Chapter 78: Unwillingness
"What do you think of me?"
Miss Witch uttered this phrase effortlessly, as if it slipped from her lips without any conscious thought.
"How much better am I compared to that unknown girl?"
She proudly raised her chest.
Bai Wei covered his face and said, "So, as I was saying, your baseless sense of comparison…"
Saki Jingūji explained, "It's not without reason. If I become your girlfriend, going forward, I would have even closer interactions with Simozi. She would have to serve me tea."
Bai Wei said lightly, "Why do I feel like she would strike you with a sword first?"
Jingūji choked.
She squinted her eyes and said, "Isn't this something you know quite well?"
Bai Wei asked casually, "Which aspect are you referring to?"
"Of course it's Simozi! Why would she strike me with a sword?"
"Get angry then."
"Why is she angry? Why is she not happy!"
"Because her dear friend betrayed her."
"Why did I betray her… No, why if I betray her, she will be not happy?"
Bai Wei squinted his eyes and asked, "If you had a close friend who suddenly became your stepmother one day, and she asked you to serve tea when you entered the house… could you find it in yourself to be happy? Wouldn't your initial reaction be to immediately kick her out of the house?"
Jingūji stared with disbelief and exclaimed, "When did I ever become her stepmother!"
Bai Wei said solemnly, "Elder brother is like a father."
Saki Jingūji stomped her foot in anger and exclaimed, "You, who acts intentionally clueless, are truly a genius!"
"That's right," Bai Wei responded confidently, unashamed and without hesitation.
"I…" Jingūji took a deep breath. "I truly cannot believe there could be someone so dull and unresponsive in this world."
"I don't believe it either," Bai Wei stretched lazily. "Actually, what you really want to ask is, what kind of girlfriend do I actually want?"
Jingūji suppressed her blushing and racing heart, pretending to remain composed as she said, "No, I don't want to know!"
She paused for a moment, then added, "However, I have a friend who wants to know!"
Bai Wei replied promptly, "Of course, I want to find a dream lover as my girlfriend."
The shrine maiden immediately followed up, "What kind of dream lover?"
Bai Wei replied, "Since it's a dream lover, how could I know? Among all the women I've seen, such an individual has yet to appear."
Saki Jingūji lowered her head and then raised it again, saying, "You've just uttered a bunch of nonsense."
Bai Wei nodded approvingly and said, "You've even learned how to answer quickly."
Her fist tightened, "Damn it!"
The shrine maiden snorted, "I can see that you're looking for a girlfriend who would allow you to marry multiple women, but such a woman doesn't exist! Give up early!"
"Ah, that's right!" Bai Wei laughed heartily. "Life is filled with dreams, each with its own brilliance. Why waste time on petty disputes like this? Life itself is inherently flawed and filled with regrets. Perfection is but an illusion, and even imperfect beauty holds its own charm."
Saki Jingūji stared wide-eyed and pouted, "Do you think I don't understand these profound truths? But I don't want to hear them!"
"Do you want to hear kind words?" Bai Wei paused for a moment. "Well, that's also possible."
Jingūji, with her eyes half-closed, waited to see what new antics he would come up with after contemplating for a while.
Unbeknownst to them, as the sun slowly set in the west, the moon rose on the horizon, adorning the earth with a silver veil.
Bai Wei took a few steps under the moonlight, his departing figure exuding an air of ease and liberation.
The young man pointed towards the moon and exclaimed, "Look, the moonlight is truly exquisite."
Jingūji's heart suddenly quickened, as if struck by something. With a simple opening, she could envision a hundred romantic verses. The sentiments of a young girl always find expression in poetry. Even in this era, the art of poetic language and composition still possesses the power to deeply move people's hearts.
However, unexpectedly, his next words took a colloquial turn, "It's true, so big and round."
The romantic aura that the shrine maiden had just embraced was shattered in an instant, with a crisp sound and fragments strewn across the floor, leaving her expression suddenly devoid of emotion.
The young man adopted a different tone, as if expressing his longing for someone to the moon, saying, "Every time the moon emerges, it reminds me of you. No matter how beautiful the moonlight may be, it cannot compare to you."
Saki Jingūji found herself at a loss, unable to defend herself, and her emotions began to fluctuate in disarray.
Bai Wei shrugged and said, "How about… compare it to the 100 yuan you owe me?"
Thud!
Jingūji's head collided with the lamppost.
The countenance and innermost sentiments of Jingūji were entangled with an indescribable complexity, as she discharged a pugilistic blow towards Bai Wei, exclaiming, "You scoundrel!"
Bai Wei quickly stepped aside, creating distance, and spoke, "I was merely uttering some kind words."
"At least let me throw a punch! Just one punch will suffice!"
…
Bai Wei took refuge in the men's restroom, assuming that Jingūji wouldn't dare to barge in as the men's restroom is an absolute defense barrier against the opposite sex.
Upon arriving at the restroom, however, he didn't enter the interior of the restroom itself. Instead, he stood before the washbasin, gazing at his reflection in the mirror.
While at the police headquarters, he had already noticed a punctuation mark appearing above his head.
It is not an exclamation mark symbolizing events and danger, but rather a question mark.
Not long after Nishino Junko was slain, this symbol began to appear, labeled as "doomed to an ill fate."
[The disaster will inevitably unleash itself in a form that cannot be avoided.]
[Time Limit: 720 hours]
Simultaneously, a new status emerged, bearing only a brief remark.
[Doomed to disaster]
The thirty-day permanent cursed state is undoubtedly the fulfillment of Nishino Junko's final phrase, "doomed to an ill fate."
Her reincarnation ritual was not completed and has been tainted by mysterious factors, thus the curse before her death took effect.
Mysteries only become ineffective in the presence of even higher-level mysteries. At this current stage, there is no mystical power to suppress the outbreak of this curse.
He was unclear whether this time limit signifies the disappearance of the state or the arrival of calamity.
Bai Wei washed his hands, deep in thought.
The light in the mirror suddenly dimmed, as if glimpsing a lingering specter lurking around, emitting an eerie and chilling laughter.
Bai Wei also laughed along, his laughter even colder and more ruthless than that.
The lingering spirits and ghostly shadows dispersed in an instant, like a clown hitting a lime wall, meeting an unpleasant end as they collided and ended up covered in dust.
As long as Bai Wei's heart remains as solid as stone, he won't fear this level of curse, which may affect his state of mind but won't have any significant impact on him.
Bai Wei squinted his eyes, even attempting to find the annotation "Excessive fate leads to entangled red strings" from the status bar.
If it could be added, it would be a decisive strike, but unfortunately, it cannot be added.
"Having rolled back the results so many times, besides unlocking a new profession, it seems that there isn't much gain."
"I don't appreciate being taken advantage of."
As soon as the words fell, a glimmer of cold light was reflected in the mirror, and Bai Wei felt a hard and icy sensation on his wrist.
"Oh, almost forgot about you… Feeding you and making sure you're satisfied does have its benefits."
After washing his hands and flicking off the water droplets, Bai Wei calmly walked out of the restroom and leisurely yawned.
Feeling a bit drowsy again.
…
The sole person waiting outside was Yagyū Simozi.
"Where is your dear confidante?"
"She took a taxi back, and my brother, you really angered her," Yagyū Simozi curiously asked, "What did you talk about with her?"
"This, well…" Bai Wei truthfully responded, "I said I wanted to marry several wives."
Yagyū Simozi remained unruffled, simply shaking her head and saying, "It's definitely not going to work."
"To be a person, one must have dreams, right? It doesn't necessarily mean that they are completely impossible, though."
"Brother's standards are too high," Yagyū Simozi voluntarily linked arms with the young man and leaned against his left side. She continued, "So it's impossible."
"Actually, it's not that high," Bai Wei chuckled.
I simply don't want to be caught up by the past, nor do I want to treat anyone as a substitute, that's all.
Yagyū Simozi gently grasped the young man's wrist, linking their arms together like siblings, it felt perfectly normal and natural, and nobody felt that there was anything wrong.
Walking under the moonlight, unconsciously, she looked at her elongated shadow and uttered a whisper that only she could hear.
"Truly, there has been no change at all."
Just like five years ago, everything remains exactly the same, without any alterations.
The girl delicately bit her lip, tightly embracing the young man's left arm with strength.
I feel truly grateful.
I feel truly unwilling to accept it.
