Tokyo: Oreimo

"It's almost time, I'll be leaving now."

"Huh? Is Takashiro leaving already?" Tian Zhongxue jumped up from his chair.

"Yes, because my commute is quite long, I'll bring the manuscript for the new chapter next week."

"Okay, okay! We'll wait!"

Ayumi looked up and smiled at Ling Nai: "Ling Nai, thank you so much for today. Your guidance was a great help."

"It's nothing." Ling Nai tilted her head slightly, her tone calm. "Senior Ayumi already had a good foundation; I was just pointing out a few minor flaws."

"This is no small matter..." Ayumi glanced down at the revised drawing on her sketchbook, her tone serious. "Can we come again next time?"

Ling Nai glanced at Ryosuke, then nodded very slightly.

"If that guy comes, I'll come along if I have time."

Ayumi caught that look in her eyes, then glanced at Ryosuke, who was saying goodbye to Wada Middle School next to her, and her lips curved into a barely perceptible smile.

"See you next time."

She walked over to Ryosuke, tugged at his sleeve, and said, "Let's go."

.....

As the two walked out of the activity room, the faulty fluorescent light in the corridor was still flickering intermittently.

The sound of footsteps descending the stairs echoed in the empty teaching building; no one spoke.

Stepping out of the clubhouse building, the autumn sunset bathed the ground in its golden light, casting long shadows of ginkgo trees.

"Wait a minute." Ling Nai suddenly stopped.

Ryosuke turned around and saw Ling Nai standing with her arms crossed, her gaze drifting towards the main road on the other side.

Her lips moved, as if she had made a decision.

"Since it's still early, why don't you show me around?"

Is it early? Ryosuke glanced at his phone. If he didn't leave at this time, he'd miss dinner.

He could probably guess what Ling Nai was thinking.

"Take a stroll? Around the school?"

"Is that not allowed?"

Ryosuke remained silent for a moment.

Where would you like to go?

"Anywhere, just the places you usually go."

Ryosuke thought for a moment, then led her toward the main teaching building.

The campus was much quieter than usual on Saturday, but it wasn't deserted.

There were still track and field students training on the playground, a few students sketching on the Ginkgo Avenue, and groups of people coming and going at the library entrance.

The two walked slowly along the Ginkgo Avenue.

The fallen leaves covered the ground, making a soft rustling sound when stepped on. Ling Nai walked beside Ryosuke, her gaze sweeping over the buildings along the roadside, occasionally asking, "What's that building?" Ryosuke would answer each one.

When I reached the middle of the avenue, two boys walked towards me, holding canned coffees they had bought from a vending machine, and they were chatting.

One of them looked up and saw Ryosuke and Ryouno. His gaze lingered on Ryouno's face for a moment before he nudged his companion with his elbow.

My companions also looked over.

Ling Nai reacted almost simultaneously.

Her hands came out from behind her back and naturally wrapped around Ryosuke's arm, her five fingers gently clasping his forearm.

Then she took half a step forward, her shoulder almost touching Ryosuke's upper arm, her golden ponytail brushing against his shoulder.

Ryosuke turned his head to look at her.

"what?"

"What do you mean, 'what are you doing'?" Ling Nai looked straight ahead, her chin slightly raised. "Just walking."

The two boys had already walked past, but Ryosuke could feel the gazes directed at him from behind, as well as the whispered murmurs.

He didn't hear the specifics clearly, but he could roughly guess what it was.

Ling Nai is so naive that he's easy to understand.

You must have overheard something in the activity room before? You walked around the campus with Saori, so you want to too?

"You deliberately chose to go to crowded places?" Ryosuke lowered his voice.

"I don't understand what you're saying." Ling Nai didn't loosen her grip; instead, she tightened it a little. "I'm tired. Can I borrow your arm for a bit?"

"You've been sitting in the activity room all afternoon, what are you tired of?"

"Drawing is very mentally taxing. Do you think it's easy to correct someone's drawing?"

Ryosuke didn't expose her.

The girl's chin was slightly raised, and the corners of her mouth were faintly curved, like a cat that had just finished eating a whole saury.

Stunned, isn't the Giantess?

Would you even come here to assert your sovereignty? I'm not bad either, am I?

The two continued walking forward. When they passed the library entrance, a girl sitting alone on a bench reading a book looked up and her gaze lingered on Ryosuke and Ryouna, who was holding his arm, for several seconds.

Then her expression became somewhat subtle.

Ryosuke noticed that the girl took out her phone, typed a few words, and then looked up at them.

"That girl looks like she's taking pictures of us," Ryosuke whispered.

"Let her take the pictures." Ling Nai's voice carried a hint of barely perceptible smugness.

The only thing she cares about now is whether enough people have come to see her along the way, and whether the word will have a good enough effect.

Although it was quite shameful to do so, it was still a step ahead of the Female Titan.

We absolutely cannot lose.

They walked about two hundred meters more, bypassed the flower bed in front of the main teaching building, and headed towards the school gate.

They encountered two more groups of people on the way, and each group's gaze lingered for a few seconds on the way Ling Nai was holding Ryosuke's arm.

"Are you satisfied now?" Ryosuke asked.

"What's this about being satisfied or not? I'm just strolling around the school."

Ling Nai finally let go of his arm, put her hands behind her back again, and kicked a ginkgo leaf on the ground with her toe. The leaf flew up, tumbled a few times in the air, and then floated back to the ground.

Ryosuke looked at the slightly upturned corners of her mouth and chuckled.

"Come on, go home."

"Ah."

.....

When Ryosuke opened the door to the club activity room on Wednesday, he was about fifteen minutes later than usual.

Today we had an extended discussion class, which ended later than expected.

"Takashiro-kun!!"

Before even stepping across the threshold, Tian Zhongxue's voice exploded like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

He sprang up from his chair, clutching a printed sheet of paper, his face beaming with "You've finally arrived" satisfaction.

"You've finally arrived! We've been waiting for you for ages!"

"Sorry, the discussion class has gone overtime." Ryosuke put his bag on his seat and looked around.

The activity room was quite full.

Tanaka, Ayumi, and Misaki Asakura were all there. Yosuke Kobayashi was sitting in the corner with a coffee in his hand. Even Shota Okubo, who usually arrives just in time, was already there, sitting with his legs crossed, flipping through a magazine.

"You've come at the right time! Do you know what happened at school last Saturday afternoon?!"

Tian Zhongxue slammed the printed paper in his hand onto the table, the force of which made Ayumi, who was next to him, frown.

"event?"

"President, don't exaggerate like that." Ayumi put down her pencil and said calmly, "It's just that someone posted a thread on the forum."

"This isn't just any ordinary post! It's breaking news!" Tian Zhongxue pushed the printed paper in front of Ryosuke and poked the paper hard with his finger.

Ryosuke looked down.

It was a screenshot of a printed post with the title: "A stunningly beautiful girl with golden hair appears on the Ginkgo Avenue!!!"

The title was followed by three exclamation marks, and the post was made last Saturday evening.

The post was short, about two or three hundred words long. It said that the poster saw a couple on Ginkgo Avenue. The man's face was not clearly visible, but the woman's looks were outrageously beautiful. She had blonde hair, a ponytail, delicate features, and an aura that was far beyond that of ordinary college students. The poster suspected that she was a model from a magazine who came to the campus for a photoshoot.

A photo was also attached below.

The photo has a low resolution, clearly taken casually with a mobile phone. The trees lining both sides of the Ginkgo Avenue take up most of the frame, with two figures walking one after the other in the middle.

The girl's face was captured relatively clearly; she had blonde hair in a ponytail, and even in the blurry image, the contours of her profile were still remarkably delicate.

As for the person walking next to her, his face was almost completely hidden in the shadows of the trees; only a blurry outline and a dark coat could be seen.

"How was it!" Tian Zhongxue's eyes lit up.

Ryosuke remained silent for a second.

Of course he knew that the people in the photo were himself and Ling Nai.

On Saturday evening, when they passed by the library entrance, a girl did indeed raise her phone at them. He mentioned it to Ling Nai, and Ling Nai's response was, "Let her take the picture."

However, judging from the quality of this photo, the photographer clearly didn't have time to focus, or their hand was shaking.

“It’s blurry, but look at that blonde hair! That high ponytail!” Tian Zhongxue circled the photo with his finger. “Isn’t that Gao Cheng’s sister?”

“It really is Ayano, right?” Asakura Misaki leaned over from the side, still holding the strawberry milk in her hands. “That day, Ayano was wearing a white shirt and a dark blue skirt, and her hair was tied in a ponytail.”

“Yes, it’s us.” Ryosuke pulled up a chair and sat down, his tone flat. “It’s rare for her to come to Waseda, so I’ll just show her around.”