Time Off (1)

July 13th.

6:30 AM.

The alarm clock rang with a "ding-a-ling."

Yi Chen slowly sat up and stretched.

He got up and pulled open the curtains.

The morning sunlight poured in instantly, flooding the entire room.

Yi Chen washed up and took a quick shower.

He changed into a black short-sleeved shirt and brown trousers.

He put on a pair of white sneakers.

He slung a white shoulder bag over his back.

Everything was ready.

Angel slowly appeared.

A smartphone materialized out of thin air before Yi Chen.

Angel:

"Here is your phone, everything is set up."

Yi Chen took a look; all the apps on the phone were already logged in.

Even the phone number had been properly configured.

Yi Chen curiously picked up the phone, and it even used facial recognition to unlock.

As soon as the phone opened.

Location information popped up automatically, and he took a closer look.

"Your address has been updated."

The location shown on the map was in the Shinjuku district of Japan.

Yi Chen took out his school phone to ask:

"Angel, why didn't you send the location to this phone?"

Angel picked at his nose:

"That is the phone issued by your school, which runs on the special S System."

"To make management easier, the school confiscated your original phones from the start."

"They make everyone use the S System phone exclusively."

Yi Chen nodded upon hearing this:

"Then Angel, do I have any money? Since it's vacation, I definitely can't use the school's funds, right?"

Angel scratched his foot and said impatiently:

"Just look for yourself, don't you know how to use a phone?"

After saying this, Angel vanished.

Yi Chen felt quite helpless.

Yi Chen took a rough look and discovered he actually had 3 million Japanese Yen.

Yi Chen, who had originally wanted to complain about Angel, was now moved to tears of joy.

He felt deeply grateful inside:

"What does 3 million Yen mean? That's equivalent to over 140,000 yuan."

"How long is this vacation anyway? They gave me so much."

"I'd even be willing to live in an outhouse for this."

Yi Chen thought about it; 140,000 yuan was still a bit too much to suffer in an outhouse.

Afterward, Yi Chen studied how to make payments and the other basic functions of the phone.

Then he headed out.

Yi Chen thanked Angel once more for being so considerate.

6:50 AM, Yi Chen met up with Ichinose.

Ichinose was wearing a pink short-sleeved T-shirt and a white skirt.

She paired them with black ankle socks and black leather shoes.

Yi Chen was deeply attracted once again.

Even though he had seen her many times already.

The two of them walked toward the station together.

After exiting the school gate, the school collected the mobile phones they had issued.

On the way, Ichinose turned her head, her eyes filled with anticipation as she asked:

"Yi Chen, where do you live?"

Yi Chen smiled and replied:

"In Shinjuku."

Upon hearing this, a brilliant smile instantly bloomed on Ichinose's face, and she said excitedly:

"That's great, we can go back together!"

Along the way, the two chatted about everything under the sun, the atmosphere exceptionally harmonious.

They first took a bus, then transferred to the Shinkansen.

Yi Chen sat by the window, his gaze constantly drawn to the beautiful scenery of Japan outside.

As the Shinkansen sped along, the scenery outside the window unfolded like a dreamlike scroll.

Yi Chen couldn't help but sigh inwardly:

"No wonder so many anime styles in Japan don't talk much."

"This scenery is truly nice."

Arriving at Shinjuku Station, the crowd surged like a tide.

Yi Chen and Ichinose squeezed out of the platform with the crowd, and outside was a scene of bustling noise.

Yi Chen helped Ichinose carry her luggage, and Ichinose leaned against Yi Chen's other shoulder.

The stations in Japan are very lively.

To be precise, it should be that the population of Tokyo is too large.

There were even homeless singers performing energetically at the station, the music full of rhythm.

They arrived outside the station.

Huge electronic screens flashed with all sorts of things, dazzling to the eyes.

The two were about to part ways, as their residences were not in the same direction.

Before leaving, Ichinose and Yi Chen exchanged phone numbers and added each other on the social media app Line.

At this moment, Ichinose expressed that she wanted to have a meal together before parting.

Then, Ichinose hailed a taxi by the side of the road.

Yi Chen helped load the luggage.

The two took a taxi to the city center, then walked into a random ramen shop.

The interior decor was very Japanese and simple.

In the shop's environment, Yi Chen felt as if he were in an anime scene, feeling very excited.

Since school ended, the smile on Yi Chen's face had never faded, and at this moment, it held even more anticipation.

Before long, steaming hot ramen was served on the table, The aroma overflowed, instantly filling the entire shop.

The two sat opposite each other, savoring the delicious noodles at a leisurely pace.

Ichinose spoke softly, throwing questions one after another:

"Yi Chen, how long have you lived in Shinjuku?"

"Where did you go to middle school, Yi Chen?"

"In Shinjuku, which place do you like the most, Yi Chen?"

Yi Chen was caught off guard by this series of questions.

Fortunately, he usually liked watching anime and knew a thing or two about Japanese schools.

So he bet on his luck and answered randomly.

Ichinose listened intently, then enthusiastically shared things about herself.

In the blink of an eye, the two finished their ramen.

Checking the time, it was only 1:00 PM, still early.

After getting to know each other a bit, they waved goodbye.

Yi Chen hailed a taxi on the road and headed directly to the destination given by Angel.

After a long journey, Yi Chen rode in the car for another 50 minutes.

He arrived at a gate with the words Spring Under Heaven written on it.

The gate looked very imposing.

Yi Chen stood before the main gate of Spring Under Heaven, looking up to examine the golden characters and ornate carvings on the plaque.

Yi Chen couldn't help but sigh in admiration:

"What an impressive feeling."

Yi Chen arrived at the security booth, not expecting the guard to also be one of the Angel's people.

The guard issued Yi Chen a pass and a key.

From now on, he could come and go as he pleased.

Once inside, the area was filled with small villas that looked more or less the same.

Many of the houses had parking spaces out front, filled with luxury cars.

Yi Chen continued to search for his own residence according to the location pin.

Along the way, he saw even taller and grander mansions, as well as a small river.

Yi Chen felt quite envious.

Soon, he arrived in front of an ordinary three-story mansion.

Yi Chen took a casual look around; it was very standard.

A typical luxury house design.

Yi Chen slowly took out the key and opened the front door, revealing a space of about 250 square meters.

For Yi Chen, it was incredibly large.

The furniture and facilities were all fully equipped.

Yi Chen took a quick tour of the upstairs and downstairs.

He went to a sun-facing room on the second floor to settle in.

Yi Chen put down his bag, tidied up a bit, and lay on the bed to relax his body and mind.

Yi Chen opened his bag and took out a slip of paper containing the phone numbers of everyone in the Kendo Club.

Yi Chen recorded them one by one and dialed them.

Afterward, he fell asleep until evening.

Yi Chen got up and replied to the messages from Ichinose.

And to a few people from the Kendo Club as well.

Because of the cruise ship trip, the plans had changed.

The Tokyo trip was now scheduled to run from the 19th to the 29th.

Yi Chen got up and opened the refrigerator in the house.

Although the fridge was packed full, it was all vegetables and drinks.

There were even some popsicles at the bottom.

But how could these things count as dinner?

Although he could cook for himself, Yi Chen was lazy.

Yi Chen decided to go out and explore the surrounding area.

He walked toward the mountain and turned a corner.

He didn't go far before he spotted a small hut.

As he walked closer, he saw it was an izakaya.

The warm yellow lantern hanging at the entrance swayed gently in the breeze.

Yi Chen lifted the curtain and stepped inside.

There were seven or eight people in the shop dressed in formal attire, both men and women.

They were very calm; to be precise, the whole shop was very quiet.

Yi Chen found a corner to sit in and looked at the menu.

He discovered that they actually served grilled skewers, and the prices weren't high either.

Yi Chen ordered some skewers and a soda, watching the chef skillfully flip the food over the charcoal fire.

The two of them chatted about daily life from time to time.

Everything was very ordinary.

Yi Chen also observed the speech and mannerisms of the people around him from time to time.

These people all exuded a comfortable sense of nobility.

Soon, the chef brought the grilled skewers to Yi Chen's table.

Yi Chen felt that everything was wonderful.

The urge to share struck me, so I took a photo and sent it to Ichinose.

Ichinose also sent a photo of her own dinner in response.

Yi Chen felt the vibrant, everyday life of this foreign land.

After finishing his meal and paying the bill, Yi Chen strolled back to his accommodation.

On the way, his phone suddenly rang.

It was a message from Ichinose.

He opened it to take a look.

Ichinose was holding her phone, and in the frame, there was a little girl playing with a cat.

"It's a pet cat I'm raising. It's very cute, just like Yi Chen-kun."

Attached was a sentence.

"Yi Chen-kun, do you like it?"

The corners of Yi Chen's mouth curled upward as he replied:

"I like it very much."

"Ichinose."

Back at his accommodation, Yi Chen lay on the bed.

Gazing at the moonlight spilling in through the window, he recalled everything he had experienced.

"This is just a world that hasn't been cleared yet, right?"