Chapter 7 Section VII

The cold north wind seemed to tear at my ears, rolled up the massage leaflets on the ground, wrapped them around my feet, and then flew away.Every time you step on the human footbridge, you will see a puddle or two of the remnants of the day's drunken vomiting, which makes people feel filthy. A tired-looking Santa Claus and a girl holding a donation box for the year-end mutual aid campaign walked past me.Although such a combination feels a bit weird, it is already commonplace. Turning up the collar of my jacket, I can't help but wonder why I'm here on a date.Maybe it's because that's how I feel when I'm on the phone.The weather is cold and dry.

A letter made me feel such a mood.The sender's name was Yukihara Toshie, Tatsuya's mother. "It's already a year ago, but I'm here to bring up the old story—" This is the beginning of the letter.This made me feel extremely nervous, thinking that she had discovered the secret about Tatsuya's death that only Yoko and I knew. However, the content of the letter does not mention this matter.Tatsuya's mother didn't seem to know about the full-length mirror in the tailoring room and Miyoko Kasai. "It's been a year. When I went to clean the kid's room, I found this thing."

The letter simply stated that "this thing" was found while cleaning the room.I felt my hand trembling slightly as I held the letter.Had he known this at the time, the outcome of the incident might have been completely different. After graduation, yesterday was the first time I went back to my alma mater.Going back to the roof of the building where Tatsuya fell, for some reason, the door on the roof that was locked before opened again. Standing on the roof, I solved all the mysteries.The answer unexpectedly appeared in a place I hadn't expected, and it also made me feel a deep sense of exhaustion.I even thought, why not just bury the truth in my heart.But I can't do it, and I'm the one who knows best that I can't.

The bitter cold wind blew again. A few girls who seemed to be in junior high school walked past me with their skirts pressed down.As soon as I set my eyes on their backs, I felt someone patting me on the shoulder beside me. "What are you looking at?" Turning my head, I saw Yoko, who was a bit mature after make-up, even in front of female professionals, was standing beside me with a smile on her face. "Started to switch to the Lolicon camp?" Watching Yoko walk forward, I said, "Ask you out today, not for a date." "I have something to tell you."

"What words?" Yoko's voice was slightly confused.She tilted her head and suggested, "Then let's go to the coffee shop. I know a shop, and it feels pretty good." "No need." I looked at her sadly, "Just say it here." "Here? Standing in this cold wind and talking?" Is there a short-circuit in the brain? If it were Yoko in the past, she would definitely say such a thing.But she didn't say that.Perhaps she has already seen from my eyes that there is no sense of joking in my words. "It's about Tatsuya." "About Tatsuya?...I said Ah Liang, didn't we make an appointment not to mention him again?"

"This is not an example." I looked directly into Yoko's face.She stared at me for a while, then looked away. "Okay, let's talk about it here." She stuffed her hands into the pockets of her coat and looked down at the traffic under the overpass.The cars stuck in the road seem to be competing with each other, and the roaring engines exhaust the exhaust.There are so many trucks, perhaps also because it is the twelfth lunar month. Thinking about it carefully, it felt a bit strange to ask Yoko out to talk like this.I have always been Tatsuya's foil. My first love has long been buried as a faint memory with old photo albums.Even though the relationship between the two of us quickly became close after that accident, I always felt guilty when facing Tatsuya.I always told myself in my heart that after Tatsuya died, I was the only person Yoko was willing to open up to, and it has been like this until today.

However, such a thing does seem a little unnatural. "then……" Looking at Yoko's fair side face, I started talking. "There's one thing I didn't understand until the end. That's why Tatsuya ran to that place alone at that time." "And now you finally understand why?" Yoko asked calmly. "Got it." There was a hint of despair in my answer. "Tatsuya was not alone. You were with him, too." Yoko didn't say anything, just stared down the bridge in a daze.I told Tatsuya's mother about the letter she had written to me.What Tatsuya's mother found while cleaning the room was a schedule that Tatsuya had used last year.On it were written the agenda items for the day of his death.Judging by the schedule, Tatsuya and Yoko seem to be planning to date after school.

"After school that day, the two of you met on the roof. Tatsuya fell right in front of your eyes." "But... didn't the girls who saw the scene say that there was no one but him..." "There's a landing on the top floor." I interrupted Yoko. "I went to see it yesterday. From the place where they play volleyball, it is very likely that you will be blocked by the stairs." I took a breath, "But that's not what I'm trying to figure out." "Yesterday, I went to see Miyoko Kasai." Yoko's expression changed.I felt her breathing stop suddenly.

"She was always reluctant to tell the truth, her mouth was tighter than an oyster. I told her that I would not run and tell the police, and she told the truth. According to her, you were indeed with him at the time. Together. But you didn’t let her tell anyone. And the condition you made was not to tell the police the truth. I want to know, why did you go out of your way to hide the fact that you were with Tatsuya at the time?” Yoko turned around suddenly.Although his face was pale, there was still a hint of a smile on his expression. "Aren't you guessing at all, Aliang?"

I shook my head, "No, I have some speculations myself." "Tell me." She stared straight into my face as if urging me to tell something interesting.This time, I also walked to the bridge, grabbed the handrail and looked down. "Just like that day, I went to the top of the building to look, and stood where you were at the time and tried to speculate. After that, I discovered something that I had never noticed before. At that time, the side used You must have been reflected in the full-length mirror that reflects the sun." I paused. "Listen well, the following words are all just my speculations, maybe it should be said to be fantasy. But in a word, please listen to my words."

"Tatsuya and Yoko are lovers—this has been an unshakable fact since elementary school. They are always together, inseparable, and it is obvious to everyone. But for you , this point may be a burden. Because the human heart cannot remain unchanged forever. It is not because you have come into contact with another world." "The gray space enveloped the two of us. I don't know what kind of relationship we have in the eyes of others. Maybe the man is begging the woman not to leave, or maybe he is begging the woman to break up... On that day, Ada..." Yoko spoke slowly.I said "it's over".What's over?I don't know.Maybe it's all over. "He called me to the top of the building and told me that he planned to apply for a university in Hokkaido. I was surprised at the time, but then I understood. He had said before that he wanted to be a veterinarian in the future. But then He also said that I should also apply for the university in Hokkaido and go to Hokkaido with him. This sentence shocked me. Seeing that I was silent, he continued, "From now on, I will always have only you in my heart. For you, I can go through fire and water.” To prove his words, he climbed up the railing on the roof. At that time, I felt from the bottom of my heart that he had become my burden. Whether it was his kindness or his past.” "Then why don't you just say it?" I asked. "Tell him, will each go his own way from now on?" "You should tell him." "If I talk to him like this, A Liang, will you still date me?" "I?" I feel a little confused, no, not at all.The answer is obvious.No.It might sound dated, but that's our friendship. "Right? That's why I feel pain. To be honest, when I was in elementary school and junior high school, Ada was indeed my ideal lover. His character of never admitting defeat was very attractive to me. But in After high school, he began to become less perfect. He began to get used to admitting defeat and being content with being ordinary. From then on, I began to fall in love with you, A Liang. Although you can’t do it in all aspects, A Liang To be the best, but you always have a goal in your heart. What I like is this kind of person with radiant eyes. You say, am I a playboy? But I’m just a high school student, empathizing, Is it okay to like someone else?" I don't know whether Yoko's expression is crying or laughing, and her sad eyes are deeply burned in my heart. "I don't want to be bound by my childhood love anymore. I am me, not Ada's lover, I want to be myself again. But I can't get anyone's recognition, it feels like my life is in control It's the same in the hands of others... I can't even confess my love to the person I like. And Ada's seriousness weighed heavily on my heart. At this moment, a flash appeared in the opposite school building. Take a moment. I don’t deny that at that time, I did have expectations for the one-tenth, or one-percent probability. At that time, I said with full expectation, ‘Ada, look what that is’.” Her voice was small, but it sounded like thunder to my ears.Who would have expected that the love that sprouted in childhood would develop into this appearance in the end?Although Miyoko Kasai was the one who reflected the sunlight with the full-length mirror, it was Yoko who made Tatsuya turn his head to look. The setting sun shone on Yoko's face, and her lips were tightly shut.A line of clear tears slid down her orange-red cheeks.For whom and why did those tears fall, I am completely unable to understand now.I don't know what to say.From now on, it is estimated that I will never see her again. I walk slowly.The eyes of passers-by on the road flicked back and forth between my face and Yoko's. In their eyes, they might feel that the man abandoned the woman. As I strolled, I subconsciously took the iced tea flyer handed over by the long-haired girl in due course.