It didn't take long for the bus to arrive at the station.

"Alright, it's almost time for me to go back."

"Ah, it's hard, you have to go home to take care of Ye Ya, it's hard."

"That's it......"

Yasuno stood up, and the bass of the wheel engine was heard on the other side of the road.

The silence of a winter morning is cut through by the sound that it seems that the bus has come in.

Frankly speaking, Xia Jing is really tired.

He planned to go home first, get some sleep, and then think about what to do in the future.

Xia Jing let out a long sigh of determination.

"Hey, Xia Jing......"

"Well, what's wrong?"

Xia Jing turned his head and looked at Anya, who called his name.

An Ye said: "Actually, I don't know whether to tell you or not. ”

Anno said in an extraordinarily serious, I should say, very heavy voice.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

Xia Jing caught a glimpse of the shadow of the bus out of the corner of his eye at this time.

It will drive in about a minute.

Anno seemed hesitant and pursed his lips.

Xia Jing urged her with her eyes, but Anye still bowed his head and remained silent.

The bus stopped behind Natsukyung and Anno and opened the door.

"Ah, the car is coming, then I'll get in the car first."

The next bus had to wait another thirty minutes. If there is something to ask in person next time, Xia Jing, who gave up, raised his hand to say goodbye to An Ye, stepped on the stairs and walked into the car.

And so—no, yet......

Anno said something as if he had made up his mind.

Xia Jing listened to it word for word.

"Huh......?"

I couldn't help but ask questions, and the door closed with a sound of air pressure.

Outside the car window, Yasuno lowered his head again.

The bus moves slowly.

Xia Jing was stunned.

In the countryside scenery that began to flow and the bus carrying only a few sparse old people, Xia Jing couldn't even find a place to sit on the empty seats, but the pestle didn't move in front of the entrance.

"Hey...... Wait a minute......"

Although Xia Jing thought it was a joke, it shouldn't be.

"Don't make a fuss...... Right? ”

It makes sense.

…… The question of why Ye Ya suddenly proposed to be her husband last night was also solved.

Anno couldn't believe what he said at the beginning. That's no wonder, because Yaya, who Anno knows, is not a girl who can say that kind of thing.

The reason is that the deer clan that has transplanted the head will be affected by the original body owner-

Xia Jing couldn't stand it anymore and squatted down in place.

It's really not a joke. Since yesterday, there have been twists and turns and bizarre farces, and all of a sudden I have been forced to listen to a bunch of ridiculous inside stories, which is enough to confuse myself, and now I have made up for it......

Obviously, my head can't bear the load and explodes.

It's almost overwhelmed.

That's why I decided to look at the list given by Anno later.

Why—why is the final end the most painful?

“…… It's too much. ”

How Xia Jing wished that he had heard it wrong behind his ear.

But that's exactly what Anno just said.

"Classmate Fang Yuan, she seems to like Xia Jing."

……

In the past, there was a classmate Fang Yuan who was not close.

However, coincidentally, she also had a painful experience similar to herself. So I always feel that if the friendship becomes more familiar in the future, then it is also a good thing that they can share their feelings about similar situations with each other.

For Xia Jing, the feeling for her is nothing more than that.

In Xia Jing's eyes, she was just an ordinary classmate who had never been aware of the opposite sex, at most she just thought that it would be better to have as much smile on her face as possible.

But one day she died without warning.

This alone already made Xia Jing at a loss - but after that, he also learned from others that "she actually likes you".

It doesn't get any worse than that.

Throughout Saturday, Xia Jing's mind was full of distracting thoughts.

I remember that every time I went to borrow a notebook from her, she was ashamed to say that her words were ugly.

Her words weren't ugly at all. Although it is not a good handwriting that will make people look at it again and again, at least it is neat and refreshing and looks comfortable. But she must be embarrassed to say that every time, right? Xia Jing's unintentional trust is a very important thing for her.

Usually when she was in class, she must have thought that Xia Jing might come to borrow notes and try to copy the key points. If this were not the case, such thoughts could be laughed off with "narcissistic excess". But that object is no longer alive. The guilt of being afraid that the other party had really worked so hard for himself overshadowed Xia Jing's original mood.

I thought about asking her out on Friday.

Xia Jing is just verbose. However, the shock caused by that invitation to her was probably a earth-shaking level. With her introverted and fearful personality, it stands to reason that she should have rejected the invitation a long time ago. But she said, "Please let me think about Monday," because she was hesitant to go.

There is only one reason, because it is an invitation made by a sweetheart.

When exchanging phone numbers, she smiled a little shy and embarrassed.

Why didn't you find out at the time? She would be so happy to say that Xia Jing was "the second person after Lizi besides her family", not because she lamented that she had no friends, but because in terms of Fang Yuan's status, Xia Jing was an important and Lizi—a precious relative and friend who had been so depressed that she could no longer take the initiative to make other friends since her disappearance.

But she probably didn't expect that she would call that person for help later.

Maybe she was hesitant on the phone. Although I don't know when Fang Yuan started being bullied and how she has been bullied. However, that day, she may have encountered a situation where she couldn't grit her teeth silently to survive the bullying, so she dialed with her mobile phone in her pocket. Dial the valuable number that was logged in just a few minutes ago.

What made Xia Jing even more painful was ......

As soon as he imagined that if Fang Yuan was still alive, and then one day he would confess to himself because of some chance in the impossible future, Xia Jing felt a feeling of helplessness.

I'm afraid I'll be happy, but I'll reject her.

Although Xia Jing doesn't hate her, he doesn't have feelings for her, but only a sense of commonality and closeness generated by sympathy. He can't teach himself from a different perspective that he wants to say, "Anyway, everyone has confessed to him, why don't you try to date first", that kind of rash decision can only be done by a guy who doesn't refuse to come or an adult who is better at falling in love.

On Saturday and Sunday, Xia Jing was thinking about nothing more than these things.

Not a single tear flowed.

However, the courage to check Fang Yuan's mobile phone hosted by Anye did not replace tears.

Presumably, there must have been several messages from my parents saved in the voicemail box, just like when Xia Jing's sister disappeared. Her parents must now be very worried about their daughter, who has not returned home for a long time, and the phone is dialed again and again.

Ever since Fang Yuan disappeared from the world, her sense of existence had swelled in Xia Jing's heart.

- Every time.

It doesn't matter when my sister goes missing, or when Pear goes missing. Everything that they were completely unaware of while they were still there was revealed by their disappearance. What they have said and done to them in the past, what they have said and done to themselves, all come to mind one by one.

I can't help but think about the ridiculous things like "whether that is like that, whether it is like this, whether it is like this, if I knew that it was like that, if I did it this way", and it is also because it is irreparable that I will keep thinking about it.

But no matter how annoyed Xia Jing is, time still waits for no one.

The weekend passed in the blink of an eye, and Monday came without mercy.

Xia Jing was not in the mood to go to school at all.

Although there are many reasons, the point is that he can't see that there is no one in the gray plain's position and still maintain a normal heart.

It is possible that the school has already received the news of Fang Yuan's disappearance. If that's the case, the class guide should announce this at the morning class meeting, right? At that time, the class will definitely make a fuss about this matter. In the past, when it was good, no one cared about it, but once the person disappeared and died, it immediately became the center of everyone's conversation, which is really ironic and makes people want to vomit. He didn't want to be in the classroom at all.

Despite this, Xia Jing decided to go to school.

The reason is very superficial, just to protect oneself. Sooner or later, the police will follow the line to find out that Fang Yuan's last contact object before losing her whereabouts is herself. It is not difficult to imagine that based on this fact alone, he will be arrested and searched for eight generations of ancestors. For the sake of that time, it is safer not to let people catch the guilt of taking leave and not coming to class at the same time.

Monday has finally arrived. Xia Jing got up as usual, changed into a uniform as usual, and put on a coat as usual, only when the mood was different from usual, he left the house.

At the same time, I felt an inexplicable sense of guilt for Ashbara's mobile phone hidden in the desk drawer in the room.

As expected, the class guide announced that Fang Yuan had not been home since Friday night, and that if anyone knew of her whereabouts, please contact her immediately. This topic suddenly became a fever in the class. Although this development is as expected by Xia Jing, the mood is still depressed.

The cause of depression is not just Fang Yuan's problem.

Natsuei, who returned home on Saturday, confirmed the note given by Anno. Listed above is a list of the classes and names of the deer people who attended this school. Although none of the names of the people who should be careful in the Prosperity Sect knew the names, this sect Xia Jing breathed a sigh of relief for the time being, but-

In the list of "Friendly to Humanity", the names of the classmates appeared.

“…… Hey, Ajing. ”

As soon as the class meeting ended, Li Qi came to Xia Jing's seat.

"I've heard Anno say it."

"Ahh

After Xia nodded her head, her face, which usually seemed to have an empty head, sank slightly, and lowered her voice: "Fang Yuan, she ...... How to say it. ”

- yes, that's it.

I thought it was a girl with little roots, but I didn't expect it to be a human being.

"So, I ......"

"Don't look like that's not for you, stupid."

Xia Jing smiled faintly at Li Qi, who had an expression of "I'm sorry I kept it from you".

"Well, frankly, I do have parts that I don't know how to deal with."

Having said that, even superficial efforts won't help, so Xia Jing chose to answer honestly.

If you ask Xia Jing if his impression of Anye and Li Qi has changed after knowing the facts, then the answer is yes. But on the other hand, Xia Jing also thinks that even if he changes his attitude towards them, he can't do anything. No matter what, they have been in the same class for a year, and their relationship is also good, so it is impossible to turn their faces and deny people all at once.

"Thank you, Xia Jing, you are so kind."

Li Qi said this, looking really happy. Because Xia Jing was embarrassed by the smile in front of him, he replied, "I'm just nervous." Yasuno said the same about me. ”

"Hey—no—Xia Jing, you're very nice."

"What do you do next? Do you want to take a leave of absence? ”

Natsu Jing asked a question that he had asked Anno on Saturday night. Anno didn't come to class today. Yesterday she sent a text message saying that she and Ye Ya had another urgent matter or something.

Li Qi shook his head, revealing a somewhat playful expression.

"Nope. Anye and Ye Yaye told me to keep an eye on you. ”

"Stare at me?"

"Of course, it's not just about you, it's also about the school. Because I don't know what kind of tricks the prosperous people will do...... It's just that there are still a few people who come to school today. ”

Xia Jing originally wanted to take advantage of the lunch break to confirm the appearance of the prosperous faction first, and if they all asked for leave, they would run away in vain.

“…… Actually, I don't want to do that. People who are related to each other are incompatible with each other, and that feeling is annoying, right? ”

Li Qi, who had a melancholy face, made Xia Jing feel a little reassured.

- Ahhhhh

Likes to live each day carefree and hates sinister atmospheres and struggles. Her image doesn't shake the fact that she's not human.

"Haven't you ever had a fight in your clan before?"

"It seems that there was a similar incident before we were born. The elder sister of the patriarch back then...... That is, Ye Ya's aunt, she thinks that all human creatures will be wiped out. However, the people of the time spoke out in unison, and in the end the man was reportedly exiled and killed. ”

"Really......"

Since it's the patriarch's sister, it should be a member of the family, and it should have been the inheritor. If there had been a mistake at that time, the deer clan might have already split. The situation of the clan is more complicated than he imagined, Xia Jing thought to himself.

However, as time went on, the number of children became smaller and smaller. So the people who advocated the same idea came out again. They felt that as long as they multiplied more recklessly to increase the population, the problem would be gone, and the patriarch, Ye Ya's mother, strongly objected and suppressed the noise, but ......"

It may be normal for radical opinions to resurge.

If you have been living in the narrow interpersonal relationship of a hidden village deep in the mountains, the friction will only become more and more intense with time. In this sense, they are not much different from this town.

"People who have been holding this idea in the past don't mention it, and there are families who decided to attach themselves to the prosperity faction because of the fire. In addition, there are also girls who are attached to each other because their parents or fiancés are prosperous. Among them are also the girls who used to have a good relationship with us...... Why did this happen? ”

Li Qi pursed his lips as if in pain.