In the third year of high school, I exchanged bodies with Yukinoshita

"Wait a minute... Your scheduled time conflicts with our return ticket."

"No, aren't we going to stay there overnight? I've even booked a hotel, look."

Only then did Yan Meng realize that Fang Xuan seemed to have tricked her. He wanted to go out with her with the intention of spending the night there with her.

"It's difficult to go out once, so you must spend the night outside."

Fang Xuan seemed to be talking about something very normal, but Yan Meng didn't think so.

Although she really wanted to spend the night outside with Fang Xuan, what about "Zuo Yu" and Li Shu?

She set her sights on Li Shu and "Zuo Yu".

"It's okay, as long as you and Fang Xuan have fun together. Zuo Yu and I both have tickets for that afternoon, but you and Fang Xuan have tickets for the evening."

"You know that too?"

"Well, the original intention was to leave you two with something to remember from your senior year, so we arranged this holiday trip. Otherwise, your senior year would only be filled with endless papers and exams, which would be a bit too monotonous."

"Did you arrange this too?"

Yukinoshita Yukino looked at the scene in front of her and asked questions to Zuo Yu in her mind.

"Of course, I put a lot of effort into making your dream of seeing pandas come true. I told Li Shu that I wanted her to leave a wonderful impression of her senior year, and I told Yan Meng that I wanted to create an unforgettable memory for our senior year. Of course, the ultimate goal of all this is to get you to see the pandas. Are you touched? I've done so much for you."

"...I think I can go see the pandas by myself. Maybe I don't need so many people to accompany me."

"Can you find the way? From your memory, I know that you have a slight problem with directions, so can you really find the place?"

“Isn’t there navigation?”

"In a high-speed rail station, can you use navigation to find the platform?"

Yukinoshita Yukino couldn't answer Zuo Yu's question. It was indeed difficult for her to answer this question, although she really wanted to say, "No, I still have you."

What she wanted more was to go see the pandas with Zuo Yu, even if Zuo Yu only existed in her mind. It was a pity that...the day Zuo Yu arranged for her to see the pandas happened to be Monday.

Zuo Yu, who was on her side, had to attend classes during that time period, so he could not exist in her mind in the form of consciousness and accompany her to the zoo.

"So, why don't you just arrange... for us to go see the pandas tomorrow? That way, you can help me with directions in your mind form, and I don't have to put in so much thought."

"Tomorrow is the first day of the holiday. Are you sure you want to go out at that time?"

Zuo Yu's question reminded Yukinoshita of the time she went to help Yuigahama Yui with her date during the holiday. The mall was already packed with people back then. If it was a long holiday, coupled with the already large crowds here, the place Zuo Yu arranged would probably be even more crowded.

It's no wonder he scheduled the trip around noon, as the flow of people at that time is a little less than during peak hours. However...

"But the first and second days of the holiday aren't much different."

"I can't help it. My vacation is so short. If it were a full seven-day vacation, the third and fourth days would be the best time to go out. Unfortunately, the situation forced me to choose the second day, which is slightly better than the first."

The two of them were bickering in their minds, and Yan Meng and Fang Xuan were also bickering beside them. Only Li Shu, who still didn't understand that "Zuo Yu" was bickering in her mind, watched "Zuo Yu" walking home in silence just like her.

After bidding farewell to Yan Meng and Fang Xuan, it was time for Li Shu and "乬 Zuo Yu" to be alone again. The two walked one in front and one behind. Li Shu still wanted to follow Zuo Yu's shadow, but Zuo Yu's steps were much bigger this time, and she could no longer keep up with him as before.

The shadows of the two people cast under the street light could no longer overlap.

Yukinoshita Yukino almost jogged all the way back to Zuo Yu's home.

"Is it really that serious? You really don't want to be alone with Li Shu."

In Yukinoshita Yukino's mind, Zuo Yu naturally knew what kind of mood Yukinoshita Yukino was in when she chose to jog all the way back.

They sympathize with each other, but they also repel each other because of the same sex.

"...It's just too cold outside, and I want to go home early to keep warm."

Tough talk.

Zuo Yu watched as Yukinoshita Yukino returned home and picked up Morgana, then carried Morgana all the way back to his bedroom.

"It's already the last day of September, and we've been swapping bodies for a month and a half. I think we started doing it in August, and each swap lasts three or four days, and then we'll wait for a while before swapping again."

Yukinoshita Yukino lay on Zuo Yu's bed holding Morgana, recalling the body exchange between her and Zuo Yu.

"Yes."

"Also, the timing of each body swap has special significance. The first swap happened just as school started on your side, and the second swap happened when school started on my side. The third swap was right around the time you were celebrating Mid-Autumn Festival and I was preparing for the school festival. The fourth swap was during your long vacation... You already know all this, right?"

"Yes, but this should be the last body swap unless something unexpected happens."

Actually, these days have another meaning. Zuo Yu thought to himself as he watched Yukinoshita sorting out her days.

"And the ending times seem to be irregular. If I had to say, at the end of each of these body swaps, you had exams to take, while I had problems you had arranged for me to solve. There's nothing wrong with that, right?"

"That's wrong. There's no regular ending time. If I had to explain, it's just that after I throw the question to you, our body swap will end. So, there's no point in delving into what happened on my end."

"So is it just a coincidence that you had to take exams at the end of each of your and my body swaps?"

"Of course, it's just that I take exams quite frequently, and they just happen to coincide with the end of my body swap. So, there's little point in exploring my timing."

It's just that there are exams almost every week. It's not like your place where school has been going on for over a month and there's still no news about exams. Instead, after the school festival is over, we have to prepare for the sports day.

What a colorful youth.

Yukinoshita Yukino listened to Zuo Yu's certainty that calculating the end time on his side was meaningless. A thought that had been echoing in her mind for a long time came to her mind, "So, you already knew the rules of body swapping?"

"Of course, the start time of the body swap depends on me. For example, the first time I swapped, it was during my early school start time, the second time was during my normal school start time, and the third and this time were both during normal vacation time. The end time of the body swap depends on you. In each case, I prepared the problems and solutions for you in advance, and asked you to follow my solutions. Of course, this time, I only set up the stage for you and you completed it, which also means that you no longer need my help. Our body swap naturally ends here."

It turned out to be true. After listening to Zuo Yu's explanation, Yukinoshita Yukino finally understood the key point of the matter.

Zuo Yu decided the beginning and he decided the end.

When the body swap would end depended on what issues Zuo Yu had prepared for him. The first time was about her sister, the second time was about the establishment of the service club, the third time was about the school festival, and this time was about the sports meeting.

No wonder I always have a lot of things to do after every body swap.

This is also consistent with the information about body swapping on the market that Yukinoshita Yukino consulted. Most of them are about changing the other person's life and personality, so as to end the phenomenon of body swapping.

It’s just that Zuo Yu was too smart. He realized this the first time he exchanged bodies with her.

So the body swap between the two only lasted four times before it ended?

You decide to end it yourself, but what if you don’t want to end it?

Yukinoshita Yukino carefully thought about whether she could decide whether to end her and Zuo Yu's body swap...

"Of course, if that's the case, then this body swap should have only one purpose. Your growth is complete, and this body swap should simply be a farewell. That's why I arranged for you to see the pandas to celebrate your growth."

"So, I'm really sorry that I didn't prepare any farewell gifts for you."

"You've prepared, haven't you? Your sister and I thoroughly enjoyed the school festival you organized, especially at the end when you asked me to go on stage to give a summary of the festival you prepared. That was your final gift."

"So the timing of this body swap is decided by me?"

Yukinoshita Yukino realized that what Zuo Yu meant in his words was that the time point for the start of this body swap seemed to be decided by her.

"This should be a special case. After all, it is the last time."

"So how do you know so much? Have you found the person who swapped our bodies? Have you found out the reason from him?"

Yukinoshita Yukino asked the question she had been preparing for for so long. She wanted to know who had made her and Zuo Yu swap bodies, so that she could achieve her goal.

She thought that if she could find out from Zuo Yu who had swapped bodies with her, she might be able to get that person to send Zuo Yu to her side of the world. Yukinoshita Yukino knew that this was a very selfish idea, so she didn't have a strong desire to carry it out.

"No."

That's not a person, that's the cat you're holding.

Zuo Yu skillfully used word games to avoid the question.

"Then why do you know so much?"

"I am very smart."

In the end, Yukinoshita Yukino was still unable to get any information from Zuo Yu about the mastermind behind the body swap between the two of them.

Sometimes being secretive is an answer in itself.

This made Yukinoshita Yukino even more certain that Zuo Yu must have known about it, otherwise he would not have concealed it.

When Yukinoshita Yukino woke up from Zuo Yu's bed again, it was already eight o'clock the next morning.

She looked at Morgana lying next to her and thought the cat was suspicious.

Every time I swap bodies, it seems like this cat is always by my side.

It didn't seem right. The first time he exchanged bodies with Zuo Yu was when Zuo Yu was at school. The cat had an alibi at that time.

Yukinoshita Yukino felt like she was going crazy, and now everyone she looked at seemed like the mastermind behind everything.

She lay on Zuo Yu's desk, doing Zuo Yu's holiday homework, but her progress was not very fast, unlike the last time she helped Zuo Yu with his homework.

At that time, she had a clear purpose, which was to prepare a Mid-Autumn Festival dinner for Zuo Yu.

What about herself now? Yukinoshita Yukino asked herself, she didn't know what she wanted now.

If the body exchange with Zuo Yu ended here, I would feel unwilling.

If this continues, this irrational existence will eventually come to an end.

If Zuo Yu could come to her own world, Yukinoshita Yukino felt that this idea was a bit too selfish for Zuo Yu.

Multiple thoughts were fighting in her mind, causing Yukinoshita Yukino's handwriting, which used to be neat, to become a little sloppy.

Chapter 147 How Many Years Can You Grow in a Year?

Yukinoshita Yukino helped Zuo Yu finish the rest of her holiday homework with a self-destructive attitude.

The problem in front of her was solved, but the problem in her heart was still not solved. She still didn't know how to deal with the relationship between her and Zuo Yu.

All kinds of thoughts arose in her mind, but were quickly rejected by her.

She held Morgana in her arms, sitting in front of Zuo Yu's computer desk in a daze, fiddling with the pen she used for homework.

In the blink of an eye, it was night, and Yukinoshita Yukino was using Zuo Yu's kitchen to cook her own dinner.

As early as the morning when Yukino Yukinoshita opened the refrigerator to prepare breakfast, she found that the refrigerator in Zuo Yu's house was not empty this time, and there were many more vegetables she liked in it.

Zuo Yu usually doesn't have time to cook, so he has only one purpose in buying these things.

In order to make himself eat, this is a very normal thing for Zuo Yu who knows the start time of the body swap.

So what is his purpose?

Could it be that what he said yesterday about liking me was true?

Yukinoshita Yukino looked at the prepared dinner and the clock. It was just past six o'clock.

At this time, Zuo Yu, who is at her side, should still be at school finishing up the aftermath of the school festival. Her sister probably won't stay overnight in her apartment today.

If Zuo Yu wanted, he could come to see him immediately after finishing his things at school.

Am I so eager to have Zuo Yu come and accompany me?

Yukinoshita Yukino glanced around the empty house. The last time she was at Zuo Yu's house during her vacation, she had a clear goal and wasn't as lost as she was now. The loneliness she felt in the house last time wasn't as intense as this time.

Is this the environment Zuo Yu usually stays in when he is not in school?

Although he spends a lot of time in school, if he encounters this kind of scene when he returns home, the strong contrast will probably make him feel more lonely.

After dinner, Yukinoshita Yukino sat on the sofa in Zuo Yu's house, feeling the loneliness that Zuo Yu had experienced. In the middle of the night when no one was with him, Zuo Yu must have felt several times more lonely than herself.

I could still hope that Zuo Yu would return to his body and communicate with him. But Zuo Yu...

"Hey, what's wrong? You look listless."

The voice that came in her mind again made Yukinoshita Yukino end her emo time. The excitement she felt the moment she heard Zuo Yu's voice could not be hidden.

No wonder Zuo Yu said that he was responsible for the beginning and he was responsible for the end.

In other words, my job is just to make sure Zuo Yu isn't alone at home being emo?

My arrival made Zuo Yu no longer lonely at home, and Zuo Yu helped me grow by my side.

"Are you stupid from doing your homework?"