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

When Kagura Hikaru lay on the ground waking up, what he saw was Kiryu Hina's serious face.

"I... what happened to me...?"

"You passed out for a few seconds."

"..."

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Kagura Hikaru sat up from the ground and glanced at the photograph that had been tossed to the side.

It was as if his eyes had been stabbed through the air, and he immediately turned his head to the other side.

Kiryu Hina bent down to pick up the photograph, dusted it off, and put it back in her bag, "This photo might indeed be too much for you, you fainted after just one look."

"...Why did this happen."

"Maybe, your brain is rejecting a reality that's different from your memory."

Kagura Hikaru looked at his own hands in bewilderment.

A reality that's different from memory, what is that?

Could it truly be.....

No, that's impossible, if his memories of Chiyoko were fake, then why would Chiyoko admit it? It doesn't make sense.

Kagura Hikaru's thoughts were in turmoil.

Ding ding ding ding ding...

The bell signaling the end of class rang.

The teaching building suddenly became noisy.

Kiryu Hina checked her watch, "Two o'clock, they've finished school. Once the parents gather outside, we can blend in with the crowd and leave."

"...Yeah."

The two waited for about fifteen minutes.

The entrance to the school was already crowded with people, teachers handing students over to the waiting parents one by one.

Kagura Hikaru and Kiryu Hina took the opportunity to leave under the cover of confusion.

School teachers and security were only vigilant against people coming in from the outside and didn't pay much attention to those leaving the school, which was a common oversight due to their way of thinking.

They walked quietly along the road.

Kagura Hikaru's face was struggling, pondering over something.

Kiryu Hina looked at him with concern.

She could tell that Kagura Hikaru actually was content with his current life.

He had a girlfriend who loved him, a family that wasn't perfect but happy, and all the painful memories had been lost due to the car accident.

His present condition was almost the same as when he was in junior high school.

The only difference was that the girlfriend who loved him had changed from Kiryu Hina to Ayakoji Chiyoko.

Kiryu Hina sadly realized that Kagura Hikaru, now amnesiac and unable to recognize her, seemed happier and more joyful than before.

The number of times he had laughed since losing his memory was more than in the past three years combined.

The worst part was that he thought so too, which was why he subconsciously resisted learning the truth. He was escaping, wrapping himself in a "Beautiful Dream."

Kiryu Hina sincerely hoped that he could find happiness and stay away from the pain and torment of the past.

But, could this situation truly be considered happiness?

False memories, false relationships.

What's more worrisome is Ayakoji Chiyoko's possessiveness; she was controlling Kagura Hikaru, intending to make him entirely hers.

Kiryu Hina would not give up trying to stop her.

Of course, she wouldn't give up on helping Kagura Hikaru regain his memory either.

Dreams are just dreams, and one day you have to wake up.

Not to mention, this "Beautiful Dream" was gradually slipping into a nightmare, and he had to face reality.

Kagura Hikaru and Kiryu Hina headed toward the train station and on the way, they saw a roasted sweet potato stall and bought two servings, eating as they walked.

After entering autumn, the weather started to get cooler, and every time the wind blew, it seemed to take away some of the body's warmth.

But with just one bite of the hot and sweet roasted sweet potato, the tiny bit of warmth that had been taken away seemed to sprout again in the heart.

Unlike Kiryu Hina, who was eating her sweet potato with earnestness, Kagura Hikaru appeared distracted, hardly eating at all.

He never stopped thinking.

As long as he didn't recall the details of past memories, he wouldn't suffer the headache of troubles, and this was precisely what he was pondering.

Why did he faint upon seeing a class photo from his elementary school days?

Yoshou Elementary School's 37th graduating class, he remembered that was his graduating class.

He wasn't present when that photo was taken as he should have been in the hospital then, but presumably, he could find Chiyoko and Sakata Asahi from his childhood. These were the only available pieces of information.

So, why did he faint?

A school photograph alone, could it really cause PTSD?

He knew whose face was in it, and he remembered memories from elementary school, some happy and some not so much.

But no matter what, such a strong reaction shouldn't have occurred.

Or perhaps... his subconscious knew that the photo would reveal something that contradicted his own awareness.

Just recalling the details of past memories would cause him a headache, something even the doctors couldn't understand, thinking it was a novel symptom or a psychological factor causing a chain reaction.

Now, Kagura Hikaru probably had a guess.

His body didn't want him to remember.

Or rather, his subconscious believed that remembering would have a detrimental effect on him, and fainting was a form of self-protection.

In those missing three years of memories, perhaps there was something he couldn't identify with, something he didn't want to acknowledge.

If that were true, it would mean he was now living a lie.

This was... a big problem.

Kagura Hikaru and Kiryu Hina stopped not far from the train station, planning to finish their sweet potatoes before entering.

Of course, you can't take food on the train.

It was at this moment that they happened to see a familiar figure.

Ayakoji Chiyoko, dressed in Yuqiu High School's uniform, walked out of the station, looking around as if searching for something.

"Ah oh, the spider's here," Kiryu Hina said.

"What?" Kagura Hikaru asked, puzzled.

"Nothing, I've got to go, see you next time, bye."

Kiryu Hina turned around, smiled at Kagura Hikaru, and disappeared into the crowd, walking backward.

"Hey!"

Kagura Hikaru still intended to ask for clarification, but Ayakoji Chiyoko seemed to have seen him and quickly walked over.

"Kagura!"

"...Chiyoko."

Ayakoji Chiyoko approached Kagura Hikaru and glanced behind him: "Who were you just talking to?"

"Who?" Kagura Hikaru appeared confused, then pretended to have an epiphany, "Oh, just a student passing by, asked me for directions, but I'm not familiar with this area."

"But, you used to attend elementary school here—with me," Ayakoji Chiyoko pointed out sharply.

"It's been many years since then, my memory might not be as reliable as you think."

"Is that so."

"What about you, why are you here?" Kagura Hikaru counter-questioned, "It doesn't seem like it's time for school to let out."

"I heard that liar Kiryu Hina left school early on the pretext of being sick, I thought she might come to see you—has she been here?"

"No, I didn't see her."

Ayakoji Chiyoko's gaze was fixed on Kagura Hikaru, increasing his pressure and causing him to secretly sweat.

He didn't know why he felt the need to lie to his girlfriend, covering for that inexplicable girl.

Something inside told him it was the right thing to do.

He felt shaken by the reality Kiryu Hina had described.

Maybe what she said was true, maybe it was false, who knew.

Kagura Hikaru understood there might indeed be something fishy going on, but he didn't want to jump to conclusions too quickly.

"So you're saying, you left school early to look for her?" Kagura Hikaru said.

"You could say that."@@novelbin@@

"Why are you so wary of that girl?"

"I know what she's capable of, so I don't dare let my guard down for a moment," Ayakoji Chiyoko said firmly, looking deeply into Kagura Hikaru's eyes, "She's a deceiver, Kagura, don't let her bewitch you."

"...I won't."

Around the corner, Kiryu Hina hid, watching Ayakoji Chiyoko speaking with Kagura Hikaru.

She quickly finished her sweet potato, placed the remaining peel in a small plastic bag she brought from when she made the purchase, tied it up, wiped her hands, and then took out her phone to dial a number.

Click, the call connected.

"Ayakoji Chiyoko is here with me, she won't be going back, make your move."

After hanging up the phone, Kiryu Hina gave a cold smile in that direction and disappeared around the corner.

Ayakoji Chiyoko, feeling something amiss, turned her head to look in that direction, but found nothing.

Confused for a moment, she turned her head back and said with a smile to Kagura Hikaru, "Where did you buy your sweet potato? It smells very good."

"Over there, I'll take you."