I am the emotional sustenance of your deceased

　"Sorry... I'm causing you trouble again, Xiao Ai. As expected, it's hard to communicate normally with someone like me who's covered in injuries... right?"

　Ch288. Cheap tenderness is a holy gift

　【Maybe I can cover up the wounds on her body.】

　It's not difficult at all. I just need some band-aids and wound dressings, which are readily available at any pharmacy. They're not expensive either.

　【But that’s not the case.】

　Things are far from that simple.

　Qiansui didn't dare to look up again after he finished speaking.

　She sat on the floor and buried her head between her knees.

　It was the only defence she had against all the dangers of the world.

　"Year after year..."

　Aine covered her mouth. Although she had guessed that Chitose’s uncomfortable physical reaction was hiding a heartbreaking past of the girl, but——

　[But when those bloody past events were thrown into my world, I felt really uncomfortable.]

　Kneeling on the ground, Chihaya Aine hugged Noshiro Chitose.

　"You've worked hard over the years... I... maybe I should have met you earlier? Maybe I should have known you when you were in elementary school or kindergarten, years old."

　It's no use saying this now.

　The only thing she can do is to protect the current Noshiro Chitose.

　She could only do the same thing as she did with Chitose's hair before...

　Little by little, step by step, he slowly walked into her life.

　Relieve the pain a little bit, comfort her a little bit...Aine is still young and doesn't know how to treat a girl like Noshiro Chitose.

　She may do many things wrong, may miss many opportunities due to information gaps, or due to her worldview and vision, but she still hopes that she can seize the possibility of healing the other person.

　"Xiao Ai, you've started again..."

　The girl's voice must have been trembling.

　Aine couldn't hear clearly because she was about to cry too.

　She stroked the scar on Qiansui's hand, while also peeking into the scars in his heart.

　In the end, the hot tears that fell on her long silver-white hair splashed out a red glow that was even more dazzling than that day.

　【I should have noticed this earlier. How could this happen?】

　"Xiao Ai, you always like to act on your own... Now you've walked into my life on your own... You must!"

　Chitose grabbed Aine's collar, her movements were very light but Aine felt as if her soul was also being grabbed.

　"You must be my lifelong friend! We must eat hot meals together in the future... You must not break your promise about these things! Otherwise, I will never forgive you!"

　"Then you just wait!"

　The pulled-up collar twisted the emotions between them into a vortex, and Aine held Chitose's small face in her hands.

　They looked at each other with tears in their eyes, and finally Aine made her vow again: "I will slowly heal your scars... whether they are inside or outside."

　"You are my most special friend, Xiao Sui... Please give me more of your friendship and affection."

　"I can shoulder the responsibility of your life alone!"

　really?

　The girl's promise was light and airy, but Chitose was now convinced that Aine would not lie.

　The heavy daily routine, the boring schoolwork, and the constant physical trauma... Even if it's just for one night, please let me...

　"Let me forget everything, Xiao Ai."

　Then, Aine gave her own answer: "Please do this."

　……

　The girl covered in wounds didn't wear her medical eye mask today, revealing the scars on her face. But I knew it wasn't just her scars that were exposed.

　[She showed me everything about herself. I knew this was one of the few opportunities in my life to come into contact with the true heart of a human being.]

　【I can't miss it! 】

　……

　【Let me forget everything. 】

　That’s what the girl who was picked up by him said.

　Her lips were pink and soft, and just looking at them reminded me of the most perfect jelly I had ever tasted.

　"Huh... I'm so tired. I haven't had a good sleep in a long time. Xiao Ai."

　In bed early in the morning, Chitose and Aine were covered in the quilt.

　Chitose leaned on Aine's shoulder and purred comfortably. She was now acting coquettishly without any concealment.

　"Rest, Sui Sui, you've worked hard."

　"No, it's a rare opportunity to relax, so it would be a shame to sleep. I can sleep at home, so I refuse this offer."

　Aine’s entire arm was covered by Chitose’s softness.

　She couldn't move at all, and Aine wanted to laugh when she thought of how Chitose had stiffened her neck and said to her not long ago, "I don't want to depend on you."

　"Why don't you come and chat?"

　It’s not impossible to chat until dawn.

　"Chat... What do you want to talk about? I'll tell you anything I can answer... But please don't ask disgusting questions, Xiao Ai. If you ask me if I can marry you, I'll definitely ignore you."

　"How could I be so despicable! Don't look at me with such strange eyes!"

　The girl tried to stand up and protest but was pinned down. Aine clearly understood that the weight of this moment was the quantification of happiness.

　This is the guy she wants to shoulder her life's responsibility for, a cute idiot, a guy who has nothing left in his life except her, Chihaya Aine... a...

　[A good friend who belongs only to me. A super good friend who belongs only to me! ]

　"Sui Sui was looking at a map of Japan while checking out the cashier that day. Is he planning where to live when he grows up?"

　"I don't know... I want to go north, south, or even abroad. Anywhere is fine. I don't want to stay in Tokyo anymore."

　【Too. 】

　The lights are dim but not gloomy, and the orange light symbolizes the warmth between girls.

　Aine's legs were placed on Chitose's legs, and her calves could clearly feel the scar on the other person's leg.

　What kind of horrible sharp weapon had cut it?

　[Yes, Xiao Sui will definitely escape from this city that has left her so wounded, and go to a distant place to spend her whole life healing her childhood.]

　Seeing Aine's silence, Chitose continued quietly, "That map was left behind by a previous customer when they paid. But it's also one of the few opportunities I have to connect with the outside world... My phone is too old to update its system, and it's also difficult to connect to the internet... So that map has always been a treasure of mine."

　Aine had seen Chitose's cell phone, but only glanced at it in her pocket.

　The power button and volume button of the phone were broken and collapsed, and it was in a completely unrecognizable state.

　"Sui Sui really longs for the outside world. I'll take you on a trip someday! Then we can take in all the beautiful sights in the world together!"

　"Yeah...yeah! I believe you..."

　The girl began to smile more frequently.

　Her pretty face looked even more beautiful when she smiled, and Aine realized one thing once again. That was, her small act of kindness was a gift from God to others.

　She really hoped to be reborn as an angel who would protect her for a thousand years and a lifetime, so that this gift would last forever.

　Ch289. Morning of a girl hugging a girl

　When I was fourteen or fifteen that year, I decided to take responsibility for a girl's life.

　Please don't laugh after hearing this, this is a very serious matter!

　Actually, things are far from being as simple as I thought. But it doesn't matter, I will take it one step at a time, and I think I am smart enough to handle it.

　Many years later... when I told others about my thoughts back then, they all said that I was young and frivolous and that my brain was not very good.

　You know, I'm really idealistic.

　But I think what they say is wrong. On the contrary, I am fine, I am healthy, my thoughts are normal, and I am not crazy.

　All I remember is that the girl's body was so soft that night that no matter how soft the pillows and mattresses were, they made me feel stiff and uncomfortable.

　I only remember that day the wounds on the girl's body began to heal.

　You may not understand my sense of accomplishment, but there’s no point in saying too much.

　The only thing I regret now is that I didn't hug her longer.

　……

　I fell asleep holding Chitose last night.

　Originally, everyone agreed to stay up late to watch the sunrise, but after chatting about their daily lives until around two or three o'clock, Aine fell asleep in Chitose's arms.

　The two of them fell asleep and were temporarily free from their troubles.

　"It was definitely not because the conversation topics were boring... It was just that Sui Sui's legs were intertwined with mine at the beginning, and I could always feel her feet rubbing against my calves... It was very exciting to me, so I didn't fall asleep at first."

　But then Chitose's little movements gradually subsided, and Aine could no longer stop the sleepiness from creeping in.

　Chihaya Aine got up very early in the morning.

　In the bathroom of her room on the third floor, she splashed handfuls of warm tap water on her face to wake herself up.

　"Let me review what happened this week."

　You mean... I accidentally conquered the expressionless, wounded girl in the class, and gained her trust by feeding stray cats, then promised her eternal freedom, and finally took her home and promised her a lifelong friendship?

　"Ah, what have I done?! At the beginning..."

　At first, I just wanted to improve my favorability.

　How did you hook the other person over here?

　"But it's better this way. If I hadn't captured Sui Sui in advance, who knows, someone else might have done the same thing in the future."

　If that person is a bad guy, then we are doomed!

　【Luckily, you met me! The kind Chihaya Aine! 】

　Pushing open the door of the bathroom, Aine combed her long pink hair as she walked through the cloakroom.

　She carefully pushed open the bedroom door and found that the little guy who had become a domestic cat was still sleeping.

　She curled up into a ball with her head not even sticking out of the quilt. Aiyin simply reached into the backpack and poked her belly, earning a series of cute groans.

　"Big fish, big fish, get up quickly! Let's go have breakfast! I ordered my usual

　That place has delivery service! "

　"Mmm."

　Qiansui slowly revealed his little head, and the injury on his right eye had basically healed with the help of special medicine.

　“Where am I… Why are you here, you bastard?” Chitose, still half asleep, dragged Aine under the covers and hugged her. “You really did have bad intentions towards me and even kidnapped me back home. Tell me, did you do anything bad yesterday?”

　"Huh? What are you talking about?!"

　Aine swore that this was the first time in her life that someone had said such nonsense to her.

　"But, do you like hugs so much?"

　I was hugged again, just like last night.

　Aiyin remembered that someone had calculated that the average person needed more than four hugs a day, and each hug should not be less than five seconds.

　Chitose probably has never been hugged by anyone.

　Well, consider it as making it up to her.

　Aine patted the silver-haired girl’s back lovingly.

　Qiansui is very thin, but it is with this small body that he has withstood countless punches and kicks and the pressures of life.