Chapter 4

"Hmm?"

"We've known each other for a long time, right?"

She thought carefully: "Since birth - it seems like since the age of two or three? Three or four?"

"I knew you were a fool." Amemiya interrupted her rudely, and her pretty face suddenly twitched strangely, and her expression became a little ferocious.

But in just a moment, it returned to normal.

"It was obviously seven years old, two days after your birthday."

She couldn't help but question: "Amemiya-kun, high school students can't drink. Did you...?"

Although she couldn't remember the exact time, she was sure that it was definitely not seven years old.

After all, she could already remember

things at that time. "Anyway, we have known each other for a long time, right? There is nothing about Naoko from childhood to adulthood that I don't know."

This is complete nonsense, she thought, she still has a lot of secrets.

As if guessing what she was thinking, Amamiya sneered: "Are you feeling smug about having successfully concealed something from me? For example, the ugly four-eyed guy in the library this afternoon?"

"What do you mean by ugly four-eyed guy? Irie-senpai is obviously very handsome!" She was halfway through her rebuttal when she shut her mouth as if someone had grabbed her throat.

"Finally admitted it?"

Naoko stared at the large parfait with double chocolate in front of her and sighed inwardly.

This was simply a Hongmen Banquet.

A hand suddenly reached out from the side of her face and cupped half of her face.

"Didn't Naoko promise that you wouldn't betray me?"

"That's not how you use the word, is it?" She slapped his hand away. "Besides, Irie-senpai...he's not really a friend."

After that, Naoko had the honor of witnessing Amamiya Tomie's textbook-level face-changing performance in this small dessert shop.

His already pale face shrouded in shadow, his eyes dark and lifeless as he stared at her, his eyes narrowed slightly, as if lost in thought. His hand,

which had just been brushed away by her, tightened and loosened, and finally, he uttered a solemn warning: "Stay away from him, understand, Naoko?"

"Irie-senpai is a very good person, I won't listen to you. But, Amamiya-kun, why do you control me so much?"

He treated her like his own property.

At the mention of her first love, Naoko's composure faded, and her previous promises were instantly thrown to the wind.

This was the first time Naoko had defied him for someone else, and it stunned him for a moment.

The next moment, he stood up, pacing back and forth anxiously, his eyes reddened. "Why? Naoko, you actually ask why?

" "Because I don't want to! You know that three-legged bastard, did you ask for my permission?"

"He's not a three-legged bastard, and certainly not a four-eyed ugly guy!" Naoko couldn't help but slam the table and stood up. "I won't listen to you." "Besides, my feelings for Irie-senpai aren't just ordinary feelings..."

Her voice grew softer and softer, a hint of girlish worry etched across her face.

"Ha, what do you mean?"

She blushed. "Never mind. I won't tell you."

She fled, and behind her, Amamiya laughed in anger.

"Kawase Naoko, get back here and explain yourself!"

Naoko clutched her backpack and trotted home.

She had no idea what Amamiya was thinking, nor did she care.

Although everyone around her seemed captivated by him, she was clearly the only one sober.

Having grown up together, it was understandable that she'd occasionally feel bored.

This was the first time Amamiya Tomie had ever experienced anger.

It felt like a flame was stuck in his heart, burning, scorching, unable to rise or fall.

His throat burned, and he felt like vomiting.

He was furious, wanting to "tear apart" and "destroy" everything.

So he wanted Naoko to understand the "consequences" of making him angry.

Amemiya looked up at the glass window beside him.

As the sky darkened, the colorful lights hanging in Haruhi and the dessert shop, as well as his gloomy face, were reflected on the glass.

Naoko seldom quarreled with Amemiya Tomie.

This should be due to the fact that she always had an inexplicable and contradictory feeling towards this childhood sweetheart, difficult to approach, but also difficult to stay away from.

It seemed that there was an invisible thread that tightly connected them.

Facing Amemiya's beautiful eyes like a lake, she sometimes felt a little "guilt" that came from nowhere.

In fact, when she passed by Amemiya's house and saw the delicate flowers waving in the wind, she felt a little regretful.

She shouldn't have made him angry.

But no matter how you think about it, isn't it Amemiya-kun who inexplicably spoke rudely to Irie-senpai who was more excessive?

While one couldn't expect someone as arrogant as Amamiya to offer a humble apology, if his attitude could be less arrogant—for example, if he treated her to another serving of parfait—it wouldn't be impossible to forgive him.

Thinking about what happened that afternoon, she didn't eat much that evening—though, perhaps it was because the parfait she had received that afternoon was simply too large.

Even Kawase Misato couldn't help but ask, "Is this all I need?"

The Amamiya and Kawase residences were separated by a small garden. She opened the window and peered into Amamiya's room across the street.

The lights were on, but she couldn't make out anyone.

Usually, whenever Naoko stood at the window, he'd open the curtains as if sensing something, but not today.

Perhaps Amamiya was serious, because when Naoko hurried downstairs the next day, she didn't see the familiar figure waiting there.

As far as she could remember, this was her first time going to school alone.

It was actually quite novel.

When she walked into the classroom at the sound of the bell, Amemiya was already firmly seated. It seemed that because the two of them had gone their separate ways for the first time, the undercurrent of calm in the crowd began to surge.

Suzuki-kun turned his head and glanced at her, with a look that was hard to tell whether it was contempt or disdain.

Huh?

Naoko didn't understand.

A low pressure settled over Amemiya. He slumped over the table with his eyes closed, not knowing if he was pretending or really asleep.

He didn't seem to want to apologize, so she turned her head away angrily.

He hadn't raised his head from the table that morning, remaining dozing off the entire time. The classmates in the classroom had gone to lunch in groups of three or four, leaving only a few still staring at what was going on here.

No matter how much she hated him, Naoko didn't mean to starve him to death:

"Amemiya-kun...Amemiya-kun?"

She waited for a while, but there was no response from him.

"Amemiya-kun, are you hungry?"

There was no answer.

She was about to go to the rooftop to eat alone when he suddenly opened his eyes and stared at her intently.

"Kawase Naoko, you're annoying, you know that? Can't you tell I don't want to have lunch with you?"

"..."

Her eyes widened, and after a pause of half a second, she said, stunned, "Okay, okay, I thought you were just too sleepy."

Seeing her leave, he called out, "Where are you going?"

"I'm hungry. I want to have lunch on the rooftop."

Amemiya's expression darkened for a moment. He muttered something and stood up.

Naoko hurriedly asked, "Do you want to eat too? Then can I still go to the rooftop?"

He didn't answer, instead grabbing her wrist tightly.

Naoko was dragged along for two quick steps, still asking, "Amemiya-kun, don't you want to eat with me? I can eat in the cafeteria. Just let go of my hand..."

Finally, they returned to the small rooftop, where Amemiya sat across from her, staring at her with his dark eyes.

How could she have any appetite now?

"How about I go to the cafeteria?" she asked cautiously, raising her eyes.

"Huh, are you really stupid or just pretending?"

"I'm not stupid."

They stared at each other for a few seconds, then Amemiya suddenly smiled. "Naoko, you're really amazing."

He stood up and left, leaving Naoko sitting there, bewildered, anxiously taking a big mouthful of food.

Amemiya had been treating her like this all day, even trying to drink water without him making a subtle sarcastic remark.

After school in the afternoon, Amemiya went to the court to play as usual. Before leaving, he gave her a half-hearted glance, the meaning unclear.

Was he telling her not to wait for him anymore?

Irie Reo usually didn't go to the library two days in a row, so Naoko simply stayed in the classroom to finish her test.

By the time she finished one test, it was almost time for Amemiya to finish.

But he was still angry, wasn't he?

Naoko didn't know whether she should wait for him.

After a moment of hesitation, she went to the convenience store and bought a bottle of water, intending to bring it to him, just to test him.

As she entered the sports field, Amemiya seemed to sense something and glanced in her direction before calmly looking away.

The crowd he passed by erupted in cheers. To those who didn't know, they might have thought they were chasing after their idol.

But Tomie Amemiya was probably no more popular than an idol.

As he walked towards her from the field, Amemiya simply ignored her calmly. For the first time ever, he didn't even take the water from her hand. He even said to her in a cold tone, "Get out of

the way."

Naoko reflexively took a step back, only to be met with another cold glance from him.

He shouldered his backpack and walked out surrounded by the crowd, ignoring her.

Hey, Amemiya-kun.

Wasn't he clearly in the wrong about what happened yesterday afternoon?

Why did he seem so angry with her?

As Naoko kicked stones towards home, she felt a pang of suffocation and cursed Amemiya in her heart.

But soon, she lost that feeling. She

could hear the faint sound of footsteps behind her, not far away, not heavy or light.

This is the first time that she has encountered a pervert following her on her way home alone...!

She held her breath, covered her lips and took two quick steps, and the stalker quickly caught up with her.

Naoko could no longer pretend to be calm, and she ran to another avenue while calling Amemiya with tears in her eyes.

"Kawase-chan? Is that you?"

A gentle voice like the sound of nature came from not far away, and Irie Reo looked at her with worried eyes: "Did something bad happen?"

She looked back at the empty street, still in shock: "Someone is following me... It's so scary, Irie-senpai."

Her cheeks warmed, and a handkerchief with a faint fragrance helped her wipe away the tears from her eyes.

"There's no one here. Kawase-chan might have seen it wrong."