Chapter 168: Childhood sweethearts with no romantic feelings at all

[So, from that day on, Vill-V became visibly more talkative, her grades returned to top positions, she often had a smile on her face, and her words were calm and gentle... just like you]

　　[Although she would be "returned to her original form" in some cases, Vill-V is still trying to make progress. For example, she tried to practice music... But when she found that she could not catch up with you in this aspect, Vill-V gave up immediately and thought about whether there was anything else that could be used as a "substitute"]

　　[Soon, she found a "substitute" based on her own conditions - magic!]

　　[Relying on her nimble fingers and keen observation, Vill-V taught herself a few simple magic tricks. After trying to perform them in front of her classmates, she naturally received applause and praise, and quickly became closer to her classmates... Very good! This "replacement" was very successful! Vill-V was very satisfied!]

　　[Although she is not as good as you in music, Vill-V can be "like you"! You use music to build relationships with your classmates, Vill-V can also do it with magic!]

　　[Besides that, because she really can't learn your gentle attitude towards others, it's not difficult to always keep a gentle smile, but it's really tiring to maintain the tone and manners... She herself is not used to it, and she always reveals herself in the middle of it. She herself also feels that she is not suitable for this kind of appearance, and always feels that there is something weird about it.]

　　[So she patched up herself up based on imitating you - the smile cannot be changed, a smile represents confidence, so it cannot be changed; although it is difficult to maintain her manners, it is not impossible, so she can try to keep them, but she must try to make a difference... After all, she cannot lose her own "characteristics". As you said, just be herself, so she must be "different" from you in some places.]

　　[In that case... well... try to imitate the actors on the stage, and use exaggerated movements and expressions to highlight your own "characteristics" to distinguish yourself from them. Coincidentally, magic performances also need some similar assistance, maybe it can attract more people?]

　　[So, you watched helplessly as Vill-V gradually became something completely different from her original self, a person who was similar to you, but different.]

　　[Equally confident, equally good at grades, equally gifted in a particular area (referring to your music and Vill-V's magic), equally obvious in their attitude towards others, the only difference is that one is gentle, the other is boastful.]

　　[Even when you both have the same "other attitude" - your appearance of frequently using "obscene words" and Vill-V's extreme "social phobia" appearance, they are exactly the opposite of what you show to everyone at this moment.]

　　[Everyone was very satisfied with this. The students made new friends and could often see magic performances from Vill-V. They were naturally happy. As for their previous indifference to Vill-V, they had of course swept it into the corner of their memory.]

　　[Teachers have no complaints when they get a top-performing student.]

　　[Vill-V's parents are also very satisfied. Although Vill-V's recent behavior is a bit strange, and sometimes she shows the same "social phobia" as before, but at least Vill-V has a lot of friends now, right? Especially Vill-V's confident expression of herself makes them very happy.]

　　[But only you know... that's not the case.]

　　[The biggest difference between you and Vill-V is that your gentle attitude towards others is your true self, and your abusive use of "obscene words" is a "mask" that you put on to let those who use "obscene words" know that you are not easy to mess with. Apart from the initial etiquette, you will also use violence... but you will only use it in extreme circumstances.]

　　[But Vill-V is not like that. Her current confident look is an act. It is a "mask" she created to imitate you, in order to win the favor of others and to achieve a similar situation to you... and her original appearance, that "socially anxious" appearance, is hidden by her. Moreover, as people become more and more satisfied with her "mask", she also hides her original appearance more and more deeply.]

　　[This is also good... She probably thinks so. After all, through this method, she got everything she had ever wanted. If that's the case, then there's no harm in continuing.]

　　[She is like an actor standing on the stage, performing herself according to her ideal identity to satisfy the audience... and when she gets applause, she will also feel satisfied, so she will deepen her performance and get more into that "role". As for whether she is still the original her now, Vill-V herself doesn't care much.]

　　['Everyone likes it, and I like it too, so I should keep it this way and keep wearing this "mask"' Vill-V sometimes thinks so.]

　　[But unfortunately, she couldn't keep it up all the time... because in front of you, especially when she was alone with you, it was difficult for her to maintain that "mask".]

　　[Maybe it's because her "mask" is made based on your appearance. In front of you, she always feels like a fake meeting the real owner and always feels inexplicably flustered... Then, under your comfort or soft melody, she will slowly calm down, and finally take off the "mask" little by little, returning to her timid appearance.]

　　[Every time this happens, she feels relieved, just like having a rare intermission after a performance, and her tense spirit is relaxed by your music.]

　　[Every time this happens, she would fall asleep on the chair without realizing it... Her peaceful sleeping face is quite adorable.]

　　[Especially when she suddenly wakes up and finds herself in a panic after falling asleep, it's really hard not to laugh... Of course, at this time, Vill-V will also put on a "mask" to offset her embarrassment, and use a confident smile and particularly exaggerated movements to show off her body that is beginning to develop, and say "I look good when I'm asleep, right? Are you fascinated by it?", probably something like this, to deal with you.]

　　[But in the end, she will gradually retreat in the face of your gentle smile and doting gaze and finally shrink into the corner like an ostrich... That expression, like a gentle brother looking at his "silly" sister, really makes it difficult for her to hold back.]

　　[Every time this happens, you will squat beside her and gently stroke her two-color fluffy hair to comfort her... Sometimes you will specifically play with her hair on both sides, take out a small bunch of each color of hair and pinch it in the palm of your hand, then turn it up and stand it on her head, and say jokingly "Tada~ Vill-V's new ears~"... Then Vill-V will press her hair back in embarrassment and punch you twice, not too hard or too light, but a bit like acting like a spoiled child.]

　　[Well...even though you always make fun of her, Vill-V is still very grateful to you, because by your side, accompanied by your music, she can have a rare short break, a rare moment of respite, allowing her to feel again...what her true self is like.]

　　[Although the more this happens, the more she will envy you and the more she will rely on this "mask", but it's not bad to show her true self in front of you a little bit.]

　　[At least with you, she can return to her original self, at least with you, she can rest.]

　　[Just like a harbor for ocean-going ships, she can rest here and wash away the fatigue caused by her "performance".]

　　[Perhaps it is because of this reason that Vill-V has unknowingly developed a sense of dependence on you. At certain times, especially when she feels "tired", she will become particularly clingy to you. At this time, you will understand that she is tired and needs "rest".]

　　[At this time, you will take the initiative to invite her, either to a music store outside or in the school's music room, to play a soft tune for her to relieve her "fatigue" and let her take off the "mask" and get some rest.]

　　[This is the process that seems a bit strange to outsiders... Is it too "intimate"?]

　　[And you invited Vill-V specifically... and there were only two of you... Is this a date?! It's definitely a date, right?!]

　　[Well... very good, the rumors about you and Vill-V started to spread again, and Vill-V's parents also knew about it. They talked to Vill-V and said seriously - 'you are still young, it's not time yet, wait until you are older, we can talk about it...' They just messing around Vill-V.]

[Although Vill-V has had this thought before, it's a bit too much to ask her to express some affection in front of you. In her opinion, she is just someone who wants to imitate you and chase after your a "star," just like worshipping a star or idol, she just wants to be like you.]

　　[If you say she likes him... then of course she likes him, but it's not the kind of "like" that other people see.]

　　[Maybe there will be a chance for this to develop into a romantic relationship in the future, but Vill-V doesn't have any special feelings right now, so she can only feel helpless about her parents' attitude.]

　　[As for your attitude towards Vill-V? Well... this child needs to be taken care of and watched over, otherwise one day she won't be able to remember "herself."]

　　[So, you maintained this somewhat subtle and strange relationship until you reached high school... and "luckily," you were in the same school again.]

　　————————

　　"Hmm~"

　　In the school courtyard, Nozomi hummed his own melody softly while slowly flipping through the medical books he had found... The detailed explanations of human acupuncture points from the Shenzhou region were very interesting, allowing Nozomi to learn more about medical knowledge... It was also very useful to know which acupuncture points could paralyze which parts of the body.

　　step-step-step

　　The obvious and slightly ostentatious footsteps were gradually approaching.

　　And Nozomi already knew who it was.

　　Sure enough, after a while, Nozomi felt a weight on his thigh.

　　"Vill-V..."

　　Sighing helplessly, Nozomi put down the book in his hand and looked at Vill-V, who was resting her head on his thighs with a playful look on her face.

　　"Tell me, future great magician, what magic trick are you going to perform for me again?"

　　"Hehe~ That's right! Nozomi, I have learned a new close-up magic~ Of course, it's not difficult... You are the first one to see it, a future great artist, feel honored!"

　　"I've already said that I plan to study medicine in the future... Never mind, it's up to you."

　　"You are already very good now, but this is still the stage where you haven't learned anything special. You will definitely be very good after a little special training... Look, this is a coin, right~"

"Just treat it as a hobby... Yeah, it's an ordinary coin."

Nozomi said this casually, and at the same time, following Vill-V's instructions, he checked the coin in her hand, and after confirming it, he handed it back to her.

"Hey~ Look at what you said, a hobby is so important, how can you let others live~ I know that you secretly registered an account to upload your songs to the Internet, right? I remember that you have quite a few fans... Well~ Look, this coin is in my hand, right~ Ta-dang~ It's gone~"

"…How did you know that?"

A hint of surprise flashed in Nozomi's pupils... Vill-V had just raised her hand in front of him, but the coin disappeared in the blink of an eye. Vill-V even put her hand in Nozomi's hand and let him look through it... However, Nozomi searched for a long time but couldn't find it, and her even lifted up his sleeves, but still didn't find it.

"Don't underestimate me, Vill-V... I'm a great magician!"

"No, no, no... This has nothing to do with magic, right? Um... Oh, now I remember, is that [VV] account it's you?"

"…Heh~"

Vill-V stuck out her tongue as if to agree with Nozomi's statement, and at the same time stopped Nozomi's hand from turning over her fluffy hair.

"Not here~ And Nozomi, why do you always like to mess with my hair..."

"Because Vill-V's hair is so fun and the color is so pretty."

"It's funny... You're really merciless. Never mind~ Since it's you, I won't mind such a small matter... Ta-dang~ The coin is actually here~"

Vill-V said this helplessly, then lifted her collar and took out the coin from her chest.

"…Is this considered cheating?"

"Who told Nozomi not to check himself? This is Vill-V's victory!"

"Okay, okay, you win."

"Don't try to fool me with that tone! It always makes me look childish... and I've worked really hard to optimize my technique!"

"Okay, okay…"

Nozomi smiled, touched her head, helped her straighten her hair, then held her hand and gently massaged her to relieve the fatigue in her hands caused by long-term manual labor.

ring ring--

A prompt sound of special concern rang out, and Nozomi took out his terminal. Looking at the name of the message, a smile subconsciously appeared on the corner of his mouth.

"Wow, Nozomi, what's wrong with your smile?"

Vill-V grabbed Nozomi's arm, squeezed her body into his arms, and looked curiously at Nozomi's terminal screen.

"Uh...Brother, are you in an online relationship?"

When Vill-V saw the online name [Golden Brilliance], she widened her eyes and asked in surprise.

"What online romance...what are you thinking about? And don't call me brother, I don't have a sister like you."

"Brother, don't be fooled by those bad women out there...ah, it hurts, it hurts...I was wrong, brother, I was wrong...I'm sorry, Nozomi! Let me go! My hand is going to be crippled!"

Vill-V was half-joking at first, but as Nozomi's eyelids drooped slightly, the hand that was originally massaging Vill-V's hand suddenly exerted force and directly pinched an acupoint on her hand, making Vill-V beg for mercy.

The interaction between the two will naturally be seen by other students passing by...

"It starts again…"

"It starts again, these two people..."

Everyone sighed helplessly.

"Speaking of these two guys... have they always been like this since they came to school?"

"It seems so... I heard that they are childhood sweethearts and have known each other for a long time."

"So these two guys... are in love? The teachers don't care?"

"Both of them have good grades, so why should the teacher care... And they don't seem to be lovers. I asked before."

"Ha? Are you kidding? You say you're not lovers after all this? And you're of the opposite sex, childhood sweethearts, and have been in the same school all along. I don't believe you if you say you're not lovers."

"I don't believe it either, but that's what they both said. And from what I feel... these two guys are more like siblings... right?"

"…Your siblings are like this?"

"I don't know. I'm an only child. Don't ask me."

"Then what do you say?"

"Oh, and you'd better not tell them that they are lovers in front of them."

"Ah? Why? Is there any gossip you can dig up?"

"No... they'll say you're love-brained."

"Step by step..."