How can my simulation be a real love?

"……lamp?"

Toyokawa Shoko's face turned deathly pale, and she instinctively gripped the elastic strap of her schoolbag.

Standing next to Takamatsu Akari was Chihaya Aine, who was frowning and clearly in a bad mood. The two of them stood at the entrance of Haneoka School like Gian and Suneo bullying a bear, blocking her way out of the school.

In her current state, Toyokawa Shoko is extremely afraid of seeing anyone.

But in this situation, she had no way to avoid it. She could only walk up to the two girls with a bloodless, pale expression and wait silently for their attack. She would silently endure whatever she suffered.

"What's that expression on your face?"

Seeing her self-destructive and dejected appearance, Chihaya Aine, who already harbored considerable resentment towards Toyokawa Shoko, was furious. She took two steps forward and glared fiercely at the other woman, her sharp canine teeth gleaming coldly.

Toyokawa Shoko's delicate body trembled, and she lowered her head, remaining silent.

She didn't dare to look up, and just silently endured it.

"Huh? You think nothing will happen if you don't say anything? You can just pretend nothing happened?"

Do you even know what you've done?

“Aine-chan…”

Seeing Toyokawa Shoko's head lower and lower, the gentle-hearted Takamatsu Akari quickly reached out and tugged at Chihaya Aine's sleeve, which finally calmed the furious Aine down a bit. However, her angry rebuke still caused considerable harm to Toyokawa Shoko.

Chihaya Aine shook her head helplessly and could only obey the little penguin beside her.

"...Xiao Xiang, can we talk alone?"

Takamatsu Akari's cautious yet powerful question prompted a weary-looking Toyokawa Shoko to nod slightly and follow her to the haystack near the school gate. Chihaya Aine, on the other hand, stood not far away watching the scene unfold.

Pale and sickly-looking, Toyokawa Shoko stood obediently in front of Takamatsu Akari with her head down, like a child who had done something wrong. But what awaited her was not a storm, but the girl's right hand slowly reaching out to her.

On my palm were a few small penguin-shaped bandages.

"Xiao Xiang also has many wounds on his body. If we don't take good care of him, they will get worse..."

Takamatsu looked worriedly at the abrasions on Toyokawa Shoko's hands and knees. In her dazed state, she had long since stopped noticing these wounds until Little Penguin brought them up, and she came to her senses with disbelief in her eyes.

"...The lamp, why?"

"If Ming were in my position now, he would definitely... definitely do the same thing as me. He tried so hard to save Xiao Xiang back then... I think Ming was so cool, so incredibly cool... I want to be like him!"

Takamatsu gazed intently at her face, a gentle smile gradually appearing on his own.

"Ming was asking us, 'Xiao Xiang, how are you doing now?'"

"I think he must be... he must be very worried about Xiao Xiang."

Upon hearing these words, Toyokawa Shoko's delicate body trembled uncontrollably. She could feel the burning heat and stuffiness in her eyes, and the slight twitching of her small, delicate nose revealed the extreme emotions she was experiencing. She desperately suppressed the urge to cry on the spot.

"Xiao Xiang, I hope... you can go and see him too."

The little penguin with gentle eyes held out a piece of paper to her. It contained the hospital and room number where Kazami Mei was currently staying. Upon seeing this, Toyokawa Shoko could hardly hide her sadness and tremblingly reached out to take it.

"Thanks……"

With a hoarse voice tinged with a sob, Toyokawa Shoko took the item from Takamatsu Akari's hands.

The paper and bandage she received from the other person were cold, yet she felt an indescribable warmth and comfort in her heart, as if even the faint pain in her body and the deep pain in her heart were relieved by them.

She clenched her fist tightly, holding the small piece of paper to her heart.

114

Chapter 114 Toyokawa Shoko's Confession.

On her way from Haneoka to Rabbit House, Toyokawa Shoko felt like crying more than once.

Why would someone like her receive such kindness from the other party?

She was clearly the culprit who caused Kazami Mei to be injured and hospitalized, and Akari should have reprimanded her coldly like Chihaya Aine did, but instead, the other party treated her this way, so gently... leaving her completely at a loss for what to do.

Recalling the words she had said to Takamatsu Akari in her selfish past, Toyokawa Shoko felt endless guilt and remorse. She owed him far too much, a debt of gratitude that could not be easily repaid.

But now she didn't know how to express her gratitude; she could only keep this kindness firmly in her heart.

"...I also have to go to the hospital to see him."

That's right, she can't just keep giving up like this.

Deng is right, she has to go visit Ming.

Ming risked his life to rewrite the ending of her being hit by a truck, but what he gained was such serious injuries to himself. When he woke up, he didn't think about anything else and his first concern was for his own safety.

He had said such hurtful things to her before risking his life to save her...

Why save her?

Complex emotions surged within the girl's heart. Every time she thought about it, she felt a knife-like pain deep inside. Her mind was filled with self-blame, which made her even more determined.

She's going to the hospital today to apologize to Ming in person!

At the same time, she couldn't let down the lamp's concern, so Toyokawa Shoko gently pressed the small bandages onto the wounds on her wrists and knees, while carefully tucking the piece of paper with the 'ward number' written on it deep into her bag.

"..."

She slowly rubbed her swollen eyes and unconsciously clenched her fists.

"Assistant store manager, it's almost time to leave work, isn't it?"

The lively words, like a spell, entered her ears, instantly pulling the girl out of her own world. Standing at the RabbitHouse bar, the girl suddenly opened her eyes wide and looked at the smiling blonde girl next to her with disbelief.

In an instant, a bone-chilling cold, like the icy scales of a python, clung to his back, and Toyokawa Shoko suddenly felt his whole body stiffen and become unable to move.

"you you……"

"Deputy...Deputy store manager? Are you alright?"

The shop assistant with the golden braids was so frightened that she was at a loss for what to do. When she came to her senses, Toyokawa Shoko's face was sickly pale and bloodless. She simply reached out her trembling fingertips and took her phone out of her pocket.

When the screen lit up and displayed 'December 10th', the fear and tension in my heart quickly subsided like a receding tide.

"...Is it just overthinking?"

"Assistant store manager? Assistant store manager?"

Toyokawa Shoko stared at her phone screen and started talking to herself again. The shop assistant could only wave her hand gently in front of her eyes. Seeing that the aloof and stern assistant manager in front of her had no reaction, she was at a loss.

What should we do now?

I have a feeling that the assistant store manager has become a little neurotic because he hasn't seen the store manager for too long recently.

"...Sorry, I was a little distracted."

Toyokawa Shoko gently rubbed her temples, her words carrying a hint of relief.

The hundreds of 'time loops' she had experienced before had a significant impact on her. Even now, she still has a subconscious stress response. Realizing this, she felt somewhat disappointed, and the tension and relaxation in her nerves made her even more exhausted.

If it really is a 'time loop,' then wouldn't I be able to undo my past mistakes?

"...What am I thinking?"

This isn't a dream; it's real, tangible reality.

Placing one's hopes in such a vague and illusory place, and vainly hoping to change the mistakes one has made through 'time loops,' doesn't this correspond to what Chihaya Aine said?

Even though it was their own mistake, they wanted to pretend that nothing had happened.

A hint of self-mockery flashed in Toyokawa Shoko's eyes. She shook her head slightly and said, "That's it for today's shift. Fujita, go and tell everyone to go home. I can take care of closing up the shop by myself."

"But, but Assistant Store Manager, are you really alright?"

The blonde part-time worker pursed her lips and spoke somewhat hesitantly, "You seem to be in a bad mood today. You were spacing out the whole time, and you still have a lot of work to do... Should I ask the manager—"

"do not want!"

Toyokawa Shoko spoke anxiously, startling the girl beside her.

At this moment, Toyokawa Shoko realized that her attitude seemed a bit too extreme, and her expression softened a bit. She then slowly explained, "I will adjust myself later. Don't tell the manager about this."

"I, I know."

The blonde girl nodded repeatedly with a look of fear in her eyes, then fled from in front of Toyokawa Shoko as if she were running away.

This made the already tense Miss Toyokawa look even more tired. Feeling powerless, she slowly sat down at the bar, a few strands of her long, azure hair sliding down to her chest. A hint of self-mockery flashed in her eyes.

He's acting like an idiot.

"We need to get the shop ready as soon as possible, because later... we still need to go to the hospital."

The girl, talking to herself, forced herself to sit up, but the exhaustion from not sleeping all night made her vision go black the moment she stood up. She quickly reached out to support herself on the table to prevent herself from falling to the ground.

jingle……

The wind chimes tied to the shop entrance rang out crisply, indicating that someone had pushed open the shop's glass door.

Toyokawa Shoko didn't even look up, but instinctively opened her mouth—

"I'm so sorry, our store is closed for today..."

As she spoke, she propped herself up and looked up at the shop entrance. But after she could clearly see the figure standing there, the words she was about to say suddenly got stuck in her throat, and she couldn't say them all no matter what.

From her perspective, the person standing at the store entrance was a blonde girl.

She wore a pure black baseball cap, and her long, golden hair, reaching her back, swayed gently in the air with the movement of the wind chimes. The sunglasses on her face covered most of her face, but even with just a glimpse, one could clearly see her stunning beauty.

That was a face she could never forget; no matter how well it was concealed, she could recognize it immediately.

"...Chuhua?"

Toyokawa Shoko stared wide-eyed, muttering to herself in disbelief.

……

Like a brocade burning with flames, it spreads freely in the air, orange-red rays of light swirl around the clouds on the horizon, and the gentle sunset shines through the glass window, scattering across the long table with its wood grain texture.

A steaming cup of coffee sat in front of the blonde girl. As she slowly removed her baseball cap, she stared at the table with a dejected look in her eyes. The blue-haired girl sitting opposite her was pale and seemed to be holding her breath in front of her.

Why did things suddenly turn out this way?

Toyokawa Shoko avoided eye contact, not daring to look directly at the other person, and didn't dare to say anything to her.

How did Chu Hua know she was here?

Perhaps because the two had been locked in an awkward silence for so long, the woman sitting opposite her, Hatsuka Sanka, pursed her dry lips, gently raised her beautiful, dreamy eyes that resembled lavender, and a faint bitterness appeared on her delicate face.

After a long silence, Misaka Chuka finally spoke—

"I came to see you today, Xiao Xiang, actually to apologize."

"……Apologize?"

Toyokawa Shoko's eyes widened; she had never expected the other party to come for this reason.

"I've heard everything that happened yesterday from Xiao Mu. I never imagined that I would cause so much harm to you, Xiao Xiang, and to Ming. All the mistakes yesterday can be attributed to me."

"No! That's not the case!"

Misaki Hatsuka's bowed apology left Toyokawa Shoko in disbelief. She quickly raised her head and gave a negative answer, her little head shaking like a rattle, her eyes filled with guilt and self-blame.

"This is all my fault!"

"If... if I hadn't blindly broken free from Ming's hand back then, he wouldn't be in this state now."

"This is not your fault, Xiao Xiang. I was the third party who came between you two."

A few tears welled up in the blonde girl's eyes. Only then did Toyokawa Shoko notice the girl's trembling lips. She had been like this from the very beginning, taking all the blame upon herself.

Sankaku Hatsuka's words stunned her, leaving her speechless and unsure how to respond. She could only repeat weakly and wearily, "...No, it's not like that."

"Actually, the reason I knew Xiao Xiang worked at this store was because I happened to see the whole process of you entering the store to work."

Toyokawa Shoko paused slightly, then subconsciously asked, "Since you already knew I was working here, why didn't you come in to find me then?"

“…Ming stopped me; he didn’t want me to tell anyone about this.”

"Ming?"

The girl's amber eyes narrowed repeatedly, her face filled with astonishment.

In just one day, she learned a great deal from Deng and Chuhua. Before this, she never imagined that Ming had helped her so much, and there were probably many things she hadn't even noticed.

How much have I really wronged him?

With tears welling up in her eyes, Toyokawa Shoko clenched her fists tightly. How could she have said such hurtful things? She wanted nothing more than to slap herself across the face.