Time flowed on, and before anyone knew it, nearly half the semester had already passed. Counting the days, Meisha had also been here for quite some time. After interacting with Meisha for a while, Ryuseki discovered that there was a special, captivating aura about this girl, an attraction he found hard to resist. It was similar to the sweet trap of a Venus flytrap, luring him closer, and even just a moment not long ago, he seemed to catch a hallucination of a snake beside her.
Going to and from school together every day had already made him accustomed to it, and while he called it a habit, he never grew tired of it. To be more precise, Ryuseki seemed unable to refuse this arrangement. Although he had frequently walked to and from school with Kikka You prior to this, it had never reached such a frequent degree. Even Ryuseki himself found this incredible.
According to his own description, Ryuseki's feeling toward Meisha was being drawn to a certain trait she possessed, while Meisha had seemed to show clear affection from the very moment she met Ryuseki. It was only recently that Ryuseki realized this feeling of his own was not some sweet trap of attraction, but rather love. However, he had not been able to express his feelings, and the reason was obvious: because of Kikka You.
Through such prolonged communication, the relationship between the two developed in a lukewarm fashion; "more than friends, less than lovers" was probably the best way to describe this situation. Although the paper-thin barrier of friendship between them had not been punctured, the fact that they liked each other was already clear.
Yet lately, Kikka You constantly appeared in Ryuseki's dreams.
In Ryuseki's dreams, Kikka You often stood in the rain, her hair draped over her drenched body as she looked at Ryuseki, constantly chanting his name.
Was it really Kikka You visiting him in a dream? That was hardly certain. If anything, it was most likely due to the guilt originating from the depths of Ryuseki's heart. He understood that Kikka You liked him, which was why he had always suppressed his own feelings.
One day, Ryuseki inadvertently brought up this matter. Unexpectedly, Meisha took the initiative to ask to go with Ryuseki to sweep Kikka You's grave. Although her ashes had been taken away, Ryuseki still sat before the gravestone and talked for a long time.
That was a morning in late autumn; the moment Ryuseki stepped out the door, he found Meisha standing at the entrance waiting for him. Today, Meisha's long hair was coiled into a very pretty hairstyle, and she wore a white shirt layered with a chestnut-colored, wide-armhole sleeveless sweater, matched with a stiff plaid-patterned skirt on her bottom half. On her legs she wore leg-warmer long socks paired with brown shoes, making her look quite spirited. In her hand, she carried a white paper bag.
Seeing Ryuseki come out, she handed the paper bag in her hand over to him.
"Here~ for you."
As she spoke, she took out the contents from inside; it was a scarf.
"I wove it myself, it might not look very good since it's my maiden work after all! Hee-hee." Meisha grinned as she put it on Ryuseki.
Seeing Meisha smile so happily, Ryuseki didn't have the heart to refuse. Since he wasn't in the habit of wearing a scarf, he still muttered under his breath, "I somehow feel a bit like a dog!"
Yet Meisha still heard his soft muttering, and instantly curled her lips into an unhappy look as she said, "I give it to you and you still say that, what is this! If I'd known, I would've just given it to Lin Yingbin or Ryuu Mufei. This took me several days to finish, you know." Meisha pouted her little mouth, showing an angry expression, though angry as she was, she still put it on Ryuseki.
"Alright, alright, I accept it." Seeing Meisha like this, Ryuseki scratched the back of his head in embarrassment, then took off the scarf and headed back toward the house.
"Put it on!" Meisha stomped her foot and looked at him with a pout.
Helplessly, Ryuseki finally put the scarf back on.
Before you continue