"So, I've signed up, right?"

"Would you like to come to the broadcasting club at noon?"

They stood at the classroom's front entrance.

Two female classmates, hand in hand, walked by, and Dubian Che moved aside to the corridor window to make room for them.

The two girls entered the classroom, heads together, giggling and chatting in low voices.

"To be a guest?" Dubian Che looked at the Broadcasting Club girl before him, who seemed very capable.

"The main thing is to have a chat and to answer some letters. What you want to say, whether or not you're willing to answer, is up to you, Mr. Dubian."

After a brief pause, the Broadcasting Club girl added emphatically,

"We're different from the News Department that only seeks attention."

"Letters?"

"Mr. Dubian is popular, isn't he? You usually only interact with Kiyono and Jiutiao, and not with other girls, so everyone is very curious about you."

This was an opportunity to reject all the girls in school and prevent other romances.

"I'll come tomorrow at noon; thank you for inviting me," Dubian Che said.

"Not at all, we're the ones who should be thanking you, Mr. Dubian."

After parting ways with the Broadcasting Club girl, Dubian Che had just entered the classroom when the school broadcast sounded.

"Good afternoon, everyone at Goda, this is the Broadcasting Club."

"They say the first breeze of early summer is called 'Qing Lan.' In this Qing Lan season, our school will soon hold the annual sports festival tomorrow, and the Broadcasting Club will broadcast live the victories and defeats of each class."

"During tomorrow's lunch break, we have invited Dubian Che from Grade 11 Class 4 to join us. We will talk about some topics and answer some questions. Everyone is welcome to send letters to the Broadcasting Club."

"Lastly, we wish everyone a pleasant afternoon and good luck to all classes in the sports festival."

As the broadcast ended, the girls in the classroom looked at Dubian Che with expressions of anticipation, excitement, curiosity, and eagerness to watch the unfolding events.

The classroom atmosphere grew restless; it seemed that many were preparing to submit letters.

"What are you going to the Broadcasting Club for?" At the end of lunch break, Jiutiao Meijie, who had returned from a nap at the Human Observation Department, asked Dubian Che.

"To say 'I love Meijie'."

Jiutiao Meijie smiled serenely, "I'm looking forward to it."

"Then I might as well go too," said Kiyono Lin, resting her chin in her hand and pondering.

Dubian Che and Jiutiao Meijie both looked at her.

"Are you going too?" asked Dubian Che.

"When I went to the Human Observation Department at noon, they invited me, but I refused," Kiyono Lin explained, looking at Jiutiao Meijie.

"My question is, why do you want to go?" Dubian Che pressed on.

"Of course, it's because you'll be there," Kiyono Lin said, still watching Jiutiao Meijie.

Jiutiao Meijie looked at Dubian Che, tilting her chin slightly, as if to say,

Explain yourself, make excuses, but don't say Miss Jiutiao didn't give you a chance.

"This... that... How about the three of us just go together? Yeah! The trio at the apex of Goda ought to be together!"

Under the gradually more menacing gaze of Miss Jiutiao and God Kiyono's amused look, Dubian Che declared with fervor,

"As the saying goes, a triangle is the most stable structure, and when the three of us are together, we can be both as brilliant and fast as fireworks, and as unending as a river's flow."

"For example, the Three Illusionary Gods, the Three Brave Warriors, the Three Demigods, the 'three visits,' the Three Sworn Brothers, 'the three layers of thatch upon my roof'..."

Dubian Che didn't know what he was saying anymore.

The gazes from both 'Misses' were truly frightening.

After school, the Broadcasting Club issued a new announcement: Guests now included Kiyono Lin and Jiutiao Meijie, and everyone was welcome to send letters.

Until now, the only ones who thought Dubian Che and Kiyono Lin were just friends were probably themselves.

To others, tomorrow's lunch break was set to be a much-anticipated broadcast of a chaotic scene.

Why had this happened? Dubian Che couldn't figure it out.

He had initially intended to simply tell the whole school that he already had a love interest.

It was all Kiyono Lin's fault for changing her mind and complicating things...

Wait a minute.

Question: Can God be wrong?

Answer: No.

So the only one who could be wrong was Dubian Che.

He had foolishly agreed to the Broadcasting Club's request, making himself look like some naive lover.

"Ptui, a scumbag." Dubian Che despised scumbags the most.

As dusk neared, the sky outside the window turned to shades of orange and indigo.

Jiutiao Meijie, Dubian Che, and Kiyono Lin "chatted" as they walked along the golden skywalk, heading toward the Human Observation Department.

◇

During a break from grading classroom tests, Xiaoquan Aonai looked up at the office glass window, where the light streaming in dyed a teacher's tea cup the color of twilight.

"School's almost over..." As soon as she said it, her heartbeat began to quicken.

After school, when she got back to her apartment in Shinano Town, Dubian Che would hug her.

From where would he hug her? The front? The back?

Where exactly should she place her hands when they hug? Should she hug his neck? Or his waist?

What if she hugged his waist and he did the same—would their hands get tangled?

After they've hugged each other, will it really just be a hug?

Miyuki often said if a boy likes a girl, he can't help but think about that kind of thing; would Dubian Che take the opportunity to kiss her, and then...

Xiaoquan Aonai felt her blood heat up, a nameless impulse coursing through her body.

She hurriedly stopped her wild thoughts.

Having never been moved by a boy before, had it finally started at the age of 25?

She looked out the window at the sky, split into two colors, which would soon merge into one.

"Hmm—" Akiko stretched her arms out and groaned, "Finally off work."

"Aonai, are you heading out?" she asked as she spun her chair toward her neighbor, Xiaoquan Aonai.

Xiaoquan Aonai's hands left the keyboard, her gaze fixed on the laptop screen, seated without moving.

On her desk, seventy-nine roses stood in one corner.

"What's wrong?" Akiko kicked off and her chair with wheels slid next to Xiaoquan Aonai in an instant.

"Jealous because of the broadcast?" she asked in a low voice.

Xiaoquan Aonai snapped back to reality and said with a smile, "No, I'm thinking about what to eat tonight."

"Is that boy coming over tonight too?" Akiko asked again.

"...Yeah."

"Ah, thinking about your sweetheart." Akiko gave another kick and listlessly moved back to her desk.

After the two packed up to leave school, Xiaoquan Aonai, holding a large bunch of roses, walked embarrassedly towards the infirmary.

It was still before the time when student club activities ended, but they might inevitably run into teachers.

Familiar or not, they would all come up with a smile and tease.

The door to the infirmary opened, and as soon as Miyazaki Mieko saw Xiaoquan Aonai among the flowers, she immediately said with a smile:

"You're so lucky."

Xiaoquan Aonai's face turned red with embarrassment and she urged, "Hurry up, let's go home!"

"Wife rushing home to prepare dinner for her husband?"

"Miyuki~!" Xiaoquan Aonai complained, her voice playful and full of happiness.

"Eat first? Take a bath first? Or... hmm~" Akiko caressed her shoulder and winked, striking a teasing pose.

"You two... I... really now!"

After a bit of commotion, Miyazaki Mieko changed her clothes, and the three of them went to the parking lot.

Xiaoquan Aonai was in charge of driving, Akiko took the passenger seat, and Miyazaki Mieko with the seventy-nine roses sat in the back.

After buckling up, Xiaoquan Aonai didn't start driving right away but first played a song.

"If I could hold you in my arms now..."

As the melody began to play slowly, she pressed the gas pedal and drove out of the parking spot.

When driving, she was always extra attentive, always holding the steering wheel with both hands, her eyes on the surroundings—she couldn't really listen to the song, but today she just wanted to play it.

"No matter what tomorrow brings,"

"As long as you are here, we can still embrace,"

"I would ask for nothing more,"

"Wishing to be by your side every moment."

As the car reached the main road, Akiko smacked her lips, reached out for the music playlist main interface, and switched the song before finally leaning back comfortably in her seat.

Xiaoquan Aonai glanced at her quickly; the next second, the voice of the new song began to play.

"I'm someone else's girlfriend now,"

"The one I'm dating now is different from you,"

The three friends of ten years laughed together.

"Nice choice, Akiko," Miyazaki Mieko said with a laugh.

"Of course," Akiko replied proudly.

Then, the two of them sang along together, feigning a dumped expression at the driving Xiaoquan Aonai.

Amidst their singing, Xiaoquan Aonai also nodded to the rhythm, as laughter and merriment filled the car.

When you're happy, even sad songs become cheerful.

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