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

"There's nothing I can do if you don't believe me. I'll give you a hint and you'll probably believe me." She didn't reveal anything despite my dismissive attitude. "But let's put this topic aside for now."

"Um?"

I suddenly noticed that she stopped.

“I’ve arrived, my home—or rather, where my studio exists.”

And all I could see was an ordinary room in an ordinary apartment.

Chapter 24: Reminiscence

"Are you the only one here?"

With sewing machines, various plastic mannequin bodies, and piles of fabrics and clothes, the space seems extremely small, as if there is no place to even stand.

"You can tell right away, right? This place can't accommodate anyone other than me... oh, of course, not you today." She took off her shoes and said, "You need to take off your shoes to avoid dirtying the fabric... but there are shoe covers here, so you don't have to take them off."

"Thank you very much..."

As I said this, I took the shoe covers from her hand that had been placed on the shoe cabinet in front of the door, and then stood up with great difficulty to put them on my feet.

"Okay, you can come in now," she said as she walked into the house. "I don't want my clothes to get stained with smells or anything, so I only eat outside. There are no snacks or drinks here."

"...It's okay, I don't need any entertainment." What I was more curious about was why a so-called "studio" that could be seen at a glance needed to specifically invite me to visit.

"Then let me show you my masterpiece."

As she spoke, she stood in front of a piece of cloth that looked like a curtain and placed her hand on it.

"What you're about to see is something I started designing three months ago and only finished making yesterday. It still needs a little time to perfect...it's the final product."

“…Oh no.”

I thought she would use more flowery words to embellish it. But I didn't expect it to be just this... I'm a little disappointed.

"In short, please see—"

With the "rustling" sound of the fabric being quickly pulled open, the clothes on the plastic model appeared before my eyes under the light.

“…Amazing.”

Although I didn't have a favorable impression of this person—any impression I had was already ruined by her behavior just now—this nearly finished garment, no, perhaps it should be called a "work," gave me a very good feeling. I truly felt the so-called beauty of this work.

"Hehehe—I already told you this is my masterpiece, so it's normal for you to be so fascinated by it."

Bragging is a normal behavior for a person, so I didn't take it too seriously.

"So, you came to me just to show me this?"

Although that's what I said, I can certainly understand why it's not the case.

"Definitely not... I have one condition. It's about this dress. If you can do it, then I'll tell you what you've been thinking about."

"...You keep talking about something I care about. What exactly is it? If you don't say anything specific, I can only think that you are "making something of nothing."

"Well, okay, since you're so skeptical, there's nothing I can do. Actually, I didn't want to use this as a prerequisite, because as long as I tell you, you'll definitely agree to it."

"...That's not necessarily true."

I don't really believe her.

"Well... I know about your elementary school life. You had a very special female classmate. You were inseparable from her and you always had a good relationship with her."

"......"

Wait, I seem to realize something. My heartbeat quickens dramatically—is there a sequel to this story about her? I've always wanted to see her again.

"It's just that after discovering what she'd been through, you couldn't stand it and came up with an idea." She paused deliberately, "I think you know who I'm talking about, right?"

"...Keep going."

"Okay, okay, as a reward—" she continued, "you used the money you saved to buy her a train ticket and brought her a lot of things so she could go find her relatives out of town. And then you never saw her again."

"Do you know where she is?! Tell me quickly!"

Hearing this, I could no longer suppress my emotions.

"Of course I know. I know everything about you—and I have my own conditions, as long as you agree to them."

"I promise. No need to say more. I promise you."

It was then that I realized my true feelings. Ever since I'd thought of her, I'd been looking forward to running into her again. I wanted to know how she was doing, where she was, what she looked like now...

"I knew you would agree~" Her eyes narrowed into a line, "Then, I will tell you my conditions-"

意始

I always feel like something's not right, but I can't quite put my finger on it. Perhaps it's precisely because I can't put my finger on it that I feel like everything is normal... It's strange. I seem to have heard this theory from someone before, but I can't quite place it. I try to recall what happened before, but the images aren't very clear either.

...Such a familiar feeling.

"Hey, can we make this agreement?"

It was as if she had appeared suddenly before my eyes, but I vaguely remembered following her here. This girl, Feng Rongqing, from the inside out, from her appearance to her words and actions, gave off a feeling that she didn't belong to this world.

I have to admit that her extraordinary aura did attract my attention. But what caught my attention even more had nothing to do with her own qualities, but simply because she knew the current whereabouts of the person I cared about.

This is a wish that has been buried deep in my heart since I recalled her. I want to see her no matter what.

"...I promise."

I vaguely felt that her request was strange, but I couldn't quite put my finger on why. So I just assumed it was a normal request.

"Oh, thank you in advance then~"

"Is it necessary to thank you so early? I haven't guaranteed that I can do it yet."

I say this just to give myself some wiggle room.

"Don't find a way out for yourself. The reason I don't ask others for help is because I believe you can do it."

"..."

I didn't really want to pay much attention to her mysterious confidence in me for now. I just felt that accepting another commission while I was already in charge of the drama club seemed too much trouble...

"By the way, today is..."

I was about to ask about the current date, but for some reason I stopped thinking about it. Then I realized that my time wasn't that tight after all.

"I had a great time with you today~ Don't you think so?" She continued my topic, "Don't you think that the time we have now is very comfortable and there is no need to change it?"

"...Life is very comfortable now..."

What kind of life have I lived until now...Why don't I have any specific memories?

"Okay, I'm busy now. You can start doing what I asked you to do tomorrow."

"..."

Starting tomorrow? But I still have classes tomorrow... And I clearly remember making an appointment with someone... Has that agreed-upon date already passed? Or is it still not here?

"Hmm? What's wrong with you? Are you feeling unwell? You don't look well."

Her face, with a puzzled expression, appeared in my sight. To hide something, I had to look away.

"No...no."

Having said that, he was already preparing to turn around and leave.

"Hey, don't be so anxious." She stretched out her hands and turned her gaze to her face forcefully, as if she didn't want me to see behind her.

"...Wh...what happened?"

"No, it's nothing." She suddenly loosened her hands again, "I just felt that my hands were too cold, and I wanted to find an excuse to put them on your face to warm them up."

"...Yeah..."

But I didn't think her hands were that cold.

"However, doing this to someone you're not too close to... I feel a little..."

"Okay, okay, don't say anymore." She said and started to push me away, "Remember our agreement—"

"...I see."

Chapter 25: Beginning

It seems she didn't come to school today for some reason. As for the reason, no one seems to know... but it doesn't matter to me at all. My first thought is to quickly get her to tell me what she knows.

"I have a little brother who's in fifth grade. He's a troubled age, and he's always got into weird thoughts, influenced by cartoons and movies, and he gets into fights all the time.

I want you to find out why he got into a fight with someone else. If possible, please try to persuade him not to do things that would worry his family."

"It's really troublesome..."

It sounds like a teenager who's been a bad student since childhood. I'm really curious about what kind of person this kid will become when he grows up. It's really worrying.

The streets were already dyed orange by the setting sun. Following the directions she provided, I walked down a street devoid of pedestrians. Perhaps because I'd always lived in this town, the road felt surprisingly familiar.

"...Fighting in the park after school..."

I seem to remember this.

Looking at the park entrance, I had a vague feeling, but I couldn't recall when I got here. In short, I should quickly stop Feng Rongqing's stupid behavior.

Thinking this, I couldn't help but quicken my pace. This park is quite vast... Admittedly, at first glance, it doesn't look like anyone is there. However, this scene isn't entirely unreasonable... It's winter, after all, and few people gather in parks on weekdays. Except for those bored elementary school students.

Why are you here fighting instead of just playing games? Real-person fights and the like are a thing of the past. When I was my age, there were still people interested in these things... It's been so long, aren't these guys addicted to mobile games?

"..."

At this moment, a noisy sound suddenly came from my ears.

However, at first glance, it didn't look like Feng Rongqing had described her brother picking a fight. Instead, it was a child being beaten by several other children. In this situation, if her brother wasn't the one leading the fight, he would definitely be the one being beaten to the ground. If he was just a follower, there would be no need for her sister to ask me for help... no one would care anyway.

Anyway, standing there and watching wasn't a good idea, so I decided to step forward and stop them. They were all elementary school students anyway, and they would definitely stop when they saw a middle school student like me who was much taller than them (not much).

"Stop it now!" I said, climbing over the guardrail. "Bullying the minority with the majority is not..."

"Someone is coming, run—"

Before I could finish my lecture, the group of attackers had already taken off. I don't know if it was because my voice was so righteous and mature that they mistakenly thought I was a law-enforcement figure, or if it was because they were truly guilty and were afraid of anyone approaching.

In short, if the one who fell to the ground was not Feng Rongqing's brother, I would have run after those little guys who ran away.

"...Well...let me ask you first, do you have a sister named Feng Rongqing?" I said as I wanted to support the child who fell to the ground.

"So you're the older sister... her classmate?"

Hearing him say that, I understood immediately. He was indeed related to Feng Rongqing. Looking closely at his tone and eyes, he did bear some resemblance to her. However, it didn't seem like their relationship was very good... after all, he was restraining himself from calling her "sister." Perhaps there had been some conflict recently or in the past... about the beating?

"Let's just say so... She asked me to persuade you not to do such things again." However, it didn't seem like he was deliberately trying to cause trouble. "But considering the situation, I really need to hear your reasons before making a decision."

"..." He seemed to want to say something at first, but just as he opened his mouth, he quickly closed it again, and then said, "You and her must be the same kind of people. It won't help you if I tell you."

"...That's...that's not necessarily true."

This little guy was so rude, I almost didn't bother to deal with him. However, considering that he had just been beaten up, he couldn't be in a very good mood, so I held back for the time being.

I always feel an inexplicable sense of familiarity when looking at this child, but I can't tell why.

"...Really?"

After all, we are just children. When a seemingly reliable older brother wants to help, we will still want to ask for help.

"Anyway, if you don't tell me the reason, I definitely won't be able to understand you."

"...Okay, I understand." He said as he slowly stood up. At this time, I noticed the footprints on his body and the blood at the corners of his mouth and face.

It was then that I remembered that I still had some wet wipes and toilet paper on me, so I quickly took those things out of my school bag and pockets and handed them to him.

"Wipe your face and body first."

"...I understand." He said, reaching out to take it. "I can't touch the back, can you please wipe it for me?"

"Oh..." So I took a wet wipe and ran behind him to wipe off the dust and footprints on his body.

"Big brother, do you have any pets like cats or dogs at home?" He asked this question as if he deliberately didn't want me to see his expression.

"Yes... There is a cat that is lazy and has no sense of existence." So much so that I now selectively ignore it. I just change the cat litter for it, pour cat food on it, and go back to my room. I am too lazy to interact with it.

"That's great...my family won't let me keep one."