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

Not quite right.

What happened? I traveled to a time and space ten years later, and then found that at this point in time, I might no longer be alive.

What happened? What happened? What caused it?

Confused and with his head full of questions, Xingjian almost stumbled. He tried not to be too conspicuous in the dark corner so as not to be seen by Hayasaka on the other side. He could only stay there silently and digest this sudden development in silence.

"No, no, it's not certain yet that I'm the one who passed away."

He tried to stay calm and began to analyze the current situation.

He hadn't personally come into contact with the actual evidence, much less witnessed his own death—or the tombstone or portrait. It would be too arbitrary to make a hasty judgment now.

However, even if he wanted to collect information about his possible death in this time and space, he would be restricted by the taboo of not revealing his identity.

It would be very difficult to conduct an investigation as an invisible person.

"If only there were someone who could support me in a time like this..."

The more isolated and helpless you are, the easier it is to think of your comrades who once stood by you and gave you support.

There were many people who helped Xingjian when he was in trouble, but in the end, there was only one person who remained so steadfast from beginning to end.

He is also the first person Xingjian thinks of when he encounters difficulties.

"…………call."

The young man, who had been sitting on the street corner without caring about his image, looked up with some melancholy at the starless night sky.

"...By the way, how is Futaba doing ten years later?"

Although he had already seen what Eriri and Hayasaka Ai would look like ten years from now, as for Futaba, Hoshimi actually couldn't imagine what this guy would look like ten years from now.

What's more, what she would look like after I passed away.

If the Xing Jianqing in this world is really dead, will she be alone again?

Logically speaking, this guy would definitely become depressed. Although he would eventually get over it, it would take time to feel relieved.

Although this may sound a bit presumptuous, the time it takes for a person to recover from the grief of losing a close friend should be directly proportional to the depth of their relationship.

If it was her close friend who passed away, Xing Jian would be very sad. It's not impossible that she would be devastated.

"As for that guy... huh?"

When the girl's face unconsciously appeared in his mind, Xingjian paused for a moment because he suddenly remembered something she had said.

Futaba once said, "There cannot be two identical people in a parallel time and space."

The general meaning is that there cannot be two people named "Xing Jianqing" in the same space and time. Even if they are at different ages, they are the same person in the end.

However, in the final analysis, this is a rule based on observed facts.

In other words, if they are not recognized as the same person as their past self, it is still possible for two identical people of different ages to coexist in the same space and time.

Although Hoshimi didn't continue to dig deeper into the question "What would happen if they recognized each other?", you can tell from Futaba's expression that it wouldn't be a good thing.

We've strayed a bit off topic here, so let's get back to the point.

If two identical people of different ages cannot coexist in the same time and space, at least one of them must remain anonymous and undetected.

"...Then, in this time and space where 'I' am' ten years from now and have already died, even if I reveal my true identity, it won't cause a time and space paradox, right?"

Xingjian's mind was gradually occupied by this crazy idea.

If one wants to find out the real cause of his death without relying on his former friends and relatives, searching alone like a headless fly is basically like looking for a needle in a haystack.

In this case, assuming that I am already dead in this time and space—

The quickest and most time-saving approach is to reveal your true identity to an old friend and ask for help.

Thinking of this, Hoshimi, whose plan had already taken shape in her mind, took one last deep look at the dejected back of Hayasaka Ai as she walked into the gate, then turned around and left resolutely.

It wasn't that he didn't want to ask Hayasaka for help—but if he did, the uncertainty would skyrocket.

To Hoshimi, Hayasaka Ai is a relative, a sister, and someone who is related to the Shinomiya family.

"...Besides, I really don't want to see my family's sad faces again."

When Xingjian thought that her father might be secretly crying, she felt reluctant to appear in front of them.

After all, people who don't belong to this time and space will eventually leave. They can't stand a second separation.

——So, after going around in circles, Xingjian finally arrived in the dark at the door of a European-style villa with simple yet elegant decoration.

It might be almost eleven or twelve at night, but the lights in the second-floor windows are still on.

"...Luckily, it looks like Futaba hasn't moved. And this guy's sleep schedule hasn't changed either."

The exterior of Futaba House has not changed much except that it has become a little old over time. Even the word "Futaba" is still written on the doorplate.

“…Huh, huh.”

After a busy day, Xingjian was so sleepy that he could fall asleep on the spot, but he still suppressed his tiredness. After hesitating for a moment, he walked forward and pressed the doorbell of Futaba's house.

Xingjian rang the doorbell several times with the confidence that "this guy must be awake at this time", and sure enough, after a while, an impatient voice came from the loudspeaker after a beep.

"It's 11:23 pm now. Please have some sense of public decency and stop ringing the doorbell. You'll be considered a good neighbor if you do less to disturb others' sleep."

That cold, yet still rational, female voice was incredibly familiar to Xingjian, though it wasn't as youthful and high-pitched as she remembered.

"Looks like I've been mistaken for a bad neighbor who keeps ringing the doorbell."

Xingjian pouted helplessly, cleared his throat, and spoke from the microphone.

"Come on, I know you're definitely not asleep at this hour."

"------"

The impatient female voice completely disappeared from the other end of the loudspeaker, as if the owner of the voice had suddenly become stunned.

Just when Xingjian was about to start to suspect that the loudspeaker was broken, the female voice came again.

However, this time the voice lacked calmness and rationality, and seemed to contain some uncontrollable disbelief and full of vigilance.

"………Who are you?"

[Futaba Line] Destiny: Chapter 4: The Encounter of the Past and the Future (Part 1)

"...You can't even hear my voice, right, Futaba?"

In the quiet night, the young man standing at the door looked around, then curled his lips and said this sentence in a somewhat complicated tone.

"……who are you?"

As expected, the trembling female voice coming from the loudspeaker did not give people a feeling of anger, but rather a feeling of disbelief, shock and fear, as if one of their own concepts had been completely overturned.

"As expected... Could it be that the Hoshimi Haru of this time and space has really..."

Xingjian forced himself to suppress the complicated emotions in his heart, then tried to regain his composure and cleared his throat.

"If you're so suspicious of who I am, just check it out on camera—or there's no harm in confirming it in person."

He didn't know if what he was doing was right, but it seemed to be the only way out at the moment.

Imagine that you inexplicably traveled to ten years later, and inexplicably couldn't go back. You inexplicably discovered that your current self in this time and space was suspected to have died. You were penniless and couldn't go back, and you didn't even have a place to sleep.

It was truly an unprecedented catastrophe. The difficulty of traversing was hellish.

The only thing you can use is your own identity.

"Click——"

After Hoshimi said that, the loudspeaker at the door emitted a crisp electronic sound: "Shut off." It seemed that the connection had been unilaterally cut off.

The next thing that could be faintly heard by Xingjian was the sound of the security door leading to the room inside the main door being opened by the key.

Then, a figure suddenly pushed open the door and appeared under the warm goose yellow light in the room, which made Xingjian, who was already accustomed to the dark environment, squint his eyes slightly.

She was an adult woman wearing loose light-colored pajamas, breathing heavily, with long, waist-length gray curly hair that looked messy because it had not been groomed.

The woman looked to be in her twenties. Her appearance and demeanor were identical to the close friend in Xingjian's memory, except for some subtle differences - it was more like a transformation and growth from immaturity to maturity.

The gray-haired woman who had obviously run down from the bedroom quickly adjusted her glasses that were about to fall off her face, and looked at the boy with a helpless and flustered look.

Of course, there is also the obvious disbelief.

"Futaba...?"

Xingjian blinked. Seeing his best friend face to face ten years later was too novel for him. This familiar yet strange feeling made him dazed for a moment.

“You, you are…?”

However, in stark contrast to the calm and composed girl in his memory, the woman in front of him now looked bewildered like a child.

She squeezed out these two words somewhat stiffly, and then rubbed her eyes hard as if she couldn't believe what she saw, until she opened her eyes again and saw something crystal clear.

She walked forward slowly, as cautiously as if she was approaching the most untouchable dream - and the boy outside the door just stared blankly at this woman whose emotions were so intense that she looked nothing like the Futaba in his memory, without running away or moving away.

The woman opened the door. Although her movements with the key were a little staggering and clumsy, it was mostly due to her emotions.

"...?"

Xingjian lowered his head slightly, somewhat confused, and looked at his best friend who was still a little shorter than him even ten years later.

Well, although she is a little excited now, but judging from her words, actions, demeanor and aura, she should be Futaba Rio.

"Futaba?"

Xingjian once again called the name of the person in front of him with a hint of doubt, and the latter's raised hand trembled inadvertently.

She placed her cold hands on her face.

As if she was carefully making sure something fragile wouldn't break at the slightest touch, her movements were gentle, yet she was trembling slightly.

Xingjian, who noticed this, did not dodge, but just looked directly into the eyes of the gray-haired woman who had been staring at him with some confusion.

The eye sockets were red, and some light could be vaguely seen.

Oh no, it looks like I’m about to cry.

“Isn’t it a dream…?”

The woman's tone was so fragile and humble, like a believer who never expected her wishes to come true, but suddenly got her wish one day. She was stunned and her mind went blank.

Then he cried with joy and was ecstatic.

Unconsciously, tears began to slide down the woman's cheeks from her eyes.

The touch between your fingers is consistent with normal human temperature.

The subtle change in the confused and helpless expression of the guy in front of me when I touched his face couldn't be imitated by someone else.

The voice, body shape, and appearance are exactly the same as what I remember.

Well, as expected—

"Well--"

Suddenly, Xingjian took a step back unconsciously.

The reason was that the gray-haired woman who was originally stroking her cheek suddenly hugged her waist.

The temperature coming from the physical contact cannot be fake. Perhaps only in this way can one confirm that the person in front of him is not as illusory as the phantom in a dream.

That's how it should be for Futaba.

"...?"

But for Xingjian, it was a different feeling.

The woman's hands tightly wrapped around his back, the sudden hug, and the shoulders of the most familiar stranger trembling slightly in his arms as if trying hard to suppress the urge to sob.

In fact, Hoshimi has always kept a good distance between himself and Futaba.

Because they were of the opposite sex, they had to be extra careful about the boundaries when interacting as friends. In his memory, let alone hugging, he and Futaba had basically no physical contact. Well, except for the occasional accidental touch of hands and the necessary circumstances when traveling through time and space.

So this embrace actually made him feel a little confused and at a loss.

Especially the strange fragrance from the woman's body that kept filling his nose from his arms made his originally calm mood a little messy.

After a while, Futaba herself probably realized how embarrassing the situation was, so she suddenly let go of her hand as if she had been electrocuted, and retreated back to her original position, lowering her head and not daring to look the boy in the eye.

Of course, seeing the stars is actually the same for each other.

"...What on earth is going on?"

After a while, perhaps she had finally sorted herself out, the gray-haired woman gently wiped her eyes with her hand, then raised her head and looked at the boy in front of her in confusion.