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

"How could this happen... It just doesn't make sense..."

He's clearly someone much better than me... He's also someone who studied hard for over a decade like me, and has even greater ambitions than me... Why did he have to encounter something like this?

"Perhaps this is the so-called adult world."

He smiled, his expression full of bitterness.

"You should be thankful... I realized the dangers and unspeakable darkness of the outside world before you did. Saying that there's always a blessing in disguise seems like self-consolation... But, I think that's all I can convince myself to think."

Self-comfort...

"This... is all my fault..."

"Hmm? What are you talking about?"

He stood up excitedly at my words. It seems he still cares about this matter quite a bit...

"If...if I hadn't made the bet with you, no, if I had bet on 'you failing the exam'...perhaps the outcome would have been different...I'm always a loser, right? And yet...I'm still...so shamelessly convinced...that I can beat you at the last moment."

I have never won a bet with him...and I still couldn't win this time.

"..."

I lowered my head, not daring to look at him.

"Huh... I thought it was something else."

There was a gentle pat on the shoulder.

"I almost thought it was you who did it... Please don't use such misleading words."

It sounds like complaining.

"But...."

"It has nothing to do with you... This is probably what I should experience..." He said, slapping something hard on my chest, "Besides, this is the real bet."

What was stuffed into my arms was the notebook.

"you..."

"I've already written down my ideas, and I'll leave the map in your care for now. I have a feeling... you won't have the time to care for it there. But you're different; you should have plenty of free time at university."

"......"

Not knowing how to respond, I was speechless and silently put away my notebook.

"Let's find an opportunity to see if you can defeat me."

"...I will."

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

The neat and white teeth bit into the cold popsicle, making a slight crunching sound.

"Well..."

My teeth seemed to be somewhat sensitive to the cold, and a tingling sensation spread to my brain. No one knew why a girl with blond hair, heterochromia, and a pretty face would appear on the deserted streets on such a hot day.

"This should be the right place."

Checking the slightly worn notebook in her hand and an old piece of paper with nothing visible on the back, she skillfully took out the camera and started filming the surroundings.

After doing this, she took out a pen from her pocket and wrote something on the notebook, while also confirming it again.

"...Ah, you're right again."

An expression of surprise.

"Could it be that the guy who wrote these... is actually a prophet?" She muttered to herself as she finished biting the entire popsicle and threw the stick into the trash can.

"...It seems that until the end, you still didn't win this bet..."

She seemed to have thought of something.

"But...I think I won one in the end."

If cheating counts.

"Looks like he's a bit stronger than you... Dad."

Flowers, Sun, and Rain

绵雨

The colorful world before my eyes lost its color again.

Even when you are happy, you will not want to smile.

For me, a world of only black and white is starting to become quite boring. And trying to discern everything makes me feel extremely irritated...

The only way to express dissatisfaction is to sigh.

as well as...

"Ah... trouble."

Just random thoughts like that.

But, so what...

Isn't it enough for the world to exist as both light and darkness? Even if the world is filled with color, the hideous and ugly parts will not become beautiful because of the color. And those who turn their eyes toward the light refuse to look at the colors that spread wantonly in the darkness.

With only light in their eyes, they always firmly believe that the beautiful light will eventually dispel all darkness. Even if the unbridled shadows have already entangled their feet, they will not even bow their heads. How can they realize their own ignorance?

"......"

A world without color.

In my eyes, at least there is a distinction between black and white.

But in their eyes, the world of colors is only lacking darkness.

"There is no darkness in this world."

The crowd's laughter drowned out the howling coming from the darkness.

"..."

No one knows.

The water without rain fell to the earth.

Chapter 0: Continuous Rain

I didn't even open the book, but sat in my seat as usual, looking at the scenery outside the window, which was not beautiful, and even a little annoying.

The chilly autumn wind blew mercilessly across my face. Perhaps because I was partially obscuring it, Rinsenchuan, visible in my peripheral vision, seemed unaware of the wind's passing, his gaze still fixed intently on the blackboard.

Should I be surprised by this, or should I feel normal about it? Come to think of it, I never seemed to notice what her state was like during class.

According to my guess, she should be in class, openly reading the book she wants to read...

"..."

Well, whatever.

These are all insignificant things to me.

His gaze turned to the window again.

The sky remained gloomy from the morning, but now, a light drizzle was falling. As the saying goes, "an autumn rain brings a chill"...after today, the temperature should be getting colder tomorrow.

The branches and leaves that can still be called lush will gradually wither away before we notice. This is the feeling that autumn gives us, the gradually withering flowers and the withering grass, all expressing the end of things.

So... why choose this time of year to start school?... Spring, as the beginning of a new semester, makes people feel more hopeful, and they might even think, "I'm going to work hard this school year."

"...Ahaha, that's impossible..."

I quickly dismissed my random thoughts and reached out to close the window. Immediately, my face, accustomed to the wind, felt a little uncomfortable with the warmth.

"Don't make small movements during class."

The words that seemed to be directed at everyone, but were actually directed at me, came out of the teacher's mouth at the podium.

"it is good...."

I responded slightly and opened the book at hand.

"yawn"

The tears welling up in my eyes made me realize that...the feeling of boredom seemed to be even stronger than last semester.

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

"Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-"

The monotonous and dense sound of raindrops continued to come from outside the window.

Perhaps it was because this frequency was constantly hitting the nerves, a tingling sensation spread from the back, a feeling of fatigue surged into my heart, and as my eyelids drooped, my consciousness gradually became blurred.

"Pah!"

The sound of my phone falling to the floor suddenly woke me up.

"Ohhh...are you sleepy?"

Rinzenkawa, whose attention was also drawn to this, asked with some concern.

“…kind of.”

Even though my mind was still a little hazy, I picked up my phone from the floor and placed it on the table. Then I leaned back on the sofa and closed my eyes.

"When you leave, remember to call me, thank you..."

Sleepiness, an lingering sleepiness swept over me, and my closed eyes seemed to be glued shut and I couldn't open them as I wished.

"You'll catch a cold."

"It's okay... It's okay..."

The speech seemed a little vague.

"...I really can't stand you..."

Like, the sound of someone leaving their seat. Then came the sound of... a cabinet opening...

"...Um...sorry..."

Causing trouble for others...does this kind of thing happen often? I don't know, and I don't want to...right now, I simply don't want to find out.

"Crash..."

Along with the friction of fabric, the body felt a hint of warmth and a slight weight.

Eyes, slightly open.

But the only light that can be seen is the light from the electric lamp.

"..."

The sound of rain lingering in my ears continues.

. . . . . . . . .

The school corridors had long since become empty.

It's a topic worth exploring in depth... From the very beginning, it seems that you can feel the fundamental difference between an environment with many people and an environment without people... Of course, it's not a difference visible to the naked eye, but something like... aura, which is difficult to explain clearly.

"yawn..."

Even though I've slept for nearly thirty minutes in the club room, and even had Miss Rin cover me with a blanket, seemingly unintentionally, the quality of my sleep isn't as good as I'd imagined... I can even say that my mental state isn't as good as it was before I fell asleep.

"Sorry, Sheji, I kept you waiting."

Ye Hui had already walked out of his club activity room and spoke to me with a hint of apology.

"It's okay..." I replied with a smile, "Come to think of it...it's time I got used to the feeling of waiting for someone."

“…”