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

Kagura Hikaru had returned home, alone.

He rang the doorbell.

He had thought his stepmother would come to open the door, but it was Ayakoji Chiyoko.

As she pushed open the door and saw herself, her expression darkened for a moment. It was only after she noticed that there was no one else by her side that she revealed a gentle smile, "Where did you run off to? You didn't answer my calls; I was really worried."

Such a smile didn't suit her at all.

Kagura Hikaru couldn't help but recall how Ayakoji Chiyoko had looked in the past.

She was cold, stern, like a soldier or a wild beast, hardly ever seen with a relaxed smile on her face; even if there was a smile, it was a mocking sneer.

She was a girl whose personality was so rigid that it left one unsure of what to say.

But in just one short year, she had changed completely, at least in front of him.

Is this fickle creature what they call a high school girl?

It really wasn't funny at all.

If he hadn't met her, perhaps... no, that thought was too arrogant.

Ayakoji Chiyoko's change indeed had something to do with him; there was no denying that—yet Kagura Hikaru was not so arrogant as to think that everything she did was for him.

But then—he had to deny it again—he felt he was responsible.

As the main culprit behind the transformation of the girl before him, Kagura Hikaru indeed felt a sense of guilt.

He wouldn't feel that everything was his fault, but, his actions had led to all this.

Looking back now, in the matter of Ayakoji Chiyoko, he had made too many misjudgments and had been too presumptuous.

From the beginning, there were better ways to handle it, yet he not only failed to choose those, but he also opted for the solution furthest from the correct one.

Now, he didn't want to make that kind of mistake again.

"It wasn't convenient at the time," Kagura Hikaru calmly answered Ayakoji Chiyoko's question.

"..."

Realizing something, Ayakoji Chiyoko's stern gaze shifted, carefully discerning his expression; gradually, her smile faded, and she began to seem a bit embarrassed.

When she saw the familiar, unshaken, expressionless face of Kagura Hikaru, a fear began to grow within her.

Kagura Hikaru, who usually had a slight smile on his face after his amnesia, very sunny, was completely different now; his gaze was deep, his face was expressionless, totally unlike how he was when he left the house.

Has he... regained his memory?

"Come inside," Ayakoji Chiyoko said, maintaining her smile as she welcomed Kagura Hikaru into the house.

Kagura Hikaru did not see his stepmother; Ayakoji Chiyoko told him she had gone out to buy groceries and had just left, so she probably wouldn't be back for a while.

That meant, for the time being, it was just the two of them at home.

A good occasion for a talk.

But the reality was a cold silence.

Walking into the house, Kagura Hikaru said nothing, quietly changed shoes, neither giving Ayakoji Chiyoko a second glance nor specifically avoiding her gaze.

Ayakoji Chiyoko, on the other hand, was like a doting newlywed wife, diligently arranging Kagura Hikaru's shoes he had taken off.

While arranging the shoes, she casually asked, "Where did you just go?"

"A bookstore, and also a fountain."

"The fountain? The one we went to before?"

"Yes."

"I wish I had known; I would have waited for you there."

Ayakoji Chiyoko said with a smile.

As if nothing had happened.

Upon standing upright after setting the shoes down, she casually took Kagura Hikaru's hand, intending to lead him upstairs, subtly pressing her body close to his.

But Kagura Hikaru didn't plan to go up, he broke free from Ayakoji Chiyoko's hand, sat down in the living room, and gestured for her to sit on the sofa opposite him.

Ayakoji Chiyoko was stunned for two seconds and didn't comply. Instead, she smiled and said, "What if your stepmother comes back and sees us playing here?"

As she spoke, she walked over and sat on Kagura Hikaru's lap, wrapped her arms around his neck, looked at him lovingly, and naturally brought her lips closer.

"Don't do this," he said.

Kagura Hikaru held her mouth and then stood up directly; Ayakoji Chiyoko, losing support, fell directly onto the hard wooden floor.

"Ouch, what are you doing?" she complained, rubbing her behind.

A chill crept over Kagura Hikaru.

The girl in front of him, was she acting coquettishly?

Ayakoji Chiyoko? Acting coquettishly? Explore more at My Virtual Library Empire

Did she have any connection with that word?

Kagura Hikaru almost thought she was a stranger.

Could love really change a person so thoroughly? It was truly chilling.

"I also want to ask what you are doing," Kagura Hikaru looked at her, "Why did you lie to me?"

"Lie to you, about what?"

"When I lost my memory, saying that you were my girlfriend, that kind of lie."

"But I really am your girlfriend, I didn't lie."

Ayakoji Chiyoko stood up and gently embraced Kagura Hikaru, softly saying, "Don't listen to what Kiryu Hina and the others say, I am your girlfriend, always have been."

Her words were gentle and calming, like a whisper.

It was less about deceiving Kagura Hikaru and more about hypnotizing herself.

Kagura Hikaru grabbed her shoulders and pushed her away, "I don't think so, we were already over."

"I didn't agree to that," Ayakoji Chiyoko's tone suddenly became intense, "You said you were dating me for Kiryu Hina and then dumped me unilaterally. That incident is over, but we are not done, this is what you owe me, Kagura Hikaru, you owe me!!"

She then grabbed Kagura Hikaru's collar with both hands, her face very close, and her warm breath constantly spraying on his skin.

In Ayakoji Chiyoko's eyes, there was no love anymore, only sheer possessiveness.

Kagura Hikaru broke free from her hands and said flatly, "Do you like me?"

"Of course!" Ayakoji Chiyoko's expression softened, "For you, I would do anything."

"I don't think that's the case."

"...What?"

"You just don't want to admit your own emotional failure."

Although Kagura Hikaru's voice was not loud, it was like a depth charge, exploding in Ayakoji Chiyoko's heart.

Her muscles suddenly tightened, she trembled slightly, her heartbeat accelerated.

That reaction, like a lie being exposed, a criminal caught.

She stared at Kagura Hikaru in shock, instinctively stepping back half a step, "No, what are you saying, I—"

"Get a grip, then open your eyes and look at me."

Kagura Hikaru looked seriously at her, "This man in front of you, who deceived your feelings, you did so much for him, but he still has no love for you, and he dumped you as soon as he achieved his goal. Is this the kind of man you like, is your taste that bad, Ayakoji Chiyoko!"

"..."

"You just can't stand it, can't stand failing, can't stand being manipulated by Kiryu Hina again, wanting to use me to surpass her."

"Stop talking!"

Out of embarrassment, Ayakoji Chiyoko's face turned red.

She liked Kagura Hikaru because of Kiryu Hina?

Even if the earth exploded, she would never admit such an absurd explanation!