Just as things were about to spiral completely out of control, Lin Mu hurried forward and stepped between the two girls, interrupting them loudly:
"Wait!" (Chotto matte!)
His voice wasn't loud, but both girls instinctively looked at him.
Lin Mu took a deep breath. The lollipop in his mouth crunched as he bit down on it.
"Why don't we find somewhere to sit and talk this out, okay?"
He pointed toward a stone table and benches in the distance.
"If we keep standing here facing off, I feel like I've become an NPC in your game."
(Am I part of your game too?)
There was a hint of helplessness in his voice, even a little self-mockery, but unexpectedly, it eased the tension.
Chihiro Shiranami sniffled and nodded.
Ichinose also took the opportunity to breathe a sigh of relief and gave Lin Mu a grateful look.
The three of them walked over to the stone table and sat down.
Lin Mu didn't sit. He leaned against the nearby tree trunk, hands in his pockets.
Watching Chihiro Shiranami continue to cry, he decided to clear everything up once and for all.
"Shiranami," he said bluntly, "don't get the wrong idea. Ichinose asked me to come and pretend to be her boyfriend."
Chihiro Shiranami froze, and her tears stopped at once.
She blinked, looking at Ichinose in confusion, then at Lin Mu.
"P-pretend?"
"That's right." Lin Mu nodded. "She got your letter and didn't know how to turn you down. She was afraid of hurting you, so she came up with this terrible idea: have me pretend to be her boyfriend so you'd give up."
He paused, his tone serious.
"But I knew that wasn't right, so I didn't agree."
At that, Ichinose Honami complained softly beside them, hurt in her voice.
"Lin