Hashimoto Arina’s smile froze for a moment, but she quickly covered it up and nodded toward the nurses’ station: “I understand.”

“Then I’ll go back by myself.” Shirakawa Natsu didn’t consider himself a tragic hero, and if Hashimoto Arina didn’t want him to know, he didn’t plan to pester him here for confirmation.

If you want to know, you should investigate the cause and effect in secret before drawing conclusions.

“It’s okay.” Hashimoto Arina turned her head away, avoiding his gaze. “I’ll be back soon.”

“Okay.” Shirakawa Natsumi didn’t ask any questions and walked to the wooden stool to sit down.

Hashimoto Arina was wearing high heels and walked very fast. Usually, when she left the ward, she would turn back and wave to him as she left the door, but this time she did not turn back.

Shirakawa Natsu sat on a wooden chair, her eyes closed. It was May or June, just as summer was beginning.

The weather in the east is cooler, and in the evening, a gentle breeze occasionally blows from somewhere and caresses your cheeks, bringing a sense of peace.

The gentle breeze today did not dispel his unease.

Various scenes began to appear in Shirakawa Natsu’s mind, such as the female protagonist being blackmailed into a relationship, a common trope in novels.

Or perhaps a family member is seriously ill and needs to ask a wealthy second-generation heir for money.

“What am I thinking?” Shirakawa Natsumi scratched her head: “Reality isn’t a novel.”

Take a few deep breaths and try to calm yourself down.

Feeling uncomfortable in her sitting position, she changed her posture.

I kept checking the time on my phone; time seemed to be moving exceptionally slowly today.

I nervously opened the app, and only when I saw that the favorability rating was still 99% did I relax a little.

Half an hour passed, the night gradually darkened, and streetlights came on around us.

I don’t remember how many times I took out my phone and put it down again. When I looked up, I saw Arina Hashimoto appear in my field of vision.

“Sorry, Natsu, I’ve kept you waiting.” Hashimoto Arina swept one side of her hair back with one hand, trying her best to force her usual sunny smile.

But she clearly hadn’t looked in a mirror, so she didn’t realize how forced her smile looked, and her shoulders were trembling slightly.

“No, I’m actually quite happy to be able to sit outside a little longer.” Shirakawa Natsumi reached out and grabbed her shoulder.

After he helped her up, Hashimoto Arina’s trembling subsided considerably.

The two didn’t speak to each other the whole way. Hashimoto Arina took him to the ward and then tried to help him make his bed.

The muscular man and the old lady in the three-person ward have both been discharged and are now in single rooms.

“I want to rest early today.” Shirakawa Natsumi sat on the hospital bed and smiled at her, “You should also go home and rest early, Ayane-nee.”

“Okay.” Hashimoto Arina nodded, looking a little dazed.

As she turned around, Shirakawa Natsumi suddenly said, “Arina-nee, I really like today’s bento.”

Hashimoto Arina paused for a moment, then seemed to finally come to her senses and patted his head: “You idiot.”

After she finished speaking, she turned and walked to the door of the ward, then suddenly turned back and waved to him: “See you tomorrow.”

The sound of high heels in the corridor gradually faded away, becoming much lighter than when they arrived.

After Shirakawa Natsumi waited for her to leave, she quickly took out her phone. The favorability rating on the app was still 99%.

This was also within his expectations; it seems that breaking through to one hundred would inevitably require some specific opportunity.

I also breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, there were no strange displays like a six-digit decimal point after the number ninety-nine. It seems that the app calculates the total score.

Looking out the window into the hallway, there’s still a long time before the nurses’ rounds.

He sent a video call to Mizhishi using his phone. After a few beeps, the video call was connected.

Miyuki appears in the video. She is lying on the bed, holding a phone in one hand and extending the other hand slightly out of the screen, as if she is pressing something.

The key point is that she wasn’t wearing any clothes; the video only showed her below the collarbone, revealing just a small bulge on her chest.

Although theoretically it doesn’t reveal as much as some low-cut dresses, it still inspires endless imagination.

Mi Zhi Shi frowned slightly: “What is it?”

“I’d like to talk to you, is that a good time?” Shirakawa Natsumi, despite Minoki’s impatient expression, highly praised his immediate response: “Why are you sleeping so early today?”

Miyu didn’t answer, but instead patted something off-screen with her other hand.

A woman’s voice came from off-screen, followed by the sound of someone getting out of bed and putting on shoes, and finally the sound of a door closing.

Mi Zhi Shi then sat up straight on the bed and casually picked up a thin blanket from the side and covered herself with it.

The blanket was very thin, and the bumps were clearly visible.

Miyuki placed her phone on her feet and smoothed her stray hairs with her hands: “Is it about Hashimoto Arina again?”

“Yes, a handsome guy driving a Porsche came to the hospital to see her today.” Shirakawa Natsu briefly recounted what happened during the day to Minoki: “What do you think I should do next?”

“There’s no chance of winning, give up.” Miyuki tied her medium-length, layered hair into a braid at the back of her head, picked up her phone: “Leaving aside whether you two can be together, if you were Hashimoto Arina, who would you choose?”

Shirakawa Natsuichi was speechless for a moment.

“The reason you feel pain is simply because of jealousy.” Miyuki stared at the screen, her gaze seemingly piercing through the network to look at him.

“I feel like something that was rightfully mine has been taken away by another man. I didn’t see much love in you. Hashimoto Arina just appeared in your life at a time when you felt it was right. You had feelings for her, looked around, and saw someone who seemed perfect in every way.”

“Stop cursing, stop cursing.” Shirakawa Natsu covered his face, too annoyed by the cursing to even look at his best friend’s bulge.

He knew that Miyuki was trying to persuade him.

He knew even better that there was absolutely no possibility for the two of them to be together, given their different identities and positions.

Even though Hashimoto Arina agreed to date him, he never felt it was because of love.

But he wanted to live, even though he knew the road was full of thorns and there was no other way but to forge a path to survival.

Seeing that he was covering his face, Mi Zhi Shi stopped talking and picked up a mineral water bottle from the side, unscrewed the cap, tilted her head back and opened her mouth.

Shirakawa Natsu saw her teeth through the screen: “Minokumi, why are your teeth so sharp?”

Human teeth consist of incisors, canines, and molars.

When Mikoto opened his mouth, his canine teeth were longer and sharper than normal, no wonder they scratched his skin last time.

“What?” Mi no Shi asked, looking puzzled after finishing her water.

“Uh, it’s nothing, it’s probably because of the video.” Shirakawa Natsumi didn’t intend to continue the topic.

If the discussion continued, it would inevitably bring up the matter of the last time, so he changed the subject, saying:

“Do you think it’s possible that Hashimoto Arina isn’t dating that guy, or that they have some other kind of relationship?”

That’s how it’s always portrayed in TV dramas; a misunderstanding that could be explained in a few words is stretched out over several episodes.

When he brought up the topic, Miyuki fell silent until Shirakawa Natsuya noticed her unusual behavior.

Miyuki picked up her phone and said seriously, “His name is Kimura Hama. He and Hashimoto Arina are childhood friends. They were together in elementary school, junior high school, high school, and university.”

The moment Shirakawa Natsumi received the affirmative answer, his heart clenched. He forced a smile and said, “Is the information accurate? I saw people at the hospital saying that Sister Youcai is single.”

Sensing the panic in his voice, Miyuki’s expression remained unchanged, offering no words of comfort, and she stated the facts in a matter-of-fact tone:

“Arina Hashimoto grew up in the hospital and she and the hospital director’s daughter are cousins.”

Shirakawa Natsu remembered that Miyuki had said yesterday that she had gotten together with the director’s daughter, so the woman she had just slept with was obviously this one.

He has no mood to care about other people’s business right now; he just feels a tightness in his chest.

Shirakawa Natsu leaned back on the hospital bed, which was very soft and had been made up for him by Hashimoto Arina.

At that moment, he felt a mix of emotions.

Seeing that he didn’t speak, Miyuki didn’t disturb him. She picked up a bag of potato chips from the side, tore open the packaging, and put it in her mouth.

Miyuki is handsome, the kind of handsome that’s cool and aloof. He has a blank expression and maintains a cold and handsome face, making a “ripping” sound as he chews potato chips.

Shirakawa Natsu wanted to linger on her sentimental mood for a while longer, but the sound of her biting into potato chips made her flustered and all the mood vanished.

“You did this on purpose, didn’t you?” Shirakawa Natsu shouted in the video, suddenly feeling a strange and endearing contrast between his childhood friend and his childhood friend.

Miyuki frowned, her face cold as she asked, “What did you say?”

“Oh, never mind, it’s nothing.” Shirakawa Natsu waved her hand. Reality isn’t a TV drama. There’s only one reason why childhood sweethearts can’t be together: the other person isn’t handsome or beautiful enough.

Hashimoto Arina is a beauty, and Kimura Hama is described as handsome by the nurses, and he even drives a Porsche.

Judging from today’s situation, the two may have had a recent argument, which is why Hashimoto Arina agreed to try dating him.

But there was an element of spite involved, and perhaps other reasons as well, but without a doubt, the two will eventually end up together.

Shirakawa Natsu wasn’t naive enough to think that a few days of ambiguous atmosphere could outweigh decades of feelings in someone else.

“Fate is unpredictable; destiny is truly full of drama.” Shirakawa Natsu shook her head helplessly, giving him the magical app but choosing a task that was basically impossible to complete.

“Kimura Hama is already married, and his wife is not Hashimoto Arina,” Miyuki suddenly said.

“What?!” Shirakawa Natsu jumped out of bed, wondering if she had misheard.

“When Kimura Hama graduated from university, he participated in a club graduation trip and accidentally fell off a cliff and went missing.” Miyuki slowly narrated: “The rescue team searched the entire mountain forest but found nothing.”

“And then?” Shirakawa Natsumi suddenly found the situation developing strangely.

“Three months later, he suddenly appeared on the highway and was rescued by a passing vehicle.” Miyuki’s tone remained unchanged:

“He has amnesia and can’t explain how he lived alone in the mountains for three months. The person who saved him on the road is his current wife.”

“What kind of plot twist is this?!” Shirakawa Natsu was completely bewildered and dumbfounded.

“Hama Kimura is currently a professor at the University of Tokyo.” Mikoto put down his potato chips. “I’ll go to the university tomorrow to collect information about Hama Kimura.”

“Thank you.” Shirakawa Natsu was very touched. Although Minoki did not support their relationship, she still did her best to help him after he insisted.

He had another dream tonight, but this time it wasn’t about Hashimoto Arina; he dreamt about Miyuki.