She Texted Me First… But Something Feels Off

In that instant, my world collapsed.

My mind was filled with the words “no way.”

Given this idiot’s nature, the women he knew were mostly ones he’d been involved with. If he actually knew Kaori…

Suddenly, I felt an overwhelming discomfort.

A nauseating feeling rose in my stomach.

I didn’t want to think about it, but my brain disobeyed, racing at full speed, piecing together all the known information to arrive at a possible truth.

Combined with what the idiot had said earlier about the woman who didn’t want him visiting his friends…

Could it be that the overly possessive woman was Kaori, and she didn’t want him coming to see me, which pissed him off so much he broke it off with her?

Going to a convenience store in the middle of the night was exactly the kind of thing someone heartbroken and lost would do, right?

And I remembered Kaori saying her white hair had appeared later… Could it be that her hair turned white overnight from grief after being dumped by him…

Wait a minute, was I the one who interfered with Kaori’s relationship?

Ugh, could it really be this complicated…

Even though it wasn’t the devastating mental blow of NTR, the thought that I might have come between my good friend’s relationship still made me sick.

Once this thought took hold, it wouldn’t stop. I felt like my vision was spinning.

Then the idiot patted me on the shoulder.

“Hold on, bro. Stop your persecution complex.”

“Huh?”

He snapped me back to reality in an instant.

“Was I doing it again?”

“Yeah, you were doing it again.”

“Ah… sorry.”

This was my bad habit.

Before reaching a conclusion, I’d wildly guess at all possibilities, always imagining the worst. I’d overcomplicate everything and get myself tangled up.

It was probably because I enjoyed reading people’s psychology. It always made me imagine all sorts of things.

Even though I still had a nagging feeling my speculation might be correct, I needed to see the idiot’s reaction.

The idiot wouldn’t lie to me… Yeah! I’ve prepared myself mentally!

Bring it on!

“I don’t know this Kaori you’re talking about yet. I’ve just heard that name recently.”

“Huh?”

The idiot’s single sentence pulled me back to reality.

“What do you mean ‘yet’? What are you talking about?”

“Didn’t I just tell you I got set up for another blind date today?”

“Oh… you mean?”

“Yeah, that’s what I mean. If I remember correctly, the person they set me up with today has that name. Her full name is Shen Kaori.”

“Shen Kaori…”

“What’s wrong, bro?”

“It’s just a little strange. When Kaori told me her name, she didn’t tell me her surname.”

“Huh? She only told you the name Kaori?”

“Yeah, so it could just be a coincidence, or she might have deliberately omitted her surname…”

Logically, a coincidence was more likely, but my gut told me it was the latter.

But why hide her surname…

“Hmm…” The idiot folded his arms and thought for a moment. “I ran away this morning before the date, but I did catch a glimpse of her photo.”

“You added her as a contact, didn’t you? Check her Moments and see if there are any selfies. I can compare and tell.”

“That’s a good point. Let me see.”

If the idiot hadn’t mentioned it, I would have forgotten Moments even existed.

Because of my streaming, my fan groups were all on QQ, which made it easier to interact with the silly group members.

And my illustration commission work was also handled through QQ.

So I hardly used the other messaging app, except for video calls with the idiot and a few other real-life friends.

The last time I opened it was to add Kaori as a friend. After that, I spent the whole night worrying about what message to send.

Now, opening the app again, a notification popped up telling me I had a new message.

I opened it immediately. It was indeed a message from Kaori.

The timestamp was half an hour ago, right around the time I had put my phone away to finish my shift.

Morning 08:00

[Hello, this is Kaori. You should be off work by now, right?]

[Night shifts must be exhausting. Please get some good rest.]

Kaori had taken the initiative to message me first!

I was touched but also felt ashamed. I had acted so brave during my confession, yet afterward, I hesitated over sending a single message, leaving the girl to make the first move…

The idiot leaned in, craning his neck to see my phone screen.

“This Kaori girl sent you a message? Sent it right at eight, timed it for when you get off work. She’s pretty thoughtful, huh.”

“Yeah, I need to reply quickly…”

“Wait a bit, it won’t hurt. Check her Moments first, bro.”

“Good point, but what if she’s set it to private or hasn’t posted any selfies?”

“Then just ask her for a selfie.”

I gave him a look and rolled my eyes.

“Do you think I’m you?”

Turning back, I tapped on Kaori’s profile picture to view her Moments.

Her Moments weren’t set to private, but it didn’t really matter either way.

Because her Moments had very little content… Actually, “very little” was an understatement.

There was simply nothing there.

Had she never posted anything at all?

Even I, someone who rarely used this app, had posted a few things… I suddenly felt worried about Kaori’s social circle.

Could it be that she didn’t have a single friend?

Was Kaori even lonelier than me?