Chapter 35:

Two consecutive thuds followed. Amemiya sighed and covered her eyes from behind.

"I told you not to look."

Blood splattered everywhere, and even from a distance, Naoko could smell the pungent scent of blood.

She covered her mouth, doubled over, and retched twice.

As the night breeze blew over, Amemiya chuckled softly, and his hand gently stroked her arched back.

"Hey, Naoko, let's go home. Okay, let's pretend nothing happened."

How could that be possible? It was like a dead person!

A pair of arms pulled her into a hug, gently patting her back. The tone was quite helpless, as if she were a kitten that had suddenly jumped out to disturb someone while they were working. "

Go to sleep, Naoko. When you wake up, you won't remember anything."

Naoko felt a pain at the back of her neck, and the next second, she fell limply, being embraced by a fragrant embrace.

—·

—At the dance last night, two male classmates in the class fell to their deaths from the rooftop after getting into a fight.

Naoko didn’t know about this because she had a high fever halfway through the dance and was carried back to the Kawase family by Amemiya.

She hid in the quilt and called Kawase Misato: "Mom, I feel... ahem, I feel fine. I don’t need Amemiya’s care. You should let him go quickly."

Although she repeatedly emphasized that she could walk on her own, Amemiya still forcefully carried her upstairs in a princess hug.

After that, he acted like a gentle and virtuous husband: "Are you hungry, Naoko? I’ll go make you some porridge. It seems that I rarely have this kind of pure time to spend with you recently...

But, wait until all these things are resolved..."

His voice became lower and lower, and he went downstairs muttering.

Then, there was the sound of a kitchen knife.

"Hey, Naoko, are you shy? Right? I saw you two being so close a while ago, so I guessed you were secretly dating."

"...No! Cough cough cough..." She was anxious to explain, but instead coughed twice. "We've already..." We've

broken up a long time ago!

Besides, this is just a game of house, so we should... probably... not take it seriously, right?

"A long time ago what?"

Amemiya whispered in her ear, reaching into her quilt with a smile and pulling the phone out of her hand.

Although he was speaking into the microphone, his cold eyes stared at her: "Don't worry, Misato-nee, I will take good care of Naoko."

After saying that, he decisively pressed the hang-up button.

"I didn't agree to the breakup. Naoko, don't always make me angry."

Haha.

Since when did you need consent to break up?

Seeing her quietly nestled in the quilt, he seemed to have cooled down most of his anger.

"Never mind," he said, reaching out to touch her forehead. "It still seems a little hot. Get up and drink some ginger soup."

Naoko was lifted to her feet by an arm, but looking at his unnaturally beautiful face, she felt a wave of panic and fear.

She couldn't help but dry heave twice.

"Ugh... Amamiya-kun, stay away from me..."

This offensive gesture chilled Amamiya's gentle expression, and his tone turned icy. "If you don't cooperate, I'll have to force you, Naoko."

With that, he pinched Naoko's cheek with one hand and held the bowl with the other, pouring the entire bowl of warm ginger soup down her throat.

It was so uncomfortable that she couldn't swallow it at all, and the sticky tea rolled down her jaw and onto Amamiya's hand.

Naoko frantically scratched at him with her nails, but he seemed oblivious and unresponsive.

After finishing a bowl of ginger soup, her front was half soaked, and she choked so much that her face flushed and her breathing became rapid.

He then calmly withdrew his hand, his eyes falling on the few drops of tea on the back of his hand. He paused, and then, in her horrified eyes, he put his hand to his lips and sucked it gently.

"You've finished it all. Our Naoko is so good." He praised in a low voice.

Sick.

She was so angry that she kept cursing: "You almost choked me to death!"

"This is a punishment, because Naoko, you always do things that make me sad."

Of course, she didn't know how she made him angry again. Anyway, Amamiya-kun was always so inexplicable.

Fortunately, he still had some conscience and took the initiative to help her change a new quilt.

"Naoko's clothes are dirty too. Do you need my help to change them?" His tone was as natural as if he was asking her if she wanted sugar in her milk today.

Her answer was brief and forceful: "Get out."

"What a cold answer, so sad."

"Please get out of my room."

When she changed her clothes and walked out of the room in a daze, Amemiya had not left yet. He was cooking porridge in the open kitchen of the Kawase family.

He was wearing a teddy bear apron that was several sizes too small. The ties were tightly around his waist, outlining the smooth lines of his waist.

He didn't work out much, but his body was in perfect shape with thin muscles.

As if he noticed her gaze, Amemiya turned around, raised his eyebrows and gave her a faint smile.

For some reason, she couldn't help feeling nauseous when she saw his handsome face.

"Are you hungry?" He pretended to be a gentle brother next door. "Sit down for a while. The chicken porridge will be ready soon."

"No need. It's getting late. Amemiya-kun, you should..."

"Naoko, it's very rude to treat guests like this." Kawase Misato pushed the door open and interrupted her. "You should be grateful to Amemiya-kun for taking care of you."

Amemiya glanced at her and continued with a smile: "Maybe it's just because of the quarrel you had some time ago."

"Oh, did you quarrel again? It seems that the quarrels you have had recently are more than all the time combined."

Amemiya glanced at her slowly and lowered his eyes slightly: "Naoko feels that I have neglected her too much, so..."

"Is that so? Naoko, don't be unreasonable. It's natural for Amemiya-kun to make other friends." Misato immediately frowned.

She didn't bother to care what kind of friends he made!

"No way! It's obviously you, Amamiya..."

Before she could finish her words, he grabbed her hand that was hanging by her side. His voice was a little deeper, and his tone was a little true and false:

"It doesn't matter, no matter what you do, Naoko, you will be forgiven by Amamiya Tomie. Because you are very special. A world without Naoko has no meaning."

Huh?!

He said these words, right?

Misato was immediately moved by his "deep affection." "That's why I say, childhood sweethearts are the sweetest. Naoko, please don't make Amamiya-kun sad again.

Besides, after all these years, I've learned that Amamiya-kun is a gentle man. Don't do anything too harsh on him."

What kind of aphrodisiac had Amamiya-kun given his mother?

Naoko gritted her teeth and looked up, only to meet the slight curl of his lips.

As Misato disappeared behind the door, he leaned in, his lips pressed against hers. His gentleness and affection vanished, replaced by the sinister tone of a cockroach in a sewer: "

Naoko, be good, understand? Otherwise, I can't guarantee I won't do something even more extreme."

Saying that with that face was simply asking for a beating.

She couldn't help but raise her hand to slap him across the face.

But before she could do anything, he grabbed her wrist tightly, pulled her into a hug, and sniffed at her ear.

"Naoko-kun is warm when she's sick. I like Naoko like this, too."

So disgusting.

The disgusting Amemiya-kun in front of her almost ruined all the good feelings she had for her childhood sweetheart.

Kamikawa Academy was no different with or without Naoko. No one even asked where she went or what happened the day she disappeared.

On the other hand, as soon as Amemiya-kun sat down, a group of eager male and female classmates surrounded him:

"Amemiya-kun, good morning~"

"How was your day yesterday? You look good today."

...

She put two earplugs in her ears and buried her head in writing the test paper.

Recently, because of Amemiya's unusual gentleness, there was always a group of chattering classmates around her seat, making it almost impossible for her to concentrate on studying. So she bought herself a pair of earplugs overnight.

She had originally wanted to ask Amamiya to sit separately, but upon hearing this, he was like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, with a ferocious look on his face: "You want to separate from me? Only if I die."

Too lazy to argue with him about such a meaningless matter, she could only swallow her anger silently.

It had been raining unusually recently.

She had left in such a hurry this morning that she hadn't brought an umbrella.

The large raindrops pattered against the glass, making it annoying.

As if with self-awareness, her hand swiftly opened the call interface with Amamiya.

Staring at the words "Amamiya" on the screen, she sighed.

She had thought the rain would stop soon, but it continued to fall even after dark.

In fact, she hadn't gone to and from school with Amamiya for a long time. After all, he was always mixing with other students, and Naoko had a deep resentment towards him.

But before she could make a decision, the phone rang.

As soon as she picked up the phone, Amemiya's furious voice rang out from the other end:

"It's so late and you're still not home, Kawase Naoko, do you want to die?"

"...It's raining, and I don't have an umbrella. I want to wait until it stops

," she said, gritting her teeth. She was still annoyed by having to speak softly to him about such things. "Wouldn't you call me if you didn't have an umbrella?" he cursed, then, as if remembering something, lowered his voice. "Never mind, where are you? Stand still, I'll be there soon. " As soon as he finished speaking,

there was a sharp gasp and the muffled sound of something heavy falling.

Before she hung up, a sinister, unfamiliar voice rang out: "Amemiya-kun, I finally caught you."

"...Amemiya-kun? What's wrong with you?" She sensed something was wrong, and her breathing quickened.

He muttered something under his breath, his voice surprisingly calm: "Damn it. Stand still, wait for Tomie Amemiya. Don't go with anyone else, okay?"

Even before she realized it, a wave of fear nearly overwhelmed her.

Familiar, yet intense.

"Amemiya-kun!" she called out subconsciously.

There was silence on the other end for five or six seconds before a relieved chuckle reached her.

"Idiot, it's okay. Naoko, take care of yourself from now on, okay?" Then came the impatient curses, "Damn 'rat', get away from me, okay?" We were just one step away from success..."

Then there was a silent beeping sound.

Her heart was beating rapidly in her chest, and even her breathing became irregular.

Something must have happened to Amemiya-kun.

Without time to think about it, and without caring whether it was still raining, she gritted her teeth, raised her legs and rushed into the rain, running hurriedly towards home.

Amemiya-kun... is something going to happen?

I have never felt that the way home is so long.

My head was in a mess, as if something sealed deep in my memory was about to come out...

It was dark long ago, and the sound of rain was heavy.

In the dark alley, the only sound was the sound of raindrops falling on the concrete floor. In the corner, in the night, it seemed that a pair of eyes were watching her.

Naoko's pace quickened unconsciously.

The scenery in the deep alley kept receding, and the orange color from the street lamp seemed to be right in front of her. Before she could breathe a sigh of relief, a sharp knife flashing with a sharp light stopped her steps.

"Naoko Kawase, I caught you. "

A pale hand slowly moved up and pressed against the side of her face. The blade reflected the light, illuminating Suzuki-kun's eyes hidden under his thick bangs.

"It's you, bitch, who has ruined my plans time and time again. Didn't I warn you a long time ago? Stay away from Amamiya-kun."

Naoko's stiff neck turned slightly, and her eyes met his.

He really wanted to kill her.

She was so scared that her calves were shaking, but now was certainly not the time to panic. While Suzuki-kun hadn't made a move yet, she turned around and ran.

However, she hadn't taken two steps when a hand with sharp nails grabbed her hair and dragged her back.