Why wasn't I the one who got the male lead's script?

Futaba originally thought that the person coming would be Hoshimi's father or stepmother, but the arrival of the blonde girl still made her feel a little stunned and surprised.

Although logically speaking, Futaba and she should be strangers who have never met each other, Miss Futaba vaguely felt that there was a sense of familiarity between the lady's eyebrows and eyes.

"Since we can't get any information out of that guy, let's start with the people around him."

Having said that, Ms. Futaba has little confidence in this older classmate - after all, she has always thought that Hoshimi and Hayasaka Ai's relationship is not very harmonious.

However, even if there is only a slight margin of error, Futaba is unwilling to ignore it so easily.

"Well, I just got a call from my uncle and rushed over immediately."

So, even though she was very bad at interpersonal relationships other than with friends, she still forced herself to remain calm and met the eyes of the blonde girl in front of her.

The blonde girl named Hayasaka Ai tilted her head in confusion, and looked at Futaba with warm yet gentle eyes.

"It's fine if he didn't come to see me in person, but he actually asked his cute and handsome girlfriend to entertain me~ What an over the top kid."

"Ahem...that's not the case."

Ms. Futaba, who had been sipping her green tea with a calm expression, nearly choked. She cleared her throat and her eyes turned evasive towards Hayasaka.

"I called you here on my own initiative. That guy didn't know about it. Besides, I'm not dating him. The mere existence of this misunderstanding is enough to give me a headache for a long time."

It must be because tea tastes so bad. It's no match for coffee.

"Eh……"

For some reason, Miss Hayasaka Ai, who was originally smiling, now showed a look of genuine loss and boredom on her face.

"What? That's boring. I thought I volunteered to come here just for the fun part of meeting the parents..."

"Is there something wrong with this sister Xingjian?"

Miss Futaba complained mercilessly in her heart, without putting on a good face.

"I'm just his friend, let's get back to business."

Miss Futaba waved her hands, obviously unable to cope with Hayasaka Ai's unpredictable thoughts.

"That guy Xingjian... seems to have encountered something recently. He seems completely different from before."

"Hmm? Something good happened, didn't it?"

Miss Hayasaka rested her hands on the table, recalling the memory of working together with a certain boy to overcome the difficulties of puberty syndrome some time ago, and smiled and yawned lazily.

Since the start of the new semester and Kaguya Shinomiya's return to school, Hayasaka Ai has been taking care of Miss Kaguya meticulously every day, and she has very little time for herself.

Whether it was for leisure and entertainment or for school and homework, she could only squeeze out some free time by sneaking in a little while from her busy schedule.

What's more, she took too much leave during the summer vacation. If she still wanted to get a year-end bonus, she would have to do more work in the same amount of time this semester.

Time is a precious treasure for Hayasaka Ai now.

Of course, even so, after learning the news about Xingjian, she rushed to her brother's school without stopping.

"That kid seems to have gotten over something that was on his mind recently. He should be feeling a little more relaxed now."

"Come to think of it, I haven't seen much of Haru since school started—I'll go give him a surprise later."

Hayasaka responded absentmindedly, lazily playing with the ends of her hair.

"Well, no matter what, everything will be clear when we meet him later. If that kid does anything too much, I, as his older sister, will teach him a lesson~"

"...It doesn't sound like an unworkable plan."

Futaba listened patiently to Hayasaka's casual words, then reached out and gently stirred the beaker that had just been filled with asbestos mesh.

She really couldn't leave coffee.

"That's if that guy is willing to talk to you."

"...?"

Realizing that the situation was not as simple as she had imagined, Hayasaka raised her eyebrows and looked at Futaba, whose expression was a little serious, with interest.

"He had a conflict with a classmate today, and it almost came to a fight."

Futaba divided a cup of the brewed coffee and handed it to Hayasaka.

However, unlike her brother, the elder sister could not accept the bitter taste of sugar-free and milk-free coffee. She extended her hand and politely rejected Futaba's kindness.

"Is Xiaoqing okay?"

"He wasn't injured, after all, he was the one who pinned the other person against the wall."

"That's okay~"

Hayasaka, who had originally looked somewhat serious, waved her hand nonchalantly after hearing the news, and was obviously relieved.

"Young boys are full of youthful energy, so it's normal for them to occasionally have some friction. Besides, it's common practice for them to make up after a fight."

The overwhelming feeling of "If my child wasn't the one being beaten, then it wouldn't matter how the fight went on" made Ms. Futaba raise her eyebrows speechlessly.

----

I've been on planes, taxis, and various other transportation all day. I'm finally back to school.

I think I'll be able to update more regularly starting the day after tomorrow, and then I'll make up for the updates I owe you all! (*≧▽≦)ノシ))

Xing Jianqing Can't Be Alone Again: Chapter 2: The Cat Returns (Part 4)

"But it's not that simple."

Futaba added unhappily that this Hayasaka sister seemed to be very different from the image she had imagined of Hoshimi's sister.

But it seems that the guess about protecting one's shortcomings is not wrong.

"After a whole day of observation, I can come to one conclusion - that guy Xingjian is hated and rejected by many people around him."

Futaba calmly raised the coffee cup that Hayasaka had declined and expressed her opinion thoughtfully.

"Although I only learned about this today, I can't say the information is completely accurate, but I think it's pretty close. As that guy's sister, do you know what changes have taken place in him recently?"

It's a pity that if Miss Futaba hadn't had much contact with Hoshimi at the end of summer vacation and the beginning of the new semester, she wouldn't have bothered to ask Hoshimi's family for information.

All Futaba knew was that "Hoshimi seemed to have come up with a plan when helping Kasumigaoka Utaha."

If she had been with that guy the entire time, how could she have fallen to the point of prying information from others?

Thinking of this, the gloom and impatience in Miss Futaba's eyes deepened a little.

After this matter is over, I must give that guy a proper account.

"Recent... changes..."

Hearing this, Hayasaka Ai curled her lips with interest and looked away, as if she was thinking about something, and her expression became somewhat intriguing.

It seems that Hoshimi did not tell Futaba about his plan to help Kasumigaoka Utaha - maybe he also wanted to make sure the plan was foolproof.

But to be honest, Hayasaka Ai didn't pay attention to the subsequent development of this matter after that - one of the reasons was what Hoshimi herself said, "Sister, after you help me clean up the mess, I can solve it myself. There's no need to trouble you anymore." The second reason was the pressure from Hayasaka Ai herself.

She took too many vacation days during the summer vacation, and a large part of them were planned around a certain young man.

After the incident in which Hayasaka Ai helped Hoshimi, she simply negotiated with the people from the library and briefly explained the situation to the administrators of the forum. In a very short time, she suppressed the public opinion storm of that period.

After finishing these tasks, Hayasaka immediately changed her mindset and devoted herself to taking care of Kaguya - although her recent work had made her a little overwhelmed, that was only due to her biological clock that had not yet reversed, and it was still within the range that Hayasaka could handle.

Before anyone else noticed this crucial moment, Hayasaka Ai quietly withdrew.

One weakness is enough; she cannot allow someone with ulterior motives to discover the existence of another one that she has deliberately hidden.

——But it was obvious that her good intentions seemed to have made her miss something important.

Being hated and rejected by people around you?

Hayasaka was stunned, obviously not expecting things to turn out like this.

"………really."

Futaba watched as Hayasaka's expression became increasingly solemn and confused, and she let out a sigh of relief.

It seems that guy keeps this kind of thing hidden even from his family.

"I'm not sure what the specific reason is, but it's probably true. But if it's just as simple as it seems on the surface, I'll probably just come to the simple conclusion that [Hoshimi must have done something that everyone hates]."

Futaba shrugged and continued speaking in a calm and clear tone.

"But unfortunately, there are doubts."

"Suspicious points...?"

"If that guy just did something unpleasant, there's no need to hit him—especially since the target is a bit special."

Futaba patiently told Hayasaka about her doubts, even though she was not usually so considerate to people other than her friends.

"The person who almost got beaten up was Tomoya Aki—that idiot Hoshimi's former so-called friend. It seems they had a big conflict and parted ways completely."

"...Do you suspect there's a causal relationship?"

"It's just a reasonable suspicion. If it was that person named Aki, I wouldn't be surprised if he could really do such a thing."

Futaba spread her hands, walked to the window and pulled down the blinds, allowing the setting sun to freely stain her cheeks.

"For example, if this horrific incident, comparable to school bullying, was actually orchestrated by a certain individual, or if it was instigated and guided by him..."

From here you can see the corridor of another teaching building not far away.

The black-haired boy who had been quietly cleaning the room alone since school seemed to be in a standoff with a black-haired girl, and in the end, the two parted ways unhappily for unknown reasons.

Futaba withdrew her gaze and calmly lowered her hand that was pressing on the blinds.

"Whether that's the case or not, I will never sit idly by."

She spoke her true thoughts word by word in a very serious tone.

"This time... definitely not."

The hand that Futaba had been keeping in the pocket of her white coat quietly clenched - that should be the proof of the girl's secret determination.

But at this moment, Hayasaka Ai did not care about Futaba's subtle emotional changes.

After hearing what Futaba had just said, she sat there for some reason, staring blankly at the clean and tidy table.

——The face that usually showed no real emotion was now stained with astonishment and numbness that was difficult to let go.

After careful consideration, Hayasaka Ai came up with the only reasonable explanation.

But that is also the strongest fact that overturns her claim that "everything can be done perfectly".

That is, after dealing with the aftermath of Xingjian's plan, he did not completely eradicate the problem and left some clues, and these clues just happened to become useful weapons for some people to use against Xingjian.

She did not erase Hoshimi's traces on the Internet immediately, nor did she continue to observe public opinion for a period of time after the time was up. Because she was fully devoted to the close protection of Shinomiya Kaguya, she ignored the existence of the other boy.

——I shouldn’t have been so careless.

Hayasaka Ai had never been so careless before.

From childhood to adulthood, she has always been able to do everything assigned to her to perfection. Hayasaka has been able to rise to where she is today because of her rare meticulousness and caution.

Perhaps this was intentional, not a mistake on her part. But failing to take this into account was simply carelessness on her part, and Hayasaka Ai wasn't going to argue with that.

This gives people with bad intentions an opportunity to take advantage of the situation.

"..."

She silently lowered her head and gently grasped the hem of her skirt.

——The feeling of not being able to protect the person she wanted to protect was a little rare for Hayasaka Ai.

----

Don’t worry, don’t worry. We’ve already reached the fourth volume, so just follow our outline and read it slowly~ε?(???)?з

Xing Jianqing Can't Be Alone Again: Chapter 2: The Cat Returns (V)

"That guy is finally planning to leave. It's better for us not to alert him."

Futaba didn't notice the complex light flashing in Hayasaka's eyes. She stretched lazily as if she had been waiting for this moment for a long time, and made this suggestion to Hayasaka nonchalantly.

"My advice is to observe quietly and ask indirectly what's going on. Of course, the most important thing is not to arouse that guy's emotions. He is not the same as before."

She finally caught him. This might be the last chance to contact Xingjian today.

"Hey. Hoshimi's sister? Hey—. How about we just follow him and see where he goes? Say something."

But the blonde girl just sat there unmoved, and her expression even became increasingly ugly - but also increasingly real.

She stood up abruptly and walked straight out of the science lab—leaving a confused Futaba behind.