Pale red hues spread across the horizon at dusk.

Mrs. Jiutiao stretched her arms high, elongated her body, and after a deep breath, she turned her head and said,

"Lin, Meiji, Mr. Dubian, would you like to have dinner together?"

Kiyono Lin hesitated for a moment before nodding in agreement.

The four of them stood up, and Dubian Che, in a lowered voice, asked Jiutiao Meijie,

"Shall I say something to them?"

Jiutiao Meijie hugged her elbows and glanced at him with her eyes.

"Teacher, senior, goodbye," Dubian Che raised his voice to the two.

Mayi Asuka nodded slightly.

"Goodbye," Xiaoquan Aonai responded, and then she said to Mrs. Jiutiao, "Mrs. Jiutiao, goodbye!"

"Goodbye. Mr. Xiaoquan, please take care of Meiji at school," Jiutiao Zhenji replied with an elegant and composed smile.

After speaking, she took the arms of Jiutiao Meijie and Kiyono Lin, heading towards the exit.

"Suddenly so hungry, is there anything you want to eat? Shall we go to the Harbor District? Find a restaurant by Tokyo Bay, where we can watch the sunset and enjoy delicious food?"

"Whatever you decide is fine," Kiyono Lin replied indifferently.

"What about Mr. Dubian?" Mrs. Jiutiao looked back and asked.

"Anything's okay," Dubian Che, after flicking Jiutiao Meijie's coat that was on her chair a couple of times, followed suit.

They hadn't walked far when suddenly five or six girls from the cheerleading squad rushed over.

"Mr. Dubian, you were awesome in today's game!" said a third-year girl with an admiring tone.

"Thank you for your cheering, I could always hear the encouragement."

"It's what we should do! Mr. Dubian, can you give us your autograph?"

Everyone looked at Dubian Che expectantly. He was about to refuse but changed his mind when his gaze fell on a certain person, "I can sign, but no guarantee it'll be worth money in the future."

"No worries, no worries, thank you, Mr. Dubian!"

Dubian Che took their brand new notebooks, diaries, and calendars, one by one, signing his name in the appropriate places.

"You came out to cheer us on, why are you carrying these things around?" he asked as he signed.

"It's Sunday, we came out to Shibuya for shopping this morning!" a petite girl with a bird-like voice replied, while handing over a cute calendar.

"I see," Dubian nodded, "Please be careful on your way back, and pay attention to safety."

In the bottom right corner of the calendar, he wrote:

"Best wishes for Asuka Rika's academic success, by Dubian Che"

"All done," he handed back the calendar and pen, "If I don't go now, Meiji will kill me. Goodbye everyone, please continue supporting the baseball club."

"Goodbye, Mr. Dubian (senior)!"

"We will keep cheering on!"

Holding the clothes, Dubian Che turned and walked towards the other three who were waiting not far away.

"Mr. Dubian is really popular," Mrs. Jiutiao chuckled.

"You must have been more popular when you were young."

"Of course, all the girls at school confessed to me!"

"Girls?"

"Well, I was at a girls' school, what could I do."

Ignoring Mrs. Jiutiao Zhenji, who had slipped back into her girlish mode, Dubian Che said to Jiutiao Meijie:

"That was just for an autograph, to thank them for their support."

"As long as there's no physical contact, you don't need to report this kind of thing to me," Jiutiao Meijie was indifferent to her boyfriend's popularity.

In fact, the more popular Dubian Che was, the more envy he stirred in others, and the happier she became.

While the three were talking, Kiyono Lin glanced at the girls who had asked for autographs not long ago.

She realized why Dubian Che unexpectedly agreed to sign autographs when she noticed one of the girls' appearance.

"Let's go, I'm truly hungry," urged Mrs. Jiutiao, and the four disappeared into the stands.

The girl who had asked for an autograph returned to the cheerleading squad.

"Ah, I'm so jealous, I should have had the courage to go too!"

"Even if you went, you didn't have anything to sign, right?"

"And with so many people going, maybe Mr. Dubian wouldn't have signed at all. Let me see, I've never seen Mr. Dubian's signature before!"

"Huh?"

"What's wrong?"

"Why is only Rika's different?"

"What's different?" Asuka Rika quickly took it back and compared it with the others.

Out of everyone who asked for an autograph, the others got "Best wishes for academic success," but only hers was "Best wishes for Asuka Rika's academic success."

"Rika, do you know Mr. Dubian?" A first-year cheerleader asked with curiosity.

"Um— I've never talked to him," Asuka Rika replied while recalling.

"That's right, Rika is the new student representative, maybe it was then that he remembered! Mr. Dubian is so smart, just a glance and he's sure to remember!"

"I want Mr. Dubian to remember me too! Rika, I'm so jealous of you—"

Surrounded by the crowd, Asuka Rika didn't want to be known for that reason.

Maybe Mr. Dubian thought she was cute and had noticed her a long time ago?

Xiaoquan Aonai watched the cheerleaders giggling and joking, and said to Mayi Asuka, "Is that your sister?"

"Yep," Mayi Asuka nodded without much reaction.

"Because of you, Dubian seems to take special care of her," Xiaoquan Aonai said with a gentle smile.

To her, it was a very beautiful thing that someone you liked would favor the relatives of the person you liked.

"Yeah," Mayi Asuka still showed little reaction.

She looked straight into Xiaoquan Aonai's eyes with her clear, summer spring water-like eyes:

"I'll go on the trip, too."

...

◇

This year's rainy season, according to the meteorological agency, will continue until July 20.

Since that brief trip to Atami, when Dubian Che promised to take her on a trip after the rainy season, Xiaoquan Aonai had been filled with joy every day.

As the baseball club continued to win in the Koshien qualifiers, even newspapers came to interview the school, and the rainy season was also approaching its end.

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