"By the way, take out the money." Toyokawa Sakiko took the money from Riki's room. It was money she had left with him before. She muttered, "Will this be enough?"
"Bringing a little less is fine. I brought money too."
"No. I'm taking you out today, so I can't let you spend money." Toyokawa Sakiko was very firm.
Riki insisted on his position, and Toyokawa Sakiko was just as determined. In the end, they both compromised a little.
Why did this feel just like splitting allowance with my parents every month?
Except my Sakiko wanted to spend money on me.
A beautiful girl more suited to the constitution of Chinese babies.
They took the subway to Chiyoda Ward, then slowly walked to Chidorigafuchi Park. When Riki saw the cherry blossoms in full bloom on both sides of the river, he couldn't help feeling astonished. It reminded him of that famous line written by Li Bai—
These cherry blossoms look damn amazing.
Are you pretending to be Li Bai?
Didn't you make that up yourself?
"Riki, look. There are stalls over there." Toyokawa Sakiko pointed in a direction. Besides several food stalls, there were also game stalls, and a poetry-completion stall was especially lively. As long as you supplied the next line of a poem, you could get a voucher to spend at the food stalls.
"You can save quite a bit of money if you answer correctly." Toyokawa Sakiko whispered into Riki's ear.
You're right, but I'd like to make a small amendment. What if I can't answer?
I'd rather do nothing than do something wrong.
But when Riki turned around and saw the anticipation in Toyokawa Sakiko's eyes, he could only step up.
Run another round with me, Sword Immortal Li!
Li Bai: Who are you?
"I'll give it a try." When Riki walked closer, he discovered that all the poems at the stall were Chinese poems. No wonder there were so many people here.
In Japan, knowing more Chinese characters was something to be proud of as well. If someone could answer correctly, wouldn't they be able to bask in the admiring gazes of the people around them? The stall owner had precisely seized on that mentality to attract so many customers. When he looked up, he saw a young man walking to the stall with a beautiful girl.
The stall owner couldn't help showing a nostalgic look.
Back then, I, too, watched the girl I liked hold hands with someone else.
This guy... is an enemy!
The stall owner's gaze turned resolute as he secretly placed the most difficult poem in front of Riki.
Riki glanced at it a few times and let out a sigh of relief. It was a poem by Li Yu. He still had a little cultural knowledge to draw on, and happened to be able to answer it.
"When the cherry blossoms have all fallen and spring is about to fade, return beneath the swing," Riki recited.
Oh? This kid has some skill.
The stall owner's expression darkened. He had originally planned to give him some face and let him leave obediently, but since he didn't understand his good intentions, he would just have to taste this move!
"Where the sorrowful zither follows the hurried flute, the cherry blossoms stretch along the quiet lane and the weeping-willow bank." That's by Li Shangyin.
What!?
The stall owner's pupils trembled. He had actually managed to answer even that. Let me test him a little further.
"Beneath the cherry tree, I see you off; an inch of spring longing follows each broken branch."
Riki saw Toyokawa Sakiko holding the vouchers with a delighted expression. He was about to answer a few more when the stall owner forcefully patted him on the shoulder and said in a low voice, "Young man, let's stop here. Otherwise, I'm not someone to be trifled with."
What are you trying to do?
"This is a movie voucher worth twenty thousand yen. Do me a favor."
If I don't send this god away, I'll be ruined.
Only after walking far away did Riki sigh. "That stall owner is such a good person."
Yutenji Wakame was livestreaming from Chidorigafuchi Park. As a popular influencer, she had a great many followers, and had come to the park today while the cherry blossoms were in bloom. However, she had only been filming for a short while when she heard voices coming from behind her.
What, were you stunned by Wakame's beauty?
Yutenji Wakame turned around and discovered that the people near the stall were applauding two boys and girls.
Yutenji Wakame's gaze sharpened.
They were actually attracting more attention than she was. Who were these two?
"This one, and this one too, are really delicious. I ate them with Akari and the others before..." Toyokawa Sakiko said excitedly to Riki as they walked between the food stalls.
She had always lived frugally, so now that she had vouchers in hand, not using them would be a waste. Her mood was excellent.
With Toyokawa Sakiko pulling him along, Riki first bought a bottle of cola.
You never know how terrifying a disciplined person can be.
Monday: cola.
Tuesday: cola.
Wednesday: Pepsi.
Riki: ?
Are you drinking dishwater?
Is Pepsi even fit for human consumption?
"This is really spicy. Let me have some of your water." Toyokawa Sakiko was eating okonomiyaki, her cheeks flushed from the heat. She smiled shyly at Riki.
"I suppose, but I've already drunk from it. Let's buy another bottle." Riki spoke.
But halfway through his sentence, Toyokawa Sakiko had already picked up the water and taken a sip from the bottle. She looked at him in confusion. "What did you say just now?"
Riki looked at the droplets of water clinging to her cherry-blossom-like lips and coughed lightly. "Nothing."
I'm only not saying anything because I don't want to embarrass Sakiko.
Speaking of which, are beautiful girls' lips all as soft as jelly?
Toyokawa Sakiko turned her head away, her cheeks as red as apples. Petals from the Cherry Blossom Front fell into her scarf, and her ears were even pinker than the cherry blossoms.
Sakiko's Diary
The cherry blossoms of spring carried a faint fragrance. When the wind blew, they scattered onto the river's surface and drifted forward with the glittering waves.
"What a beautiful view." Toyokawa Sakiko couldn't help saying, "Did you ever see any beautiful scenery back in Riki's world?"
When I reached Mythic rank on the Chinese server.
The scrub I sniped at eighteen was actually me after work at twenty-three.
"We lived in a coastal city, so the sea was especially beautiful." Riki thought for a moment before answering.
"Then let's go see it together someday." Toyokawa Sakiko smiled.
Are you trying to manipulate my CPU?
She was born in 2006. I can't beat her.
"By the way, there's something I want to discuss with you." Toyokawa Sakiko hesitated before saying to Riki, "I really do want to form Mujika."
After learning some of the story here from Riki, she still chose this path, because it was the only thing she could do at present. Her pride and ability left her with no other choice.
Riki possessed outstanding ability. If she relied on him, she could also escape her predicament. But if she were that kind of person, she would never have fallen into such a predicament in the first place. Whether she went to Mutsumi or Hatsuka, she could break free.
Her pride burned her like a raging fire, but it was precisely that pride that allowed her to remain clearheaded.
In the blazing flames, she was in pain yet lucid.
"Of course. If you didn't do this, you wouldn't be the Sakiko I know." Riki said.
Toyokawa Sakiko's gaze softened. Only after a long while did she say, "Thank you."
"By the way, can I join in and help a little too..."
My codename:
Me, Valorant.
Toyokawa Sakiko burst out laughing. "Even if you didn't say it, I wouldn't let you get away. You have no choice but to help."
"Ahem, of course." Riki felt a little embarrassed at being trusted so much.
"Why are you blushing?" Toyokawa Sakiko teased him. She rarely got to see Riki like this.
"Bullshit! I'm not embarrassed!"
"You obviously are."
The noonday sunlight fell across their faces. Both of their cheeks were flushed, and after exchanging a glance, they couldn't help laughing.
Seeing this, the uncle at the nearby stall also felt that youth was wonderful.
"You even got a movie voucher from the stall. It'd be a waste not to use it. What kind of movies do you like?" Riki asked.
Girls should all like romance movies, right?
Stereotyping, are we?
Women can't be defined.
What is that, some kind of Cthulhu thing?
"Hmm, what kind of movies does Riki like?" Toyokawa Sakiko asked Riki as she frowned at the movie posters on the wall.
She asked about my interests. She has me in her heart.
Brother Riki, stop clowning around.
Get lost. We understand each other perfectly!
"I'm like most boys. I like watching movies with plenty of skin, passion, and hard-to-get-past-the-censors bodies colliding... like Transformers."
"Is your foreign language really that good?" Toyokawa Sakiko asked curiously.
"Of course it is." Riki was confident, but then frowned slightly. "It's just that during every English listening exam, two people are always chattering in English, which interferes with my answers. I reported it to the teacher, but it didn't help."
"You're supposed to find the information in it."
"What!?"
"Pfft!" Toyokawa Sakiko couldn't help laughing. Every time she was with Riki, he managed to make her laugh.
I clowned around again, but it was worth it if I could make my Sakiko-bao happy.
Riki and Toyokawa Sakiko ultimately chose a recently popular Japanese movie. The male lead looked a lot like Takuya Kimura and was seven-tenths as handsome as Riki; the female lead looked a lot like Yui Aragaki and was as beautiful as Sakiko. They were probably two differently structured molecules with the same score in two different worlds.
Riki went to the counter and bought a bucket of popcorn and some cola.
"Would Pepsi Cola be all right?" the girl at the counter asked.
"Would game coins work?" Riki asked.
Would anyone really drink Pepsi?
"?" The girl at the counter.
"You can't cause trouble for people." Toyokawa Sakiko was helpless. She politely said to the girl at the counter, "Please give him what he wants."
Isn't your request the same?
The girl at the counter watched Riki and Toyokawa Sakiko's backs as they left, then glanced back at the romance-movie poster on the wall. Although they didn't look alike, the two of them really were about as attractive as celebrities.
A little envious.
Before you continue