Anime Crossover: About How I Spoiled an Angel

Page 368

Even before the other person answered, he had already started walking outside.

Just as he was about to reach the door, he suddenly heard hurried footsteps behind him.

Then his left hand was enveloped by an extremely soft touch.

But this feeling was fleeting, and soon that power moved elsewhere.

Su Qing felt Yukino gripping his sleeve and instinctively wanted to turn around, but heard a voice from her that sounded like she was embarrassed and indignant:

"Don't look back!"

Su Qing's movement of turning around suddenly stopped, just like a controlled robot that had run out of power and could only stand there blankly.

After noticing this, Yukino probably felt that she had gone a bit too far, but she still held onto the other person's sleeve tightly.

At the same time, his tone softened, and his usually calm voice now carried a hint of pleading.

"Don't look back yet."

"Okay, I'll turn back, don't worry." Su Qing nodded almost imperceptibly, then slowly turned her head back.

Even though Su Qing's movements were as smooth as a machine's, Yukino felt inexplicably safe.

It’s weird.

So, it's okay if it's a little weirder, right?

"I know my current state is strange, and I shouldn't have stopped you at all. In fact, if someone suddenly walked in now, I wouldn't even be able to explain myself..."

"But I have a feeling that if I don't say it today, I may not be able to say it for a long time to come."

"So...please, just for a little while, can you let me finish?"

"Yes, I'd be happy to." Su Qing's voice was calm, yet firm.

Yukino subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief, then pursed her lips and asked softly:

"You should remember you once told me that one day I would need your help, and that you would come to help me when that time came..."

"I rarely make promises, so I never forget them."

Remembering and never forgetting are always two different concepts.

The former can be understood as simply having a good memory, while the latter refers to how humans use some profound emotion to combat the self-protective mechanism of "forgetting".

Yukino took a deep breath, and the white mist she exhaled quickly rose and dissipated behind Su Qing with the wind.

"I've fallen for someone I shouldn't have fallen for."

"That person is a very good and important friend of mine, but at the same time, he is also the boyfriend of another very good and important friend of mine."

"I really don't know what to do. This is the first time I've ever liked a boy, and maybe I'll never like him like this again..."

"But I shouldn't have fallen for him, so I can't continue to like him."

"But I can't do it all by myself, because I find that I have no control over this emotion."

"So... this is something I have to ask you to do, something that I can only tell you, and something that only you can accomplish."

"Don't let me fall in love with that person again."

"This is my commission."

The girl's amber eyes shimmered with an icy blue light.

Perhaps she herself didn't realize that at that moment, her voice and even her wrist were trembling slightly, as if she was afraid of being rejected by Su Qing.

"So, what's your answer? Yes, or... no?"

Su Qing didn't turn around because she hadn't said yes yet, so she could only stare blankly at the other person's back.

In Japan, school ends early in the afternoon, and the sunlight is still dazzling and captivating.

The light slanted through the window screen, casting dappled shadows on the floor. The shadows of the two people were also stretched long at that moment, merging together like metal being smelted.

“I actually heard the whole phone call when I went back to the mainland.”

After a pause, perhaps worried that Yukino might not have fully understood, Su Qing added, "Every single sentence."

"The few days I spent back in mainland China were actually not very good."

"You probably guessed that I have hyperthymesia, right? Well, let's just call it my talent. For some reason, I can control it better than others."

"Therefore, all the perceptions in past memories are not what ordinary people call 'as if it were yesterday'."

"For me, as long as I want, it's no different from now, which is what is called living in the past."

"But on the flight from Tokyo to the mainland, I could no longer distinguish between memory and reality."

"The layers of memories overlap, as bizarre as quantum spacetime entanglement."

"I keep contradicting myself, splitting myself, unable to distinguish whether I live in the world of memories or the real world."

"Even after arriving on the mainland, he imagined a cat, a dog, and a little girl trying to save him."

"They all failed without a doubt."

At this point, Su Qing suddenly smiled.

"If we were to explain it using modern medical terminology, perhaps 'dissociation' would be a more appropriate term?"

“But in the end, you still came back…” Yukino unconsciously let go of the hand that was gripping her sleeve.

She listened intently, and that's why it pained her.

The girl couldn't imagine what had happened in the past few days that the other person had so casually mentioned.

Or rather, it was something she dared not think about.

She also came to the hotel that day with Mahiru and Yui.

The girl thought she would probably never forget how Su Qing looked back then.

She was truly so weak that she was on the verge of death, otherwise she wouldn't have acted so strangely in front of the other person who was perfectly fine.

"Yes, that's all thanks to you."

It was so strange. She hadn't seen Su Qing's expression at all, yet she was absolutely certain that the other person still had that faint, familiar smile on their lips.

“I heard your entire phone call.”

Perhaps worried that Yukino didn't understand fully, Su Qing added, "I heard every word and every sentence."

"I...I understand, you don't need to go into so much detail!..."

Yukino quickly spoke up, genuinely worried that Su Qing would repeat what she had said back then if she continued.

Right now, she clearly doesn't have the courage to listen.

"So one thing is undeniable: your phone call truly saved me."

"I guess it's my turn now?"

This answer should clearly indicate agreement, right?

Logically speaking, Yukino should have been happy, or at least not sad, but her heart, which had been pounding, felt empty, as if a very important part of it was missing.

She bit her lip lightly and retorted:

No, that's not it.

"It was me, it was me who was saved by you in a moment when no one else noticed..."

"Really?" Su Qing shrugged and joked in a nonchalant tone, "I didn't even know I was so amazing that I could save Minister Yukinoshita."

"But having said that, I actually have a request I'd like to ask you for a favor."

“That’s quite a coincidence.” Yukino smiled. “Tell me about it.”

Su Qing uttered a few syllables softly, and Yukino was clearly stunned. Then she heard him add...

"This is something I couldn't do on my own; it's something only you can accomplish."

"As I thought... we really are alike." Yukino's smile faded, and she said softly.

"So, Minister, what is your answer?"

"Could you wait a moment? Just a little while."

"It's possible..." Su Qing was curious, but ultimately didn't ask, and just waited quietly.

Waiting is always long and tedious, but because it's you I'm waiting for, even the wait feels worthwhile.

After an unknown amount of time, Yukino suddenly called out, "You can turn around now."

Upon hearing this, Su Qing slowly turned around.

Many years later, he no longer possessed the gift of hyperthymesia.

Yet the scene before him remained one of the most vivid images he remembered.

In that instant, a gust of wind suddenly rose in the world, and the girl's hair fluttered in the wind, her voice returning to its usual coldness.

“When the rich give to the poor with a kind heart, people call this charity.”

"To lend a helping hand to those in need is the activity of the Service Department."

"But logically speaking, I wouldn't accept such a commission."

After saying that, Yukino smiled helplessly. She gathered up her loose hair, tilted her head cutely, and a faint but incredibly genuine smile appeared on her lips.

"But who told you to be my colleague and important friend?"

"so……"

"Welcome to the Service Department."

"I am Minister Yukino Yukinoshita."

"I have accepted your commission."

A ray of golden light shone through the window frame, enveloping the girl perfectly.

She slightly raised her chin, her clear, icy blue eyes reflecting Su Qing's figure perfectly.

The underlying tone of their eyes is the warmth of ice and snow embracing the earth.

"And... I forgot to mention."

"Qing Sang".

"Welcome back."

correct.

Even though the world is prosperous and magnificent.

Even after traveling countless places and having a thousand words to say, nothing can compare to that simple sentence—

"Well, I'm back."

……

……

Chapter 392 Encountering Happiness

?

time flies.

Since Su Qing returned, his life with them seemed to have returned to normalcy.

Hikigaya no longer needs to ponder his best friend's philosophy, Yukino no longer needs to stand by the clubroom window gazing into the distance, and Yui no longer needs to stare at the empty seats with longing. They can no longer distinguish between class time and break time.

Mahiru and Su Qing no longer need to try to mechanically return to their past lives to numb and deceive themselves.

Life is back on track, yet it feels like it hasn't.

From that day on, the three of them made up their minds to embark on a path that was not entirely correct, but not necessarily wrong either.

Of course, there are difficulties as well.

At least Su Qing didn't say it, but in his heart he always felt guilty towards the two girls, especially Yui.

Putting everything else aside, they were clearly already in a relationship, and that day he even kissed the girl forcefully for a long time.

That was clearly the other person's first kiss.