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Facing Yuuko's mother's request, Amamiya Natsuki turned and said, "Miss Nakajima, what do you think?"
"No problem." Miss Nakajima smiled. "We can go back tomorrow."
Amamiya Natsuki asking for her opinion naturally meant he wanted to agree, so of course, she wouldn't refuse.
"Thank you!"
Yuuko's mother was immensely grateful, thanking them repeatedly.
"Her father is away on a business trip. I'll call him right away and ask him to come back. He should be home by evening."
Marin quietly tugged at Amamiya Natsuki's sleeve and whispered, "Natsuki, shall we go out and have some fun?"
It was only two or three in the afternoon, still very early before dark, and staying in someone else's house indefinitely was indeed awkward.
Amamiya Natsuki nodded, stood up, told Yuuko's mother about their plan to go out, and then turned to Sayu, "Sayu? Are you staying or coming with us?"
Sayu had calmed down by now and softly said, "I'll go with you."
Regardless, Yuuko had left because of her, and staying with Yuuko's mother would never erase the guilt and remorse.
Amamiya Natsuki nodded.
"Then let's all go together."
"…"
The group bid farewell to Yuuko's mother and walked out of the house together.
Under the bright sunlight, Sayu looked up at the clear blue sky, letting out a soft sigh. She had formally apologized to Yuuko, and the eternal, irreparable regret could finally be eased a little.
"Sapporo is very beautiful in winter, but in summer, it's actually a very ordinary city," Sayu said, counting on her fingers the places they could visit. "Shiroi Koibito park, where you can buy souvenirs and eat many limited-edition ice creams. There's also Sapporo TV Tower; the lights are nice at night, but it's boring during the day. Hokkaido Shrine is great for flower viewing in spring, but in summer, there are just a lot of trees left…"
"I think it's just right. If there are too many fun places, it's hard to visit them all," Marin said crisply, with her right hand on her hip. "Sayu-chan, you lead the way, and we'll follow you."
"Okay." Sayu nodded gently, pursing her pink lips. "Everyone, follow me."
The next part was naturally sightseeing. To summarize, it was nothing more than eating, drinking, playing, and taking photos for social media.
Strolling and eating, the group soon arrived at Shiroi Koibito park. It must be said that the milk ice cream here tasted absolutely amazing. One bite was enough to eliminate all the heat of the scorching summer.
After eating several ice creams in one go, Marin was finally satisfied. "I can't anymore. My hands are all sticky. I need to go to the restroom."
Miss Nakajima followed, "I'll go too."
The three girls went together.
Amamiya Natsuki, having nothing to do, sat in the rest area playing with his phone.
A moment later.
A sneer suddenly entered his ears: "Tsk, isn't this Sayu?"
Immediately after, another sneer came: "I heard you ran away from home, so it turns out you were lying. How do you still have the face to stay in Sapporo?"
Amamiya Natsuki looked over in the direction of the sound, and at the exit of the hallway, three girls came into view.
Two of them were unfamiliar girls, their faces full of sneers, looking arrogant.
The other was Sayu, who was leaning against the wall, head down, her pretty face pale, her fingers tightly clutching her sleeve, looking pitifully small, weak, and helpless.
Amamiya Natsuki raised his eyebrows slightly and walked over: "Sayu-chan, who are they?"
The two unfamiliar girls looked at Amamiya Natsuki, their eyes lighting up.
Amamiya Natsuki's inherent charm was already high, coupled with the charm attribute bonus from his title; if he didn't want to work hard, he could easily live a life of being supported by a rich woman.
One of the long-haired girls spoke first:
"We are Sayu's friends."
"That's right, we are in the same class as Sayu-chan, and we were classmates in junior high," another girl's eyes sparkled, "Um, are you Sayu's older brother?"
Amamiya Natsuki shook his head and said:
"Not her older brother."
Because he was Sayu's father.
As for the claim of being friends… Amamiya Natsuki didn't believe it at all.
Sayu used to be an invisible presence in her class, with no sense of existence. Although she had no friends, she still lived a quiet and comfortable life alone. But one day, a very popular boy in her class confessed to her, and after Sayu rejected him, the girls who admired that boy began to take advantage of Sayu. Yuuko was only innocently harmed because she was friends with Sayu… Besides Yuuko, Sayu had no friends at school.
Coupled with Sayu's continuous silence with her head down, the identities of these two unfamiliar girls were obvious.
Amamiya Natsuki's thoughts raced, and he said calmly:
"Actually, Sayu and I only met recently. A few nights ago, I saw her wandering the streets alone, so I took her home and let her stay temporarily."
Upon hearing this, the two unfamiliar girls' eyes immediately brightened, and they said enthusiastically:
"I knew it! How could someone as terrible as Sayu have such a handsome older brother?"
"You don't know why Sayu ran away from home, do you?"
"We know."
"That's because she murdered her best friend. She's a cold blooded killer."
Amamiya Natsuki appropriately showed a surprised expression and said:
"There's such a thing?"
"Everyone in the whole school knows," the two girls became even more enthusiastic, "You just need to ask around at school, and you'll know we weren't lying."
They had told the lie so many times that they unconsciously believed it to be true, and comfortably blamed Yuuko's death on Sayu.
Amamiya Natsuki moved his feet, creating distance from Sayu: "That's too much... Let's go to the side, please tell me the detailed story."
"No problem."
The two unfamiliar girls quickly nodded and agreed.
Hearing this, Sayu finally couldn't help but look up, her pretty face even paler, devoid of color. Her heart was filled with grievance, and she parted her pink lips, a faint voice coming out:
"It's not... it's not like that..."
The next moment.
Mrs. Shimizu leaned close to Sayu's ear and smiled:
"Don't worry, Sayu-chan, Natsuki-kun won't turn his back on you, okay?"
"..."
Sayu blinked, and the grievance in her heart quickly dissipated by more than half, as she belatedly realized.
Shimizu-nee was right.
She was a well-behaved, sensible, and obedient daughter; her father would never abandon her.
A moment later.
Amamiya Natsuki walked back to Sayu's side, looked at the girl whose eyes were misty and face full of grievance, and held up his phone, saying:
"I just got something very important, Sayu, guess what it is?"
"..."
Sayu bit her lower lip with her pearly teeth, sulking and refusing to speak.
Amamiya Natsuki didn't keep her in suspense and said softly:
"Actually, it's their home addresses."
"Home... addresses?"
Sayu looked up in confusion, not reacting for a moment.
"In broad daylight, it's impossible to resort to violence, and arguing with them would only draw attention, ultimately hurting you. However..." Amamiya Natsuki's tone shifted, his voice deepening, "...when night falls, anything goes."
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