Aina Saiten touched the screen with her fingertip, opening the chat interface for the Contact named “Rika Kawasaki,” whose profile picture was a Black Motorcycle.
The moment the page loaded, she subconsciously held her breath, and her Heart hung slightly in suspense.
However, the long-winded or ambiguous dialogue she had anticipated did not appear.
What met her eyes was a nearly blinding expanse of white space.
The entire chat interface, from top to bottom, was empty, save for the Contact name and profile picture displayed at the top, along with the blank message input bar and send button at the bottom.
There was not a single sent message, nor a single received message.
It was as clean as the initial state of two strangers who had just added each other as friends and never spoken.
Aina Saiten’s eyes couldn’t help but widen, and her originally tightly pressed lips parted slightly.
The expression that surfaced on her face was not the rage or sadness of discovering an “affair,” but a deeper sense of confusion.
This… was too abnormal.
She knew that Kaoru Hoshitani and this Rika Kawasaki had worked together before, so they were Colleagues.
Therefore, when she first saw this Woman’s name in Akane’s friend list, she hadn’t felt particularly surprised or wary.
It was very common in the workplace for Colleagues to add each other on social media Software.
But the problem was that, according to common sense, even for Colleagues who weren’t familiar with each other, after successfully adding one another, both parties would at least send a brief greeting out of basic social etiquette, such as “Hello, I’m Kaoru Hoshitani, pleased to meet you.”
Even if it were just the system-generated notification of a successful friend request, there should still be one record.
But now, there was nothing here.
A complete, unsettling void.
Could it be that they had truly never spoken a single word?
But that was illogical.
When they worked together, it was entirely possible they needed to communicate briefly online.
The possibility of absolutely zero communication was minuscule.
A worse suspicion crept into Aina Saiten’s Heart as quietly as ice water.
She exited this chat interface and quickly opened the chat boxes of several other contacts—
The chat records of those male high school classmates of Akane, and even those two female classmates who “harbored ill intentions” toward her Boyfriend, were all perfectly preserved, with the earliest messages dating back several months.
She checked the chats with family and relatives again; the records were all complete.
This showed that Kaoru Hoshitani did not have the habit of cleaning all chat records regularly or all at once.
The conversations that predated the addition of Rika Kawasaki were still there, yet only the chat interface with Rika Kawasaki was empty.
The conclusion was practically staring her in the face—
Kaoru Hoshitani had intentionally and specifically Deleted all the chat records between himself and Rika Kawasaki.
This realization was like a cold awl, piercing the mask of calmness Aina Saiten had been trying so hard to maintain.
She felt her breath hitch instantly, the air in her chest seemingly sucked away, bringing a brief sense of suffocation.
An image she desperately wanted to forget even flashed uncontrollably before her eyes—
On the Old Mobile Phone, the tall bodies of Akane and that Yellow-haired Woman overlapping…
That blurred yet piercing image from The Video now eerily overlapped with the blank chat records before her, stirring up a stormy sea in her mind.
Just the mere possibility that Akane might be going behind her back, maintaining some kind of relationship with another Woman that required deliberate concealment to the point of Deleting all evidence…
It was enough to make her Heart feel as if it were being squeezed tightly by an invisible hand, sending waves of sharp, throbbing pain.
The pain wasn’t violent, but it was long and deep to the bone, carrying the chill of being betrayed.
If… if the content in The Video wasn’t just a forgery, if Akane really…
She didn’t dare think further.
She closed her eyes forcefully and then snapped them open, trying to dispel those terrible associations from her mind.
She whispered to herself in her mind.
This is just a guess, just a guess based on a blank chat record.
There is no substantial evidence, no ambiguous dialogue, no suspicious transfer records, no information about a Promise to meet.
She could not, and should not, doubt the lover who was her Lifeline, who gave her infinite warmth and support, simply because there were no chat records on Line.
Once the seed of doubt is planted, it is enough to erode the foundation of Trust.
[What on earth is wrong with me…]
She felt a surge of self-loathing,
[I never used to have these wild thoughts before, it’s like I’m possessed…]
Was it because she saw that damn Video? Or was it the pressure from her New Job that was making her neurotic?
Or was it some deep-seated insecurity within her that she hadn’t even noticed, triggered unintentionally by this void?
She took several deep breaths, trying to calm her racing Heart and restore some warmth to her cold fingertips.
She forced herself to move her attention away from those negative suspicions.
Her gaze fell back onto the Mobile Phone screen, focusing once again on that motorcycle profile picture.
After hesitating for a few seconds, she stretched out a somewhat stiff finger and clicked on Rika Kawasaki’s “Moments.”
The feed page loaded.
The first thing to burst into view was a Photograph posted two days ago.
The center of the composition was a Dining Table covered in a pristine white tablecloth, filled with exquisitely plated and enticing high-end cuisine.
Crystal-clear wine glasses held an Amber liquid, and scented candles were lit nearby; the atmosphere was palpable.
The background was the elegant decor of the Restaurant, with soft lighting, clearly taken in a rather high-class dining establishment.
However, Aina Saiten’s gaze did not linger on the gourmet food.
Her eyes were almost involuntarily drawn to a figure at the edge of the Photograph, sitting across the Dining Table, of whom only a portion was captured.
It was the figure of a Man; only his upper body, a small section of his arm, and his well-defined fingers resting on the edge of the table could be seen.
His face was not shown.
For some reason, when she saw the contour of that arm, the shape of those fingers, and even just that quiet sitting posture, Aina Saiten’s Heart skipped a beat, and an indescribable sense of familiarity seized her.
That figure… why did it look so much like… Akane?
This thought chilled her entire body, and her blood seemed to freeze.
She stared deathly at that blurry corner, trying to find more details to prove or disprove it.
But soon, her attention was pulled away by another detail—
The clothes that Man was wearing were of excellent quality, perfectly tailored, with low-key and sophisticated design details visible at the cuffs.
Even from just a corner of the Photograph, one could tell it was by no means ready-to-wear clothing bought from an ordinary Mall; it looked more like a custom-made or luxury brand, costing a fortune.
This discovery was like a Lifeline, causing her tense nerves to suddenly relax.
Akane couldn’t possibly have clothes like that.
That Man should just be Rika Kawasaki’s date, a Man who likely came from a similarly wealthy background.
She was just too sensitive, seeing everyone as Akane.
She let out a soft breath, feeling as though she had broken free from a brief nightmare, and a thin layer of cold sweat actually broke out on her back.
Steadying herself, she continued to scroll through Rika Kawasaki’s Moments.
This Woman’s update frequency was very low, about once or twice a month.
Besides that “date” Photograph from two days ago, the previous posts were almost all related to her Motorcycle:
Sometimes it was her beloved bike parked by a mountain road with magnificent scenery, sometimes it was a view of her back wearing a professional Helmet and tight riding gear, and sometimes it was a close-up of tools and parts for maintaining the Motorcycle…
Every post exuded a wild, free, and powerful aura, diametrically opposed to Akane’s quiet, introverted temperament that needed to be nurtured. It was as if they were people from two different worlds.
After browsing, Aina Saiten exited Line, turned off the Mobile Phone screen, and gently—with a trace of imperceptible exhaustion—placed it back on the nightstand.
The wood and the Mobile Phone made a slight “click” sound, which sounded exceptionally clear in the quiet Bedroom.
She lay back down, turned on her side, and her gaze fell once again on her Boyfriend’s sleeping face beside her.
The Morning Light was already a bit brighter than before, softly outlining his beautiful facial features.
He seemed to be sleeping very deeply, his breathing steady and long.
His thick eyelashes trembled slightly with each breath, and his lips were unconsciously pouted, making him look completely defenseless and as pure as a Child.
Looking at such a face, a strong surge of self-reproach and guilt welled up in Aina Saiten’s Heart. What had she been thinking just now?
To actually doubt this Man, who had given his whole heart and soul to her, who depended on her, and who loved her, just because of a blank chat record and a blurry Photograph?
How could Akane possibly do such a thing behind her back?
[I’m such a terrible Girlfriend…]
She scolded herself harshly in her Heart,
[If Akane knew, he would be so sad and disappointed. He trusts me so much…]
She found a reason for her suspiciousness—
It was all because of that forged Video!
It was like a Virus that had invaded her thoughts, making her restless and suspicious lately. Now it was fine; she had secretly checked the Mobile Phone and found no substantial problems.
That Yellow-haired Woman, Rika Kawasaki, who seemed powerful and dangerous, apparently had her own date.
She and Akane were very likely just former Colleagues who had worked together briefly and hadn’t even spoken more than a few words. Akane Deleting the chat records might just be because he felt they were unimportant, or he simply didn’t want to keep conversations with former Colleagues he wasn’t familiar with to avoid taking up memory or looking cluttered?
This explanation made her feel a little better. Although that initial chill caused by the blank records hadn’t completely dissipated, it was at least temporarily suppressed by Rationality.
The sense of unease receded slightly, replaced by an urgent desire to tightly grasp the reality before her.
She shook her head, the movement very slight, as if to throw out all the bad, inappropriate thoughts remaining in her brain.
Then, she reached out both arms and carefully took that sweet, soft body—imbued with a familiar temperature and scent—into a gentle yet firm embrace.
His body was warm and soft, and the feeling of holding him in her arms was incredibly real and reassuring.
She buried her face in his soft hair, sniffing the now-familiar scent of his new shampoo, and murmured in a low voice, sounding more like a proclamation to herself, her tone carrying a resolve and tenderness that swept away the gloom:
“I don’t care… my Akane could never, ever betray me.”