Could this be the Toyokawa Family's once-in-a-lifetime flash appearance? Is it really okay to use it on me, Sakiko-bao!?
Toyokawa Sakiko took a wrapped box from behind her back and handed it to Riki with both hands. Pressing her lips together, she said softly, "It's not very expensive, so don't get your hopes up."
For some reason, Riki felt a little nervous. He accepted the gift and opened it, only to find a four-leaf clover bracelet inside. Toyokawa Sakiko was holding a four-leaf clover necklace.
They each held a four-leaf clover and gazed at each other across the flickering candlelight.
"I only bought this because it happened to be the cheapest one! I didn't specifically buy it as a matching set!" Toyokawa Sakiko suddenly remembered something and hurriedly explained.
It'd be troublesome if she mistook us for a couple!
"Of course, of course!" Riki solemnly put away the bracelet. Seeing him like that, Toyokawa Sakiko couldn't help smiling. "But why did you give it to me?"
Because it's White Day.
You made up for my birthday by celebrating Valentine's Day with me, so I'll help you celebrate White Day.
Toyokawa Sakiko smiled. "Why do you think? Take a guess."
So you're one of those people who speaks in riddles?
"Right, the cake. You need to make a wish quickly, or the candle will burn out." Riki hurriedly spoke up as he watched the candle gradually burn down.
"Oh, right, right." Toyokawa Sakiko also panicked a little. She quickly clasped her hands, closed her eyes, made a wish, and blew out the candle.
As the candle's warm glow was snuffed out, moonlight spilled in through the window. Riki asked curiously, "What did you wish for?"
"If I tell you, it won't come true." Toyokawa Sakiko waggled a finger and smiled.
Dame!
You little Succubus!
Toyokawa Sakiko looked at the cake before her with gentle eyes. It was the most ordinary birthday she had ever had since birth—no banquet, no guests, no praise from anyone. Yet this tiny cake made her heart feel warm.
So her wish was that she could celebrate her birthday with Riki again next time.
Toyokawa Sakiko opened her eyes and suddenly realized that she had returned to Riki's home. She and Riki were staring at each other.
"The cake... We haven't eaten it yet." Toyokawa Sakiko spoke instinctively.
The two exchanged a glance, then suddenly burst out laughing.
After he finished laughing, Riki looked at the clock on the wall and suddenly felt that something was strange. In the past, no matter how much time passed on the other side, exactly three hours would pass here. But this time, it seemed that only two and a half hours had gone by.
Did something change?
*******
A certain countdown might not be too far away. What exactly has changed? Hmm...
Cast a vote, meow. Thank you, everyone, meow!
Two People Dividing the World
Riki and Toyokawa Sakiko were looking at their Bilibili account, preparing to do something crucial—get money from Uncle.
When the money arrived in their bank account, Riki and Toyokawa Sakiko exchanged a glance, grinned, and slapped their hands together with a sharp "smack." Riki converted all the money into cash, then went to the bank and exchanged it for yen at the current rate. As for why the yen from the two worlds could be used interchangeably, Riki had no idea. It was probably like how Riki could understand Toyokawa Sakiko when she spoke—the Sacred Kara connected them.
Riki also discovered something else: the yuan-to-yen exchange rates differed between the two worlds. As a result, after exchanging the money into the currency of Sakiko's world, he ended up with 2% more. There was some development potential there, but not much.
Other transmigrators get to be powerful, flashy, and unbelievably awesome. Why can I only use this to pick up a Japanese girl?
System, say something!
Toyokawa Sakiko watched the videos online with great interest. Sometimes, the foolish things people did would make Sakiko laugh.
But whenever she saw people calling her "Teacher Da Xiang," she would get angry and puff out her cheeks.
Riki was enjoying himself too, until she began scrolling through his browsing history.
"!!?" Riki shot out a hand like lightning and grabbed Toyokawa Sakiko's wrist.
Miss, let go of that browsing history! Otherwise, the power of my Silver Ionia rank won't be for show!
Don't force me to kneel and beg you!
"What's wrong?" Toyokawa Sakiko looked over with an innocent, puzzled gaze.
"Uh... There are things my classmate looked at in the browsing history. It's better not to pry into other people's privacy." Riki kept a straight face.
Toyokawa Sakiko hurriedly closed it. "Sorry, sorry. I thought it was yours."
What do you mean? If it's my privacy, then it's okay to look?
Is your mistress complex a little too strong?
So I like that? Then never mind.
"But I still accidentally saw a little of it. What does 'Asanagi' mean?" Toyokawa Sakiko asked curiously.
She had always been a very curious girl.
Cold sweat broke out on Riki's forehead. "Strictly speaking, he's a feminist warrior who respects women."
"Then he's like you, Riki?" Toyokawa Sakiko asked delightedly.
I know you're trying to praise me, but please don't use that to praise me.
Riki finally managed to steer the conversation away.
Only then did Riki have time to check the messages on his phone. Most of them were emails about changes to the campus course schedule, introductions to campus activities, and death threats from his advisor about assignment deadlines...
Everything was normal.
"I should send the song to my advisor. Sakiko, can you help me play it?" Riki asked Toyokawa Sakiko.
Riki was quite capable, but he had studied a wide range of things. When facing someone with a higher level of specialization, he was still slightly inferior. Toyokawa Sakiko's skill went without saying. Otherwise, the Mujika she had formed would never have been called a Galactic Battleship.
Riki, an absolute powerhouse. The loneliness born from that. The person who taught him love was Sakiko.
Are you quoting Jujutsu Kaisen now?
Toyokawa Sakiko naturally agreed to Riki's request, smiling brightly.
No, Sakiko-bao. If you agree that easily, I'll make even more excessive and shameless requests... Riki sighed.
For example, asking you to help me with advanced mathematics.
Toyokawa Sakiko sat down at the piano and looked at the score Riki had just finished. She nodded, but when she saw the title, she suddenly paused—Love.
Two very simple words.
Yet they suddenly made Toyokawa Sakiko's heart skip a beat. Pretending to be nonchalant, she glanced at Riki before extending her slender fingers and beginning to play.
The more Toyokawa Sakiko played, the more she sensed the feeling of love overflowing from the song. Her mood grew lighter along with it. After finishing, she turned to Riki and smiled. "How was it?"
She really did love smiling.
Riki applauded. "Perfect."
Toyokawa Sakiko pressed her lips together and smiled. "By the way, let's prepare dinner. What do you want to eat?"
Recently, she had been the one cooking. Although she sometimes misjudged Riki's taste, he always finished every bit of his food, which gave her a strong sense of accomplishment.
"Then let's go to the supermarket and buy some meat." Riki thought for a moment before answering.
Toyokawa Sakiko smiled lightly and nodded. She put on her shoes and walked outside the apartment door, quietly waiting for him.
I'm so happy.
Toyokawa Sakiko was unwilling to say it aloud, but the smile on her face was filled with joy at this period of time.
Several minutes passed, yet Riki still did not come out. Toyokawa Sakiko found it strange. Riki was always quick normally, so why was he taking so long today?
Come to think of it, she had not heard anyone going up or down the stairs since earlier.
It felt a little strange.
Toyokawa Sakiko turned toward the room and called, "Riki..."
Halfway through, her voice seemed to be strangled and abruptly caught in her throat. The door in front of her was no longer the door to Riki's home. It was the wooden door of the second-floor rental apartment in her own home, filled with beer and cigarette ash. Beer stains still marked the door.
The air around her was quiet—so quiet that it was unnerving.
For some reason, Toyokawa Sakiko felt her heart trembling uneasily, and her hands began to shake faintly as well.
She froze for a moment before coming back to herself. She had returned to her own home again.
"Why was it so fast today? Normally, I get a whole day, don't I?" Toyokawa Sakiko murmured.
Thin mist veiled the sky that day. The cold sunlight fell across Toyokawa Sakiko's face, making her feel cold from the depths of her heart.
Toyokawa Sakiko walked to the door beside her and gently knocked. "Riki, are you there?"
Under normal circumstances, Riki should have walked out with a smile. But today, all she heard was dead silence.
The unease in Toyokawa Sakiko's heart grew heavier. She knocked on the door again, but there was still only silence. After hesitating, she reached out and pushed open the inner door.
There was nothing inside.
"Eh?"
Toyokawa Sakiko's face stiffened. Her voice echoed through the empty room, accompanied by her increasingly hurried breathing and the sound of her knees hitting the floor.
Her ears could hear nothing except a sharp noise.
—Tinnitus.
Riki found it strange. Why had Toyokawa Sakiko disappeared just because he had changed clothes?
He searched the room but found nothing. Frowning, he searched the stairwell as well, but still found no trace of her. Realizing that something serious had happened, he hurriedly opened the surveillance footage at the entrance and began watching.
—Toyokawa Sakiko had indeed been waiting by the door at first, but she disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Someone else might have thought the footage had skipped a frame, but Riki knew this was a transmigration phenomenon.
But why hadn't he gone over with her?
Riki furrowed his brows deeply. Had something gone wrong with the rules of transmigration?
Did he need to wait for things to adjust?
But how long would he have to wait?
Or had his time with Toyokawa Sakiko over the past few days been the mistake, and was this mistake merely being corrected? Would this sort of thing never happen again?
—Never?
What about Sakiko?
Was she all right over there now?
At night, Toyokawa Sakiko stood on the Sky Tree with vacant eyes as the cool night wind stirred her blue hair.
A week had already passed.
Dead Silence
"So the wind at the Sky Tree is this cold at night? I didn't notice it last time."
Toyokawa Sakiko smoothed her blue hair, lightly running a hand along the railing as she walked. The closed Sky Tree echoed with her solitary, clear footsteps.
It had been a week since she had last seen Riki.
As for seeing Riki again, Toyokawa Sakiko had already decided to give up. After all, the transmigration between two worlds had been a low-probability event from the start. Anyone who understood probability knew that the chance of it happening again was even smaller than finding a needle in the ocean.
"Hm, hm~"
Toyokawa Sakiko softly hummed Love, the song she had played the last time she saw Riki. She strolled through the Sky Tree, occasionally tapping the railing with a finger and producing a crisp sound.
At last, she stopped and looked at the beautiful Tokyo nightscape outside the glass. Toyokawa Sakiko thought for a moment, then nodded.
"This place, then. The view is beautiful too."
She gripped the railing with both hands and awkwardly stepped onto it with her shoe. She slipped the first time, but the second time she braced herself with her heel. After exerting all her strength, she flipped over, lost her balance, and ended up standing on the railing.
Once she stood higher, the wind seemed stronger. Toyokawa Sakiko gently held down her skirt against the night wind and looked at Tokyo below, recalling the memories of the previous week.
Before you continue