Ms. Gojo thought she was dating an ordinary person's boyfriend.

Gojo Satoru did not speak immediately.

Looking at the person so close to him, he originally wanted to reach out and hug Sumi Kichikawa tightly.

But Sumire's chilling reaction at that moment made him temporarily suppress that impulsive thought.

While telling this story, Sumi Kichikawa remained calm from beginning to end, showing no fluctuations whatsoever, not even a hint of reminiscence.

But he certainly didn't seem to have let go of the past.

More like an observer detached from the body, mechanically telling other people's stories.

It's as if all of "Sumi Kikawa's" true feelings were forcibly locked into an airtight box the moment this matter came into contact with her.

Gojo Satoru lowered his voice and tentatively asked, "Did you go back later?"

"no."

"Haven't you thought about going back to visit?"

"I've thought about it."

Gojo Satoru looked at him: "Then why didn't you go?"

After a moment of silence, Sumire Kichikawa replied in a completely flat voice, "No need."

Gojo Satoru frowned slightly, not wanting to miss any unusual look in his eyes: "Is it that you don't need to, or that you 'can't' go?"

Sumi Kawakawa didn't look at him.

His gaze did not fall on any physical objects in the living room, but seemed to penetrate the walls and linger on a certain point in the void.

"They're all the same."

Human lifespan is only a mere hundred years.

Before accepting this internship assignment, he thought that it was just a hundred years of companionship, and it was not a difficult thing at all.

But it wasn't until later that he discovered that even the companionship promised by humans sometimes couldn't last a hundred years.

Human life is so fragile; a cold or an accident can easily break those vibrant branches.

They came so hastily, and they left just as quickly.

At the time, he didn't understand why such a task was classified as a "beginner task".

It wasn't until much later, when he looked back, that he vaguely understood—perhaps from the very beginning, the main system intended to teach them in this way the inevitability of fate on life.

Unfortunately, he didn't understand this principle until much later.

Thinking of this, Sumi Kichikawa's mind suddenly began to become somewhat uncontrollably hazy.

For a moment, it felt as if some long-suppressed, intense emotion was trying to break free from its cage and overcome its oppression in his chest, but just as it was about to emerge, it was suppressed back down by something else.

Two forces were silently pulling at him in his subconscious, causing him to lose his perception of reality.

Sitting next to him, Gojo Satoru keenly noticed the strangeness in the person beside him.

Just a moment ago, he even had the illusion that Kikawa Sumi had been forcibly pulled away by some invisible force, leaving only an empty shell behind.

Gojo Satoru's heart tightened. Without thinking, he reached out and pinched the soft flesh of Kikkawa Sumi's cheeks, then deliberately pulled them apart with some force.

"Xiao Cheng."

The stinging sensation on his face and the familiar body temperature yanked Sumiki Kichikawa back to reality.

His somewhat unfocused gaze suddenly flickered, finally regaining its focus and landing on Gojo Satoru's face.

"Enlightenment?"

Gojo Satoru released his grip, casually ruffled the boy's hair, and said nonchalantly, "That kid has pretty good taste."

Sumire Kikawa's mind hadn't fully processed what was happening, and she was slightly taken aback.

"After all, even Gojo-sensei thinks that you look really good as a monster."

Completely out of sync with Gojo's strange train of thought, Sumire blinked in confusion: "Why?"

Gojo Satoru began spouting nonsense with a straight face: "Because if you were a monster, you could use magic to steal limited-edition desserts for me without anyone noticing."

Sumi Kikawa instinctively retorted, "Even if it's a monster, it can't just steal someone else's dessert."

"Huh?" Gojo Satoru, caught up in his acting, put on a pitiful face and tugged at his sleeve, shaking it. "Even if it was stolen and given to me, is that not allowed?"

Looking into those deliberately pitiful pale blue eyes, it was as if the heavy, cold shackles in Kikawa Sumi's heart had been casually torn away by this person, scattering silently to the ground.

He smiled helplessly, his eyes softening unconsciously.

"If Wu wants to eat it, I can make it for you myself; you don't need to steal it."

Gojo Satoru clicked his tongue, feigning reluctance: "Alright then, since you made it yourself, Gojo-sensei will accept this as a loss."

Sumire Kikawa quietly looked at him for a moment.

In the short few minutes that Gojo Satoru was cracking jokes, he had completely pulled himself out of that dangerous state of withdrawal.

Human warmth returned to him, and the deathly silence slowly faded away.

He raised his hand and grasped Gojo Satoru's hand, which was still resting on his face.

Sumire gently stroked the back of Satoru Gojo's hand with her fingertips, and softly asked the question that had been weighing on her mind: "And Satoru?"

Gojo Satoru was stunned for a moment, not quite understanding: "What?"

"The secret of enlightenment." Sumi Kikawa looked at him intently. "We just agreed to exchange secrets."

Upon hearing this, Gojo Satoru was visibly taken aback.

When he proposed "exchanging secrets" earlier, he did casually promise Sumi Kichikawa that he would tell her too.

But when it was actually his turn, Gojo Satoru realized that doing this was not as easy as he had said.

He rarely talks about his past with others anymore.

It wasn't because of any taboo that "cannot be said," but because I felt there was no need to say it anymore.

Those who understand that past don't need his explanation; those who don't understand don't need to learn from him.

After a moment of silence in the room, Gojo Satoru finally spoke.

"I also have a friend."

Sumi Kichikawa didn't say anything, she just watched him quietly.

"He's my best friend." Gojo Satoru's gaze went over Sumi Kikawa's shoulder and looked out at the deep night. "The Gojo family's affairs are boring. I didn't think anyone was particularly important when I was a kid."

He paused, then lowered his voice.

"But he's different."

As he spoke, his tone softened, but a faint smile still appeared on his lips.

"He's very smart, unlike anyone else. We used to do tasks together, get into trouble together, and of course, get scolded together."

"At that time, I felt that many things would become less boring as long as he was there."

Gojo Satoru chuckled softly, like a child lost in memories: "Back then, we did almost everything together. But he had a really strange temper; he always liked to give me serious lectures, thinking he was always right."

At this point, Gojo Satoru raised an eyebrow, his tone carrying an undisguised pride: "However, he is indeed very strong."

Sumire looked at him and asked softly, "Is he stronger than Satoru?"

"Of course not," Gojo Satoru replied without hesitation, raising his chin slightly. "He can only barely be considered on par with me."

"What's his name?"

"Xia Youjie".

When Gojo Satoru uttered the name, his tone remained light and cheerful, as if it were an old friend he had just met yesterday.

"He's very good at taking care of others, although he can occasionally put on an annoyingly model student act. We've been on many missions together, and we've also gotten into many fights..."

Kikawa Sumi listened quietly without saying a word.

He could tell that Gojo Satoru had tried to downplay the situation as much as possible.

But it is precisely because of this overly deliberate understatement that people can more clearly feel the irreplaceable weight that person holds for him.

As soon as he finished speaking, Gojo Satoru suddenly stopped.

He didn't say anything more.

The halo of the overhead light fell on his snow-white eyelashes, casting a small, blurry, and tired shadow below his eyelids.

Kikawa Sumi gazed at him and asked softly, "And then?"

Gojo Satoru paused, then raised his hand and flicked his forehead: "Sumiko, it's your turn not to ask any more questions."

Kikawa Sumi was slightly taken aback, but quickly came to her senses.

"……good."

Sumi Kichikawa did not pursue the topic further.

He simply raised his hand and gently but firmly embraced Gojo Satoru, pulling him closer into his arms.

Feeling the warmth in front of him, Gojo Satoru obediently leaned on his shoulder.

After a few seconds of silence, he suddenly laughed again: "But I want to hear it again in the future."

"What?"

"I want to hear about other friends," Gojo Satoru snuggled against his shoulder, his voice a little muffled. "Or any other story will do."

Sumire Kikkawa thought for a moment and nodded gently: "Okay."

But after nodding, he hesitated for a moment.

"However, not every story is necessarily interesting."

Gojo Satoru lifted his eyes from his embrace, his pale blue eyes looking at him quietly: "Who says it has to be interesting?"

Sumire Kikkawa paused slightly.

"I just want to hear what you have to say." Gojo Satoru looked into his eyes and said, word by word, "Whether it's fun, enjoyable, or has a beautiful ending, it doesn't matter."

"I want to know a little bit about anything that concerns you."

As Kikawa looked at him, the emotions in her eyes, which had been as still as a deep pool, seemed to have finally been warmed by those few words.

He remained silent for a long time before responding softly.

"it is good."

Night gradually fell.

Only a dim bedside lamp was left on in the room. The warm yellow light softly fell on the corner of the blanket and between the two people's intertwined fingers.

Gojo Satoru nestled in Kikawa Sumi's arms, his eyes closed, his breathing gradually becoming long and even, as if he were about to fall asleep.

After a long while, in a state between sleep and wakefulness, he suddenly murmured, "Xiao Cheng."

"Um?"

"Tell me about it slowly later."

Kikawa Sumi tightened her arms around him slightly, protecting him in her embrace.

"it is good."

"I'll tell you slowly."

"Um."

Having received the promise, Gojo Satoru finally calmed down. Before long, his breathing became completely steady.

Kikawa Sumi looked down at the person sleeping soundly in her arms.

After a long while, he lowered his head and carefully placed a kiss on Gojo Satoru's snow-white hair before closing his eyes.

This night was unusually peaceful.

Meanwhile, on the other side of Tokyo.

The dimly lit, inexpensive restaurant that was still open was filled with the murky smell of food and alcohol.

The guests gathered in twos and threes, chatting animatedly, and no one noticed anything different about tonight.

In the innermost corner sat a black-haired man wearing five robes and with a noticeable stitch on his forehead.

He slowly picked up the glass of water in front of him, his gaze casually fixed on the window, as if he were waiting for someone.

A moment later, the restaurant door was pushed open.

A short, strangely shaped figure with a head like a volcano walked in.

The moment he stepped into the restaurant, the temperature inside, which had been normal, suddenly rose considerably, and the air became somewhat scorching.

Several tables of customers tugged at their collars in confusion, muttering about whether the air conditioning in the store was broken, but no one noticed the non-human monster swaggering down the aisle.

Lu Suo turned his head, looked at the person who came, and a gentle smile appeared on his face.

"You came faster than I expected, Louhu."

Lou Hu pulled out a chair and sat down heavily opposite him. His huge, single eye was filled with barely concealed anger and irritation, and even the crater above his head seemed to be emitting steam.

"You'd better have something to say, Xia You," Lou Hu's voice was rough and dangerous.

Lu Suo, however, seemed completely unconcerned about his attitude, simply resting her chin on one hand and giving him a meaningful smile.

"certainly."

He chuckled softly, the sound sounding particularly eerie in the noisy restaurant.

"After all—things are starting to get more and more interesting, aren't they?"