Leaning on the back of the chair, he stretched his upper body vigorously, and a sound like "pah, pah, pah" came from his shoulders.

Looking at the clock on the wall, the long and short hands overlap right above.

About four hours had passed since she sat at her desk.

"Has it been so long..."

Sayu sighed to himself, put the pencil on the table, and decided to take a break.

"How you spend your senior year in high school will have a great impact on whether you can get into college."

My homeroom teacher, Ms. Misaki, always reminds me like this.

In fact, she didn't listen to the teacher's words, but she had already vowed to express her determination in front of her mother and brother that she should work harder both in public and private life, so she often stayed up late studying recently.

Two days have passed since the results of the national examination were announced.

Not surprisingly, she achieved excellent results as expected.

Whether it is her first choice, Hayao University, or her second choice, Aoyama Gakuin, she is eligible to apply.

Despite this, she still dared not relax.

"After all, there will be independent examinations at the university..."

Sayu murmured to himself and looked at the calendar on the desk.

【February 18, Hayao University】

【February 23, Qingshan Academy】

On the loose leaves of the desk calendar, the important events of this month are marked with a conspicuous red marker.

There are two college entrance examinations in Japan.

The first is a unified national examination organized by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, and the second is an independent admissions examination conducted by each university.

After the first test results are announced, candidates must decide which school and major to apply for the second time based on their scores. The specific test time is organized by each university.

Fortunately, the time difference between the two universities Sayu applied for was not too long, and five days was enough for her to adjust herself.

In addition to the examination date, the examination formats of each university are also different. There are many forms such as written examinations, interviews, essay writing, and practical operations... I will not go into details here.

It is worth mentioning that if she had not insisted on going to Tokyo, she could almost be regarded as a college student after receiving the admission qualification recommended by Hokkaido University.

However, there is actually nothing to say about this kind of thing.

Compared to being closer to that person, going to a prestigious university doesn't seem that important.

Turning to look out the window.

The nights in the countryside are quiet and filled with sleepiness, giving people the illusion that they are the only ones awake.

Sayu pondered, picked up the mug, and took a sip of the coffee that had turned cold unconsciously. The bitter taste made her involuntarily grimace.

He touched the cell phone placed aside.

The one set as the wallpaper is a photo of the person secretly taken at the Kyudo tournament.

She couldn't help but smile bitterly, feeling disappointed.

If that day, if she had been willing to chat with him for a while on the river bank on the way to school, would things have turned out differently?

If she hadn't agreed to the invitation from her classmates to go home together that day, wouldn't she have received that slap?

If that day, if she obeyed the weak voice in her heart and called him, could they start being friends?

If only she had a little more patience...

If she had paid attention to that face that looked more sad than heartbroken...

If only she could recall it earlier during the subsequent reunion...

——Will the red thread tied to the little finger still break?

Countless what-ifs piled up in my mind, rushing like a torrent.

Even though she knew those were just empty delusions, she couldn't control herself.

"You have found the wrong person. I am not the person you are looking for."

That person's voice seemed to ring in my ears.

That sentence...what does it mean?

Are you blaming her for losing him?

Or is it just an excuse to not want to have contact with her anymore?

When she was thinking about this in a trance...

——Knock knock.

There was a knock on the door.

'It's about time...'

Sayu came to his senses and responded towards the door.

"Please come in."

Click, squeak...yeah~

As the door opened slightly, Ogiwara Kazusa poked his head in through the crack in the door.

"Good evening, did I disturb you?"

"Brother? Why are you here...?"

When she asked this question, Ogiwara Kazusa relaxed his brows with a smile and slowly walked into the room.

"Mom, she has a PTA meeting tomorrow morning and asked me to bring you a midnight snack at this time. She will go to bed first."

"I need to supplement my nutrition at this time again..."

Sayu looked at the tray in his brother's hand and couldn't help but smile bitterly.

Ogiwara shrugged his shoulders, put the tray on the desk, then pulled up a chair and sat down next to it.

"After all, it's my mother's order. There's nothing I can do about this kind of thing. Just eat a little."

The appetite-stimulating aroma wafts throughout the room.

Sayu took a closer look. On the tray were two ham sandwiches, two pieces of radish stewed in stock, a bowl with instant miso soup and barley tea.

"Ugh! How can I eat so much at this late hour?"

"There is one portion that my mother prepared for me. Let's eat it together."

"That's it..."

Sayu sighed softly.

"Seriously, brother, can't you persuade mom not to do this? I've already passed the National Examination, so there's no need for her to get up in the middle of the night every day to help me prepare midnight snacks."

Ogiwara Kazusa showed a troubled expression and said:

"You also know my mother's temperament. She won't change her mind if I tell her something like this, so there's nothing I can do about it."

"Even so..." Sayu smiled bitterly: "As a girl, if I eat midnight snacks like this every day, I'm worried that I will get fat."

"Oh? But I remember Sayu, don't you have a physique that won't make you fat?"

"...There's no need to say that kind of thing at a time like this."

"Ah haha, sorry, sorry, come and eat."

Ogiwara smiled, took a sandwich from the tray and handed it to his sister. He looked at her and took a small bite angrily.

"Ah...it's delicious."

"Really? But I think Sayu's craftsmanship is also very good?"

"Thank you, but I really like the food made by my mother. Maybe it's because I wanted to eat it when I was a kid, but I couldn't eat it..."

Sayu murmured softly and lowered his eyes slightly.

Ogiwara Kazusa felt a thump in his heart and hurriedly changed the topic.

"Speaking of which, are you still studying at this late hour?"

"Well, I want to read it again."

"You are working really hard, but you must also be careful not to push yourself too hard."

"Don't worry, I won't break down my body and make you worry."

"Oh, that's good."

Ogiwara Kazusa couldn't tell whether it was because he was troubled or because he had no idea. He sighed and picked up a sandwich and started eating it.

"By the way, will it bother you if I'm here?"

"Nothing like that? Occasionally, my mother will chat with me for a while like this. I like this kind of leisure time very much."
To be continued...