The figurine was the same as the one Haruko had seen before; after causing a slight daze, one couldn't help but be drawn to its exquisite quality and the extreme visual contrast it presented.
Dressed in a black evening gown, she stared at her with a demonic and terrifying smile, as if about to suck Haruko's orange juice.
The transformation between black and white was like a reversal of real-life identities.
She was the perpetrator.
And Haruko was the victim in a pure white princess dress.
Ichiko stared at the figurine, her lips trembling. "Could it be that Haruko... also thinks I harmed her?"
She rubbed her eyes, not daring to look at the figurine again, curled up and hid under the covers, hugging the big brown bear tightly.
It was as if this big brown bear was Haruko. She buried her head in the fluffy fabric, somewhat greedily enjoying the scent Haruko had left behind.
If only Haruko were here.
This thought lingered in her mind as she gradually drifted into sleep.
However, when she opened her eyes, it was a scene that tugged at her heart's pain.
"Why? Why are you willing to go with Sento but not take me? Am I really that detestable to you!"
The person she cared about so much stood in front of her with tears streaming down, pointing a finger at Sento, her eyes filled with unwillingness and grievance.
Ichiko was incredibly familiar with this scene; wasn't it the time she argued with Haruko during the high school summer vacation?
At that time, she had a good relationship with Sento and had received his help. The repayment he asked for was for her to accompany him to a blind date gathering to ward off the blind date arranged by another family branch.
She agreed, wanting to repay the favor Sento had done for her.
This way, she wouldn't have any further contact or trouble with this Young Master.
But Haruko refused to listen to her explanation, which resulted in the two of them arguing.
Haruko was already an adult, and Ichiko wanted Haruko to be more independent. She wasn't particularly angry at first, but when she was with Sento and facing Haruko, she inexplicably said some very harsh words.
It was this argument that served as the fuse, triggering a series of events that followed.
But why had she returned here?
Was it a dream?
Ichiko lowered her head and looked at her transparent hand, realizing she was merely watching this scene from her memory unfold again from a bystander's perspective.
At this moment, the Ichiko in the dream loudly retorted to Haruko, "Can you stop being so unreasonable? You're still so insensible after all this time. Haruko, why don't you find something you like to do!"
People often don't pay much attention to their word choice when they are agitated or angry.
Ichiko was aware of this, but what made her stunned was...
Had the words she said really been that harsh?
She had no memory of it at all.
Following this was an even more intense argument, and Haruko left in tears.
Only later did she realize she wanted to chase after her, but Sento pulled her back.
Let's find some time later to talk properly with Haruko about apologizing.
In Ichiko's heart, the same thought appeared as the Ichiko in the dream.
Because at that time, she had indeed thought the same thing.
But was this kind of dream just showing her what had happened in the past?
Was it because of her regret that she was dreaming this?
Was experiencing the process of losing her and the heartache again her punishment this time?
It seemed no one could see her in her transparent state. Ichiko thought for a moment, then took a step in the direction Haruko had left.
There was no need to re-experience the original trajectory. She was more concerned about what Haruko did after arguing with her.
Why did she become so strange, so yandere, so obsessive?
And why, in such a short time, did she fall for Sento and the others and constantly oppose her?
Following Haruko back to her home, the little one buried herself in the covers and cried loudly, her voice making Ichiko's heart ache terribly.
What Ichiko didn't expect was that Haruko kept looking for her over the next few days,
and she was always busy and couldn't meet her.
The appearance of Sento, Inari, and Shin gradually disrupted her life.
Because of their various trivial matters, she became busy and fulfilled, but from Haruko's perspective, thinking a bit more extremely...
She didn't want her anymore.
They didn't say much to each other until the start of the new semester.
Haruko seemed to have become abnormal. When she woke up from sleep, she would occasionally murmur things like Sento being very dangerous.
She seemed to have one nightmare after another, believing that the Sento in her dreams would harm her Ichiko, and taking the events in her dreams as reality.
But she had no other friends around to confide in.
Finally, after starting university, she met her two roommates, Misao.
Facing her roommates' friendly smiles, Haruko, who had no one to confide in, simply trusted them and told them all sorts of things about herself.
Her favorite Ichiko Jie Jie.
But it seems she doesn't want me anymore.
The terrifying Sento in her dreams.
If she doesn't stop him, Ichiko will definitely get hurt.
From Ichiko's perspective, words like these already showed signs of a split personality.
But Misao was not a good person. While gaining Haruko's trust, she also incited her, saying, "Since you can't persuade your Ichiko, why don't you just steal Sento?"
"Steal?"
Haruko asked, confused.
Misao nodded. "That's right. You're so cute. If I put some makeup on you, I guarantee that Sento will be completely captivated. If you steal him from Ichiko, won't you be able to protect Ichiko?"
The words of incitement remained in Haruko's heart.
The white swan was deceived by the toad, voluntarily jumped into the dark pond water, and turned into an ugly duckling that everyone disliked.
But under the toad's praise, the ugly duckling still thought that she was the most beautiful and lovely like this.
"Yoko, this Haruko is really stupid. Going to Sento with such a heavily made-up face, it would be a miracle if she could impress him."
"Isn't it fun? I just want to see her expression after Sento rejects her. Hahaha, what if she's pretty? She has no brains at all. Just a few words of coaxing and she'll obey. We have to thank that Ichiko for training Haruko to be so obedient."
Behind Haruko, Misao and another roommate mocked her, which made Ichiko burn with anger again.
But in this memory, she couldn't do anything.
She even knew clearly what was going to happen next.
Haruko would pursue Sento, Inari, and even Shin.
And be rejected again and again.
And she would constantly cause trouble for her, ultimately making Sento and Inari's impression of her worse and worse.
And the distance between her and Ichiko would grow further and further.
—Yes, what happened in reality should have been like this.
Ichiko continued to follow Haruko, wanting to see when this dream would end.
However, the result that followed was beyond Ichiko's expectation.
Under the twilight, Haruko confessed her feelings to Sento for the first time.
Holding a bouquet of wildflowers she had picked from somewhere, she confessed, "Sento, I like you. Can you leave Ichiko and be with me?"
Ichiko didn't even need to guess to know that Sento would definitely refuse.
Because in her memory, Sento had also told her about Haruko's confession.
But what she didn't expect was that Sento raised a strange, even terrifying, grin. "Okay, I agree!"
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