Wind and rain lashed down, accompanied by lightning and thunder.
The rain had been going on for nearly an hour, but it showed no signs of stopping.
Instead, it seemed to be getting worse.
On the dormitory rooftop, Haruko was still sitting under the rain shelter, breathing weakly, her face pale.
The constant emotion value notifications in her mind were too noisy, so she had turned them off. All she could hear now was the sound of thunder and rain.
It was just that the wind was too strong. Even though she was hiding under the rain shelter, fine droplets were still being blown onto her body by the wind. Half of her body was already wet, and her already thin T-shirt clung even more tightly to her body, her fair skin faintly visible.
"System, how long has it been?"
To make the act more convincing, she had thrown her phone from the 14th floor, so she didn't know how long it had been since she hung up the phone.
But luckily, there was the System.
[About 20 minutes]
"Judging by the time, Ichiko should be back at school."
She shifted her body, exposing herself to the rain curtain, letting the rain drench her.
It was late autumn in November, and the temperature wasn't warm.
The rain was incredibly cold at this moment, and Haruko shivered almost uncontrollably.
The System felt a little heartache watching her.
[Host, how about we just give up, or how about we use some emotion value to buy something else first? I'm scared like this]
"I haven't even said much, what are you, a System, afraid of?"
[If you die, I'll be gone too. And Host, are you really sure you're not a yandere? Your behavior scares me too]
"Aren't you a villain System? Even if I went to kill someone, you should be cheering, okay? You're scared when I haven't even done anything, aren't you too useless?"
[QAQ]
Haruko rolled her eyes. After confirming she was completely drenched, she hid under the rain shelter again, curling up to preserve the last bit of warmth.
She had completed the second step of her plan and had already used emotion value to buy and eat an energy pill.
But the weakness of this body was beyond Haruko's expectation. Even after taking the medicine, she still felt very weak.
She felt a terrible headache, it was heavy, and she really wanted to sleep.
But the female lead hadn't arrived yet, and the third step of the plan was the most crucial.
Afraid of becoming so weak that she would fall asleep, she forced herself to talk to the System, "To answer your question just now, I already said this is a yandere persona. If I'm going to act, I have to act perfectly, otherwise how can I make the female lead fall for it?"
"Besides, how could a yandere have such a clear consciousness as me? A yandere doesn't even know they're a yandere, okay?"
"And think about Sento's eyes this afternoon, and the hundreds of emotion value I just received. I feel like he wants to bury me right now. I must get more emotion value and get the female lead in my grasp."
Without the protection of the female lead's halo, Haruko was really afraid something would happen to her!
The conversation turned into a monologue.
She didn't know how long passed, but the rooftop door was suddenly pushed open with a "bang."
An anxious voice rang out, "Haruko!"
Ichiko was here!
She was breathing heavily, holding onto the wall to keep herself from collapsing from weak legs.
She had cycled for half an hour in the heavy rain and flooded roads, and because the power was out, she couldn't use the elevator. After running back, she climbed up 14 floors in one breath, desperately hoping to see Haruko in the stairwell.
The iron door was being battered by the wind, making "Bang Bang" sounds. Her dress was completely soaked, clinging to her skin with water droplets. Every step she took felt exhausting.
But even so, she walked outside the door and shouted against the wind, "Haruko, where are you!"
There was no response from the rooftop, and she couldn't see Haruko in her line of sight.
But when she got downstairs, she didn't find the so-called "corpse" or ambulance.
Haruko must still be okay!
She believed it firmly in her heart.
Just as she was about to search the rooftop, Ichiko suddenly heard a weak but surprised voice, "Ichiko, are you back?"
"Haruko?!"
Following the sound, Ichiko was surprised to find that Haruko was hiding under the rain shelter.
Her body, which had been forcing itself to stay strong, suddenly relaxed. Her legs went weak, and Ichiko pounced onto Haruko, hugging her tightly, her voice choked with sobs, "Haruko, it's so good that you're okay!"
Tears mixed with raindrops, sliding down her cheeks.
Leaning on her shoulder, Haruko felt the warm embrace, and her lips curved slightly upwards.
Ah~ This embrace, loved with all one's heart, was truly too warm.
She felt one way inside, but her acting skills didn't falter.
Worried and scared emotions surged towards Ichiko with her weak sobs, "I... I'm sorry Ichiko, the 14... the 14th floor was too high, I didn't dare to jump, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."
Hearing this, Ichiko's heart ached.
She knew Haruko had misunderstood her words.
But she didn't blame her; instead, she felt more self-reproach because she hadn't explained clearly and had almost caused Haruko's death.
Guilt filled her heart. Ichiko took a deep breath, reached out and cupped Haruko's face, gently wiping away the tears with her thumb, and said:
"You don't need to say sorry, it's my fault, I didn't explain clearly. Anyway, it's good that Haruko is okay, it's good that you're okay..."
Haruko sniffled, still with a weak, sobbing voice, "Ichiko won't blame me, will you? I... I did so many wrong things before, and now I've made Ichiko worry again, I..."
"Shush!"
Ichiko's long index finger pressed against Haruko's lips. Her forehead gently touched hers, and she said softly, "How could I blame Haruko? Everyone makes mistakes sometimes. Haruko is trying to change now, isn't she? We agreed to talk tonight."
Haruko stopped crying and smiled, then reached out beside her with a hint of panic, fumbling around.
Ichiko asked curiously, "What are you looking for?"
"A gift."
"A gift?" Ichiko didn't understand what Haruko was saying, then suddenly remembered something, "Speaking of which, what did Haruko want to tell me when she asked me to come to the rooftop?"
"It's about what happened during the day." Haruko fumbled around and finally found a bottle carefully wrapped with a satin ribbon. She cautiously handed it to Ichiko, "During the day, Ichiko and Sento were like that, you wouldn't even drink water from me..."
Ichiko was stunned for a moment.
Then she said with a wry smile, "Just because of that? Haruko, you really are..."
You're really too foolish.
She didn't realize Haruko's strangeness; she just thought that giving her a gift specifically because of something that happened during the day was Haruko's way of apologizing from her perspective.
Why does it feel a little like jealousy?
She accepted the gift. It was very dark, and she couldn't see Haruko's expression.
But Ichiko could faintly feel that the other person's eyes were full of expectation.
She said softly, "I'll accept this gift. Haruko must be good and listen. Let's go downstairs back to the dormitory, okay?"
"Okay~"
Haruko's voice was very obedient, seemingly softer than usual, with the slight sweetness and softness unique to a loli.
This reminded Ichiko of Haruko in junior high school.
The current Haruko has become similar to how she was before.
Although she's very worrying, she's also kind of cute?
Ichiko didn't think too deeply about it and just went along with Haruko's wishes, accepting the gift.
Suddenly, there was a "rumble," and along with the thunder came a dazzling flash of lightning.
As if to illuminate the entire dark world, the appearance of the lightning dispersed the fog in front of Ichiko's eyes, and the so-called gift also came into view.
Ichiko's pupils contracted sharply, and she instantly felt the raindrops hitting her body sting her skin like cold needles.