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

"The annoying thing is... the increased workload has led to more late nights, which has put my sleep quality at risk. Does that count?"

"what……"

This common problem that all workers and 996 office workers have does not seem to be enough to cause adolescent syndrome.

"What's wrong? Why are you asking this suddenly... Ugh."

Shiyu, who was keenly aware that Xingjian seemed to be hiding something unspeakable, raised her eyebrows, and her eyes returned to calm again because she suddenly thought of a possibility.

"Ah—I see."

"Eh?"

"Is it Sawamura-san, she's been talking too much to you again?"

"………ha?"

"Oh, really. I've told her so many times that if we can avoid announcing our intention to cooperate in advance, then don't do it..."

Shiyu shook her head in some distress, but it was obvious that she was not making such a fuss just because of Xingjian.

"Of course, if you're the only one she told, Hoshimi-kun, it's fine. We can trust your words 100%—but if Sawamura-kun loses control and spreads the news, it will be even more troublesome."

Having said that, Shiyu gave Hoshimi an apologetic smile, and the next second she brushed past him with a gloomy face - it seemed that she was planning to find Eriri to explain the matter clearly.

"... Eriri, you're on your own."

Although she seemed to have inadvertently caused some misunderstanding between the two people, Xingjian felt that this was not a bad development. She curled her lips and crossed out Shiyu's name in her heart.

Well, it seems that it’s not Kasumigaoka-senpai anymore.

She looked like she was so exhausted from work that she didn't get a good night's sleep last night, but the sadness and resentment of a worker probably wouldn't be enough to turn into a teenage syndrome. (Probably)

"Then the next one... well..."

The black-haired boy immersed himself in his own thoughts again and slowly walked back to the teaching building and floor where his grade was located.

"Hoshimi-kun... Hey, Hoshimi-kun."

"Woo?"

However, when Xingjian was still immersed in his own world of thought, a faint call that became increasingly clearer gradually brought him back to his senses.

That was the girl with medium-length black hair who had been standing not far from him since he didn't know when, and whom he almost missed.

"Ah—Kato."

The girl was now holding a pile of information in her arms that she was going to hand over to the teacher's office, and she was looking at Xingjian with a relieved look.

"I just called you Hoshimi-kun for a long time, but there was no response."

"Sorry, sorry, I was just thinking about something."

"Well... I can see that, and Hoshimi-kun did hear my voice in the end, so there's no need to apologize."

The girl simply showed the gentle smile she was very good at, and there was no trace of flaw in her expression.

"Ah, um...I see."

"It seems like there's nothing special about Kato..."

After Xingjian replied to Kato somewhat stiffly, he privately observed Kato's every move with a somewhat absent-minded look.

She was still the same as usual, no difference at all - if there was any difference, it was only that her hair had grown longer without her noticing.

"...?"

Kato seemed to have noticed Hoshimi's gaze, so he blinked his clear eyes a little confusedly, looking innocent enough.

"...Kato, haven't you experienced anything that made you uncomfortable recently?"

"Hmm? No. Hoshimi-kun, what's wrong with you today? You seem a little worried."

"No...it's okay."

After thinking for a moment, Xingjian chose to believe that his judgment about Kato was correct.

It seems that the source of puberty syndrome is not Kato.

"Sorry to bother you, Kato. Bye then!"

"Oh, oh... Goodbye, Hoshimi-kun."

After simply waving goodbye to Kato, he rushed to his next destination with an increasingly confused mood - the science laboratory where Futaba Rio was always.

"........."

The girl with medium-length black hair watched him leave and did not show any intention of trying to keep Xingjian from leaving. She just stood there and blinked until the boy's figure disappeared at the edge of the corner.

——However, the emotions flashing in those eyes were not all confusion and bewilderment.

Of course, Xingjian had no way of noticing this.

----

I'm really sorry for being late for three days, but I'd like to explain the reason to you all.

Suddenly, some pretty girls came to play with me... Who can resist this? (But the update will continue!)

The Never-Ending Week at the World Line's Divergence: Chapter 7: The Truth of Time Travel (Part 1)

It was late afternoon, still around twelve o'clock.

After mentally rejecting Eriri, Shiwa, and Kato as possible sources of puberty syndrome, Hoshimi still arrived at the door of the science laboratory.

Whether it was questioning whether Futaba might be the one who developed the syndrome, or subconsciously wanting to find her to discuss solutions - these two emotions had been lingering in Xingjian's heart, and finally prompted him to make the decision to come here.

"Speaking of Futaba...she probably won't have any puberty syndrome."

She didn't seem to have anything to worry about, and lived her daily life leisurely. Instead, I was the one who kept bothering her to help me solve other people's problems.

However, is there a possibility here?

Maybe he had never really examined it—it seemed like Futaba had never shown her vulnerable side in front of him.

Her strength and omnipotence are just a disguise and a perfunctory act.

"…………call."

Xingjian, who didn't want this situation to become a reality, frowned and let out a sigh.

Because this only means that Futaba's life is not as good as he has always thought.

As a friend, he didn't hope that his guess would come true.

"...Never mind. The most urgent thing is to find the source of the time-space reversal."

Putting all those random thoughts aside for the time being, Xingjian shook his head and pushed open the door of the science laboratory with all his strength.

"So I'm telling you, Futaba, if you don't make a move yourself, other girls will. Friendships are about getting close to someone and getting the upper hand, not... um?"

What suddenly caught my eye was a girl with long gray hair and a boy with curly brown hair who seemed to be having a conversation.

The topic they were discussing seemed to come to an abrupt end when he suddenly broke in.

"...?"

The boy named Azusagawa Sakuta blinked and immediately shut up - and the gray-haired girl Futaba Rio, who had just been listening with an impatient look on her face, was stunned when she noticed Hoshimi pushing the door open.

"Wait—Xingjian, why didn't you knock on the door before coming in?"

"Well?!"

Even though Azusakawa had wisely shut his mouth, she still panicked and covered his mouth with her hand - the force was so strong that a crisp sound was heard on Azusakawa's face.

"...You two seemed to be discussing something interesting just now?"

The Hoshimi boy, who hadn't been able to fully understand the entire conversation, narrowed his eyes slightly and tilted his head in confusion and curiosity - Miss Futaba immediately and firmly shook her head in denial.

"No, you heard wrong—no, it's this guy Azusagawa who's trying to use his friend's identity to seduce a junior schoolgirl."

Azusagawa: "Hmm???" (Am I dn/md?)

"………ha?"

Hoshimi, who only half understood what was said, twitched his mouth slightly in confusion. However, before he could react, Futaba had turned her head and signaled to Azusakawa with a terrifying look, "Get out of here quickly."

"Really... I didn't expect someone like you, with your thick eyebrows and big eyes, to be so careless and value women over friends."

Mr. Azusagawa could only rub his mouth, which had been slapped for no apparent reason. He glared at Futaba with a melancholy and resentful look, then made up an excuse like "I want to go back to the classroom to take a nap" and quickly fled the science laboratory under the gaze of Hoshimi.

"...?"

Hoshimi, who had no idea why Azusagawa appeared here at this time and didn't understand what they had just said, raised her eyebrows in confusion, but gradually withdrew her attention when Futaba coughed.

"Ahem, well... I didn't expect you to come see me during lunch break, Xingjian."

Miss Futaba, pretending to be calm, cleared her throat, and her face once again showed the usual coldness and indifference.

Indeed, in the past, when these two people met in the science laboratory, it was usually Xingjian who would stop by after school in the afternoon and sit for a while. In fact, the two of them rarely met during lunch break.

However, what Miss Futaba didn't expect was that Hoshimi's reply the next moment easily shattered the calmness and composure she had just pretended to have.

"Ah... well, I didn't expect you, Futaba, to meet up with other friends during lunch break... Was it too sudden for me to come looking for you?"

"………Um?"

"If this time period is the exclusive time you, Futaba, have reserved for Azusagawa, I will pay attention to it. Next time, I will definitely not barge in and interrupt your chat at this time."

"No...ah."

She wanted to explain something but didn't know where to start. In the end, Futaba could only take a deep breath and sigh out weakly.

When she raised her head again, her eyes were filled with complex emotions that Xingjian could not understand.

"Xingjian, you idiot, please don't come this afternoon. No, please don't come anytime from now on."

“??? Why?”

"Huh... Never mind, just pretend I never said anything."

Futaba, who seemed to be trying hard to suppress some emotions and kept rubbing her temples, shook her head and finally calmed herself down.

"So? Why did you come here to disturb my sleep in the middle of the day for the first time today?"

Since Miss Futaba's face clearly showed the threat of "If you say anything that wastes your time, I will make sure you won't be able to live in peace for a long time to come", the boy Xingjian could only shrink his neck and swallow lightly.

"Um...um, has Miss Futaba encountered anything unhappy recently?"

In the end, he still asked the question he wanted to know the answer to most with this uneasy mood - and Futaba's expression became more subtle as expected.

"... Xingjian, when did you give up your invisible otaku identity and become a caring big brother? Now that you know my confusion, will you take responsibility and provide a one-stop service?"

"Well... the premise is that you really have something bothering you, Futaba."

"...Forget it, this kind of joke is meaningless."

After realizing that Hoshimi's attitude towards her teasing was not particularly unusual, Futaba simply looked away thoughtfully, lowered her eyelids slightly, and quickly changed the subject.

"In my opinion, people like you who barge into other people's private property without saying a word or even saying hello in advance are the bigger problem."

"I can't help it... because this matter is really important."

Judging from the attitude Futaba just showed, Hoshimi was in a rare low mood and didn't suffer from any adolescent syndrome.

There's no way. We've ruled out so many people, but we still haven't found the source of the syndrome.

"Ah... I'm even starting to wonder if there's something wrong with my sister... What could possibly be the reason for turning back time?"

Naturally, the complaints that he should have kept in his heart when he came to Japan were subconsciously blurted out by Xingjian at this time.

"…? Xingjian, what did you just say?"

And Miss Futaba naturally took in every word of his mumbling, and it all seemed quite reasonable.

"Did you just mention... time travel...?"

"Ah...yeah, so what."

Xingjian, who was sitting on the experimental table with a decadent look on his face, raised his head disapprovingly and met Futaba's eyes, which were a little too surprised.

"I know what you're going to say next, Futaba... 'What's with all that time travel? Are you crazy?'" Go ahead and yell if you want to. It would be best if you could wake me up from this nightmare."

Xingjian curled his lips indifferently, but in fact he was already feeling a bit negative and had given up.

“…………No, I didn’t mean to scold you.”

But unexpectedly, Futaba just looked at him with mixed emotions, and finally shook her head to deny Hoshimi's guess.