By the time they returned to the girl’s home in Tiangong City, the moon in the night sky had already set, and it seemed that it was already past midnight here.

“Good night, then.”

He returned to the house via the balcony and sent the girl back to her room. Then, Xia Zhi said goodbye to her and was about to turn around to go back inside, but he felt a slight force coming from the corner of his clothes.

He turned around and met a pair of red eyes filled with reluctance.

“Good children must not stay up late.” Xia Zhi said, touching the girl’s little head.

Staying up late at night, going against mom’s instructions and wandering around without telling parents and strangers, is this not what a good child should do?

The girl originally wanted to say this, but looking at the white ribbon wrapped around her wrist, she hesitated for a moment and still didn’t say the words.

However, the little hand holding the corner of Xia Zhi’s clothes did not let go.

Xia Zhi sighed slightly, squatted down and gently touched her forehead, and opened his mouth in the girl’s slightly shy and helpless eyes.

“It’s a little late, but… happy birthday.”

Hearing the words coming to her ears, the girl opened her eyes slightly.

“Then see you next time.”

Without giving her a chance to say anything more, Xia Zhi said goodbye to her again, turned around and left the room, his figure disappearing behind the swaying curtains.

“…”

The girl withdrew her gaze from the open window and looked at the calendar hanging next to the door. She couldn’t help but smile as she saw the date “August 3rd” on the calendar before she could tear off the next page.

Then, she tightened the quilt around her, placed her ribbon-tied hands lightly on her chest, and slowly closed her eyes.

tick, tick…

In the quiet room, accompanied by the rhythmic movement of the clock hands, the girl’s breathing gradually became calmer.

And the next moment when her consciousness fell into sleep

click –

The sound of the clock stopped abruptly.

A “click” sound that no one could hear rang out in room 903…

……

When Xia Zhi’s vision returned to normal, he found himself standing on the top of a tall tower.

It seems to be daytime, and standing at this height and looking down, you can have a complete view of the entire city.

Coincidentally, a similar scene was seen “not long ago” during the summer solstice.

Looking at the familiar city in front of him, Xia Zhi knew obviously that he was still in Tiangong City.

…As I guessed, although the abnormality itself is not with Kotori Itsuka, whether it is the template for constructing the world or the conditions for switching scenes, are they still related to her?

Recalling the scene that changed again not long after he left the girl’s house, combined with his previous experience, Xia Zhi thought to himself while his eyes fell on the tall tower under his feet that looked like a radio tower.

…Come to think of it, this tower seems to be a tourist attraction in the local area, right?

Xia Zhi thought about it and gave up the idea of ​​taking a few landscape photos as a souvenir. He turned around and descended from the tower, and arrived at the familiar doorstep along the route he remembered.

He hesitated for a moment, considering that it was not night time, and it would be awkward if he ran into someone else’s family. After careful consideration, he chose to climb in through the window.

Fortunately, with his previous experience, he easily found the girl’s room.

The bad news is…

“…”

Seeing the black-haired boy jumping in from the window, Gokawa Kotori, who had just put on half of her clothes, was stunned for a moment, and then her cheeks quickly turned red.

…Although it may not be very relevant, Xia Zhi suddenly remembered something at this time.

Come to think of it, I seem to have a setting where I can get something for nothing.

“Sorry, I went to the wrong door.”

Looking at the girl’s cheeks becoming increasingly rosy, Xia Zhi turned around calmly and prepared to leave temporarily before she could open her mouth to shout.

However, at this moment, a burst of hurried footsteps was heard, followed by a slight pulling sensation at the corner of the clothes.

“No, I went the wrong way…”

A girl’s soft and small voice came from behind.

“…”

Xia Zhi certainly knew that he had not taken the wrong path… He just meant that he had made a small mistake in his previous choice of the “door”.

“I’ll just wait outside…” he tried to make a suggestion.

“do not go!”

The girl’s voice suddenly became louder, and the force with which she pulled the corner of her clothes also became stronger.

But then, as if she realized that her reaction was a little too excited, she quickly lowered her voice and said timidly:

“That… will be ready soon.”

Why does it feel like she would scream out loud if I were to leave?

Xia Zhi complained in his heart, but did not insist on leaving. He just moved his eyes to the calendar next to the door.

The date displayed above is still “August 3rd”… It’s only a little over a week away from my birthday.

Compared to the last time, the only difference is that the year is pushed back another year. Considering that the first time he met her was also on this day, does it mean that every time he sees her again, it happens to be her birthday? He thought to himself.

On the other side, seeing that he had no intention of leaving, the girl carefully loosened her hands that were holding the corner of his clothes.

There was a rustling sound behind her. After a while, when she had put on her clothes, Xia Zhi turned around again. It could be seen that there was still a hint of blush on her cheeks.

“We meet again.”

Xia Zhi pretended not to notice that she hadn’t even buttoned her collar in such a hurry, and changed the topic to something else, asking with a smile:

“How’s it going? I didn’t lie to you, did I?”

“Yeah!” The girl nodded and said happily, “I have always listened to you and been a good girl!”

As expected of a child, he quickly diverted his attention and forgot what happened just now.

…But, at that time, I didn’t mean for you to listen to me.

Xia Zhi shook his head, looked at her and asked, “Do you still have it with you?”

“Of course!”

Although he didn’t say it directly, the girl immediately understood what he meant.

She raised her right hand, and you could see that the white ribbon was still tied around her fair and slender wrist. Even after a year, the white ribbon, which should have been easily dirty, was still as bright and clean as new, and you could tell that it had been well cared for.

“I only take it off and tie it on my hand when I sleep, because I’m afraid of losing it…”

As she spoke, she untied the white ribbon from her wrist, handed it to Xia Zhi, and winked at him:

“Can you help me tie it?”

It’s not for you to use as a headband…

Looking at the girl’s expectant eyes, Xia Zhi sighed slightly.

But forget it.

Xia Zhi asked her to sit down on the bed beside him, and took out a ribbon of the same style and tied her pigtails according to the girl’s appearance in his memory.

…I have always helped Xia Zhi tie low double ponytails before, but I have never tried a proper double ponytail. Compared with this, the position of the ponytail is a little higher, Xia Zhi is a little unsure, and doesn’t know what height is more suitable.

Although she was not very confident, the girl herself seemed very satisfied with the final result.

Looking at the red-haired girl happily looking at her “new” hairstyle in front of the mirror, Xia Zhi thought so, then his eyes fell on the white ribbon on her (cdbh) head and fell silent for a while.

really.

He thought to himself.

Just now, while helping the girl tie her hair, he had confirmed that the ribbon was indeed the one he gave to the girl last time.

It is not an object from this world, nor is it pure information like memory, but it is still preserved and continued as the world scenes switch.

In other words… there is at least a causal relationship between these different world scenes, similar to that of normal history and timeline.

Xia Zhi felt more certain about his previous guess.

But on the other hand, this is not traditional time travel… After all, from beginning to end, Xia Zhi could be sure that he had never left the original copy world.

So, what is this…

While he was lost in thought, the girl on the other side had returned to his side. She looked at him as if he was thinking about something, pursed her lips slightly, and asked:

“You’re not Santa Claus, are you?”

Hearing the girl’s question, Xia Zhi came back to his senses.

He didn’t continue to hide anything. After all, he didn’t plan to deceive the other party for long with such a clumsy lie. He just tilted his head slightly and asked curiously, “When did you know?”

“The teacher in charge told us during an extracurricular activity,” the girl replied.

I suggest you play less with teachers who shatter children’s fantasies next time. You never know when they will tell you things like “there is no real fairness and justice in the world” and “even hard work may not pay off”.

“Not really… Actually, I already knew it.”

The girl shook her head, and continued to explain in Xia Zhi’s puzzled gaze, “Because on Christmas night, I deliberately did not sleep, and saw my parents secretly put the gifts into the socks at the head of the bed…”

It turned out to be the case.

Being willing to cooperate in protecting their daughter’s childhood fantasy means they are good parents… At least I never had the interest to pretend to be Santa Claus before, and I always gave the gifts directly to Xia Zhi.

Otherwise, the girl would definitely start to suspect where he spent such a large sum of money.

Come to think of it, I also went through a period of being a housekeeper…

and many more.

Xia Zhi, who was sighing in his heart, suddenly realized something and looked at Xiao Qinli suspiciously:

“You weren’t asleep at the time, were you squatting on me?”

The girl stuck out her tongue embarrassedly, and it seemed that he had guessed it right.

Just now he said that he was a good boy? Xia Zhi complained in his heart.

“I just wanted to see you.”

As if she was worried about being misunderstood by him, the girl quickly defended herself.

“Other than that, I have kept my promise and been a good kid!”

As she spoke, she shook her head to show Xia Zhi the white ribbon tied into a bow on her head that was swaying slightly with her movements, to show that she had not forgotten the appointment.

“Well, I see.”

Xia Zhi touched her little head as a reward.

The girl squinted her eyes happily and enjoyed it for a while, then blinked and continued:

“…Besides, isn’t there one day every year when you can be a bad kid?”

Where did this rule come from? How come I don’t know about it?

Xia Zhi couldn’t help but complain.

“Every time you come.”

The girl replied as a matter of course

“Whether it’s eating candy secretly, staying up late, or not coming home at night, you will keep it a secret for me on this day…”

She looked up, blinked at the boy and asked

“…This day is a special birthday gift for me, right?”

I never said that.

but……

Listening to her words that were almost about to be made clear, and the feeling that she seemed to have been expecting something from just now, Xia Zhi breathed a sigh of relief.

“Happy birthday, Kotori-chan.”