Dating sim loading: My girlfriend is a cunning young lady
Chapter 332 - 167. School Trip (16)_2

Chapter 332: 167. School Trip (16)_2

Kiyono Lin said with a smile, "I’m not blaming you, after all, it has nothing to do with you."

The two walked to the front of the reeds, and Dubian Che sat down on an old bench. He patted the extra space beside him, signaling Kiyono Lin to also sit down.

Pressing down on her pleated skirt, Kiyono Lin sat next to him in a very ladylike manner.

The two sat under the shade of the trees, shoulder to shoulder, watching the endlessly flowing Uji River for a while.

"I think the problem is not you," Dubian Che said, "You’re inherently different from them, you’re a flower that blooms in the wrong season."

"The wrong season?"

"The focus should be on the flower, right?" Dubian Che looked at her, "I really like you... your personality."

Kiyono Lin rested her chin on her hand, smiling mischievously and cheerfully: "Can you tell me separately?"

"Don’t even think about it, I like Meiji." After a decisive rejection, Dubian Che’s gaze returned to the Uji River, "I thought you’d be quite negative right now, but you can still joke around."

"The world isn’t gentle to those who are negative, Mr. Dubian."

"You have a point, I’ve learned something new," Dubian Che nodded earnestly.

He wanted to say some comforting words, but Kiyono Lin was not so weak as to need comfort, and she wasn’t sharing this with him to elicit his sympathy.

Moreover, he had never had the same experience, and no matter how he tried to empathize, the comfort he offered would always be somewhat removed.

A gentle breeze passed by, and the leaves overhead rustled softly.

A leaf, red through and through, fell onto Kiyono Lin’s lap.

She gently picked up the leaf and, facing the sunlight squeezing through the trees, said in a voice deep as a clear spring stream:

"The wind has risen, should I try hard to survive? No, there’s no need to do so."

Suddenly, Dubian Che felt sorrow. He realized Kiyono Lin’s past was not just what she had mentioned just now.

He picked up a leaf that was still somewhat intact from the ground.

"It is precisely because of the decay of these maple leaves that, come next spring, this place will be filled with even more beautiful cherry blossoms."

Kiyono Lin smiled and withdrew the hand holding the maple leaf.

"I just suddenly remembered that phrase, Mr. Dubian, you don’t have to rush to comfort me."

"...I was just saying, you’re reading too much into it."

"Dubian, you really like to lie," Kiyono Lin said helplessly, her slender hand deftly twirling the stem of the maple leaf.

"Sorry about that, I’ve become what you dislike," Dubian Che apologized without a hint of remorse.

"Sometimes, even if you dislike it, you have to endure, that’s life."

"Indeed, but when you say that, I feel a bit hurt."

"Didn’t I just say I have no expectations of anyone?" Kiyono Lin looked at him.

"Yes," Dubian Che threw the leaf he was holding under the bare cherry tree.

"With that attitude, it lasted until you, Mr. Dubian, appeared. I had expectations of you—though I’m reluctant to admit it."

"What kind of expectations?"

"I’m not sure." Kiyono Lin turned her gaze to the river, showing a thoughtful expression, "The feeling is very vague, if I had to put it into words... if I fell into the Uji River right now, I wouldn’t expect anyone to save me, I wouldn’t care if they would come to save me or not, but if you didn’t immediately jump down to save me, I would probably be very angry."

"The water is so fast, and there are so many rocks, what if I drowned too?"

"So, would you jump or not?"

"What’s to discuss?" Dubian Che answered, "No matter when you fall, into what kind of river, I would jump in without hesitation to save you."

"Then you must really improve your swimming skills, knowing how cautious I am, if I really fell in, it would definitely be the most dangerous river," Kiyono Lin said, smiling slightly.

That smile was like a distant cloud, a stream of sand flowing through the air.

"I can’t promise, but," Dubian Che picked up a stone from the ground and hurled it with all his might, "even if fierce winds arise, one must never give up on life."

Kiyono Lin’s eyes followed the stone.

Until it disappeared from her sight, the stone never came down.

"Mr. Dubian, you’re clearly so smart, yet you pretend to be so clumsy and carefree. Deep inside, you must look down on everyone, thinking they’re all idiots, right?"

"There’s no such thing," Dubian Che firmly denied.

"Well, you’re lying again," Kiyono Lin said with a smile.

Surrounding them, weeds grew thick and flowers unknown to them bloomed, the reeds almost as tall as a person swaying comfortably in the wind.

The sun shifted westward a bit more, the tree shade shifted, and the two basked in the sunlight.

...

On the way back to Capital City from Uji, Kiyono Lin slept the entire time.

The weather was clear and sunny, the tram car also dazzlingly bright.

...

Back at East Mountain Villa, Dubian Che dropped by the boys’ dormitory of class four to check if anyone was there playing cards, thinking to kill the last bit of time together if they were.

Turns out there were no card players, but there was one "corpse" of Kunii Shuichi.

Dubian Che looked at him and asked Saito Keisuke, who was playing games on the side, "Did he fail?"

"’I really appreciate your kindness, Kunimi, and I enjoy playing games with you, but as for dating... let’s just be friends,’" Saito Keisuke pinched his voice to imitate Ichiki Aoi’s tone.

"Shut up!" Lying on the tatami with his back to them, Kunii Shuichi threw a pillow at them.

Watching the pillow coming toward his forehead, Dubian Che had no choice but to catch it.

Saito Keisuke continued mashing the buttons on his switch, unconcerned, and said, "It’s just a confession rejection, you never had much of a chance to begin with, you should have been prepared."

Dubian Che shot him a glance.

This guy, who had been the most active in encouraging Kunii Shuichi before the confession, was now watching the joke unfold.