The Girl in the Hospital Room / Promise

Thank you so much!

Upon hearing Touko Aozaki's answer, the man's face immediately lit up with joy.

"But before that, shouldn't you at least state your name?"

"Mikiya Kokutou, my name is Mikiya Kokutou, nice to meet you."

--It really was him.

Wang Xiaoming had witnessed the entire scene, smiled knowingly after hearing his name mentioned in the Youth Daily.

The main character, whom we've been waiting for so long, has finally arrived.

Chapter 161. The Girl in the Hospital Ward

A Saturday in June 1998

In a hospital in Mifune City--

"Hey, Mr. Ming?"

Attracted by a sudden sound from behind, Wang Xiaoming turned around and saw a young man holding a bouquet of Azaka standing behind him.

"Yo, Kokutou, long time no see--"

Wang Xiaoming raised his hand and greeted the young man.

"You don't mind, do you?"

The two arrived at the hospital's designated smoking area. Wang Xiaoming took out a cigarette from his pocket Mikiya Kokutou beside him. After receiving the other's consent, he put it in his mouth and lit it.

As the smoke slowly curled from the cigarette butt, Wang Xiaoming began to speak:

"Are you here to visit a friend?"

"Yes, it's a friend from high school."

Kokutou nodded.

"Is it someone you like?"

Knowing the purpose of Mikiya Kokutou, Wang Xiaoming deliberately brought up this question, wanting to see if this man, who always appeared mature and composed, would show any sign of embarrassment.

Only--

"Yes, that's right."

Mikiya Kokutou's frank and straightforward answer left Wang Xiaoming somewhat disappointed, but he also gave him a thumbs up with a smile.

"Speaking of which, how's your work with Touko Aozaki been lately? Are you getting used to it?"

Suddenly changing the subject, Wang Xiaoming asked about Mikiya Kokutou's recent situation. Unexpectedly, the little scheme that Wang Xiaoming had failed to achieve before suddenly encountered an "unexpected surprise" here.

"... fine."

Upon hearing Wang Xiaoming's question, Kokutou's perpetually kind face revealed a wry smile that was hard to decipher.

It has been about a month since Mikiya Kokutou barged into Touko Aozaki's office without permission. Currently, Mikiya Kokutou has become one of the only two employees of "Garan no Dou" as he wished.

Even Touko Aozaki couldn't understand why Mikiya Kokutou would be so foolish as to come and work for her agency, which could be described as completely "unreliable" and lacking in both talent and business acumen. Was it simply because of that doll she had casually made?

He himself dropped out of a top-tier university, which he had worked so hard to get into, just to work here, and even had a huge fight with his family, almost to the point of breaking ties. From other people's perspectives, this seems like a losing proposition.

As for what Kokutou was thinking, only Wang Xiaoming, who "knew the plot," could probably understand a little. It was precisely because of this that the two, who had only met a few times, unexpectedly got along well.

"Ah, it's not Miss Touko Aozaki's fault..."

Realizing he might have said something wrong, Kokutou quickly tried to say something nice for his boss to salvage the situation, but before he could finish, he was interrupted by Wang Xiaoming's next move.

"Stop talking, I understand everything--"

Wang Xiaoming stretched out his free left hand and patted Kokutou's shoulder, expressing his empathy with her:

"Since you're working under her, you'll have to put in the extra effort. As for your salary, if you're in charge of the accounts, try to deduct as much as possible."

At this time, Aozaki Office --

Achoo!

Touko Aozaki, who was organizing files, suddenly sneezed.

Do you have a cold?

I guess he's been a bit busy with work. In that case, we'll wait for Kokutou to come back and let him handle it.

Looking at the pile of documents on her desk, Touko Aozaki, who had already decided to slack off, relaxed her furrowed brows again.

Meanwhile, at the hospital...

"Alright, I won't disturb your 'meeting' with your girlfriend any longer. I'll visit the firm when I have time."

Seeing that Kokutou seemed a bit confused by what he had done, Wang Xiaoming smiled, stubbed out the cigarette that was almost finished burning, threw it in the trash can, patted Hei Tong on the shoulder, left with those words, and then left the place.

"OK..."

Watching Wang Xiaoming's departing figure, Kokutou still couldn't figure out why he had come to the hospital.

"Knock knock knock"

The crisp knocking sounded unusually clear in the otherwise empty corridor, which was hardly normal. Hospitals are supposed to be bustling places; how could adjectives like "empty" and "silent" possibly be used here?

But that's reality. Even now, the nurse's bewildered yet slightly surprised expression when he asked for directions is still vivid in Wang Xiaoming's mind.

If it weren't for a senior caregiver who happened to pass by and overheard his question, Wang Xiaoming would probably have had to go through a lot more trouble to find this place.

Why is this happening?

No one knows for sure, but that doesn't stop Wang Xiaoming from making his own deductions:

The patient I'm looking for is gradually being "forgotten" by this hospital.

After waiting for a while outside the door, Wang Xiaoming, seeing no sound from inside, remained calm and knocked again, this time with a little more force.

After a while--

"Please come in."

This time, Wang Xiaoming's rather "sensitive" ears finally picked up the faint sound coming from inside the house.

Gently pushing open the door, one sees a young girl sitting on the hospital bed, and a somewhat unbearable "smell" in the ward.

Although the windows were wide open, the "rotten" smell permeating the ward still made Wang Xiaoming, who had just entered, frown.

"May I ask who you are?"

The first to break the silence was the girl on the hospital bed. She had been gazing out the window at the scenery, but suddenly turned her head and stared at the door with her unfocused pupils.

Perhaps because she hadn't communicated with others for a long time, the girl's voice was hoarse and dry.

"Me? I'm just a reporter passing by."

Although the girl couldn't see, Wang Xiaoming shrugged and answered her question.

"So, sir, do you often pass by other people's hospital rooms?"

Perhaps sensing that Wang Xiaoming meant no harm, the girl's question was not meant to accuse Wang Xiaoming; on the contrary, her tone carried a hint of delight.

"How could that be? I'm a journalist with a lot of professional ethics."

Wang Xiaoming smiled and answered the girl's question again.

"Alright then, sir, you very professional reporter, may I ask what brings you here today?"

The girl, who had changed her form of address for the third time, asked her last and most pressing question.

"I just thought it would be a shame not to go out for a walk on such a beautiful day, but it would be a bit boring to go alone. I wonder if I could have the honor of accompanying you, Miss?"

"Certainly!"

The girl's voice was urgent and joyful.

"Before we proceed, may I ask your name, Miss?"

"Kirie, Kirie Fujou."

Chapter 162. The Agreement

In June, the weather in Mifune City, just before summer, was very cooperative today. The warm sunshine and gentle breeze all proved that today was a perfect day for an outing.

Meanwhile, in a small park outside the hospital, intended for patients to relax, a young girl in a wheelchair was chatting happily with a man pushing her wheelchair from behind.

"Oh, Mr. Ming already has children?"

The girl's voice held a hint of regret amidst the surprise. The man behind her, while gently pushing the wheelchair, answered her question with a smile:

"Yes, there's a boy and a girl in the family."

"They really are a happy family."

Hearing such words, it's unlikely anyone's mood would sour, and the man behind the girl was no exception. While a smile played on his lips, he still humbly replied:

"Heh, actually Sakura's alright, it's just that brat has caused me a lot of trouble."

"Is your daughter named Sakura?" The girl, who had secretly kept this information in mind, naturally took over the conversation.

"I just hope the boy doesn't turn out to be as strange as Mr. Ming."

"What's strange about me?"

The man, in a good mood, smiled and asked the girl.

"Isn't it strange that someone would suddenly barge into the ward of a patient they've never met, and the first thing they do is invite the patient to go for a walk?"

"If that's the case, then isn't the patient who accepted my invitation just as strange?"

Upon hearing the man's question behind her, the girl didn't flinch. Instead, she raised her head, gently resting the back of her head against the man's waist. Her unfocused eyes gazed upwards, but a slight smile played at the corners of her lips.

"Yes, it's really strange."

The girl lost her family at a young age. Not long after she was hospitalized with an incurable disease, her parents lost their lives in an accident. Not long after, her younger brother, who was her only family, also passed away.

Since then, the girl has been living in the hospital, and as time went by, she even forgot how long she had been living there.

As a result, the girl gradually became an oddity in the hospital. No Human Order when she spoke, and no one could reach out to her. All she could do was silently wait for the end of her life in the ward.

All that could keep her company was the scenery outside her hospital window: spring, summer, autumn, and winter, and the forests painted in the colors of the seasons.

These became the only scenery in the girl's eyes, year after year. She didn't know when it started, but this scenery was forever fixed in her heart, and she began to curse this Issei landscape, to curse the outside world, while simultaneously yearning for that scenery she could never reach.

The scenery in your mind becomes clearer, while the scenery your eyes can see becomes increasingly blurry.

The moment the girl's vision was completely plunged into darkness, she suddenly discovered that she had gained a pair of "eyes," which were floating in the air.

No, the girl not only had extra eyes, but also an extra "body".

Lying on his sickbed, gazing up at the sky, while the sky looked down upon the earth, the same person, the same consciousness, yet two different ways of being.

From then on, the girl would float in the air every night, looking down at the city. She began to feel lonely and wanted someone to accompany her to look down at this scenery.

"Is this it, the other you?"

The man behind the girl suddenly stopped and looked up at the spirit that had appeared and was floating above him.

The spirit's appearance was identical to that of the girl in the wheelchair.

"Hey, Mr. Ming, can you see 'me'?"

The girl in the wheelchair and the spirit floating in mid-air both showed expressions of surprise.

"Yes, I can see it."

The man's face, carrying a faint smile, entered the girl's mind through the eyes of the spirit in mid-air. It was like a bonfire suddenly igniting in the darkness, illuminating the girl's already despairing heart.