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

The next day at noon.

Kohinata Motoyo appeared at the Kagura family's door right during lunchtime, just as Kagura Hikaru had finished eating and was coming to open the door.

"Hey, Kagura, good afternoon," said Kohinata Motoyo with a smile, waving her hand as she stood there in her white long-sleeved school uniform.

With the arrival of autumn, the weather had gradually started to cool down, and many people had already given up their short-sleeved shirts for something warmer.

It seemed Kohinata Motoyo was no exception.

But why was she here?

"What brings you here?" asked Kagura Hikaru curiously. "Did school get out early?"

"Something like that."

"Oh... well, come on in anyway."

"No need, I've come to take you out," Kohinata Motoyo said with her hands clasped in front of her and a slight tilt of her head, smiling. "Once you're ready, we can go. The car is already waiting."

"Huh?"

Kagura Hikaru paused, a sense of déjà vu washing over him.

First, it had been Kiryu Hina, then Ai Cheng Hua Lian, and now Kohinata Motoyo.

Did they have some kind of rotation system where today was her turn to take him out for a stroll?

In truth, Kagura Hikaru was more of a homebody. He might have declined an invitation from anyone else after being out several days in a row.

But given his relationship with Kohinata Motoyo, he couldn't possibly refuse.

"Give me five minutes to get ready."

"Sure, I'll wait for you."

After changing and getting ready upstairs, Kagura Hikaru informed his stepmother and left the house.

Kohinata Motoyo was waiting outside; after he emerged, she led him to the street, where Kagura Hikaru couldn't see the car she had mentioned.

"They don't allow parking here," said Kohinata Motoyo, as if she knew what he was thinking, with a smile. "The driver parked in front of the large convenience store up ahead."

Kagura Hikaru was cluelessly led by her to their destination. Discover stories at My Virtual Library Empire

He did know the large convenience store, as it had been open nearby for a long time, and his family would go there to find things they couldn't get at the supermarket.

However, as they approached the entrance, he felt a vague sense of familiarity, as if he had been there before.

"Does it feel familiar?" Kohinata Motoyo looked back at him and pointed to the ground nearby. "Your accident happened right around here; we were standing right here at that time."

"Is that so?"

Kagura Hikaru looked around the area.

Though no memories flashed in his mind, his head started to hurt reflexively, like being pricked by needles, which subconsciously made him believe Kohinata Motoyo's words.

"Back then, you and Ayakoji Chiyoko were standing at the entrance when a car came speeding towards you," said Kohinata Motoyo with a complex expression. "Classmate Ayakoji didn't manage to dodge in time, and you saved her by pushing her out of the way, but you ended up like this."

"So it was a heroic rescue. I must have been pretty cool back then," said Kagura Hikaru, rubbing his chin and deliberately speaking in a lighthearted tone.

"...Yes, you were quite cool," Kohinata Motoyo replied, letting a smile return to her face as she took hold of his arm.

Kagura Hikaru looked at her hand in surprise.

In his limited memory, he had never seen Kohinata Motoyo make such an intimate gesture with anyone else.

Kohinata Motoyo had more traditional views; she wouldn't even hold hands with her female friends and maintained a certain social distance from everyone.

Had the sun risen from the west today?

"What's wrong? Let's keep walking," said Kohinata Motoyo, now looking at him strangely and giving his hand a gentle tug.

"Oh, right..."

Kagura Hikaru, still puzzled, let her lead him towards the large convenience store.

Parked outside in the open-air parking lot was a black Bentley, conspicuously standing out, and they entered the car and took their seats in the back. The vehicle soon started moving, leaving the convenience store behind.

"Speaking of which, I haven't asked yet. Where are we going?" Kagura Hikaru asked, turning his gaze away from the window to look curiously at Kohinata Motoyo.

She smiled at Kagura Hikaru, "Today, I want to take you to Bunkyo Public Middle School."

"Bunkyo Middle School? Isn't that..."

"Yes, it's the junior high we attended—well, it might be present tense for you."

"Why do we need to go there?"

"To see if it can trigger some memories for you."

"The day before yesterday, Classmate Kiriyu took me to Yoshou Elementary School, but it didn't work very well."

"It's just something to try. Don't you want to recover your memories?"

Kagura Hikaru was silent for a while, "Of course I do."

That was, of course, true.

There are few patients who don't want to cure their ailments.

But strangely, he felt that if it happened, Ayakoji Chiyoko might not be very happy.

Taking a ride, the two of them quickly arrived at the entrance of Bunkyo Public Middle School.

It was a prestigious school that, despite being public, wasn't much inferior to Yuqiu High School.

And at the entrance, there was a security guard on watch, giving off a 'no strangers allowed' vibe.

Bunkyo Middle School was not open to the public either; in fact, no school is open to the public during school hours, so they had to figure out a way to get in on their own.

However, Kohinata Motoyo seemed to have come prepared, and her method of entering the school was much more civilized than Kiryu Hina's.

She took a bunch of flowers from the car and then made a phone call.

After a while, an older female teacher hurried over and spoke with the security guard, allowing them both into the school.

"Teacher Miura, long time no see." Kohinata Motoyo smiled, handing the flowers to her, "It's been what, two years?"

"Why did you even bring flowers, you're too kind," Teacher Miura exclaimed with surprised delight, and then with a smile said, "Indeed, it's been a long time. Have you returned to the country now, Kohinata student?"

"Yes, I've come back home to study."

"That's good, life overseas must have been difficult, right?"

"Indeed, there were many things I was not used to."

Teacher Miura turned to Kagura Hikaru and smiled, "This must be Classmate Kagura, I remember you."

"Long time no see, Teacher Miura."

Kagura Hikaru responded with a smile.

This person was their homeroom teacher during junior high, from the first year all the way to the second, and perhaps she was still their teacher in the third year.

He didn't expect Kohinata Motoyo to have this connection.

The teacher must have thought they were graduates visiting their old teacher. When they were still in school, they occasionally saw alumni who visited the school with this intent. He hadn't anticipated that today they would become one of them.

Teacher Miura warmly led them to the office.

The teaching building and the corridors were just as they were back then, unchanged, and both of them felt nostalgic.

Teacher Miura brought out the graduation album, intending to help them recall the past.

But it was only Kohinata Motoyo who looked at it, as Kagura Hikaru carefully averted his gaze. He didn't want to faint in front of his teacher.

Last time, after seeing a grade school graduation photo that Kiryu Hina had given him, he had fainted on the spot. Now with an outsider present, it was better not to try, just in case it actually happened—it wouldn't be easy to explain.

But it seemed his past memories were not willing to let him off so easily.

Upon learning that Kohinata Motoyo and Kagura Hikaru were now studying at Haneoka Private High School, Teacher Miura naturally mentioned a former student: "I remember that Kiriyu student also went to that school, didn't she? Are you still in touch with her?"

"...Yes," said Kohinata Motoyo with a smile, subtly checking Kagura Hikaru's expression.

"I see," sighed Teacher Miura. "I never would have thought that the two of you, who were first and second in your graduating class, would end up at Ugao High. Although it's a good school too, I always felt like the study environment there was a bit too relaxed."

Kohinata Motoyo went along with a smile.

But there was no smile on Kagura Hikaru's face: "Teacher Miura, when you speak of Kiriyu student, could it be Kiryu Hina? You know her?"

"Of course I know her," Teacher Miura replied somewhat puzzled, "I remember, the three of you used to be quite close, didn't you?"

His head began to spin.