I won't be a loser.

Before his submission to the magazine was approved, he had no stable source of income and could only endure it for a while.

After selecting three books that he found interesting and useful, Xianren returned to his apartment from Jimbocho. Once inside, he opened the plastic protective film that wrapped the books and began to read.

There is no TV or computer, and this is his only entertainment...

"What the hell is going on...I've been having that weird dream lately."

Eriri sat in her room, looking at the drawing board in her hands and the computer screen in front of her with a pen in her hand. She felt like she didn't know how to continue painting. When she saw the red paint, she would think of the dream she had been having recently.

The dark room, the man lying on the ground in a pool of blood, and the knife dripping with blood in his hand—

She could not understand why she had such a dream. She did not seem to dislike anyone in her daily life. The man's face was also particularly blurry. Whenever she wanted to see it clearly, she would wake up and find it difficult to fall asleep again.

"Is it because I've been painting too many heavy-tasting works recently that this has caused this situation?"

She put down the digital pen in her hand, stood up silently, put on her usual green coat, and walked to the window. She looked at the lush green grass outside the window. A beautiful woman in a kimono was holding a sprinkler and watering the flowers in the garden.

"I'm watering the flowers every day. I definitely can't keep doing this."

After retracting her gaze, Ying Lili returned to her computer, saved the completed part, opened the computer browser, and looked at the reviews of her new work in the evening.

“The reviews are pretty good.”

Looking at the online reviews, Ying Lili's mouth curled up slightly, revealing her cute fangs, and she nodded with satisfaction.

But after a moment, he couldn't help but frown and clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction.

"They're just reading the book, but they're fantasizing about the cartoonist himself. Are these guys crazy?"

After seeing the unpleasant content, Ying Lili closed the browser in a depressed mood. Her mood did not improve at all, but seemed to get worse. Sitting at the table, her mind couldn't help but recall the scene she had dreamed recently.

"Who is that man? Why would I... No, no, no, I wouldn't do that!"

She shook her head, her golden twintails swinging in the air, and Eriri looked at the time in the lower right corner of the computer.

"School is about to start in three days? I wonder what kind of classmates I'll meet in high school."

Entering a new school meant resetting all your existing relationships. Even if you knew someone in the same school, you wouldn't necessarily be assigned to the same class. Just thinking about all these things was enough to make Eriri feel a slight stomachache...

I sent the mail in the morning and visited the Kennin in Jimbocho. I spent the whole afternoon sitting in my apartment reading.

Without being disturbed, he finished reading about one-third of the book he bought. When he was about to take a break, the doorbell rang, drawing his attention towards the door.

He looked back at the book in his hand, clipped the free bookmark on the side, stood up from the desk, walked to the door of the apartment, looked at the person outside through the peephole, and found that it was the neighbor he had met last time, then slowly opened the door.

"Ms. Kiyoura? What's going on?"

Image: "英梨", Location: "Images/1635418973-100277911-107888122.jpg"

Sakura Season: 14. Sorry, world, I win this time!

Xianren was not very surprised by the arrival of Kiyoura Setsuna. There were so many people living here, but he had only communicated with those three people. He had just returned from Takasu Ryuji's house in the morning, and the Miss World Saionji had just been rejected.

When it came to the visitor, the first person Xianren thought of before opening the door was Kiyoura Setsuna. After observing, he confirmed that the person standing at the door was Kiyoura Setsuna.

The person in front of him was different from the last time they met. The black sweater was draped over the girl's petite body, making her look like a charming doll. The food box held in both hands reminded Xianren of the agreement they had made last time.

"Burdock?"

I tried to confirm it and got an affirmative nod from the girl.

He stretched out his hands and took the food box from the other person first, and invited the other person to visit his apartment.

"If you don't mind, come in and sit for a while?"

Facing the girl standing at his door, the wise man accepted her kindness and extended his invitation to her, and the girl nodded in agreement without any hesitation.

"Ah."

Seeing that Qingpu Setsuna was willing to enter his apartment, Xianren made some space for him and let Qingpu Setsuna walk in front to avoid the same incident as last time from happening again.

Standing at the entrance, she untied her shoes and felt a chill on the floor with her soft white cotton socks. She couldn't help but lift up her delicate little toes, and the calm expression on her face became unnatural for a moment.

The wise man, noticing this, took out the slippers he had specially prepared for the guest from the shoe cabinet nearby and placed them next to the girl's feet.

"I noticed this last time, so I specially prepared a pair. If you don't mind, please feel free to use them."

Looking at the young man beside him in surprise, Qingpu Shanna felt a little surprised. He didn't expect that the other party had noticed such a small detail and even specially prepared a pair of shoes to entertain guests. A faint blush appeared on Qingpu Shanna's calm face. She pursed her lips and smiled, nodded, put on her slippers, and followed Xianren into the living room.

Putting the lunch box on the desk beside him, Xianren turned around and looked at Qingura Setsuna who was standing in his room. The girl who was observing the room was also surprised by the changes in the room.

"It's completely different from the day before."

"I had just arrived and hadn't had time to stock up and arrange everything. Now I've barely finished cleaning up. Would you like something to drink? Juice or milk?"

"Water will do."

While observing the room, Qingpu Setsuna was also looking for some details. After looking around the room and not finding the details he was worried about, Qingpu Setsuna felt slightly relieved.

Xianren, who had gone to pour a cup of hot water, came back and looked at Qingpu Setsuna who was still standing in the room. He put the water on the low table in the middle of the room and sat down.

"Please take a seat."

Looking at the wise man who sat down first, Qingpu Setsuna lowered her head to look at the cushion beside the low table, gently pressed her hands on the hem of her skirt behind her, slowly squatted down, and knelt in front of the low table.

There was a silence between the two of them. Facing a girl who looked and was only about ten years old, and with whom he had no contact before, Xianren really didn't know how to deal with it.

"that......."

"you......"

When Xianren finally found a suitable topic in his mind and was about to speak, the girl opposite him also opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something. The two were stunned for a moment. Xianren couldn't help but chuckle, stretched out his hand and signaled Qingpu Setsuna to speak first.

The girl was a little embarrassed and hesitated for a moment. She was originally ready to speak out what she wanted to say, but after being interrupted by the wise man, she didn't know how to start again.

After a moment's silence, he decided to let Xianren speak first.

"Well, let Miyamizu-kun speak first."

"Me? Well, I just wanted to ask about Miss Qing Pu, Miss Qing Pu..."

"Just call me Setsuna, Setsuna."

Hearing the address of 'Miss Qingpu', Qingpu Setsuna felt a little uncomfortable in her heart. After a moment of silence, she asked Xianren to call her by her name directly.

Xianren was a little surprised that the girl was calling him by his name after just meeting him twice. However, looking at the girl in front of him with a firm look in her eyes, staring straight at him, Xianren couldn't help but be speechless for a moment. He felt that something was wrong with the development, but he nodded anyway.

"Then... Setsuna."

The girl had no expression on her face, but nodded slightly, as if she was quite satisfied with the title.

"Setsuna is also a freshman in high school, right? I didn't ask you which school you attend last time."

"Sakakino Academy."

"Sakakino... I've heard a bit about him. He's also around here, right?"

"It's quite far from Toyonosaki Academy, but it's near this neighborhood. Toyonosaki is on the south side, close to Chiyoda, and Sakakino is on the west side."

"That's it."

He nodded as if he understood, but in fact he still didn't quite understand the specific location of Sakakino Academy. He sat in front of the low table in silence, not knowing what to ask next. When Kiyoura Setsuna, who was sitting opposite him, slowly clenched his fists on his knees, loosening and tightening them, hesitating for a long time, and finally mustered up his courage.

"That... Saionji..."

"Ok?"

Looking at the girl opposite him in confusion, Xianren seemed to hear a familiar name.

"Saionji Sekai is actually my friend."

"The Miss Saionji from yesterday?"

Under the sage's gaze, the fragile girl nodded somewhat unnaturally.

"Actually, it was because of me that she came to contact Miyamizu-kun...and to confess her feelings."

"......"

There was a subtle sense of déjà vu in his heart. Looking at the girl in front of him, Xianren had a bad premonition.

"Because we talked about Miyamizu-kun at home earlier, she became curious about him and came to ask him on my behalf if he had someone he liked... questions like that. She also chose to confess her feelings to him to test whether he was the kind of guy who liked casually."

"Is this a prank to test others like this?"

Looking at the wise man in front of him who didn't seem angry, Qingpu Setsuna couldn't help but bow his head.

"I'm really—terribly sorry."

Looking at the girl who lowered her head to apologize, the wise man sitting at the table felt helpless. It was impossible to say that he had no dissatisfaction at all, but since the confession was false, then the person Saionji Sekai liked was not him, which made him breathe a sigh of relief.

When his gaze fell again on the girl who was bent over with her head down, looking at her big red butterfly headband and the thin and smooth curve of her back, Xianren withdrew his gaze and tapped the table lightly with his fingers.

"Don't take it too seriously. It's more like a simple prank. I feel relieved."

Hearing the wise man's words, the girl who had bowed to apologize looked up with some confusion and looked at the boy sitting opposite her.

"If you're serious about confessing your feelings to me, then I'll have to think about how I should treat Ms. Saionji in the future. But since this is just a prank, then I can just treat her like I would any other day."

"......"

Kiyoura Setsuna really wanted to tell the person in front of him that Saionji Sekai was indeed confessing with a serious attitude at that time.

But when he thought of Saionji Sekai's previous sneak escape, Qingura Shunsuna suddenly no longer had any intention of defending the other party.

It seems like it would be okay if the misunderstanding continued like this?

She pursed her soft cherry lips, lowered her head, and tacitly acknowledged the 'fact' that Saionji Sekai's confession was a 'prank'.

Moreover, even if the world knew about this matter in the future, it shouldn't matter to her.

"Even though it's already been rejected, this misunderstanding is a good thing for the world."

Looking at the wise man sitting opposite her, Qingpu Setsuna pursed her cherry lips slightly, with a determined look in her eyes. This was an opportunity she had obtained by sacrificing the innocence of her good friend Saionji Sekai. She must win the boy in front of her and live up to Sekai's sacrifice!

Image: "Kiyoura Setsuna", Location: "Images/1635494604-100277911-107892048.jpg"

- - - -

Thanks to Godzilla for the monthly ticket! Thanks to everyone for the recommendation votes!

Cherry Blossom Season: 15. If the mother-in-law doesn't mind

Qingura Setsuna was not a very talkative person. After a brief silence, it was Xianren who found a topic to talk about, making the atmosphere in the room less awkward.

"Miss Saionji, like Setsuna, is she attending Sakakino Academy?"

"Well, Sekai and I have known each other since we were little. We went to the same school since elementary school, and it was decided that she would enter Sakakino Academy when she graduated from middle school."

Xianren understood Qingpu Setsuna's answer.

Basically, most people, when choosing their educational goals, unless there are any special reasons, will choose to go to a school near their home. That way, it is not only close to home, but they do not need to get up early every day to go to school, and there are many friends and former classmates they know.

People like Kento who chose to leave Itomori, or even leave Gifu, and come alone to the completely unfamiliar Tokyo to study are actually a minority... It can't be said to be a minority. In order to get into a good university, it is not uncommon to see "ronin" from all over the country coming to Tokyo to retake the exam the following year.

There are relatively few people who come to Tokyo to study alone in high school. Unlike other places, the expenses and daily living costs in Tokyo are extremely high. Even if high school students work hard, their time is very limited.

In particular, some high schools still strictly prohibit students from working. If you are found working secretly by the school, you will be severely punished. If you are really in financial difficulty, you also need to apply to the school and obtain the consent of the principal before you can work.

However, submitting articles to magazines like Xianren does is not prohibited by the school. On the contrary, if the school knows about it, it will encourage other students to submit more articles to magazines.

If he could write an award-winning work, even the teachers in school would have to respectfully address him as "Mr. Miyamizu."

Just by thinking about it, Xianren already felt a strong sense of picture. He was very interested in this development and planned to work hard in the three years of high school to write an award-winning work so that his lecturer would call him "teacher"!

"Miyamizu-kun, why did you think of coming to Tokyo to study alone?"

When the sage's thoughts gradually dispersed, a word from the girl in front of him brought him back to his thoughts that had drifted to the point where he began to think about what subject he should write about.

"Because Itomori is too comfortable. Although the scenery and environment there are beautiful, there is no pressure at all."

Seeing Qingpu Setsuna's expression of confusion, Xianren smiled and did not explain too much.

"World said, Miyamizu-kun, aren't you planning on thinking about love before you graduate from university?"

His eyes fell on the girl. Seeing her eyes flickering and a little uneasy, but looking straight at him, Xianren probably guessed the purpose of her coming. From the previous conversation, the girl had already conveyed and revealed her feelings, but she did not confess it frankly, nor did she confess it like Saionji Sekai did.

Are you afraid of being rejected?

Looking at the expressionless girl in front of him, he had no idea what she was really thinking, so he could only give his own answer.

"Well, at least I won't have to think about this before I get into the university of my choice."

"What if you meet a girl you like?"