I, who advocate giving up, feel like a disqualified person

. . . . . . . . . . . .

"Memories can be altered through words"

This is true...but who have I changed?

Maybe I changed others... or maybe I changed myself unintentionally.

Reasons to flash

"Why are you eating so slowly..."

Rin Hanekawa had already finished his portion and was looking at me with an impatient expression.

"...Sorry...I got distracted, and I don't really like ice cream," I said, standing up. "If you can't wait, just go now."

"Ouch...what a waste."

She shook her head and stood up.

"Food I don't like to eat has no value to me. How can throwing away worthless things be considered a waste?"

"No... I'm not talking about your behavior. I'm blaming myself for giving you the concept of biological equality. It's such a waste to treat you as a human being."

This statement seems to be much more vicious than Rinquanchuan.

"Hmm..." Okay, okay, I'll just finish eating.

"Oh?" She seemed surprised that I sat down and ate my ice cream again. "Didn't you say it was worthless to you?"

"..."

I ignored her... What's so delicious about this thing? I rarely eat it even in summer. The cool feeling in my mouth can't spread to the whole body, and I might even get an upset stomach if I'm not careful.

"Oh, I see..." she muttered to herself, "You're a trash can that collects waste, right? That explains it perfectly."

“…”

"So, what you just said wasn't meant for me, but for yourself, right? To help me get in a better mindset for dealing with waste... I'm really sorry for interrupting without your permission."

Oh my god...I'm actually starting to regret what I just said.

"Okay, okay, that's enough..." I stood up. "If I remember correctly, you still have a job, right?"

"...It's none of your business."

I don't want to care about you...

"Well, now that we know the birthday, we should proceed to other steps, right?" She suddenly turned the topic to Rinquanchuan's birthday.

"Ah... That's right... I just haven't thought about the next steps yet..." As soon as he said this, he could clearly feel the murderous intent revealed by the smiling Rin Hanekawa. "But I have an idea in mind. I will tell you the detailed plan when the time comes."

"Ah... then thank you for your help, dear Shaji-kun~"

...What a troublesome guy...

Chapter 13 The Reason for Flashing

"By the way...you don't have any friends?"

I don't know why, but Rin Hanekawa, who hadn't spoken for a while since coming out of the ice cream shop, suddenly started a conversation with me.

"Why do you say that..."

I hadn't meant to reply, but by the time I realized it, I had already asked a counter-question... What a mistake.

"Because even if we ask them not to run side by side, those close friends will still run one in front of the other, or side by side when we're not paying attention. So... those who don't have any friends are the ones who don't have many friends."

This sentence was really wrong. I just deliberately avoided running with Lin Quanchuan and Ling Can... By the way, they don’t seem to be friends... Ah, that guy Liu Yan ran too fast!

"I was right, wasn't I?" She smiled smugly. "You really are the unpopular type."

"...Please don't make personal attacks."

I reminded her expressionlessly.

"Oh, is there anything wrong with telling the truth?" She looked surprised.

"...I do have friends, but they are not in this school." Actually, I don't have any friends. At best, they can only be considered classmates.

"Oh... I'm so sorry for underestimating you."

“…No…it’s okay.”

I really don't want to say that to her.

"So, can you still meet them now?"

"It's not easy to meet... After all, we haven't seen each other for a long time, and we don't have any decent contact information."

"What kind of friend is this..."

"That's it... What can I do?" I paused. "What about you? Do you have any friends?"

"Of course I have a lot. How could someone like me who is good at speaking and behaves so well not have friends?"

Then you should teach your sister a lesson.

"Having many friends is not necessarily a good thing..." I said to myself.

"Why isn't it a good thing? Wouldn't it be joyful to have more friends..."

She seemed to have heard this.

"...It's okay...I was just talking nonsense." I responded briefly and looked into the distance.

The more friends you have, the more painful it will be when you are betrayed.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Okay, I'm here."

Rin Hanekawa suddenly stopped and stood next to a student council member who was also wearing an armband.

"I'm here to take over..." she said to the boy, then turned to me who had stopped walking, "You'll have to work hard on your own for the rest of the journey."

"I know without you telling me... Let's go." I waved at her, "See you at the end."

She also waved at me and said, "You won't see me at the finish line."

...Well, forget it.

.......................

Some familiar streets...because this is near my home.

I really wanted to run back home, and then change the route and pretend to return when the time was almost up... But before I could think of that, I ran past it, so I gave up the idea.

In a little while I'll be able to see the private school where my so-called rival is studying.

"..."

Come to think of it... that guy's words reminded me of something...

...................

As usual, I went to buy comics and met my so-called opponent on the way.

She noticed me passing by her at a glance and quickly moved closer to me. Even though I tried to keep a distance from her while pretending not to see her, I was still caught up by her.

Well...I can't just run away.

"Hello, unknown friend, I wasn't looking at my phone while walking today."

She waved her hand in front of my eyes and greeted me like this.

"..." I looked at her harmless expression and could only sigh, "Since we are so lucky to meet each other on the street, I will tell you my name... My name is Yi Sheji."

"Oh, Yi Sheji... Yi Sheji... This name is good..."

What's a good...

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"...go buy comics."

"Oh..." she nodded.

"...What about you? You don't want to buy one too, do you?" I asked her as she was still walking with me.

"No... I was just strolling down the street. Since I met you, let's go along."

How casual are you... What if I'm going somewhere else... Well, forget it.

"Ah? Did I cause you any trouble?"

She seemed to have just realized this problem.

"...It's not a big deal...As long as you don't mind...I don't mind either." It's really not pleasant to say one thing and mean another.

"Hmm..." He said as if it was a matter of course and walked beside me.

"...By the way...you haven't told me your name yet."

"Oh, by the way, I almost forgot to introduce myself."

“…”

We've met several times and you only remember to introduce yourself now... There should be a limit to how slow you can be.

"My name is Li Yuanya, you can call me Xiaoya."

"...Ah..." I finally know the name. I can give up the nickname "so-called opponent"... It's not a complete failure after all.

"Speaking of which...Xiao...Xiaoya." Inexplicably, it felt a little difficult to speak.

"Hmm?" She turned her gaze towards me.

"Do you usually hang out like this?"

"No, I rarely have time to go out because of homework and other reasons. This time I came out to relax." She explained.

"Oh, that's how it is..."

The probability of encountering this kind of thing is really extraordinary.

"What about you? Do your friends usually invite you out to play?"

This question is really...

"I don't have many friends...so I don't usually go out."

"Oh... a bit like me."

“…That’s really a coincidence, hahaha…” I scratched my cheek.

"Well...you like reading, right?" she asked.

"Ah... I really like it, whether it's comics, light novels, or classic novels..."

"Oh, so you must have tried to write something?"

Her expression suddenly became serious, and she looked very excited... Could it be that the fact that I was writing a novel was discovered...

"I have written... I have written some... but I just don't have the courage to show it." I sighed with pretended regret.

"It's okay. Just have some confidence in yourself." She smiled. "But I want to ask, why do you create this?"

"..."

. . . . . . . . . .

For...for what?

Faced with this question, I couldn't think of what words to answer.

Even now, it’s hard for me to explain it clearly... I don’t know if it’s because of time, but I have forgotten the reason that drove me to write my first story on manuscript paper.

For whom, yourself or others, to prove your talent, to bring joy to others, or simply for wealth?

I don't have an answer, not even a simple one.

"...I have no idea."