The setting sun near the horizon bathed the rooftop in golden light.
Amid the nearly dazzling hues, Chikada Yumi and Kariya Hayato stood several meters apart, facing each other with expressions more solemn than the other's.
The Utility Knife was raised in midair, its Knife Tip reflecting a cold gleam. Just as it was about to plunge viciously into its target, the door to the Rooftop Terrace suddenly slammed open with a bang.
"Yumi!" Mouri Ran and Suzuki Sonoko rushed in, then froze at the sight before them.
—Contrary to what they had imagined, the one holding the Knife was not "Romeo," but Chikada Yumi standing opposite him.
The girl had wrapped the blade in a handkerchief, as though she did not want to leave fingerprints on it. The Knife Tip pointed toward herself, as if she were about to stab it into her own neck the next second.
Jiang Xia walked past the two terrified female classmates and stepped forward. He glanced at the Knife in Chikada Yumi's hand, his voice unusually sincere. "Life is the most precious treasure. No matter what happens, never commit suicide."
Only when Suzuki Sonoko heard his voice did she snap out of it. She stared at Chikada Yumi in shock, utterly bewildered. "What are you doing, Yumi?"
Mouri Ran had encountered more cases than Suzuki Sonoko since childhood, and she reacted a little faster. She looked at Yumi in disbelief. "Miss Yumi, you... you used us?"
Chikada Yumi clenched her teeth and looked at them with a complicated expression, saying nothing.
Since she would not speak, they could not just keep standing on the Rooftop Terrace waiting for her.
Jiang Xia checked the time and spoke for her. "We had just arrived downstairs at your school today when we 'happened' to see you