People in Tokyo, the world is clear

This is when it comes in handy!

This time, I had to make someone feel even more pain. Otherwise, this normal interaction would be impossible to continue.

It's really outrageous to touch someone while chatting!

However, when he was urgently thinking about whether to use the "ruler" to poke his chin or hit his forehead, a sound that could make someone return to normal appeared.

That is--

"I'm back. Sasagawa-san?"

Along with a peaceful and childlike female voice, there was the sound of a door opening.

"!"

"!!!"

Chapter 56: People Longing for Love

In the afternoon.

A woman with a cool temperament sat at the main seat of the desk, holding an open book in her hands.

Perhaps she was overwhelmed by the excitement of the plot, she took a deep breath and slowly calmed down her mood while reading.

The young man with his back to the door was sitting upright in the guest seat at the desk, also reading a book and twirling a pen in his hand.

However, perhaps due to a mistake, the skills that I had always been able to use skillfully were not fully applied.

"Clap."

The pen accidentally slipped out of my hand, but was rescued and caught in my hand just before it fell to the ground.

Then he turned around and blinked towards the door, with no expression showing anything unusual.

He casually reached out and tugged at the collar, which wasn't crooked, and turned back.

This was the scene that Ito Nishika saw when he walked into the study.

There was probably nothing unusual about it. The only detail that could be picked up by the eye was the stiffness of the movements.

A little dull, but still within the normal range for someone who is always gentle in his actions.

Ms. Ito didn't seem to pay attention to such details.

Holding only the shopping bags in his hands, he came over and grabbed a woman who was pretending to read a book and asked her to stand up.

"Are you free right now?"

"Uh... yeah."

"Let me tell you how to prepare the ingredients... Shall we go to the kitchen?"

"it is good."

From a few words, one can roughly glean what the two girls of almost the same age had just talked about, and even the reason why Miss Ito went out.

I guess it's something about cooking or something like that.

I don’t know how Flamingo sent Catgirl out alone to buy ingredients.

The only thing I could be sure of was that this woman was absolutely impulsive. She was only too busy getting him away, then rushing over to vent her anger, without even considering when he would come back.

To the point that I almost got into trouble.

Just now, if Lin Sen had not reacted quickly and quickly picked up the person who was still frightened and lying motionless on his knees, and successfully initiated the instinctive emergency procedure, I am afraid that the scene that Miss Ito saw when she came in would not be such a "harmonious and peaceful" scene.

When Lin Sen thought of the adrenaline rush he had just experienced, he felt a little scared for a moment.

but--

That's strange.

It was just some bird talking to itself, but why did I get so nervous that my heart almost jumped out of my chest the moment I heard Ms. Ito's voice?

Even at this moment, I still feel a guilty feeling in my chest...

Like a fear of getting caught or something.

Perhaps, human emotional inertia is sometimes a magical thing?

It is clearly a situation where you have no responsibilities, but you are swept up in the atmosphere and want to react in a so-called way to fit in with the environment?

This is not good.

The right answer is to act uprightly, speak your mind, and not be afraid of any difficulties.

He then held his head high and turned around again, watching the two of them leave calmly.

However, when his eyes fell on the door, he was met with a sideways gaze.

"!"

I don’t know how to describe the expression I felt at that moment.

It was rare to sense such a sharp burning feeling in the eyes of a cat-like girl that was about to burn through everything.

She looked straight at me, her face calm, as clear as the surface of a deep lake.

That's why I was stunned for a moment - when I came to my senses again, I was in a trance and found that it was no longer as sharp as before.

The girl just smiled blankly, looking over with the corners of her mouth raised, as if she was just saying hello.

Then, he turned around, pushed Ms. Li Ya, who was still moving slowly in front of him, into the living room, and ran to the kitchen.

In the following time, Lin Sen was the only one left in the room.

"..."

what's the situation?

Try to recall the image you captured at that moment.

It was a very brief moment indeed - if it had been captured with some photographic equipment, it would probably have only been one or two frames long.

In fact, when I think back on it, I even question myself.

Could it be that there was no such moment at all, and it was just an illusion when the state of confusion had not yet completely calmed down?

It's not impossible.

However, if that expression really appeared for just a few fractions of a second - in other words, what did Ms. Ito discover?

"hiss."

Subconsciously, Lin Sen didn't think further.

Anyway, it’s not important.

Or maybe I was just misinterpreting it because I was acting too much. Either it was an illusion, or I just happened to catch the other person's expression before smiling, and I caught the change in his face right on time.

In daily life, does anyone really make such fleeting expressions on purpose? What about writing a script?

He shook his head to get rid of the strange fantasy, then focused on the novel in front of him and continued to turn the pages.

As I read on, my mind gradually became less focused on the story in my hands.

On the contrary, the image of that moment, which has become increasingly blurred with the passage of time, keeps flashing through my mind.

One minute, five minutes, ten minutes...

As the clarity of real memories fades, the strange unease caused by speculation based on virtual assumptions becomes more and more intense.

That is to say, what if, what if.

If that expression is real, what does it mean?

Based on this assumption, Ms. Ito, what were you thinking when you turned around?

"..."

It felt like the real drama was about to begin. Then my mind started to wander. Didn't the person still smile at me in the end? Why would there be so much mental activity?

The continuous pulling makes the will feel a little tired.

So much so that I didn't notice the passage of time.

Nor did he hear the low footsteps behind him.

It was not until a white hand passed through my shoulder and pressed on the novel to block the words that I woke up from the dream.

"Ito?"

"What are you looking at, senior?"

There was nothing unusual in the girl's voice.

She still abides by the unilateral promise she made and maintains restraint when she is outside.

Even when bending down to whisper, a certain distance was maintained.

As an unconscious little habit, after sniffing his nose, he no longer made any unnecessary movements.

However, the questions raised are not easy to answer.

Because I was thinking about other things just now and didn't pay attention to the work in front of me at all.

Turning the page is just a casual action. My reading attitude can't be called a sloppy read, but at least it is quantum wave speed reading.

At a certain moment, Lin Sen broke out in a sweat.

I can’t answer that.

But there is a saying that goes: A sincere heart will never fail.

Rather than making up all sorts of outlandish lies about such a trivial matter, it is better to admit the truth.

Just as confidently as the high-quality answers on the Internet in later generations:

"I don't know. I'm just pretending and not really paying attention."

"Is that so?"

Ms. Ito's tone expressed surprise, but somehow, the way she spoke, it felt like the current situation wasn't unexpected at all.

I quickly skipped over this point and casually asked:

"Just now, Sister Sasagawa, why did you come to the study?"

"After you left, she came over to chat with me about some topics."

"Don't tell me."

Ms. Ito's tone was very considerate.

Lin Sen shook his head firmly and denied her statement.

Since you choose to be honest, then stick to it to the end——

Moreover, with a little embellishment, the truth can be told:

"It's not that private, is it? Sasagawa... Ito, did you notice anything when you were talking to her just now?"

"Hmm... I can feel something."

Ito Nishika analyzed calmly:

"Although her appearance and some of her small habits give off a distant air, she's actually quite kind after a little interaction. And, one thing that's very obvious is...she's incredibly happy with any genuine compliments."

At this point, the girl's voice was tinged with a light and gentle smile:

"That look of being very happy but trying not to show it on your face is actually quite cute."

"right."

"Just like the other night, senior."

"what?"

"My bad. I shouldn't have mentioned this outside."

The girl who had taken the liberty of changing the subject seemed to make a small tongue-out gesture. Then, she apologized at lightning speed.

Immediately returned to the topic:

"That's right, I feel like Sasagawa-san is someone who really craves recognition and praise... That's what you were trying to say, right, senior?"