My name is Kaori Miyazono.
I am thirteen years old this year, a second-year student at Mogu Junior High School in Bunkyo District.
Because of my weak health since childhood—and a major surgery when I was very young—I often had to take leave from school to visit the hospital. Over time, this became normal. Classes passed, seasons changed, and I remained someone on the edge of things. At school, I had no close friends.
Even so, I was happy whenever I could attend.
Because he was there.
The boy I had admired since childhood was in the same class as me. I had never spoken to him—not once. The people around him were always laughing, always close, their world tightly sealed. There was no space for me to step in.
But that was fine.
Just being able to see him… just seeing Arima Kōsei-kun was already enough.
That evening, after finishing my usual violin practice, I planned to rest before going to bed. Just as I loosened my shoulders, my mother stopped me.
She said a new neighbor had moved in next door today.
She asked me to deliver some freshly made crepes as a greeting.
I wrapped myself in a scarf and carried the package over, not expecting anything special. After all, neighbors came and went all the time.
When the door opened, I froze.
The person standing there was unexpectedly young—around eighteen, maybe—and impossibly handsome. It wasn't the sharp kind of attractiveness you see on posters, but something quieter, unreal in a way that made you doubt whether you were seeing him clearly.
"Hello," I said, forcing myself to speak.
"My name is Kaori Miyazono. I live next door. My mother asked me to come and say hello to our new neighbor."
He didn't respond immediately.
Thinking he might not have heard me, I repeated myself, lifting the crepe bag with both hands and holding it out more clearly.
Only then did he smile.
"Thank you. Hello. My name is Lu Nian. I just moved here today."
He took the bag gently and looked at me—really looked. His gaze wasn't intrusive, but it made me feel as though he had seen something deeper than appearances.
What I didn't know was that he had heard me clearly the first time.
Lu Nian hadn't expected this either.
He had chosen this place purely by coincidence, looking for a satisfactory home in this world. And yet, the house next door belonged to Kaori Miyazono—the girl he remembered, the girl he once thought about every April.
April without you… is coming again.
"You're welcome," I said softly.
"Please take care of yourself, Lu Nian-jun. I won't disturb you any longer."
The early spring night was still cold. I tightened my scarf, waved lightly, and turned back toward home. Under the starlight, my footsteps felt lighter than usual.
"She still has twin ponytails. She's still wearing glasses."
Lu Nian stood at the doorway, watching her leave.
"That means her condition hasn't worsened yet."
He remembered clearly.
The turning point came after she fainted at school. Hospitalizations followed one after another, until by her third year of junior high, time itself had begun to run out.
Only then did Kaori Miyazono decide to change—to live boldly, without regret—and to pull Kōsei Arima out of the darkness with her music.
"I'll visit tomorrow," Lu Nian decided quietly.
"I need to understand the situation firsthand."
If he lacked the ability to change anything, regrets could only be buried in memory.
But now?
Now he had the power to act.
Why wouldn't he?
Turning sorrow into smiles, incompleteness into closure—no one had asked him to do this.
But the most important thing in life was simple.
What I am willing to do.
After finishing the last crepe, Lu Nian licked the chocolate from his fingers and returned to his room, a faint smile lingering as he prepared to rest.
The night passed in silence.
Bang!
A sudden loud noise came from next door.
Less than ten seconds later, Lu Nian's door was thrown open.
Hiratsuka Shizuka—hair disheveled, eyes barely open—stormed in.
"So," Lu Nian said lazily, opening his eyes,
"what were you planning to do by breaking into a teenager's room first thing in the morning?"
She stood at the bedside, arms crossed over her chest. The buttons of her shirt looked like they were fighting for their lives.
"Kid," she yawned, "what's your plan today?"
"I'll visit the neighbors first. Then I'll order supplies."
"In the afternoon, wait for me," she said. "I need your help with something."
For once, her voice carried a trace of hesitation. She even lowered her arms, relieving the pressure that had made her presence particularly… aggressive.
"Alright," Lu Nian agreed without hesitation.
She froze. "That's it? You're not even asking what it is?"
"No need," he replied, pointing at the wall clock.
"And if you keep standing here, Teacher Jing, you'll be late."
She cursed under her breath, rushed to the bathroom, spent over ten minutes washing and changing, then dashed downstairs and roared away in her sports car.
An hour later, Lu Nian stood before the cake shop next door, carrying a carefully selected fruit basket.
The door opened, a crisp wind chime ringing softly.
"Hello," he said politely.
"I'm the neighbor who moved in yesterday. My name is Lu Nian. I didn't have time to visit properly then—please forgive the delay."
He placed the basket on the counter.
The transparent display case behind it was filled with adorable pastries, rich with the scent of cream and sugar.
"I'm Miyazono Saki," the man said warmly. "And this is my wife."
"Thank you, Lu Nian-jun," Kaori's mother said. "But isn't this a bit too expensive?"
Fruit prices in Sakura Province were no joke.
"It's nothing," Lu Nian replied with a gentle smile.
"Consider it an apology for being late."
His tone was natural, his manner reassuring. Within minutes, he had left an excellent impression.
As they chatted, Lu Nian carefully gathered information—never pressing, never obvious.
Kaori Miyazono was thirteen.
Second year of junior high.
And most importantly—
She had not fainted yet.