During her speech, Haruka Tendo paused several times due to her emotions.
Now that she had finished telling that story, Haruka Tendo could no longer suppress her sadness.
"I've always believed...believed that she's my good friend..." Haruka sobbed softly, glistening tears sliding down her cheeks.
Those were tough days.
In front of others, she is a rich girl from a wealthy family, and when she buys things, she always acts like "this little bit of money is nothing".
In private, however, she was just an ordinary college student from the countryside with no special characteristics, and not wealthy at all.
She often goes to convenience stores to buy discounted bento boxes in the evening.
In order to appear as a wealthy person, she has worked hard for the past few years.
During the most difficult period of her life, she had to work three or four jobs a day and often only got about three or four hours of sleep.
Fortunately, it was during the holidays, so she didn't have to work and study at the same time, otherwise she really wouldn't have been able to handle it.
Even so, sometimes her expenses are too high, and she has to borrow money from others to maintain her persona as a "rich family's young lady".
She managed to maintain her public image, but after the event ended, she had to work even harder to pay off her debts.
Although it was tough, she was willing to live this kind of life for the sake of these "friends" and persevered without ever complaining.
She never mentioned these things to outsiders.
She has always been the only one who has borne all of this.
Whenever she felt tired, the thought of her "friend's" smile would give her a silent boost of energy.
"Qinghua, hang in there, you can do it!"
She had said these words to herself countless times.
We must cherish this hard-won friendship!
This belief allowed her to persevere in this kind of life.
But after hearing what Shirafuji Yasumi and Fukuura Reiji said, her belief that she had held onto for so many years turned into a joke in those few short minutes.
So what has she been persisting in all these years?
Others didn't treat her as a friend at all, but rather as a cash cow that still had some use.
Once the leaves on her money tree have completely withered, her former "friends" will cut down the trunk without hesitation.
Squeeze every last drop of value out of her, this cash cow...
Then, her "friends" would simply leave her aside.
They treated them like trash, completely disregarding the years they had known each other. In fact, they even seemed disgusted.
Everything she did over those four years became meaningless.
If I had to pinpoint a specific relationship, it would only be one based on monetary interests:
She paid, and they smiled along.
They pretended to be friends, but in reality, apart from Takuto Ii, the other two never considered her a friend.
Previously, Fukuura Reiji said that she had kept him in the dark for the past four years, but wasn't she the same way?
She was kept in the dark for the past four years, always believing they were her good friends, but she never expected... the truth would be like this.
Now that I think about it, if she had used all that money to improve her life, how comfortable and pleasant her life would have been.
After so many years of hard work and frugal living, if they could save up all the money they spent on themselves, it would definitely be a considerable sum.
This money might not be enough for her to live the life of a truly wealthy person, but it would definitely allow her to move to a better apartment.
She doesn't have to go out to work before dawn. She can sleep in on weekends.
She would not get up until almost noon to go to a nearby restaurant for lunch, instead of eating the discounted bento she had bought the night before.
In the afternoon, she doesn't have to rush to her next job; she can go shopping, watch a movie, or go to an amusement park.
Unfortunately, all of this has already happened, and all that money has been spent.
The pressure she has been under over the years has not dissipated, but has continued to accumulate; it is only the belief in her heart that has kept her going.
Now, her beliefs have become a joke, and the immense pressure she has accumulated over the years has turned into heart-wrenching resentment.
The greater the pressure, the deeper the resentment.
In the period between learning about the incident and setting off for the camping trip, her pre-existing inner problems became increasingly apparent, and her mind gradually became distorted.
Of course, these things would not be known to outsiders.
She was the only one who bore all of this.
Even if she harbors resentment in her heart, she still has to smile when facing Reiji Fukuura and Yasumi Shirafuji, and continue to maintain the persona of "a rich family's young lady".
The former is her "boyfriend who loves her," and she has to endure her psychological and physical disgust to continue maintaining intimacy.
The latter is "her good friend," but she still has to use the money she earns from working hard to take her "good friend" and "boyfriend" out to eat, drink, and have fun.
The stark contrast between her outward appearance and inner feelings caused the negative emotions in Haruka's heart to grow stronger with the passage of time.
Driven by negative emotions such as anger and resentment, Haruka Tendo became even more determined to carry out her "revenge plan".
"So that's why you killed Taimi and then framed Reiji?" Iiji Takuto asked after a long pause.
He felt somewhat guilty.
If I had explained things to Qinghua earlier, and then treated her to a nice meal and a movie to help her relax, would this case have been avoided?
He originally wanted to talk to Haruka Tendo while watching the fireworks from the mountaintop, hoping that the dazzling fireworks could illuminate Haruka Tendo's heart.
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