Chapter 42

"Of course!"

Nakamori Akimi quickly snatched the bottle of "Tears of the Ocean". She felt more at ease knowing that the thing was in her hands.

"You have to understand that this is a magical game world." This is a vicious, garbage world. "Since it's something I acquired through trade, how can I not drink it?"

"That's true."

Shiraishi Kuranosuke seemed to believe it easily, just as he easily accepted the fact that this was a game world.

Is this guy really too optimistic?

Thinking of what Fuji Shusuke said, Nakamori Akimi was a little skeptical. She stared at Shiraishi Kuranosuke for a few seconds, then decisively abandoned her doubts. No matter whether he had a problem or not, as long as he drank the antidote, everything would be fine.

"Okay, let's get the bitter melon juice first..."

Nakamori Akimi had just taken out the bottle of bitter melon juice and unscrewed the cap when a tennis ball flew out from somewhere and knocked it down with a "bang". Green water gurgled out and spilled all over the ground and Nakamori Akimi's hands.

“…”

Why do accidents always happen when she is about to succeed?

Nakamori Akimi really had no idea what to do.

"Ah, sorry, sorry, I accidentally served the ball out of bounds! Nakamori-senpai, are you okay?"

Momoshiro Takeshi suddenly appeared around the corner. Nakamori Akimi quickly hid the "Tears of the Ocean" and immediately became furious.

Why is it him again? He was there last time, why is he here again this time? And she was so off target, how did she hit the ball so accurately?

"Hiss~ Idiot, even the serve went out of bounds, go back to school and retrain."

Kaidou Kaoru, who followed closely behind, mocked him mercilessly.

"What, you stinking snake, you want to fight?!"

Taocheng Wu braked suddenly, raised his fist in front of him, and started a fierce eye fight.

"Is this bitter melon juice?" Inui Sadaharu, the last one, walked past the two people in front and came to the heartbroken Nakamori Akimi. "In that case, this new bitter tea I developed does contain a lot of bitter melon."

Inui Sadaharu raised the cup of colorful unknown liquid in his hand, and the shadow of green bitter melon juice could be vaguely seen inside.

"Really?"

Nakamori Akimi rushed over and gently grabbed the bottom of the cup, his eyes full of surprise at having regained what he had lost.

What a sudden turn of events. She knew that God had treated her well. Even if there were other impurities in it, it was still bitter. How should I put it, it was bitter for Shiraishi Kuranosuke.

Nakamori Akimi's gaze drifted to Shiraishi Kuranosuke standing beside him.

"Akira, Akimi?" Unlike Nakamori Akimi's excitement, Shiraishi Kuranosuke, who understood what Nakamori meant, turned pale instantly. "No, Akimi, this won't work. This could kill people!"

"How could that be! The ingredients used to make dried mulberry juice are all healthy and harmless. This thing just has a weird color. It's clearly a perfect, all-natural, pollution-free drink!"

Nakamori Akimi, who said this against his conscience, turned his eyes away and deliberately ignored the bubbling bitter tea.

Gan Zhenzhi beside him cooperated and read out the recipe: "Spring chrysanthemum, bitter melon, celery, wild angelica, okra..."

They sound like normal vegetables, so how did he make them look like this?

"Don't sign up!" Shiraishi Kuranosuke was horrified and refused. "Akira, you... No, I really can't do it, I can't do it, Akira!"

Shiraishi Kuranosuke waved his hands repeatedly and retreated again and again.

"It's just bitter tea, why are you so scared? How about this, I drink it and show you!"

Nakamori Akimi originally just wanted to encourage Shiraishi Kuranosuke, but she didn't expect Inui Sadaharu to quickly pour a small cup of bitter tea into her hand.

"That's great, Nakamori-san. I was worried I couldn't find anyone to review it."

This was a difficult situation. Nakamori Akimi froze in place, cup in hand. He could hear the chatter of Inui Sadaharu's urging, and the cries of "No" from Shiraishi Kuranosuke, Momoshiro Takeshi, and Kaido Kaoru.

From the noisy sound, she now understood how Fuji Shusuke felt when he was besieged by her and Seigaku's group.

——I feel irritated and have a headache!

Nakamori Akimi gritted his teeth, held his breath, took a deep breath, and drank the bitter tea in one gulp.

The moment she drank it, the world became quiet. Nakamori Akimi watched their mouths opening and closing, but when no sound reached her ears, she knew she was finished.

But she still pretended to be calm and tried to complete her plan for the day.

"Look, I told you this stuff is all natural and pollution-free..."

However, the accident happened in that instant. With a "smack", she fell limply to the ground, and the last word that came out of her mouth was: "...ba."

"Qiushi!"

A heart-wrenching cry resounded through the sky, and the people who rushed over saw at a glance the messy green ground that looked like a murder scene, Momoshiro Takeshi and Kaido Kaoru who were stunned, Shiraishi Kuranosuke who was crying bitterly while holding the "corpse of the dead girl", and Inui Sadaharu who was holding a very dangerous object.

"What happened?"

Fuji Shusuke opened his eyes slightly. How could such a big commotion happen in just a short while?

"I just asked Nakamori-san to taste my latest creation, and it seems the effect is quite amazing."

Inui Sadaharu was also a little surprised. He originally thought that his formula this time was normal.

"What on earth are you researching?"

After so many years, the people in Shitenhoji still cannot accept Kan Sadaharu's hobby.

"Fuck, send Nakamori-san to the infirmary, come back twenty laps, and then apologize after Nakamori-san wakes up."

Kunimitsu Tezuka was concise and to the point, and when he gave the instructions he also gave away a lap running gift pack.

"knew."

However, before Inui Sadaharu could act, the tenacious Nakamori Akimi suddenly regained consciousness. She grabbed Shiraishi Kuranosuke's arm, and with trembling hands, she stuffed the "Tears of the Ocean" into his hand, her eyes wide open, and every word she said was tearful:

"Shiraishi... Kuranosuke, you... must... drink... or I will die... with my eyes wide open!"

After saying that, he fainted again with a "crack".

"Qiushi! Qiushi!"

Shiraishi Kuranosuke held the soft "corpse", tears rolled down his face, and his resolute eyes shot towards Inui Sadaharu... and the bitter tea in his hand.

"Bai Shi, calm down!"

Seeing Shiraishi Kuranosuke's intention, everyone in Shitenhoji reached out and called out, trying to restore his remaining sanity.

These two siblings are really fighting over the dry juice, right?

"Don't stop me. Qiushi has already done this. What kind of man would I be if I don't do something?"

The emotionally excited Shiraishi Kuranosuke forgot all his concerns. He reached out to take the bitter tea handed to him by Inui Sadaharu, crushed the "Tears of the Ocean" and put a drop into it, tilted his head back, and drank the whole bottle.

"Shiraishi!"

Then the world spun around him, his vision went black, and he died heroically amid the shouts of the crowd.

This is what true love suicide means.

Fuji Shusuke watched the whole process and took back the phone that was recording the video.

It’s not Bai Shi’s fault. After all, when faced with such a situation, even the calmest person will lose his composure.

***

When Nakamori Akimi woke up again, he opened his eyes to see a white ceiling and his nose was filled with the pungent smell of disinfectant.

From the moment she woke up until now, she felt like her head was a mess, and all she could think about was: How could someone do something so vicious...

"Are you awake, Nakamori?"

After hearing the noise, someone pulled the curtain and came in. It was Fuji Shusuke.

"Fuji?"

"How are you? Are you feeling better? Get up and drink some water."

Fuji Shusuke gently placed a cup of warm water on the bedside table and reached out to let Nakamori Akimi use his strength to sit up.

"Thanks."

Nakamori Akimi was indeed a little thirsty. She felt that as soon as the bitter tea went down her throat, all the water in her body was drained away.

"There's good news and bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?"

Fuji Shusuke pulled a chair over and sat beside the bed, giving the classic option.

"Bad news."

Nakamori Akimi swallowed the water to avoid doing anything rude later.

"Bai Shi ran away."

...ran away? What ran away? Shiraishi?

Nakamori Akimi's mind was full of questions.

"What do you mean he ran away?"

"Literally, they've already booked a ticket and plan to return to Osaka overnight."

Fuji Shusuke shook his head and sighed, with a look of regret on his face.

"Why? I even drank poison for him, and he ran away!" Nakamori Akimi was so angry that her teeth were itching. Hadn't she suffered in vain? "Why did he run away? Did he discover something?"

Nakamori Akimi thought of the bottle of "Ocean Tears" he had given to Shiraishi Kuranosuke before he passed out. "Could it be that the bottle of Ocean Tears has been exposed? I remember Momoshiro and the others saw it last time..."

"Don't you want to hear the rest of the good news?"

In such a violent atmosphere, Fuji Shusuke always maintained a relaxed attitude.

"He's already run away, what's there to wait for?" Nakamori Akimi suddenly realized and asked tentatively, "Could the reason he ran away be..."

"Because of the dark history..." Fuji Shusuke drawled out his words and shook his phone. "Congratulations, Nakamori, the second one is solved."

The surprise came too suddenly, and Nakamori Akimi was a little slow to react. "Is it resolved just like that?"

It was incredibly smooth sailing.

"Yeah, that's how it's resolved. It seems even Shiraishi's calm mind becomes dulled when it comes to love." Fuji Shusuke unlocked his phone. "Want to see what happened after you fainted?"

"...You recorded it?" Nakamori Akimi hesitantly clicked on it. It contained not only Shiraishi Kuranosuke's dark history, but also her own. "Could it be that Shiraishi decided to flee overnight after watching this?"

To some extent, the truth about Akimi Nakamori was revealed.

"I just wanted to help him understand the world better."

You just want to watch the fun with a malicious heart.

"Do you have a backup?"

Nakamori Akimi's hand hovered over the delete key.

"No."

After hearing what Fuji Shusuke said, Nakamori Akimi pressed the delete button with confidence.

"But I've already sent it to Atobe."

As if this news wasn't explosive enough, he added:

"And Atobe just sent you a message. Sorry, I heard the notification tone and accidentally took a look. It seems to be a very interesting note. This makes me curious, what is the note you sent me, Nakamori?"

What was it? Nakamori Akimi stared at him silently. The icy blue light was fleeting, and Fuji Shusuke still had a gentle smile on his face, but Nakamori Akimi knew that this was only superficial calm.

The joy she had felt upon learning that Shiraishi Kuranosuke had returned to normal faded, and Nakamori Akimi felt a chill down her spine, feeling an invisible pressure. She opened her mouth, and a thousand words coalesced into one:

"Do you really want to know?"