"Hard work there."

"Hard work!"

The brief drama club training came to a close, and six people picked up their luggage and left the now colorful campus.

Mayi Asuka walked at the very end, her gaze fixed on Dubian Che ahead, who was discussing with Jiutiao Meijie what to eat tonight.

Perhaps because a typhoon was coming, the sunset was exceptionally brilliant, casting a faint halo on the profile of Dubian Che.

"Mr. Dubian, Mr. Dubian, how about we go for lamb again today?" suggested Ichiki Aoi next to him, her mouth watering.

Dubian Che turned his head, "No, that would be repetitive. Our goal in the Human Observation Department is to try all the delicacies of Tokyo."

"I don't remember when we set that as a goal."

"As the vice-minister, I think it's reasonable to set a short-term goal for the club."

"As the minister, I think it's neither reasonable nor sensible."

"So what are my vice-minister powers?"

"Listen to me."

"And listen to me."

"Advisor teacher, aren't you going to do something about these two?"

"Students govern themselves."

First, having a back-and-forth with Kiyono Lin, and then after a few exchanges, Jiutiao Meijie would join in; sometimes the order was reversed, starting a chat with Jiutiao Meijie followed by Kiyono Lin getting involved.

Occasionally, under the guise of seeking help, she would pull Xiaoquan Aonai into the mix.

This had become the routine over the past few days.

Mayi Asuka kept watching Dubian Che.

"Senior Sister, look, the tree is all decked out!" Ichiki Aoi suddenly shouted.

She looked toward the giant oak tree, where ribbons were heavily draped across the lush green branches.

After only a second, she averted her gaze, continuing to watch Dubian Che, who was looking at the oak.

"I'll have a look," he said, craning his neck, "Tea ceremony club's advertisements, Kendo Department's, and our class's propaganda."

"There's also 'Dubian Kun's Fried Rice' written up there; don't let the whole school's girls down," Kiyono Lin teased.

"You're underestimating Distant Moon Academy alumni?"

"Make your lies a bit more believable," said Jiutiao Meijie nonchalantly, "you said Distant Moon Academy was a high school, how could you possibly be an alum?"

"I meant the junior high section."

Different from others, Mayi Asuka, ever since she was young, had always found the voices of others to sound somewhat distant.

Though she existed in this world, she seemed to be separated from it by a layer, as if she were forever trapped inside a transparent glass bottle.

After her father became intimately involved with a young subordinate at work and seeing her mother heartbroken, she knew she should console her but was completely unable to comprehend her mother's feelings.

As her parents prepared to divorce and asked who she wanted to live with, she looked at them and said: Mother.

When she did, her mother hugged her tightly, speaking many words as if clinging to all hope, but she, the one being held, remained expressionless.

Her reason for choosing her mother was simply that her father had been in the wrong; it was not out of sympathy for her mother, nor was it because she loved her mother more.

Family ties were so thin that they barely added a tinge of color to the outside of the glass bottle, soon to be washed away by the rains of time.

Nothing could penetrate the inside of the glass bottle.

Mayi Asuka remained inside, a vessel as empty as her own heart, devoid of anything, a mere shell.

After her father left with nothing, she and her mother sold the house in Setagaya District and moved to Shibuya.

She began a new daily life with her mother, not growing any closer, seldom talking.

Before long, her mother suddenly became cheerful. She didn't ask why until her mother announced she was remarrying and asked if she had any objections.

There were no objections. Anything was fine.

As a result, she got a new father, her mother got a new husband, and soon, they had a child together.

Her mother, once somewhat communicative with her, now focused her attention on the sister, and she lived in that household like an outsider, like the most neglected potted plant on the corner of the balcony.

She was neither saddened by this nor pleased.

When her parents invited her out for meals or outings, she went along.

When they went out without her, taking her sister, she stayed home alone, watching TV, reading books.

Both were the same to her, no difference at all.

Mayi Asuka, who never clung to anyone.

Alone but not lonely, strong yet seemingly fragile, that had been her life for seventeen years, until the twenty-eighth of May last year.

That day was sunny, following two consecutive rainy days.

At noon, she was eating lunch on the open-air corridor on the fifth floor with Hanaoka Asako, who often invited her, surrounded by musical instruments and music stands, ready to practice after the meal.

Dubian Che was coming from the direction of the teaching building, about to pass by on his way to the club building.

She didn't notice him until Hanaoka Asako, who suddenly stood up, made her aware of Dubian Che's approach.

According to the standards of ordinary people, Dubian Che was a very handsome boy.

In terms of appearance, no, towards people, towards everything, Mayi Asuka had no interest, and she was about to lower her head and continue eating.

"Good afternoon, Senior Hanaoka," the boy greeted with a smile.

The motion of her lowering her head suddenly halted; it was an enchanting smile.

'Such a nice smile,' she thought, unable to resist.

The glass bottle sank into a dazzlingly colorful dye vat, leaving only its mouth outside.

The next moment, as if realizing something, Dubian Che quickly withdrew his smile.

Somehow, she felt something, and the glass bottle was completely submerged, the dazzling colors rushing in through the mouth of the bottle.

No, it wasn't a dye vat.

It was like being placed on a balcony bathed in sunlight, the warm light hugging the glass bottle's body, refracting a rainbow of colors on the inner walls.

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