Tokyo: Idol Girls have absolutely no bad intentions!

Then, he straightened up and handed the book to Asada's frozen hand.

"Let's go." He looked into her vacant eyes, his voice calm.

Asada remained motionless, like a puppet, reaching out to receive the book, her gaze shifting from the book to Ito's face.

His throat was blocked, and he couldn't utter a single syllable.

The sunlight filtering through the glass cast long shadows of the two people.

"No matter what the outcome, let's go eat first. Going hungry won't solve anything."

Asada kept her head down, her dark bangs hanging down, obscuring her eyes and expression, leaving only her trembling shoulders and tightly pursed lips.

Hey! What are you doing right now?!

The two looked in the direction of the sound and saw Ms. Rie Totsugi standing at the classroom door, hands on her hips, brows furrowed, her eyes behind her glasses fiercely scanning Ito and Asada by the window.

"This is a classroom! Not a place for you to date!" Ms. Toji's voice was brimming with displeasure. "Even on vacation, you can't stay here!"

"It doesn't matter when or where, but not now! Not at this time! Not at this stage of development! This kind of dangerous behavior is absolutely not allowed to happen!"

She wasn't about to let the two people in the classroom off the hook; she tapped her fingers hard against the wall next to her, making a "thump-thump" sound.

"Especially you! Ito! And that girl! Don't pretend you didn't hear me!" Teacher Toji looked furious. "If you two are still putting on this melodramatic soap opera when I get back from my meeting, don't blame me for exercising my last bit of teacher's power to keep you here permanently!"

"If you like staying in school, then stay here for life!"

"Honestly! Just because they're in a relationship, they think they're so great? They think they can do whatever they want? A bunch of bastards wasting their youth!" She left, cursing.

Ito's gaze returned to Asada only after the footsteps faded at the end of the corridor.

She kept her head down, her expression obscured by her bangs.

“So,” Ito’s voice softened, “Asada, are you really planning to stay at school and wait here for Mr. Totsugi to come back from his meeting? Wouldn’t it be better to go home?”

Asada remained silent.

A few seconds passed slowly.

Finally, she nodded slightly.

She didn't look at Ito again, nor did she speak. She simply turned around silently and began to gather the pens scattered on the table. She carefully stuffed the book that Ito had picked up into her bag and then zipped it up.

Ito didn't urge her or say anything more; he just stood quietly to the side, watching her silently complete all of this.

Asada slung her backpack over her shoulder, still without looking up, and walked past Ito, head down, straight toward the classroom door.

Ito followed half a step behind her, and the two of them left the classroom of Class 3-C in silence, one after the other, and walked into the corridor bathed in the golden light of the setting sun.

The moment I stepped out of the school gate, the afterglow of the setting sun rushed towards me without any obstruction.

The hustle and bustle of the day has completely faded away, and the air is filled with the tranquility and languor unique to dusk.

Several sparrows hopped and chased each other on the low power lines, chirping and chattering.

Ito trailed Asada by half a step, his gaze fixed on her slightly thin and stiff back.

How can we communicate if they maintain this attitude from beginning to end!

She walked slowly, head down, staring at her feet.

Silence fell, broken only by the sound of the wind, the distant traffic, and the monotonous, rhythmic footsteps of the two figures, flowing through the streets at dusk.

Many fragments of memories, particularly those about Asada, swirled in Ito's mind.

How should I deal with Asada's feelings?

He really didn't know the answer.

But looking at Asada's shoulders outlined by the setting sun, Ito felt a complex mix of emotions.

No matter what you do, someone will be hurt. Has Mori done anything wrong?

She looks completely different now than the girl on stage back then.

How could things have gotten to this point...?

He wanted to say something.

Perhaps we should lay everything out in the open and make things clear?

Just as Ito was pondering, Asada, who was ahead of him, seemed to hesitate for a very long time before finally stopping.

Ito also stopped.

He saw Asada with his head down, his hands gripping the shoulder straps of his schoolbag tightly.

The wind blew her bangs across her forehead, and a few strands of hair clung to her slightly damp cheeks, making her look a little disheveled.

She finally moved her lips. The sound was so soft, almost swallowed by the wind, as faint as a cat's whimper.

"I...I'm not..."

Before she could finish speaking, as if she had exhausted all her courage, her head drooped even lower, and her shoulders began to tremble slightly again.

The rest of the words disappeared completely into the depths of his throat.

“It’s okay, there’s no rush.” Ito took the other person’s backpack and then slowly walked forward. “Just like when we used to shop at convenience stores late at night… I mean, there’s no need for feelings of guilt or anything like that.”

Chapter 244 Ms. Hayakawa is an eternal warm harbor!

Ito served the last dish; it was his turn to cook today.

There's not much food left in the fridge; I should go buy some tomorrow.

"Eat up," Ito said, handing chopsticks to Asada.

Meanwhile, he began to eat dinner as if nothing had happened.

If things can continue to develop peacefully, that would be a welcome outcome. The weather outside the window is sunny, but gloomy.

The streetlights seem to be out of order today.

The atmosphere at the dinner table was oppressive, filled with an eerie silence.

Someone spoke, and the only sounds were the occasional soft clinking of chopsticks against the bowls and plates, and the sounds of chewing food.

The air was filled with the aroma of food, but it did nothing to dispel the awkward or rather, subtle atmosphere.

Asada rummaged through the rice in his bowl, separating the grains with his chopsticks, his mind clearly not on the food.

Asada was so depressed that even delicious food couldn't lift her spirits.

Of course, after she finished shoveling rice like a child, her actions didn't stop; she picked up vegetables, chewed, and swallowed.

There's no joy in it; it looks more like something they're forced to do...

Probably.

"There's still rice in the rice cooker." Ito couldn't help but remind Asada, noticing the almost empty bowl of rice and her constant picking at her food.

"No need... that's enough." Asada lowered her head even further, her voice barely audible. "Just eat the vegetables... that's fine."

After saying that, as if to prove something, she picked up the last piece of braised pork rib from the plate and put it in her mouth.

After a long while, this agonizing dinner finally came to an end.

Ito was the first to put down her chopsticks and stand up. "I'm done eating."

He then took his bowl and chopsticks and put them in the kitchen sink.

Upon hearing this, Asada immediately stopped what he was doing and silently began clearing the dishes from the table.

Since Ito prepared the meal, the task of washing the dishes naturally fell to Asada.

There is absolutely no objection to this; it is a secret agreement reached long ago.

Silently, she tied on the apron with the bear pattern and walked to the sink.

Turn on the tap, and warm water gurgles and splashes.

Asada picked up a sponge, squeezed on some dish soap, and began to slowly scrub the dishes in circles.

Her movements were slow and meticulous, as if she wanted to wipe the bowl very clean, or perhaps...

It is a wish that time could stretch on indefinitely amidst the rushing water, so that we would never reach the moment we must face.

Because she could sense that not far behind her, Ito was sitting in a chair at the dining table, neither leaving nor looking at his phone, but simply waiting quietly.

Waiting for her to finish this task, waiting for that inevitable conversation.

Asada's heart sank little by little as she felt the water rushing over her palms.

She knew she couldn't possibly "win".

Regardless of the outcome, she already had a premonition that it wouldn't be the answer she wanted.

After the impulse to confess, what remains is more fear and the cowardice of wanting to escape.

Time passed by, and eventually the dishes and chopsticks would be washed.

She turned off the tap, and the kitchen instantly fell silent.

He dried his hands with a clean hand towel, the gesture resembling a farewell ceremony.

Then, he took a deep breath, turned around, walked to the dining table, and sat down opposite Ito.

Her hands were clasped tightly together on her knees, her head was down, and her thick eyelashes drooped down, obscuring the emotions in her eyes.

The ticking of the second hand on the wall clock rhythmically jolted my taut nerves.

In the end, it was Asada who broke the awkward silence first.

"I...I will disappear."

Ito paused for a moment upon hearing this, his brows furrowing slightly, as if he didn't quite understand the meaning of the word at this moment.

"Disappear? What do you mean? Are you going solo?"

How can we just let our idol, whom we've worked so hard to cultivate, get away like this?

In any case, this is not the outcome he wanted to see.

"No...that's not what I meant." Asada quickly shook her head, a bitter self-deprecating smile on her face. "I meant...I'll try my best not to appear in front of you...I won't bother you and Mori...I won't put you in a difficult position..."

But then she immediately took a deep breath, raised her head, her eyes slightly red, and looked directly at Ito, "But I still want to say that I like you, Ito."