Page 366

Maya Uesugi brushed a stray strand of black hair from her shoulder and looked up with her beautiful caramel-colored eyes: "You'll accept the other me completely too, won't you?"

“The [uniqueness] of happiness has been unified. In the new timeline, no one will protect you,” Makoto Takahashi said.

"I believe in myself," Maya Uesugi replied in a slightly subdued voice.

With only one timeline, uniqueness is indeed not very important. However, if a second timeline is extended from a certain point in time using causality, people without uniqueness will reappear in the new timeline.

Maya Uesugi was the first to obtain the system, but she suppressed the growth of her [guts], which was premeditated.

"I understand."

Makoto Takahashi stood up and extended his hand to her: "I'll go with you, just think of it as playing a raising simulation game."

"Tsk, pervert."

Uesugi Maya rolled her eyes at him, put down her book, took a sip of her red tea, and then took his hand to stand up and prepare to leave.

"If you dare let her call you 'Dad,' you're dead," Uesugi Maya warned sternly.

"It's starting." Makoto Takahashi pretended not to hear.

The timeline split under the manipulation of [causality], and a door opened before them. Makoto Takahashi led Maya Uesugi into it. After immediately learning all the information about this timeline, he immediately moved the timeline forward, skipping over the time he didn't want Maya Uesugi to see.

Yuki Tachimi, Reiko Kashima, Hina Nekoya, Junka Shiraishi, and Kaori Hanakawa are not included.

Only 7-year-old Uesugi Maya, and the most beautiful summer of her life.

Epilogue: The Fantastic Journey of Hell Girl (2)

"Why skip over my life?" Uesugi Maya asked coldly.

"It's too cruel, I don't want to watch it."

Makoto Takahashi leaned back slightly against the restaurant's white wall and said casually, "Besides, that's not your life, it's her life."

Uesugi Maya looked in the direction of his gaze and saw her younger self sitting at the dining table doing her summer homework.

Her straight, long black hair cascaded down her back, her youthful face was delicate and adorable, and she wore a beautiful white dress that exuded a sweet fragrance, like roasted honey.

"You two are both named Maya, it's a bit hard to tell you apart. What would be a good name for her?"

Makoto Takahashi looked up, his gaze fixed on the texture of the ceiling: "[Love]? The [love] of loving and being loved, in terms of surnames—"

"Shut up."

Maya Uesugi gave him a fierce look, and Makoto Takahashi shrugged slightly, looking at the young Maya Uesugi and pondering to himself.

Seven-year-old Uesugi Maya was completely unaware of the presence of two more people in the restaurant.

She listened intently to the sounds coming from the villa while diligently doing her summer homework. The warm summer sun shone into the dining room, casting her petite shadow on the marble floor.

Maya Uesugi doesn't always do her homework at the restaurant; she spends most of her time in her room.

She would only come to the dining room when she heard from the housekeeper that her mother would be coming home. The dining room was located on the first floor of the villa, and she could hear most of the surrounding sounds as soon as she opened the door and windows.

This way, I can hear the car sounds and my mother's high heels immediately.

Moreover, if I stay here, my mother might even praise me if she sees me studying hard.

Thinking of this, a smile quietly appeared on Uesugi Maya's face, and her legs, which were dangling in the air while sitting on the chair, unconsciously began to swing back and forth.

However, homework doesn't take Uesugi Maya, who is naturally intelligent, very long. Even if she wants to write it slowly, she will eventually finish it.

The sound of the living room door opening came from afar. Uesugi Maya immediately folded up her notebook with rows of Chinese characters and arithmetic notes and placed them beside her, wanting her mother to see her efforts.

The rhythmic sound of her high heels clicking on the ground made her feel comfortable, and as the sound grew closer, her mood became increasingly cheerful.

The footsteps stopped at the restaurant entrance. Uesugi Maya raised her face and looked at her mother, whom she had been longing to see.

Her mother didn't even look at her. She called over the maid, Aunt Jingzi, said a few words to her expressionlessly, and then turned and left briskly.

always like this.

My mother is rarely home, and she doesn't talk much. She's always busy running around, and I only see her a few times a month at most.

Even if she saw him, she wouldn't turn around and look at him again; she would leave home as soon as she finished her work.

Her father's work became even busier, and he would come home about two or three times a year. Even when he did come home, he would look away from her and leave again after finishing his work.

From the time Uesugi Maya was old enough to understand, her life had always been taken care of by servants.

Despite having no worries about food and clothing, feelings of loneliness continued to accumulate in my heart.

"Young Miss, the meal is ready."

Upon hearing Aunt Shizuko's voice, Maya Uesugi put away her gloomy expression and smiled as she replied, "Okay."

"Please wash your hands first, and I will set the food on the table."

"it is good."

Maya Uesugi went into the bathroom, stood on tiptoe to wash her hands in the sink, and heard her mother's voice on the phone in the distance.

"Yeah, I'll be home tonight... He won't be back, but he'll come over this afternoon for a drink... There's nowhere safer than here..."

Too young to understand most of the meaning of the words, she was only thinking that she might be able to talk to her mother today after hearing that her mother would be staying at home tonight.

After carefully washing her hands, Maya Uesugi returned to the restaurant, where, unsurprisingly, there was only one lunch on the table.

She sighed quietly, looked at the usual white rice, miso soup, tamagoyaki and stew, picked up her chopsticks without saying a word, and put the food into her mouth bit by bit.

Aunt Shizuko, the maid, stood to the side, casting a gentle glance at them.

"What kind of person is Mother?" Uesugi Maya suddenly asked.

Upon hearing the simple question, Aunt Jingzi's expression froze instantly, but she quickly regained her usual smile.

"Mrs. Meilang... well, everyone says she's a very outstanding person."

"But I don't know her at all."

Seeing the lonely look on Uesugi Maya's face, Aunt Shizuko looked troubled and lowered her eyebrows: "If you feel bored, my daughter is about your age and can stay at my house tonight."

Maya Uesugi slowly shook her head, her hair swaying with the movement.

Aunt Shizuko is not family and cannot give her the feelings she wants. Uesugi Maya knows this very well, and the emptiness left in her heart will not disappear because of this.

After lunch, she took her summer homework back to her room, leaving the door slightly ajar so that her mother wouldn't mistakenly think she wasn't in her room when she came looking for her.

The incessant chirping of cicadas outside the window would occasionally stop, but most of the time it was annoying.

Maya Uesugi sat on the bed, hugging her knees, pondering how to get her indifferent parents to look at her more. There must be something that could attract their attention.

I don't know how much time passed, but I heard the sound of my mother's high heels in the corridor, along with her soft, ethereal voice.

My mother, who doesn't talk much, seems to be in a good mood today.

Maya Uesugi jumped out of bed and tiptoed to the door. Peeking through the crack, she saw her mother and a young man kissing and cuddling as they walked toward the master bedroom in the hallway.

......

"Ha, I knew it would turn out this way. It was just wishful thinking."

Standing behind her younger self, Uesugi Maya gave a cruel, cold laugh, showing no sympathy whatsoever: "Even if they had the chance to get close to her, they wouldn't listen to her."

Even knowing that she would never be loved even if her mother were alive, Maya Uesugi could still smile, but Makoto Takahashi couldn't.

He felt a wave of misery wash over him like an avalanche.

"Aye, let's take her back."

"Reason?" Uesugi Maya frowned, giving him a questioning look.

"This place is too cruel for her."

"Having unrealistic expectations is naive and foolish. Once she shatters the idea of ​​relying on her parents, she will naturally stop feeling tormented."

“Aya.” Takahashi Makoto’s voice carried a hint of reproach. “This is asking the impossible. It makes no sense to make her become another version of you.”

"..." Uesugi Maya crossed her arms, her face cold and silent.

Makoto Takahashi just now wanted to change the name of another woman, the meaning of which couldn't be clearer: he wanted to adopt a daughter.

However, Maya Uesugi was not without her concerns.

The other woman is the only one who could potentially steal Makoto Takahashi's favoritism.

Makoto Takahashi wanted to give her a name that sounded like "love," which showed that he was indeed planning to put a lot of effort into it. Coupled with Yuki Tachimi's pregnancy, Maya Uesugi was instantly overwhelmed with unease.

Having discovered another possibility within herself, she needed love more than anyone else.

"I need to think about it and observe her for a while longer. I'll give you an answer then."

Uesugi Maya used her usually effective rhetoric, pondered for a moment, and calmly asked, "How do you plan to take her away? The Uesugi family isn't so easy to talk to."

"No, Aya, I don't want to wait any longer."

Makoto Takahashi walked up to young Maya Uesugi, slowly knelt down on one knee, and saw her struggling to hold back her tears as she peeked at her mother outside the door, who had betrayed her family.

Seeing his gentle yet firm gaze, Uesugi Maya lowered one corner of her mouth and said unwillingly, "As long as she agrees, I have no objection. You must respect [my] thoughts."

Epilogue: The Fantastic Journey of Hell Girl (3)

"Miss, Madam requests that you change your clothes."

There was a knock on the door, and Aunt Shizuko's voice came through. When Uesugi Maya heard her mother looking for her, she jumped out of bed and hurriedly ran to open the door.

The first thing that catches the eye is a brand-new, high-class dress with a light and airy black ribbon that looks very cute.

"The master just called to ask if there's anywhere you'd like to go."

"Father is here tonight too?" Uesugi Maya took the clothes, staring wide-eyed at Aunt Shizuko, her young face full of anticipation.

Shizuko lowered her gaze slightly, her expression turning somewhat gloomy:

"Yes, sir and madam have arranged for the whole family to dine out tonight. Please review the etiquette yourself."

"it is good."

As Uesugi Maya was about to close the door to change her clothes, Shizuko pushed her away, and under her confused gaze, whispered:

"There will definitely be someone who loves you, and one day you will find happiness."

The words, which set aside the employer-employee relationship and used honorifics, made Uesugi Maya vaguely realize something.