"Eh... eh?"
"No... that's not right, Haruko... Haruko, she's dead?"
Ichiko lowered her head, looking at her trembling hands, and subconsciously murmured Haruko's name.
Her gaze anxiously scanned the Hospital, like a mental patient with strange pupils, her hands tightly clutching her head, her dark pupils jumping up and down in her eye sockets.
It was as if she was afraid of something, and also as if she was searching for something.
The images in her mind repeatedly flashed between Haruko's smile and her face after death.
Because of the pain, she chose to forget.
But now, the memories were forced back into her brain.
Haruko after attempting suicide was very well-behaved. She only felt the Rejoice of surviving, but she never thought that since Haruko had written such a suicide note, how could she act as normal as before.
She only treated the three days in the dark room as an ordinary game, thinking that as long as she stayed with her, she could return to their original routine.
But she never thought that since Haruko could say the words "dark room" with a calm face, her mental state was already somewhat abnormal.
Having to say she liked her every day was a microcosm of her obsession. She only saw it as the source of her own pain, but she didn't realize that it was her way of trying to keep her.
One dream after another clearly told her that if she forcefully tried to change the outcome of being with Haruko, she would enter a bad ending, yet she still didn't care.
Shin and Inari had both told her to accept her, to force herself to love her.
What she got in return was still avoidance.
Finally, she didn't want to escape anymore, but she... could never hear it.
The scene was frozen in the last moment: Haruko rested her head on her chest, and also in the bright red orange juice, like a long river woven from petals of the Red spider lily.
She was on one side of the river, and Haruko had already stepped onto the Naihe Bridge covered in flowers.
No matter how she called out, even with the confession the other person had longed for, the person she had been thinking of didn't look back.
Only a wisp of tea-colored hair fluttered in the wind.
Memories turned into petals, gently stroking Haruko's hair, carrying the past beauty, and falling onto Ichiko.
As Haruko took step after step towards the other side of the bridge, the bright red Red spider lily petals gradually dimmed and withered.
Since her departure, only darkness remains ahead.
After regret and collapse, came the inability to accept such reality.
Ichiko looked up at Professor Su, and tears flowed down again.
Crying and crying, she started to laugh, "Professor Su, Haruko said she wouldn't leave me, right?"
Professor Su was silent.
Ichiko walked closer to her again and punched Professor Su's shoulder, but being weak, she couldn't exert any strength. Her soft fist landed, and her body couldn't help but lean against Professor Su.
She whimpered continuously, "Please, Professor Su... tell me this is all fake, tell me this is actually a joke, a prank by you and Haruko, please... please..."
Her mind didn't collapse because of the huge amount of information, but the emotions she instinctively protected ultimately couldn't face such devastating news.
"Where is Haruko?"
Ichiko pushed Professor Su away and walked towards the door.
"Professor Su, tell me where Haruko is!"
Ichiko reached the door, staggering and holding onto the door frame, "I'm going to find her, I'm going to find her. When she wakes up, I absolutely cannot be absent. I must be with her..."
However, as soon as she stepped out, Ichiko saw Inari who had just walked over and was standing in front.
Just as she was about to grab this straw and speak, she was suddenly yelled at by Inari, "Ichiko, can you wake up!"
"Haruko died to protect you. She wants you to live well, and what about you?"
"You avoided her when she was alive, and you can't accept it after she's dead. Look at yourself now, what's the difference between you and those crazy women outside?"
Inari suddenly grabbed Ichiko's shoulders forcefully and shouted loudly, "What do you want to do now, take your own life to find Haruko? You can't even take care of yourself, what face do you have to see her down there!"
"The murderer who killed Haruko is still at large. He might be drinking fine wine somewhere, enjoying beauties. Shouldn't you avenge Haruko!"
Perhaps Inari's words resonated with Ichiko. At this moment, for the sake of Haruko, she should live well even more.
Or perhaps the word "avenge" struck a chord with Ichiko.
The girl who was originally unable to accept reality and had collapsed gradually quieted down.
Her arms dropped powerlessly, and she remained silent for a long time.
After confirming that Ichiko's emotions weren't so bad, Inari finally let go of her, "Are you still going to avoid reality like this? Haruko is dead, she died to protect you. What use is avoiding reality except making her unable to rest in peace in the afterlife?"
Ichiko lowered her head and asked hoarsely, "Where is Haruko?"
Inari let out a breath, turned around, and pointed ahead, "The first room around the corner at the end of the corridor."
There, her remains were kept.
Ichiko finally stopped making a fuss, only limping towards the direction Inari pointed.
She still didn't seem to have retrieved her "soul".
Professor Su walked out of the ward, sighing deeply, "It's probably difficult for her to return to normal. Only the one who tied the bell can untie it, but the one who tied the bell is no longer here."
Inari's eyes were helpless and pained, "Look at her state, how can I become her mental support as you said before? Now, we should hope that hatred can restore some of her spirit."
"At the very least, she needs to get her body healthy first."
Professor Su was silent for a while, "Actually, when Miss Su woke up just now, she had selective amnesia and forgot about Miss Chi's death, but I told her directly. Would it have been better to hide it from her for a while?"
Inari glanced at Professor Su again, "You are a Doctor, and you're not sure?"
Professor Su's expression was complex, "Whether it's bitterness first then sweetness or sweetness first then bitterness, if sweetness still exists, then there's a choice. But for Miss Su, only bitterness remains. I was thinking, why leave this pain for the future?"
Reality must be faced sooner or later.
Just like Ichiko stood frozen in front of a ward door, staring blankly at Haruko lying in the Hospital bed, covered in various instruments.
She looked sideways at the instrument next to her, the electrocardiogram was a flat line.
But the Doctors, whether comforting her or truly not giving up, still had some life-sustaining instruments attached to Haruko.
It was as if they were telling her that although her electrocardiogram indicated death, there was still a possibility of saving her.
What a ridiculously absurd joke.
Ichiko moved a small stool and sat by Haruko's Hospital bed.
She couldn't help but tremble as she held that delicate little hand.
It was cold, almost completely without warmth.
Ichiko held it very tightly, and very hard.
She wanted to try her best to transfer a trace of warmth.
But no matter what she did, the person on the Hospital bed showed no reaction.
Ultimately, only drops of tears fell onto the back of that delicate hand.
And slid to the floor.
"Haruko..." Ichiko reached out and kissed the back of her hand, crying uncontrollably again, "I miss you, will you wake up?"
She, too, should face this reality.
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