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

The pediatric clinic was unusually quiet in the afternoon.

Kikawa Sumi sat at his desk, rubbing his temples. Lately, he felt rather tired, perhaps because of the changing seasons.

The phone was placed next to the medical record book, screen facing up.

Kikawa Sumi's gaze unconsciously drifted over there again.

The reply in the chat box came from Gojo Satoru, who arrived forty minutes later.

[Sorry, Cheng! The school added a training program at the last minute, so I can't have lunch with you. Remember to eat on time! [Cat rolling around.jpg]]

Forty minutes.

Since confirming their relationship, Gojo Satoru almost never goes more than ten minutes without replying to messages.

That person would reply to his messages instantly, anytime and anywhere, even if it was just a meaningless emoticon, just to let Sumi Kichikawa know that he was there.

But recently—

Kikawa Sumi unconsciously stroked the edge of the screen with her fingertips, her brow furrowing slightly.

Recently, Gojo Satoru has become increasingly busy.

Replies to messages became slower and slower, sometimes taking half a day to finally pop up with a cheerful "Just finished! Missing Xiaocheng~".

His itinerary became vague, gradually changing from the initial specific "going to Kyoto for educational training" to "going to another city to handle some school matters," and later, sometimes it was just a casual "business trip," even omitting the city name.

If it's just occasional busyness, Sumi Kichikawa won't take it to heart. He himself is the kind of person who can work three consecutive night shifts when he's busy.

But Gojo Satoru is really too busy.

Kikawa Sumi silently went through it in her mind: Wednesday, business trip to Kyoto, went and returned on the same day; Thursday, she was supposed to go to Saitama to handle school matters, and didn't get home until after 11 p.m.; Friday, again to Kyoto, this time she stayed overnight before returning.

I don't know where he went on Saturday, and he didn't come back until 3 a.m. yesterday.

Ever since Gojo Satoru started traveling more frequently for work, Sumi Kikawa's sleep has become very light.

So when the bedroom door was carefully pushed open, Sumi Kichikawa woke up immediately.

He didn't move.

With her eyes closed, it took a while before she heard the person tiptoe to the bedside.

The rustling sound of fabric indicated that someone was taking off their coat.

Three o'clock in the morning.

Where did this person come from that took so long to get back?

The blanket was partially lifted.

The next second, a slightly cool body gently snuggled into my arms.

Memories come together.

Sumi Kichikawa sighed softly, picked up her mug, and took a sip of the slightly cooled roasted tea.

When he woke up this morning, the bed next to him was already cold.

Gojo Satoru left early again this morning.

A yellow sticky note was pressed down on the bedside table, firmly held atop a Border Collie-style small-town paper.

The handwriting is somewhat messy, showing that it was written in a hurry, but the heart symbol at the end is still drawn meticulously:

[There's morning exercise at school, gotta head over now! Will be back early today! Want some hamburger patties made by Xiaocheng♡ Oh, and there are strawberries in the fridge, remember to eat them! ——Satoru]

Sumi Kichikawa looked at the note for a long time.

"Come back soon."

This phrase has been appearing more and more frequently lately.

Gojo Satoru didn't usually write this kind of thing because he always came back on time, so there was no need to emphasize it.

But now, these four words appear on every sticky note, as if repeatedly and stubbornly assuring Sumi Kichikawa about something.

Kikawa Sumi opened the bedside table drawer and took out a small light gray canvas storage bag.

The zipper was half open, and inside there were already quite a few sticky notes and small pieces of paper left by Wu Tiaowu.

Some signs read, "Pudding is on the second floor! It's mine! Don't steal it!" Others had crooked cat faces drawn on them, accompanied by the caption, "I like Xiaocheng today too."

Sumi Kichikawa neatly folded today's note, placed it together with the other notes, zipped it up, and put it back in the drawer.

Then he got up, washed up, changed his clothes, and finally went to the kitchen to open the refrigerator. There was a box of strawberries neatly stacked in the crisper drawer, each one plump and beautifully red.

When exactly did this person buy it?

I didn't get home until 3 a.m. yesterday. I couldn't have gone to the convenience store in the middle of the night to pick it out, could I?

...Maybe it really is true.

How could a high school physical education teacher have such a frequent business trip schedule?

Sumire Kichikawa recalled what Satoru Gojo had said before—"Those old men are causing trouble again," "I'm almost falling asleep in the meetings," "They've dumped another boring chore on me."

Sumire Kikawa's brow furrowed slightly.

...Are those higher-ups making things difficult for him again?

Gojo Satoru once said that he didn't have a good relationship with the school. Those people didn't like him, thinking he was unruly and had a lax attitude.

If those people are deliberately giving him extra tasks and frequently sending him on business trips to other places—

Sumi Kichikawa's fingers tightened involuntarily.

Deep within my consciousness, that cold, lurking voice, which always seemed to lurk in the shadows, suddenly rang out without warning.

"You know that, right?"

His tone was neither hurried nor slow.

"An ordinary high school physical education teacher shouldn't have this kind of schedule."

With her eyes closed, Sumi Kichikawa continued to tap the table with her fingers.

He did not answer.

"Something's wrong with his job."

There was a few seconds of silence.

"...I know." Sumi Kichikawa responded softly in her heart.

Aren't you going to ask?

"If he doesn't want to talk about it, then I won't ask."

He certainly noticed those odd things.

More and more frequent business trips, increasingly vague itineraries, and the exhaustion of not getting home until 3 a.m.

Put together, this certainly doesn't seem like the typical work rhythm of a high school teacher.

However, Sumi Kichikawa did not delve deeper into this direction.

It wasn't that he didn't dare to think about it, but rather that he believed that since Gojo Satoru had chosen not to speak, he must have his reasons.

Perhaps it was because she didn't want to worry herself, or perhaps she felt that talking about those things would only cause her more trouble.

In short, as long as Gojo Satoru doesn't say anything, he'll only get a smiling "It's nothing~" if he asks.

That person's ability to only report good news and not bad news was something that Sumi Kichikawa had already experienced firsthand.

"Dr. Kikawa?"

There was a gentle knock on the door of the consultation room, and Chinatsu Miyazawa peeked in, holding a medical record in her hand. "Did I disturb your rest?"

"No, please come in." Sumire Kichikawa put away her phone and smiled gently.

Chinatsu Miyazawa walked in, handed over her work, and then asked, "By the way, Dr. Kikawa, we agreed that I would treat you to that newly opened yakiniku restaurant. Are you and Mr. Gojo free this weekend?"

Sumi Kikawa paused slightly, a hint of apology flashing in her eyes: "I'm sorry, Miyazawa. Satoru... he's been quite busy with school lately, so we might not be able to meet up for a while. If you're in a hurry, you can go eat first."

Miyazawa Chinatsu looked at Kikkawa Sumi and immediately sensed something.

She didn't press further, but simply smiled understandingly and waved her hand, saying, "It's alright! The shop isn't going anywhere. Let's wait until Mr. Gojo is less busy and has some free time, then we can go together. We're not in a hurry at all."

As she reached the door, she stopped and turned back to look at Sumire Kichikawa, her tone becoming more serious: "Dr. Kichikawa, Mr. Gojo works so hard, you must take good care of him, and also take good care of yourself."

Kikawa Sumi was slightly taken aback, then a warm feeling welled up in her heart.

He nodded solemnly: "Yes, I will. Thank you."

The understanding and non-interference of her friends eased the anxiety that had been building up around her for Gojo Satoru.

He picked up his phone again and opened another unread message.

It was sent by Yoshino Junpei.

[Dr. Qichuan, good afternoon. Sorry to bother you.]

I wanted to tell you about what's been going on lately. You suggested I try talking to my mother, and after preparing for a long time, I finally told her everything that happened at school yesterday.

My mother cried for a long time. But she didn't blame me, and today she went to the school to help me complete the leave of absence procedures.

For now, I don't have to face those people anymore. My mom said she'll see if I can transfer to another school and start over in a different environment.

Thank you. I feel... like I can finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Looking at these lines of text, Sumi Kisakawa finally showed her first truly relaxed smile of the day.

The boy, who always kept his head down and covered half his face with his bangs, finally mustered up the courage to sit in front of his mother and recounted, one by one, the insects stuffed into his textbooks, the shoes thrown into the trash can, and the drinks spilled on him.

That takes a lot of courage.

Sumi Kichikawa typed a reply carefully:

Shunping, you did a great job. Just being able to speak out about these things is already quite remarkable.

Taking a break from school isn't about escaping; it's about giving yourself breathing room. Rest well and take it slow.

If you need anything, feel free to contact me anytime.

After sending the message, Sumi Kichikawa read Junpei's original words again, her gaze lingering on the words "finally able to catch her breath" for a moment.

He was indeed very happy.

However, he also knew clearly that Shunping's problems were far from being solved.

Taking a break from school only temporarily removes you from that malicious environment, but the fear of social interaction and distrust of your peers that are ingrained in a teenager cannot be eliminated simply by changing schools.

He was like a small animal that had just escaped a trap, its quills standing on end. Any sudden act of kindness would make him instinctively retreat, cower, and wonder if it was another trap.

He doesn't need adults' protection or lectures.

What he needs is a peer with whom he can have meaningful conversations.

For some reason, a boy with short pink hair and a smile brighter than the summer sun suddenly popped into Sumi Kichikawa's mind.