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

"Hello--!"

By the time Futaba reacted and took a step forward to catch up with Hayasaka, she found that the other party was heading straight for the route the black-haired boy had just taken.

"?"

"What is she going to do?"

Although doubts had unconsciously formed in her heart, Futaba did not have the extra time to think about it at this moment - she could only force herself to run, trying to catch up with the blonde girl.

The two of them were running in the corridor, one in front of the other. By the time the former slowly stopped, Futaba was already exhausted and out of breath.

——The reason why Hayasaka Ai stopped was because of the black-haired boy who was about to disappear around the corner at the end of the corridor and was now looking at the two people who suddenly appeared in front of her with a somewhat surprised look.

Although he looked a little stunned, he quickly came to his senses and looked around.

Fortunately, there were only three of them in the corridor on the first floor, with no sign of other students.

"Tsk."

Originally, Futaba wanted to make all the necessary preparations before contacting Hoshimi - but her plan was completely disrupted by Hayasaka Ai's sudden action.

And the next moment, something even more beyond Futaba's expectations happened.

The blonde girl gradually slowed down her pace as she approached the boy, and finally stood quietly in front of him, caressing the boy's face with her hand.

The expression on Futaba's face was as stunned and dull as that of the black-haired boy.

Then, as if it was a natural progression—

Hayasaka Ai stretched out her hands and gently hugged the boy's shoulders.

At the same time, she moved her lips in his ear and whispered something softly.

Futaba, who was standing a few meters away from the two of them, was stunned. From this position, she couldn't hear what they were saying, but she could see the expression on the black-haired boy's face gradually change from surprise to melancholy.

She opened her mouth but didn't say anything to break the silence.

The boy's initial resistance to push Hayasaka away gradually slowed down because of her words, and he finally dropped his arms powerlessly.

"…It's obviously not your fault, sister. Why are you apologizing?"

In the end, all Futaba could vaguely hear was Hoshimi's somewhat helpless words.

She witnessed her elder sister, Hayasaka Ai, hugging the haggard-looking black-haired boy - and he, who was always used to showing off in front of her, did not continue to pretend to be relaxed this time.

"........."

It seems that one of the few things that can be considered wise this time was to bring Hayasaka Ai to Hoshimi.

Futaba, who understood this clearly, curled her lips, but her usually distant and cold face did not show any worry or resentment.

She was just truly relieved for Xingjian.

"Sorry—Futaba-san."

Hayasaka Ai slightly loosened her arms around the boy and turned half sideways to look at Futaba who made no sound.

"Next, I want to talk to my brother alone and take him back..."

Hayasaka didn't express herself clearly, but Futaba already understood her implication.

"Take that idiot home and give him a good scolding. Otherwise, he'll just make people worry if he keeps hanging around in school."

She waved her hand at Xingjian in disgust. Although the latter's face showed confusion as to "why would my sister get together with Futaba", Futaba didn't bother to pay attention.

She just glanced at Xingjian coldly and ignored his expression full of question marks - it was because this guy had been avoiding her all day.

"Thank you for calling me here, Futaba-san."

The blonde girl nodded slightly to Futaba, then took Hoshimi's hand in front of her without any hesitation and walked towards the stairwell.

The gray-haired girl waved her hand nonchalantly to indicate that it was not a big deal. She stood in the empty corridor, watching the two disappear around the corner of the stairs, listening to the crisp footsteps getting farther and farther away from her.

She was alone again.

However, Futaba, who was already accustomed to such scenes, simply withdrew her originally tender gaze indifferently, put her hands back into her jacket pockets, and leaned against the window to watch the two people slowly walk out of the school gate and get farther and farther away.

"…………etc."

But soon, she came back to her senses as if a flash of inspiration had suddenly occurred to her, and realized something that she seemed to have overlooked just now.

"...When did I introduce myself to Hoshimi's sister?"

----

----

After that, on the street dyed red by the setting sun.

Hoshimi let Hayasaka hold her wrist, and the two walked one after the other on the sidewalk for an unknown amount of time.

Although he wanted to say something, he could only shut his mouth in the end.

"what's going on?"

As expected, Hayasaka Ai asked the question the next moment - but her tone now sounded far from the hot girl, pure high school girl, or gentle older sister she usually pretended to be.

The short question sounded particularly cold.

But she was now facing away from Xingjian, so he had no way of seeing what her expression was.

"...Last time, I used a pseudonym to help Kasumigaoka-senpai, and was caught red-handed by Aki Tomoya."

Hoshimi also knew that she couldn't hide anything in front of Hayasaka, so she simply explained the whole story briefly.

Of course, there was no need for him to lie to Hayasaka Ai, who assisted him in completing the entire plan.

"In short, he seems to have used public pressure to expose me—not just the fact that I plagiarized Kasumi Shiko's work, but also my personal information in real life, even my home address."

At this point, the young man shook his head helplessly. If it weren't for the dedicated security guard at his apartment building, he might have woken up every morning to find his door stacked with garbage bags deliberately placed there by someone.

"........."

Hayasaka held him in silence, without expressing any opinion or view on this.

However, when she reached a certain point, she stopped.

Xing Jian also raised his head, and the scene before him startled him—

The buildings of Shuchiin Academy are right in front of us.

----

It can take up a whole day to move luggage and clean the dormitory on a rainy day. Orz I will try to finish the remaining chapter for the bosses before one o'clock!

Hoshimi Haru can't be alone again: Chapter 3: Hayasaka Ai's determination (Part 1)

For Xingjian, Shuchiin Academy is essentially a place with a strong aristocratic school atmosphere.

Shuchiin Academy was at least far superior to Toyonosaki Academy where Hoshimi studied in terms of educational level and school construction, so he couldn't help but have some yearning for this school that he didn't know enough about.

In addition, after that, he gradually made friends with many of his age who were studying at Shuchiin - this also made him more fond of this school.

But it was obvious that he had no interest in exploring the mysteries of Shuchiin now.

However, Hayasaka Ai pulled him into the gate of Shuchiin without saying a word, and her every move was filled with decisiveness and resolution.

The school closing times of Shuchiin and Toyonosaki Academy are slightly different, and there are also many students who study hard in this school, so it is not uncommon to see people lingering on campus at this time.

Hoshimi, wearing the Toyonosaki School uniform, stood out among the Shuchiin students. He inevitably attracted curious gazes from all directions - if only the halo of passersby still worked at this time.

"H-Hello, wait, onee-chan...!"

He could only try his best to ignore the curious looks from the students around him in Shuchiin, while lowering his voice to ask Hayasaka Ai about her intentions.

"How do you feel about this school, Xiaoqing?"

However, the latter simply responded to his doubts with a very common question, which made Xingjian lower his head helplessly.

“…It’s not a bad thing. It’s more like I have a pretty good impression overall.”

However, even though he couldn't guess Hayasaka's true thoughts, he still honestly expressed his thoughts.

"Is it because this school has President Shirogane and Ishigami-san?"

"Well... students generally tend to be more favorable toward other schools that are superior to their own in all aspects."

Hoshimi rolled her eyes, but did not deny Hayasaka's statement.

“…I can do it.”

The blond girl, oblivious to the people around her, didn't care about the strange looks from passersby. She just stopped and turned around, meeting the black-haired boy's gaze frankly and directly.

"Let Xiaoqing stay away from the slanderous words and leave the school that is full of malice towards you."

The words that came out of the girl's mouth made the boy's originally calm expression freeze.

“If you feel uncomfortable, come to us.”

Even in public, she still did not let go of the boy's hand.

"I know you'll be happier staying here at Shuchiin."

Hayasaka Ai tried to convey some comforting warmth to the boy with her palms, and at the same time issued the most sincere invitation in the most sincere tone.

"You just need to nod, and I can help you escape from that tormenting hell."

——Haysaka Ai never makes any promises to anyone other than Shinomiya Kaguya, because she knows that it is something she can never do.

But this time, she would definitely do what she said - this was what she was thinking in her mind as she said this.

The moment she realized that someone important to her was hurt, the emotions that surged in her heart like a tidal wave were difficult to describe in simple words.

It is a special feeling formed by the gradual interweaving of many complex emotions such as anger, annoyance, regret, etc.

Hayasaka Ai didn't know how to express this feeling in words.

However, now she understood that there was only one thing she had to do.

- Let the boy return to his original pure and peaceful daily life, and let him stay away from all people or things that may bring him harm.

"No matter what, I must protect you, Xiaoqing, this time."

This wasn't just Hayasaka Ai's declaration to Hoshimi—perhaps it was also a promise she made to herself.

A promise that must be fulfilled.

"........."

The boy stood there stiffly, his shoulders shrunk somewhat awkwardly by Hayasaka's concern and care.

——It took him a long time to come back to his senses. After carefully chewing over what Hayasaka had just said, he probably understood what she meant.

"...I appreciate your kindness, sister."

The boy had a calm and friendly smile on his face, which was quite rare for him as he always looked a little sad recently.

He gently placed his hand on the back of Hayasaka's fair and delicate hand, trying to convey that he was fine and hoped she could be at ease.

Instead, he began to play the role of comforting Hayasaka Ai.

"...But if that's the case, I'm just avoiding it, and the problem will never be solved, right?"

Hoshimi expressed his thoughts in a very calm voice, which made Hayasaka, who was about to refute him, pause for a moment and decided to listen to his thoughts before expressing his own opinion.

"Of course, I believe you have the ability to help me out of this predicament. But even if I transfer to Shuchiin with your help, I will always be known as that scumbag with low character who groped his classmates in the eyes of the students at Toyosaki School."

At this point, Xingjian couldn't help but curl his lips in laughter, but the curve of his lips didn't show any happiness at all.

"...I might even be able to put a "questionable" prefix before the scumbag label. If I really just walk away like this, it might just solidify the scumbag label."

"So, Xiaoqing, what do you think...?"

"I don't have any particular thoughts. My actions were never accepted by others. The worst that could happen is I can find evidence that that bastard is fanning the flames of public opinion and using a knife to kill someone. I can then come forward and explain the facts in detail."

As for the plagiarism, as long as the adolescent syndrome issue is not explained clearly, Xingjian’s impression in everyone’s eyes will never change.

However, this does not mean that Tomoya Aki can always stand on the side of absolute justice.

He raised his eyebrows nonchalantly, and said something a little creepy in a very cold tone as if he was just chatting about daily life.

"In the end, I'll just fight to the death with Tomoya Aki, and both of us will suffer. Since he's ruined my reputation so thoroughly, I have to find a way to bite off a piece of his flesh."

“………It turns out you’ve already prepared for the worst.”

"Well, so maybe it would be more appropriate for you, sister, to wait until I've made a big fuss before asking me if I want to transfer schools."

The young man smiled bitterly and shook his head when he said this. He has always been good at livening up the atmosphere by making fun of someone - this includes himself.