The Fourth Period Is Modern Chinese (Continued)

It felt like it had been a long time since we had faced each other head-on.

The reason was obvious.

Because neither of us wanted to face the other.

Even now, my gaze kept wavering, unsure where to look. I had never liked meeting people's eyes in the first place, so this situation made things even more difficult for me.

The reflection in the classroom building's windows, the pebbles by the roadside, the heel pressed against a dress shoe, the slightly parted corners of her mouth, the small hand tightly clutching her school bag, the faded pale-pink hair swaying in the wind, the bus passing behind her, the slowly loosened necktie, the hair tie around her left wrist.

And her eyes, staring straight at me without looking away.

Although my gaze had been drifting everywhere just moments ago, it finally met Yuihama's. In that instant, Yuihama let out a soft breath with a smile in it.

She slowly closed her eyes, gently placed a hand over her chest, and took another deep breath.

The shouts from the sports clubs, the tones of the brass band, and the traffic sounds from the road that had echoed just moments ago all receded in that brief instant.

At last, she opened her eyes.

The slanting sunlight made her faded pale-pink hair gleam, and her sparkling eyes caught mine directly.

Her glossy lips slowly curved into a beautiful smile—

Then her bright, cheerful voice rang out.

"Little Chi, let's go on a date!"

"...Huh?"

Without any lead-in or logic whatsoever, she said those words to me with a lively, cheerful smile. They should have been the same words I had heard before, yet they somehow sounded completely different. The expression on her face must have been different from back then too.

Both the words