The so-called maturity,

has another name as responsibility.

The so-called youthfulness,

has another name as avoidance.

Treating and being treated.

Many times, it is not that others do not believe you look down on you,

but they think too highly of themselves.

Before screaming "I've grown up",

is it more important to have something to prove to yourself?

It was almost one in the morning when Ziongzong walked out of Yuuki's room. As Ziongzong was walking back to his room, the toilet next to him suddenly opened.

"Ah."

From his side came a small cry of surprise, which naturally startled Ziongzong.

''Yukino-san?

Her hair, which was usually pulled back into a bun, was let down, and her long hair fell straight to her back, making Ziongzong a little unrecognizable.

"Ziongzong, why are you still awake at this late hour?

After settling down and reverting to her original Yukino-san, her tone was not as stern as Ziongzong thought, just confused.

"Uh ...... I got up to go to the toilet."

"Eh? "

--Not so much. ...... can see through my excuses at a glance even in this situation?

Yukino-san's sharp gaze at this moment made Ziongzong shudder.

"Are you used to sleeping in your school uniform?"

--Damn it ...... forgot about this loophole.

"Uh...... just fell asleep in a daze, so I didn't change."

"Oh ...... should remember to change before sleeping in the future. "

Sleepiness made her eyes become a little dazed, and Yukino-san casually waved at Ziongzong and walked back to her own room.

-- Escape

Ziongzong went into the toilet and quickly washed up before returning to her room. Lying on the bed, the dark ceiling always makes it easy to fall into thinking.

Even when one already knew the other side of Yuuki, she had just acted, still the same easily shy little girl, only saying slightly more than before.

-- The standard by which she distinguishes between the two sides, is it family and outsiders?

-- Does that mean that already identifies me as family?

--or, ......

--am I thinking too simplistically?

Ziongzong tried to recall his mental state in the sixth grade, but, pressed no memory of it.

Primary six children, who need to show two faces, is a rare existence in itself, and on top of that, there are deeper mental words ......

Ziongzong shook his head, just to reinforce the denial of this nonsensical conjecture.

--There is no need to think that much at all.

After coming to the conclusion, Ziongzong began to use mental suggestion to induce sleep.

At that moment, just now, Yukino-san's face, flashed in the mind.

Although it was only a hurried glance, the corners of the reddened eyes were particularly striking on her white face.

Why.

The fragments of thought that can emerge are only this word. It's a waste of time to have no idea. Leaving the unwarranted thoughts behind, Ziongzong drove herself into the reality beyond, the dream world.

After dressing and washing up for his morning workout, Ziongzong was sitting on a chair enjoying his breakfast.

Ziongzong had been running ten kilometers every morning for many years.

"Good morning, Daddy, Ziongzong."

Yui, who had changed into her school uniform, tied her necktie while sitting next to Ziongzong.

"Good morning, Yui."

"Good morning, Yui-san."

Ziongzong thought about yesterday's incident and looked at Yui next to him.

"Yui-san."

"Yes, what?"

"What was the announcement on the radio yesterday?"

"Announcement? ...... Oh, it's nothing important."

"That's right."

Yui continued to eat her breakfast as if nothing had happened, so Ziongzong couldn't ask questions.

Yesterday afternoon, Yui was obviously very enthusiastic, even a little bit forced, asking Ziongzong to find a club to join, but yesterday when he got home, his attitude had changed 180 degrees.

Ziongzong could only guess that the only thing that caused this effect was the radio.

After being called to the student council, what happened.

It's just that the person in question has no desire to explain, so ......Ziongzong can only stop there. Some people will mind others looking deeper on their own, while others are always passive, waiting to be looked deeper and waiting for others to understand them.

Such two types of people make human interaction difficult.

--"Why do you always forcefully interfere with my life? "

--"Why do you always refuse to take the initiative to understand me? "

Ziongzong doesn't know how to read minds, so he chose the most moderate and least hurtful way to interact with people.

--Even though I really hate the moderate .

The breakfast was soon over, and although I wanted to say no to going to school with Only a few times, I didn't say anything in the end.

The reason for refusing to go to school together was not because of the boys in the Kendo club, but because Ziongzong had other things to do.

It was an important matter that concerned his money.

Without a proper reason, Ziongzong didn't have the courage to take the risk when faced with the terrible triple test of the sharp-eyed Yukino-san, the deep-rooted Uesugi Tano, and the intuitive Yui.

So it became a situation where two people went to school together again.

It was still very early today.

Only a few clouds in the slightly bright sky, adding to the boundless vastness of the firmament.

Similar to the empty sky, there were no pedestrians on the street, and of course, there were almost no students.

"Why did Yui-san go to school so early? "

"Because I'm a disciplinary officer."

Yui blurted out without thinking, as if it was her duty.

--That's true.

"What about Ziongzong?"

"Well, ...... is used to it, right?"

"You're used to it?"

"I always get to school early because I get up early."

"Why?"

"I've forgotten the original reason, but my body has gotten used to it. "

--Ziongzong couldn't say such things to get rid of this slim figure.

"It's nice ......"

"Huh?"

"If only every student was like Ziongzong, I would be liberated. ......"

Yui closed her eyes, and a smile appeared at the corner of her mouth, as if she was imagining a situation where no one in the school would be late.

"That, Yui-san ......"

"What..."

Yui's eyes were still closed, and she seemed to be enjoying her imagination of 'no one being late in the whole school'.

"Are you happy being a disciplinary officer? "

"......"

reluctantly opened her eyes and frowned.

"There are many times when I'm not happy, but that's why I feel better when I'm happy, right? "

"It's true that you're a good cop."

"Oh, really."

Compared to the Japanese student leaders, the student leaders in China, except for the special case of the university student council, are just a glorified description of nannies, who not only have no real power, but also have to do all kinds of meaningless things, such as running errands for teachers, maintaining discipline in class, and occasionally holding a class meeting or something, under the supervision of teachers. Occasionally, I have to hold a class meeting or something, and I have to do something under the supervision of the teacher.

School is a place where people learn how to live, even if that is not their intention.

The two of them were talking and laughing and soon arrived at the school. Thankfully, there were no other students to encounter today.

The only thing that was left was official business, and Ziongzong, who was in no hurry to go immediately to 3(A), was no longer in his business, but Ziongzong couldn't help but walk to the 3(C) classroom.

The empty classroom had not yet been reached by students, and the potted plants placed in the back row of the classroom were nearly withered.

Touching his ears, Ziongzong put down his school bag, lifted the bucket he had placed in the locker, and became a volunteer gardener.

--Lack of love yet.

The irrigation doesn't show immediate results, but the anticipation will make the results seen later even more delicious.

It's a shame not to be able to use the school day to do what you need to do, but it's less of a shame because you can make up for it in other ways. He found a nearby chair and sat down. Looking at the same empty classroom with an empty head, he had a strange feeling.It's very reassuring.

But it didn't take long for this peace to be broken.

"Good morning ~~~~ substitute class."

That's what it's like to hear the sound of a person before you see them. I knew it was Kana Haramura by the sweet, cloying voice of a pineapple drizzled with condensed milk.

"Thank you for the lotus root the day before yesterday. "

She came to the Ziongzong seat with a bounce, and she looked not much bigger than Yuuki.

"It's good that you think it's good."

"Hehehe."

Haramura smiled brightly, while Ziongzong had a bad feeling.

"So, next week too, please?"

--That's right.

"Can you do it, substitute ~~~~"

Haramura twisted her body in anticipation, and tried to block it out by playing cute, but it didn't work.

It's against the rules to be petulant.

--Ziongzong Uesugi, the day before yesterday was just good luck, you know it very well yourself.

--Yes, I know it very well.

"I'll try my best. ......"

--

Under Haramura's sweet attack, although Ziongzong's reason did not break down, his body betrayed him. ...... Isn't it time to get a new body?

Ziongzong's spitting has deviated from common sense.

"Thank you ~~~~"

Haramura ran back to her seat with unbridled joy.

--What universe did Beisui Yata, where was her?

--You didn't come so early just to book my housekeeping class work, did you?

Ziongzong stayed in this state of asking herself questions and answering them at the same time, until the number of students in the second year (C) gradually increased, and then returned to the third year (A).

Today, Mayumi Araki was back to her normal self, appearing at the normal place at the normal time and doing her usual things.

Tuesday's schedule was 'Chemistry', 'Japanese', 'World History', 'Mathematics', 'Geography' and 'Biology'.

Compared to yesterday and the day before, today was a boring day, but it was a normal school atmosphere.

Different teachers, in different classes, said different things.

If you don't think along with the teacher, your mind will easily be diverted to something else, even if it's a pencil that looks very boring.

Ziongzong remembers when I was in elementary school, he could easily concentrate, but now he is easily distracted.

Not interested in studying, that's the obvious reason.

Or rather, they are too easy for Ziongzong. Today's homework for all subjects took him only one class period to finish, while listening and writing, and then, after another class period to finish studying for tomorrow's lesson, Ziongzong knows that at this pace, he will be way ahead of schedule within this week, but it's not all good, it will make his study life It would make his study life very uninteresting.

Although he is not qualified to say such a thing because he can't do anything about ancient languages, poems and essays.

--I have no problem concentrating on something that interests me for as long as I want.

Although it is rightfully so, it is useless.

Maybe there were too many things that happened yesterday and the day before, which made Ziongzong's mind a bit confused.

So, it was a muddle until the end of the school day.

"Oh. Uesugi, are you going to eat with me?"

The one who grabbed Ziongzong's neck as if he had been his brother for many years was Eiji Hayamizu. Of course, this kind of intimacy was only his wishful thinking, because he had left too much of a promiscuous first impression on Ziongzong, and Ziongzong was more or less repulsed by him.

'Let's go.'

However, Ziongzong did not refuse his invitation.

The reason is very simple, despite the bad impression of promiscuity in the first place, but in Ziongzong's opinion, Eiji Hayamizu is not that kind of fancy skin, the most clear details is that the 50 meters test, Eiji Hayamizu's performance is very good, better than Ziongzong, and still a look of ease, Ziongzong know that he save his strength but he also did not knew whether Eiji had let the strength.

At the very least, for now, there is more to gain than to lose by keeping him by his side.

Ziongzong felt so.

As they descended the stairs, they passed a girl with a fierce look in her eyes. The girl was the one he had talked about before, but Ziongzong just blandly said he was not interested at all and ended the conversation.

The words are that, Ziongzong is actually very concerned. Although not to look at her face, but Ziongzong can clearly feel her ferocious glance at himself. As for the degree of ferocity ......Ziongzong felt that if she was a little more ferocious, her sight might be able to cut off his own flesh.

But the road to the canteen doesn't seem to be the only obstacle.

A short distance away from the cafeteria, three familiar faces came up on the way.

Honda, Nakagawa and Kamito.

The three people who had bothered Ziongzong the day before.

Ziongzong kept his usual pace and didn't even look at them. The three people who were ignored by Ziongzong were a bit foolish, but when they saw that the person walking beside Ziongzong was Eiji Hayamizu, they hesitated and gave up their hostility and walked away in peace.

"......"

Ziongzong wanted to ask for information about Eiji Hayamizu, but after some consideration, he gave up.

--The timing was not right.

Ziongzong had ignored the three, but he had the desire to provoke them, because he was bored and needed something to break through, but a corridor full of students was certainly not the place to cause trouble.

After passing through them and diverging from the crowd of people going to the welfare club to buy bread, Ziongzong and Eiji arrived at the cafeteria.

--What's the change of taste today?

Appetite is perhaps the greatest desire, after all, it is closely linked to survival.

Ziongzong, who had left everything else behind and divided his attention between his tastebuds, was in a good mood.

Ziongzong looked at the menu board hanging high, while subconsciously, reaching into his pocket and fumbling for his wallet.

--Today's wallet feels extraordinarily skinny.

--It's not too bad to describe it as "skinny and bony".

--It's just like me. Isn't this guy usually average?

--Average.

"Hayamizu."

"What is it, Uesugi?"

"I'm not hungry at noon today."

"Huh?"

"Sorry, I can't have lunch with you."

"Wait ......"

Without waiting for him to finish, Ziongzong left the cafeteria.

Eiji Hayamizu, torn between breaking away from the line to catch up with Ziongzong and continuing to hold the line for a long time, disappeared beyond the range where he could catch up with Ziongzong.

--Damn ...... how could forget this stubble.

Ziongzong's wallet, not to mention the thin ...... simply skin and bones, even as well as doing the "front chest and back intimate contact' this highly difficult almost impossible to achieve things.

-- Now there is not even a penny ...... how is lunch going to be solved?

Ziongzong walking aimlessly around the campus, the feeling of empty stomach gradually strong up.

He knew it was mostly psychological, but the feeling in his stomach was out of his hands.

-- Actually, not eating lunch for a day is not a problem. ......

comforting himself like this is even more useless than seeing the picture to quenching his thirst.

The courtyard of the school is very empty at this time, only student couples, bustling on the lawn, on stone chairs, under the banyan tree, exuding affection and eating bento.

--So envy~

Ziongzong is envious of the bento, not the romance.

This kind of envy is really dangerous, what to envy, but bento.

I heard that in Japan, if you have the consent of your guardian, you can get married at the age of sixteen, and when you are eighteen, you can ignore your guardian's opinion and get married on your own.

Therefore, Japanese people get married at a young age, and many student couples are finally married.

How to live after marriage is a problem that no scientist can solve.

-- Anyway, let's go get some water first, so we can at least relieve it.

Ziongzong looked around and found tap water that he could drink.

Ziongzong drank the water chillingly while thanking the designer who designed the tap to make it easy to drink.

"The class guide ......? "

Turning around, I found out that it was Beisui Yata.

"Don't call me "guide", just call me "Uesugi" for a day. ...... Remember your name is "Beisui Yata? "

"Well, yes."

"So, what do you want from me?"

"Oh, no, nothing."

If there's no special purpose, then it's just a simple encounter. Yata was carrying a bag of bread, which was very tempting to Ziongzong.

"Did you buy it for someone else?"

"Yes, I did."

It's not uncommon to ask a friend who is fast to buy bread to help you buy good bread.

"Have you finished eating at ......?

"...... Yes."

Ziongzong nodded his head against his will, but his body betrayed him once again.

His stomach made a very unpleasant protesting sound.

"Pfft ......"

Yata couldn't hold back and covered his mouth with his hand and laughed.

--Ugh ......

Ziongzong also had to laugh with embarrassment.

"Uesugi-kun, if you don't mind, this bread is for you."

--I'm a good girl who's considerate.

"No, I don't need it."

--What's the point of being polite?" ......

Ziongzong said to herself as she politely declined.

"Don't mention it, it's a gift for the lotus root you bought me the day before."

--Thank you, Lotus Root.

"But ......"

-- What else can you do ......Ziongzong!

"It doesn't matter, I've already bought more."

--Yada, you're so great.

"Then I'll take it."

--Hooray for bread!!!

After squirming and politely going back and forth, Ziongzong got the bread as he wished, and the small portion filled the huge hole in his heart at once.

"Oh, I'll leave now, you take your time to eat. "

"En, thank you. "

After seeing Yata leave, Ziongzong put his left foot on his right foot and restrained himself from the idiotic act of jumping up and down to celebrate.

--That's a nice girl ...... who doesn't look deep into my suffering and just gives help in snow.

--That's why I think this way of dealing with people is the best, not easy to hurt others, but also to express goodwill.

A moment of help in the snow allowed Ziongzong to glorify the image of Beisui Yata as a goddess. Is this the drawbridge effect? Inevitably not.

So, Ziongzong's lunch was upgraded from 'tap water' with 'saliva' to 'tap water' with 'bread'.

When you are hungry, everything tastes good.

When food is scarce, everything should be cherished.

Ziongzong still broke the bread bit by bit for the first time, instead of wiping it out in three bites, and after eating slowly for a long time, Ziongzong looked at the sky with satisfaction.

--Thankfully the bread will swell when it meets water, Amitabha.

It was good, the sky was blue, the grass was green, the flowers were colorful, the birds were chirping happily, Ziongzong's stomach was beautiful and the world was harmonious.

How about that traditional children's song ......

"The sun is in the sky, the flowers fly, the birds say, good morning ......"

Because this is a track with unparalleled harmony, it seems a bit obscure but artistic at the same time.

--In short, it's good to be alive.

--It's good to have something to eat, it's good to have bread.

With plenty of time left to spend on his lunch break, Ziongzong lies on his back with the blue sky in front of him and the concrete floor behind him, which has a drop of nearly 20 meters.

On the rooftop of the building, Ziongzong was lying on the top of the barbed wire fence, with both hands on his head, one foot on the fence, and the other foot, as the only balance support, leaning sideways on the inner side of the fence.

He sorted out the three things at hand that had immediate urgency according to the time sequence.

First, to explain to Yui that he had joined another Kyudo Club.

Second, to find out why the girl named Katagiri Mai looked at him so badly.

Third, to solve the economic crisis and, if possible, to find the little girl with the two ponytails.

Because these things were not perfunctory, he put himself in this situation where a momentary distraction could kill him.

Regarding the first thing, he decided to confess to Yui when he got home tonight, which only required courage and honesty, and what the outcome would be, he thought he could solve it by just bearing it.

And the second thing, Ziongzong already had a clue, the words he heard that day, Ziongzong still remembered them all.

--Does this act of doing as you please make you happy?

--Does it make you feel good to freely use your power to help the weak?

--Do you know what hypocrisy is?

--Do you think this "casual" attitude can really bring help?

--Do you think your casualness can be called kindness?

--Do you think that cat is evil?

--Do you think that cat doesn't have young in its litter?

-- Do you think the weak need pity and the strong need containment?

--Do you think it will be grateful if you just leave it in the corner?

--If you didn't have the sense to take care of it, why did you save it in the first place?

Ziongzong had already grasped the crux of the matter and understood something that he didn't know before, and the last thing he needed to do was to sit down with her and talk to her calmly, without explaining anything or convincing her. Although the other party will not necessarily change their attitude towards themselves, but the essence of goodwill and malice, will switch places.

As for the third thing, Ziongzong did not have anything to catch except for the clue of the little sister of the two ponytails. He decided to use this lunch break to go out of school for a while, one to find out the whereabouts of the two ponytails, and the other to see if there were any opportunities to earn some pocket money.

The first time he arrived, he was in a fence, Ziongzong did not want to talk about money with the Uesugi family, with Yukino and Uesugi Tano. Although it is natural for children to ask their parents for pocket money, Ziongzong did not yet feel that he could have such an ordinary, yet equally extravagant, parent-child relationship.

At noon, the sun hangs quietly in the sky, sprinkling a layer of gentle warmth, a warm breeze when the body feels slightly chilled at this time of the year when the hairpin of autumn is vaguely visible at the tail end of summer.

Ziongzong stands under a large tree, looking up at the dense canopy, his memory does not betray him, he still remembers everything that happened yesterday in this park, under this tree.

Only these memories do not lead Ziongzong to the end of the event.

Unfortunately, it is also normal that the little sister with two ponytails was not here yesterday, and not only that, there was no one in the park in the middle of the day.

Ziongzong put the matter off until the end of school in the afternoon, and then, using the little time before the afternoon classes, Ziongzong hoped to find a part-time job.

As for part-time jobs, in Japan, part-time jobs for junior high school students are allowed and have a certain popularity as long as both parents and school do not object.

After a little consideration, Ziongzong decided to take the job because he didn't have much time left in his lunch break and he didn't want to spend too much energy on choosing something like that. The job was simple: from 6am to 9pm, you could work there at any time and be paid for the time you worked, and the job was valid for one month. After following the instructions of the salesperson and filling out the forms and signing the short-term contract, Ziongzong was officially offered the job.

--- "Kurabaishin Freight Trading Branch"

Ziongzong had heard of the name "Kurabaishin"when he was in China, and it was a big merchant in Kyoto, a businessman and a sitter, a qualitative change caused by the change in scale. However, considering its size, this small company operating under the name of "Kurabaishin Freight Trading Branch" is too loose in terms of control and system, sorry for the name of "Kurabaishin".

Ziongzong would think so because just now when applying for this job, the other party did not ask Ziongzong to show any valid documents, nor did they need a photo, all that was needed was a name and a personal name. All that was needed was a name and a signature, so Ziongzong didn't write down his real name, but used the pseudonym 'Ito Sekihiro' spontaneously.

-- May be it will be fun?

When Ziongzong came out of the wall, he passed by a tall man, a man who looked very proud, with a little wanderlust, like a lion, wearing civilian clothes, and seemed to be fighting for the job as well.

--The man who is short of money.

This sentiment is not just flirting with that uncle, Ziongzong is actually sarcastic, forcing himself to come out to work, all because he asked for trouble.

--The job is suspicious, but more important than that is my lost money.

Ziongzong returned to class before the end of the lunch break, and just after returning to his seat, he was given a big present.

The books he had kept in his drawer were all torn.

"When Ziongzong looked at the class, he didn't notice anything special, and when he looked at Eiji Hayamizu, he just looked back curiously, not getting any more useful information.

Ziongzong knows that there is a period of time when the class is deserted, that is, just after class, when everyone goes to eat.

After thinking back on what he had seen and heard during that time, and after a little analysis, Ziongzong had his answer.

When he and Eiji Hayamizu went to the cafeteria, the three guys from the Kendo club were walking back from the cafeteria, not long after class had ended.

--And really dare to just come and touch me ......

Ziongzong is in a great mood at the moment. He went straight to Uesugi Yui, told her he forgot his textbook, and then asked the boy sitting next to Yui, the class's mediocre class president, to temporarily swap seats this afternoon.

"I'm sorry, but I forgot my textbook for the whole afternoon. "

It seemed like an ordinary conversation, but only the boy knew how much power Ziongzong exerted with his hand on the boy's shoulder, and he knew that the result of this power was that he gave up his seat to Ziongzong without any objection.

Thus, Ziongzong went to the afternoon class side by side with Yui at the table in an open and honest manner.

He was still playing the role of a good boy and good student as much as possible.

After school, Ziongzong went straight to the park and flipped through magazines and newspapers at the convenience store in the park while waiting for a clue to appear, an important clue that concerned his money.

In that day's newspaper, there was a follow-up story about the teenager who had robbed 15 million in cash earlier. It was speculated that he had already left the country and might have fled to Southeast Asia or Korea, North Korea, Japan, etc. And, the photo of the juvenile offender was also released, a clean-looking boy with an evil smile.

Inexplicably, Ziongzong thought he looked familiar, even felt he knew him well, but couldn't remember who he was.

--Are they former acquaintances?

It always felt like no, he didn't know such a powerful person, so how could that person possibly, be related to him.