Reborn in Tokyo after picking up Sayu who ran away from home

Chapter 557 Cultural Festival ([-])

After leaving the haunted house, the two walked in the hallway.

Before I knew it, there were fewer tourists than in the morning.

Kato Yusuke had no intention of observing these, but walked aimlessly with his mind full.

When turning a corner, Ying Lili, who was walking in front, suddenly stopped.

Kato Yusuke also stopped.

This is in front of the student guidance room. Because there are no queues in the two adjacent classes, it forms a relatively quiet space.

"Ah, really!"

The girl turned around and stared over, reprimanded: "You should say something at least! Isn't this embarrassing!"

"..."

Kato Yusuke raised his eyes and looked back at her, his eyes fell on the soft cherry mouth unconsciously, and then moved away unnaturally.

"…Sorry, but I don't know what to say right now."

Ying Lili showed a weeping expression for a moment, lowered her eyes and said:
"You won't leave me because of this, will you? You said you wouldn't alienate me, and you promised it yourself..."

Kato Yusuke clenched his fists tightly, carefully deliberated in his heart, and then let out a heavy breath.

"...To be honest, regarding your thoughts, I was wondering if I should reply, or give an answer."

"—!"

Ying Lili panicked suddenly, and said anxiously: "Wait! Why are you talking like a confession?"

"……what??"

"Because, because! I didn't confess to you again, so stop being so sentimental...!"

Kato Yusuke turned his head slightly in confusion, "Then what did you do when you were in the haunted house just now...?"

"Uh, that, that was just my impulse..."

Ying Lili turned away with a blushing face, and stammered: "...how should I put it? I was taken around the haunted house by you at that time, and my head and heart were hot, so I unconsciously..."

The voice became smaller and smaller, weaker and weaker.

"Is it impulsive..."

Kato Yusuke looked into her eyes hesitantly, "Then what do you mean...?"

"... life discussion."

Ying Lili pretended to look out the window, and sneaked glances at him from the corner of her eye from time to time.

"...I hate being treated as your younger sister all the time, or, I hope you can treat me as a girl in the future! This is my trouble and life discussion!"

Kato Yusuke was stunned for a moment, then frowned in confusion, "Even if you say that, I have always regarded you as a girl..."

"No, no, no—"

Ying Lili shook her head vigorously and retorted, "You are just treating me with what you think is a good attitude... This is not what I want...!"

Ignoring Yusuke Kato who was speechless, she continued.

"I don't hate you for being like a big brother, but I hate the kind of big brother who always treats me like a child...!"

"Compared to taking care of me wishfully... Shouldn't you also listen to my heart and respect my thoughts?"

"...!"

There was a hint of sadness in the eyes full of tension.

The slender eyelashes hang down a faint reflection in the setting sun that is about to set in the west.

The flow of people in the corridor gradually accelerated.

Some of the students are rushing to the next destination, some are busy attracting guests, and people come and go non-stop.

The two didn't recognize the figures of those people, and the noisy voices had nothing to do with them.

The crowd is just a background to them, a monotonous and blurred ambient sound effect.

Kato Yusuke couldn't help feeling slightly suffocated.

Ask yourself, before today, he never regarded the other party as an equal, but a younger sister who needs to be taken care of like a family member.

Although he feels that everyone around him is equally important, subconsciously, he does not put Yinglili in the same concept as other women.

As the other party said, this is indeed a kind of wishful thinking and arrogance, so he cannot refute it.

Bewildered and silent for a long time.

"So……"

Kato Yusuke took a deep breath, touched the back of his neck, and then slowly said: "What are we going to do now, do you want me to treat you as a love object? Or a family member?"

A flash of panic flashed in Ying Lili's eyes, she swallowed unconsciously, lowered her head, then raised her head as if praying.

"...On the basis of family, I want you to see me as a girl!"

"Let me tell you... Do you know what I'm talking about? It's a family member and a girl's. These are two completely different concepts. What exactly do you want others to do?"

"I don't care, I don't care, anyway, I just want to...!"

"Well, even if you say that...the things you can't do are the things you can't do. These two relationships are different for me..."

"--OK!"

"Uh……?"

"As long as it's Yusuke, it will definitely... definitely be possible...!"

Brief silence.

"...You seem to be too determined." Kato Yusuke lowered his head, "Even if I am, there are many things I can't do."

Ignoring the other party's wavering eyes, he continued slowly but firmly, "...so, if you need an answer, I can tell you."

"—I said I don't want it!"

Ying Lili took a step forward and covered his mouth with her hand, "...at least not now."

"..."

Even through a mask, Kato Yusuke could vaguely feel the slightly trembling soft fingertips.

The girl put down her hands and continued: "He, besides, I'm not confessing, why are you giving me an answer...!"

"……What does it mean?"

"It's literally! There is no confession between us now, today is just my life discussion, it's over."

It's a self-defeating statement, but at least it allows her to continue the game progress instead of entering the Bad End branch early.

Ying Lili said tremblingly: "So what happened in the haunted house just now, you just...you just..."

"You don't have to care about it" - Kato Yusuke thought he would hear this sentence, but it backfired.

pat!

Ying Lili took another step closer and stood in front of him, looking straight into his eyes.

Then, the person involved took a deep breath, clenched his fists and closed his eyes.

"—You have to take good care of it!!!!"

The girl yelled out with all her strength, and Kato Yusuke, who was mentally prepared, was instantly dumbfounded.

"I can't take that as if it never happened! So you have to remember it well.

I hope you don't treat me like a family member, but I hope you treat me as a girl, as a love object! "

Ying Lili kept panting, and lowered her volume again.

"However, I'm not ready yet. Because I haven't sorted out my mind, I will never admit that what happened today is a confession."

When the person said this, he opened his eyes and forced himself to look directly at him.

"On top of this, although I don't know if that day will come, but if one day I am ready, I will seriously challenge you and sink you... Just be prepared!"

Kato Yusuke was dumbfounded.

The corridors during school celebrations are full of people.

Attracted by Ying Lili's shout at the beginning, all kinds of eyes gathered to watch the excitement.

Kato Yusuke's complexion changed slightly.

"Stupid, are you crazy... In short, I have written down what you said, let's talk about it after leaving here!"

Not caring about feeling the shock in his heart, he hurriedly took off his jacket and put it on the girl's head, then pulled her up and ran towards the stairs quickly, and fled.

The two ran one after the other in the lively corridor, and the clichéd words of the executive committee members were all forgotten by them.

Ying Lili slightly raised the coat covering her head, staring at his tall and straight back, with a slight smile on her fair and flawless face.

As if thinking it was very fun, the girl burst out laughing.

◇

05:30 in the afternoon.

All the foreign tourists in the school left, and the campus was returned to the students again.

In the packed gymnasium, most of the students and teachers gathered here, preparing for the closing ceremony.

Yusuke Kato put on his uniform again after removing his disguise, and returned to the team of Class E of the first year.

"Yo, Kato, you are really elusive."

"Indeed, I haven't seen Kato all day today."

Yamaguchi and Takei who were sitting in the back row turned to look at him.

"What are you up to today? We wanted to ask you to visit the cultural festival together, but we couldn't find anyone anywhere."

"Sorry, I have something to do."

"It's coming again, it's just an excuse, isn't it?" Yamaguchi asked with disbelief, "Otherwise, tell me, what have you been up to today?"

"Life talks."

"What?"

"Someone asked me for a life consultation, and I'm basically dealing with it today." Kato Yusuke said calmly.

Zhujing, who was on the side, couldn't help being a little dumbfounded when he heard this, "Wow, no way, is your student union still responsible for this kind of work?"

"Occasionally, people would come to tell us their troubles, but most of the time it was Kei who received them."

"It's a surprise, there is still such a thing, so why are you Kato receiving the reception today?"

"You're such an idiot, Takei, what else can there be? Of course it's because Kato-san has been busy with our class activities, so this guy has to do it himself?"

"Isn't it too much to call someone an idiot!? Ah Xiao!"

Ignoring Takei's protest, Yamaguchi looked at Kato Yusuke with a smile.

"Speaking of that classmate Kato, Kato, what are you going to do later?"

"...how to do what?"

"Stop pretending to be stupid. Of course it's the folk dance at the Houye Festival. Are you going to invite Kato-san to dance?"

"Ah, speaking of this."

Takei also echoed, "I remember that in our school, if you take the initiative to invite others to dance at the after-night festival, it seems to mean "please associate with me", right? "

"That's right. So you invited Kato-san, or did the other party invite you? Kato."

Facing Yamaguchi's winking eyebrows, Kato Yusuke couldn't help frowning slightly, and replied:
"...We haven't invited each other before, but thank you for your reminder, I will invite Shiwa-senpai now."

After he finished speaking, he took out his mobile phone and acted.

At the same time, the lights in the hall were also dimmed, and the spotlight above the stage became the only light source.

The girl who served as the head of the executive committee stepped onto the stage and announced loudly.

"Then, the closing ceremony of the Ninth Private Toyosaki Cultural Festival begins now—!"

The sound came out through the speakers, sounding the prelude to the end.

……

After the speech part is over, the project selection process will follow.

The girls on the executive committee held the list in their hands, and announced the top ten most popular items in this cultural festival in the order from the back to the front.

Leaving aside the last seven, we went directly to the highly anticipated top three.

"No.3, drama department, "Hehe Rhapsody" stage play!"

wow wow wow wow...

Immediately there was a warm applause from the audience.

Several members of the drama department stood up excitedly from their seats, yelled and hugged each other with tears in their eyes.

The expressions of the audience who saw this scene became gentle, and the applause became more and more enthusiastic.

After three days of public performances, the drama department has already proved its own strength through superb performances, and it is well deserved to win the top three.

The girl on the executive committee waited for a while, and then continued: "Next is No.2's... eh? Anime Marathon Appreciation, Class A of the first year... An Yilun also...??"

The surprised voice clearly entered everyone's ears through the loudspeaker in the hall.

Taking this as an opportunity, the applause that had not yet fully subsided suddenly fell silent, and the gymnasium of Nuo University suddenly became silent.

In the blankness of this cold scene, an excited boy's voice suddenly sounded.

"Hey, hey! Did you hear that Rinya! It says you're No.2! You're too strong——!"

An impatient voice followed.

"Ahhh, I heard it, and I heard it clearly, I'm talking about you, Hihiko! Don't just shake other people's shoulders, hey!"

The voices of the two were not loud, but clear and inexplicable.

Almost all the people present heard their conversation, so...

With a "boom", the crowd exploded!

"Are you kidding me!? There must be something wrong—??"

"That's right! You actually said that the Animation Appreciation Society is second? Did you make a mistake—!"

"Could it be that we have so many clubs, but can't compare to a cartoon show—??"

"We need an explanation—!"

Feeling strong suspicion and dissatisfaction with this ranking, the crowd erupted into commotion.

Faced with the scene of the group's anger, the girls on the stage couldn't help feeling flustered.

But immediately, other members of the executive committee trotted onto the stage to deliver a document to her.

The girl hurriedly glanced at the information in her hand, with a little more confidence on her face, and put the microphone to her mouth.

"Everyone—! According to the records, the animation screening event at this cultural festival set a record for the highest number of people present indoors!"

Like a choked duck, the noisy environment quiets down.

Everyone looked at An Yilun in disbelief, their expressions were astonished and speechless, they were so choked that they had nothing to say, and finally they sat down again with a full face of displeasure, and the drums died down.

Immediately there were scattered applause in the hall, full of pity and charity.

Perhaps seeing people's resistance, the girl on the executive committee smiled wryly, and didn't dare to delay, announcing the next project hastily.

"Finally, No. 1 with the largest number of visitors, the highest turnover, and the highest popularity in this cultural festival—! One-year class E, maid cafe~!"

""Yah~~~!!!"""

There was cheers from the girls in the audience.

"It's President Xiaoyou's class~~~!"

"President Xiaoyou is the best~~~!"

"President Xiaoyou, come on~~~!"

No one questioned that, and everyone clapped their hands.

In class E of the first year, the students were both happy and helpless, and all cast their eyes on the boy sitting at the end.

Amid the ridicule of the Mangosteen Brothers, Kato Yusuke could only nod to his classmates apologetically.

After all, except for the first morning, he didn't make any contribution to the class during the rest of the time, but now he has become the biggest contributor.

——It makes people feel a little helpless.

Fortunately, everyone knew that he could not be blamed for this, so they didn't make a fuss for too long.

After announcing the list of winners, the girls on the executive committee threw out the final highlight.

"Well~~~Then it's the last part of the closing ceremony, which is this beauty pageant. The girl who won this year's championship is—"

The girl dragged the end of her voice, deliberately whetting the audience's appetite for a while, and then gave the answer loudly.

"First-year Class F, Sawamura Eiriri, please come to the stage to receive the award~!"

In an instant—

Crash la la la la——!
The loudest applause and cheers so far erupted in the arena.

In this atmosphere of expectation, Ying Lili walked onto the stage slowly.With every step, the light skirt swayed.

Under the gorgeous spotlight, the girl wears a delicate silver lady's tiara and a ribbon representing Miss Toyosaki.

From a distance, the silver tiara complements the gorgeous blonde hair, and the pearls and sequins adorning the tiara are also dazzling.

The audience was all taken away, and immediately cheered and applauded even harder.

"Ohhhhhhhhhhh! It's Sawamura-san!!!!"

"Oops! This Sawamura-san is simply too beautiful!"

"marvelous--!"

"..."

Different from Yusuke Kato at that time, the noisy group now is mainly composed of boys, but the girls are also looking forward to the stage.

The glamorous party stood in the center of the stage, smiling and waving to the boiling audience.

Kato Yusuke looked ahead in unusual silence.

The center of the stage illuminated by spotlights is undoubtedly the most suitable place for girls, graceful and gorgeous.

At a certain moment, the two people on and off the stage suddenly met their eyes.

Ying Lili's originally calm expression suddenly froze, and a blush appeared on her snow-white cheeks.

She subconsciously wanted to look away, but somehow she stopped.

Then, the girl pulled up her skirt as a gesture, gave him a distant salute in an elegant manner, with a hint of naughtiness on her face, and then waved her hand to the crowd pretending to be calm again.

Because of this action, the boys couldn't help but jumped up from their seats, raising their arms and shouting.

"I declare! From now on, Yinglili will be the cutest in the world---!!!"

"Damn! How old are you? How dare you call Ying Lili by her name!"

"Draw your sword! Gentlemen! This is war—!"

"Tata Kai——!"

The boys got into a quarrel because of this, all of them blushed and had thick necks.

Looking at the shining figure on the stage, Kato Yusuke couldn't help lowering his head and thinking.

Be fair with your emotions.

It is also appropriate to keep a distance.

——Then, is it a good thing to take an extra step forward?
The school anniversary is a kind of celebration, and the celebration belongs to an unusual day.

Because it is unusual, the standard of judgment will be slightly different from the past.

On days like this, maybe even he will make some misjudgments.

Facing the life discussion proposed by the girl to him, he clearly felt the other party's determination.

If the time and place were changed, would he still accept the current ambiguous situation?

The teenager was immersed in thinking about the unknown future, and the closing ceremony came to an end.

……

(End of this chapter)