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

No, no, the guy in front of me is more important right now.

Xingjian, whose thoughts occasionally drifted into outer space, shook his head and then refocused his gaze on the girl in front of him.

Futaba, with a blushing face, still buried the lower half of her cheek in her arms, looking very distressed about the thoughtless words that Xingjian had just said.

"——Hoshimi."

"Ah, ah, huh?"

Xingjian, who gradually reacted, also felt a little tense in the atmosphere. Her heartbeat quickened and she became a little hesitant unconsciously.

"...Were you truly sane when you said that just now? Did you drink alcohol or take the wrong medicine because you have a fever?"

"what?"

"After all... the word 'cute' has never appeared to me before."

The girl pushed her glasses up embarrassedly, trying desperately to hide the blush on her face but unable to do so - this helpless and desperate look was also very endearing.

"Besides... a gloomy guy like me..."

"If you don't believe me, Futaba, I'll repeat it until you do."

Before Futaba could pour out all her thoughts of inferiority, Hoshimi interrupted her self-pity.

He did not loosen his grip on the girl's cold hand.

If the feelings from him cannot make Futaba feel confident, then she can express her feelings directly with straightforward words.

"Although she usually has a serious look, the gentle expression with the corners of her mouth slightly raised in the corner is very cute. She always gives people the stereotype of being serious, but the way she secretly remembers that I like to drink tea and prepares tea utensils in the lab is also very cute. The reliable Futaba who always helps me solve problems with ease is of course handsome, but the Futaba who occasionally relies on me a little is super super super - super cute."

“Hey, hey, there’s no need to talk about it to this extent—uh…”

Ms. Futaba, who is not good at listening to compliments, covered her ears with her hands in embarrassment with a red face, wishing she could immediately turn into an ostrich and bury her head in the ground.

"Ah, that's why I can't stand people like you who are so straightforward, Xingjian. Really... don't you have even a little bit of shame for saying such disgusting things?"

"Eh...but isn't Futaba's words just now, 'I will continue to like you, even if you don't reciprocate my feelings' even more sentimental..."

"Delete—I'd like to ask anyone to delete this from your memory immediately—!"

Wow, it's also cute how this rational top student turns into a clumsy elementary school student who's at a loss when it comes to feelings.

The black-haired boy pursed his lips in amusement, and Futaba noticed this change in his expression and puffed her lips slightly in displeasure.

"...You have a really bad character."

"But it doesn't stop you from liking me, Futaba, right?"

"You don't think that's a funny reply, do you? Forget it, I'm pretty bad too if I like a bad guy like you..."

As expected of Miss Futaba, when she is depressed she even hurts herself.

"...See you in the stars."

"Ah."

"Can I believe what you said?"

When the atmosphere became a little less awkward, the girl's buzzing sound came out of her mouth again.

"After all, I'm not a very confident person. And I don't want to be too sentimental..."

She lowered her head to look at the two people's crossed fingers, and seemed to be looking longingly into the distance.

"...I've thought about it many times, whether I should just miss you like this."

But I failed to do it.

"Besides, I also feel terrible... A future where I can't be your lover, and can no longer be your friend, is terrifying."

"........."

"So if you're still hesitant, take back what you said now. Tomorrow we can still pretend nothing happened—"

"I saw Futaba from the future."

“………Eh?”

"She gave me a completely different answer."

Even though Futaba was still hesitant again and again, Hoshimi remained very patient and didn't show any sign of anxiety.

Because the guy in front of him is so capricious - that's how much he cares about himself.

After all, there is no one around who thinks of herself as important as she does.

"If I don't say it out loud, you, with your taciturn personality, will definitely keep everything to yourself, right?"

"I………"

"If you don't take a step forward, you won't be able to shorten the distance."

He was extremely gentle - and at the same time extremely firm - as he gently crossed his fingers with the girl.

He clasped her palm in his own.

"Don't wait until you lose something to regret it—that's what she asked me to tell you. So—it's okay."

Taking the step from friendship to a closer relationship can be awkward and disorienting.

However, Xingjian felt that he could do it.

"We can do it."

"…………"

Futaba didn't respond for a long time - she just stared at the boy's hands intertwined with hers in an extremely quiet manner. She looked so well-behaved and quiet, a little different from her usual self.

“…Is this considered a confession?”

After a while, Miss Futaba's thin voice faintly reached Xingjian's ears.

"Hmm... maybe it would be more appropriate to understand it as a request for a relationship?"

"Really... You clearly don't have a single romantic element in your body, yet you still say such sentimental things..."

"Futaba, you and I are both on the same page."

Of course, you can’t express the complaints in your heart out loud.

Xingjian smiled softly, and a hint of malicious smile appeared on his originally harmless-looking face.

"So, that's your acquiescence?"

----

I forgot to mention it before - now I update daily (except weekends), 2000-variable

After all, I just finished writing the Loser extra chapter, and recently I have to be busy with my driver's license test, and I also have to start planning a new book. Everything is very busy... I hope everyone can understand orz

[Futaba Line] Destiny: Final Chapter: The Future of the New World (?) (Part 2)

"I………"

"Looks like no one wants me after all... I can only ask Eriri for help. If I still haven't found a partner by the time I'm 40, we'll just have to make do with each other. It sounds pathetic, though."

"--Auntie, you can give it a try...if you don't mind if the first person you're dating is me."

As expected, Miss Futaba couldn't sit still after hearing this.

"But let me be clear... there's no regrets about this. Trying to go back and change this decision is against the rules."

Oh my, she's still saying things like that at this hour. How should I put it? It's a bit unlike Futaba, but coming from her mouth, it makes unexpected sense.

"If you're really that worried, how about you set the 'traineeship period'?"

"Eh?"

A hint of surprise appeared on the gray-haired girl's face - it seemed that she had not expected that she would be able to take such initiative in this relationship.

"That's right. During this period, we can temporarily adjust our mindsets. At the same time, there is no need to tell everyone around us about the changes in our relationship. If you think it's okay with Futaba, we can make it official. If not, we can return to our original friendship. What do you think?"

Hoshimi deliberately used a lighthearted and humorous tone to express his thoughts. After all, he didn't want his will to put too much pressure on Futaba.

“Is this okay…?”

"The decision is yours."

"...It's really a headache. Xingjian, you know I'm not good at making decisions on these things, right?"

"hey-hey."

"What are you smiling like that for?"

"Futaba has things she's not good at too."

"Everyone has things they're not good at...ah."

——From this night on, the two of them privately established an agreement that only they knew about.

Because the transition from a close friendship to a more intimate relationship will make both people feel a little at a loss, they plan to adapt to this process first and then announce the result to people around them.

That's what they call a secret relationship.

Although she didn't want to deliberately hide anything from the people around her, Futaba was not good at being teased. She also felt that the change in the relationship would trigger a chain reaction in the interpersonal relationships with the friends around her.

In short, let's wait until they both get used to this situation before making it public.

“…Then, it’s settled.”

At 3:30 in the morning, Futaba sent Xingjian out of the room - she leaned against the wall half-side, with her hands crossed in front of her, and her gaze towards the boy was vaguely uncertain.

"Let's take our time with our affairs. We're all traveling right now, so we can at least wait until we get back to school and start classes before we discuss these matters... Phew, I feel like I'm having a very real dream."

Well, there's another important reason—Miss Futaba is actually a slow-burner and suspicious person when it comes to relationships. Rather than making hasty decisions that she might regret later, she prefers to take one solid step at a time.

"Then this dream is really long and cruel for me."

After all, I witnessed my own death in a certain time and space, and almost couldn't come back.

Hoshimi yawned lazily and then followed her example by crossing her hands in front of her - Futaba blinked when she noticed this, and her expression became a little strange, but she didn't say much.

"But since you said so, Futaba, I will pay attention. Well, tomorrow..."

Hoshimi really wanted to say, "Do you want to have breakfast with me?", but because of Futaba's sensitivity about their relationship, she didn't take the initiative to bring it up.

"What about tomorrow?"

"Well, I just want to have some time alone with you, Futaba...even if it's just a little bit, it doesn't matter."

"Ugh...you bastard."

Miss Futaba, who was leaning against the wall, blushed and looked a little troubled, but more of a helpless expression - she gently lifted the coat that was about to fall off her shoulders.

"You know, you seemed perfectly normal to me before you went to bed last night, but you suddenly woke up in the middle of the night to confess your feelings to me and then started dating me out of nowhere. Can you give me some time to process this change in just a few hours?"

After all, it is hard to adapt for a while when someone who was your best friend yesterday becomes your lover when you wake up tomorrow.

"Well...it's actually been a long time for me after all."

It actually took him quite a while to change his perception of Futaba from "close friend" to "indispensable existence" - and it was only after witnessing a future that was the opposite of the present that he was certain of this.

"Well, I will also explain in detail to you when I have time about the time travel you left me on my own."

"Hey—give me a break."

“…Well, there’s more.”

When the Hoshimi boy looked sad and embarrassed, Futaba changed the subject and brought the topic back in a hesitant tone.

"If you mean breakfast tomorrow when we're alone together... then that's fine."

Only then did Xingjian notice that Futaba's fingers placed in front of her were actually trembling slightly unconsciously.

"...I'm just not used to showing who I'm dating in front of others. Sorry, it's my first time after all."

"Ah...it's okay, me too. So we're even. Besides, whether or not you have dating experience isn't something to apologize for."

"...Well, it's settled then."

The gray-haired girl pushed her glasses awkwardly, and the pair of eyes sparkling with light under the frames revealed a rare awkwardness and shyness.

"Then, please take good care of me from now on, Xingjian."

His voice also became soft, completely different from his usual cold and lazy tone.

"The only things I know are theoretical knowledge from books... I know nothing about love and have no experience. So please bear with me."