No, no, no, no!
Ichiko's breathing quickened, and she stared intently at the new message on Massenger.
Waiting for her on the rooftop?
Such strong wind and rain!
She wished even more that this was Haruko's prank.
In such weather, with Haruko's weak body being rained on for so long, she didn't dare to imagine what would happen!
Just then, Sento walked over, noticed Ichiko's unusual expression, and asked with concern, "What's wrong?"
Ichiko glanced at him, and her trembling thin lips found an excuse, "Haruko got caught in the rain outside and can't get back, she wants me to bring her an umbrella."
Sento scoffed, "Better let her hide until the rain stops. With such heavy wind and rain outside, let alone people, even cars are hard to drive. You're going to deliver an umbrella?"
He glanced at Ichiko's slender figure hidden under her dress, "Let alone an umbrella, even you would be blown away."
After saying that, he shrugged again, "Let that guy fend for herself. The event preparations are about to start, shall we go in?"
"You... wait for me." Ichiko was still worried and took her phone to the side, "I'll make a call."
With that, she directly dialed Haruko's Massenger call.
She hadn't even heard Haruko's voice yet.
What entered her ears was the howling wind and the constantly beating raindrops.
The sound of thunderclaps made Ichiko realize that Haruko was definitely not indoors.
On the rooftop!
Ichiko panicked and said anxiously, "Haruko! Haruko, can you hear me?"
On the other side, Haruko, who was under a rain shelter on the rooftop, heard Ichiko's anxious voice and couldn't help but sigh in her heart.
This is the charismatic female lead.
Even though she was just cannon fodder.
Even though she had done many excessive things to her.
She would still be tolerant of her and show concern and trust without hesitation.
Haruko, who had been betrayed by her girlfriend twice in her previous life, really liked this kind of concern that poured down like a heavy rain.
Her acting continued. Her voice was so flat that no emotion could be heard, "I can hear Ichiko's voice, what's wrong?"
In the cruise ship's hall, Ichiko breathed a sigh of relief while also saying anxiously, "Haruko, I can't come back that fast, can you go down first? The wind and rain on the rooftop are heavy, it's very dangerous!"
However, Haruko seemed to have only heard the key point of her sentence, "Go down?"
"Yes." Ichiko didn't understand Haruko's hidden meaning and also realized her emotions were off, so her voice became gentler, "You go down first, go back to your dorm, take a hot shower and rest. We can talk about anything when I get back, okay? I should be able to return by 11 o'clock."
"But we agreed, I'll wait for you, didn't we make a date?"
How could she not know that Haruko had entered that strange state from when she was in the basement again?
She didn't have time to think about whether this was her true nature, or if this state was temporary, a kind of illness.
Ichiko tried her best to keep her tone from being too hurried and persuaded, "It's just talking, it's the same anywhere. When I get back, Haruko, I'll listen carefully to whatever you have to say, and we can have a good chat then."
"Then what should we talk about?" Haruko asked again.
Ichiko bit her lower lip, peeked at Sento not far away, and then lowered her voice, "Let's talk about... the fact that Haruko likes me. I also have a lot I want to say to you, so be good and go back to wait for me."
"Then waiting for you here is the same, after all, we made a date."
The rain is so heavy, how is it the same?!
Since being gentle didn't work, Ichiko could only resort to being firm.
So she said to Haruko, "Haruko, be good and go down first. If you don't listen, then I won't come back, and I won't chat with you."
It was like this when she was little.
As long as she put on a look like she was going to be angry.
No matter how much Haruko was acting up, she would obediently listen.
She was occasionally mischievous, but most of the time she was very sensible.
It was the same this time.
Haruko heard Ichiko's serious voice, and just like before, her voice softened, sounding a little wronged, "Okay then, I'll listen to you."
"Mm-hmm, I promise I'll be back soon!"
At this point, Ichiko finally breathed a sigh of relief.
She had been in conflict with Haruko for the past two months, and she couldn't even get close to her.
She didn't know what had happened.
It must be that group of so-called sisters of hers who led Haruko astray!
After the banquet, she could have a good talk with Haruko.
As she was thinking this, besides the sound of rain, Haruko's voice was added to the Massenger call, "If I go down, will Ichiko definitely come back?"
"Be good." Ichiko's tone became gentle again, "I won't lie to Haruko, don't worry."
"Okay!"
Haruko's voice became slightly more cheerful.
The chat seemed to end here, but the Massenger call didn't hang up. Ichiko wanted to confirm by listening, to make sure the rain sound got smaller and Haruko obediently returned to her dorm.
But as she listened, she found that the sound of the rain didn't get smaller at all.
It didn't sound like she had returned indoors in the slightest.
After a while.
The voice on the phone finally changed, adding Haruko's soft, emotionless voice, "Go down, and Ichiko will come back."
"The 14th floor is a bit high."
Ichiko was stunned when she heard this.
"Haruko!"
Realizing what was happening, she shouted loudly without caring about her image.
"Beep, beep, beep—"
The call had already been disconnected.
She fumbled to redial, but couldn't get through no matter what.
"Ichiko, are you done with your call? The event is about to start, we need to head to the exhibition hall inside the cruise ship."
Just then, Sento walked over from the side, but saw Ichiko fumbling, her face filled with extreme anxiety.
She couldn't get through to Haruko's Massenger call no matter what, and even when she called her mobile number, the message said it was turned off. She lost her composure.
She even imagined Haruko and the phone falling from the 14th floor together.
The phone was smashed to pieces.
And the person...
She didn't dare to think further and quickly said to Sento, "Sento, I... I need to go back to school. I'm not attending the banquet. Can you take me back?"
Sento frowned, and the slight dissatisfaction that had been accumulating since the car ride finally surfaced on his face, "Ichiko, what are you talking about? This banquet is extremely important to me. For you, I even invited my family. The official event is about to start, what are you going back for?"
"Haruko is in danger, I must go back!"
Ichiko also knew that now was not the time for grand explanations, she just stated her direct purpose very simply.
Driving back to school from here would take half an hour.
She needed help!
But—
Sento was unhappy.
He didn't like Haruko to begin with, she had annoyed him to death before, and the girl he liked was kidnapped to the basement, which not only ruined his reputation at the last banquet but also almost got Ichiko injured.
Now that everything was fine, she popped up again.
His fists involuntarily clenched, he proudly raised his head, his face livid, "Haruko, Haruko, it's Haruko again! She treated you like that, why are you still concerned about her?!"
As always, his expression was stern, domineering, and brooked no refusal.
The aura of a president and Young Master from a prominent family, who had been in a position of power for years, erupted instantly. He was like the thunder outside, immensely powerful.
With this demeanor, let alone ordinary girls, even those in high positions of power would give way three points after learning Sento's identity.
Several times, Sento just got slightly serious and lowered his voice, and Ichiko would shrink her neck, indicating she would back down.
But this time, Sento noticed that in the eyes of this stubborn girl, there was only steadfastness and determination.