"The person you want to apologize to is not me, but Yusuke, right?"

"Hey, you want me to apologize to Kato...?"

"Is there any problem? After all, you didn't even understand the matter clearly at the time, so you scolded Yusuke. Generally speaking, you should apologize, right?"

"..."

An Yilun clenched and unclenched his fists unconsciously. After a pause, he said, "...I understand. I will talk to Kato later."

"That kind of thing is up to you. If the matter is over, I will go back?"

"...I said, do you hate talking to me so much?"

"Huh? I didn't say that. It's just that Mayu and Dehai are still waiting for me to discuss work, and I have two character CGs to draw in the afternoon, which is really exhausting."

After hearing Ying Lili's explanation, An Yilun also looked a little better.

"So that's it...it means you don't have to work yourself so hard, right?"

"What nonsense is this? I'm the number one original artist. If I don't work hard on the drawings, do I have to wait for the original drawings to come out on their own?"

"I mean, isn't Kato very powerful anyway? Even if you don't work so hard, he can handle everything in the end. There's no need to force yourself so much, right?"

"Lun Ye..."

Yinglili's eyes widened in shock, "Are you...are you trying to persuade me to give up my efforts now?"

An Yilun couldn't help being stunned, and hurriedly waved his hands to deny: "No way! I just heard you said it was too hard, so I kindly gave you advice."

"Then let me ask you, did you also read the "Little Fantasy" book I drew yesterday? What do you think of my drawings compared with Hashima Chuhai?"

"……Huh?"

"You said before that our two works have different themes, so they are not comparable."

Yinglili stared at him intently and said word by word: "But now that we have both drawn the copy of "Little Rhapsody", do you think I am the better one?"

"I--"

An Yilun also subconsciously wanted to answer, but when the words came to his lips, he couldn't say anything. He unconsciously avoided the girl's eyes and hesitated:

"...Here, well, your newly drawn notebook is also very impressive.

I'm really surprised that you can draw a new book just a few days after COMI ends next winter, and the quality is still as stable as before!"

"...Lun Ye."

Yinglili was silent, a trace of sadness flashed in her beautiful eyes, "Don't you want me to grow...?"

"——!"

An Yilun's pupils suddenly shrank, and he was speechless.

Ying Lili took a deep breath and continued speaking.

"Yusuke said that he wants me to become the most powerful painter in the world, and I also want to be that person. I am working hard for it now, so... I will not stop."

"Yinglili..."

An Yilun also looked at his childhood sweetheart in front of him, his expression changed, but he didn't know how to respond.

"You can't do it."

"Why are you working so hard?"

"Why should you decide to move forward without permission?"

"Why do you have to run to a place that is hard for me to reach?"

"You're just my former follower. Who allowed you to make that kind of decision without permission?"

…

Thousands of words are running through my mind, and complicated emotions are also churning in my heart.

An Yilun's face was also tense, and the outline of his teeth appeared faintly on his cheeks.

From Yinglili at this moment, he felt an indescribable sense of inferiority and distance, which he had never experienced in the six years of friendship between the two.

Suddenly, he thought of what the girl had just said.

"Don't you want me to grow...?"

An Yilun also wanted to deny this, but the dark side in his heart seemed to be making a different cry.

"...Anyway."

He wet his dry lips with his tongue and said in a hoarse voice: "If it were me, I wouldn't force my partner like this. The most important thing is that we all play games happily together...!"

Without staying here any longer, An Yilun turned around suddenly after saying this and strode out of the store.

Yinglili looked at his leaving figure, a flash of self-blame flashed across her face, and she couldn't help but wonder if she had gone too far.

With this concern in mind, she walked towards her seat with heavy steps.

…

On the other side, An Yilun also angrily came to a nearby small park and punched a tree hard.

——Boom!

The tree trunks swayed.

A few frightened crows screamed loudly, flapped their wings and flew away from the branches, staring unkindly at the uninvited guest below who disturbed their rest.

"hateful--!"

An Yilun also cursed in a low voice into the air. Still feeling that it was not enough to relieve his anger, he raised his right foot and kicked the tree trunk hard.

At this moment, a clear voice suddenly came over.

"Huh? Toshiya-kun? What are you doing here alone?"

Turning his head to look, a boy with light brown curly hair came into view.

"...Tsk."

When An Yilun saw the visitor, he clicked his tongue in displeasure: "Why can I see you everywhere? Iori."

"...I would like to say, facing a comrade who has fought side by side with me, wouldn't your attitude towards me be too cold?"

Namishima Iori walked up with a hurt expression on her face as she spoke.

"Hey, why did you come up to me so casually? I'm not in the mood to deal with you right now!"

"Hmm~ So what are you doing here alone?"

"This has nothing to do with you."

"Aren't you going to go back to the studio? It's very cold outside~"

"Mind your own business, I'm free to stay wherever I want!"

"Then let me ask another question. Are you practicing boxing with a tree?"

"Varied--!"

An Yilun also opened his mouth in astonishment, "Iori, have you been peeking around from the beginning? It's really annoying!"

"Ahaha~ I'm not that free. I came to see Kato-kun today for something, and I happened to see your actions. Isn't this a complete coincidence?"

"It's best! Anyway, Kato is in the studio. Since you are here to find him, please disappear from my sight as soon as possible——!"

Faced with his bored exhortation, Hamishima Iori waved her hands disapprovingly and said with a smile:

"It's not urgent. You seem to be troubled by something, right? Why don't we have a chat~"

…
Chapter completed!