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Love is not just about asking or accepting, love is also responsibility.

Shirakawa Haru's words were light, but Toyokawa Shoko would not doubt the weight and truthfulness of these words. He always kept his promises.

She lowered her head, thinking about how to answer Shirakawa Haru. Ahead was the future she had always dreamed of. It was the person she loved most after her parents passed away and left the Toyokawa family. She finally made a difficult decision: "Haru, I am willing to be your lover, but now... I refuse."

"Is it because of me?" Bai Chuanqing said, "If it is my problem, I will correct it and work hard to become the person you like."

"No, it's not."

Shirakawa Haru blinked. Beneath the bridge where Toyokawa Shoko was standing, a large flock of swans gathered.

"No, that's not the case," said Toyokawa Shoko. "I like Haru very much. I can't imagine myself falling in love with anyone other than you."

Previously, it was Shirakawa Haru who confessed to Toyokawa Shoko, and now it was Toyokawa Shoko's turn to confess to Shirakawa Haru. Her voice was mysterious and elegant, just like the meaning of the black and white swans under the stone bridge: "In some places in the world, billions of protozoa invisible to the naked eye swim in the atmosphere or on the sea surface. They glitter and emit fragrance. For me, it is the same with you. There are thousands of scents that intoxicate me. This is the sandalwood fragrance that emanates from your gentleness and delicacy, and the 'inertia' you have cultivated towards me..."

Shirakawa Haru is a good listener. Whenever Toyokawa Shoko speaks, he will listen quietly.

When Toyokawa Shoko was silent for a moment because she didn't know what to say, he would wait for her to think until she could express her feelings completely.

"What does it really feel like to like someone? Every night before I fall asleep, I see your face and those beautiful fox eyes in the darkness, so charming and passionate. Because the room is filled with your scent, I can hear endless piano music all night long after I fall asleep. I turn on my phone, only to find that the music app isn't running at all. When I wake up in the morning, your silhouette is the first thing that comes to mind, like the gentlest ray of morning light, dispelling the haziness of the night, making the world instantly bright and full of anticipation. Since the day I fell in love with you, the music in my hell has never stopped, and all the regrettable broken pieces have been filled in, becoming perfect. You said my eyes were like a pair of amber, and I didn't believe it at first. But after falling in love with you, when I look in the mirror, I always wonder if, one moment, the most beautiful and moving afternoon might be born from this pair of amber."

"So... it's not that Qing is not worthy of me, but that I am not worthy of Qing." Toyokawa Shoko bit her lip, her expression very painful, as if a thousand needles were piercing her heart.

"Right now, I'm still in debt." Toyokawa Shoko took a deep breath, "So I'm not worthy of being your lover."

"That's not true," Shirakawa Haru said. "I've always witnessed your hard work and perseverance. You have a very 'beautiful' foundation, and with just a little embellishment, you'll become a masterpiece of epic proportions. Compared to you, the dazzling you, I'm just an ordinary person."

"I don't allow you to say that about yourself," Toyokawa Shoko said. "To me, you are the 'best'."

Baichuan Qing said: "Then when are you going to accept my confession?"

"I can't be sure of the exact time," Toyokawa Shoko said. "The day I pay off my debts, I will confess my love to you. I won't care what others think. That day won't be too late. We still have three years."

She knew that she would not lose to anyone and would never give up Qing!

"What if someone else likes me before then and confesses their feelings to me?" Bai Chuanqing asked, "If that time comes, what should I do..."

He had never thought about this kind of question before.

After all, love is too far away from him

Shirakawa Haru thought he didn't need to think about this kind of problem, but now he has to face this possibility.

He thought of Chihaya Aine.

Chapter 4.8 Goto Ichiri's Tracking Incident (k

The lake under the stone bridge is shimmering, and on the edge of the scenic lake are clumps of cattails, with spiders building nests on the furry tops.

When the wind blows, these cattails will fall down at a slight angle, revealing their slightly moist roots.

Shirakawa Haru's question made Toyokawa Shoko silent. She raised her hand to check her cell phone and found that her lunch break was about to end.

He originally thought that the conversation would end in silence, but just as he suggested walking down the stone bridge, Toyokawa Shoko responded.

"Then Qing, just follow your heart and accept her confession once you're sure you like her." Toyokawa Shoko lowered her eyes, her face drooping like a dried-up bouquet lacking nutrients. Her tone was so calm, as if she had nothing to do with it. "Love is like this. Who confesses first is important. You might like two, three, or even more girls at the same time. Then the one who confesses first is most likely to be with you."

"But what are you going to do?" Bai Chuanqing put his phone back into his pocket and looked down at the lake below the stone bridge. He could feel the cold moisture rising from the scenic lake, so he leaned forward again, leaning his waist against the railing, "Then you won't..."

"Let it go. We can only say that we are not meant to be together. Shirakawa Haru, you are an independent individual, the shining one I love most. You are not someone's vassal, and you are not someone who belongs to someone just because she says she likes you." Her aqua-blue hair was stuck to her lips by the wind. Toyokawa Shoko pursed her lips and gently bit her hair with her snow-white teeth, then used her hand to smooth it behind her ear. "I can fail, but I can't accept you leaving me for such a casual reason and becoming someone else's prize."

"How is the goldfish now?" Having said that, there was actually nothing more to say. Shirakawa Haru suddenly remembered the goldfish.

Because the topic jumps around so much, it seems like I'm trying to find something to say forcing myself.

"It eats whatever I eat. At first, I fed it fish food. When the fish finished eating, it ate the leftover bread. The most common thing it eats is the rice in the bento." Toyokawa Shoko's face flushed a little. "Although its food is a bit strange, I think it's quite happy and its figure has improved."

"Is it still in the bathroom sink?" Shirakawa Haru asked. "If you feed the goldfish like that, it might die one day, saying you're abusing it and not feeding it."

"Luckily, there's no Goldfish Abuse Management Act in this world, otherwise I might be convicted." Shirakawa Haru's joke lightened the tense atmosphere, and Toyokawa Shoko felt a bit more relaxed. "It can't be helped. We were the ones who caught it. I didn't abuse it. I basically eat the same thing myself."

"I don't know how to raise goldfish. There are many things I can't do." Toyokawa Shoko squinted her eyes and looked at Shirakawa Haru sideways. She thought to herself that no matter how many times she looked at him, she always felt that Haru's eyes were so beautiful and intelligent. "This goldfish deserved it to fall into my hands."

Toyokawa Shoko didn't know how to raise goldfish or keep the house tidy. She used to have a nanny to help her tidy up when her room was messy. She had no knowledge of the etiquette and skills she would need to marry a good man; she didn't need to learn such things. She only knew how to put away her dolls, tune and repair the piano, and hang her favorite dresses in the closet. She had invited Shirakawa Haru to stay the night at her rental house, but because she didn't have a suitcase and didn't know how to pack it, she just sloppily piled it on the sofa armrest, leaving Haru with a glimpse of her underwear, including some pantyhose.

Living alone is very hard, and Shoko Toyokawa does not have the energy to understand certain common sense that others consider.

"I hope this goldfish will stay with you for a long time." Shirakawa Haru glanced at Toyokawa Shoko and turned his head, looking into the distance, through layers of seaweed-like clouds. The seaweed gradually disappeared, revealing a bright light. "When the time comes, I will..."

The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch break, and waves surged across the surface of the scenic lake. The swans scattered and fled in the shaking, their red feet sliding vigorously underwater, contrasting with their elegant postures on the water surface.

"Let's talk again next time we have a chance." Toyokawa Shoko waved her hand. Although she didn't hear what Qingqing wanted to say to her at the end, she had said enough today and she was very satisfied.

The two walked down the stone bridge and returned to their respective classes.

In the afternoon, physical education class. After running exercises.

The playground was bustling with people. Boys were playing basketball or football, while girls gathered together to look through magazines, discussing the models' makeup and clothing combinations, and what clothes to buy after the change of seasons.

In her left ear, she could hear the cheers of the boys when they scored a goal, and in her right ear, she could hear the screams of the girls when they saw some idol groups flipping through magazines. Shirakawa Haru stepped on the outermost edge of the track and looked up at the sky aimlessly.

He suddenly felt like someone was staring at him, and he sensed a burning gaze.

Who's looking at me? This is so annoying, it's a bit revealing.

This gaze was incredibly intense. Shirakawa Haru wanted to ignore it, but he found that this strange gaze followed him wherever he went.

Walking into the sparsely populated woods, I was surrounded by maple trees that were gradually burning with a chill.

The maple leaves have formed a thick blanket on the soft soil. Some of the leaves are brittle and there is a sound of thin ice breaking when you step on them.

After entering the maple forest, Shirakawa Haru stopped where he was, the sound of maple leaves being crushed behind him. He hadn't seen anyone before entering the maple forest, so the discordant noise could only be caused by the pursuer.

"Who? Come out. What's the point of sneaking around?" As the footsteps approached, Shirakawa Haru suddenly turned around and faced the empty maple forest.

The footsteps disappeared, as if someone had lifted their foot but was reluctant to put it down.

"Come with me to see the dean later." Baichuan Qing's expression was very cold. Generally speaking, students would feel a little panicked when they found out that they had to go see the dean because of their behavior.

If the stalker had come out and clarified his mistake directly, the matter would have been over.

If he ran away, Shirakawa Haru would really ask the dean to come over.

"Don't look for the dean." To Shirakawa Haru's surprise, Goto Ichiri stuck his head out from behind a maple tree, hugging the trunk, and said tremblingly, "Wow, Haru-kun, please don't look for the dean, okay? He's so scary..."

Goto Ichiri desperately shook the tree trunk with one hand and pounded her chest with the other. Maple leaves with only a hint of green fell on her head as the curves of her sweatshirt rippled. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry... I shouldn't have followed Haru-kun. This is all my fault!"

"Ichiri... why are you hiding behind me?" Shirakawa Haru looked at Goto Ichiri expressionlessly, which made him look slightly oppressive. "This is not a good thing to do."

"Hey, hey hey... I'm going to see the dean soon. I'm sorry, Mom, Dad, and Erli... I'm not a good child." Goto Ichiri's eyes spun like mosquito coils, "Yes, yes, I'm sorry, Haru-kun!"

"Ichiri, I won't take you to see the dean, so don't get excited and calm down, okay?" Shirakawa Haru moved forward and approached Goto Ichiri. Now she had her eyes closed and was trembling all over, unable to hear anything he said.

"One mile?"

"Don't take me to see the dean..." If you look closely, you can see tears in the corners of Goto Ichiri's eyes. She was so scared that she almost cried.

"Don't be afraid." Shirakawa Haru said softly, placing her hand on Goto Ichiri's head, touching her soft hair and smoothing it out for her. "I originally thought it was some bad guy following me, so I spoke so harshly. Later I found out it was Ichiri. What I said just now was scary."

"Hmm." The moment the hand was placed on her head, Goto Ichiri came out of her unique strange state, and her panicked expression gradually became calm. Feeling the large palm on her head, a silly smile appeared on her face, "Hehe..."

"Why are you following me?" Bai Chuanqing stopped what he was doing. "Is there something you want to tell me?"

"Yeah, yeah." Goto Ichiri nodded vigorously, her long, delicate pink hair swung and bounced onto Shirakawa Haru's face, "I have something I want to tell Haru-kun."

"Haru-kun, when will you be able to come and play with the band next time? Ijichi-san, Yamada-san, and Kita-san... everyone misses you so much that they wanted me to ask Haru-kun if you can go to STARRY and play with them every week." Goto Ichiri said.

"I have added Ijichi-san's contact information, but she rarely talks to me about the band." Shirakawa Haru took out his mobile phone and opened the social software to look through the chat history with Ijichi Hongxia. The chats between the two were full of question marks, and occasionally they would talk about what they were doing recently.

"Kita-san told Ijichi-san that this kind of thing has to be said in person...so Ijichi-san asked me to talk to Haru-kun, and then tell him about this when he arrives at STARRY." Goto Ichiri trembled all over.

"I understand." Shirakawa Haru said, "I will pick a fixed date to go to STARRY to play with you. But what does this have to do with Yili hiding behind my back and following me?"

"B-Because... Ichi-san told me about this a few days ago, but I didn't dare to ask Haru-kun. If I hadn't eaten the beef curry that Haru-kun made for lunch today, I definitely wouldn't have dared to confess to him." Goto Ichiri said, "And..."

"What else?" he asked.

"Also, some people say it's strange for me to be around Haru-kun," Goto Ichiri said with a particularly uncomfortable expression when talking about this matter. "They say I'm a bad person... After all, people like me shouldn't be around Haru-kun."

"Don't say that." Baichuan Qing shook his head.

Now that he knew the true identity of that gaze, there was no need for Shirakawa Haru to stay in the maple forest any longer.

He wanted to take Goto Ichiri to find a chair to sit on, but she stayed where she was and didn't respond.

So Shirakawa Haru had no choice but to grab Goto Ichiri's hand and pull her away with a little force.

They walked out of the maple grove and circled around the school playground.

"That way, those people won't say anything about you, right?" Shirakawa Haru held Goto Ichiri's hand. They were obviously the same age, but it was like holding a child who was confused and unsure about what to do after entering a large shopping mall for the first time. "Stay with me more, and get a little attention from others. Then they won't say anything."

"Is this really all that's needed?" Goto Ichiri didn't quite understand why others wouldn't think she was weird if she just stayed with Harujun for a while longer.

Actually, this is a very simple thing. For those who are not familiar with Goto Ichiri, she is an extremely socially anxious person who doesn't like to communicate with others. She is not usually seen with Shirakawa Haru, but she always stares at him with a fiery gaze. These two completely opposite impressions give Goto Ichiri a great sense of disconnection in her character.

Therefore, as long as Goto Ichiri appears more often beside Shirakawa Haru, and others know that there is always such a girl beside Shirakawa Haru, their prejudice against Goto Ichiri will naturally disappear.

This is how Takamatsu Teru eliminated prejudice. She was not as socially anxious as Goto Ichiri, and was willing to show her close relationship with Shirakawa Haru in front of others. Moreover, she looked like a little animal and soon became the class favorite.

She often secretly held Shirakawa Haru's hand in the classroom, thinking that she was doing it very discreetly, but in fact, her classmates saw it all.

Now everyone is discussing who among Toyokawa Shoko, Chihaya Aine and Takamatsu Tomori is President Shirakawa's girlfriend. There are various opinions, and some people even think that they are just unrequited love. President Shirakawa currently has little interest in falling in love.

There are even emotional masters and famous sea kings who believe that the three of them are all President Shirakawa's girlfriends, but they are now in an internal competition to determine who will be the first to become President Shirakawa's "official" girlfriend.

Baichuan Qing didn't care about these things, but he had heard some of them. After privately sending people to stop the spread of rumors, he no longer paid attention to them.

"That's all." Shirakawa Haru extended his hand and greeted the classmate who was running towards him. "Yili, you're too timid. Don't always hide in the classroom. Come hang out with me outside more often. It will help you adjust your gloomy mood and personality. I don't know if you've noticed that you've actually become much more cheerful. Before, you would definitely refuse to come out. As soon as the physical education teacher said dismissal, you would run back to the classroom and squat."

"Okay, okay!" Goto Ichiri nodded vigorously. "Well, am I really that bad in Haru-kun's eyes? I'd rather die."

"Ichiri, don't say the word 'death'." Shirakawa Haru's tone was serious. He had noticed that Goto Ichiri particularly liked this word. "I don't know what kind of mood you were in when you said this word. Maybe it was just a subconscious action, or maybe you were just expressing your emotions casually, but I want to tell you that 'death' is not something you can talk about lightly."

"What do you mean by 'just die'?" Shirakawa Haru continued, "In the eyes of some people in this world, you are more dazzling and more important than the billions of stars in the night sky above. You must understand how precious you are."

"So from now on, don't ever say the word 'death' so carelessly." At the end, Shirakawa Haru smiled at Goto Ichiri. "If something bad like that really happened, maybe even I would be so heartbroken that I couldn't sleep. In order to prevent me from feeling heartbroken, you have to work harder, okay?"

"Well...I, I will, no. I will definitely try my best!"

Is that Haru-kun's sweet talk? When I watch TV shows with my mother, the male protagonist always talks to the female lead like that, but Haru-kun's words are even better. Goto Ichiri couldn't figure out if they were sweet talk, but she assumed anything Haru-kun said to her was. She was shy, so shy that the overly white, almost pale skin on her neck was stained a faint cherry pink.

Although he didn't feel much heat from Shirakawa Haru's palm, which was as warm as jade, Goto Ichiri's palm was sweating due to his personal constitution.

She was afraid that Baichuan Qing would feel uncomfortable holding such a hand, so she wanted to pull her hand back. Baichuan Qing realized her intention and held it even harder.

"Why do you want to take your hand back?" Baichuan Qing asked.

"My hands are all sweaty. Do they feel uncomfortable to touch?" Goto Ichiri covered his eyes with one hand and looked at Shirakawa Haru's expression through the gaps between his fingertips.

"It's quite comfortable." Baichuan Qing said, "You girls have a higher body temperature. It feels like a hand warmer to the touch."

His words dispelled Goto Ichiri's doubts.

Shirakawa Haru continued to walk on the outermost side of the runway with Goto Ichiri. As they were holding hands the whole time, more and more people turned their eyes to them.

Goto Ichiri found herself frightened by the sight of so many people watching her in such an open space on the playground, so she lowered her head and silently counted the stones on the ground.

Holding the hand of the girl beside him, facing the attention of everyone, the cold expression on Shirakawa Haru's face did not change. He even raised the hand that he and Goto Ichiri were holding and waved it towards the classmates who were looking at them in front. Then, in the ambiguous eyes of his classmates, he asked Goto Ichiri to raise his head and look up to see the expressions of those classmates.

"It's nothing to be afraid of, right?" Shirakawa Haru said, "Most people will just glance at you briefly and then go about their business."

"Hmm, um..." Goto Ichiri said, "After holding hands with Haru-kun, if I follow Haru-kun again, people won't think I'm weird anymore?"

"Don't avoid other people's sight." Baichuan Qing paused, "From now on, just follow me openly."

Chapter 4.8: Haru Shirakawa in the Eyes of the Girlsk

"I have something to do today, so I won't be able to come to the band rehearsal tonight. You guys can rehearse on your own." Shirakawa Haru edited the message and sent it to the band group.

Almost in an instant, the originally quiet group chat became lively.

"Chairman, are you in trouble?" The language teacher was lecturing. Chihaya Aine held her textbook upright to shield her face, one hand under her desk as she texted, occasionally glancing behind her. If Shirakawa Haru was absent from rehearsal because he was in trouble, then Chihaya Aine hoped he could share his troubles with her.

After all, she and the band always receive help from the chairman, and there is nothing wrong with that. But occasionally, she also wants to do her part to help the chairman share his worries.

"No." Shirakawa Haru thought for a moment and sent the message again, "A few friends asked me out. It was several days ago, but I only saw the letter today. It's my fault, so I thought I should go meet them anyway."

"If you're not here, some of the band might slack off." Shortly after Chihaya Aine sent the message, a user with a cartoon panda as their avatar popped up. "Stray cats probably won't come either."

"Rikki~" Chihaya Aine stood up after being called by the Chinese teacher. She spoke about the key points and core ideas of the text, but her hands were hidden under the desk, typing characters. "I just want to practice on my own, okay? Even if the chairman doesn't come, I'm still serious about it."

"How disgusting! I told you not to call me Rikki!" After sending this message, the panda avatar stopped sending messages. "If you have anything to say, talk to Shirakawa Haru. Don't bother me except for rehearsal matters."

A buzzing sound was heard, and many messages were refreshed in the group chat at once, all of which were identical photos of matcha parfait.