Oh no! They all seem a bit off!

Chapter 161 The Last Hope
evening.

Qiu Yuecheng bid farewell to Madam Ji Ye and left the Ji Ye residence with Ji Yexue, getting into a car to go home.

In the car, Ji Yexue said with a hint of resentment, "You idiot, what nonsense did you spout in front of Grandpa and Mother? Aren't you ashamed? I'm so ashamed to death listening to you."

"I'm not talking nonsense."

Qiuyue Cheng looked innocent, spread his hands, and said with a hint of helplessness, "Besides, didn't you allow me to say it? I already asked you, and you said it was okay."

"How would I know? If you were to say something so cheesy, I would think..."

Halfway through her sentence, Ji Yexue suddenly stopped and fell silent.

Ultimately, this stemmed from her preconceived notions and prejudices about Akizuki Makoto, believing that he was only good at making polite, superficial remarks.

However, to everyone's surprise, he said such emotional things in front of her family.

Ji Yexue even had a feeling that Qiuyue Cheng was also showing her affection, that is, "liking" her.

But she didn't want to be a clown anymore. Every time Akizuki Makoto's attitude towards her was ambiguous, she would impatiently try to test the waters and charge forward, only to be met with silence and embarrassment.

She didn't want to experience that again; she preferred to cling to this last glimmer of hope and drift into a beautiful fantasy.

At least this way, she can still hold onto hope that Akizuki Makoto has fallen for her.

Sometimes, she would like to act aloof and deliberately ignore Akizuki Makoto to show that she also has a temper.

But doing this is not painful for Akizuki Makoto, but for her.

Liking something doesn't mean it will be the way you want it to be; rather, it means you should be the way it wants to be.

Whenever she treats Akizuki Makoto with a nonchalant attitude, and Akizuki Makoto also acts indifferent, she feels depressed and resentful.

The deeper the love, the deeper the hate; love and hate are one. The deeper the hate, the deeper the love.

Hate is an extension of love. The more heartbroken and sad you are, the more deeply and clearly you will feel your love.

"I meant those words sincerely, and I was suppressing a lot of shame while saying them..."

Akizuki Makoto paused for a moment, then continued, "Moreover, I want to be honest with myself and stop running away."

"you……"

Upon hearing this, Ji Yexue turned her head instantly and looked at Qiu Yuecheng.

She was about to ask Akizuki Makoto what he meant by those words, but then she suddenly felt that she shouldn't ask.

because……

The expression that Akizuki Makoto was currently displaying carried a hint of loneliness.

His gaze was not on her, but on the view outside the window.

The reflection in the car window showed Akizuki Makoto's eyes, and the scenery he was gazing at was in a very distant place.

After that, the two fell silent, neither of them speaking again.

It wasn't until the car drove back to Bunkyo Ward and stopped in front of the apartment building where Akizuki Makoto lived that the two finally spoke and said goodbye to each other.

Starting next week, Ji Yexue's school attendance will become unpredictable. She might arrive one minute and leave the next due to unforeseen circumstances, or she might be absent for several days in a row.

"If you need help, feel free to come to me anytime, and I will do my best."

Before entering the apartment, Akizuki Makoto couldn't resist asking Hime Yuki to roll down the car window and earnestly make a promise to her.

Life is a vast river; if you are not careful, you will get lost, be swept into the whirlpool, and drown.

"If one day you lose your way on the path of life, I will reach out to save you and guide you in the right direction."

Ji Yexue watched Qiu Yuecheng walk into the apartment and disappear from sight, unable to look away for a long time.

No one knows what she's really thinking right now.

……

……

Sunday, 2 p.m.

As arranged by Shiraishi Rin, Akizuki Makoto arrived at the Jimbocho apartment to meet his original self again.

This time, it was the original body that took the initiative to ask to meet with him and talk to him.

Akizuki Makoto guessed that the main body could no longer sit still and wanted him to help think of a solution.

After learning about the solution, the original Shiraishi Rin tried her best to acknowledge and accept the clone, but no matter what, they couldn't succeed.

According to Dongzi, the original body does not genuinely want to acknowledge and accept the clone, which is why it keeps failing.

Akizuki Makoto came prepared this time. He still has a lot of points on hand, which he can exchange for temporary superpowers to help his main body.

He could borrow the power of distorting common sense that Dongzi possessed, hoping it would be effective.

"Good afternoon."

Good afternoon, Qiuyue-kun.

After arriving at the apartment in Jimbocho as agreed, Makoto Akizuki met with his clone, accompanied by Rieko Shimada, whose expression was somewhat complicated.

She already knew the whole story, and she hoped that the matter could be resolved smoothly as soon as possible, which would be good for everyone.

"I'm counting on you today, Mr. Akizuki."

Rieko Shimada lowered her head and earnestly pleaded with Makoto Akizuki to make sure that Rin Shiraishi was cured.

"Go up first."

Akizuki nodded and, led by the clone, took the elevator to the 22nd floor and entered the apartment where the original was located.

Pushing open the door to the main room, it was still dark. This time, even the small lamp on the bedside table was not turned on, and the whole room exuded a sense of deathly silence.

Akizuki Makoto took out his phone, turned on the flashlight, and found the button to control the indoor lights on the left-hand wall as he entered the room. He then turned on the lights.

It was only then that he realized the room was a mess, with many things scattered haphazardly on the floor.

Like cake boxes, or leftover cake, as well as dolls, underwear, clothes...

Lying on the luxurious princess bed in the center of the room, Shiraishi Rin was wearing a thin black lace silk nightgown, her hair was messy, and her face was listless and haggard.

She half-opened her eyes, staring at Akizuki Makoto and Shiraishi Rin at the door with those lifeless eyes, not even having the energy to get angry.

Over the course of the week, she had vented her anger to the fullest extent and was now completely obedient, only wanting to resolve the strange changes that had occurred to her as soon as possible.

"Here it comes... Ah."

She moved her dry lips, making a hoarse, low voice.

In comparison, the sound emitted by the clone was simply heavenly.

Moreover, they clearly have the same appearance, yet no one can tell that they look exactly alike.

The current Shiraishi Rin is practically a different person from before. "How pitiful..."

Akizuki Makoto muttered to himself with a hint of pity, even the old and dying Himeya Ryushun looked better than Shiraishi Rin.

It's clear how weak Shiraishi Rin is right now; she can't even sit up.

Her health deteriorated much faster than she had imagined. She thought the deadline was the end of summer, but it was actually the end of July.

In other words, she would die in two weeks, so she panicked and desperately wanted Akizuki Makoto to help her.

She didn't want to die, even though she had thought about dying thousands of times, but when it came time to die, she longed to live.

"Akizuki-kun, are you confident?"

The clone looked at the original Shiraishi Rin, who was lying on the bed barely breathing, and asked her with some nervousness and unease.

"There shouldn't be any problems, but I can't be 100% sure it will succeed. We'll have to try to find out."

Akizuki Makoto responded softly, still believing in the power of superpowers.

In particular, the ability that Touko possesses can directly distort common sense, which is incomparable to the half-baked hypnosis of Shiraishi Rin.

Rin Shiraishi also tried using hypnosis software to hypnotize herself, but unsurprisingly, she failed.

She verbally acknowledged and accepted the clone, but deep down, she still harbored some resistance.

"Let's get started quickly, I can't... I can't take it anymore."

Shiraishi Rin, in her true form, moved her lips, and a faint light flickered in her lifeless eyes.

Seeing this, Akizuki Makoto stopped dawdling and directly brought up the system, exchanged for five minutes of common sense control, and said to Shiraishi Rin: "From now on, you recognize Shiraishi Rin as your clone, and you will accept her as a part of you. You are one."

"We... are one."

Rin Shiraishi muttered to himself, a moment of confusion flashing in his eyes before his gaze cleared again.

Then, she looked at the clone standing next to Akizuki Makoto, smiled suddenly, and said softly, "I acknowledge your existence and want to accept you. Let's get along well from now on."

"Was the modification successful...?"

Akizuki Makoto breathed a sigh of relief; at least the superpower had worked. He was afraid that Shiraishi Rin could ignore this superpower that altered consciousness.

But soon, he became nervous again, because even though he had modified Shiraishi Rin's consciousness, nothing happened.

The clone beside him also looked bewildered, unsure how to react.

"Failed?"

The thought of this possibility made Akizuki Makoto's heart sink.

If he fails, it seems he will have no choice but to ask Dongzi for help.

The effect of Dongzi's modification using common sense was on a completely different level from his. It was a terrifying effect that could attempt to break through the system's resistance and would exist permanently as long as it wasn't canceled.

Even now, the relationship between the parents and Shimizu Rei remains one that has been altered by common sense.

Time passed by, and the five minutes of common sense modification effects quickly came to an end.

Even after the common sense modification failed, nothing changed about Shiraishi Rin, and the same was true for the clone.

"Uh……"

After the common sense modification failed, Shiraishi Rin blinked, a look of bewilderment on her face.

After a while, she gradually regained consciousness and noticed the clone still standing next to Akizuki Makoto.

At that moment, her face contorted in pain, and she screamed hysterically, "Why! Why are you still there! Just disappear and die!"

"Ahhh! How much longer are you going to exist?! I can't take it anymore, I can't take it anymore!"

"Go to hell, go ......"

The original Shiraishi Rin completely broke down, cursing the clone incessantly, her face contorted in a terrifying grimace.

"Calm down, I have another idea!"

Akizuki Makoto hurriedly spoke, trying to calm down Shiraishi Rin's emotions, but Shiraishi Rin was completely deaf to reason and had gone berserk.

At times like this, you can only talk to her when she's exhausted from yelling and has no energy left.

"...Let's go out first."

The clone also understood how to deal with Shiraishi Rin, who was in a berserk state. It grabbed Akizuki Makoto's hand and left the main room, heading to the living room.

"Sigh, so it seems I can only turn to Dongzi after all..."

Akizuki Makoto turned around and looked at the hysterical Shiraishi Rin, and couldn't help but sigh.

He didn't want Dongzi to use her superpowers, partly to protect her and to prevent others from noticing that she had superpowers, and partly because he was afraid that Dongzi would become dependent on the convenience that the power brought.

Fuyuko's abilities are terrifying. If she isn't strictly controlled, she could even rule the entire world!

But he had no choice at the moment. If he continued to sit idly by, Shiraishi Rin would really die.

Makoto Akizuki didn't care whether Shiraishi Rin lived or died, but the thought that he could have saved a life but ended up doing nothing made him feel uncomfortable.

If he did his best, he can have a clear conscience. But if he clearly had other methods but lacked common sense and didn't try them, then he can't say he has a clear conscience.

"Akizuki-kun, I beg you to save her. She became like this because of me. If I can't save her and she dies because of me, I'm afraid I'll feel so guilty that I'll want to die."

The clone, Shiraishi Rin, nervously clutched Akizuki Makoto's sleeve, choking back tears as he pleaded. His eyes began to redden, and tears welled up, threatening to spill over at any moment.

Seeing this, Akizuki Makoto remained silent for a long time before finally sighing and deciding to seek help from Fuyuko to save Shiraishi Rin.

Since the clone has already gone this far, he can only lend a hand.

For Fuyuko and him, using superpowers was no big deal, with no side effects or consequences, but for Shiraishi Rin, it was a lifesaver.

"I can't guarantee that I will succeed in the end, but I will try, and I will not give up until the very last moment."

After making his promise to the clone, Akizuki Makoto took her downstairs and went home to find Fuyuko.

Because of the urgency of the situation, after learning that Makoto Akizuki was going back to get reinforcements, Rieko Shimada drove as fast as she could, even running many red lights along the way.

She no longer cares about getting points deducted or her driver's license revoked.

All she wanted was to save the young lady as soon as possible and restore her to her normal state.

Even his previous nasty, aggressive, and aloof demeanor seemed exceptionally endearing to her.

The Shiraishi Rin lying in the hospital bed now is nothing more than a monster whose body and mind have become deformed and ugly.

What should have been a half-hour drive was shortened by more than half thanks to Rieko Shimada's lightning-fast speed.

"Fuyuko!"

Upon returning home, Akizuki Makoto pushed open the door and shouted inside. At the same time, he immediately saw Fuyuko standing in the living room, dressed neatly, looking ready to go out.

(End of this chapter)