Amamiya Natsuki froze, confused.
"When did I bully Shoko?"
"I heard every word!" Zhuzhu huffed. "Shoko kept saying no in her heart, so you must have been bullying her, right?"
Amamiya Natsuki turned to look at Quail girl.
Komie-san hurriedly lowered her head to stare at her toes. Her guilty conscience was written all over her face.
"Then let's do this," Amamiya Natsuki said softly. "Shoko and I will head back first. If you need anything, Zhuzhu, have Shoko pass the message along."
"Got it." Zhuzhu waved. "You two hurry along. I'll head back to the sanatorium first. When you find Hanamori-chan, come over as soon as you can."
"..."
After parting ways with Zhuzhu, Amamiya Natsuki turned and headed toward Happy Community with Shoko.
They walked in silence.
Amamiya Natsuki stayed quiet on the way.
Quail girl walked alongside him for a while. Seeing how downcast and silent he was, she grew more and more uneasy. At last, she couldn't help tugging gently at his sleeve and asking in a small voice,
"W-why aren't you saying anything?"
Amamiya Natsuki's voice was low.
"I'm wondering if I did something wrong."
"Huh?"
"Shoko clearly didn't want me to, but I ignored that and insisted on hugging her... Maybe I should keep my distance from now on?"
"N-no, that's not..."
Hearing this, Quail girl grew anxious at once.
Amamiya Natsuki said gloomily,
"Shoko kept saying no in her heart just now. You actually hate it when I hug you, don't you?"
He said that, but in truth, he had never doubted Shoko's feelings.
A girl like Quail girl found it hard to open up to others, but once she fell for someone, she probably wouldn't fall for anyone else for the rest of her life.
"I-I don't hate it!" Quail girl bit