Why wasn't I the one who got the male lead's script?

Xingjian curled her lips as if she was completely unaware, and subconsciously shook her thighs rhythmically.

"You have a lot of free time on weekends, don't you?"

"Ah, well... Eriri asked me to help her revise the manuscript for her doujin manga, so I guess I'll be busy all day this weekend starting this morning—haha, sorry, sorry, I can't play games with you. Next time, next time I get a chance, I'll definitely help you farm materials unconditionally. Definitely next time."

“………………Is that so?”

After a few seconds of silence, Xingjian, whose expression had become serious, raised his eyebrows, gave up asking questions, and his tone returned to its usual calm and cheerful tone.

"Well - that can't be helped~"

"Haha, yeah. That can't be helped."

An Yi on the other end of the phone saw that he no longer pressed the issue, and her originally hesitant voice suddenly became less awkward.

"Well, if you don't have time, there's nothing I can do. So let's just leave it at that."

"Yeah, next time, next time I will definitely make it up to you."

This time, Xingjian didn't politely reply with "It's okay, I'll hang up first" as before, but just hung up the phone silently.

At the same time, there was a faint smile on the corner of his mouth.

After hanging up the phone, Xingjian let out a long sigh, then switched the phone interface to the game software and began to do his daily activities absent-mindedly.

As for why he was absent-minded, of course it was because he was thinking about other things at the moment.

"You didn't expect the third time to come so soon, Tomoya?"

Originally, Hoshimi had nothing to do with the girls in this club. They were all just strangers gathered together because of Tomoya Aki.

So, it was only natural. When conflicts or frictions arose between them and Aki Tomoya, she should not have any choice but to stand by her "friend" Aki.

But ever since Kato Megumi said to him, "If I encounter any difficult problems in the future, can you please save me?", he is no longer unconditionally inclined towards Aki Tomoya.

It's not that he doesn't have any schemes, he just doesn't like to use schemes to test and speculate about others, especially his friends - but he has just done so.

After his energy was exhausted, Xingmi turned off the game and, contrary to his lazy attitude, sat up on the bed and called Kato.

"Hello, this is Kato. What can I do for you, Hoshimi-kun?"

"…Sorry to bother you at this hour, Kato. Are you free to talk now?"

Soon the call was connected, and a familiar girl's voice came from the other end of the line.

"Oh, yes. I'm not very busy right now."

"Really? That's good. Actually, the reason I called you this time was to ask you—"

Xingjian thought about his words in his mind, paused for a moment, and then slowly said what he wanted to say.

"...Ren also asked you out on a date this weekend. Did you agree to this?"

"Ah, well..."

Kato's tone on the other end of the phone became a little subtle.

"It's a bit difficult, but it seems like Amami-kun will be very sad if I refuse."

"...Did you agree to this out of consideration for his feelings?"

"Well... not entirely. Mainly, I have some things I want to buy, so it would be nice to go shopping there—and I'm also worried that if Ami-kun suffers a setback, he might suddenly act out of anger... or something."

However, Kato, who is gentle and not good at rejecting others, rarely added a sentence to supplement it.

"But...as expected, dating someone you don't like and don't know well does make you feel a little uneasy. So..."

She was probably a little worried that An Yi would do something stupid again.

"...This is a perfect opportunity for me to fulfill my promise."

Xingjian curled her lips and tried her best to calm Kato's seemingly unstable emotions.

"Actually, I happen to be shopping in that mall that day. If you're willing, Kato, I should be able to help you with something."

"Ah, but wouldn't that waste Hoshimi-kun's weekend shopping time? I'd feel bad if I made you make that sacrifice because of me."

This girl seems to be a little too sensible.

“…Then let’s do this.”

After thinking for a moment, Xingjian gave a safe and compromise suggestion.

"I will still go shopping as planned, but I will also keep an eye on you guys. If I find you in any difficult situation again, Kato, I will come to help you."

Just like he promised her last time.

"...Hmm. In that case, this should be the most suitable method. Thank you, Hoshimi-kun."

After the two said goodbye to each other, Xingjian put down the phone.

"………call."

He looked up at the schedule for tomorrow that he had written down on his calendar, raised his eyebrows, and then his expression became very interesting.

On the calendar next to the bedside table, he circled tomorrow's date with a marker and wrote the words "Shopping with Baiyin Shishang" next to it.

"...I suddenly feel like even a passerby has gotten the main quest that only the protagonist gets."

The black-haired boy narrowed his eyes slightly, and a subtle expression appeared on his handsome face.

----

----

It's almost there. I estimate that at this pace, the final chapter of the first volume will be released on the same day orz. However, it is probably impossible to release it on the same day as the takeoff.

I've been staying up late writing until 3 or 4 in the morning these past few days, and I'm a little tired. Please bear with me, orz

Finally, please give me some votes. I will try to post another chapter in the evening.

Aki Tomoya cannot predict the future: Chapter 12 Who is the protagonist (Part 3)

Xing Jianqing is not good at dealing with complex interpersonal relationships.

There is a great deal of connection between his current thoughts and his past interpersonal experiences.

I don't want to go into details about the specifics, I can only say that he had been betrayed by a friend and that friend dragged a considerable number of people in the class into the cold violence he suffered.

At the beginning, there were only a few people, but later on, people who were "good at reading the atmosphere" appeared and joined the game. Then, people who thought "there must be something wrong with you if you are being targeted" joined the carnival.

They played a very interesting game on themselves, called the invisible transparent man.

Everyone involved in this game treats him as if he doesn't exist. They play this game anytime and anywhere, whether they are in class, after school, or even during sports competitions or while working.

They didn't use verbal violence or bully me, they didn't do anything.

They simply ignored their own existence.

Occasionally, there were a few people who were not indifferent or prejudiced towards him, but they would not dare to lend a helping hand because they had their own circle of friends or were afraid to offend others.

Everyone is worried that they will be the next one, and everyone is worried that they will be out of their comfort zone.

——Not long after this incident, Hoshimi began to suffer from puberty syndrome.

It might be better to say that this is why he suffers from puberty syndrome.

No matter how he tried to prove his existence, it ultimately proved futile; a mere mortal body could not defeat the supernatural. After a period of extremely hazy memories, he was left with sequelae—his current low sense of existence, a lightbulb.

Ultimately, this is not his innate attribute at all, but he has recently been learning to live peacefully with this sequelae.

There was no reason for An Yi to be nice to him, but she still expressed her kindness to him right from the start - this gave Xing Jian a thick layer of "friend filter" from the very beginning.

The light bulb, which had never been noticed by anyone, felt a little comforted.

Even a light bulb has fantasized about embarking on a grand adventure with himself as the protagonist, and the Aki Tomoya who reached out to him at that time looked like the first partner who spoke to him in the Novice Village in the new adventure.

Passionate and sunny, perhaps the kind of person who can shine anytime and anywhere.

Maybe it’s because they both experienced youth syndrome, or maybe it’s because Aki said to Hoshimi so frankly, “You’re the only one I can ask for help,” so Hoshimi was moved.

Maybe this person will feel it, maybe this person and the people around him will feel it, that Xing Jian is no longer just a passing figure in the background - an insignificant passerby.

As long as you treat me as a friend, I will be loyal to you without any complaints - Xingjian doesn't dare to say that he is such a person, but at least he wants to be such a person.

But is this the kind of relationship between him and Tomoya Aki?

Recently, Xingjian has been questioning whether this friendship is worth such a sacrifice.

If you think about it carefully, An Yi didn't do anything to offend him or target him, and he seemed particularly pitiful and humble when he was brought into the club.

At first glance it seemed like nothing, but the more I thought about it the more I felt something was odd.

If Aki really regarded him as a friend, would she have done all the things that made Xingmi feel uncomfortable before?

He always said that Hoshimi was his best friend, but it was he who didn't want Hoshimi to interfere in his plan to train the heroine. It was he who deliberately did not inform Hoshimi to go to the club party after school. It was also he who wanted Hoshimi to leave quickly after Hoshimi brought Kato to his house.

Xingjian feels that sticking out for a good friend is something that everyone would do without saying much, but the prerequisite is whether this "friend" is really worth doing so.

So, is Aki worth it?

The answer is already there.

"…………well."

The somewhat upset black-haired boy curled his lips slightly, turned over in the room where the air conditioner was turned on to a slightly cold level, and wrapped himself in the quilt.

No matter what, get enough rest and wait for tomorrow to come.

But when he closed his eyes to gather his strength and prepared to lie down on the bed for a leisurely nap——

The sound of a text message ringing from a mobile phone rang out in the quiet little room. The narrow space made the sound particularly harsh.

"Hey~ What is Xiaoqing doing now?"

It was a text message from Hayasaka Ai.

"...?"

Hoshimi raised his eyebrows in confusion, after all, Hayasaka had never contacted him on her own initiative.

"And judging by her tone...is she in caring big sister mode again?"

The young man raised the corner of his mouth, but out of respect for the professional actors, he did not expose her mask.

Since it was rare for Hayasaka to take the initiative to greet someone, he might as well play along.

"I just finished lunch and was about to take a nap."

After he typed the line of words in the nine-square grid with ease, he yawned nonchalantly.

But I can’t sleep now.

"Hey, what a good kid with a regular schedule."

Tsk, the importance of the art of language is highlighted at times like this. If it were Eriri, she would definitely have responded with "Eat and sleep, are you a pig?"

"Hayasaka-san, what's going on?"

Xingjian didn't say anything more and went straight to the point.

"Haha, I'm just a little curious. I heard that you, Xiaoqing, are going shopping with President Shirogane and Ishigami-kun next week, so I'm a little interested."

"...Oh? You want me to bring you something?"

Hearing this, the black-haired boy rolled his eyes, sat up on his bed, and began to focus on the conversation between him and Hayasaka.

"No, I'm just a little curious about where Xiaoqing is going shopping. After all, you live alone now, and it's not okay for a boy not to go home early at night."

"It's the new department store in the suburbs that just opened in our city. They're having a big opening sale tomorrow, which is the weekend, so it should be quite crowded. It won't take long to get there and back from my house, so don't worry."

Hoshimi-san had a faint smile on her face, and her tone was smooth and natural, as if she was completely unaware of Hayasaka's true intentions behind her polite words.

"Is that so? Then remember to take good care of yourself, Xiaoqing."

"Ah."

"Then I won't bother you anymore. Just enjoy this rare Saturday afternoon. Bye~"

"Goodbye, Hayasaka-san."

"Mmmmm~"

After exchanging text messages, Xingjian locked his phone nonchalantly and placed it on the bedside table. He began to tidy up the messy room during the rare day off.

Although he always felt that the questions asked by the other party were a little profound, Xingjian did not have the extra energy to pay attention to other things.

And on the other side of the phone.