She really said it!
Hatsune felt an unprecedented sense of release, the kind that came from personally cutting open her festering wound and laying it bare before the person closest to her.
"My biological father, Toyokawa Sadaharu." Hatsune spoke a little faster, with a twisted sort of relief in her tone. "Because he married into the Toyokawa Family, and because I, as his illegitimate daughter, could affect or even threaten his position, he refused to let me register under the Toyokawa Family."
"Whenever Shoko came to the island for vacation, he strictly forbade me from appearing before you or contacting you because of my status. So all this time, I could only be like a thief, asking Hatsuka about you."
"Ah, speaking of which, do you remember that time when you and Hatsuka stargazed at night, and you encouraged her to pursue her dream of becoming an idol?"
"Actually, the person there that night wasn't Hatsuka. She was sick that day, so I secretly took the chance to run to the villa entrance, and then... you mistook me for Hatsuka."
"The reason I was able to become an idol was entirely thanks to your encouragement that night, Shoko. And when I had just left the island and first arrived in Tokyo, it was also thanks to your encouragement..."
Like a drowning person who had finally found an outlet, Hatsune poured out the secrets she had suppressed for years, urgently and in exhaustive detail.
Qianyi simply quietly led her to a chair nearby and sat with her, acting as a listener, offering timely responses whenever she paused or grew uneasy.
By the time Hatsune's throat was dry, by the time she felt she had completely laid bare her truest self without holding anything back, she cautiously raised her head to look