You say this is a love game?

The reason is that the talented woman of the Yajima family is called Yajima Shion, not Yajima Mai.

Given the Yajima family's position on the school board, as long as they don't harm everyone's interests, no one would mind their occasional, insignificant whims. But the key is that Mai Yajima has absolutely no connection to the Yajima family, not to mention Shion Yajima, who actually has a strong connection to the Yajima family and seems to hate Mai Yajima to the core...

They all shook their heads: "Impossible."

So, there's nothing wrong with them fooling around with Yajima Mai.

"Shion Yajima has a lot of complaints about Mai Yajima..."

Rika Nishimura frowned, not knowing what she was thinking about.

Instead, the other girls were still chatting. Based on the fact that the club was impossible to establish, the girls jokingly talked about how amazing and wise it would be if it could be established.

"If it really happens, what should we do?"

"This isn't a matter of shame anymore... If my elders knew about this, I feel like Mizutani-san is at risk of getting lucky while walking around."

"That's true, and what about my impeccable reputation? Chasing Mizutani-san is too difficult, I don't dare to go forward... But I didn't say I don't want to fall in love. What if no one wants to pursue me for the rest of my high school life?"

“Hee, hee hee…”

Ono Eri and Yokoi Tsubaki suddenly stopped talking and looked at the only guy who was laughing.

"Speaking of which, Mingmei, why are you smiling so happily?"

"The artist I commissioned has replied to my message."

"What manuscript did you order?"

"Can't say."

Yokoi Tsubaki raised an eyebrow: "It's best if you date a serious artist. But then again, you'll be back soon, so you're not really happy about this, are you? Come on, you won't be captured so easily, are you? It's terrifying..."

Ota Akemi waved her hand: "No, do I look like someone who would betray a friend?"

"I just feel that being able to make friends with them is really a very interesting thing..."

As she was speaking, Ota Akemi suddenly fell silent.

Several girls stopped in sync and looked towards the street entrance in front of them. Just in front of them, there were several boys squatting and whispering.

It's not some clichéd plot where a gangster blocks the road.

This group of people were all wearing the uniform of Yami High School, and they were all familiar faces to them, especially the yellow-haired Kubo Shinji, who was particularly eye-catching among the black-haired ones.

They are the men behind Mizutani Makoto and are also rich old men. They belong to the Bro party.

This group of good guys all have a pretty good relationship with Mizutani Makoto. They are the same group of people who played games together before.

However, Mai Yajima's offensive has become increasingly fierce these days, and Makoto Mizutani has been exhausted from defending himself, so he has inevitably become a little indifferent to his brothers. Fortunately, everyone is reasonable, especially under the leadership of Shinji Kubo, the leader of the CP, and they all started to make fun of Makoto Mizutani's love story.

envy?

That wasn't the case. The boys and girls at Yami High School were either well-connected or talented, and they were all considered winners in life. It was all about finding a girlfriend, wasn't it? Most of them had been in relationships since middle school, and two of them had girlfriends now. Therefore, the impact of Yajima Mai on them was far less than that of Mizutani Makoto's beautiful, muscular body, which was the real male-slaying weapon.

He is simply a man among men, a male among males.

When it comes to physique, if a man says you are awesome, then you really are awesome. This pursuit of a sense of strength is one of our instincts, and no one can take their eyes off you.

So, they didn't bother Mizutani Makoto's high school romance, but just lamented with a miserable look that they were short of one player in a five-person team of four, and how they were going to get through the future... Just then, a smart guy jumped out and said that he was a big boss in a certain toy store with a cumulative consumption of over 200 million, and this time he would give his brothers a job and find an expert mother to lead everyone in playing together.

"Four pits and one?"

"Interesting, here I come."

"Where is my mother? Can I ask her to help me with tile-laying?"

"Brother Wa, get out of here!"

On the way to a nearby Internet cafe, Kubo Shinji and others encountered a strange thing.

"Who put a doll here?"

Fukui Iku, a boy wearing round-framed glasses, bent down. He was squatting at the entrance of an alleyway, in front of a small wooden house, with a doll placed inside like a shrine.

"If I'm not mistaken, this looks like an Ichimatsu doll?"

Nakano Takeya recognized the origin of the doll.

Ichimatsu Ningyo is a very traditional doll in Japan.

Its image originated from Sanogawa Ichimatsu, a Kabuki actor active during the Edo Shogunate Tokugawa Yoshimune era. People made dolls based on him and sold them. These dolls were called "Ichimatsu dolls". Regardless of how famous Sanogawa Ichimatsu was, when Ichimatsu dolls became widely circulated and became a stereotype of dolls, the prototype was actually no longer important.

Even now, Ichimatsu dolls still have a certain market in Japan and are usually sold as Hinamatsuri dolls.

Nakano Takeya often collects dolls and figurines, and he recognized it immediately at this time. The Ichimatsu doll in front of him had the standard bangs, kimono, and white face.

But honestly, this thing looks creepy.

Especially in Japan, there are many stories about "ghost dolls". Nowadays, "Aju Dolls" are still enshrined in temples. A certain amount of hot topics about ghost dolls are produced steadily every year, which adds a weird filter to these dolls in the image of geishas wearing kimonos and applying white powder on their faces.

Kubo Shinji was quite brave. At this time, he gently touched the Ichimatsu doll in the wooden house. The long hair was quite soft, just like a real person's long hair.

There is also a small sign under the wooden house.

Kubo Shinji turned it over and saw a sentence written on it.

【Please kindly take it home. 】

"?"

I'm speechless, family.

Kubo Shinji's face immediately frowned, and he turned to look at Nakano Takeya, who was interested in collecting dolls. However, Nakano Takeya was not a fool, and he simply shook his head and refused.

"This doll is so ordinary. It's pretty, that's fine, but look at the way it's dressed... It's an antique, right? It's so ugly. Who would like to collect something so featureless? Even if I like old things with a touch of feeling, I'm not a garbage recycling station, am I?"

As he was listening, Kubo Shinji felt that the doll he was pinching with his fingers seemed to tremble.

Looking down, the puppet was still a puppet, and it didn't suddenly reveal a ferocious expression.

Illusion?

Sometimes people scare themselves.

Out of some fear, Kubo Shinji reluctantly let go of the Ichimatsu doll and placed it back in the sheltered wooden house. He patted its head and said, "It's really ugly, but it's not your fault. You're still a good kid. I hope you can meet someone who likes you. I'll leave you alone."

He is not an old man with a collecting habit, so how could he pick up some weird things and take them home?

Kubo Shinji turned his head, and at that moment, the hair of the Ichimatsu doll behind him seemed to have grown a little longer.

The hair was just like a human's, and the ends of the hair were swaying gently.

call--

It seemed like a wind was blowing over.

The wooden house shook gently, making a creaking sound. The Ichimatsu figure sitting in the house had its painted eyes staring straight ahead. From this angle, one could only see the boys' trouser legs and shoes, which were moving back and forth in front of the house, creating a lively atmosphere.

"Was it so windy just now?"

"No...huh? It's Nishimura and the others."

At this moment, Nakano Takeya saw Nishimura Rika and others nearby, and subconsciously patted Kubo Shinji's arm.

"What are you looking at?"

Ota Akemi squeezed over curiously.

"Oh, it's a doll that was thrown here, and it seems to be hoping someone will take it in."

What puppet?

Nishimura Rika was also feeling quite bored at the moment, so she squatted down and looked at the things in front of her curiously, and then she caught a glimpse of the Ichimatsu figure placed in the wooden house.

"What an ugly doll."

She complained subconsciously.

Ota Akemi also bent down. At first, she didn't think anything was wrong when she saw the Ichimatsu figure, but then she suddenly realized - something was wrong! This world was so abstract. She had encountered monsters twice in less than two weeks. Now such a weird thing appeared on the street. How could she still stand there like an idiot?

She had encountered a wall-painting a few days ago!

Akemi Ota's heart was filled with alarm, and she didn't care whether the doll had any problems or not. She was determined to do something stupid.

He grabbed Nishimura Rika's wrist and stepped back.

"what happened?"

The girl gritted her teeth and replied, "Don't you think it's strange?"

"There's a doll like this on the side of the road, with a sign saying they hope someone will take it in... If they really loved it that much, how could they just throw it on the street? Even if they were going to give it up, they would definitely find someone they know to take care of it, right? Who would just throw a doll on the street?"

"At the very least, there are temples dedicated to the worship of dolls. At the very least, we should send the doll to the temple."

"Throwing something like this directly onto the street...it feels like a cursed doll in a ghost story."

As soon as these words came out, the expressions of Nishimura Rika and others changed drastically. In the blink of an eye, they took several steps away from the Ichimatsu doll. Even the expressions of the other boys became a little subtle.

In Japanese culture, dolls are considered to be objects that are easily "possessed by spirits", especially old dolls that have been discarded or not properly enshrined, which are generally given settings similar to Tsukumogami.

Therefore, dolls are a very common horror theme in Japan. There are some stories in urban legends about abandoned Ichimatsu dolls killing people. They are generally abandoned by their original owners and left in deserted corners. In the end, they feel resentment and seek revenge on their owners or their families, resulting in family tragedies or the owner's sudden death.

The ghost doll's hair will grow longer as its resentment grows, its eyes will shed tears, but it will raise a butcher knife to its owner.

For some reason, everyone suddenly felt the atmosphere turned gloomy.

It seemed like something was rustling gently. Kubo Shinji looked up and found that it was the dark green treetops above his head. A crow was quietly sitting on a branch, looking down at this group of stupid and terrifying upright apes with a disdainful look.

Even the boys who wanted to pretend that there were no ghosts in the world remained silent at this time.

Among them, Asakura Yō, who had been silent the entire time, this guy with little presence looked at the wooden house and the human figure in horror, and no one knew what he was thinking about.

He pulled his companion's arm and said bluntly: "Let's go quickly, this thing looks creepy."

As soon as this statement was made, it was unanimously agreed by everyone.

No one dared to pay attention to the Ichimatsu doll placed on the roadside. The boys and girls had no intention of playing anymore. After walking together for a while, they separated at the intersection.

At this moment, it was already late.

Fukui Ikue, being closer, was the first to say goodbye to the main group. Kubo Shinji, Nakano Takeya, Asakura Yoh, and the others walked along the road, their surroundings gradually shrouded in darkness. Streetlights lit up one by one, their dim glow casting a warm, hazy halo on the ground. Walking under the light finally dispelled some of the chill.

The sound of footsteps echoed in the quiet streets, and occasionally the sound of vehicles passing by or the chirping of insects could be heard not far away.

It’s strange to say, but everyone always feels that the weather is inexplicably cold.

Asakura Yao tightened his clothes and whispered, "Next time we encounter something like this, it's better to run away as soon as possible."

Kubo Shinji: "You kid, do you really believe in the existence of ghosts and gods?"

Nakano Takeya: "He's rather timid, and it's been like this for a while now."

Asakura Yao: "You haven't met..."

Who is born to be startled?

Asakura Yō was not always so superstitious about ghosts and gods.

Kubo Shinji asked curiously: "What did you encounter?"

Asakura Yō looked at the gradually darkening sky and said anxiously, "When I was in junior high school, I joined a club called the Folklore Research Club. One holiday, the club president organized a camping trip for us to an ancient trail. Late at night, by the campfire, we listened to a local elder tell us the story of 'Farewell Lanterns'..."

"The old man said that if you see a floating green lantern on a mountain road, you must never follow it."

"I think I've heard of this. Is it one of the legends from the Edo period?"

It is a monster that can cause people to get lost.

A lantern appears in front of a person walking at night, swaying and flickering, just like a host lighting a lantern to see off a guest. If you follow it, you will find yourself lost. Often at this time, the lantern will disappear. If you walk too close, the lantern will also disappear. If you walk in the opposite direction of its indication, the lantern will come back and chase you.

As for the consequences of getting lost in the deep mountains and forests, there is no need to say more.

"And so, on the second night, we actually found a glowing lantern in the night fog..."

The boy swallowed and lowered his voice very low: "I was quite close, so I could see a few strands of hair stuck to the lantern paper."

"At that time, one of us, skeptical, followed the lantern up. We called out to him, but he didn't answer us... I haven't seen him since then. I remember his parents still hoping to find him in the mountains, but they've dispatched several rescue teams and found many bodies, but none of them were the person I knew."

"Since then, our Folklore Research Club has been disbanded. The president personally disbanded it and bluntly withdrew from the kaidan circle. We will no longer conduct any research or activities related to monsters or kaidan."

"hiss……"

Cruel and decisive enough.

The correct way to play the modern-day Ye Gonghaolong is - if you discover that demons and monsters do exist while playing, then retreat on the spot, retreat while the going is tough!

Just like them... In fact, neither Kubo Shinji nor Nakano Takeya necessarily took Asakura's words seriously, but modern people are, after all, bombarded with all kinds of supernatural horror movies. Haven't you eaten pork but seen pigs run? The principle of "don't do it, you'll die" is well understood.