Going out, these two words felt a bit distant to Ichiko right now.
Her life used to be rich and busy.
But after losing Haruko, she realized she had no reason to go out anymore.
What was the point of studying hard, who was a good future for, and as for going out to work to earn some living expenses, she didn't even have to buy groceries or cook for Haruko by herself.
She ate alone at home.
After lying down at night, she would sleep until noon, cook enough rice for both lunch and dinner, then fry two eggs, and not even go out to buy things, spending less than 10 yuan a day.
There was no need to go out, and no one would go out with her anymore.
But then a slightly displeased voice came from her ear, "What, don't tell me you're still lying on the sofa?"
Kai's reminder came again, causing Ichiko's body to stiffen slightly.
She was indeed still lying on the sofa.
"You can even guess I'm still lying on the sofa?"
Ichiko mumbled, but still got up and walked towards the room, "Wait a moment, I'll go change."
Ichiko picked up her phone and glanced out the window.
The sun was bright, shining high in the sky.
It was a rare sunny winter day, the temperature was moderate, so she didn't need to wear that thick, heavy down jacket.
She returned to her room and took off her pajamas directly.
"Hiss!"
Suddenly, she seemed to hear a sharp intake of breath.
Was it from inside the room?
Or from Kai on the phone?
The sound was faint, Ichiko didn't hear it very clearly, but she did feel a tiny bit of a peeking gaze.
She looked around, the curtains were completely closed.
It felt a bit unnatural, but... it didn't seem annoying either.
Of course, Ichiko didn't know that while she was changing, a certain straw doll hidden in the corner was covering its mouth tightly.
The doll's small hands were very short, making it difficult to cover its mouth.
Fortunately, it was daytime, so even if the straw doll's strange red eyes glowed, no one would notice.
It had been over two months.
Haruko hadn't expected that despite sleeping with Ichiko countless times and even kissing her, there were very few scenes of her changing clothes!
Unexpectedly, she only accidentally saw an ambiguous changing scene after she died?
"My sin, my sin, I didn't mean to look at Ichiko, I just couldn't take my eyes off her because I like her."
Haruko, now a small doll, silently recited 'emptiness is form' in her heart, and then boldly started looking.
There was nothing she could do, she was a doll, she couldn't move, nor could she look away.
Ichiko was quick and finished changing clothes in no time.
She wore a gray knit sweater underneath and a brown cotton hoodie outside. She had originally planned to wear thermal leggings outside.
But then she remembered something Haruko once said.
—This, you can't wear this outside, only at home!
That was the possessiveness of a yandere.
Thinking about it now, wasn't being possessed like that a kind of happiness?
Ichiko changed into a simple pair of cotton pants, then picked up her phone and walked towards the door, "Kai, are you still there?"
She didn't get a response until she was out in the living room, "That's strange, the call is still connected."
After a while, just as she was about to leave, a voice finally came from her phone, "Ahhh, I just stubbed my toe on a chair, went to put something on it. Are you ready to go out?"
"Yeah, so I'll wait for you at Yang Yang Cat Cafe?"
"OK, it'll take me half an hour by bus, you go ahead."
"Alright."
Ichiko hung up the phone and went outside the door, but after thinking for a moment, she turned back and returned to Haruko's room.
"Dan is leaving, taking you back to your hometown."
"Meow?"
It wasn't until the warm sunlight shone on her and she smelled the mixed scent of snow and dust that she let out a long sigh of relief.
"It's been so long since I went out, I'm a little unaccustomed to it."
She took out her phone again and used the screen as a mirror to look at herself.
Her hair was a bit messy, and her spirit seemed a little low.
She reached into her pocket to grab a hair tie to tie up her long hair, but after fumbling around, she realized she hadn't brought a hair tie out.
"Haruko, do you have any extra hair ties, lend me..."
Ichiko subconsciously looked to her side.
Her words stopped abruptly.
Never mind, she couldn't be bothered to tie her hair anyway, the person who used to compliment her beautiful hair was no longer here.
She went out and rode a shared bike.
Enjoying the breeze on her face, Ichiko quickly arrived at Yang Yang Cat Cafe first.
Before the shared bike had even fully stopped, Dan jumped directly from the bike's basket and excitedly ran towards the cat cafe.
"Huh? Dan, why did you run back?"
Miss Xu Ran was holding a small cat and opened the door for the rushing Dan.
"Meow!"
Dan meowed, seemingly greeting Miss Xu Ran, then entered the cat cafe, seemingly ready to reassert its dominance here.
Miss Xu Ran looked up again and saw Ichiko walking over, "Miss Xu, sorry to bother you again."
"Welcome, this cat cafe is quite unpopular, I'd love for more people to come chat with me."
Miss Xu Ran also opened the door for Ichiko and looked around again.
Ichiko asked in confusion, "What are you looking for?"
"Nothing." Miss Xu Ran asked curiously, "Didn't your Orange come with you?"
Instantly, Ichiko's somewhat relaxed smile stiffened.
And gradually faded.
"She's busy for now, I'm here to meet an online friend this time."
"Oh, I see. Please come in, what would you like to drink? Coffee?"
After scanning the QR code and paying two hundred yuan, Ichiko originally wanted a cup of juice, but after glancing at the menu, she was silent for a moment.
"I'll have an Orange C Americano, and... extra sugar."
Then Ichiko sat on the same chair as last time, staring blankly at a blanket where the cats were.
Last time, Haruko was on that blanket and then brought Dan home.
Now, Dan was still commanding its subordinates on the blanket, but that little darling with tea-colored long hair was no longer there.
This place was also one of Ichiko's few good memories.
After sitting for about ten minutes, the bell rang, and the cat cafe door opened.
A petite girl with long brown hair, wearing a rather unconventional gray coat, slipped in through the door.
She wore black-rimmed glasses and was constantly blowing warm air onto her small hands as she entered, "Ugh, wow, it's sunny, but why is it still so cold? Good thing there's air conditioning here, I'm alive again."
The girl looked around, her gaze first lingering on Miss Xu Ran for a few seconds.
Then she turned to look at Ichiko, first taking off her glasses to glance, then putting them back on, "Hello, you must be Mimi, sorry I'm late."
However, Ichiko was staring at the girl in a daze, "Haruko?"
The girl's smile froze for a moment.
Then she naturally came over to Ichiko, "Although some people call me Haruko, most people call me Kai."
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