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

After all, Kato's words had already put him in danger.

"So in Hoshimi-kun's eyes, I'm the kind of person who will just go with the flow just because of the attitudes of the people around me towards something."

Kato asked calmly, her expression still calm and gentle - it was a little hard to tell whether she was being sarcastic or really thought so.

“…That’s not the case.”

"Well, before I get to know someone, I do that. After all, I'm just an ordinary girl you see everywhere."

After noticing that the boy looked a little embarrassed, Kato smiled lightly and took the initiative to continue the conversation for him.

"I act according to the mood, dress according to the trends, and am influenced by the public's aesthetic taste... It's precisely because I'm an ordinary girl that I do these things. And in the final analysis—"

She tilted her head and met the boy's gaze as they walked side by side.

"I'm no different from everyone else."

"...?"

"They believe what they see, and I believe what I see. It's that simple."

His own figure was clearly reflected in the eyes of the girl who was so close to him - Xingjian was stunned when he noticed this clue and subconsciously shrank to the side.

However, he still couldn't escape.

"Besides, didn't you notice, Hoshimi-kun?"

Kato smiled softly, even the way she raised the corners of her lips was so gentle and easy-going.

"All the way here, no students from our school even glanced at us."

"……indeed."

Hoshimi glanced at the pedestrians wandering around on the street. Among them, there were also people wearing Toyosaki Academy uniforms who passed by them - but none of them gave him strange looks like they did at school.

"To put it in the game's terms... my passerby attribute is like a halo, right? Hmm, but it's actually pretty good."

Kato Megumi said this softly, looking at the boy's changeable expression with gentle eyes.

She did not rush to shorten the distance that the young man had just opened up, but just maintained her original pace and continued to move forward steadily.

But he didn't leave.

"Because then, it will be my turn to protect Hoshimi-kun."

"—"

Kato's words made the boy pause slightly, and it took him a long time to come to his senses and continue moving forward.

"Did I just say something weird?"

Ms. Kato tilted her head with the most harmless expression, and Mr. Hoshimi, who was completely unable to cope with her expression, looked away guiltily.

"Ah, it's not..."

He can handle himself well in front of Shiwa, Eriri, and even Hayasaka Ai - but he always fails in front of Kato.

There's no way around it. She often says things that are beyond your expectations, which can give you a heart-wrenching blow without warning.

"Because it's true. It's always been Hoshimi-kun who helps and protects others, and I've also been taken care of by you before. People who treat others gently deserve to be treated gently by others - at least that's what I think."

Kato seemed to be completely unconcerned about Hoshimi's ambiguous attitude and gently expressed his true feelings.

"So, even if I can only help you a little, I will do it."

"...Kato..."

Does this girl have the personality to speak such touching lines so frankly?

While looking at her with a slightly new respect, Xingjian couldn't help but feel a warm feeling in his heart.

"And I've been planning to quit the club lately, but I'm stuck on the reasoning behind the withdrawal application. I need your help, Hoshimi-kun, who has experience."

"Is this the real reason why you came to talk to me?"

Well, it’s still the same Kato.

Xingjian rubbed his temples a little worriedly, but the corners of his lips inadvertently raised slightly.

The people who are good friends with you when you are doing well may not be your friends, but the people who are willing to help you when you are at your lowest point are definitely the ones who deserve your true love.

Although he had misjudged people several times before, the chain reaction brought about by this recent experience also made him truly understand what it feels like to be truly cared for.

There is no doubt that he is surrounded by a group of friends who truly care about him.

Oops, just thinking about this makes my nose a little sore - it seems I'm still not good enough. (laughs)

"I'm sure Hoshimi-kun has been troubled by this incident."

"It's okay. I've been through similar things before, so I'm not so vulnerable. It's uncomfortable, but if I convince myself not to care, it will feel much better."

"But someone will still get hurt."

“…Yeah, I know.”

The two walked side by side out of the school and into a residential area filled with houses.

"Then, has Hoshimi-kun ever thought about refuting and clearing his name?"

Kato inadvertently opened the topic again.

"I've thought about it, and I even prepared for it—but that method was just a lousy plan that would lead to mutual destruction."

Xingjian shook his head and quickly rejected the idea.

"I can drag the culprit into this, but it will inevitably cause secondary harm to me. In that case... it's just like what you said just now, Kato."

If he really did that, someone would definitely get hurt.

What's more, those who are innocent have no way to prove their innocence. This should be considered hot knowledge.

----

I have to get up early every day because of the early classes. It really makes me cry, but there will be extra updates on weekends!

There should be an update before 12 o'clock later (whisper)

Xing Jianqing Can't Be Alone Again: Chapter 5: Planning and Secrecy (Part 4)

"So what are you going to do next, Xingjian-kun?"

"Go home and get some rest, just like my sister said. She said that will make her very happy."

"Hey...you sound like a good sister."

"She is indeed a good sister, but she doesn't show her concern very often."

"anyway--"

Hoshimi, who had already walked downstairs to her apartment building, stopped and stood aside looking at Kato, who had a natural expression.

"Let's say goodbye here. See you in a few days, Kato."

He had already waved goodbye to the short-haired girl and turned to walk into the first floor door—

But the next moment, a force from the corner of his clothes slightly hindered his progress.

The girl with short black hair reached out a hand and gently grasped the hem of his shirt.

Kato Megumi raised her head and met Hoshimi's gaze.

"...?"

It was obvious that she had no intention of leaving now.

"Kato...?"

The boy uttered these two syllables with a hint of doubt in his throat, but even so, the girl had no intention of letting go.

"I just said that."

She just looked at Xingjian and smiled softly.

"This time, it's my turn to protect Hoshimi-kun."

She even slightly increased the strength of her grip on the corner of his clothes.

.........

.........

"...Please come in."

After staying in the hall for a few minutes, Hoshimi finally gave in to Kato's insistence and took her to his doorstep.

He used the key to open the security door and turned on the light switch on the wall, then stepped back slightly to let Kato enter the entrance first.

To be honest, this is the first time Xingmi has seen Kato being so persistent about something.

There was nothing wrong with letting her stay at home for a while. She just had to send Kato home before dark. Anyway, her house was only a few blocks away from Hoshimi's apartment.

"But I didn't expect any guests to come, so I didn't clean the house properly. Things are everywhere... I hope you don't mind."

Hoshimi walked behind Kato and slowly entered her narrow one-bedroom apartment. Looking at the messy bed and the desk piled with various books and drafts, she let out a sigh of helplessness.

Fortunately, I haven't had much sexual interest these days and have been doing other things. Otherwise, if I forget to put away the colored things and a girl happens to see them...

Then he will have to die socially again.

"It's okay, I don't care."

Miss Kato shook her head, slowly walked to the desk, and flipped through the draft paper on the desk with her back to Xingjian.

She glanced at the contents quickly, then turned around and looked at the black-haired boy who was clearing the seat for her.

"Is this what you've been busy with lately, Hoshimi-kun?"

She picked up the draft book, which was filled with all kinds of messy but not completely incoherent text.

It seemed that Xingjian was collecting information about "someone".

Rather, it is information about whether there is any connection between "a certain person" and "a certain account".

"........."

Hoshimi's hand stopped moving and remained in the air. He raised his head to look at Kato's expression, then lowered his head calmly to continue cleaning the table and seats.

"Well, this is what you and I just talked about, Kato. I found this method myself."

Xingjian hasn't been doing nothing during this period.

Although he was looked down upon and excluded at school, he still endured all kinds of pressure and conducted investigations secretly.

"I would still go to class on time during the day, and at night I would sit at that table and start searching for evidence - fortunately the Internet can leave traces, otherwise many things would not be verified."

He spoke of his recent discoveries in the most normal tone.

"After all these days, I've also found out that the anonymous user who rose up and exposed my real information is actually a man close to me. This is truly catching the person red-handed."

Naturally, he saved every bit of evidence he could to support his claims, whether it was a digital copy or a screen recording, and he also kept an extra copy of the text version—the scribbles on the draft that Kato had seen were the precursor to this thing.

"...Why was Xingjian-kun able to find the identity information of anonymous users?"

Kato's implication should be that she doesn't think Xingjian is someone who has that kind of channel.

"Haha, what else do you think I've been busy with these past few days? I just learned what I didn't know. Whether it took a few days or ten days, I finally learned it in the end - although this behavior itself is as shameful as his."

The young man smiled calmly and didn't add too much words to this topic.

"But I'm not some punching bag who was forced to confess."

However, his tone was a little colder than usual.

These things were originally the information that Xingjian was going to release one day in the near future.

Just as Tomoya Aki exposed his true identity information, he would also expose the other party's dishonorable practices and various actions of inciting public sentiment to achieve his own personal goals - even if they used the same dishonorable methods as him.

At worst, we can just fight to the death. Xingjian is already socially dead, so there's nothing wrong with dragging the culprit down with him.

The only drawback of doing this is that it will cause public opinion to escalate to another level, and may even cause more serious harm to Xingjian himself.

"........."

Kato didn't say anything, but just gently clenched the hand holding the draft book, and a hint of displeasure appeared on his usually calm and easy-going face.

Obviously, she also anticipated the consequences if she really took this approach.

"...Don't worry, I won't do that this time."