Xiaoquan Aonai glared fiercely at a person and a cat, then hopped off the bed and went to sleep on the living room couch.

How could someone like Dubian Che possibly fall in love!

Every time she thought about how she was now asleep and would wake up to go to school, Xiaoquan Aonai felt even more irritated.

She didn't want to come back ever again!

After a while, Mayi Asuka's cat disintegrated into points of light, and then, Dubian Che walked in from the living room.

"Big sister, what's for dinner? I want Mapo Tofu tonight..."

Mayi Asuka was already undoing the buttons of her skirt.

...

In the middle of the night.

Dubian Che fetched a takeaway while Mayi Asuka put on a sweater.

The sweater was long and loose, barely covering what needed to be covered.

She tidied up the messy bed quickly and when she left the bedroom, Dubian Che was placing the takeaway boxes on the dining table.

By the time she reached the table, everything was ready to eat.

Dubian Che picked up a golden chicken leg and, out of hunger, took a bite without any sauce.

The crispy outer layer crackled, while the meat inside was incredibly tender.

"Big sister, you promised to cook for me, didn't you? And here we are eating takeaway," he said as he dipped the chicken leg into some sweet and spicy sauce, taking another bite.

Mayi Asuka was thirsty and drank half a glass of water first.

She put down the glass, picked up a chicken wing sprinkled with seasoning, and took a small bite with her tender lips.

"I'll cook for Che tomorrow." She was also hungry, and the food tasted delicious.

"I'm not holding my breath."

The self-control of Mayi Asuka was well known to both of them.

Mayi Asuka didn't deny it; she smiled sweetly, freed up a hand, and passed Dubian Che a grilled rib after he finished his chicken leg.

Dubian Che took the rib. "What's your take on the Mr. Xiaoquan matter, big sister?"

"What?"

"Didn't you hear me just now?"

"Um, repeat it for me, Che."

"It was ten years ago... Wait a moment!" Dubian Che tore the meat from the rib with his teeth, chewed on it while fixing his gaze on Mayi Asuka.

Mayi Asuka sat up straight, using both hands to bring the chicken wing to her mouth instead of leaning down towards it.

Just like that, she took small bites of the chicken wing while looking back at Dubian Che.

For a while, the two of them ate ribs and chicken wings while gazing at each other.

"Big Sister Mayi, are you tricking me again?" Dubian Che feigned a bit of displeasure.

Mayi Asuka's eyes curved into crescents, nodding happily and clearly delighted.

Outside the window, the Tokyo night was blurry, lights merging into a sea of fire.

Only the dining table in the spacious apartment suite was lit.

In the faint yet steadfast light, they joked and laughed.

◇

April 6, at 4 AM, Xiaoquan Aonai woke up.

She lay in bed for a long time, recalling every detail from her dream.

[In Modern Literature, "Xiaoquan Aonai" fell asleep and woke up in the past, so furious she buried her head in the blanket;]

[In English class, she and another communicated through notes, "Xiaoquan Aonai" was so annoyed by Dubian Che that she snapped her pen.]

It was funny, but she felt an acute camaraderie with "Xiaoquan Aonai."

Even though it was her sixteen-year-old self, he was still a teacher; how could Dubian do such things.

But Dubian Che had always been like that, declaring his love in the office, causing her to be warned by the principal.

He even commented on how nice her body smelled and that she didn't seem like a student at all.

[At noon, asking her for money in the cafeteria]

That scene was just too hilarious.

At 4 AM, in the dim bedroom, Xiaoquan Aonai burst into chuckles.

Laughing, she recalled the conversation about Akiko and Miyuki during the day.

"Don't be easily deceived by younger men!"

"I admit Dubian has a bit of mystery, but he's too dangerous!"

"Aonai, I never realized, do you prefer exciting relationships?"

Exciting relationships were a joking phrase among friends, more crudely put as having an affair or cheating.

There's more.

"Aonai, you've never been in a relationship, so you're easily deceived! That guy is clearly good at sweet-talking!"

"You must promise, helping is fine, but you absolutely must not spend money on him!"

At that time, all I could do was to repeatedly promise and hold back the words 'It's not Dubian, it's me' in my heart.

Thinking about this, Xiaoquan Aonai came up with a hypothetical:

If it were really Dubian Che himself asking for money, would I give it to him?

Well… I would probably ask a lot of questions, but in the end, I'd probably still give it.

No way, could it be that I really am prone to being easily fooled, like younger men, and even like to financially support them?

Xiaoquan Aonai buried her face in the pillow, twenty-five-year-old woman's oval face, finding nowhere else to place it.

[After dinner, "Xiaoquan Aonai" watching Goda students work hard, felt the urge 'If I were also at Goda, I would definitely work hard with them.']

The past me, even if not at Goda, I could still strive on my own.

It's okay though, after this month, you can join Akiko and Miyuki, and study late into the night, striving diligently for two years.

[Then, "Xiaoquan Aonai" saw Mayi Asuka visiting the music room, and she ran away.]

As Xiaoquan Aonai ten years later, I immediately saw that my sixteen-year-old self was jealous.

Inside sixteen-year-old "Xiaoquan Aonai", there was an ambiguous but persistent subconscious thought——myself coming from the past to this body ten years later signifies something special between her and Dubian Che.

Did this consciousness exist from the moment she arrived in this world? Or did it start when she saw Dubian Che's looks?

A sixteen-year-old girl, at the age where dreams are made and flight is desired.

And then, such dreams, shattered one after another.

Having girlfriends, an overbearing "big sister" lover, and lastly, a schoolmate lover named Mayi Asuka.

The first two were so beautiful she felt no sense of comparison until she saw Mayi Asuka and realized:

All three of Dubian Che's girlfriends were more beautiful than her sixteen-year-old self.

Myself and this body, we're not special at all, just a coincidence—that thought made her flee the music room.

Xiaoquan Aonai buried her face in the pillow again, only this time, it wasn't due to shyness.

[Human Observation Department, Kiyono Lin's views on love, Shinagawa Aquarium date.]

Kiyono Lin's maturity, Jiutiao Meijie's ferocity.

Xiaoquan Aonai learned many things about Dubian Che in her dreams, regretting that she had no idea that he had been through so much.

Remembering when Jiutiao Meijie first joined the department, the rift between Kiyono and Jiutiao, and how I pushed everything onto Dubian.

Dubian didn't complain but urged me to go, saying he could handle it.

If I hadn't left at that time, with my impartial nature, I probably would have sided with Kiyono.

Would Jiutiao Meijie, out of anger, casually dispose of me? Or have the school expel me?

That dangerous situation, all taken on by Dubian for me.

Even though he has grown into an impressive man, my actions were still not right.

Several times, I wanted to apologize to Dubian, but I was scared of letting him know 'I can dream about everything my sixteen-year-old self does during the day.'

Tossing and turning, Xiaoquan Aonai hugged the sheets, continuing to reminisce.

[Dubian Che turned into a cat]

That was a shock.

Is it this world that's magical? Or is it Dubian himself?

But the cat Dubian became is so cute, I also want to, like Kiyono Lin, pinch his ears, carelessly pry open his mouth, and examine his teeth.

Maybe tomorrow I will find the opportunity, pretending not to know and just try pinching?

[After school, baseball, school gate, high-end dessert shop]

The few words said by Kiyono Lin, before they separated, felt like they were directed at me.

I've almost betrayed Kiyono Lin's trust, and it seems like I'm also on the verge of blurring the lines between teacher and student.

No no no, my sixteen-year-old self fell in just a week, I must pull myself together!

[Lastly, Mayi Asuka]

Xiaoquan Aonai feels sad for her sixteen-year-old self, wanting to comfort her;

and happy for Dubian, loved greatly by those who love him, even if his body is taken away, they can still recognize him;

and also, next door, the two of them actually did that!

I have lived for twenty-five years, almost twenty-six as it's almost June 9th, and I haven't even held a boy's hand!

Xiaoquan Aonai recalled the "one-hour fitting room."

The more I thought, the hotter my face became, my fingers involuntarily pressed against my burning lips, my legs squeezed tightly around the sheets.

A month, is that too long?

Hurry up, May, or else…

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