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

During lunch break, Kagura Hikaru went to the third-year classroom to find Saijo Mari and thank her for her help when he was sick.

"You're too polite, compared to the help you've given me, Kagura, this is nothing."

"No matter what, I still need to say thank you," said Kagura Hikaru. "If you ever need my help in the future, just let me know."

"Ah... Can I ask you a question now?"

Saijo Mari hesitated, "Kagura, when do you plan to break up with Ayakoji Chiyoko?"

"We're not together to begin with," said Kagura Hikaru.

"But Classmate Ayakoji now..."

"I've already turned her down, officially."

"Oh, that's good then."

She placed her hand over her chest, sighing in relief.

After parting with Saijo Mari, Kagura Hikaru also made a call to Sakata Asahi to express his gratitude, obtaining the number from Hina.

Kagura Hikaru knew well that they weren't obligated to help him at all. It was out of conscience and friendship that they extended their hands, and he couldn't take any of it for granted.

Some people might, but not him.

Perhaps among them, Sakata Asahi and Saijo Mari, to be precise, were not truly considered friends by Kagura Hikaru before—his standards for friends were quite high.

But now, they were.

Through this experience, Kagura Hikaru deeply realized that he was a lucky guy, loved by people.

Whether it was his parents, people like Kiryu Hina, or even Ayakoji Chiyoko, everyone loved him in their own way.

He thought it was about time he gave up.

The so-called 'Ghost Plan', to be unnoticed like a ghost from enrollment until graduation.

When he enrolled in Yuqiu High School, Kagura Hikaru actually intended to graduate without a trace of presence.

He had planned it that way from the beginning, but in the end, he created so many bonds.

It was such a pleasant miscalculation.

The autumn breeze brought a refreshing chill.

When a red leaf blew into the classroom, the bell signaling the end of class rang just in time.

At three-thirty, school was out.

"Kagura, are we heading back together today?" Kohinata Suse, holding her tote bag, came over to Kagura Hikaru's desk and asked with a smile.

Kagura Hikaru looked at her and at Kiryu Hina and Ayakoji Chiyoko, who were staring each other down behind her, and shook his head: "Sorry, I've got someone picking me up today."

"I see, then next time," Kohinata Suse said.

"Who is it?" Kiryu Hina curiously asked.

"My mom," replied Kagura Hikaru. "She came back to the country yesterday and said she wanted to see me."

"Oh...?"

Kiryu Hina made a somewhat strange expression and didn't say anything more.

"I'm off then, see you tomorrow."

Kagura Hikaru nodded to the three of them, slung his tote bag over his shoulder, and left the classroom.

Scattered red maple leaves lay sparsely on the ground, swept to the sides of the courtyard walkway by the autumn wind, as if dyeing the edges of the path, adding a different hue to the usually familiar scene.

Kagura Hikaru walked briskly towards the school gate, holding his phone in his hand.

His mother had just sent a text saying she was at the entrance; Kagura Hikaru had to remind her that parking was not allowed at the school gate.

The reply was two 'don't worry' messages.

Yet when Kagura Hikaru walked out of the school gate, he saw his mother and her car thirty meters away.

The prohibited parking area according to the school regulations was within a hundred meters; she obviously still didn't understand.

Kagura Hikaru quickly walked towards her.

Not far away, a woman with long curly hair wearing a khaki trench coat leaned against the door of a red Porsche. Seeing Kagura Hikaru, she took off her sunglasses and waved happily in his direction.

"Hi~ Hikaru!"

The beautiful, dignified face revealed after taking off the sunglasses bore some resemblance to Kagura Hikaru.

"Long~ time~ no~ see~!!"

She called out loudly as she came over to hug him.

Kagura Hikaru showed a disgusted expression and deftly dodged.

"Mmm! That's not good behavior," the woman puffed up her cheeks.

"..."

He was an adult, yet he acted like a little girl.

Kagura Hikaru let out an overt sigh.

This was his mother, Xiaosong Risa.

She was the only middle-aged woman he had seen in his life who could be so vivacious at her age.

Even her appearance matched her youthful demeanor—despite being in her forties, her face looked as tender as that of a university student who had just graduated.

Clearly, she was a well-maintained lady of affluence.

"Let's go, or we might end up calling security over."

Kagura Hikaru opened the passenger-side door and got into the car.

Xiaosong Risa also sat back in the car and started it while complaining, "Your mother has finally returned to the country and not even a 'welcome back' from you. You're so cold." Enjoy exclusive chapters from My Virtual Library Empire

"Oh."

"You should be comforting me at a time like this!"

"I have to take a call."

His cell phone started ringing with a ding-dong sound, and Kagura Hikaru answered it.

It was his stepmother on the line.

"Hello."

"Mister Hikaru? Have you arrived home yet?"

"Not yet."

"The thing is, I'm at the airport now, and I'm about to board a plane."

"Huh?"

His stepmother's tone was one of resignation, "Your father has fallen and fractured a bone in the bathroom at the hotel, and he's asked me to go take care of him."

"...You're going to Hua Xia?"

"Yes," his stepmother said, "So Mister Hikaru, you might have to be alone at home for a while. Can you take care of yourself?"

"No problem."

"That's good then. I'll leave the house to you. Call me if you need anything," his stepmother said.

"Okay."

Kagura Hikaru hung up the call, and then he noticed the car was running but hadn't moved at all.

"I heard everything," his mother Xiaosong Risa candidly admitted she had been eavesdropping and began to smile slyly, "I'll take you home; go pack your things."

"Why?" Kagura Hikaru was suspicious.

Why would he need to pack his things to go to his own house?

"How can a high school student live alone? It will definitely be a mess," Xiaosong Risa said confidently, "So, you should live with mom for a while!"

Kagura Hikaru's face showed an even deeper skepticism, "I can manage."

"Mom says you can't, so you can't! Or is it that you don't want to live with mom?"

"That's...."

"Then it's settled!" Xiaosong Risa animatedly turned on the car's music, keeping the beat and smiling as she spoke, "I'll also introduce you to my fiancé; he's a good man and will welcome you."

"What, I have to live with someone else?"

"You've already agreed; you have no right to refuse~!"

As though blocking Kagura Hikaru's route of escape, Xiaosong Risa started the car, heading toward the Kagura family home, while saying, "By the way, my boyfriend also has a daughter about your age, so get along with her, okay?"

"..."

An hour later, Kagura Hikaru, with his luggage in tow, stood under a familiar high-end apartment building, his expression blank.

He had been here before.

Carrying Kiryu Hina on his back with her sprained ankle.

This was Kiryu Hina's home.

Huh?!?!