Every Day to Come

"Next... I don't know where the Exostrider will take me... but if I could do it all over again, I'd like to visit the cities Nastassia mentioned, to get to know a place without Exostrider Magnetic Storm and Little Riling."

"Maybe I'll try learning a different subject, try sleeping in different classes, and try all the different cakes in every cafeteria I visit..."

"Then, no matter how many times, I will return to Lahai-Roi, back to your side."

"The next time we meet, the real me will replace all the 'I hate' I keep saying with 'I like'."

It's raining.

Large raindrops pounded down with the rumble of thunder, turning the entire campus into their playground.

This kind of weather is perfect for sleeping, but Dania isn't feeling sleepy at all right now.

Hmm... Lynae and Aemeath can play badminton indoors, and rainy days won't hinder their training. Iuno and Augusta might become their practice partners.

Chisa went to be Professor Morning's teaching assistant. With these two cool and cute girls teaching together, I'm afraid many people's minds won't be on the class.

As for Lupa... she might be a little frustrated, since with such heavy rain, she can't run freely on the playground and can only stay in the classroom daydreaming.

Sigrika might take this opportunity to take some nice photos? After all, she's a member of the photography club now, so it's a piece of cake for her.

Dania stared blankly at the rain outside the window for a long time, then suddenly, for no apparent reason, the corners of her mouth curled up in a smile.

Ugh... honestly, I can't believe I even have the time to think about these kinds of trivial things...

In her original life trajectory, she always lived each day as if it were her last, never expecting anything from tomorrow, since it would all be the same monotonous routine of going between two points, and thinking about these things was meaningless.

But now, she can, like everyone else, begin to silently look forward to what tomorrow will bring.

And the culprit that caused her change of heart...

Dania looked at Xiao Ling, who was sleeping on the table with his headphones on, and couldn't help but smile.

Sitting down made it difficult to observe this sleeping villain, so Dania simply lay down on the table and kept staring at the sleeping Xiao Ling.

It was a boring activity, but Dania didn't feel that way. She could lie there and watch Xiao Ling sleep for an entire afternoon.

That said, was he wearing headphones simply to block out noise or to listen to music to help him sleep?

To investigate this question, Dania quickly took action, quietly removing Xiao Ling's right earphone and then putting it into her own ear.

"Om da la, du da la, du la namo ha la ho la, hum, ha la, so ha!"

Dania frowned. What on earth was Hajiling hearing? Scripture?

That was bad enough, but the worst part was that he played it incredibly loudly. Dania was so shocked by the sound that she immediately pulled out her headphones and put them on the table.

(Don't listen to music at full volume with your headphones; it's bad for your ears. Good kids shouldn't do this.)

Perhaps startled by Dania's actions, Xiao Ling frowned twice, then got up from the table and rubbed his face to try to wake himself up.

There weren't any particularly important classes today, so he comfortably stayed up late again last night and came to school to sleep during the day.

"Want to listen to music with me?" Xiao Ling asked with a light laugh when he saw his earphones on the table next to Dania.

"I'm just curious why you wear headphones to bed." Dania rubbed her ears, then asked with a hint of displeasure, "Couldn't you turn the volume down a bit? It's so loud it hurts my ears. Are you sure you're okay with this?"

"That's how it is in high school, I'm used to it." Xiao Ling subtly turned down the volume on her headphones. "So, want to listen to my playlist?"

Dania didn't respond; she simply put the earphones back into her ears.

Xiao Ling curled the corners of her lips and began searching through her playlist. Before long, she found a suitable song.

The chanting of scriptures abruptly stopped, replaced by a slightly melancholic male voice.

"Goodbye, I won't be back tomorrow."

"This is my last wish for you."

Although the singing had a slightly melancholic tone, it did not evoke sadness; instead, it was all the more warm and touching, like seeing a field of sunflowers under a warm spring day.

"Not bad taste," Dania said softly, indicating her approval of the song.

"Right? Actually, it's been a while since I've heard this song either," Xiao Ling reminisced. "From junior high to high school, I didn't have many friends. On weekends, besides doing odd jobs to earn some extra money, I only had games and anime to pass the time."

"I first heard this song while watching an anime, and I thought it was really good, so I added it to my playlist. Whenever I'm feeling down, I listen to it a few times, and then I feel like life is full of hope again."

"Later on, I listened to more and more songs, and this song ended up gathering dust on my playlist. Now, when I take it out to revisit it, it still feels the same. Oh my, it makes me want to rewatch that anime series."

"Then take me with you?" Dania said to Xiao Ling with a smirk.

"Don't fall asleep while reading, okay?"

Dania rolled her eyes at him, then took his phone and started browsing through her playlist.

"How about we play a game?" Dania looked at Xiao Ling's playlist and suddenly had a good idea.

"What game?" Xiao Ling asked, intrigued.

"I'll request a song from your playlist, and then you have to tell me about your experience of encountering that song." Dania's beautiful eyes fluttered twice.

What if I can't answer that?

If I can't answer, I'll just make another of my favorite dishes tonight!

"Okay, I accept the challenge."

"Okay, I'm going to start now~"

Dania randomly selected a song, and the light yet melancholic guitar music began to play in Xiao Ling's headphones, followed by a mature male voice singing.

"Mama always told me not to run."

"Don't you run with scissors, son."

"You're going to hurt someone."

"Ah, this song..." Xiao Ling recalled, "I remember I hadn't even finished junior high school yet. I heard it by chance on the movie channel, thought it was nice, so I searched for it and listened to it on and off until now..."

The song selection game between the two proceeded smoothly.

Dania kept switching songs with great enthusiasm, while Xiao Ling recounted her story with the song.

Sometimes he wouldn't be able to answer, and Dania would secretly smile to herself and make a note of it, then listen to the song with him until the next one.

The sound of the rain, which had been like a drumbeat, gradually became a light drizzle, but their little game was far from over.

Perhaps they'll wait until the rain completely stops before ending this unique song request game? But who knows?