Oh no! They all seem a bit off!

Chapter 101 An Uncontrollable Collapse

New week, Monday.

Early in the morning, Qiuyue Cheng prepared breakfast and then went to school with his schoolbag, without waking his younger sister who was still fast asleep, thinking that she should sleep a little longer.

After leaving the cake shop at noon yesterday, he originally planned to go there again when Shiina Maki got off work, but Shimizu Rei forcibly dragged him out to go shopping.

"We only have these two days left to play together. I have a competition starting tomorrow, so I won't have time to play together then!"

At the time, Shimizu Rei said this, and Akizuki Makoto thought about it and agreed.

He has no idea how Shiina Maki felt yesterday.

In his view, Maki Shiina is slowly getting better and is gradually returning to normal.

Not only did he suppress his desire to use superpowers, but he also rebelled against his mother, no longer suffering from her unreasonable domestic violence, and was even able to get a job.

By all accounts, everything seems to be moving in a positive direction, right?
Makoto Akizuki thought so too, until he entered the classroom, put down his bag, walked to the seat where Maki Shiina was, and greeted her.

"Good morning, Shiina-kun."

He looked at Shiina Maki, who was holding onto the table with her hands and burying her face in it, and asked in confusion, "Are you feeling unwell? Why are you holding onto the table like that?"

"No, it's okay..."

Shiina Maki answered sullenly, without raising her head.

Akizuki Makoto noticed the hoarseness in her voice and, seeing her constantly leaning on the table, couldn't help but feel worried.

"Are you really okay? Your voice is hoarse. If you're not feeling well, I'll take you to the infirmary. Don't try to be brave on your own."

"..."

Shiina Maki remained silent.

On her face, which Akizuki Makoto couldn't see, she pursed her lips, and her eyes began to sting again.

She's really useless.

Whenever Akizuki Makoto shows her concern, she can't help but want to cry, and even wants to act coquettishly towards him, revealing her inner vulnerability.

"what happened?"

At this moment, Akizuki Makoto also noticed something was wrong. He squatted down and asked with concern, "Shiina-kun, what happened? I'm worried about you."

The persistent, gentle questioning finally made Shiina Maki lose her patience.

"Time to stop!"

She suddenly raised her head and, to Akizuki Makoto's astonishment, activated her ability after a long time.

In an instant, everything froze.

"Woo...Woo..."

"Why, why at this time of year do you have to show concern for me..."

"I really didn't want you to see me in this embarrassing state..."

She collapsed, covering her face with her hands and sobbing uncontrollably to release her negative emotions.

Although she cried all night, her heart was not relieved at all and she remained in a state of extreme depression.

This morning, she woke up to find that her eyes were unusually red and swollen.

She originally wanted to ask for leave, but didn't want Akizuki Makoto to see her like this and ask her questions.

She was afraid that if she were asked, she would burst into tears and tell Akizuki Makoto.

But the thought of asking for leave would only make Akizuki Makoto more worried, so he leaned on the desk as soon as he arrived at school, hoping to get away with it that way.

"..."

Makoto Akizuki stared blankly at Shiina Maki as she tearfully pleaded with him, his mind completely blank.

At this moment, all he could move were his facial expressions and his ten fingers. Even if he wanted to ask a question, he could only move his throat up and down.

"Don't... be so gentle with me..."

"This...it's going to make me...uncontrollably cry..."

"I'm so tired... Akizuki-kun... I'm really so tired..."

"I...can't take it anymore..."

Shiina Maki kept crying and sobbing, and finally looked at Akizuki Makoto with tears streaming down her face. She threw herself into his arms, wailing like a child while hugging him tightly.

During this time, she didn't say anything, she just cried until she was tired and her tears dried up, and then she slowly let go of Akizuki Makoto.

Looking at the damp marks on Qiu Yuecheng's chest, her expression darkened, and she thought that nothing mattered anymore.

Whether it's revealing the secret of having superpowers or whatever, it doesn't matter.

"I'm such a coward, I only dare to cry after time stops."

"How could someone as useless as me possibly be worthy of Akizuki-kun?"

"Stop daydreaming, Shiina Maki..."

She muttered to herself, wiping away the remaining tears on her cheeks, then picked up her schoolbag and ran out of the classroom without looking back.

Makoto Akizuki could only stare blankly as Maki Shiina left, unable to do anything.

After an unknown amount of time, the tranquil atmosphere was broken, and a cacophony of voices entered the ears.

Feeling that he could move again, Akizuki Makoto instinctively ran out of the classroom, while taking out his phone and repeatedly dialing Shiina Maki's number.

He wasn't searching aimlessly like a headless fly. He'd noticed that Shiina Maki had picked up her schoolbag before running away, proving she'd left school directly. "What on earth happened..."

Akizuki was anxious; the call screen on his phone remained busy, and the call never went through.

No matter how many times he called... Shiina Maki didn't answer the phone.

So he chose to send a LINE message to Shiina Maki, and then found that the message was quickly marked as read.

[Shiina-kun, where are you?]

You suddenly disappeared, and I was very worried about you.

Let's talk. I'll listen to whatever you say.

I've already left school. Where are you? I'm coming to see you.

His messages all showed as read, but Shiina Maki did not reply, which made him extremely anxious.

He could only rely on his instincts, running all the way to the station, boarding the train to Adachi Ward, and figuring out that Shiina Maki would be going home.

But in reality, Shiina Maki did not choose to go home; instead, she went directly to the building where Akizuki Makoto lived.

The reason I came here is because there's no way that Akizuki Makoto would come to my house to find her.

She didn't want to see Akizuki Makoto right now, nor did she want him to see her in such a disheveled state.

"I feel so awkward..."

Looking at the message displayed on her phone, Shiina Maki couldn't help but squat down and bury her head in her arms.

She clearly wanted to be cared for by Akizuki Makoto, but she was also afraid that Akizuki Makoto would pity her.

This conflicting feeling left her in a state of turmoil, unsure how to face Akizuki Makoto.

In the end, all he could do was hide downstairs at Akizuki Makoto's house, silently grieving.

However, after she cried herself out and her agitated emotions gradually calmed down, she looked at the dozen or so messages that Qiu Yuecheng had sent her on her phone and couldn't help but waver again.

She ran away like that, deliberately ignoring Akizuki Makoto. She could escape for a while, but could she keep running away forever?
Will she never see Akizuki Makoto again, and will they be completely separated?

Based on Akizuki Makoto's personality, he might just be waiting for her at her doorstep.

"Ring ring ring"

Just as Shiina Maki was holding her phone, her fingers tapping on the chat box, hesitating about how to reply to Akizuki Makoto, her phone suddenly vibrated and rang.

She was startled and almost threw her phone away.

"..."

Looking at the call interface on her phone screen, she hesitated for a long time before finally making up her mind and clicking to answer.

Just as she had thought, she could run away for a while, but she couldn't keep running away forever.

Moreover, she felt guilty for making Akizuki Makoto worry about her and run around like this.

Even though Qiu Yuecheng didn't do anything wrong, she was the one throwing a tantrum.

"Shiina, where are you?"

The moment the call connected, Akizuki Makoto's excited voice immediately came through the phone's speakerphone.

"I, I'm..."

Shiina Maki pursed her lips, hesitated for a moment, and then whispered, "I'm... downstairs at your place."

"Downstairs from my apartment?"

Akizuki Makoto on the other end of the phone was stunned for a moment, then quickly came to his senses and said, "Then wait for me, you must wait for me, I'll be right there!"

"……Um."

Shiina Maki responded softly.

At this point, the two fell silent, but the call did not end.

She could hear the noisy sounds from Akizuki Makoto's side through the phone's speaker, which gradually calmed her down.

At this moment, she clearly felt that Akizuki Makoto was coming for her regardless of everything.

"How despicable of me, to actually use this method to feel Akizuki-kun's care for me..."

She murmured to herself, a faint smile appearing on her face.

As for Akizuki Makoto, he seems to have already boarded the train for the return journey, and he should be able to get back to her side in about ten minutes.

She waited quietly, while also preparing herself mentally.

She probably has a hard time explaining why she disappeared so suddenly.

Moreover, her eyes were already red and swollen, and she had been crying just now, so she must look terrible now.

"As expected, everyone should just be honest and confess..."

Shiina Maki muttered to herself, thinking that now that her superpowers had been exposed, it didn't matter, as long as what she had done to Akizuki Makoto after the time stop wasn't revealed.

If those things were exposed, she would truly be too ashamed to face Akizuki Makoto, and would slink away to a secluded place and disappear on her own.

Just as Shiina Maki was thinking about these random things, Akizuki Makoto's voice suddenly came from the other end of the phone.

"Hey, Shiina-kun, I've arrived."

Upon hearing this, Shiina Maki subconsciously raised her head and looked ahead.

Suddenly, a figure appeared in her line of sight, holding a phone and running towards her at full speed!
(End of this chapter)