Junior High School

The surname "Sugayu" alone is enough to keep Hinata Aoi in place.

Seeing this, Kuroo Tetsuro was overjoyed. He caught up with her in three or two steps, grabbed Hinata Aoi's wrist and took her to the grinding table.

"Look, who is this?"

Lone Claw Grinding: "......"

Embarrassment couldn't stop his excitement, and he whispered hello:

"Hi~, Xiaokui."

The next second he was stunned.

A crystal tear slid down the girl's cheek smoothly.

Seeing that the situation was not right, Gojumaki Saki, who had been watching from the side for a long time, held the milk tea he bought from someone else in one hand, and snatched Hinata Aoi behind him with the other hand, glaring at them, guarding against the two strangers.

"...No, no!" Mo La put his palms on the table and stood up suddenly from his seat, his body leaning towards Hinata Aoi.

Why are you crying?

I wanted to apologize and explain, but I couldn't break through Gojumaki's defense.

Kageyama Tobio was also panicked, with a howling wind in his head. In reality, he could only blend in with the crowd of onlookers like an outsider.

I'm so anxious, but I don't know what to do.

The tense atmosphere was finally broken by Hinata Aoi herself. At this point, all the lies were meaningless.

"I'm sorry, but please don't tell Mika yet."

......

A disaster of epic proportions.

It couldn't be hidden from Heiwei, nor from Goujuan.

Hinata Aoi, with her brain functioning normally, got the whole story out of Kageyama in just a few words.

But the process is no longer important, the ending is almost written!

Hinata Aoi felt a headache when she looked at the chat box with Kuroo Tetsuro.

Smiling Tiger Heiwei forcefully added her contact information to her phone, and then came a continuous stream of greetings. It was just concern, with no questions about the past or the present, but it was enough to annoy her.

Why was he so considerate to her? Hinata Aoi hugged her knees and sank into the soft bed, burying her face between them.

With Kuroo's intelligence, he would definitely understand that she was just pretending not to know them and didn't want to get to know them anymore.

She has gone so far, why should I be so nice to her?

...Want to talk?

"Ding ding!" New message arrived.

The light from the screen flashed to Hinata Aoi's eyes, and she narrowed them subconsciously, piecing together the words clearly:

"Want to go out and play together? Without Mika~"

Sunflower:......

Is this a threat?

*

While Hinata Aoi was worrying alone, Goujuan had already added Kuroo's contact information.

The two chatted very happily, but did not exchange much information. It was just that Gojumaki naturally became the temporary military advisor of Kuroo and the others.

"Inugami-kun's trick is very effective. Aoi has agreed to go out!"

"That's good, keep going~"

Inujuan Ji also narrowed his eyes, looking at the "Xiao Kui" in the conversation interface, which was particularly glaring. He had never called Hinata Aoi so intimately before.

Surely, it couldn't compare to a relationship they'd known since childhood? ...Now he still had to rely on his understanding of Hinata Aoi to coax her!

Anyway, he was not really trying to help, he just wanted to seize the hard-won opportunity to touch the girl's heart.

Yes, Inumaki Ji has accepted his fate and he has to start from the past to comfort Hinata Aoi...God is on his side and giving him a chance!

He will follow the whole meeting this time.

Kuroo on the other end of the phone looked at the words "Come on" and clicked his tongue before turning off the phone.

What a wonderful portrayal of Xiao Kui...

What had Xiao Kui experienced during these years without them? How many new friends had she made? How could a boy understand her so well?

Who is this? An admirer? A crush? A boyfriend?! He can't just be a good friend, right?

It wasn't that he had dirty thoughts, it was just that it didn't seem like him. Would any other person of the opposite sex be so nosy? Kageyama certainly didn't.

Why do I feel like my home has been robbed?

“Tsk!”

Laju, who was playing games nearby, glanced over again. The character in the game console had been slaughtered dozens of times by the boss.

"Not going well...?"

He pushed the joystick aimlessly and was killed by the boss again. Grinding completely gave up the game and reached out to Kuroo.

Handing over the phone in perfect sync, Kuroo Tetsuro leaned back on the grinding bed and breathed a sigh of relief:

"No, it went surprisingly smoothly."

"Oh." He answered perfunctorily, and carefully looked through the chat records one by one, first looking at Gojuan's, then looking at Hinata Aoi's, he had to confirm it with his own eyes.

"Xiao Kui...seems like she doesn't want to be recognized by us."

Kuroo immediately covered his ears:

"What? I suddenly lost my hearing~"

"Hello? Want fried chicken for dinner? Apple pie?"

Grinding: "......"

This is not funny at all.

The cruel reality is like finally completing all the endings of the game only to find out that it is a pirated version. The actual plot is very different and there is no channel to purchase the complete version. The joy of completing the game turns into frustration.

"...Do you still want to do it?"

Do they still want to communicate with Xiaokui? Force Xiaokui to recognize them, and then what?

Heiwei had already loosened his hands that were covering his ears, turned around and took advantage of Mo Mo's unpreparedness to rush forward, snatching his cell phone away with a strange cry. Mo Mo was so scared that he used his elbows to kick his legs and jumped to the other side of the bed.

With an evil smile that showed he had pulled a prank, Kuroo shook his phone and said, "What else?"

Kuroo knew that Ma Mo wanted to give up not because he was heartbroken, but because he was afraid that they were doing something that Xiao Kui didn't like.

"We don't know anything yet, do we?"

"And...what if it's related to why Xiao Kui became mute?"

If they don't want to recognize them because they have encountered something extremely outrageous, should they give up just because they are treated coldly?

What if it were just them that Xiaokui could be “saved”?

Missing is no small matter, and the probability of an entire family disappearing together is extremely low.

For a while, Kuroo's nightmares were no longer about his parents quarreling.

Instead, Xia Youkui took the stranger's hand and left in front of him, leaving bloody shoe prints on the road. No matter how he tried to stop her or shout, it was useless.

Now Xia Youkui’s surname is no longer “Xia You”... Even if Xiaokui is unwilling, they should figure it out!

Regarding the point of "becoming dumb", Grinding has its own guess.

"Could it be because... the God has disappeared?"

"ah?"

Shinagaku refers to the missing humans who have been captured by the gods. It is said that humans can return after passing the trial.

There is another saying - you can leave after paying the price to the gods.

The price can be hands, feet, or...voice.

Kuroo doesn't understand how a criminal case can be connected to supernatural things, but Mamoru has his own arguments.

"Not long after Xiaokui disappeared, a deity sent a photo of Xiaokui lying on a hospital bed to comfort Meijia."

"So it really could be a god!"

At that time, I thought it was a deliberate trick to trick children into grinding, but now I can't help but believe it a little.

“…” came from Kuroo, who was full of questions after listening to the explanation.

"Wait a moment."

"Regardless of the authenticity of this..."

"How did you know about the photo?"

"Hmm?" Mo Li felt guilty and cold sweat broke out on his back.

Didn’t he tell Xiao Hei?

Oh yes, Mika didn't let him tell anyone else, and he thought it was fake so he didn't tell Kuroo either.

"Anyway, it's... like this."

"Ah? Aren't you even pretending?!" Kuroo Tetsuro pounced on Mo Mo like a hungry tiger and tickled him.

"That's too much! Let me punish you on behalf of the Moon!"

The two childhood friends hid it from him. Could it be that they were just joking with him?

......

The appointed day arrived as scheduled no matter how much Hinata Aoi didn't want to face it.

Kuroo thought of many places that were not suitable for a date.

When they were young, Meijia liked to take Xiaokui to jewelry stores, and they liked to play volleyball or games with the girls.

Xiaokui doesn't have any particular preferences; she seems to just enjoy being with her friends and is completely absorbed in whatever she does. It's unknown what her current hobbies are.

The new acquaintance, Gojuanji, seemed wary of them and was difficult to pry open. He didn't want to hear about Xiaokui's past from them, so he wouldn't accept an equal exchange to tell them about Xiaokui's recent situation.

Finally, after discussing with his teammates, Kuroo decided to have the date at the amusement park.

"Maybe while playing, you'll become happy and open up to others~"

Kuroo and Momo are not as optimistic as their other teammates, but fortunately they can still have fun in the amusement park. Unlike other activities, it would be awkward if they are not familiar with it.

They left home early, dragging Momo, who had just slept for two hours, to wait for the girl. Unexpectedly, Hinata Aoi arrived earlier than them, bought tickets and stood waiting by the ticket gate.

Hinata Aoi greeted them naturally, handed them the tickets and led the way to queue. There was no sign that he had crawled into Ms. Hinata's bed to be coaxed to sleep after a sleepless night.

Kuroo thought that today was his home court, but he was led by the nose by Hinata "tour guide" from the very beginning.

"Which activity should we try first?" Kuroo unfolded the map.

He'd made a travel guide in advance and was thoroughly prepared. In his backpack, he carried water, bread, cooling patches, mosquito repellent spray...even the small mirror that Mika had left behind while playing games.

Mo Mo, who was also insomniac but weak, followed beside him in a daze, holding a parasol, like a dark mushroom that was uprooted from the soil but didn't realize it had been picked.

After taking a look at the grinding status, Hinata Aoi chose the rotating teacup with a lower difficulty coefficient.

I didn't choose the carousel because I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to hold on to the pole and would be thrown off.

Fortunately, the spinning teacup shook Pudding's head a little, so Hinata Aoi and Kuroo could go back to playing.

From roller coasters to pirate ships, from rotating flying chairs to bungee jumping machines, during the grinding, I couldn't stand it anymore and passively became a little brother, while the other two had a great time.

No one mentioned the past, and they were all immersed in the joy and excitement of the present moment.

Finally, we went to experience a 4D movie, and the three of us rested in the restaurant, each sipping a glass of ice drink.

The heartbeat gradually became calmer. Amid the laughter from other tables, Kuroo also found topics to talk about and told all the embarrassing things about Momo, which made Momo rack his brains to fight back and also imitate Kuroo's exposes.

Hinata Aoi smiled happily, and she wasn't sure how much of her smile was genuine, but she did feel a sense of melancholy in her heart.

"What a shame, I really missed a lot."

Kuroo and Mamoru's pupils contracted at these words.

They finally waited for the girl to give in.

"I've had a good time these past few years. Things were more complicated before."

"Help me keep it a secret from Mika for now, and wait until I can sort out my thoughts, okay?"