, and sped away from Jimbocho.

She didn't drive back to Shinjuku, but instead went to the Minato Ward area.

Only today did she want to be gentle with the girl crying in the back row.

This could be called pity, or it could be called charity, but she just wanted to do something for the clones.

She drove to the foot of Tokyo Tower in Shiba Park, Minato Ward, and said, "You don't have anything to do back home, so why don't you stay with me for a while?"

"Yes, yes, Ms. Shimada..."

Rin Shiraishi dared not object, nodding obsequiously as she followed Rieko Shimada off the bus, bought tickets to enter the interior of Tokyo Tower, and took the elevator to the observation deck on the top floor.

Standing here, looking down, you can see the magnificent night view of Tokyo.

Tokyo's level of prosperity ranks among the top in the world, and standing at the top and looking down at this bustling metropolis always gives you a sense of awe.

Rin Shiraishi didn't ask Rieko Shimada why she brought her here; she simply covered her mouth and admired the magnificent night view before her.

"Ah……"

Standing next to her, Rieko Shimada noticed her surprised expression and a slight smile appeared on her lips.

"It's almost dinner time. Is there anything you'd like to eat? It's on me today."

"Eh?"

Rin Shiraishi looked surprised, turned to look at Rieko Shimada, and asked, "Ms. Shimada, are you going to invite me to dinner?"

"Yes."

Rieko Shimada nodded in affirmation.

It was just a meal; it was a trivial matter to her.

Even if it meant going out for a lavish, high-class meal, she would not hesitate to pay for the crying girl in front of her.

(End of this chapter)