The Maiden's Smile

Hiyori Shiina took the tissue, wiped her tears, and tried to steady her emotions before beginning to recall in fragments.

"I... I came out of the library, took the main road through the front gate... then crossed the courtyard... passed by the vending machine, bought a drink... and left... then... then..."

She frowned, as if remembering something. "Then near the path connecting the old teaching building and the gymnasium... I think... when Ishizaki and his group ran past... they accidentally bumped my shoulder... I was a bit startled at the time and didn't pay much attention..."

Ishizaki? Yuefeng's eyes sharpened. Him again? Coincidence, or...?

Ibuki Mio's gaze also turned cold. "Ishizaki and his bunch?" She clearly had no good impression of him either.

"It was just a bump... probably... probably not on purpose..." Hiyori Shiina defended him in a small voice, but her tone was uncertain.

She had been distracted at the time, and a bump like that could easily have loosened the pendant and caused it to fall without her noticing.

"That path..." Yuefeng mused.

He had happened to walk that same path yesterday, encountering the incident where Airi Sakura was being harassed. "Shiina, after you were bumped, did you check right away if the pendant was still there?"

Hiyori Shiina shook her head blankly. "I... didn't think of it then... and later I forgot..."

Yuefeng formed a plan in his mind. If it was lost near that path, not too much time had passed, so there might still be a chance to find it.

Even if someone had picked it up, if it was a student on campus, there might be a way to get it back.

"Let's go search that path now." Yuefeng made a quick decision. "Ibuki, could you accompany Shiina? Two people searching will cover more ground. I'll come too."

Ibuki Mio glanced at Yuefeng, seeming a bit surprised by his initiative, but nodded. "Fine." She said to Hiyori Shiina, "Let's go, Hiyori. Crying won't help. Let's look."

Hiyori Shiina seemed moved by their decisiveness and nodded firmly. Though her eyes were still red, she had stopped crying.

She carefully hugged the empty cloth pouch to her chest, as if holding onto her last shred of hope.

The three set off immediately toward the path Hiyori Shiina had described.

The setting sun stretched their shadows long, and the hydrangeas in the garden swayed gently in the evening breeze.

Yuefeng walked ahead, carefully scanning the ground and the bushes on both sides while recalling the scene from yesterday when he passed through here.

Back then, his attention had been entirely on Sakura and that salesman, and he hadn't paid any attention to his surroundings.

The path wasn't long, but it had many turns, and the roadside vegetation was thick, making the search no easy task.

Hiyori Shiina and Ibuki Mio also split up to search thoroughly, leaving no corner unchecked.

Time passed bit by bit, and the sky gradually darkened. The light in Hiyori Shiina's eyes dimmed again, hope seemingly fading away.

Just as they were about to give up and expand the search area, Yuefeng's gaze was drawn to a faint glimmer at the edge of the path, beneath a clump of dwarf holly roots, half-hidden by fallen leaves.

The light was very weak, but in the fading daylight, he still caught it. He crouched down and brushed aside the leaves.

A small, cherry-blossom-shaped crystal pendant lay quietly among the soil and dead leaves.

The pink crystal refracted a soft luster in the last rays of light. The chain seemed a bit loose, but it was intact.

"Shiina!" Yuefeng called out immediately.

Hiyori Shiina and Ibuki Mio ran over at the sound.

When Hiyori Shiina saw the familiar pendant in Yuefeng's hand, tears welled up again instantly, but this time they were tears of joy.

"It's it! It's mine!" She carefully took the pendant, clutching it tightly in her palm and pressing it to her chest, as if it were a lost treasure regained.

Large tears fell one after another, but a relieved smile bloomed on her face, more moving than the evening glow.

Ibuki Mio also let out a sigh of relief, her tense expression softening slightly. Watching Hiyori Shiina, the corner of her mouth seemed to twitch upward almost imperceptibly.

Yuefeng stood up, brushed the dirt off his hands, and felt much lighter inside. Good thing they found it.

"Thank you... thank you so much, Yuefeng! Thank you, Mio!" Hiyori Shiina bowed repeatedly to them, too emotional to speak clearly. "Really... I'm so grateful! I... I thought I'd never find it again..."

"Be more careful next time." Ibuki Mio said curtly, but her tone was no longer so harsh.

"The chain seems a bit loose. You should check the clasp." Yuefeng reminded her. "It might have been pulled loose when you were bumped, then slipped off."

Hiyori Shiina nodded vigorously, carefully inspecting the chain, her face filled with the joy of a recovered treasure.

Watching Hiyori Shiina's smile return, Yuefeng suddenly felt that in this campus of "meritocracy," full of competition, scheming, and coldness, helping someone find something important and seeing such a genuine smile... wasn't such a bad thing.

"By the way," Ibuki Mio suddenly looked at Yuefeng, her gaze carrying a hint of scrutiny, "you... reacted pretty fast. Immediately thought it might be there."

Yuefeng's heart skipped a beat. Ibuki Mio's observation skills were sharp too.

"Just lucky. I happened to see the reflection." Yuefeng said vaguely.

At the same time, he reminded himself internally to be more careful when using the detail-capture ability from Slow Motion in the future.

Ibuki Mio said nothing more, just gave him another look.

Hiyori Shiina carefully placed the pendant back into the cloth pouch, hugging it tightly to her chest. Traces of tears still lingered on her face, but her eyes sparkled. "Yuefeng, Mio... I really don't know how to thank you enough..."

"No need." Yuefeng smiled. "The important thing is that it's found."

Ibuki Mio nodded as well.

The sky had completely darkened, and the streetlights flickered on one after another.

"Let's go back, Hiyori." Ibuki Mio said, her tone noticeably softer than before.

"Mm!" Hiyori Shiina nodded firmly, then looked at Yuefeng, her cheeks flushing slightly again—but this time from joy and gratitude. "Yuefeng-kun, really... thank you so much."

The three of them walked back together. Hiyori Shiina carefully cradled her cloth bundle as if holding the entire world.

Ibuki Mio walked beside her, still quiet as usual, but her posture was clearly protective.

Yuefeng followed a step behind, watching the backs of the two girls ahead.

Hiyori Shiina's fragility and resilience, Ibuki Mio's clumsy concern beneath her cold exterior.

In this school, it seemed there weren't only people like Ryuen and Ishizaki, nor just unfathomable enigmas like Kiyotaka.

There were also these subtle, genuine joys and bonds of ordinary boys and girls.

This made the nerves he'd kept taut for so long relax just a little.

Perhaps, beneath this cold rule of "absolute merit," there were still things worth cherishing.

Like a pendant found again after being lost.

Like a girl's sincere smile.

Like that faint, unintentional warmth of being "human" that surfaced beyond scheming and confrontation.

The night was gentle. Yuefeng looked up and saw the first stars rising at the edge of the sky.

The shadow of the Sports Festival still lingered, Kiyotaka's "observation" clung to him like a ghost, and his "father's" task hung over his head.

But at this moment, he suddenly felt that the road ahead might not be entirely dark.

At least, he had just helped a girl find something infinitely precious to her.

That feeling... wasn't bad.