Hayabusa Kimura deliberately chose a store with few customers.

When Shinji Yoshihara came to the second floor, he immediately saw Hayata Kimura sitting at a table in the corner.

Hayata Kimura, who had been paying attention to the staircase, also saw the other party, and he quickly got up and waved at Shinji Yoshihara.

"Shinji, here."

"Hayabusa ......"

Shinji Yoshihara walked to the table with a smile on his face, "It's been a long time. ”

"yes, it's been a long time...... It feels like I just left Morito yesterday, and it's been so long since I came back to my senses. Kimura Hayabusa said with some emotion.

Yoshihara Shinji stared at the young man in front of him with his eyes and did not answer.

He turned his head to look at the staircase.

"Where's Mari?"

Hayabusa Kimura followed his gaze.

I didn't see Mari's figure, and Shinji told him on the phone that Mari would come with him.

"She's going to the bathroom, let me come up to see you first."

Shinji Yoshihara withdrew his gaze.

"I didn't expect you and Mari to become husband and wife." Hayabusa Kimura stretched out his hand and motioned for Shinji Yoshihara to sit down and said, "I didn't see any clues at all before, when did it start?" ”

Looking at Shinji Yoshihara, who was sitting opposite, Hayabusa Kimura had a lot to say and ask.

But when the words came to his mouth, he unconsciously began to think about it.

He tried not to touch what had happened in the past two years, and there were some things that could be avoided unless the other party mentioned them in person.

"It's not so much about when it started, it's about always liking it, but I didn't dare to show my heart at that time." Yoshihara Shinji whispered.

"Huh? Why speak in such a small voice? ”

Hayaya Kimura picked up the kettle, poured water into the cup, and placed it in front of Shinji Yoshihara.

If he hadn't happened to come over by himself, he might not have been able to hear what Shinji Yoshihara said.

Shinji Yoshihara took the water: "Ah, get used to it, now like this?" ”

"Yes ......"

After Hayabusa Kimura sat down, he suddenly noticed a few deep wrinkles on Yoshihara Shinji's forehead.

There are a lot of gray hairs on his head, which are very eye-catching.

His gaze suddenly froze, and an inexplicable feeling rose from his heart.

"I heard that Hayabusa became a big director in Tokyo, and I thought it was just a person with the same name when I heard a colleague in the library mention it, but I didn't expect it to be Hayabusa."

Shinji Yoshihara held the water glass on the table with both hands, and sat very upright.

"I'm not a big director, I'm just getting started...... Speaking of which, if I hadn't gone to the library, I wouldn't have known where Shinji worked......"

Hayabusa Kimura spoke very slowly, and he was afraid that he would accidentally say something.

And I was afraid that I wouldn't say anything, which made Shinji feel alienated.

"The work in the library is relatively leisurely, and although I don't make much money, I still have enough money."

"However, I remember that Shinji has always loved reading, and a job in the library is a good fit for you." Hayabusa Kimura said with a smile.

"I don't like it that much now, I haven't seen ......it for a long time," Shinji Yoshihara shook his head, picked up the water glass on the table and took a slightly restrained sip, "It's just that the work there doesn't take too much time." ”

"This, that's it."

Hayabusa Kimura nodded, is it just because it doesn't take too much time......

Even if Yoshihara Shinji didn't say it, he could probably guess that Shinji was to leave more time to accompany Mari.

"Mari, she's been making some music, Hayabusa should know, right? Mari later went to a music vocational school......"

Yoshihara Shinji was stunned, as if he was afraid that the other party would not know what he said.

"You know, I hadn't left Morido at that time, have you forgotten about it?" Hayabusa Kimura pretended to be speechless.

Listening to Hayabusa Kimura's rhetorical question, Shinji Yoshihara finally showed a relaxed smile on his face.

"I'm just afraid that it's been too long, and you don't remember."

"Actually, it's only been a few years." Hayabusa Kimura said with a smile, "I'm not that guy Ryoyasu, someone who can forget even the start date of school." ”

"Ah, it was reported in the afternoon of the first semester in the middle school, and no matter how long it has been, Liangtai's incident is still memorable." Shinji Yoshihara couldn't help but laugh along.

The two talked about what happened together in their memories, and they both had knowing smiles on their faces.

In an instant, the atmosphere that was still a little stiff suddenly became relaxed.

Shinji is not as straightforward as Ryotai, and what has happened in the past year has made the conversation between Hayabusa Kimura and Shinji Yoshihara seem like they are hiding something.

When the laughter passed, Shinji Yoshihara's expression became much more natural.

He let go of the cup in his hand and swallowed hard, "A lot has happened in the past few years...... Lots and lots ......."

Here we go.

Hayabusa Kimura sat up straight suddenly, if nothing else.

What Shinji is going to talk about next is what happened to him and Mari in the past.

Just as Shinji Yoshihara was silent for a moment and was about to speak, the mobile phone in his pocket rang with the sound of a message prompt.

Almost subconsciously, Shinji Yoshihara quickly pulled out his phone and checked the message.

With such a skillful appearance, Hayabusa Kimura couldn't help but be stunned.

Yoshihara Shinji clicked on the message, and it was sent by Ma Haircut.

Mari [I'm very happy today, and I'm going to entertain Hayabusa well, but I really don't have the courage...... I'll go back first. 】

Shinji Yoshihara suddenly stood up from his chair and looked nervously out of the window for a moment.

He was about to step away when he suddenly stopped again.

Hayaya Kimura also stood up, "What's going on?" ”

Shinji Yoshihara shook his head.

"I'm sorry Hayabusa, Mari said she had already gone back, and I was afraid that something would happen to her, so I went back first...... I'm sorry. ”

This time, Shinji's voice was fast, with a thick panic and apology in his voice.

Mari went back?

Hayabusa Kimura looked stunned at first, and then understood.

"I'm with you."

"......"

"It's important to make sure Mari hasn't gone back first."

Hayabusa Kimura said seriously.

Shinji Yoshihara opened his mouth, but didn't say anything.

Nodding silently, he led Hayaya Kimura towards the outside of the store.

………………………………………………

In the dimly lit house, Mari Yoshihara leaned his back against the door, and it took a long time for the rapid breathing under the mask to gradually calm down.

She ran back......

He ran back the way he came.

Shinji was right, that place was really not that far from home.

Mari was still scared, and the moment Shinji Yoshihara walked out of the door.

She was already panicking, her mind unconsciously fantasizing about going to the store.

Let her childhood playmate see how terrifying she is now, although Shinji Yoshihara assures her that she will only talk to Hayaya Kimura and leave.

But she still couldn't contain her panic.

She couldn't imagine Hayabusa Kimura's shocked look when she saw her, or how embarrassed Shinji was in front of his former friends.

Even if she knew that Shinji wouldn't care about that.

But she cares very much in her heart.

She didn't want Shinji to be so lost all the time, and she panicked to be seen by her friends about her suffering.

In the end, it is inevitable to choose to escape.

Mari Yoshihara had tears in the corners of her eyes, and she felt uncomfortable for her incompetence.

She reached for her phone and opened the chat box with Shinji Yoshihara.

Slowly press your fingers across the screen.

After typing a long text, she pressed the button to send the message hard.

The sending of the message seemed to take away the last shred of courage in Mari Yoshihara's heart, and she squatted aggrievedly at the entrance.

Tears rolled down her cheeks.

She hates her current self, disappointing those who love her again and again, and leaving her former friends out in the cold.

I don't dare to convince myself how many times, but in the end I will only run away like a waste.

In the darkness, Mari Yoshihara's head was buried deep in her arms.

………………………………………………

Far away, Hayabusa Kimura saw the house without any light.

His heart chuckled, and a bad thought rose from his mind.

No, Mari hasn't gone back yet.

He looked at Shinji Yoshihara on the side with some nervousness.

But.

As they approached, they heard the sound of a piano coming from the house.

The sound of the piano is not loud, and you can only hear it a little when you get closer.

Shinji Yoshihara, who had been running wildly all the way, suddenly stopped.

"Huh?" Hayabusa Kimura stood on the steps of the doorway and looked back at Shinji Yoshihara suspiciously.

"Mari, she's back."

Shinji Yoshihara looked up at a room with thick curtains drawn and shook his head.

"Is this a marry?" Hayabusa Kimura reacted.

"Hmm."

Shinji Yoshihara came back to his senses and walked to the steps in front of the door and sat down.

"Don't you go in?"

"Let her be alone, she has been through enough today."

Hayabusa Kimura looked at the door in front of him, and then at Shinji Yoshihara, who was sitting on the steps.

Finally, he sat down next to Shinji Yoshihara.

"You already knew...... "Shinji Yoshihara asked suddenly.

Kimura Hayabusa's expression froze, and he hesitated: "What do you know?" ”

"My affair with Mari." Shinji Yoshihara paused slightly and added, "From Ryotai, he should have told you everything." ”

Hayabusa Kimura frowned.

"Did Ryotai tell you?"

"I guess, I haven't seen Liangtai for a long time."

Shinji Yoshihara shook his head with a smile.

"I'm sorry. It's just that I haven't thought about it at the time......"

"How do you meet us? After all, the contact information and address have been changed, you should have called them all, and then found that only Liangtai can get through. ”

Shinji Yoshihara turned his head to look at Hayaya Kimura, and then finished the other party's words.

Somehow, at this time, Yoshihara Shinji seemed to suddenly let go.

There is no longer the slightest nervousness in the store.

Maybe it's because it's confirmed that Mari stays at home.

"So you know everything?" Hayabusa Kimura was a little speechless.

"Well, from the time you called me, you said that you couldn't get through to call us before, maybe you remembered the wrong phone number. It's not like you haven't made that call before, since you called us, why didn't you call Liangtai, there are too many loopholes. ”

Shinji Yoshihara took a deep breath.

"I knew you knew that you wouldn't have had so much trouble thinking about it just now." Hayabusa Kimura rubbed the bridge of his nose, "But ...... I'm also afraid that you're saying this because you're breaking with what you used to be. ”

"Thank you."

"Huh? Thanks for what? Hayabusa Kimura looked at Shinji Yoshihara on the side with a stunned expression.

"If it weren't for your words, Mari wouldn't be going out today. This is the third time she's been out of the house since moving here. ”

Shinji Yoshihara remembers everything about Mari very well.

Three times......

Hayabusa Kimura was too silent.

Although he had already thought that Mari's state might not be very good, from Yoshihara Shinji's mouth, Mari's state might be more serious than he thought.

"Liangtai and I don't talk much......"

"That fire destroyed all of Mari, Mari just graduated, and there are many, many things that have not been completed, and it is because of that fire that Mari has become what she is now......"

Shinji Yoshihara's eyes were slightly red, and his Adam's apple was constantly stirring.

It's like suddenly grabbing something.

He began to talk about all the things that had happened in the past year.

confided in his former friends.

……

"Our two families are still neighbors, but when the fire broke out, I didn't find anything, and by the time I found out, it was already ...... If I had found out earlier, everything could have been avoided, and Mari's life wouldn't have turned out to be what it is now, she hadn't laughed in a long time......"

Shinji Yoshihara's hand clutched his hair, as if to punish his incompetence with that moment of pain.

"Shinji, that's not your fault."

“……”

Mari began to become sensitive, and she shrank herself in the room, not seeing anyone, there was no light in the room...... The people who came to the door scared Mari and we changed our contact details and moved here......"

“……”

"I work in the library, and the job there is very easy and allows me to spend more time with Mari. Mari said she wanted to be a music teacher, but she couldn't do what she wanted to do anymore......"

“……”

"Why is God so unfair, let Mari suffer such injustice, she loves music, she loves to deal with children, everything is deprived, there is nothing, she only has that piano, she ......"

“……”

Speaking of which, Shinji Yoshihara was speechless.

He didn't know what to say, and the great sadness made it impossible for him to continue.

But he also pretty much talked about the past year.

Those were words that had been buried deep in Shinji's heart for so long.

Hayabusa Kimura listened quietly until Shinji Yoshihara stopped speaking in pain.

He spoke.

"Mari still has you, Shinji, Mari's life is not all destroyed, she still has the people who love her the most in the world."

Shinji Yoshihara didn't speak, just looked at him with stunned eyes.

"Think about why Mari came out today, Shinji ......"

………………………………………………

As Hayata Kimura prepares to leave, a new piano tune plays in the house.

It is as clear as a snow, drifting in the wind, and the low melody carries infinite sorrow.

Hayabusa Kimura's footsteps suddenly stopped, and his eyes looked at the house behind him in surprise.

It was still pitch black glass, and I couldn't see it clearly.

The sound of the piano is still there.

Hayabusa Kimura hurriedly took out his mobile phone and clicked on the phone's recording function before the melody ended.

The night was dark.

He stood by the wall outside the house, ignoring the strange gazes of passers-by on the road, holding his mobile phone to record the sound of the piano wafting from the house.

For a moment, Hayata Kimura felt the blood in his body begin to flow rapidly.

The words that Shinji Yoshihara had just said sounded in his head, and the fire destroyed Mari's life.

Mari's life was not destroyed by that fire, and hope remains. (End of chapter)