Chapter Text
Everything seemed fine that day. It was graduation day for our seniors - Lanzhu’s batch, to be specific. I remember us second years sobbing for them, and understandably so; after all, they were soon going off and away for their chosen colleges.
Kasumi in particular couldn’t help but hug her so-called rival Lanzhu as Shizuku comforted her. Ai was, as usual, being affectionate to Rina, patting her head and grinning, telling her how much she’ll miss her and Hanpen. I remember it so vividly for it was the first time I ever saw Rina shed tears for anything as she attempted to hide behind the white cat she held in her hands.
Yuu and Ayumu were taking photos with juniors who approached them. Setsuna on the other hand was swarmed by Student Council members, myself included as I thanked her for her service and everything she did for the school as a former Student Council President.
Of course, once that was all over, everyone else parted ways aside from Lanzhu and I’s family, who decided to have dinner together to celebrate her graduation.
In the car that drove the two of us and the Chairwoman to the restaurant was where I finally managed to talk to Lanzhu in private for the first time that day.
“I don’t believe I’ve congratulated you at all today, Lanzhu,” I remember telling her. “Please, allow me the opportunity to do so now.”
Lanzhu waved a hand at me. “Oh Shioriko, so formal as always. But you may. Lanzhu worked hard for this, after all.”
“That you have.”
We both chuckled. It was nice, getting to talk to her like this. It’s just like whenever we hung out by ourselves after practice, if we had the time to do so.
There was a short period of silence afterwards as I thought hard about what I wanted to say next. I knew I had a lot of things to say to her, I just didn’t know where to start.
I looked down to my lap. “Tokyo University, huh.”
Out of everything, it was the one thing that plagued my mind - how she was finally moving onto another chapter in her life. It felt so fast; it was as if yesterday we were welcoming Ayumu back from the airport, with her helping out Setsuna with her silly party popper that felt almost too big for them both. Now, those very same girls are going away to pursue their new goals in life.
“Yup. Got in through a recommendation and everything.” She mused. “It’s not too far out from here, either, but mama insists I get an apartment nearby for convenience sake.”
Ah, the Chairwoman must’ve helped in some way, then. “Well, considering your circumstances…”
Lanzhu smiled at me, almost looking smug. “Now now Shioriko, are you accusing my dear mother of nepotism? We could never!” She teased.
“I know, Lanzhu.” I said, smiling back at her. Of course I would never accuse her of such acts. “But in all seriousness, I’m glad you got in. Social Sciences, right?”
I received an enthusiastic nod in return. “Sociology, to be more specific! You guys always tease me about how I’ve got no idea on how social cues work, so Lanzhu’s going to be the bigger woman and learn all about it!”
I rolled my eyes in a frankly poor attempt to tease back. “For starters, Mia teased you - I was never a part of it - and subsequently stopped when we got your diagnosis back from the doctors. And for the record; I don’t believe that’s what you learn in sociology.”
“It’s a course all about human relations, Shioriko; if I am to learn things about how socialization works then surely it’s the perfect course - and don’t bring my autism into this, bullying is still bullying!”
I threw my hands up in defeat, letting her win this silly little banter. “You’re right, you’re right. I’m sorry Lanzhu.”
She crossed her arms and puffed her chest out. “Much better!”
God, if only we knew how that would turn out for her.
It’s the present day. Shioriko was in her office, working on the company’s financial statements for that reporting period. She only had less than two days until her reports were to be submitted, and so far her work seemed to be going smoothly. Lunch wasn’t until an hour later, so she hoped she could finish a massive part of the adjustments needing to be made by then.
She wondered why she was remembering that conversation now. It’s been approximately 11 years since it happened - and she hasn’t even talked to Lanzhu in a while.
In fact, no one has.
Not a single one of the girls knew what happened. The last thing they’ve heard of was her doing just fine, still enrolled in her second year of studying sociology and having just finished her midterm exams, before complete radio silence. She stopped returning calls, stopped texting back, and stopped being online. They all wondered if her schedule just made her extremely busy, but when they all tried to invite her for the holidays, she never responded.
At some point, Mia and Shioriko both went to where her supposed apartment was, and found out that she suddenly moved out months ago according to her landlady.
No word from her own mother, either, but they could all tell she knew something. She just didn’t want to talk about it.
It was February 15, the day after Valentine’s Day, and more importantly; Lanzhu’s birthday. Mia and I went to where we knew she lived, only to be met with a girl opening the door that corresponded to her living space. She looked to be a third year student in high school. She asked what we were there for, and after asking for Lanzhu, the girl shook her head no. She then asked someone else in the room - presumably a friend or family member of hers. After muttering something in Mandarin and rolling her eyes, she turns back to us.
“Sorry, I don’t know who that is and my dumb girlfriend doesn't know either. Have you tried asking the landlady? Maybe you got the wrong room.”
I remember us getting confused then. Lanzhu wouldn’t give us the wrong address, surely. But we couldn’t disturb this girl for long - she looked like she was busy, if the half-finished boba milk tea drink in her hand was of any significance.
“Right. I suppose we could ask the owner of the building for Lanzhu’s residence. We’re so sorry to disturb you guys.”
“Yea, sorry. Didn’t mean that.”
“It’s fine, I guess. Good luck on finding your friend.”
After thanking her, we headed back downstairs to where we knew the landlady’s office would be. We asked her a few questions about Lanzhu, and were met with the revelation that she suddenly moved out last year.
“Moved out? Excuse me?” Mia couldn’t believe it - neither could I, really. No one expected this, after all. “What for?!”
“I’m sorry - did she ever mention why?”
I stared at that landlady for answers, trying to examine every last bit of detail in her face as if they would provide me what I was looking for. A million thoughts raced in my head - about how Lanzhu must be alive then, and that Kasumi’s ridiculous theory of her being dead or kidnapped when she began ignoring our calls was just that; a theory.
“Not really, but she wanted to get out of here as soon as possible, so I said I’d put her place up for grabs as soon as I could." She said, "The next day, she just rushed out of here with her bags and left the keys on my desk.”
So Lanzhu was in a rush to leave… for what, exactly?
“If it helps solve your case, I noticed her constantly going out and leaving with bags a few days before she moved out.” She added.
“Is that so…” I looked down. “Thank you, for all this.”
“Hope you can find her soon, girls.”
Nothing made much sense anymore. It really felt like the more information we got regarding the whole situation, the more complex it became, and the more questions were raised. Why was she rushing? Where was she off to? Why did she move out in the first place?
And most importantly; where was she now?
That’s how the two of us ended up in Mia and Rina’s place instead, waiting with bated breath as the phone rang. Mia’s call was getting through, sure, but it almost feels like Lanzhu was choosing to ignore our calls instead of actively declining it.
“It’s her birthday, how could she not answer her damn phone on her birthday?!” Mia sighed in frustration as another call was left unanswered.
I couldn’t help but frown, pondering the same question. Why was Lanzhu not answering our calls? She really hasn’t been for the past few months, either. After finding out that she left her place all of a sudden, it made even less sense that Lanzhu didn’t contact us about it.
It was almost as if she was avoiding us on purpose.
“Maybe we should really just leave her alone, Mia. Perhaps she’s just busy-”
“Busy this, busy that - I’m calling bullshit, dammit! You can’t just move out all of a sudden and expect us to not be worried about your whereabouts!” She spat out, angrily sitting down on the couch and holding her head. “What the hell, it’s been so long since we’ve heard anything from her. This is getting ridiculous for fuck’s sake! Lanzhu, where the fuck did you go?!”
I felt incredibly bad for Mia. I’ve been studying English during my free time for better communication with her, so I understood most of what she said and shared her frustrations. After all, who wouldn't be worried if their best friend suddenly went missing with no clue as to where they’ve run off to?
“She’s not going to be gone for long, Mia. She’ll be back soon, I’m sure of it.”
It was hard, lying to Mia that day. But I knew it’s what she had to hear - what she wanted to hear. But I wasn’t sure. No one was. No one even knew where Lanzhu went.
We just hoped she’s okay.
Days, weeks, and months passed. Before they knew it, it’s been a year since she went missing. Then two years. Then three, then four - by then, Shioriko was graduating from Keio University with an undergrad in Accounting. She hoped Lanzhu would’ve returned by then, to see how far she’d come, but still nothing.
Then another two years went by in a flash - Shioriko successfully got her master’s degree with full scholarship. Her family couldn’t be any prouder, and she herself wondered what Lanzhu would’ve said if she were there.
Mia called her a nerd back then, despite having gone and finished college earlier than everyone else and owning her own record label. Meanwhile, the other girls applauded Shioriko for her dedication to the field, but in the end she knew she longed for the validation she would’ve received from Lanzhu if she hadn’t gone away.
Shioriko paused, having put in the wrong amount for this month’s total expenses. She sighed deeply, correcting herself and saving the excel file. She leaned back on her chair and stared up at the ceiling.
It’s been 9 years since Lanzhu went missing. Where could she have gone? Normally, someone would assume that she’s dead by now, and while some of the girls began to think so, there’s just something off about that theory. Some things just weren’t lining up, and it didn’t sit right with Shioriko. In addition to that sinking feeling of hers, Lanzhu’s mother would’ve told them about it if that was the case, knowing how close they all were to her. Mia and Shioriko, especially so.
The last thing they had to go off of was that she suddenly left her old place in the middle of her school year, around the same time she stopped responding to anyone.
‘9 years, huh… what an awfully long time to be gone.’ Shioriko thought to herself. It truly was such a long time - they were all leading their own paths in life now. Emma and Kanata both run a daycare and have been happily married for about 4 years.
Yuu was a composer, working closely with Mia, Ayumu, and Setsuna - the latter two having pursued the professional idol lifestyle.
Mia… well, as for her, she talked to Shioriko about wanting to propose to Rina for a while now, but between her busy schedule and Rina’s own hectic one with being a game developer who runs her own studio, it was hard to find the time.
That made her think of the other girls in her batch; Kasumi seemed to be doing fine, having her own clothing line and makeup brand, heavily promoted by both Karin and Shizuku in the modeling and acting industry, respectively.
Then there was Ai, who chose to have a simpler but equally as successful life of taking over her family’s business and growing it to great heights. How many branches it has around Tokyo alone, she will never know.
That made Shioriko think of Lanzhu even more. What was she doing, wherever she was? Was she safe? Happy? Satisfied? Why did she leave? Why did she never tell anyone? Why did she never say goodbye?
The more she thought about it, the more it hurt, yet the less sense it made to Shioriko. This almost happened before already; back when Lanzhu suddenly wanted to leave Nijigasaki and give up on her school idol career, choosing to believe that she had already achieved all her goals. They were able to stop it then, so what happened this time?
Shioriko over the years has had so many questions in her head ever since Lanzhu left, but what hurts her most is that she may never find the answers to them, because the only person who could give her those answers isn’t even here-
Bzzt!
She blinked. Looking at the phone beside her empty mug, she took a deep breath and calmed herself down before picking it up. She opened it to read the sole notification on the screen.
1 message from Lanzhu ♥️
“I’m home.”
Her eyes widened in surprise. 'No way...' She thought, her jaw dropping as her mouth ran dry. She stopped breathing - the whole world around her felt like it paused for that very moment. She couldn’t believe it; was this really happening?
She teared up while reading those two simple words on her screen, tapping it and unlocking her phone to try and confirm that this wasn’t some sick joke. When she confirmed it was indeed Lanzhu, she really couldn’t believe it. Why here? Why now?
Before she could type anything for a response, another message soon followed.
“Let’s meet at Kua ‘Aina. The one near Niji High.”
Shioriko rushed out of her office with a single thought in her mind.
‘Lanzhu’s finally back.’