After breaking up, my ex asked me to win her back

Kagura Hikaru was running through complete darkness.

Behind him were invisible hounds.

He didn't know where the hounds were, only hearing their hoofbeats and light panting as they ran, and he could faintly smell a stench.

They were right behind him.

If he stopped, he would be preyed upon.

Fear for his survival kept Kagura Hikaru from stopping.

He could only keep on running through the endless darkness.

Though humans had the strongest endurance among all the creatures on Earth, they too had their limits.

When Kagura Hikaru's pace slowed, he smelled death.

He felt the pressure of some large beast closing in from behind before a sharp pain hit his neck.

The next moment, Kagura Hikaru opened his eyes in bed.

Warm sunlight shone through the gaps in the curtains, carrying with it the scent of detergent from the blanket.

Kagura Hikaru slowly sat up, his hand pressing against his forehead, fingers threading through his hair.

His forehead and temples were cold with sweat, and a bit of his back was drenched as well.

It was another nightmare.

Kagura Hikaru exhaled, his body relaxed, he stood up to pour himself a glass of water, and downed it, feeling his heartbeat return to normal.

It had been a week since he and Ayakoji Chiyoko broke up, and the frequency of his nightmares had been increasing.

The initial frequent nightmares had started when Suse returned to Tokyo, roughly appearing once every four to five days.

During his relationship with Ayakoji Chiyoko, they happened every three days.

Now, they were occurring almost every day.

He had bought some medication on his own, but it seemed ineffective, probably due to the unending high-pressure environment— the medication could only provide temporary relief.

Kagura Hikaru drew back the curtain.

The sunlight from outside poured in, warmth enveloping his whole body, almost like a hug, soothing his mind.

But soon, that warmth slowly turned somber.

Across from his bedroom window, the neighbor in the next house also had their curtains wide open, combing her long hair by the window; noticing him looking, she opened the window and smiled.

Kagura Hikaru immediately drew the curtains.

He glanced at the time and went downstairs to wash up.

As he sat at the dining table ready to have breakfast, his stepmother came over with a resigned face, holding a red gift box tied with a rose.

"Mister Hikaru, another one for you. How many has it been now? Can't you think of something?"

"...I'll ask her to be cautious."

Kagura Hikaru put down his chopsticks, took the gift box, and set it aside.

At first, he still had the interest to unseal them.

Inside, sometimes were expensive items like luxury watches and perfumes, and other times, cheaper but equally heavy handmade heart-shaped chocolates.

But with a frequency of deliveries every morning and evening, he had now become too lazy to even look.

If all the received gifts were stacked together, they could probably fill a room.

His father and stepmother didn't know who was sending these gifts, Kagura Hikaru had only told them about a rich girl who was pursuing him.

He knew, without a doubt, they were from Kohinata Motoyo.

Now every day as he went to school, Kagura Hikaru had to add an extra step—packing the gifts she sent into his backpack to return them to her at school.

Ever since she returned to the country, she had been using this method to 'show her determination.' Telling her to stop was futile as it only made her cling more, making conversation out of nothing.

Sometimes, Kagura Hikaru truly felt Suse was quite clumsy in love; even if pestering a boy, it shouldn't be done this way.

"I'm full."

After finishing his breakfast, Kagura Hikaru went upstairs, grabbed his backpack and guitar case, stuffed the gift box into his backpack, and headed for the train station.

Entering the train, he successfully found Ai Cheng Hua Lian.

"Ai Cheng."

"Ah, Kagura." Ai Cheng Hua Lian smiled her usual smile, "You look a bit tired. Did you oversleep?"

"Something like that."

Kagura Hikaru took the empty seat next to her and placed the guitar case between them.

"You've been bringing your guitar to school again lately," Ai Cheng Hua Lian noted, "are you planning a comeback?"

"It's not a matter of coming back or not, I never quit."

"Is that so? You haven't participated in live performances since summer vacation, I thought..."

"I have started taking commissions again. If your band needs it, you can also hire me."

"Really? Actually..."

Just like any other morning, Ai Cheng Hua Lian chatted while smiling, and Kagura Hikaru sat beside her quietly listening, occasionally joining in the conversation.

If he had to pick the time of day he looked forward to the most, it was this brief moment in the mornings walking to school with Ai Cheng Hua Lian.

In her presence, Kagura Hikaru found solace.

Unrestrained, with no expectations, equal in conversation, no debts owed by anyone.

Explore more at My Virtual Library Empire

The fierce summer continued.

In the slightly shaking train car flooded with sunlight, they complained about the stifling air, conversing and laughing with the girl beside them as if no one else existed.

This chapter of high school life, Kagura Hikaru would probably never forget for the rest of his life.

But even in such times, there were jarring notes.

From a certain point in time, Ai Cheng Hua Lian stopped mentioning Ayakoji Chiyoko, not even her name.

The reason was obvious.

In school, rumors that his relationship with Ayakoji Chiyoko had fallen apart had begun to spread recently.@@novelbin@@

He had not only voluntarily left the Student Council, but he had also switched seats with a female Discipline Committee member sitting in the back, now sitting in the last row near the classroom's back door.

He no longer spoke with Ayakoji Chiyoko and would leave separately as soon as school ended.

This was completely opposite to their usual behavior.

Because of the atmosphere, no one dared to ask what happened between them, but people in Ayakoji Chiyoko's circle had started treating Kagura Hikaru as if he were invisible, because that was what Ayakoji Chiyoko was doing herself.

As his friend, Ai Cheng Hua Lian probably heard some rumors too and had been careful about his feelings, not bringing up the topic.

Kagura Hikaru also wanted to find an opportunity to explain to her, but the efforts had been fruitless until now.

It was really hard to say it out loud.

Maybe letting it continue like this until graduation wouldn't be so bad, Ai Cheng Hua Lian was a clever girl, and she would understand without needing extra explanation.

Kagura Hikaru knew this was his procrastination acting up again, yet he couldn't help but let it be.

The summer was too hot, making him unwilling to think anymore, just going with the flow seemed to be his life's ethos.

When they reached the station, they got off the bus.

Walking on the road leading to Yuqiu High School, they happened to run into Kohinata Suse again.

"Good morning to both of you," she said with a smile, waving as if it had been arranged for them to meet.

But she insisted it was a coincidence.

Could there really be coincidences that lasted over a week?

"Morning, good morning, Kohinata student," Ai Cheng Hua Lian awkwardly rubbed the hem of her clothes.

"Sorry, I hope I'm not disturbing you guys?" Kohinata Suse said with hands holding her satchel behind her back and an apologetic smile.

If one couldn't read minds, one would never know if she actually felt embarrassed or had bad intentions.

However, these coincidences had one advantage, Kagura Hikaru took the opportunity to return the gift every day.

"Here, take it."

"Okay."

As if used to it, Kohinata Suse smiled and put the returned gift box into her bag, not at all embarrassed about receiving the gift back.

This could be interpreted as having a good attitude, but Kagura Hikaru leaned more towards describing it as 'tenacity'.

When facing her, Kagura Hikaru often felt a chill.