Clown

He sensed that his Strange Arts to avoid people was still active, yet the woman in front of him recognized him; she was clearly not a stranger, but someone who truly knew him.

Shuya pondered for a moment, then said, "... Mrs. Suzuki?"

"It's amazing you managed to get me to agree to meet; it's been so long since we last saw each other."

Mrs. Suzuki said in surprise.

Shuya instinctively tried to flash a professional smile, but found his face a little stiff, so he just smiled with the corners of his mouth up.

"Your wife is still so young, of course I recognize her."

He offered a compliment.

These are residents who live nearby; they were quite familiar with him back then.

"Ugh. Shu-chan still knows how to talk."

Mrs. Suzuki smiled happily.

"Um, who's that behind you...?"

Shuya noticed a little girl clinging to her leg behind her, looking up at him with pleading eyes.

"This is my youngest daughter. Shu-chan probably hasn't seen her before, right? She's four years old this year."

Mrs. Suzuki smiled and patted her daughter's head.

"Really? Congratulations, what a lovely girl."

Shuya greeted the little girl with a smile.

"Handsome guy!"

The girl was captivated by his smile and decisively abandoned her mother, clinging to Shuya's leg.

Go away, go play somewhere else.

"Oh!"

Mrs. Suzuki shooed her daughter away in a huff.

Shuya watched with her as the little girl, with her short legs, ran off to join her friends and play.

Section 503, Chapter 468: The Clown

After the young girl left, there was a quiet moment between Shuya and Mrs. Suzuki.

They hadn't seen each other for so long that they were speechless for a moment.

After a while, Mrs. Suzuki casually asked, "Shu-chan, you haven't been back here for a long time, have you?"

"Indeed, I've been quite busy lately."

Shuya made up a random excuse.

She didn't suspect anything, and simply asked, "Are you studying in another city right now?"

"At Sobu High in Chiba."

"Oh, really?"

Mrs. Suzuki clearly hadn't heard of this school.

"So, is there something you need to do after you came back this time?"

"I just came back to visit and did some cleaning while I was at it."

After hearing Shuya's answer, Mrs. Suzuki smiled and said, "Is that so? You haven't been back for a long time. It's good that you've come back to visit."

She paused, then added, "Speaking of which, you don't come back often, but the Quintuplets do come over occasionally, and sometimes they even visit us."

"Hehe."

Shuya smiled slightly.

Mrs. Suzuki, oblivious to his attitude, continued enthusiastically, "Hey, let me tell you, the Quintuplets have grown up to be so beautiful! They're looking more and more like Rena, both are great beauties, hahaha!"

Shuya said, "Is that so?"

He raised the corners of his mouth, as if he were intently watching the children playing in the sandbox.

The images in my eyes seemed to overlap with those of yesterday.

"Shu-chan, Shu-chan, come play with me!"

"Shu-chan should play with me!"

"No way, I'm not interested in playing in the sand."

"You guys, stop bothering Shu-chan, let's go home."

His gaze went beyond the sandpit to the park entrance ahead.

However, there was no one there.

Mrs. Suzuki laughed and said, "But it's not my place to say, is it? Shu-chan and the Quintuplets are so close, they must see each other often, haha. Do you date any of them? Or are they all your girlfriends?"

She joked with a smile.

Shuya laughed and said, "No, I don't have that kind of relationship with them."

"Really? I don't believe it."

Mrs. Suzuki waved her hand. "They adore you; everyone who lives around here knows that."

"Yeah."

Shuya chuckled softly a few times.

Mrs. Suzuki then chatted for a while about everyday things.

"... Sigh, I'm not going to talk to you anymore, I need to go back and cook."

Mrs. Suzuki called her daughter back, and holding her daughter's hand, she said to Shuya, "Go on with your work, but come back to visit often when you have time."

"Must."

Shuya nodded.

"See you next time... um, say goodbye to your brother quickly."

Mrs. Suzuki patted her daughter, who shouted, "Bye-bye, handsome brother!"

Bye-bye, drive carefully.

Shuya smiled, bent down, patted her head, and watched the two of them leave.

After Mrs. Suzuki and her companion left, Mai and the others came over and stood behind him.

Mai asked, "Can we go now?"

"Okay, let's go. We've kept you waiting."

Shuya's lips remained slightly upturned, maintaining a faint smile.

After he finished speaking, he took the lead and brushed past Mai.

In the instant the two parted ways, Mai grabbed his arm.

She faced forward without turning her head, and simply whispered:

"Don't laugh like that, I told you..."

I don't like your smile.

"... hehe."

Shuya gently shook off her hand and said, "My house is not far ahead, come with me."

He continued walking, and as he brushed past Yukino, he heard a low snicker.

"Call."

Shuya glanced over unintentionally and saw Yukino silently open her mouth, making a mouth shape for him.

Clown.

"..."

Shuya twisted his neck; young girls these days really don't hold back when they speak.

He didn't say anything, but silently led the way to the apartment where his hometown was located.

"Is this where Shuya- senpai used to live?"

"It looks pretty good."

Ayase and Kirino looked up and observed the apartment building.

Aside from being a bit old, the apartment was alright. Although it wasn't the kind of high-end apartment that Yukino and Mai lived in, it was better than the best but not the worst either.

"It's alright, nothing special."

Shuya replied casually.

"It looks a bit old."

Yukino commented.

"Yukino- senpai, you've been here before?"

Kirino asked curiously.

"Hmm... I guess so."

"Speaking of which Yukino- chan used to live here."

Shuya the Way.

These words elicited knowing glances from the two younger colleagues.

Yukino and rubbed her forehead in exasperation. "What are you thinking? I was just a primary school student back then, and my older sister, Motoko, Teacher Hiratsuka were also there."

"Oh, that was back then."

Mai nodded; she knew what she was talking about.

"Back then, huh?"

Shuya repeated it again:

Time flies; it's already time to describe it as "back then."

He shook his head. "Come inside with me."

He led the way into the apartment, and the four girls naturally followed behind.

Shuya walked through the lobby and, as he passed the stairwell, suddenly laughed, "Seeing these stairs reminds me. Back when I learned light-body skills from my teacher, I was so excited that I wouldn't take the elevator; I'd run up and down the stairs instead."

"Haha, Shuya -senpai has a childlike side."

Ayase imagined what Shuya looked like back then and couldn't help but chuckle softly.

"Actually, I was just a kid back then, and I even jumped off buildings repeatedly for fun."

Shuya showed a look of nostalgia.

Those were truly innocent and carefree days; who could have imagined that so many strange and bizarre things would happen later?

Shuya didn't linger there for long before leaving, leading everyone up in the elevator.

The elevator arrived at Shuya's floor in no time.

The group stepped into the corridor.

Shuya slowly walked down the deserted corridor.

On one side is a room, and on the other side is a low wall that reaches waist-high.

Beyond the low wall lies the residential area, with a park faintly visible and the sounds of children playing in the distance.

The setting sun casts its orange rays, symbolizing the approaching end of the day.

On the street, you can see people rushing home after get off work, and you can faintly smell the aroma of food from the apartment building; the surroundings are filled with the ordinary atmosphere of daily life.