To be honest, Fang Zheng had more or less anticipated this development. He had sensed 02's presence on Hiro before; he simply refused to believe the two of them had nothing to do with each other.
It was just that Fang Zheng had thought Ichigo might still have had a chance. After all, wasn't it like Duan Yu's situation... Maybe it would turn out to be one of those "the fairy sister I love is actually my sister" tropes? Japanese anime had plenty of plots where siblings were separated from childhood, didn't it?
Unfortunately, reality appeared to be far crueler than that.
So when Fang Zheng opened his door that evening and saw Ichigo standing before him with red-rimmed eyes, he was not surprised in the slightest.
"Waaahhhhhhh!!!"
The moment she saw Fang Zheng, Ichigo's eyes reddened, and she threw herself into his arms.
"I can't accept this! I can't accept it, aaaaaahhh!!!"
Clinging to Fang Zheng, Ichigo tearfully told him what had happened. After that, she had deliberately asked Hiro out, gathered her courage, and confessed her feelings to him. She told Hiro that she had liked him ever since they were children and laid her heart bare before him.
Hiro clearly had not expected Ichigo to say such things to him. He had stood there dumbfounded. In the end, after hesitating for a long time, he lowered his head to Ichigo and said, "I'm sorry..." Then he said nothing more. Ichigo had simply stood there in a daze, motionless, not knowing what to do.
Well, that was no different from, "You're a good person, but we're not right for each other."
So Ichigo had said nothing else. She turned and ran away, then came to Fang Zheng for comfort.
"You really are..."
Fang Zheng helplessly stroked Ichigo's head