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

(A bug appeared in the previous chapter: Kohinata Motoyo had not yet returned to the country at that time, which has been corrected. If you are reading the revised version, please act as if nothing happened.)

"I will definitely cure you."

With that promise, Komori Ai disappeared.

The next morning, when Kagura Hikaru stepped out of the door, she found that her father and stepmother had completely forgotten about her.

She went to the guest room where Komori Ai had been staying and found a clumsily written letter on the bed.

[Dear—

I have gone to find someone to help.

Komori Ai.

Yours sincerely.]

The child didn't know many characters; the letter was quite simple but was a huge help.

Kagura Hikaru rubbed her eyes, which were deadlier than yesterday's, folded the envelope neatly, and stuffed it into her pocket.

Looking for help? Apart from her social circle and the people from the Happiness Cult, who else could Komori Ai possibly know?

Could it be a Special Ability User like herself?

If it were those people, maybe it really could be…

In fact, Kagura Hikaru also knew this was basically impossible to achieve, yet how could one not harbor hope at the sight of a gossamer of salvation while in hell?

She prayed that Komori Ai would become her savior.

If she succeeded, she… even falling in love with her on the spot wouldn't be strange, right?

The third night came, and Komori Ai did not return.

The fourth night, still not.

The fifth night, no.

The sixth night, the seventh night… Komori Ai, you lied to me!!

At eight in the evening, Kagura Hikaru walked along the streets, her eyes hollow, like a walking corpse.

In just seven days, she had become gaunt, with sunken eyes and an unstoppable trembling body.

She accidentally bumped into a passing office worker.

"Hey, be careful there!" the man complained.

"Sorry..."

Upon seeing the pallor of Kagura Hikaru's face, the office worker lost the urge to complain, skeptical and averted his gaze quickly, stepping away to avoid trouble.

Kagura Hikaru watched him depart with lifeless eyes, then turned her head and walked forward slowly and blankly.

Even if passersby gave her questioning, strange looks, she did not come to her senses in the slightest.

To be honest, she didn't care at all about her surroundings or what image she presented to others.

The day before, Kagura Hikaru had run into Ai Cheng Hua Lian who lived nearby while out for a night walk. She had been stopped with a bewildered expression and tone; the look in her eyes clearly did not see someone in a normal mental state.

Being seen in such an ugly state by a classmate, she felt immensely ashamed and came to her senses momentarily before immediately turning to run away. She hadn't responded to anyone's contacts since then and had completely severed all means of communication until now.

It didn't matter anymore.

The departure of Komori Ai had alleviated Kagura Hikaru's suffering from her bizarre memories a little, but only a little. For seven days and nights, she had been harassed by crazy amounts of mind-reading, unable to sleep, unable to concentrate on anything, becoming irritable and easily angered.

The vacant and hollow look she now had was even the best state for Kagura Hikaru since the second day.

At least on the surface, that seemed to be the case.

Perhaps, after surpassing a certain 'degree,' everything would start to get better, and Kagura Hikaru could return a normal life.

But her mind couldn't withstand it.

As an ordinary person, a seventeen-year-old high school student who was also twenty-eight years old in a previous life, he had no training, no grand or arduous experiences and faced it all with an ordinary willpower. How could he turn this theoretical possibility into reality?

Before reaching such a state, he had already given up.

Death was simpler than perseverance.

Kagura Hikaru's brain, unable to perform complex thinking, naturally arrived at this conclusion.

A zombie-like figure, wandering aimlessly, arrived at the train station and was pushed to the platform by the crowd.

His abnormality had not been recognized by those around him because it was the rush hour of after-work commute, and there were not a few people with dreary expressions like him.

While waiting for the train, a few people nearby still noticed something was off.

The high school student-looking young man seemed to be fearing something, curling his body up, trembling all over, slightly bent at the waist, his expression one of total defeat.

Not the defeat of tiredness from just finishing school or work, but a despairing self-abandonment, as if he was questioning the meaning of his own existence.

If there were a psychiatrist here, they could tell at a glance that the mental state of this person had reached some kind of negative extreme.

It was an abnormal anxiety that wouldn't be surprising if they sought death at any moment, a state only shown by those with severe depression.

And it had reached a very dangerous point.

On one side of the tracks, the train rattled closer to the platform, screeching to a halt as if the sound came straight from hell.

It was a dead end.

Kagura Hikaru's eyes were utterly devoid of light.

Doomed to die, either by so-called fate or by some higher-dimensional existence that had bestowed upon him the Golden Finger.

From the very moment he acquired that so-called Mind Reading Technique, it was a conspiracy. Gaining such an ability meant he couldn't help but use it, and in the end, this was the outcome.

Had he consciously resisted using his powers from the beginning, he might not have ended up in this situation, but it was too late for regrets now.

Just as the train was about to come to a stop, Kagura Hikaru, with a vacant expression, crossed the yellow stop line amidst the surprised stares of those around him, walked to the edge of the platform, and then... his feet gave way...

Amidst the screams and cries of the crowd, a slender arm reached out.

In the living room of an ordinary house, inexplicably furnished with high-end Nordic furniture and a large wall-mounted TV, the news was playing.

"The incident occurred around 8:20 PM tonight at a railway station in Tokyo City where a male jumped onto the tracks and died on the spot.

The man was only 17 years old, identified as a second-year high school student from the area, the family stated—"

The screen showed a student photo with the face pixelated.

"That uniform looks familiar..."

Kohinata Motoyo, sitting sideways on the couch with her legs up, muttered to herself as she stared at the photo.

Then, she turned her head to Kagura Hikaru, huddled on the couch beside her, pale and with dark circles under his eyes, "Hikaru, what do you think?"

"...Aomori High School..."

"Oh, that's the boys' high school near ours, no wonder."

Kohinata Motoyo's gaze was calm as she looked at him, "You were almost like that too, Hikaru."

"I've caused you trouble... thank you." Kagura Hikaru quietly looked at her, "Why are you in Tokyo? Weren't you going abroad?"

"Yes, it was Student Ai Cheng who told me. She said you've been in a bad state recently and was worried about you, so I rushed back," Suse said with a smile.

The previous night at the train station platform.

Kagura Hikaru, who was about to jump off, was hugged and dragged back by Kohinata Motoyo who happened by, and he was then taken to her home to be looked after.

A person intent on death, even if unsuccessful once, could try again.

Yet now, Kagura Hikaru seemed revived, with a glimmer in his eyes, a stark contrast to the lifeless figure he was the night before.

Like Komori Ai, Kohinata Motoyo was one of the two individuals whose minds caused exceptions in Hikaru's mind-reading ability.

Komori Ai's inner voice was actually the result of her deceit ability, strictly speaking, Kagura Hikaru couldn't actually read what she was thinking, whereas Suse was the complete opposite.

Her inner voice contained nothing but 'love'.

He could read it, and it was overwhelming.

[Love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love]

Kagura Hikaru had never encountered someone as pure as her, her emotions so heavy that they drowned out everyone else's, allowing Hikaru to hear nothing but love.

While the girl's simple and passionate affection could be troublesome, it wasn't unbearable.

The implication was self-evident—she was Kagura Hikaru's savior and antidote.

Beside her, Hikaru found peace.

At Suse's home, Kagura Hikaru slept for the first time in a long time, closing his eyes and resting for a whole day.

Now, freshly bathed and holding a cup of hot cocoa while wrapped in a blanket on the couch, Hikaru sat deep in thought.

His mind had not fully recovered, still in a haze, but one thing he understood.

For the rest of his life, he could never leave Suse's side.

"It's about time to go to bed," the girl said, glancing at the time before turning with a smile.

That smile was as tender as a mother's, and Kagura Hikaru couldn't help but be captivated.

She took Kagura Hikaru's hand, leading him to the dimly lit bedroom, and gently helped him lie down just like one would do for a child.

Rustle...

Under the soft moonlight streaming through the window, Kohinata Motoyo slowly undressed.

Her top fell to the floor.

Beneath, she was bare.

Bending over, the girl quietly slipped into his bed.

Kagura Hikaru simply watched silently, then suddenly tensed, closing his eyes with a light moan.

"Mmm..."

In that moment, he let go of everything, not wanting to think about anything.

The next day, Kagura Hikaru and Kohinata Motoyo officially started dating.