I'm Not a Flame-Chaser - Chapter 280

"... What's it to you?" the girl asked expressionlessly.

"Of course it's none of my business, so I'm just watching. You continue." The boy casually stretched his back and loosened his joints. "Were you a victim of domestic violence? Bullied at school? Or... did something happen to your family?"

He had already guessed it when he saw her body tremble.

"Hmph, running away with death, how pathetic." He mocked mercilessly, "Is there really no one in the whole world who still cares about you?"

"I... I don't have... Dad, Mom..."

"Hey, you... hey!"

The boy couldn't keep up his taunting and was scratching the back of his head, about to say something, when he saw a wave engulf the girl. He shouted and lunged forward to the riverbank, grabbing the girl's hand.

"Hmm—"

It took the boy a lot of effort to pull Sakura ashore. He anxiously patted Sakura's face, who was unconscious and still choking on water.

He hasn't learned first aid? Is he drowning?

The boy had no choice but to grit his teeth and press on Sakura's stomach to try and get her to vomit a little. He quickly turned her over so that her upper body was supported on his thighs and she could pour out all the water.

"Sister... Sister..."

A cry drew the attention of the sweating boy, and Sakura's breathing eased upon hearing it. He breathed a sigh of relief and looked with satisfaction at another little girl who was stumbling towards him from afar.

"Hey, did you hear that? There are still people who care about you. Look forward. Being bound by the past is not a sign of being a good person."

"You don't actually want to die, do you? Otherwise, you wouldn't be cooperating like this."

The boy picked up Sakura, comforted Rin for a few words, and then walked forward.

"If you feel like no one in the world cares about you, then remember that I care about you. Although we are strangers, we know each other from today onwards. I am the person in this world who cares about you the most besides your sister."

"My name is Lin, what's yours?"

He laughed heartily, and in the eyes of the girl who had just opened her eyes, he was dazzling.

Dragon Boat Festival Special: The Miko and Zongzi (Part 2)

"Hmm..."

After finishing his Zongzi, Lin went back to sleep. He had lost too much energy and spirit over the past three months, and it would probably take him half a year to recover.

We need to think about what to do next. We can't just stay here with Sakura and never leave, can we?

"Brother Lin..."

"Um?"

The timid voice made Lin, who had just fallen asleep, prop his head up and look at the sliding door in confusion. He saw a pair of shy eyes looking at him through the crack in the door.

"What's wrong, Ring?"

Lin and Ling have a good relationship. Thanks to Lin's ability to attract children and gain their favor, Ling has a great deal of respect for her outspoken and responsible older brother. However, due to her personality, she is never very generous in communicating with others.

"Um... Brother Lin... could you stay a little longer?"

Lin thought she was going to say something, but was this just a child's way of having fun?

He waved his hand casually. "I was planning to stay for a long time anyway."

"No, no... I mean, could you spend more time with my sister? She's been waiting for you to come see her for a long time..."

"..."

Why are these words spoken with such a melancholy tone, carrying such a unique flavor?

Lin thought about it carefully and realized that his relationship with Sakura should be quite normal in Ling's eyes, so he nodded inexplicably. "Oh... okay."

Could it be that he seems exceptionally reliable? Heh heh, that's certainly true... No, I can't think like that. He's not reliable at all; he's just a frivolous idiot.

Lin prayed that no one of the opposite sex would ever define him with overly perfect eyes again; he was fed up with being both a work of art and a toy at the same time.

"Th-that..."

"Is there anything else?"

"Brother Lin, could you... no, no... it's nothing..."

Ling ultimately didn't say anything and quickly fled under Lin's suspicious gaze. He thought about it for a long time but couldn't figure it out. He shrugged indifferently. How could he know what a child was thinking? He had long since stopped having those naive thoughts.

So he went to sleep.

He slept until 10 p. m.

"Hmm..."

Lin was awakened by the scattered light. He rubbed his eyes, walked to the sliding door, opened it, and then the scene in front of him made him stop all his movements.

A girl who had changed out of her Miko outfit into a cherry blossom kimono sat in front of the shrine gate, gazing at the torii gate, and lit a firework in her hand, drawing a graceful trail in the air.

Cherry...?

Lin was a little unsure. The gentle girl with her long hair tied up looked so much like Sakura, but she was more lively and had a more girlish vibe than Sakura.

Is it because she changed out of her Miko outfit?

I don't know, maybe it was just a more natural smile than her usual polite one.

"Lin? You're awake?" Sakura noticed the figure beside her. She turned around, and a cherry blossom floating in the fireworks brushed past her face. The gentle breeze whistled through the unburnt fireworks.

"... I want to sleep but I can't."

"Did I disturb you?"

"It's hurting my eyes."

Sakura couldn't help but chuckle as she handed Lin a firework. Lin took it without a second thought and used it to light his own.

"Call out--"

Two bright flowers bloom under the stars.

Lin leaned against the torii gate, quietly gazing at the city night view outside the dense forest. Perhaps the only geographical advantage this shrine on the mountainside has is the ability to see the mortal world from a different perspective.

Soon, the fireworks burned out, and he watched as a wisp of white smoke rose from the charred burner and dissipated into the night.

"Five years have passed without me even realizing it." Sakura looked up at the sky with a sigh, her white neck protruding from her kimono. "I've discovered that I was indeed very fragile back then, and now... well, pretty much the same."

"... I think you're already better than most people."

Lin showed a look of disgust. "Some men I know are self-centered. They think the world should revolve around them, and all women should like them. If a girl next to them talks to someone else, does that mean she's cheating on them? Two women standing together are yuri, and two men standing together are gay. And they even have to offer their 'wise opinions,' banishing anything that doesn't suit their taste. It's just too..."

"... But I heard you said at school that all girls should like you."

"That just proves I'm brain-dead."

Lin stood with his hands on his hips, self-righteously declaring, "I am a typical example of someone who is self-centered. I possess all the characteristics of a brain-dead person, so am I the epitome of a brain-dead person?"

Sakura paused for a moment, then chuckled, "Really... Actually, you're not self-centered at all, because someone who's truly self-centered to the extreme wouldn't come to the above conclusion."

"And I think... there really should be a lot of people who like you..."

"What did you say?"

Lin didn't hear her last, extremely faint sentence.

"It's nothing, Lin. Could you help me wrap some Zongzi? I need them for breakfast tomorrow."

"Huh? Oh..."

But isn't tomorrow morning no longer the Dragon Boat Festival?

Lin was a little confused, but didn't say anything. He followed Sakura into the kitchen, where Sakura brought out glutinous rice, mugwort, bamboo leaves, and string...

The two chatted as they wrapped Zongzi. Lin had some experience wrapping Zongzi, so it was no problem for him.

"We're out of rope, I'll go get some more," Sakura said after putting another Zongzi in the basket.

"Okay, sure," Lin replied without looking up.

"..."

"..."

Ten minutes.

Twenty minutes.

Lin frowned as he stood up. Why did Ying go inside and not come out?

He didn't have time to think much before he went inside—

"..."

Lin and Ying looked at each other, their eyes meeting in stark contrast: his shock and Ying's shyness.

Sakura...

"I... I didn't mean to..."

Sakura's entire body was tightly bound with ropes, a perfect way of binding her like Zongzi, the red ropes passing through some strange places, making her figure look exceptionally alluring.

How careless must one be to end up like this?

Her face flushed, and she shook her head vigorously, but the more she struggled, the more delicious her rosy skin, pressed down by the rope, looked.

At this moment, Lin suddenly had an idea.

Sakura, isn't she a good girl?

Logically speaking, many people should like a girl like Sakura and want to... possess her, right?

Now, he has a good opportunity.

Sakura must have had a lot of feelings for him, and he did indeed think that Sakura was better than the girls around him.

If others can do that kind of thing to him, can't he do it too?

The demon in my heart whispers quietly.

To vent the humiliation of the past three months, if it were Sakura... if it were...

All he had to do was reach out and stroke her smooth cheek, just as Prometheus and Mobius had taught him how to caress a girl...

Someone has already done it, so is it reasonable for him to do the same thing?

Wrong!

Lin's pupils suddenly narrowed.

He can't do that, otherwise how would that be different from what Prometheus and Mobius did?

He's not that kind of person.

"Wait a moment."

Lin immediately turned around to get scissors and helped Ying cut the rope. He smiled at Ying, sweating profusely.

Great, that way...

"Why?"

"Huh?"

Sakura's voice lowered.

Why can't I do it?

She raised her eyes, and although the shy expression still lingered, there was something more complex and unfathomable about her.

"Sakura? What are you talking about?"

"I should have been able to make a move easily, right? But why did you..."

"Because..." Lin looked at her, puzzled, "Because we're friends... I can't do the same thing to you as they did..."

"But I want to."

"..."

I can't understand it.

This was beyond Lin's comprehension.

His brain went blank when he heard those words.