Green plums cannot become lovers.

"But the apricots are different from usual."

"What's different?"

“Normally, Xingcai wouldn’t be so sullen and alone, nor would she be so far away from me.”

An and Asuka glanced at the distance between them. Just now, while they were talking, the girl had deliberately moved away from him again. Under normal circumstances, this would never have happened; the girl usually wanted to be with him all the time.

But now, the girl actually moved away when he approached.

"I... I just feel a bit too hot," Hana replied somewhat haltingly.

"What a lame excuse," Anwa Asuka bluntly exposed the girl's lie. "You used to practically stick to me even in the sweltering summer."

Hearing this, Anna's face flushed slightly. "That, that was before."

Indeed, she used to often cling to the boy when they were in the small park in the summer. And yesterday, she did the same thing.

Because the boy's body felt really cool, it was refreshing and comfortable when it was pressed against his skin.

"So, what Xingcai means is that you used to consider me a good friend, but not anymore?"

"That's not what I thought at all!"

Upon hearing this, Hana immediately retorted, "I've always considered you a good friend!"

She has many friends, but her only true friend is the boy in front of her. Since meeting him, her world has been filled with a brighter color.

"Then tell me, Apricot." An and Asuka looked at the girl in front of them seriously and said, "What did I do to make you angry?"

They've come full circle back to the original problem: Banami is trying to escape again, but the boy won't give her the chance.

"Apricot."

Banami saw Anzu's body stiffen. She looked down at her hand, which was being held in the boy's palm. He held her hand as if it were a precious treasure. Although their bodies were usually so cool when they were close together, his palm was so warm that it almost melted her heart.

"I don't want to lose you."

“I’m really worried that because of me, our relationship will drift further and further apart, and I won’t even know it in the end.”

"There are some things I may not have done well, and I may have spoken without thinking, so if I have made you angry in any way, I am really sorry."

"I hope you can tell me why. I cherish you very much, Apricot."

The boy's heartfelt voice echoed in the activity room after school, as golden rays of the setting sun streamed through the open windows, and sounds from other places occasionally drifted into their ears.

Hanami Anzu looked at the boy in front of her. His expression was serious, unlike anything she had ever seen before. He was completely different from his usual relaxed and cheerful demeanor with a smile on his lips.

This is enough to prove that he really cares about this matter. And she never expected that her momentary willfulness and irrationality would make this young man take it to such an extent.

If we just leave it alone and give her a few days to process it, she'll definitely be able to go back to her normal self.

But he didn't do that; he kept even the slightest bit of unhappiness to himself.

He really cherishes her.

Apart from her parents, she had never met anyone who cherished her so much.

All the bad mood vanished with the boy's words, replaced by an unprecedented joy.

The boy had already given her the answer she wanted.

She was not an appendage of those girls, but a true and devoted friend of this boy.

"Actually, it's not a big deal." It took Bana a while to calm down Anzu, and she said somewhat awkwardly, "I was just wondering if I'm as important to you as they are."

“They…” An and Asuka were slightly taken aback, but then immediately realized what the girl meant. The “they” the girl was referring to must be Shizuka, Marina, and Ai.

So that's how it is. Is Anzu afraid that she'll be seen as an appendage of those other girls, which is why she feels uneasy?

but

Why would Xingcai have such an idea?

He had always treated her and everyone else fairly, because they were all his close friends.

"I... I just listened to other people's slander."

Hanami Anzu didn't choose to tell the boy the truth. After all, she had let herself break down because of a careless remark, and if she told him, she would definitely be ridiculed.

"what?"

"Yesterday after school, there was a classmate..."

"So, it really has nothing to do with you, it's all that guy's fault!"

The girl began to make up a story, speaking with great conviction, as if someone had actually said something to her that was meant to sow discord.

However, An and Asuka did not believe it, and instead looked at the girl with a suspicious gaze.

However, upon seeing the other person's hesitant gaze, he ultimately decided not to delve deeper and instead nodded gently, choosing to believe them.

There must be a reason why the girl turned out this way, but perhaps there's also a reason she herself has. And the reason she didn't tell me the truth is probably because she felt it was something she couldn't bring herself to say.

That works too, as long as she's happy.

When Anja saw that the boy seemed to have accepted her excuse, she breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

Then, she became smug again.

"However, I really didn't expect that I'm so important to you that you would actually say something like that."

While gently nudging Anwa and Asuka's arms, Banami raised an eyebrow teasingly.

Aren't you embarrassed?

She felt like she had uncovered the boy's embarrassing past. If he ever dared to make her angry again, she would repeat what he had said today, and he would be so embarrassed that he would roll on the ground in embarrassment.

However, things didn't go as he expected; the boy in front of him didn't show any embarrassment.

Why do you feel shy?

“I cherish apricots very much, and these words come from the bottom of my heart.”

"Huh?"

Volume 1: Chapter 102 The Unfulfilled Promise

After resolving the girl's issue, school life returned to normal.

Running between studying and club activities is both fulfilling and exhausting.

What's plentiful is that everyone can gather at their 'secret base' after school, chatting and laughing. What's exhausting is that An and Asuka still have to juggle both roles.

His club still lacked a guitarist or drummer, and even after creating a more elaborate poster and posting it in the most prominent place on the bulletin board, no one signed up.

An and Asuka rested their chins on their hands, recalling the pink-haired girl they had met at the stairwell before summer vacation.

She said she would transfer to this school and join his club after the start of the semester. But a week has passed since the start of the semester, and she still hasn't been seen.

Although he never thought it would work out from the start, after all, transferring schools for a complete stranger would be a ridiculous act for both the girl and her parents.

But now he hopes that the girl will really transfer to his school, so that his pressure will be greatly reduced.

As An and Asuka pondered this, they sighed softly and then dismissed their unrealistic fantasies.

Instead of hoping for someone who can't possibly appear, let's focus on doing our own things well; we can't neglect our club practice sessions.

That's what An and Asuka thought, but when they finished their club activities and left the school, they saw a familiar pink figure standing at the school gate.

It's that girl.

The girl quickly noticed him, and when their eyes met in mid-air, her eyes lit up noticeably.

An and Asuka hesitated for a moment, then walked towards the girl. He had barely stepped out of the school gate when she eagerly approached him.

"Hime-kun, did you come to see me?"

An and Asuka took the initiative to greet each other, and the girl nodded quickly.

"Yes, yes, that's why I came to find you."

Upon hearing this, An and Asuka teased, "So, are you planning to transfer here?"

But to everyone's surprise, the girl who had just been excited immediately deflated upon hearing his words, and then she said listlessly, "I'm sorry, Anhe, I probably won't be able to transfer here."

After she got home that day, she told her parents about her idea, but they rejected it without hesitation.

They said she was being ridiculous.

She knew, of course, that this was something her parents would find hard to accept, since in their eyes, the boy was a complete stranger.

But in her eyes, he was a shining young man, and she really liked him.

So she hoped her parents could understand her. She made many promises to this end, and finally managed to get her parents to agree, but they left her with a difficult request.

They demanded that she improve her guitar skills to a proficient level within three months, or else the job would be off.

This requirement was really difficult for her. Even after practicing for a month, she could only barely play some pieces of medium difficulty, and she was still far from being proficient.

Knowing she couldn't fulfill her parents' request and not wanting to keep the boy waiting too long, she came to apologize to him.

She was unable to keep her promise.

An and Asuka had already guessed this would be the outcome, so they weren't too upset.

He simply smiled and said, "There's no need to apologize for this. I think you've already tried your best."

The joy in the girl's voice when she spoke to him that day was genuine, so he boldly guessed that she had already tried to win him over.

Therefore, it's not her fault; at least she tried. He also wouldn't blame the girl's parents for being too strict, because she would have done the same in their shoes.

"Ugh." Karen Himegami pretended to cry, "You're so kind, Anwa-kun, I really want to join your club."

"It's alright." An and Asuka looked at the girl with some amusement and said, "There will be plenty of opportunities in the future."

"That's it!" Himegami Karen shook her head in disbelief, and said somewhat sadly, "There will definitely be no place for me in Anwa's band from now on."

This is a bit troublesome.

Comforting words that usually work easily are now ineffective, leaving An and Asuka feeling rather helpless.

Indeed, his band will definitely be full of people for a long time to come, so there won't be a place for this young girl.

"Then you can join other bands. There are many bands in the world that are better than us. Joining them will allow you to better showcase your talent."

“It’s different.” Himegami Karen said stubbornly, “I only want to join Anwa-kun’s band. It has to be Anwa-kun’s band.”

"Why?" An and Asuka were really curious about where they got such great magic power from.

"Because Anwa's music is really good!" Himegami Karen's face lit up with excitement upon hearing this.

"I really like it and I want to play it myself!"

Of course, more importantly, she really liked the boy in front of her. His shining and confident demeanor on stage deeply attracted her.

It wasn't the school anniversary celebration two months ago, but something that happened even earlier, in fifth grade.

He himself may have forgotten.

"..."

Upon hearing this, An and Asuka were momentarily unsure whether to feel lucky or helpless. The girl's straightforward expression of her feelings made him happy, but it seemed she was liking him a little too much; if she remained fixated on the past, they wouldn't be able to move forward.

Should he shatter this young girl's beautiful fantasy?

Looking at the innocent-looking girl in front of her, An and Asuka ultimately decided not to do so.

He felt that rather than shattering the girl's beautiful fantasy, it was better to make it real. The former would cause sadness, while the latter would bring joy.

He didn't want to hurt anyone, especially those who liked him.

An and Asuka thought for a moment and said, "If that's the case, can you tell me why you can't transfer here?"

No matter how difficult the girl's answer was, he felt it was worth a try.

"Well, it's because I'm too clumsy," Himegami Karen replied somewhat embarrassedly, standing on one tiptoe. "I can't meet my parents' expectations."

"What are the requirements?" An and Asuka asked curiously.

"Let me become proficient in playing the guitar within three months."

"..."

"What's wrong, Anhe? Is it because you also think this request is difficult?"

“No.” An and Asuka shook their heads. “I think it’s very simple.”

Volume 1: Chapter 103 The Inexperienced Pink-Haired Guitarist