After breaking up, my ex asked me to win her back

Karen Ai Cheng knew that the old school rooftop was a special place for Kagura Hikaru.

A secret base where one could relax.

But now he shared it with Kohinata Motoyo, and even took her there for a picnic...

"Student Ai Cheng." Kohinata Motoyo saw her, greeted her happily with a bow, "What a coincidence, we were just talking about you. You've come to eat here, too, right? Please, come on up~"

Karen Ai Cheng gave an awkward smile, didn't refuse, and skillfully went around to the other side to climb up the ladder to the top.

Kagura Hikaru reached out to pull her up, and their eyes met for a moment.

There was a deep meaning in her eyes that made Kagura Hikaru inexplicably feel guilty and he averted his gaze on his own.

"Here, please take a seat, Student Ai Cheng." Suse called warmly, making way from her own spot, patting the ground, letting Karen Ai Cheng sit in the middle.

The bright sunlight shone on her, making Suse seem like she was glowing.

She and Kagura Hikaru really matched well, Karen Ai Cheng thought, now more than ever.

The union of the two most perfect people she knew in the world, what right did she have to object...

Karen Ai Cheng struggled to maintain composure, and sat down between Kohinata Motoyo and Kagura Hikaru, unconsciously bringing her feet together, placing her hands in the middle of her thighs.

Immediately, she regretted it, because sitting between these two made her feel like a child on a family trip to Disney, stuck between the parents on a bench, surrounded and licking an ice cream.

Even though she was taller than Suse, in terms of both demeanor and aura, she felt outshone!

For some reason, she was now quite unhappy being outdone by Suse.

"What were you guys talking about just now?" To ease the awkwardness, Karen Ai Cheng asked.

"We were talking about your band, Mister Hikaru mentioned wanting to take on some extra work besides composing," Suse answered with a smile.

"Eh?!" Karen Ai Cheng was taken aback, "Kagura, are you quitting your job?"

"I said it was part-time, how could I possibly quit my job?" Kagura Hikaru retorted calmly, "Besides, I've already promised to write a song for the Ruzaki family, I wouldn't go back on that."

"That's good..." she breathed a sigh of relief.

The Red Pepper Band absolutely couldn't do without Kagura Hikaru at this point, and neither could Karen Ai Cheng personally; she always cherished the opportunity to work with him.

Unfortunately, even as a composer, Kagura Hikaru was very independent. He hardly ever visited the company's recording studio, often submitting his scores via email to the sound engineer and wrapping up work online, primarily working from home. Karen Ai Cheng saw him at the company only occasionally.

But after all, they still saw each other from time to time, and could even occasionally meet under the pretext of discussing new songs.

If he really left, she'd lose the excuse to meet outside of school.

Karen Ai Cheng truly sighed in relief, then with curiosity, "Kagura, are you unhappy with your current salary, why look for a part-time job?"

From what she knew of him, Kagura Hikaru didn't seem like the type to trouble himself, and even took the composing job for their sake.

At that moment, Karen Ai Cheng had an epiphany.

This time, was Kagura Hikaru doing it for someone else again?

"Mister Hikaru is afraid my family would look down on him, so he's using money to elevate his status," Kohinata Motoyo said, somewhat helplessly, "The Kohinata family isn't the closed-off, old-fashioned kind you see in dramas; it really isn't necessary, he's already excellent, nobody would look down on him. Student Ai Cheng, please help me persuade him too."

Karen Ai Cheng only felt that she reveled in triumph, much like those vulgar wives who always boasted about how much money their husband had made and how dignified their lives were now.

In her eyes, Kohinata Motoyo's smile sometimes appeared charming and other times became loathsome, which was annoying.

But then she immediately reminded herself that she shouldn't view Kohinata Motoyo in such a way; she was just sharing her troubles, how could she cynically speculate about her classmate.

...What was up with her today, always prone to worrying over trifles.

Karen Ai Cheng wore a forced smile that wasn't too obvious, her face alternating between light and shadow.

Her change in emotions clearly couldn't be hidden from Kagura Hikaru and Kohinata Motoyo, two people with keen senses.

Kagura Hikaru looked puzzled, while Suse seemed to sense something, blinking awkwardly and then casually changing the subject, no longer discussing matters related to Kagura Hikaru, but instead probing Karen Ai Cheng about some fun life experiences brought by the band's popularity.

This clearly made the latter a lot more relaxed, and her usual sunny smile appeared.

After chatting for a while, Karen Ai Cheng quickly finished her boxed lunch and then left the rooftop on the pretext of not wanting to disturb Kagura Hikaru and the others.

The rooftop door closed completely behind her.

The smile on Karen Ai Cheng's face slowly drooped, her brows adorably turned inward, looking somewhat dejected; she stood there embracing the empty lunch box, tears welling up in her eyes.

She recalled the restrained yet tender expression Motoyo wore when talking about Kagura Hikaru, but she could read the fluttering excitement behind it.

That was the look of a girl in love.

Watching that expression, her heart swelled with intense jealousy.

Not until that moment did Karen Ai Cheng finally realize that her possessiveness towards Kagura Hikaru was no less than anyone else's.

Her liking for Kagura Hikaru.

She had never truly let it go.

That was not supposed to be, she thought she had long ago crushed that affection and buried it under thick layers of soil, never digging an inch deeper.

Icarus, with his wings plastered together with wax, was not supposed to get too close to the sun... she was aware of this, she really was...

But why was she feeling like this now?

The impulse that was now surfacing from the depths of her heart, was it really the right one?

She deeply regretted why she had been so negligent in the past, not earnestly expressing her feelings, but instead always remained indifferent.

Just as that old saying goes,

People always realize the value of something only after they've lost it.

Now, the sun already had the moon by its side.

And she could only stand dumbly on the ground, watching, unable to do anything…

Karen Ai Cheng wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, descending the stairs in a daze.

No one knew that the threads of the girl's affection were quietly sprouting at this moment.

Meanwhile, on the rooftop.

As Kohinata Motoyo watched the door close, a hint of unease surfaced in her eyes.

For some reason, she always felt that she shouldn't underestimate this girl named Karen Ai Cheng, even though she seemed to pose no threat at the moment.

Kagura Hikaru's attitude towards her was subtly different from theirs.

Eh, it's just like Mister Hikaru, to have girls like him wherever he goes.

Kohinata Motoyo's eyes flashed with complexity. She rubbed the hem of her clothes and turned her head, and once more, she revealed a gentle, tender smile to Kagura Hikaru, tucking her hair behind her ears.

"Mister Hikaru, would you like to come to my house for dinner tonight? I'll cook myself."

"Um, sure," Kagura Hikaru came back to reality and nodded.

"Hehe, then after school you go back first, I need to buy some groceries."

"I'll go with you."

"Eh? No need, it's not that far."

"No way!"

Kagura Hikaru's tone suddenly grew serious, and Kohinata Motoyo's breath caught, quickly agreeing, "Okay, okay, we'll go together, don't be angry."

His expression then relaxed, and he softly apologized and offered comfort but was unable to explain the reasons to his bewildered girlfriend.

Motoyo's exceptionally pure heart could overwhelm those crazy-making messages, but only when she was by his side.

Once she was more than about ten meters away, Kagura Hikaru would return to that period of torment that almost killed him.

Once he knew how quiet it was by Motoyo's side, he never wanted to go back to that state again, not even if it killed him!

So, he would never let Motoyo out of his sight.

Kagura Hikaru did not realize how abnormal his gaze was at that moment, bordering on obsessive, like a person desperately clinging to a lifeline at the edge of a cliff.

Kohinata Motoyo saw all of this.

But she didn't mind.

She accepted it with a smile.

No matter why Kagura Hikaru liked her, or for what reason he was with her, whether he was mentally ill or it was his master's mission, it didn't matter.

As long as she could rightfully be by his side, she could ignore the rest.

Even if… Kagura Hikaru didn't love her, it would be okay.

In Kohinata Motoyo's eyes, one could also see an obsessiveness that did not lose to Kagura Hikaru's.

How could someone with a heart so pure to the point of abnormality be a normal person?

"Incurable" was not enough to describe it.

It was simply twisted.

Having fallen out with Kagura Hikaru during junior high, she had fled overseas in a state akin to escape, leading to countless nights of remorse.

It was the greatest failure and shame of her life.

Having once experienced separation and then resolutely deciding to return to Japan to pick up the past, Kohinata Motoyo's feelings for Kagura Hikaru were no longer as simple as love.

The opposite sex she wanted to possess, a life goal, a genius who felt mutually understood, someone she owed…

For that reason, whether it was her body or her soul, she could happily give away the rest of her life tied to her own.

This was the apology she had prepared.

Kohinata Motoyo.

Kagura Hikaru.

A woman crowned with the name of perfection, a man called the epitome of omnipotence.

They were each other's poison and antidote.

This fate was already tightly entwined, unable to be pulled apart or cut through.