Men.
Especially middle-aged men, what are they most afraid of?
Not the beatings of society, nor the sarcastic remarks of superiors.
What they have always feared the most is the care of others.
A very simple phrase like “Son, is your blanket warm?
Have you eaten?” is enough to break their defenses.
But ever since Hoshino Ai died, Hoshino Aqua had blocked his ears and closed off his inner heart.
He could no longer hear anyone’s care, nor could he feel anyone’s caring gaze.
But just today…
A man, equally an adult, told him that he had already done enough…
and that he should forgive himself.
In an instant.
Somewhere deep inside his heart seemed to crack open.
All the negative, all the painful, and all the unbearable emotions that had accumulated for a full two years all welled up.
This wave of emotion was simply too intense.
Even the usually calm Hoshino Aqua could not hold it back.
Lying on the ground just like that, he covered his eyes with the back of his hand.
Tears flowed out as if they could not be stopped.
Rapid, sobbing cries were also squeezed out from his throat, hiccuping intermittently.
Yuji sat back down.
Looking at Hoshino Aqua in front of him, he shook his head slightly.
He more or less understood the plot of oshi no ko”.
Therefore, he also knew.
Hoshino Aqua in the original work could definitely not be considered a strong person.
He was merely forced to make himself strong because of Hoshino Ai’s passing.
And this “strength” had lasted for more than a decade.
During this period, no one could open up his heart, nor could anyone touch his true nature.
This undoubtedly led to his personality warping.
Yet, a certain reliable adult came from the Heavenly Dynasty.
What he couldn’t stand the most were children with warped personalities.
Sigh.
Propping up his cheek, watching Hoshino Aqua, who was crying uncontrollably and even showing signs of respiratory alkalosis.
Yuji helplessly squatted down, pulled his body up slightly, and gently patted his thin back to help him regulate his breathing.
People always say that anime heroines are hard to deal with.
But now he felt that—
This…
when the male lead truly goes crazy…
it seems even harder to handle than a heroine…
…
“So, what you said to me earlier, do you want me to give up revenge and live the life of an ordinary person?”
Hoshino Aqua, having regained his composure, had red, swollen eye sockets and tear stains.
He turned his head slightly to the side.
Yuji, still crossing his legs and calmly flipping through a book, was sitting beside him.
His lips moved, and his face, which was always indifferent in front of others, revealed a different kind of emotion for the first time in front of someone else.
This emotion was very complicated.
Hoshino Aqua felt that this was probably awe, or perhaps respect.
“How is that possible?” Yuji put down the book.
“I said before, whether to take revenge is your freedom, and whether or not you want to live an ordinary person’s life is also your freedom.
You are also an adult and have the right to choose your own life, aren’t you?”
“But you just…”
Hoshino Aqua was stunned for a moment, and his expression turned eccentric.
The other person’s rhetoric was completely different from just now.
“What I said was to let you forgive yourself.
After all, I haven’t been opposed to your revenge from the very beginning.”
Yuji blinked and looked over strangely.
It was only human nature for Hoshino Aqua to choose to avenge his mother.
Yuji hadn’t planned to meddle in this from the start; after all, this was his choice.
Besides—
“Even if I opposed your revenge, you would definitely still secretly push forward your progress behind the scenes, right?”
Yuji asked rhetorically.
“Uh—”
Words that seemed to have completely seen through his entire person made even Hoshino Aqua blush with embarrassment.
Because just as Yuji had said.
Even though he had let go of a lot now, his goal of revenge had never wavered.
Therefore, although it might be a bit unfair to Yuji, even if he had to hide it secretly, he would still carry out this objective.
Just when he didn’t know how to answer this question,
Yuji, who was staring at him over there, suddenly spoke up again.
“However, I’ve always been quite curious.”
“Curious?” Hoshino Aqua was taken aback.
“The revenge you mentioned…
do you have a specific plan?” he asked.
“Uh…
a plan?”
This sudden topic left Hoshino Aqua in a daze.
“That’s right.” Yuji’s fingers gently tapped on the armrest of the soft chair.
“Haven’t you been planning this for two years?
Do you have a concrete revenge plan and process?”
“Uh…
it’s just…
um…”
Hoshino Aqua opened his mouth.
He really wanted to answer Yuji’s question in front of him.
But until now, he, who had been completely blinded by hatred, suddenly realized—he actually didn’t have anything that could be called a plan at all.
That’s right.
There was completely no plan whatsoever.
All he had was an obsession with the goal of revenge, and hatred for his mother’s killer—nothing more.
Many people might bring up the movie “Fifteen-Year Lie” from the original work to make a fuss.
But in reality, the movie “Fifteen-Year Lie” was a plan that could only be finalized after Hoshino Aqua knew Kamiki Hikaru’s identity.
And strictly speaking, in the eyes of a reliable adult, that thing could hardly be considered an excellent “revenge plan”.
Let alone now, when Hoshino Aqua still did not know Kamiki Hikaru’s identity.
“F-First, find the person who murdered Ai…”
Under Yuji’s gaze, Hoshino Aqua’s handsome face had already turned somewhat red, and he finally squeezed out those words.
“Find them?
Through what means?
Hire a private detective?
Or start investigating the people around Hoshino Ai right now?
Then use your identity as a child actor to fish for information?
Learn about Hoshino Ai’s social circle from them?”
The reliable adult casually gave a few examples, his gaze growing increasingly curious as well.
“I…
um…”
Hoshino Aqua’s face continued to turn red.
“And earlier, your phrase ‘let that person die in the most miserable and painful way’…
what exactly is this most painful and miserable way?
Have you figured out how to torture him physically?
Or completely strike him down on a psychological level?
And then let him die miserably?”
Yuji was still questioning.
“I…
I…”
If Yuji had said these words before, Hoshino Aqua, filled with rage and hatred, might have felt that the other person was provoking him.
But now, after hearing these words, a much more sober Hoshino Aqua suddenly realized something—
Did he…
not have any plan from the very beginning?
That’s right.
No plan.
Because even if he wasn’t obsessed with unlocking the phone, by asking Saitou Miyako, wouldn’t he be able to figure out at least some of Hoshino Ai’s interpersonal social circle before her passing?
After all, Hoshino Ai was the signature idol of [Berry Pro], and Saitou Miyako was almost inseparable from her when managing her.
As for the methods Yuji mentioned on how to torture and how to make the other party pay the price…
Hoshino Aqua hadn’t even thought about them at all—otherwise, in the original work, he wouldn’t have ended up inexplicably lunging forward to act as a drag-down ghost.
Until now, Hoshino Aqua suddenly realized one thing.
In front of Yuji…
it seemed…
that his so-called revenge all this time…
was purely a child throwing a tantrum.
After realizing this,
The blond child’s expressionless, yet already reddening face turned even redder.
Red to the point of…
Being incomparably vivid.
And Hoshino Aqua acutely noticed.
Yuji’s gaze looking at him was becoming increasingly eccentric.
“In other words…
you haven’t even thought out a concrete plan, and you don’t even have a plan for how to properly deal with the other party after you find them…?”
Are you for real?
“…Yeah.”
Although his handsome face burned with pain, Hoshino Aqua still nodded.
Then…
“Hiss…”
Then he heard the sound of Yuji in front of him sharply drawing in a breath of cold air.
It was clearly just an ordinary intake of breath, yet it seemed to be mixed with critical hits and true damage.
Making Hoshino Aqua unable to lift his face ever again.
He extended both hands and covered his face.
He no longer dared to look at the expression on the black-haired child actor’s face.