I am the emotional sustenance of your deceased

　In the middle of the night, Chihaya Aine suddenly woke up.

　She gasped for breath and once again dreamed of Chitose being bullied.

　The red ink slid down the poster with her portrait on it. Chihaya Aine was powerless to stop it and could only watch Noshiro Chitose being bullied again and again in front of her.

　"Ugh."

　Aine's teacher in London told her that she was more mature than other girls, which caused her a lot of trouble.

　The teacher said that if she was more lively, it would be easier for her to integrate into the group.

　That's what the teacher said to her. Chihaya Aine never thought that the once sociable person would become someone who needed the teacher's concern to see if she could fit in with the group.

　"It's not that I can't fit in, I'm just too tired to pretend. Even now, those days when I was with Chitose and we showed our true selves to each other still seem too unreal."

　The spring breeze from three years ago was blowing on the terrace tonight. Memories of her hometown tore through Aine, dragging her melancholy for a very long time.

　"Hey! Why aren't you resting yet?"

　"Hmm... I'm looking at the moon. I'll go rest soon."

　Aine heard a gentle and playful girl's voice coming from behind her.

　But she wasn't surprised.

　[I must be having a mental breakdown, otherwise how could I hear... Sui Sui's voice in the middle of the night?]

　"Hey, you, have you become so rude after living abroad for a few years? You don't even want to look back at me."

　"Eh?"

　When the softness on her back deceived her, Chihaya Aine realized that the scene before her was not virtual.

　"Years...years old?"

　"It's me."

　Aine didn't dare turn around, just hearing the other person's voice made her breath hitch.

　[Such a familiar smell, such a familiar voice... It's definitely Chitose Noshiro! There's no doubt about it!]

　But, Aine didn't dare to look back.

　She had been looking forward to seeing Chitose again for years, but when the opportunity to meet him actually presented itself she hesitated.

　"I'm sorry... I, I don't know how to face you. Although you said that I ran away, in the final analysis, I was the one who ran away, old man."

　Aine looked at the arms wrapped around her, her body tense and stiff like a dead tree.

　Is it really years old?

　"It's okay, as long as you're healthy and happy, I'm already very happy to find you doing well after all these years."

　【It’s years old! 】

　Aine could no longer control her emotions, she turned around hastily and threw herself directly into Chitose's arms.

　The white dress fluttered in the wind, and Chitose's figure became slender.

　But if you look closely, it still looks the same as it did back then.

　"Sui Sui! The scars on your body!"

　Aine covered her mouth in disbelief.

　The slender fingers slid across the other person's arm, but what they touched was no longer bumps.

　"Well, I've recovered. I haven't had any new injuries in years."

　"Thank you, Xiao Ai. You solved both the school bullying and domestic violence problems."

　"Really? That's great."

　Aine should have been happy, but at this moment she couldn't smile at all.

　She didn't feel relieved, but the corners of her mouth were raised.

　"It seems like you've had a good few years, Suisui."

　"Yeah, you too, Xiao Ai."

　The two little girls who eloped together childishly have grown into beautiful young ladies.

　They saw the phantoms of the past in each other, and the phantoms shattered and turned into today's tears.

　"You are now..."

　"Shh, Xiao Ai, don't ask so many questions."

　Chitose's fingers were pressed against Aine's lips, and there was still light in her eyes.

　"If we knew too much, we would still be inseparable from each other's lives... Just the thought of meeting again has exhausted my courage... But fate has already been determined, so please don't delve any further."

　"Finally, let me become a little mysterious in your eyes."

　"Compared to the possibility of our life paths crossing again, the current situation is already very good."

　"Xiao Ai, you are welcome to come back to me after your third elopement, but this alone won't do."

　Noshiro Chitose put her arm around the other's waist and walked towards the bedroom.

　She gently pushed her down on the bed. In Aine's eyes, Chitose's actions were exactly the same as they were that year in the Hokkaido hotel.

　"Xiao Ai, I shouldn't have come to see you."

　"But...I'm sorry, I just couldn't help it."

　The long pink and white hair were intertwined, and Shijie An felt that he could only hear their breathing.

　"Xiao Ai, let's not meet again after today... After confirming that you are doing well... I will feel relieved."

　“…” That’s what Chihaya Aine’s lifelong love said.

　Tears welled up in Aine's eyes, and she nodded slightly.

　"Well...I'm so happy to see you're healed."

　"In the future... please also wish you happiness. It seems that without me..."

　The girls whispered in their hearts:

　You will be happier indeed.

　In the end, they stared at each other for a long time, but they were unable to kiss each other again.

　Chihaya Aine was held like this, enjoying Chitose's tenderness, and she gradually fell asleep.

　I hope that we will never meet again in the future. May you, Chitose, take care of me.

　……

　[Today, the girl in the back seat, covered in wounds, wasn't wearing a medical eye patch.]

　She had no bandages, no medical dressings, and no Band-Aids on her body.

　【It’s great that she’s recovered. 】

　She said she was very happy, which was great.

　"And I am happy for Chitose's happiness, and that makes me very happy. Because I am a person who can be happy for the happiness of others."

　【Goodbye, Chitose.】

　……

　When she opened her eyes again, it was already dawn. Aine looked around but couldn't see Chitose in the room anymore.

　Noshiro Chitose came like a gust of wind and went away like a gust of wind.

　What a pity...I couldn't kiss her one last time.

　It’s such a pity that she is not there for the second half of her youth.

　What a pity...

　"Why, do you want me to get to know you?"

　Aine stood on the terrace and looked at the rising sun in the distance.

　"We said goodbye with a smile, but we knew that we would never meet again."

　This is how the world ends, not with a bang, but with sadness.

　Seeing Chitose again, the depression in her heart seemed to be relieved, but a faint melancholy had already entangled Aine's soul.

　She felt pain every time she breathed, and she knew that she would probably never see Qiansui again.

　The pain caused by this regret was less severe than she had imagined. But the pain that lasted for a long time was the most torturous demon.

　"Forget each other forever? My age, it seems that I can't elope with you this time."

　Aine returned to the bedroom and just as she lay down, she felt something with her hand.

　She took it out from under her pillow, only to find it was a yellowed train ticket.

　It was a train ticket from Tokyo to Hokkaido, which had been invalid for three or four years.

　"Ugh."

　Maybe this is the best ending.

　But why does my chest still feel stuffy?

　Aiyin covered her face with her hands. After three or four years, that ticket was once again stained with tears.

　"Wow, why... do I want to cry?"

　Her little face was twisted into a ball, and when the aura belonging to Chitose in the room was diluted, Chihaya Aine could no longer control her emotions.

　"I have so much to say to you. If I had known... I would have never met you."

　Meeting Chitose Noshiro was the happiest thing in Chihaya Aine's life, but also the most painful.

　"Woo, Xiao Sui."

　As long as you are happy.

　As long as you can be happy.

　Ah, farewell, my love.

　"I really regret not hugging her more."

　In the early morning, the girl was tormented by a slight sadness, and the future before her was bright.

　That's the way it is.

Ch322. The simulation ends, she whispers to her

Almost all of her memories were about bandages.

Having said that, you can probably imagine...it's definitely not a very fond memory.

It seems that heavy and breathless would be more appropriate.

It can be said that a story that is destined not to make people laugh when recalling it began when I struck up a conversation with her who was sitting in the last row on my way out of class one day.

What happens next in the story?

I was eighteen years old when I returned to China that year, and I was full of energy and ambition.

I have studied abroad and was admitted to a world-renowned university. Later, I was even elected by the professor to be the president of the student union.

But I refused.

I resent the position, not for any other reason than that I simply hate it.

To this day I still miss that noon of that year.

She and I sat on the quietest part of the campus path, behind the teaching building, where no one would disturb us and the light was not so bright that we could not open our eyes.

I want to eat her smoked salmon, I really want to eat it.

I want to be held in her arms and listen to her coaxing me to stay still in the tone of a child.

I want to play the confession game with her again. If possible, this time I will be the first to say "I like you", and then rush forward to kiss her lips so that she can't say anything back.