After deciding to give up, I became popular

Every single one of them was there, none were missing. This led to a period of confusion for him. On one hand, as his memories returned, the emotions tied to them deeply rooted themselves in his heart, intensifying his already considerable affection for them to an almost unbearable degree. On the other hand, when he realized he couldn't bear to part with any of them, an unavoidable problem arose: how should he handle his feelings for each of them?

It was almost an impossible question, because in the current situation, choosing one would mean abandoning all the others, but he simply couldn't make that decision. Every memory was so vivid and profound. In the end, after days of struggle, he made a decision that followed his heart: "I want them all!"

Since he couldn't abandon anyone, he would choose the option that satisfied all his desires!

After that, he began a long period of struggle, but the results were practically nonexistent. In fact, because his inner thoughts were too obvious, some of them noticed his intentions and gave him the cold shoulder for quite some time.

As for why he was eventually able to fulfill his fantasy... it was thanks to his late-blooming "golden finger.” It not only helped him recall the memories of living with them, but also allowed them to regain those memories. In the end, their relationship gradually returned to a state where, "on the surface, they would never admit it, but in reality, they seemed to have tacitly accepted each other's existence."

Natsukawa Kanade understood that this was because their love was too deep. Like him, they couldn't let him go. After learning that the others also possessed these memories, they developed a sense of "shared suffering." Gradually, due to various events, their relationships deepened, and they became able to tolerate each other's presence...

Although it sounds easy now, it was actually a very difficult time for him. This situation was built on him becoming everyone's "punching bag,” practically stripped of his "human rights.” But now, he felt it was worth it. After all, he had raised the banner of "I want them all!" If he expected to gain everything without any sacrifice, wasn't that just wishful thinking?

In any case, things progressed a little more "smoothly" after that. Although they still tried to minimize contact with each other, his efforts paid off, and he finally brought everyone together. After Natsukawa Kanade's college entrance exam, during the long summer vacation that followed, he found a time when everyone was free, and they went to the beach for a completely private trip.

This was no easy feat. First, everyone had to be free. Second, everyone had to agree to come. To make it happen, he had to agree to many very "excessive" demands before finally assembling this gathering.

The process was quite arduous, but he felt the reward was well worth it. The angel was wearing a school swimsuit and building sandcastles on the beach, with Natsukawa Kanade accompanying her. Kaguya and Yukino were both relaxing in beach chairs, sitting very close to each other. But in reality, their relationship... wasn't exactly harmonious; they were constantly competing with each other. They even chose the exact same swimsuit style, as if they were trying to outdo each other.

Shiyu senior was also relaxing, but she was a little further away from them, looking disdainful of joining their group. Not far from her, Megumi was catching crabs with the childish Eriri, and Eriri... got her finger pinched by a crab. It didn't bleed, but it hurt a little, and she became teary-eyed with grievance.

So Natsukawa Kanade went over to help her get revenge—he boiled the crab, and she happily dipped the crab legs in sweet and sour sauce and nibbled on them, her tears completely disappearing.

In addition to their group on land, Chika, Miko, and Ai, who were more curious and needed to relieve more stress, threw themselves into diving. They swam in the sea for a long time before coming ashore to replenish their energy because they were hungry.

They played for quite a long time... no, actually, they didn't play for very long, but for Natsukawa Kanade, it felt like a very long time—especially when he was applying sunscreen to Shiyu. He could feel the air around him suddenly turn cold, and countless eyes began to stare at him. He could even hear countless voices screaming "Danger!"

"..."

But what could he do? Everyone had someone they were closer to, and they had helped each other apply sunscreen. Only Shiyu senior was alone, and she directly asked him to apply it. It would have been too much if he didn't help.

In the end, he gritted his teeth and helped Shiyu senior apply sunscreen under everyone's murderous gazes. Throughout the process, he was very well-behaved, not touching any areas he shouldn't, keeping his eyes straight ahead, and even his hands only dared to tremble after he had completely finished applying it to her.

But unfortunately, Shiyu wasn't someone who could stay still. Throughout the process, she would "accidentally" make some strange, subtle noises, and she would very deliberately cover her mouth, as if she didn't want anyone else to notice.

But Natsukawa Kanade understood that she was definitely doing it on purpose, and it might even be part of her plan.

In any case, they played until evening, when the weather became a little cooler. The sea breeze felt even cooler, and occasionally seagulls would fly by, causing the girls to exclaim in surprise.

As dusk approached, they started a bonfire and prepared various barbecue items.

Of course, Natsukawa Kanade was responsible for all of this. Because of his possessiveness, he didn't even want to ask anyone to help. He carried and prepared everything himself. During this time, Mahiru offered to at least help with the barbecue, but she was immediately pulled away by the other girls.

Fortunately, Natsukawa Kanade hadn't planned to ask her for help anyway. After all, this was the treatment he deserved.

While he was preparing dinner and late-night snacks, the girls were chasing each other on the beach, or collecting shells, leaving behind a series of footprints. Then, he seemed to see them gathering together, as if they were discussing something. Although he was a little concerned, he knew that this wasn't something he could ask about. In every sense, he could only pretend not to see it.

After cooking for a long time, he finally wanted to sit down and rest for a while, but he heard footsteps behind him, and then a pair of hands covered his eyes.

"..."

The person behind him didn't speak, but he could understand her... or rather, their thoughts—they wanted to play the classic game of "Guess who I am?"

No wonder they had been sneaking around earlier... He had no other choice, of course he had to accept the challenge.

Originally, the first thing to consider in this kind of game would be height, because some of them were quite petite. To cover his eyes from behind, they would have to at least stand on tiptoe or reach hard. This also had to take into account not touching his back. But now that he was sitting, this was not easy to judge, so he could only start from other aspects.

The first thing that came to mind was naturally the smell. After all, he was now the most familiar with them, except for themselves. Not only their various little habits, but even the scents of their usual shampoos and body washes, he could completely distinguish. So that's what he thought of now, but unfortunately—this wasn't a closed environment, and they weren't wearing their usual clothes full of personal scents. After being blown by the wind, there was almost no other scent that could enter his nose except for the freshly made food, so this method was also ruled out.

So, in the end, he could only consider the feeling of their hands—this hand... first of all, he had to exclude Shiyu senior and the angel, because the former's palm would be slightly larger and warmer, and the latter's small hand was also soft, but he could still faintly distinguish a different kind of friction from others.

Then, considering that the palm was still quite slender...

"Can I get a reward if I guess right?" Natsukawa Kanade muttered.

However, there was no answer.

So he excluded some people again, such as Eriri and Miko. Although they might have tried their best to resist the urge to answer him, their hand movements shouldn't be so steady.

So that left Yukino, Kaguya, and Megumi, whose palms also belonged to the slender category.

"..."

The answer was obvious!

"Is it Megumi?"

"..."

Seeing that there was no movement behind him, Natsukawa Kanade subconsciously felt a sense of unease, thinking that he had really guessed wrong—actually, he wasn't too sure between these three, after all, the feeling between them was too similar. The reason why he said it was Megumi was entirely to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages—what if he guessed Yukino or Kaguya, and found that the person behind him was the opposite?

Considering what would happen to him next if that happened, he decisively chose Megumi's option.

But now it seems...

"As expected of Kanade, you guessed right." Saint Megumi finally spoke and let go of the hands covering his eyes.

"..." So Natsukawa Kanade secretly breathed a sigh of relief, then slowly turned his head and stared at her intently, "So... what's the reward?"

He was indeed a little curious, after all, he had seen them gathering together to discuss things.

"Reward..." Saint Megumi's fingertip gently curled the hair at the edge of her cheek, as if she was thinking about something, but also as if she was trying to hide something.

"Before we talk about that, can Kanade tell me why you guessed it was me?" Megumi tilted her head slightly, looking a little curious, "Do you think I'm the one who would do this kind of 'boring' thing the most?"

"No, why would I think that." Natsukawa Kanade shook his head as a matter of course, "On the contrary, I think you're the least likely person to do this..."

Although his true thoughts weren't like that, when coaxing a girl, naturally he would say what she liked to hear.

"Because I also saw you guys secretly gathering together to chat just now... I feel like it's because of this, so I thought the least likely person was the most likely... um, so... did you guys make a bet? Or did you do something else?" Natsukawa Kanade was a little curious.

"..." Saint Megumi nodded gently, then looked as if she was quite helpless, "They bet you wouldn't guess it was me."

"..." Natsukawa Kanade blinked, understanding her subtext—Megumi must have bet that he would guess it was her.

"So what's the bet?" Natsukawa Kanade thought it must be something interesting, at least Megumi had agreed to participate.

"..." But she suddenly stopped talking and turned her face away, "There isn't one."

"No... really no?"

"...There isn't."

"Eh, how disappointing..." Natsukawa Kanade made a very "disappointed" look, but it was completely obvious that she was lying.

"...Ah, I'm a little hungry too." Then Megumi turned around and left, but it didn't seem like anything was wrong. He felt it was more like panic?

Natsukawa Kanade saw her also taking things to barbecue, and then the senior who was not far away slowly walked over, and she also held two skewers of potato slices that he had just grilled.

"What did you bet with her?"

"Want to know?"

"Want to."

"Then lick my hand." Shiyu stretched out her hand with a smile.

Natsukawa Kanade's face suddenly fell, and after looking at the girls not far away several times, he lowered his voice slightly and replied to her: "Can we do it when we're alone later...?"

"Heh, man."

"..." Natsukawa Kanade thought he wouldn't be able to satisfy his curiosity, but the senior suddenly opened her mouth again.

"Go to Megumi's room tonight." The corners of her lips curled up, revealing a devilish smile.

"Ah?"

"That guy deserves it... after all, when we were all preparing to stay away from you, only she was thinking about how to pull us all back, as if she didn't care about herself at all..." Shiyu pouted, then her eyes suddenly rolled a few times.

Natsukawa Kanade understood that this was when she was thinking of "bad ideas."

"Well, but we can't let her eat alone..." Shiyu suddenly moved closer to him, making an irresistible invitation in a seductive tone, "That thing I told you about last time... do you remember?"

"Uh... could it be... are you saying... together...?"

"Heh, man."

"..."

"Well, that's how it is, I'll look for you later tonight, remember to save some energy, okay?"

"..." Natsukawa Kanade didn't know what to say.

Seeing him like this, Shiyu rolled her eyes, then left him, stood up and joined the girls' ranks.

"..."

(End of the book)

Extra

Extra, A Happy Future with Miss Angel (4K) (Not the Ending))

“Zou, why did you pick Qixi to get married?” The girl draped herself over the man’s shoulders from behind, her small hands around his neck, chin resting on his shoulder, the delicate softness of her chest pressing lightly against his back through a layer of fabric.

Her voice was soft, light, and sweet.

This was the bedroom, and the faint, fragmented sunlight filtered through the sheer curtains, bathing the girl’s fair skin in a gentle, almost sacred glow.

Xia Chuanzou turned his head and effortlessly scooped the girl, who, despite being twenty-two, was still petite and adorable, into his arms.

“We’ve been discussing it for so long, and it’s all decided, why are you suddenly asking this?” Xia Chuanzou moved closer, whispering near her delicate ear.

“But… suddenly thinking about getting married, I just feel anxious.” Shiina pouted her rosy lips, resting her head on his chest, her voice a little aggrieved, yet as sweet as honey.

She was becoming increasingly affectionate, but in a pure and lovely way, making it impossible to have any bad intentions.

“Shouldn't you be happy?”

“Happy… of course… but… I feel like time is passing so quickly, in the blink of an eye we're getting married, and Megumi still hasn't found a boyfriend…”

“She’s only twenty-one this year, she’s definitely not in a hurry.” Xia Chuanzou sat on the edge of the bed, gently holding the girl, who tried to pry his hand away from her chest, gave up when she couldn't, and muttered, “Zou is being naughty again…”

“You weren’t saying that seven hours ago.”

“Don’t say it.” The girl looked a little embarrassed and annoyed.

“……” He shrugged, then, as if remembering something, said, “Speaking of which, tomorrow we should officially change how we address each other, right? Miss Mahiru, any thoughts?”

“Hmm, not really… calling you ‘husband’ feels a bit strange… can I still call you Zou?”

“Whatever you want, as long as you’re happy.”

“Then what will Zou call me…”

“Angel?”

“Ugh! I told you not to call me that!” Shiina puffed out her cheeks, feigning anger.

“Then I’ll just call you Mahiru.” Xia Chuanzou coaxed as he turned her body and gently held her in his arms.

“Hmm… Megumi will come as a bridesmaid tomorrow.”

“Of course, and I’ll have Hachiman as the best man, he can do all the heavy lifting, I’m sure he won’t mind.”

Seeing her still looking a little worried, Xia Chuanzou leaned in and touched his forehead to hers.

“Things are pretty good as they are, and everything is prepared, what are you still worried about?”

“I’m not worried, I’m just feeling sentimental… I keep thinking about what Zou told me that day, if I hadn’t confessed my feelings one day earlier, you would have confessed to Katou…”

“That was when we were young.” Xia Chuanzou scratched his head, wanting to suppress those youthful memories from many years ago.

“……” Shiina’s eyes were a little suspicious, but she pursed her lips and said nothing.

“It’s true, even now when I think about Mahiru confessing, I still feel like jumping for joy… and besides, under the wise guidance of Lady Mahiru, I have fully understood the cuteness of lolis, especially like an angel like you…”

Shiina was a little embarrassed and annoyed, hitting the back of her head against his chest, shouting something like “I’m not a loli! Zou is just too tall!”

Being less than 1.6 meters tall compared to his 1.8 meters, she did look like a loli, but even if it was the truth, it was still annoying! She had been drinking milk every day, but it wasn't growing in the right places.

Suddenly, she felt the hand holding her on her chest starting to misbehave, and her cheeks flushed a light pink.

“Let go.”

“No.”

“Damn it… you’re just trying to take advantage of me to change the subject! Honestly, after all these years, have you ever had any feelings for Katou?”

“Please, my head is filled with Lady Mahiru’s cuteness every day, how could I have time to think about anything else.” Xia Chuanzou let go of her, his fingertips sliding down the girl’s waist, then his hand was grabbed.

Shiina struggled out of his arms, then got up and suddenly pressed down on him.

Sitting on his chest like that, she wasn't heavy, Xia Chuanzou didn't even feel breathless, his hands behind his head, his playful eyes looking into Shiina's eyes.