Oh no! They all seem a bit off!

Chapter 183 Ji Yexue's Resolve
When he got home, Akizuki Makoto found that Fuyuko had also returned.

When he opened the door, the living room lights were on, and Dongzi, who was sitting on the sofa, immediately got up and went to the entrance to greet him.

"Welcome back, brother~"

"Well, I'm back."

Akizuki Makoto nodded in response and asked, "You're back so soon? I thought you were going to stay at a friend's house tonight."

"Because Dongzi missed her brother, she came back early."

Dongzi hugged Qiuyuecheng, rubbing her little head against his chest, and acted spoiled.

Akizuki Makoto raised his hand and patted her head without saying anything.

He hasn't slept with Dongzi for a while now; Dongzi must be lonely.

Have you already eaten?

"Yes, I came back after dinner."

"Go take a shower first. Your brother should sleep with you tonight."

Qiuyue Cheng spoke softly, but his heart was filled with mixed feelings.

"Good~"

Fuyuko happily agreed, released Akizuki Makoto, went back to her room to get a towel and pajamas, and went into the bathroom to take a shower.

While Fuyuko was taking a bath, Akizuki Makoto sat on the sofa in the living room.

Originally, he wanted to try to contact Ji Yexue and send her a few messages to express his apologies.

But when he opened LINE, he found that Rie Niijima and Rin Shiraishi, whom he hadn't contacted in a long time, had sent him messages.

The messages they sent were all identical, all trying to confirm with him whether he was dating Maki Shiina.

Without a doubt, Shiina Maki must have told them this, otherwise they wouldn't have asked him without any basis.

"..."

After a moment of stunned silence, Akizuki Makoto replied to each of them, confirming that he and Shiina Maki were dating.

Shortly after he sent his message, both of them replied and wished him and Maki Shiina well.

None of them asked any further questions, probably because they had already learned about it from Shiina Maki.

Makoto Akizuki didn't care what Maki Shiina said, even if she told him the truth: his prerequisite for dating her was that he had to be two-timing her.

Having decided to do this, he wouldn't care about other people's opinions, even if they were his friends.

After chatting with Rie Niijima and Rin Shiraishi, he replied to Maki Shiina's message and then sent a few words to Yuki Himeya.

The gist of it is to apologize to her, then reiterate your unwavering stance, and...

He also told Himeyasuki that he and Shiina Maki had started dating.

Rather than letting Ji Yexue find out through others, it's better for him to admit it openly.

Even if it makes Ji Yexue feel worse, he has to do it.

After the message was sent, it showed as read a few minutes later, but there was still no reply.

Akizuki Makoto didn't expect Ji Yexue to reply to him. It was enough that he could still convey his thoughts to Ji Yexue and not be blocked by her.

"It's really... painful."

Looking at the message that had been marked as read a long time ago on the chat box, Akizuki Makoto pursed his lips, feeling a mix of emotions.

He couldn't imagine what state Ji Yexue was in right now, or how she would react after seeing the message he sent.

But without a doubt, in Ji Yexue's eyes, his actions were nothing short of blasphemy and betrayal.

It desecrated her pure and sincere feelings and betrayed her expectations.

"elder brother?"

Just as Akizuki Makoto was feeling down, Touko came out of the bathroom. She looked at Akizuki Makoto sitting on the living room sofa and asked with some concern, "What's wrong, brother? You don't look well."

"fine."

Upon hearing Fuyuko's voice, Akizuki Makoto immediately forced a smile.

He didn't want Dongzi to hear about his affairs, so he didn't want her to worry about him.

"Brother, don't be stubborn. If anything happens, just tell Dongzi. Dongzi will comfort you."

Dongzi spoke softly, sitting down next to Qiuyue Cheng. Her soft, warm little hand covered his palm and gently held it: "Before, brother would always tell Dongzi about things, but now brother doesn't want to tell Dongzi anymore. Did Dongzi do something wrong?"

"No, that's not true, it's just..."

Halfway through his sentence, Akizuki Makoto didn't know what to say next.

In his view, Dongzi was still a little girl and could not possibly understand the emotional turmoil he was in, so he did not want to confide in her.

Besides, even if I told Dongzi, what good would it do? Did I expect her to make the decision for me?

Or is he asking her to support his despicable behavior?
He didn't want either of them. This was his own business, and he should bear the consequences himself, even though he was already suppressing himself to the point of collapse.

"Brother, Dongzi is very worried about you."

Fuyuko looked worriedly into Akizuki Makoto's eyes, her own eyes reflecting sadness.

“Recently, my brother has been acting strangely. He doesn’t sleep with Dongzi anymore, and he often has a melancholy and sad expression, as if he’s suppressing something.”

"Dongzi knows that Dongzi is useless and can't help her brother, so her brother doesn't want to talk to Dongzi."

"But Dongzi just wants to know what's wrong with her brother, what he's thinking. Dongzi... wants to understand her brother and doesn't want to be alienated by him."

As Akizuki Mako listened to Touko's words, he was deeply moved, as if a needle had pierced his heart, causing him great pain.

Looking back, he has indeed been quite cold towards Dongzi lately.

From the moment he became close to Ji Yexue, he seemed to distance himself from Dongzi considerably.

This is actually normal, since they are siblings and have spent a lot of time together, it's impossible for them to be together all the time.

Before, they ate together every day, went to and from school together, and spent weekends at home watching TV, reading comics, and going out to play together...

But now, he spends less time with Fuyuko, and that time is either spent with Himeyasu or attending the Light Music Club's rehearsals.

Dongzi is still the same as before, an immature little girl. It's only natural that she would feel lonely because she suddenly has less time to spend with her brother.

"I'm sorry, I haven't distanced myself from Touko, I'm just a little... emotionally exhausted lately."

Akizuki Makoto placed his hand on Touko's head, gently stroking it, and sighed softly, "I'm too embarrassed to tell Touko what I've been up to lately."

He really didn't want Dongzi to know that his brother was a complete scumbag.

"Brother, you made a promise with Dongzi before, right? No matter what happens, you will not lie to Dongzi or hide anything from her."

Dongzi held Akizuki Makoto's hand in her palm and placed it on her cheek, gently rubbing it, as docile as a kitten being affectionate.

"Dongzi also made a promise with her brother that no matter what happens, Dongzi will stand by her brother's side. As long as her brother is there, Dongzi has no other desires."

"..."

Upon hearing this, Akizuki Makoto appeared dazed, recalling various events from the past.

Speaking of which, quite a few things have happened between me and Dongzi. From the initial shock and fear upon learning that she also possessed superpowers, to later, I restrained Dongzi.

Fuyuko has indeed grown, but internally she remains the same—a sweet and lovable little sister who likes to act spoiled around him. Only…

She was no longer the timid and shy Dongzi.

Akizuki Makoto felt that this change was good. He had no problem being able to act spoiled with his family members, who were unconditionally reliable and supportive of each other.

But for some reason, he always felt a strange and uneasy feeling.

This feeling was fleeting, and he didn't care at first, but after it happened many times, he couldn't help but care.

But he couldn't figure out what was going on, so it was left unresolved.

"...Dongzi, I'm a little tired today. I'll tell you later."

Akizuki Makoto covered his head with one hand; all sorts of things had really pushed him to his limit.

Today was already a hectic day, and now, facing Dongzi, he felt inexplicably uneasy, as if he was reaching his limit.

For now, let's get some rest and see how things go from here on out.

"Okay, then brother, you should rest first."

Dongzi nodded gently and released Qiuyue Cheng, allowing him to get up and go back to his room to rest.

She didn't follow him, but remained sitting on the sofa in the living room, gazing at Qiu Yuecheng's figure until he entered the bedroom and disappeared from sight.

After a long while, she finally looked away, lay down on the sofa, and stared blankly at the ceiling.

……

……

at the same time.

Himeyafu, located far in the heart of the port area.

After the rather long family dinner, Ji Yexue returned to her Japanese-style room, exhausted, and began to undress, preparing to take a bath to relieve the day's fatigue.

As she took off her clothes, she subconsciously picked up her phone, intending to contact Akizuki Makoto and have a voice chat with him.

But the moment her hand touched the phone, she froze, only then realizing what was happening.

She broke off her relationship with Akizuki Makoto today.

"……whispering sound."

Ji Yexue's expression suddenly darkened, and she unconsciously tightened her grip on her phone.

She still vividly remembered everything that happened in the side hall at dusk.

She would remember that kind of unforgettable despair and pain for the rest of her life, and at the same time hate Akizuki Makoto for the rest of her life.

"call……"

Ji Yexue took a deep breath, calmed herself down a bit, picked up her phone, went into the bathroom behind the Japanese-style room, and soaked in the hot spring that was already filled with hot water.

She hadn't originally planned to bring her phone, but it's become a habit lately, and she always unconsciously carries it with her.

However, she brought it along anyway, since that ungrateful guy probably won't dare to contact her again anytime soon.

“…You must be joking!”

After soaking in the hot spring, Ji Yexue couldn't help but clench her teeth and mutter under her breath, her eyes dark and menacing as if she wanted to kill someone.

There was nothing she could do; even though she forced herself not to care, she couldn't help but fly into a rage whenever she thought about what had happened that evening.

Akizuki Makoto's actions infuriated her to the extreme, especially after her mother came to ask her what had happened.

What else could she say? Was she supposed to say that Akizuki Makoto was a scumbag who wanted to have his cake and eat it too, and that she disagreed, which led to their falling out?

Well, she did tell her mother that, conveying Akizuki Makoto's thoughts.

She didn't want to cover for Akizuki Makoto. Since this was his choice, he should have been prepared for the consequences.

However, she couldn't understand her mother. After listening to her story, her mother simply sighed and said it was a pity.

Aside from that, the mother didn't have any other reaction.

"My mother is the same; she completely fails to understand how I feel. Shouldn't she be cursing that bastard with me? Even saying we should kill him!"

Ji Yexue muttered to herself in dissatisfaction. Although killing Qiu Yuecheng was a bit of an exaggeration, it wouldn't be impossible for her mother to send someone to capture Qiu Yuecheng and then slap him twice herself.

To treat one's own daughter so badly, a couple of slaps is far too lenient.
"Ding dong~"

Just as Ji Yexue was complaining, she suddenly heard her phone ring, a message notification tone from LINE.

She has very few Line friends, but she has added everyone from K-On!, so she couldn't immediately tell who sent the message.

However, there was only one person she could think of who would specifically send her a message.

...Perhaps, she brought her phone with her because she hoped that the person would send her a message.

No matter how much hatred or anger they felt, their love remained undiminished.

On the contrary, it was precisely because of this hatred that she clearly felt how deep her love was.

"..."

After hesitating for a while, Ji Yexue finally picked up her phone, unlocked the screen, and opened Line with a mix of trepidation and anticipation.

Seeing that it really was a message from Akizuki Makoto, the corners of her lips curled up slightly.

If this guy keeps apologizing to her and changes his mind about cheating, she's not saying she can't forgive him.

After all, she had already forgiven him. Akizuki Makoto's virginity was no longer hers, so what else could she not forgive?

But when she opened her chat with Akizuki Makoto and saw the message he had sent, she was suddenly stunned.

"I'm sorry, I'm already dating Maki, and she's accepted my feelings."

She ignored the apology messages, staring intently at the most concise one, her breath seemingly stopping.

"Are you... are you kidding me?!"

When she came to her senses, Ji Yexue smashed her phone on the ground, shattering it into pieces.

Her heart seemed to shatter into pieces, a tearing pain driving her to the brink of madness, tears streaming down her face.

She really didn't expect that Akizuki Makoto would not only not just talk, but would also take action so quickly and even send her a message in a hurry.

Doesn't this mean that her thoughts are completely unimportant and that he doesn't care about her feelings at all?

After their argument and falling out, he immediately went to Shiina Maki for comfort.

So, what is she?

She felt like an object, being treated casually by Akizuki Makoto.

Is Akizuki Makoto really that confident that he can persuade her and get her to accept him?
"Akizuki Makoto, I... will never forgive you!"

"Don't think you can't live without me. I'm not a cheap woman like Shiina Maki!"

Ji Yexue muttered bitterly, vowing that she would never reconcile with Qiu Yuecheng again in this lifetime.

From this day forward, they will have absolutely no connection, and she will completely disappear from Akizuki Makoto's world.

(End of this chapter)