After breaking up, my ex asked me to win her back

Chapter 157 Despair! Despairing at this world where might is right!

Breaking up with Suse?

This thought had spun around in Kagura Hikaru's mind probably about ten thousand times.

To tell the truth, he still didn't know how he was going to get out of this.

How to safely break up without harming everyone's interests.

Yes, he even wanted to protect Suse.

Though he also knew it was impossible.

The mere thought of breaking up with Suse was, in itself, the greatest harm and misfortune for her.

The idea of being someone's happiness sounds so wonderful.

But if that love becomes too heavy, it gradually becomes selfish.

Kagura Hikaru didn't know how to answer Ai Cheng Hua Lian's question, neither Ayakoji Chiyoko nor he himself could give an answer.

The threat based on Hina's reputation seemed unsolvable.

The backup of the photos was kept in the world's safest vault and could not be found.

Suppression by force was absolutely out of the question, even disregarding the presence of bodyguards, this was a line that Kagura Hikaru would not cross.

Gentle persuasion was clearly wishful thinking, as understood from the exaggerated mind-reading content.

"Here, Kagura."

Ai Cheng Hua Lian, not knowing what had made her leave and then come back, handed a pink, oversized cotton candy to the frowning Kagura Hikaru and said with a smile, "This is really sweet, eat it and cheer up a bit."

"...Thank you, I'll pay for it."

"No need, it's just a stick of cotton candy. You can just buy me a coffee next time to pay me back."

"I got it."

Kagura Hikaru took a bite of the cotton candy and watched Ai Cheng Hua Lian nibble on hers. He couldn't help but remember the first time the two of them went shopping together.

They had bumped into each other at the station and discovered they were headed in the same direction, so they walked together for a while.

He remembered that they had also each bought a cotton candy to eat along the way.

How nostalgic, it felt like it happened just recently, yet it feels as though several years have passed.

Was it because his relationship with Ai Cheng Hua Lian was so good that he unconsciously felt they had known each other for a long time?

"Hey, Kagura, what do you think is the thing you care about the most?" Ai Cheng Hua Lian suddenly asked casually, her cheek puffed out with cotton candy at the corner of her mouth.

"What's with the sudden question?"

"Just small talk."

Kagura Hikaru handed her a small pack of tissues to wipe her mouth and replied, "I guess what people care about the most is themselves, as determined by the nature of seeking advantages and avoiding disadvantages."

"Hmm, that's true." Ai Cheng Hua Lian said while wiping her mouth, "What about the second thing you care about the most, aside from yourself?"

"Parents, friends."

"And the third thing?"

".....Health?"

"Pfft, Kagura, that's still within the range of 'yourself,' isn't it?"

"I got it, let's start over, money."

Ai Cheng Hua Lian giggled a few times, her bright eyes looking at him as she swung the cotton candy in her hand back and forth: "Kagura is a sentimental person, huh, ranking money only in the third place."

"What about you?" Kagura Hikaru glanced at her sideways, "Money first?"

"I'm not that materialistic!"

"Then it's second."

"No, more or less..." Ai Cheng Hua Lian shrank her head guiltily, "But for me, Kagura, you... and my family, Zhen Chun, and all of them, you're all ranked first along with me!"

"Even if you say such moving things, chewing on cotton candy while saying it completely nullifies the effect."

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"Eh?!"

"...But, the sentiment has been conveyed."

Kagura Hikaru smiled at Ai Cheng Hua Lian, "Thank you, you're also one of my most important friends."

".........."

Ai Cheng Hua Lian stared blankly at his face, her eyes wide and mouth agape for a full ten seconds before she realized what had happened.

She raised her shaking hand, pointing at Kagura Hikaru's face, stammering, "Ka-Ka-Kagura! Did you just laugh!?"

"?" Kagura Hikaru looked confused and touched the corner of his mouth, "..... Did I just laugh....?"

"Really, really, you truly laughed! I saw it!"

The seriousness of this matter was enough to make Ai Cheng Hua Lian speak excitedly while jumping up and down.

Frankly said, ever since she met Kagura Hikaru, she had never seen him laugh.

Not to mention laughing, even the curvature of his lips always maintained the most stable minor curve—always drooping downwards, never turned upwards.

At first, Ai Cheng Hua Lian thought he was like other high school boys, playing it cool on purpose as if suffering from chuunibyou—boys seem to all have this trouble.

But as time went on and she got to know him better, Ai Cheng Hua Lian began to think that it must be an attitude toward life inherent to Kagura Hikaru.

Smiling, which for humans is nothing more than normal, was forgotten by him.

Or perhaps, it was due to some disease, like Bell's palsy, the way director Takeshi Kitano is.

But now, Ai Cheng Hua Lian understood that Kagura Hikaru actually could smile!

"You really just laughed!"

"I didn't feel it myself."

"Try harder!"

Kagura Hikaru tried to move the muscles on his face.

Ai Cheng Hua Lian: "Kagura... you're definitely not making a face on purpose, right?"

Kagura Hikaru: "What do you think?"

"I get it now, let's recreate that scene just now to make you laugh!"

Holding the cotton candy, Ai Cheng Hua Lian straightened her face, her gaze as determined as a warrior's, and she said with a deep, affectionate tone, "To me, Kagura... and my family, Zhen Chun, and the rest! You all rank first together with me!"

"...Even if you say something touching, saying it while chewing cotton candy completely ruins the effect."

"Eh!"

"Sorry, your acting is really bad."

It took less than five seconds for Kagura Hikaru to give up.

Ai Cheng Hua Lian glared with wide eyes and made a fierce gesture, "Don't you think you're being rude to me? I am serious here!"

"I know, thank you," Kagura Hikaru took a bite of his cotton candy, "but whether I laugh or not, it doesn't really affect anything, right?"

"It does matter, people who don't smile are unlikable!"

"As long as those who matter to me like me, that's enough," Kagura Hikaru looked at her, "Would you dislike me just because I don't smile?"

"Of, of course not... wait a minute, that's a sneaky question! How could I possibly say I dislike you!"

Ai Cheng Hua Lian's face turned red, and she stamped her foot resentfully, "And I'm speaking about a serious matter here, okay? If you go for a job interview and don't smile at all, won't that have a bad impact on getting hired?"

"Ai Cheng, you're not a child anymore, you should understand something."

"Wh-what is it?"

Kagura Hikaru sighed, placing his hands on her shoulders, "Some people, even if they frown all the time, as long as they are skilled, there will be people fighting to hire them."

"..."

That's right, Ai Cheng Hua Lian almost forgot—this guy was known in Tokyo's underground music scene as a hired guitarist, evaluated by some livehouse owners as having the strength to make a debut at any moment.

With his guitar skills, forget not smiling, even if Kagura Hikaru's face was twitching all day long, people would still give him money.

Despair! She despaired at this world that prioritized ability above all else!!

Feeling the reality of the world, Ai Cheng Hua Lian bent forward in defeat, Orz.

Chatting away, they unknowingly finished the cotton candy in their hands, and as the sky darkened, they took the train back home.

At the intersection where they parted, Kagura Hikaru watched Ai Cheng Hua Lian's receding figure with gratitude.

Just a short time together had made most of his repressed emotions dissipate.

Having friends is nice, he thought every time he looked at Ai Cheng Hua Lian.

And most importantly.

Thanks to Ai Cheng, he had already found the method to defeat Suse.