Kai's height was similar to Haruko's, both just over 1.5 meters but not reaching 1.6 meters. The difference was that Kai had long brown hair and wore glasses, and her eyes were a normal person's black.
But the moment she took off her glasses, Ichiko really saw Haruko in those delicate features and that face.
There was a slight resemblance, but it was only... a little bit.
Had her longing for Haruko reached this point?
Ichiko was a bit dazed, then shook her head.
Looking up, she saw the girl in front of her pouting unhappily, "Hey, Mimi, you weren't calling my name just now, were you? You called out Haruko? The Cheng from Orange?"
"Treating someone as a substitute for someone else right after meeting them, it seems your liking for Haruko is just so-so." Kai crossed her arms, snorted, and said, "That's really impolite."
Ichiko was originally a bit embarrassed, but hearing this, she immediately became anxious, "Kai, I didn't mean it that way! My liking for Haruko is sincere!"
"Oh?"
Kai turned her head and pushed up the black-rimmed glasses that were actually a bit too large and old-fashioned for her, "Really?"
"Really!"
Ichiko nodded very seriously.
However, Kai still stared into her eyes and asked again, "Is it really true? Is it the truth you want your Haruko to hear?"
As soon as these words were spoken, Ichiko's open mouth instantly stopped.
If she truly understood her own feelings, the favorability rating in the 'Likes' section on Haruko's Status Glasses wouldn't have even reached the passing line.
Facing Kai's questioning gaze, Ichiko finally backed down, "Okay, it's not entirely true. I just feel that I *should* like Haruko."
She looked up and glanced at Kai again, then turned her head away.
She always felt that the eyes behind those glasses could see through her heart.
Ichiko sighed, "Haruko is no longer here. When she was alive, she hoped I would like her. During this time, I've been... constantly giving myself psychological hints to like her, and now..."
"It's no longer about true or false. I just like her, and no one can change that."
Only now that she had lost everything did she want to cherish that feeling.
She used to always tell herself in her heart that it was a feigned liking.
She didn't want to admit that feeling.
But now, she wanted to discard the word "feigning."
No longer choosing to deceive Haruko, but to deceive herself.
Kai sighed, "Seriously, I came to find you to chat. We just met, why are we talking about such heavy topics? Go order me a cup of coffee."
"Kai, why don't you go order it yourself? I've already paid for the cat cafe."
"How rude! From now on, you have to call me'Senior Sister,' got it? Who do you think I came all this way for? Hurry up and go!"
"Alright, alright, which one do you want to drink?"
"Orange C Americano, I want a ton of sugar."
Ichiko was slightly taken aback when she heard this.
This was exactly what Haruko loved to drink, and she also liked to add a ton of sugar when she drank it.
She pursed her lips and said nothing, but the moment she stood up, Dan, who was originally directing his little brothers, seemed to sense something.
With a "Meow," he excitedly ran over.
Ichiko thought Dan was coming to her.
Just as she opened her arms, she didn't expect Dan to bypass her and jump directly into Kai's arms.
Who knew Kai would immediately grab Dan's face, "Alright, get lost, you dead cat! I hate tabby cats the most!"
"Um... Senior Sister, my Dan has quite a temper. If you say that..."
As soon as she finished speaking, she expected Dan to be angry, but unexpectedly, he was still happily sticking to Kai.
Ichiko watched the scene of the person and the cat playing around, opened her mouth, but finally turned around in silence to order a cup of coffee.
When she returned, Dan was already curled up in a ball on Kai's lap.
The girl was playing with her phone, not knowing who she was chatting with.
Ichiko slowly said, "Honestly, Senior Sister, you really surprised me."
Taking the cup of coffee from Ichiko, Kai rolled her eyes at her, "Are you being polite? You're already trying to talk about height?"
"No, no." Ichiko chuckled and shook her head, "The Senior Sister I imagined would be more energetic, and I thought she'd be a maiden-type around my height."
Who would have thought that the good friend she had been chatting with online for so long was actually a little loli?
Looking like she was around 156cm?
She could be considered somewhere between a loli and a maiden, a little taller than Haruko.
Kai didn't mind Ichiko's topic and said indifferently, "I didn't have enough to eat when I was a child, so I didn't grow tall. But Mimi, you surprised me a bit."
Ichiko rarely made a joke, "Surprised I'm so good-looking?"
"Surprised your spirit is quite good." Kai reached out and ruffled Dan, "I thought your mental state would be worse, and I had prepared a lot of words to comfort you."
"I'm... actually okay now." Ichiko took out her phone, and after lighting up the screen, the wallpaper was surprisingly the cute Haruko sleeping on the bed.
A nostalgic smile appeared at the corner of her lips, "I've just gotten a little used to being alone, used to that empty feeling in my heart."
The two of them were originally online friends who got along very well. After meeting, Ichiko felt the weight of the word "confidante" even more during their conversation.
Many topics Kai talked about were exactly to her liking, and many of the things she liked were also things Ichiko liked.
The commonalities between the two were infinitely close; there really was such a wonderful fate in the world.
However, towards the end of the conversation, Ichiko still said with a touch of melancholy, "Senior Sister, as a friend, you're really comforting, but I still find it a bit hard to accept."
Kai looked sideways curiously, "What's hard to accept?"
"To be honest, Kai, you're a bit too similar to Haruko." Ichiko looked at Kai, "The same height, three-tenths resemblance in appearance, some overlapping preferences, and like Haruko, you're very much liked by Dan. You might not be happy if I say this."
"But I really feel like you were arranged by fate."
"Haruko left me, and then you came to my side."
"Carrying three-tenths of Haruko's likeness, as if you're here to replace Haruko by my side, to drive Haruko away."
Ichiko pursed her lips, "That's why it's a bit hard to accept."
Kai raised her eyebrows curiously and asked casually, "Then what do you really think? About me, and about your Haruko who has already left."
Ichiko shook her head lightly, "Didn't I say? It's hard to accept that fate made me meet you at this time."
"It has already taken Haruko away, yet it still wants to take away Haruko's existence, to take away my memories of Haruko."
"Even if you are three-tenths alike, in my heart, no one can replace Haruko."
In the end, it was only a little bit of resemblance.
However, this resemblance couldn't soothe the pain in her heart; it only made her want to recall that girl even more.
After listening, Kai turned her face away while Ichiko wasn't paying attention and subtly curved her lips, "Don't worry, maybe your Haruko will come back someday. She would be very happy to hear this."
Ichiko shook her head with a bitter smile, "How could she possibly come back?"
She was already dead.
However, this online friend she was meeting for the first time looked at her with utmost seriousness, her tone certain, "Mimi, you have to believe that miracles will happen! If life has no hope, then what is there to look forward to?"
I said she will come back, and she definitely will.
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