Chapter 20: I Can Only Apologize by Cutting Off My Little Finger.

Discontinuing the memory scene, Minami Yuuki turned his head to look out the window at the bright sun.

Memory serves as the carrier of emotions; seeing Asano Nao's sadness in the memory scene, his own heart couldn't help but feel suppressed.

In the azure sky, the golden sun shone brightly, its warmth gentle. He pulled the curtains open a bit more, allowing more light to shine on himself.

He recalled Asano Nao and her indecisiveness.

He could understand Asano Nao's emotions, and it was precisely because of this understanding that he felt troubled.

In the previous simulated life, Asano Nao's melancholy; this time in the simulated life, Asano Nao's resistance to closeness, also had to do with these emotions.

What a naive girl.

Minami Yuuki thought of a phrase—Since obtaining the moon, living in a world without the moon in the future would be terrifying.

The joy of attainment never comes alone; along with it comes the fear of loss.

Asano Nao is a melancholic, pessimistic person; she lacks the confidence to hold onto the moon, always concerned about loss, and fear often easily overwhelms joy, causing her pain.

"Ah, troublesome woman."

Minami Yuuki said with a hint of disdain, yet his heart was filled with tenderness.

He moved to the sunny side and continued the simulation.

The interrupted memory scene continued to play.

*Ding-ling—*

The phone rang in the dimly lit bedroom.

Asano Nao quickly wiped her face and pressed the answer button.

On the screen, Minami Yuuki's figure appeared.

"So dark, has sister already gone to bed? What are you doing?"

The energetic tone in the boy's voice dispersed the gloom in Asano Nao's heart.

She felt nervous; this was Minami Yuuki's first video call to her. Although she had seen Minami Yuuki on the phone screen before, they were all prerecorded, but this time it was live.

"I'm playing games," she nervously turned the phone, showing her laptop on the desk.

Thank goodness she didn't close the game; otherwise, she would have had to say she had just been crying.

"I'm having dinner now, it doesn't taste as good as sister's cooking. I really want to go back soon. Why do we have to stay in the dormitory for sprint training? It's so troublesome. But the teachers participating in this training camp are very competent. I heard that a famous teacher will come tomorrow, it feels like we can improve a lot."

Minami Yuuki switched to the rear camera, showing Asano Nao his dinner and talking about his day.

Suddenly, Asano Nao felt guilty. The boy's sincere and natural words highlighted her own inner filthiness.

Asano Nao, you are truly despicable!

Yuuki-kun is clearly studying seriously, how can you speculate on him doing bad things in the woods outside!

While speculating, you also indulge in careful fantasies!

Too unhealthy!

"Has sister had dinner?" Minami Yuuki switched back to the front camera.

"I'm sorry!" Asano Nao blurted out her inner thoughts.

"Huh? What did sister do to apologize to me? Did you dirty my handkerchief? I don't mind, but please don't do that to the key, it's just a rented key."

Asano Nao hesitated for two seconds, her face flushing: "I didn't do that kind of thing!"

On the screen, the boy flashed a mischievous smile, teasing her.

She didn't mind this kind of teasing, although every time she felt so embarrassed she wanted to hide under the covers.

"Hey, who's Yuuki talking to?" Suddenly, a third voice came from the phone.

Asano Nao's heart tightened, before she could react, another head appeared on the screen.

It was a woman with a ponytail, wearing a small suit, with heavy makeup on her face.

"Don't look around, Inoue-sensei," Minami Yuuki warned.

"As a teacher, isn't it normal for me to care about my students?" Inoue Takako waved at the camera. "Hello, I'm this guy's homeroom teacher. I remember this guy only has a middle school sister, are you the secret girlfriend he always talks about? I thought that was just his excuse for rejecting his female classmates."

"Teacher, don't be so familiar, it will scare my sister."

"What's there to be scared of!" Inoue Takako greeted Asano Nao, "I'm Inoue Takako, nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you," Asano Nao stiffly squeezed out the words.

Her mind was in turmoil.

Why did a stranger suddenly appear out of nowhere?

And this woman is wearing a suit! She even knows how to put on makeup! She looks so dangerous, like the kind of woman who would look at me with disdain!

Asano Nao shrank back, trembling with fear.

Should I hang up now and pretend the call got disconnected?

No, no, no, she's Yuuki-kun's teacher. If I suddenly hang up, she might get mad and take it out on Yuuki-kun! What should I do if she starts giving Yuuki-kun a hard time?

Should I pretend my phone died? Or that the signal is bad?

If I had acting skills like that, would I be hiding at home right now?

But if I continue this call, I'll probably end up embarrassing myself and making Yuuki-kun feel ashamed!

I'm truly useless.

When Yuuki-kun comes back, how should I apologize? Would ten million yen be enough? Should I cut off my little finger? Or go for the three cuts and six holes popular in some country across the sea?

Her resolve sank even lower.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk…"

She heard the voice of Inoue Takako. Is she about to start mocking me?

"...Take a closer look, at this small nose, this petite face, this fluctuating heart…"

Is she going to attack me based on appearance? Asano Nao tensed up.

"...And she's actually a busty beauty! You've got quite the eye, kid!" Inoue Takako slapped Minami Yuuki's back vigorously.

"Of course," replied Minami Yuuki.

Huh? Isn't she supposed to be attacking me? Asano Nao cautiously raised her eyes to look at Inoue Takako.

"With those rabbit-like eyes, and still a weak type! It seems to suit your character quite well," Inoue Takako squeezed even harder, "By the way, did you use some kind of coercion on her?"

"Impressive, Teacher. You guessed right," Minami Yuuki proudly raised his thumb.

He turned to Asano Nao, "Right, Nae-nee!"

"Huh? Uh-huh, uh-huh," Asano Nao didn't understand the situation at all, nodding in confusion.

"Damn it, showing off right in front of me!" Inoue Takako gritted her teeth.

She mentioned coercion just as a joke, never expecting both of them to go along with it, acting out a scene of flirting.

She turned around, "I'm leaving, don't want to disturb your intimacy."

Minami Yuuki chuckled and propped his phone on the table, picking up chopsticks.

He said to Asano Nao, "Didn't scare you, did she? Inoue-sensei might talk too much, but she's a good person."

"Uh-huh, uh-huh," Asano Nao nodded vigorously, fully agreeing with Minami Yuuki's words.

This teacher must be a gentle person, because she lied to me and praised me for being a good match for Yuuki-kun, and also praised me for being pretty.

How could a teacher who would distort her own heart for the sake of other people's feelings be a bad person!

[You reassured Asano Nao via video call and continued with the treatment plan as expected. Your foresight told you Inoue Takako would likely come over to check things out. The first online meeting was a success.]

[For the following week, you called Asano Nao twice a day, and according to your arrangement, classmates or teachers often joined in unexpectedly. These intruders were all cheerful and kind-hearted people, and with your guidance, they all praised Asano Nao's beauty.]

[You wanted to help Asano Nao build confidence this way, but she seemed to interpret their words as gentle lies.]

[This puzzled you, and you came up with a guess. Could it be that Asano Nao has issues with her perception of her own beauty? After finishing the sprint exercise, you went straight to Asano's house, and without beating around the bush, you asked her to rate her own appearance.]