After deciding to give up, he started to gain popularity

"Huh? After not seeing each other for such a long time, Natsukawa-kun can still recognize me. I'm so surprised."

"No matter what, I wouldn't be that forgetful, right?" Xia Chuan Zou complained subconsciously, and then he chuckled.

A similar conversation had happened before, and this made Natsukawa Kanade recall some happy things.

"Maybe. Natsukawa-kun hasn't seen us since he became the student council president."

"No, there's nothing I can do... because the student council president is busy with official duties..." Natsukawa Kanade's eyes were wandering and he didn't dare to look into Kato Megumi's eyes.

It is simply impossible to say that he has neglected his old friends because he is busy pursuing girls. Wouldn't that make him seem to value women over friendship?

Fortunately, Kato was a considerate girl and did not expose his lies that were as illusory as bubbles to his face.

"Come to think of it, why is Kato here? Doesn't he need to participate in club activities?"

"I was delayed for a while because I met a little dog that looked very lonely and pitiful."

"Hmm..." Xia Chuan Zou's face turned red and he felt a little at a loss.

This was the first time he was called that. Did his current condition look that miserable?

"He'll be fine after I feed him something."

“Ah… ah, so that’s it.”

Natsukawa Kanade seemed even more embarrassed.

He never thought that Kato was talking about a real puppy instead of using this name to describe him. Fortunately, he didn't have time to react, otherwise it would be too embarrassing.

"In that case, Kato, go and join the club activities and don't keep everyone waiting."

"That's not important."

"unimportant……"

What does this mean? Does it mean that chatting with him is more important? Or does it mean that he is like a pitiful little puppy that I am worried about...

"Because the club has been disbanded."

Xia Chuan Zou: “…”

So he was overthinking it, right?

"Ahem...Kato, what happened to the club being disbanded? Can you tell me more?"

After coughing a few times to cover up the guilt in his words, Xiachuan Zou asked with a little curiosity.

Speaking of which, he was once a member of that club, but unlike Kato Megumi, Kasumigaoka, Eriri and the others, he was not actively invited to join the club by Aki Tomoya, but joined them through club recruitment.

At the beginning, Natsukawa Kanade was worried that with her mediocre programming skills, she might not be able to catch the eye of Aki Tomoya and would not have the opportunity to get closer to the heroines. However, she found that the other party's recruitment conditions were extremely harsh - there was no salary or remuneration, and it was all based on her hobby.

In this case, who would be willing to accompany him? The only one left was someone like Natsukawa Kanade who had ulterior motives. It could even be said that after confirming that Natsukawa Kanade was capable of completing the programming work on his own, Aki Tomoya almost tricked and coaxed him into joining the club.

The final reward was an afternoon tea and snacks, as well as the right to play any game owned by Tomoya Aki.

To be honest, Xiachuan Zou was not interested in any of this, but in order to conceal his true thoughts, he agreed to the reward on the surface.

After that, things developed naturally. While completing his work, Natsukawa Kanade actively launched the attack. However, the process was beautiful, but the result was cruel - the love hearts were crushed one by one.

This led to Natsukawa Kanade not wanting to recall the past too much, but when he suddenly heard Kato Megumi mention it again, he couldn't suppress his curiosity.

"Could it be because the club activities can't go on after I quit the club?" Natsukawa Kanade's expression changed slightly.

A complex emotion was brewing in his heart.

Guilt? Or relief? To be honest, he himself didn't know what kind of emotion it was.

Although he had quit the club a long time ago, he had already completed his part of the work, so he was not responsible for the disbanding of the club. But he was once a member after all, and the bond had not been completely severed.

Even taking a step back, if the "Beautiful Girl Text Adventure Game" created by him could come out and become a real hit, he would also be able to take pride in it.

"No, Natsukawa-kun's work has already been completed." Kato Megumi shook her head and said slowly, "And the suggestions he left behind are also very useful. After Eriri and the others read them, their work progressed a lot faster."

"Then why did it disband..."

"Because the game has been completed." Kato said with a matter-of-fact expression.

"Not only Kasumigaoka-senpai and the others, but even Amaki-san praised the quality of the game. They all said that Natsukawa-kun deserves credit for it..."

"..."

He didn't know if it was an illusion, but Natsukawa Kanade always felt that Kato was trying to keep him on edge. Not only did he often answer questions irrelevantly, he would occasionally deliberately say things that could easily attract other people's attention.

"So regarding the disbandment..."

"Hmm... I think it was Kasumigaoka-senpai who brought it up. She said, 'Since the game is already finished, this children's club that just pretends to be a kid should be disbanded.' After saying that, she left, and the club was disbanded just like that."

Xia Chuan Zou: “…”

He really wanted to complain to Kato and say that what he said sounded like Kasumigaoka Utaha was the culprit for the disbandment of the club.

However, Natsukawa Kanade, who was familiar with the original work, knew very well that Kasumigaoka Utaha was indeed the first person who wanted to leave the club, and it was not particularly strange that she would do such a thing.

But no matter what, after learning that he was not the culprit that led to the disbandment of the club, Natsukawa Kanade felt much better.

Sometimes people are like this. No matter whether they know they are responsible for something or not, they will feel better as long as there are other people who know the situation and are willing to deny their "guilt".

005. You can be more willful

Natsukawa Kanade had to admit that there was a special magical power in Kato Megumi.

But what I'm talking about is not the shallow presence that makes her a top assassin, but the fact that she can always control the rhythm of the conversation inadvertently without making you feel offended.

And when Natsukawa Zou truly realized this, the two of them were already in a state of "joined umbrella" - that is, sharing an umbrella.

To be honest, Natsukawa Zou doesn't like the rainy season, especially rainy days like this which are so suitable for the atmosphere. Every drop of water seems to fall directly into his heart, constantly reminding him of the fact that his relationship has broken down again.

Fortunately, there was a lovely girl walking with him in the rain, which made his originally silent heart feel a little warmer.

"How's Kato doing lately?"

Just like old acquaintances who had not seen each other for a long time had a lucky reunion, Natsukawa Kanade tried to find some topics for their encounter in the rain.

"Eh... should I say it's good? Or bad..." Kato Megumi tilted her head, and her eyes looking at Natsukawa Kanade were still as calm and indifferent.

"It's better to say that I don't know what to say."

"Well... like studying, socializing, or something like that?"

Natsukawa Kanade was a little unsure for a moment, but he guessed that this was the most common worry for high school students.

"I feel like Natsukawa-kun is like a mother..."

"Uh... Does your aunt often ask you questions like this?"

"Yes, and sometimes I'll ask about love topics." Kato Megumi replied softly, wrapping a finger around her hair and twisting it slowly, quietly waiting for Natsukawa Kanade's response.

"Love topic?" Natsukawa Kanade was stunned, but then he suddenly realized what was going on and chuckled, "So Kato would also be troubled by this kind of thing?"

This does give me something in common with him.

In his impression, Kato Megumi always looked calm and composed, and he had never seen her have major emotional fluctuations because of anything.

Maybe it was because his emotional intelligence was not high enough, he couldn't even see that Kato Megumi showed any signs of liking Aki Tomoya.

"I'm not the one who's worried..." Kato said this, and then turned his gaze to Natsukawa Kanade.

"So auntie is so concerned about your love life, but isn't it a little too hasty?" Natsukawa Kanade pretended not to understand what Kato meant and turned her face to the front, not daring to look her in the eye.

He's been seen... Is he too obvious? Or is it that he's exposed in his daily life? Natsukawa Kanade thought.

He had never publicly announced his love for a girl, but every relationship was unique and he gave his all, so he never thought about hiding it.

Special treatment, undisguised preference, Natsukawa Kanade will do almost everything he can to let his heroine feel his affection in daily life.

Then choose a perfect time to confess.

But... is it because he didn't do well enough? Why do some people even think that he is a cheating man who is keen on changing girlfriends?

Obviously, he is the one who is constantly rejected and hurt, right?

Is it too much to change the object of pursuit because of rejection? Do you have to cling to the other person until the last bit of affection in his heart is worn away to be considered as deep love?

Natsukawa Kanade's self-esteem did not allow him to do this, even when facing the girls he once loved very much.

Therefore, if they missed it, they missed it. He would not bother them again, nor would he use the burden called "love" to restrict their personal lives...

"Why is Kato looking at me like that? Did I say something wrong by accident?"

Xiachuan Zou felt more and more uneasy, and his heart became panicked. He was afraid that others would see that he was pretending to be strong, and that his shield of self-esteem would be exposed.

Please, Kato, don't do this, don't delve into this any further...

“That’s right.”

"What……"

“That’s right.”

"..." Xia Chuan Zou couldn't believe what he heard, but he was unwilling to give up the only remaining light in the darkness. "Yes, what do you mean..."

"Natsukawa-kun didn't do anything wrong."

At some point, Kato Megumi's slender hand had already climbed onto Natsukawa Kanade's forehead.

She gently stroked Xiachuan Zou's short hair and said some lies as if to comfort a child.

"Natsukawa-kun, you can be more willful. Don't worry about other people's feelings. Just do what you want to do."

“It’s okay even if people misunderstand me?”

"If you are misunderstood, clarify it with your actions."

"What if it's not a misunderstanding?"

"Doesn't that just go along with what Natsukawa-kun wants? You should feel happier about it."

"..."

"Haha..." Natsukawa Kanade finally laughed out loud, "I feel like Kato, you... aren't suitable for teaching children."

"And I don't remember you having this side, Kato. How should I put it... like a loving mother doting on her child?"

"Hey, but I'm just a high school girl..." The corners of Kato Megumi's mouth seemed to rise slightly.

But it didn't seem very real, so I thought it was all an illusion.

"That's not the point." Natsukawa Kanade complained, "Forget it this time, but Kato can't treat me like a child anymore."

Even though there was a slight cold breeze, the chill it brought was not enough to dispel the warmth on Xia Chuan Zou's forehead, until this warmth extended to his heart and could no longer be driven away.

"..."

In the face of Natsukawa Kanade's coquettish words, Kato Megumi didn't say anything, but her eyes and actions all revealed the message - isn't Natsukawa just a child at this moment?

Normal children wouldn't worry about love affairs! Natsukawa Kanade thought.

The hand holding the umbrella was no longer shaking, but the raindrops had already fallen on his defenseless body, so he simply handed the umbrella to Kato Megumi and took a step forward to stand in the wind and rain.

"You might catch a cold if you get caught in the rain like this?" Kato Megumi took the umbrella and when she saw what Natsukawa Kanade did, she frowned slightly.

"Didn't Kato just say that I can be willful and capricious?" Natsukawa Kanade replied immediately.

He opened his arms as if to embrace the new world and let the raindrops pour down on his body.

The body that had been wetted by the rain began to become heavy and sticky, but Xiachuan Zou felt comfortable in his heart.

Could it be so joyful to be caught in the rain? This was something he had never experienced before.

But he was not a fool. He just expressed his frustration appropriately and then stopped doing it.

Since food dropped on the ground can be picked up and eaten within three seconds (don’t learn it, it’s just a joke), then if it only rains for three seconds, it doesn’t count as rain, right?