Girl Band, Gravity Capture

Page 120

"That...that wasn't such a bad thing, was it...?"

But now, they have been reduced to a state where they can only survive by deceiving themselves and fooling others.

The reason I'm finally able to acknowledge and face my past self is...

It's because she believes that Genjiro can replace her and acknowledge the former Chihaya Aine.

Even if it's just an illusion, a lie that's already been exposed, I'm still willing to help her maintain and protect that unbearable situation...

He's so gentle and kind-hearted that it makes you think he's a bad person...

'...Because, in that case...how could I possibly not like you...'

She already has such a beautiful appearance, and her heart is so endearing, it's just too much...

Chihaya Aine rubbed her eyes hard, stubbornly refusing to let the tears fall. She sniffed, her voice muffled.

“I didn’t want anyone to know, so I haven’t told anyone… Besides my parents, the only person who knows is you, Xu Douqin.”

"If you go around telling other people..."

Talking about things she herself didn't think were possible, the girl tried to appear serious, but she couldn't hide her red eyes.

"me……"

Phrases like "I won't let you off the hook" and "I'll definitely make you pay" seemed too harsh, and Chihaya Aine was reluctant to say such things to him.

After much thought, the girl, unable to come up with a way to "threaten" Yuan Xudou, finally could only feign a fierce tone and speak:

"You have to make it up to me!"

'Ugh—what am I saying…!'

The words had barely left her mouth when the girl regretted them and started biting her fingers.

'That's so strange... I should have known better than to say something like that—'

"--Um,"

However, the boy did not show the speechless expression she had imagined.

Under Chihaya Aine's stunned gaze, a handsome smile slowly crept onto his lips.

"I will keep this a secret for you."

He sincerely thanked her, "Thank you for trusting me so much, Aiyin."

Feeling a sense of shared suffering is not just a delusion of the young girl alone.

Since such genuine trust has been placed in us, we should at least respond in kind.

“Eh, eh…”

This time, not only her eyes but her entire face, including her ears, turned red. Chihaya Aine's lips trembled as she managed to utter a few broken, meaningless sounds.

Chapter 54 Starting with Impersonation

"...Too cunning." Chihaya Aine murmured softly as she finally recovered, clutching his clothes tightly.

"Hmm?" Yuan Xudou, who hadn't heard clearly, turned his head in confusion and lowered his head slightly with the girl's not-so-forceful pull.

"—I say, Xu Douqin is really too cunning—!"

Her voice suddenly rose, and after shouting as if she were being unreasonable, Chihaya Aine managed to release a little of the burning passion that had suddenly risen in her heart, and she began to breathe heavily.

If I don't do this... I'm afraid I might really do something terrible in public...

"...'Cunning'?" Yuan Xudou blinked in surprise. "Aine, I'm serious—"

"—Of course I understand that kind of thing!"

Seeing that he still wanted to prove his sincerity, Chihaya Aine hurriedly covered his mouth, interrupting the conversation to prevent the boy from saying anything more sincere that would make her heart race.

The boy obediently tilted his head back slightly and stopped talking.

Chihaya Aine tried hard to calm herself down and didn't see his seemingly deliberate surprise. Naturally, she also didn't notice the faint, bright smile in the boy's eyes beneath it.

Yuan Xudou wasn't some blockhead who couldn't understand a young girl's coquettish words. Whether it was a complaint concealing her true feelings or a low, sorrowful outpouring, he could always achieve a seamless understanding and resonance with her heart. That was actually more attractive than his handsome appearance, making all the girls who approached him fall for him.

With his understanding nature, it's impossible that Genjiro Tou... didn't understand what Chihaya Aine meant by "cunning."

Her half-shy, half-annoyed, and bewildered appearance was quite amusing, so I couldn't help but tease her a little.

However, it's best to have a limit, otherwise it might be bad if you get caught.

Before the girl could completely sort out her chaotic thoughts, Yuan Xudou spoke first.

"So, Aine, what are your plans next?"

"This one……"

Mentioning this matter caused Chihaya Aine, whose face had just been flushed, to feel as if she had been doused with cold water, and her excited emotions cooled down in an instant.

"...The news of my return to Tokyo can't be kept secret anymore, can it?" She forced a smile, but the fingertips that kept fidgeting with the boy's collar betrayed her unease. "Maybe some friends will be coming to invite me to a get-together in a few days..."

The only way to minimize the negative impact of this incident...

"Xu...Xu Dou-chan..." Chihaya Aine mustered her courage and looked hesitantly at Gen Xu Dou, "Can...can you be my witness...?"

My face is so hot...

What kind of testimony is this? It's all fake... Isn't this just asking him to lie with me?

And, moreover, it's this kind of lie...

But now that things have come to this, she can no longer maintain the lie she just told her two friends, and she still cannot escape the fact that her reputation has been ruined.

The idea that she has a boyfriend may sound a bit strange, but it's quite convincing to teenage girls... In the end, they're not really investigating what's going on; they're just looking for things they find interesting to talk about.

Gossip about love is far more popular than stories about what happened in London.

"Please, please..." Biting her lower lip, she nervously shook Yuan Xudou's arm, "Only Kyorarin can help me..."

"I...I'll definitely be good to you." A flustered Chihaya Aine blurted out, "Just make a good impression on my friends, and I'll give you whatever you want, Xu Dou-chan...no, no, I can't give you everything..."

As if suddenly remembering something terrible, the girl abruptly fell silent and began muttering incoherently, "No, that kind of thing should at least be done after kissing..." and "It's definitely too early now..."

"A-Anyway..."

If the boy agrees and both of them admit it, then even if it's a lie, it will become the truth. At that point, "I stopped studying abroad for my boyfriend" will no longer be a hastily made-up lie, but a genuine reality.

Moreover, deep down, Chihaya Aine also harbors a faint expectation of "becoming Xu Douchi's girlfriend"... even if it's just a temporary pretend relationship.

Looking at the girl with a pleading expression, Gen Xudou remained silent for a moment before finally letting out a helpless sigh.

"...We can't go on like this forever, can we?" With his meticulous and relatively calm mind, he considered more possibilities. "And what if your friends ask about your parents?"

"Eh...it seems that's true..."

Upon hearing this, Chihaya Aine frowned her delicate brows, pondered for a long time, and tentatively asked, "Then, Xu Douqin, will you accompany me to meet my parents?"

—Wouldn't that turn a fake relationship into a real one?

Yuan Xudou was somewhat speechless, but looking at her serious yet expectant expression, it was hard to say whether she had this plan in mind.

"It's definitely not okay for you to accompany Aiyin to meet her parents. You should talk to your family about it yourself." He made the final decision. "As for meeting your friends... I can cover for you."

Although they couldn't reach a perfect relationship in one go, they essentially accepted the situation of pretending to be a couple.

"Yay, Xu Dou, you're the best!"

Chihaya Aine's smile instantly transformed from forced to genuinely bright, and she hugged him even more intimately. "Then let's practice how boyfriends and girlfriends should get along now~"

Chapter Fifty-Five: The Inevitable Entanglement of the Present / The Determined Abandonment of the Past

In fact, Chihaya Aine is the only novice in this area.

In just one year, Yuan Xudou, who had no romantic experience, evolved to be able to handle five girls at the same time and almost lived a life of having both girls on his left and right. With his rich romantic experience, he can now easily come up with several complete dating plans and ways of getting along. Pretending to be a couple is no more difficult than chewing a Pocky stick.

On the contrary, Chihaya Aine, who took the initiative to respond, often got stuck during practice because she didn't know how to respond or was too shy. She would stammer for a long time, until her head was steaming, and she still couldn't utter a few words. She even needed Genji to teach her the correct answer.

The boy with his perpetually calm gaze and the girl who often panicked created a strange contrast between the calmness of a seasoned lover who seemed to have seen through everything and the innocence of a naive young girl.

Plain and mature, lively yet clumsy.

After all, for Yuan Xudou, even the so-called "stepping onto the path of adulthood" was just a step away from his experience. He couldn't possibly feel shy or embarrassed about this series of actions that only went as far as holding hands... Moreover, even when they held hands for the first time or even kissed, Yuan Xudou never flinched or hesitated.

During practice, Chihaya Aine gradually realized the difference in experience between the two of them. Her initial trepidation and excitement slowly turned into a complex and unclear expression.

She thought of Takamatsu Akari and Shiina Tatsuki, who were clearly close to Genjiro, and the three girls with flaxen, sky blue, and light green hair respectively in the band the boy used to belong to.

One of them, or even all of them... must know Xu Douqin better than I do.

Certainly, not all five of them could be like Xiaodeng and Lixi, temporarily setting aside their differences and misunderstandings and tacitly accepting her joining as a newcomer.

Chihaya Aine, who met the boy too late, didn't have the chance to witness how he gradually melted from his aloof and cold appearance to his current maturity, nor could she see his naivety gradually change.

Although the two are actually the same age... the feeling can still be described as "you were born before I was born, and I was born after you were old".

...But so what?

The paths that have been trodden make it easier for those who follow. If it weren't for that "pioneer," whose identity is unknown, softening Xu Douqin's attitude, she might never have had the chance to be helped by him. She should be grateful to that person.

She was grateful to her for painstakingly cultivating Yuan Xudou into such a caring and understanding person, and for giving him a mindset that made him vulnerable. If it weren't for that, she might not have been able to get his permission and help so easily.

Besides... this was her first love.

Just because I was already mentally prepared for this, should I give up on him, who is so attractive and whom I probably will never meet again?

'No way.'

Without even the slightest hesitation, Chihaya Aine received the answer without any confusion.

The pleasant warmth in her palms seemed to still linger, and she raised her fair hand, slowly clenching it in front of her eyes, as if trying to grasp the increasingly clear and shimmering vision in her heart.

Like a crisp, misty morning with a hint of light, the slight hesitation that had just surfaced in her gray-bright eyes vanished like ripples on water, replaced by a resolute determination in the girl's heart—a determination to continue despite knowing the truth.

Call it taking advantage, call it poaching... even if you start as the third party, or even if you can't be his first...

But who says that those who come later can't become the most important and be put first?

Let your future self worry about what's to come!

Even if she foresaw setbacks and opposition, she would never give up now; that's her resolve!

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The tram scraped against the tracks, the crisp sound of it sliding against the blades, the tone like a wind chime swaying in the breeze outside a shrine.

As the sky gradually turned to dusk, a fiery red hue spread across the silvery-black border, with a vibrant sunset hanging beside the setting sun. Looking up, one could see the gradually changing colors of the clouds intertwining and swirling in the sky, as if vying for the vast, clear expanse of heaven.

Yuan Xudou's breath condensed into a thin mist in the cool air. As he rummaged through his belongings for his transit card, he inadvertently triggered his phone's vibration.

He took out his phone, which was lit up, and opened Line.

Soyo: "Heo Doo-jun, are you going home?"

He tapped his finger and typed a reply on the screen: "I'll be right back."

Nagasaki Motoyo: "Yeah, I'm waiting for you."

Nagasaki Motoyo: "Actually..."

Yuan Xudou tilted his head: "What's wrong?"

Nagasaki Motoyo: "Hmm..."

Nagasaki Motoyo: "Could you please look up?"

Sensing a possibility from the message, Yuan Xudou, his dark pupils widening slightly, looked up and gazed ahead.

At the corner of the platform, a brown-haired girl, with a smug smile of satisfaction at her successful plan, peeked out and waved affectionately at him.

"Su Shi?"

Upon seeing the girl, the surprised boy quickened his pace and walked to her in a few steps.