A guide to survival in a heavy girl's world

(Has he even understood the situation? I'm forcing myself on him now! Not only did I not ask for his opinion, I'm even planning to take away everything he's worked so hard to accumulate. Why doesn't he stop me or blame me, but instead apologizes to me?)

(He couldn't find me sooner? Isn't that perfectly normal? For a twelve-year-old who hasn't even been to school, he's already done enough, right?)

(Is it because he's always so strict with himself? Or... am I really important to him enough to make him carry the guilt for seven whole years?)

At this moment, Hoshino Ai suddenly remembered the pajamas that were sent along with the performance costume.

It was through that pajamas that she confirmed that Zhe not only had not forgotten her, but even kept the memories between them in his heart.

And when she now looks back at the two pieces of clothing, is it really just simple concern hidden in them?

While she has been enduring the loneliness and anxiety for the past seven years alone, what is this person who has always been thinking about her thinking?

Is the feeling he has for her... really as she originally thought, a feeling that can be easily replaced by anyone?

If the relationship is really so fragile, would he really be willing to give up everything that belongs to him like he is now?

……

"...Zhe."

Hoshino Ai, who had been silent since the beginning, suddenly called out Chihaya Tetsuya's name.

"What kind of existence am I to you?"

"……I don't know either."

Chihaya Tetsuya's tone was extremely confused.

"Actually, I've been confused about our relationship since seven years ago..."

They are not relatives, nor are they as simple as friends.

Interdependence and mutual dependence.

For Chihaya Tetsuya at that time, he still didn't understand how to explain this wonderful feeling.

"You know what? I actually really wanted to be your sister at first."

Hoshino Ai said in a deep voice:

"Because you said you needed affection and family, I have always wanted to fulfill your wish. But... you rejected me, and you also said that you didn't want any lies in our relationship."

"That's right. Whether it was then or now, I can't just treat you as my sister."

Chihaya Tetsuya said truthfully:

"The relationship between siblings should be purer, a care and concern almost born of instinct... But for me, while I'm caring for you, I'm also deeply dependent on you. This kind of demand shouldn't exist between siblings."

"..."

After hearing this, Hoshino Ai was silent for a while, and then asked:

"So, seven years ago... you actually viewed me with feelings even more 'impure' than those of a brother and sister?"

"……kindness."

Chihaya Tetsuya nodded in agreement:

"Compared to my current understanding of family affection, that is indeed an emotion that can be called 'impure'."

"That's it..."

Hoshino Ai whispered softly:

"So that's how it is. It's not because it's no longer needed, nor is it because it can be replaced..."

Rather, the opposite is true.

Although she was not his family and could not provide the family love he had always dreamed of, in fact, seven years ago, he had been asking for another kind of feeling from her, a feeling that he still couldn't figure out.

On the other side, Hoshino Ai's voice, which was difficult to tell whether it was sad or happy, suddenly made Chihaya Tetsuya feel an indescribable tension in his heart.

"…Are you disappointed in me?"

Chihaya Tetsuya couldn't help but ask:

"I'm not as selfless as you think..."

“…Yes, I am indeed disappointed.”

After hearing these words, Chihaya Tetsuya suddenly felt a chill rising from the bottom of his heart.

However, the next second, the next sentence that Hoshino Ai said made the words that he had not yet spoken get stuck in his throat.

"If I had confessed my feelings to you more seriously and firmly seven years ago, maybe we would have been lovers then..."

Hoshino Ai's tone was full of regret and sigh.

"In this case, I can't blame anyone at all, right? It was entirely because of my indecision that I pushed you to Chihaya Aine and Toyokawa Shoko's side..."

"Eh? Wait, Ai, what are you talking about?"

Finally, after hearing this inexplicable reflection, Chihaya Tetsuya finally opened his eyes.

"What do you mean by indecision? What on earth is this—"

"This is totally screwed... ahhh, this is totally screwed."

As Hoshino Ai spoke, she picked up the box of safety supplies.

Just when Chihaya Tetsu thought she was about to open it, she stuffed it back into her pocket.

"But it's a good thing you're a late bloomer, so before I explain everything to you, I need to confirm what you just said... You did say, 'As long as it can help you calm this uneasiness that has lasted for seven years, I'll do anything for you, right?'"

"……Yes."

Chihaya Tetsuya nodded once again in confirmation.

"As long as it can make you feel at ease, I'll do anything!"

The words that had not yet been finished were blocked back forcefully.

Like a non-Newtonian fluid, from hard to soft, from stagnant to smooth—

Seven years of regret and remorse finally turned into this seven-second touch.

And this rehearsal seems to have finally been declared a success.

65

Chapter 65: A new interpretation of Snow White.

Every child who has read fairy tales has imagined that he or she would be the protagonist of the story.

Princes, princesses, and even elves, children always imagine that they can also usher in their own happy endings like in fairy tales.

"My fairy tale actually began the moment I first met you."

Hoshino Ai moved her lips away and reached out to touch Chihaya Tetsuya's cheek:

"Compared to the prince who only appears at the end, the gentle, intelligent, kind, and strong Zhe is indeed more like a princess."

"Eh……"

Chihaya Tetsuya looked at Hoshino Ai in a trance, and asked with the remaining consciousness:

"You mean, you are the prince..."

"Not really."

But Xingye Ai shook her head gently after hearing this:

"I really hope to become a 'prince', but in reality, instead of becoming the one who brings you happiness, I almost became the 'poison apple' that kills you."

A poisonous apple that was created to meet him, but almost led him to a ruined end.

Hoshino Ai reached out and gently wiped Chihaya Tetsuya's lips.

"I'm sorry, Zhe. Whether it was that time at [RiNG] or today... I almost made a decision that would take everything from you. In reality, it's never you who should apologize, but me. The separation seven years ago was not something we two kids could have changed. In fact, just hearing that you've been trying so hard to find me even after that makes me happy enough."

"I've actually known for a long time that you wouldn't abandon me so easily, and you were indeed trying hard to find that perfect ending that would bring happiness to everyone. It was me who unilaterally failed to trust you. I forgot the trust I placed in you seven years ago, and it was me who was holding you back."

As she spoke, she continued to wipe Chihaya Tetsuya's lips repeatedly with her fingers, as if she wanted to completely erase all traces of the kiss she had just given him.

If only I could have explained all this to him seven years ago, if only I could have been eaten by him before I was contaminated by the poison.

Why hadn't she realized Zhe's feelings for her sooner? Why hadn't she trusted him sooner? Why had she pushed him to the point of willingly giving up everything? This wasn't right, was it? She'd been hoping for a fairytale-like, happy life with him forever, but what had she been doing instead?

She used having sex with him to force him to stay with her forever, and she tried to tie him to her forever by having children with him.

How could she, who was like this... be qualified to be his happiness?

"I'm sorry, Zhe, I defiled your first kiss, but don't worry, I won't do anything more next time. My anxiety has been dispelled by your tenderness, and my last obsession has been solved by your love..."

After the poisonous apple slipped gently from the princess's hand, no one was interested in it anymore.

Just like when she was abandoned by her mother, perhaps she deserved this fate because of her vicious nature.

"Don't feel guilty about me. I don't have the qualifications."

Hoshino Ai reluctantly moved her fingers away from those soft lips.

"Instead, I should be asking for your forgiveness..."

Next, whether she is abandoned or punished, she will accept it willingly.

With this slightly melancholy sigh, Hoshino Ai sat up straight, ready to turn over and get off Chihaya Tetsuya.

However, the next second, Chihaya Tetsuya suddenly sat up from the bed and directly changed to an intimate posture of hugging her face to face——

"..."

Under Hoshino Ai's astonished gaze, Chihaya Tetsu looked at her face carefully for a long time with great hesitation, and then finally took a deep breath and kissed her cheek as if he had made up his mind -

Chirp.

The light kiss, like a dragonfly touching the water, made Hoshino Ai freeze in place as if she had been petrified.

Perhaps this guy who was always too gentle would not lose his temper with her because of this, but she never expected that Chihaya Tetsu would suddenly sit up and hold her in his arms, and she never expected that he would actually take the initiative to kiss her!

“Zhe…”

Hoshino Ai widened her eyes and murmured in a distraught tone:

"You, do you know what you just did?"

"……kindness."

As the one who initiated the kiss, Chihaya Tetsuya's face was now much redder than the "poisoned apple" in his arms.

But even so, he still overcame all psychological barriers and spoke decisively:

"This... kiss. It's my repayment for what happened seven years ago. I was too slow to realize the feelings between us earlier."

If he had realized what he desired for Hoshino Ai earlier seven years ago, perhaps the following story would have taken a completely different route.

However, there is no if in reality.

In the end, they said goodbye to each other with regret and went their separate ways.

Now, having gained a true family and his own ideals, Chihaya Tetsuya is destined to no longer pour all his thoughts and feelings into Hoshino Aiichi like he did seven years ago.

But even so...it doesn't mean that Chihaya Tetsuya intends to give up on Hoshino Ai.

It's quite the opposite. Chihaya Tetsuya, who finally reunited with Hoshino Ai, didn't want to lose the benefactor and "first love" who once saved him again.

"Now, I may not be able to respond to your feelings easily, nor can I make any promises to accompany you for life. But even so, I still hope that you can stay by my side..."

"There are still so many clothes I want you to wear, and so many wishes I haven't been able to fulfill with you. I just can't stop until all our fantasies about the future come true."

"Also... I must emphasize one point. I'm just an ordinary man, not a princess who needs a 'prince' to define happiness for me. And you're not a poisonous apple, but an indispensable part of my life!"

Looking at Hoshino Ai's eyes that were already glistening with tears, Chihaya Tetsuya said:

"From now on, neither of us should have any thoughts of guilt or repayment. Those words are too foreign to us... I can promise you that from now on, as long as you still need me, I will never leave you again!"

This is just a promise, this is just a promise.

It is far more dreamy than a fairy tale, but it can also make people feel the reality of happiness more than a fairy tale.

There is no evil witch in this story, nor is there a poisonous apple that is destined to be abandoned.

All there are here are two children who depend on each other and work together to pursue happiness.

Fortunately, however, this story is not a fairy tale.