Want to be human, but cube-like

Knot.

Aine hadn't even had time to dry her hair when she saw that the message she sent to Alex had been marked as read.

She naturally chose to put down the hairdryer immediately, tapping on her phone screen to chat with Alex.

However, Aine, who still cared deeply about him, couldn't help but bring up the topic of Xiangzi at the end.

Then I learned that Xiangzi was in a bad mood.

She felt a little worried and had to end her conversation with Alex abruptly.

"Xiao Xiang should... no, he definitely already knows, right?"

Ai Yin muttered to herself.

She is struggling with something she should have decided two weeks ago.

That is, should he or she go public with his relationship with Alex?

At the very least, Xiangzi should be informed.

After all, she is now their closest friend, and Aine would feel uneasy if she kept it a secret forever.

However, Kei-yin couldn't muster the courage to make a choice. Following her instinctive tendency to avoid things, she kept putting it off until now, when she finally started thinking about it again.

But by then, it was already somewhat too late.

Scrolling through the screen, Ai Yin exited the chat interface with Alex. She switched to the post page, hesitated for a moment, and then clicked on the image selection interface.

Those photos were all taken recently when she and Alex were traveling together.

Some photos are of the two people standing close together in a very ordinary way, while others are of the two people each holding some snacks or drinks, and then taking a picture together where only their hands are visible.

But more often, there are photos of them interacting so intimately that it's obvious at a glance that their relationship isn't quite normal.

Ai Yin blushed as she kept flipping through the pages, a sweet smile unconsciously creeping onto her lips.

She always wanted to post these photos on her social media, but she was worried that acquaintances would find out that she was dating a girl.

Each time, after careful consideration, I chose to give up.

However, now that things have come to this, shouldn't we make our relationship public...?

After searching for a long time, Ai Yin puffed out her cheeks and struggled for a long time before finally choosing a photo with a relatively ordinary level of intimacy, showing their shoulders leaning together.

I tentatively added a short text, posted it as a status update, and clicked publish.

Let's start with something less obvious... and see how everyone reacts.

Ultimately, it's just that Xiangzi knows about this; it doesn't mean she has to tell everyone.

Ai Yin skillfully found an excuse for herself, which made her feel somewhat at ease.

She started refreshing her feed repeatedly, trying to see if anyone had commented.

And as it turns out, this former student council president was still quite popular even after graduation.

Soon after, people started liking and commenting.

Where did the president go on vacation?

[Aren't these Chihaya-san's band members? They seem to get along really well!]

I often go to the burger joint where Chihaya's band plays!

[But Chihaya is going to England soon, isn't she? What will happen to the band?]

Does this mean the band is disbanding?

[Huh? I've also heard from some regulars at that burger joint that Chihaya seems to be quite close to the manager...?]

"We've already graduated, so please stop calling me 'class president'~"

Although it sounded like she was complaining, Aine's expression clearly showed that she was happy. She smiled and muttered to herself as she replied to her classmate.

"Um... I've already said we're not a band..."

Even though she had only briefly explained that it was a temporary group playing together, and then never offered any further explanation, letting everyone misunderstand, Aine still wore a troubled expression.

But this comment did remind Aine of something very important that she hadn't yet decided on.

Yes, in less than a month, she will be leaving Tokyo to study in London, England, on her own.

But if that's the case, then she'll have to separate from Alex.

They've only been dating for less than two weeks, and even if they went to England before the start of the semester, it's only been another month.

He suddenly went to study in the UK at this time, and even if he came back during the holidays, it would be several months later. Depending on the situation, he might not be able to come back to see Alex even once every six months or a year.

Long-distance relationships aren't so great; you never know what unexpected things might happen along the way.

Now that things have come to this, should we just tell her to give up her plans to study in the UK?

But before that, he had boasted to his classmates that he was going to England. He had not only practiced his spoken English with Alex for a long time, but his father had probably already completed the formalities.

Now that she's suddenly backing out... Aine is finding it hard to speak.

She pursed her lips and fell into deep thought.

But what if she says she's in a relationship and is giving up her plans to study abroad for love?

The reason seems somewhat plausible, and people might be able to understand it—provided that she gains public approval after publicly announcing her relationship with Alex.

But if that's the case...

The thought of having to tell everyone about this made Aine instinctively shrink back, and she subconsciously shrank her neck.

She once again fell into that escapist mentality of wanting to procrastinate for a while longer.

Then there's another way: persuade Alex to come with him to London, England.

In Ai Yin's opinion, this method is actually much better than the previous one.

After all, this way, they wouldn't have to make their relationship public to everyone, and no one would know them after they arrived in London. The two of them wouldn't have to hide their relationship anymore.

Moreover, Aine will have familiar people by her side in a foreign country, which will reduce the loneliness and fear she feels when she comes to an unfamiliar environment alone.

Most importantly, in Aine's mind, Alex was a British aristocratic young lady.

Thinking of this, Ai Yin chuckled. She really wanted to see what Alex's home in England was like.

Aine had long wanted to see the treehouse she mentioned, and the lake garden she had previously said was built solely for afternoon tea.

She also wants to meet Alex's designer mother.

A flush of excitement rose to her cheeks, and Aine couldn't help but fantasize about whether she should introduce herself as Alex's girlfriend when she met Alex's mother.

I've heard that Britain has a fairly open-minded view on this matter, so I think they should be able to understand them.

But before that, we need to ask Alex for her opinion and get her consent.

In fact, Aine didn't know whether she could accept going back to her homeland, England, with him.

After all, Aine still hasn't heard Alex explain why she traveled all the way from London, England to Tokyo alone.

He also opened a hamburger shop all by himself.

Let's prepare for both possibilities.

After thinking it over, Ai Yin got up and skipped out of the room. She planned to go downstairs to ask her parents how her application to go abroad was going.

…………

P.S. Waaaaah~ I bit my lower lip again with my canine tooth today, it hurt so much I cried. My canine tooth is so sharp, it really hurts.

Volume 1: Chapter 179 Should I say it or not?

It was still early, and when Aiyin went downstairs to the living room, her parents were sitting on the sofa watching TV.

"father!"

As soon as she stepped down, she called out.

"Ok?"

Hearing his daughter call out, the father turned around, somewhat puzzled.

"Um... have all the procedures for studying in the UK been completed?"

With a smile, Ai Yin approached, managing to conceal her emotions quite well so that her family didn't notice anything amiss.

"Your visa application has been approved."

Although he didn't quite understand why Aine suddenly asked this question, her father still explained it to her.

"What's wrong? Are you already itching to go to England?"

Based on his past understanding of his daughter, the father smiled and made a guess.

"If you want to go earlier, you can go to London a little earlier and explore the city first."

After all, once the visa application is approved, Ai Yin can enter the country at any time, and doesn't have to wait until April when school starts.

"correct."

At this moment, the mother, who was standing to the side, suddenly put her hands together and said with a smile.

“If Aiyin wants to go to the UK sooner, your dad and I can go with you. We can spend half a month in London first, and then go to enroll in school.”

Her smile was as sweet as Aine's, as if she was beginning to imagine the joyful and entertaining time the family of three would have after arriving in London.

"Forehead……"

Upon hearing her words, her father clearly hesitated for a moment.

"Um, I still have something to do at the company..."

He glanced at his wife with a headache, about to say something, but was immediately silenced by a dismissive glare from her.

"I... I can still manage to free up some vacation time, haha... the company hasn't been too busy lately."

Dad quickly changed his tune, and it seemed he was already thinking about how to handle his work situation.

"Ah... in that case..."

But Aine hesitated for a moment.

"If, I mean if... I suddenly don't want to go to England anymore... would it be a big problem?"

She asked hesitantly, her expression cautious, as if afraid that her parents would be disappointed in her because of her somewhat sudden question.

Upon hearing this, it was quite obvious that both Dad and Mom were stunned for a moment.

"Of course not, visas can be cancelled. Aiyin, you haven't enrolled yet, so it's even easier to explain to the school."

Shaking his head, Dad spoke up, dispelling Ai-yin's concerns.

As for the money spent on applying for a student visa that cannot be refunded, there's no need to tell Ai-yin about it.

"But Aine, don't you want to go anymore?"

Then he asked with concern.

"It's okay, Daddy will support all of Aine's decisions."

Perhaps realizing that such a direct question might make it difficult for Aine to admit it, her father glossed over the question and chose to express his unconditional support.

"Aine? Is she afraid of living alone in England?"

The mother, with a slight frown and some concern, stood up and walked over to ask.

"Or……"

"N-no, no...!"

Before her mother could finish speaking, Ai-yin quickly interrupted her thoughts, which she didn't know what they were going to come up with.

"It's just that I'll be a little sad to leave my classmates and friends..."

She shook her head, pretending to be nonchalant.

"Just asking, just asking~"