——"Sorry, Megumi, I can't respond to you like this, there are other girls in my heart."

Faced with his remarks, the other party did not show any surprise.

"Well, Yusuke, you are referring to Kasumigaoka-senpai and the others, right?"

Megumi tilted her head cutely and said in her usual indifferent tone:

"Although I know all this kind of thing, in my opinion, it seems that you take everyone on your back as a responsibility and always blindly meet other people's expectations. Aren't you tired of living like that?

I don’t think your idea is wrong, but there should be other methods, right?

I like you Yusuke, and I know you also like me.

Even so, you still refuse to choose me?"

Kato Yusuke was silent for a long time, "...I'm sorry, I can't ignore Shiyu-senpai and the others. I must fulfill my responsibility."

"What about me? Yusuke, do you also regard me as one of the persons responsible?"

"That's what I thought..."

"..."

Hui Qianqian frowned, put her hands behind her back, and asked in a calm tone.

"...In other words, Yusuke, you want me to be like Kasumigaoka-senpai and Hasumi-sensei, and still stay by your side even though I know that you have inappropriate relationships with other members of the opposite sex. Am I right to understand this?"

Kato Yusuke opened his lips several times but closed them again. He lowered his head in shame and stared at the cold rock slab under his feet.

The seams of the hiking boots were filled with stones and mud, and the edges of the uppers were stained by a circle of stains where the snow had condensed and dried, making them look a bit dirty.

He raised his head deeply and looked at the girl in front of him.

"...Hui, you are right. I do have selfish thoughts in my heart, but I will not do anything to offend you, nor will I force you."

As soon as he finished speaking, the other party responded quickly.

"Well, Yusuke, you didn't force me, but at the same time you didn't give up trying to change me. This approach is really selfish."

His eyes that were originally shy and undulating now looked a little disappointed.

"...Although I know that I am not as qualified as others to say this, what I want to give Yusuke is my complete and unique heart, but in the end I can only get your incomplete feelings?" Ban

"……Feel sorry."

Kato Yusuke gritted his teeth and said repentantly:

"I understand that such a request is excessive...but other than that, I can give you everything I have. Can you please stay?"

Hui lowered her eyes silently, and after a while she said softly:

"But... what I want is that complete relationship, nothing else is important. Why don't you understand, Yusuke...?"

Of course Kato Yusuke understands, but he has no choice.

His expression changed, then he took a deep breath and spoke with difficulty.

"I'm sorry... I can't ignore the fact that what happened, and I won't make excuses to defend myself. I really like Hui and want to be with you."

"I can't promise much right now, but I will do my best to respond to you and try to have a clear conscience. So, are you willing to give me some time... to stay and witness?"

He stared into the other person's eyes, trying to convey his most sincere feelings, but unfortunately the other person always lowered his head and did not look at him.

After a long silence, Hui took a shallow breath.

"I see."

The girl looked up, with a hint of sadness in her ethereal eyes, and used a smile to cover up her feelings.

"...Since Yusuke you can't make up your mind yet, I will continue to wait. You can just pretend that what just happened never happened, but..." Ban

Hui paused and said in a soft voice:

"People change with time and various opportunities. I don't know how long I can wait, so Yusuke, please don't let me wait too long..."

"benefit……"

Kato Yusuke felt a sense of sadness, and he understood that his attitude had hurt the other party.

"Ah, it's a pity that we couldn't reach the top of the mountain this time. Let's prepare to go down. I'm sorry for dragging you down, Yusuke, and... Happy White Day."

Hui said calmly and walked towards the mountain hut.

The moment his master turned his back, Kato Yusuke vaguely caught a hint of darkness in his eyes.

He stared at the girl's retreating back, stood there for a while, clenched and unclenched his fists, and finally followed her.

after that--

Until they returned to Tokyo, Megumi didn't say a word to him again.

Kato Yusuke tried to communicate with the other party, but he didn't know how to speak, so he could only remain silent.

He went home with a heavy heart, changed his clothes, bought some things in the mall, and finally came to the Immortal River.

In the light novel editorial department, Shiu and Machida Enko are discussing matters related to the animation of "Love Festival" in the conference room.

The former crossed his arms and sat on the iron chair indifferently, turning a blind eye to his arrival.

The latter greeted him warmly, with a hint of schadenfreude.

Kato Yusuke didn't say much about this, he sat directly next to Shiyu, put the gift he bought on the table, and waited for them to end their discussion.

Logically speaking, even though he had a good relationship with the manga club, he was not qualified to listen to the content of the discussion between the two. However, Machida Enko did not ask him to avoid taboos, so he remained shameless.

While sitting quietly, I replied to everyone’s messages on my mobile phone.

Okano, Xiaoyu, Mami, Mr. Goto...

Although he had stated before his departure that he had something to do over the weekend, there were surprisingly many people looking for him.

Kato Yusuke handles various messages and emails in order of importance. Board

After Machida Enko's discussion ended, he sent Shiyu home and apologized repeatedly for forgetting White Day.

Shiyu kept a cold face and ignored him until he entered his apartment.

Kato Yusuke looked awkwardly at the chocolate in his hand that he could not send out, and smiled bitterly.

…

At around eight o'clock in the evening, Ying Lili called.

"Yusuke... I drew the CG of the game!"

"From the sketch to the line drawing and coloring, I finished it in a day and a half! And there are an unprecedented seven! This is my new record! I can't stop! And I don't want to stop at all!"

"Anyway, should I send the original painting via email now? Ah, but considering the size of the file, wouldn't it be a bit difficult to send it all by email...?"

"What should I do? Should I publish them one by one, or should I share them with you using Dropbox?"

The girl spoke like a barrage of words, her emotions extremely high.

However, in stark contrast to this enthusiasm, the master's voice at this time was so hoarse that it was unfamiliar.

"Eiriri?" Kato Yusuke frowned unconsciously, "What's wrong with your throat? Have you taken your temperature?"

"ha?"

"Do you have a fever? Do you feel dizzy or weak?"

"What are you talking about...am I okay?"

As Yinglili spoke, her breathing was obviously faster than usual.

"I'm just a little tired. These...must be...tiredness... brought about by...the sense of joyful accomplishment..."

"Eiriri...?"

"Eh......weird...weird?"

As if all the enthusiasm had been exhausted, the host's voice suddenly became weak, "I always feel... so cold."

Kato Yusuke realized something was wrong and his expression became serious, "Eiriri, calm down and tell me, are you in the room now?"

"Room? Is this...a room? Strange, why is there a heater?"

"...That's because of your villa in Nasu Plateau."

"Ah~~Yes... So Yusuke, when will you come?" Eirili said in hindsight, as if she had just noticed where she was.

Kato Yusuke felt nervous and immediately stood up and started to get dressed, trying to keep his tone calm.

"Listen, Eiri, I'm already on my way here. Now go to the bed, lie down and cover yourself with a quilt, and then call the doctor over at Nasu Plateau and ask someone to come and diagnose you."

"You are exaggerating. It's okay... As long as tomorrow comes, the body temperature... will... come down by itself~~" Ying Lili smiled cutely.

"When did you start having a fever? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because, Yusuke, you said you had something to do over the weekend... I don't want to cause you any trouble."

"——"

Kato Yusuke's movements couldn't help but pause, and his expression became complicated.
To be continued...