I am the emotional sustenance of your deceased

　【In fact, going abroad is also my best destination. 】

　She no longer wanted to play house with others wearing masks in this cold school in this cold city.

　It would be more suitable for her to start over in a completely unfamiliar place.

　Chihaya Aine, wants to escape.

　And he was already in the final stages of his escape plan.

　"Huh? Why aren't you leaving yet? Are you waiting for someone?"

　The Chihaya couple looked at each other and smiled helplessly.

　"Aine, finally... Daddy has something to tell you."

　"Huh? What?"

　Aine withdrew her gaze from scanning for people in the distance, waiting for Noshiro Chitose to appear, and faced her father’s face seriously.

　Only then did she notice the wrinkles around her father's eyes had become very clear. "Dad won't ask too much of you. I will approve of everything you do. But what I want to say most is that passion must not be extinguished. Compassion for the weak, helping each other, and everyone in the world is a friend. Even if you've been betrayed a thousand times by this love, don't give up on it so easily."

　"Come on, Aine, Dad and Mom will always support you."

　"Do what you think is right. There will always be someone with a warm heart who will warm yours. Don't let such a friend down."

　"Dad… woo."

　The family of three huddled together, and Chihaya Aine carefully recalled every day she spent with Noshiro Chitose.

　The girl's enthusiasm was touching, and it also helped Aine grow.

　This growth is painful, but it is precisely because of the immense pain that the gains from growth become so precious.

　Waving goodbye to her parents was destiny, and Chihaya Aine accepted this fate calmly.

　As she stepped onto the escalator and continued walking forward, she suddenly heard a voice that was so familiar that it penetrated her bones: "Hey! I'm talking!"

　"!!!" Looking back suddenly, she saw the girl she had been thinking about day and night.

　"Sui Sui! You..."

　But as the escalator went up, it became difficult for her to go back and catch up with Chitose.

　"Come on! Xiao Ai! Live a good life!"

　"If something doesn't go your way, you have to grit your teeth and get through it!"

　"I will always be happy because of your happiness... Please, take good care of yourself for me! I love you the most!"

　"age!"

　The figure had disappeared, leaving Chihaya Aine standing there in a daze.

　The corners of her eyes seemed to be wet again, and without a tissue, she had to wipe away the tears with the back of her hand.

　"Really? At the last moment, you didn't even give me a chance to regret it?"

　"I also... like you the most."

　I like you, but I have to separate from you. You said it's good for both of us.

　I said...

　"Maybe."

　Come on, it belongs to us

　The third elopement.

　[It’s a pity that this time, we each ran in different directions. ]

　Ch320. Many years later, Aine's sleepless night

　Three or four years have passed since the third elopement.

　This escape lasted for many years. Except for returning to her hometown to visit her family during long holidays, Chihaya Aine basically never returned to her country.

　"I look for her every time I go back to China, but apart from hearing from my mother that Suisui occasionally comes to visit...I've never seen that girl again."

　The friend who belonged only to me, the girl who belonged only to me, the treasure that belonged only to me... seemed to no longer belong to me.

　Life is a cycle like this. Those separations that once seemed like they meant life and death will eventually die out...

　They blend into the daily melancholy and become the reason for every sob.

　"Huh—finally! I'm graduating from high school!"

　After a year, Chihaya Aine returns to her hometown again.

　She did not choose to go to university in the UK, and eventually returned to her hometown in Tokyo.

　When the soles of my shoes lightly touched the long carpet at the airport, an indescribable excitement jumped into my heart.

　"I'm home... I really want to eat smoked salmon."

　I couldn't find a decent place selling food at the airport. I once heard Xiaosui say that her mother liked to eat here, but I don't know what her quirk was.

　"age…"

　In the past three years, Chihaya Aine has chewed this name over and over again.

　When memories become distant, those fragments of memories become the motivation to support her to live in a foreign country.

　Actually, Britain is not fun at all.

　It was difficult to adapt to the environment there at first. The discriminatory looks from her classmates were heartbreaking enough.

　But when she thinks that there is a girl in her hometown who loves her and is working hard to pray for her studies, Chihaya Aine will instantly regain her fighting spirit.

　She couldn't let Xiaosui down.

　She also did not disappoint Xiaosui.

　In a foreign country, she studied new skills day and night.

　She hopes to become excellent and let Xiaosui know that she is living a happy life.

　There are many things Chihaya Aine cannot confirm, but she is clear about one thing.

　That is: "As long as I am happy, Sui Sui will also be happy for me."

　So she, Chihaya Aine, had to live her best life.

　The suitcase dragging behind her is like a burden on her. When she returns home, all these heavy things will disappear.

　"I'm finally home. I didn't tell my parents ahead of time because I wanted to give them a surprise! Look, I'll secretly call a taxi home right away!"

　The windbreaker that Aine was wearing was pure white, a color she had chosen on purpose.

　【White is very similar to Xiaosui’s hair color.】

　Her little hands were tucked into her pockets, and her black manicure was a reminder of the past for Aine.

　【Over the years, I have never left the house.】

　I recall my years every day and I am very worried about her situation.

　How are her scars? Does she still go to the infirmary frequently to get free Band-Aids? Where does she get the money to bring fruit whenever she visits her parents?

　Did you get into high school? Are you planning on getting into college?

　Is the food good now? Where do you live? Are you considering going to the north for university, or are you already planning to settle down in Sapporo?

　The uneasiness in my heart is hard to dissipate, it is made up of countless doubts and worries over the years.

　Since their last separation, Chihaya Aine has never contacted Noshiro Chitose again.

　She looked at the huge airport, not knowing what she should do for a moment.

　"Anyway, let's go home first."

　Ugh.

　……

　More than a month has passed since returning to China, and Chihaya Aine has not stopped pursuing Noshiro Chitose.

　She turned over in bed out of boredom, the emptiness in her heart difficult to conceal.

　She knew she shouldn't think about Chitose. After all, the girl and she had agreed not to disturb each other's lives anymore.

　but.

　This... is really depressing.

　That kind of faint melancholy has been haunting Aine for many years. That girl, Chitose Noshiro, is truly a treasure in the world.

　She experienced the warmth and coldness of the world more clearly while abroad, and no one else could make Chihaya Aine feel as warm as Noshiro Chitose.

　Never again.

　"Huh... don't be discouraged, as long as you're still in the country... we'll meet again sooner or later."

　Aine turned over and silently comforted herself in her heart.

　"It would be best if we don't meet. That way, her life won't be disrupted... It would be best if we don't meet... It would be best if we don't meet."

　She said that she didn’t want to mess up other people’s lives anymore, but if she were given another chance, she would still taste her lips.

　Human beings are so complex that wanting to protect and wanting to destroy the same thing are not at all contradictory.

　Whenever she had such conflicting thoughts, Chihaya Aine would wrap herself in the quilt, clamp the blanket between her legs and start to daydream.

　"I was so bold back then," she said, barely sticking her head out. "I actually dared to kiss a young girl so brazenly... It's been so many years since we parted ways, and I haven't kissed anyone."

　I miss that touch so much.

　It was a treasure that only the past Chihaya Aine could enjoy freely, but unfortunately, everything is gone.

　Chitose Noshiro and her story have ended, so sad.

　A faint sadness has spread

　In her world, even when she is chatting and laughing with friends, she will think of the days when she talked and laughed with Chitose.

　I thought... after that girl left, she would gradually forget everything.

　"But the truth is, I tried to forget but found it impossible. Every moment she appeared in my life will never fade away."

　In every moment of Aine's past, fragments of her and Noshiro Chitose's memories would emerge.

　"Maybe I should see a psychiatrist."

　Aine lay on the sofa in the room for a while, but she was still upset.

　After returning to her hometown, she began to miss Qiansui even more.

　Every blade of grass and every tree here carries the flavor of memories, and the atmosphere is so good that it reminds me of more stories.

　"I really want to see him again. As long as I can see him once, I will be content and not be greedy."

　Just take a look.

　Just to be able to... take a look.

　Holding onto years of regret, Chihaya Aine's eyelids began to droop.

　When sleepiness came over her, she used her limited willpower to turn off the light.

　The bed that she had not used for many years was still soft. She remembered that when she was still a junior high school student, she and Chitose lay on it and looked at each other with tears in their eyes.

　It seems that many of the times we looked into each other's eyes during those years were filled with tears.

　There are more emotions and stories hidden in tears than they can imagine, but tears are just tears.

　Only when people later begin to reminisce about those days will they remember what was hidden in the tears.

　"I really want to see you again, but I also really want to never see you again."

　I don’t want to hurt you anymore, but I want to live a peaceful life with you.

　Noshiro Chitose, am I too greedy?

　"Sui, where are you now?"

　-

　Ch321. I wish you happiness, my eternal love