Tokyo Psychic

Page 146

Yoshizawa Kazuhiko inwardly cursed Kurusu Akira's shamelessness, but he still believed him somewhat... After all, how could the eldest daughter of the Toyokawa family tolerate her boyfriend having affairs?

Thinking this through, he felt his daughter was probably safe, so he breathed a sigh of relief, his expression softening considerably. "Then I'll trust you for now. Next, let's discuss the book signing you'll be doing tomorrow, representing the agency in collaboration with DB Bunko..."

dong dong dong.

There was a sudden knock on the office door.

Yoshizawa Kazuhiko said, "Please come in."

The door opened, and a casually dressed man rushed in holding a project proposal that had just come out of the printer. "Mr. Yoshizawa, this is the latest design for my variety show. The director has already approved it, and I need your signature here."

This person is none other than Takafumi Wakaba, one of the most influential cash cows under ATLUS agency, and also a once-famous comedian on the internet.

When Yoshizawa Kazuhiko saw that it was his capable assistant, his expression became even more relaxed and at ease. "No problem."

He pulled his pen from the gap in the overtime application form, took the project proposal from Wakaba Takafumi's hand, turned to the last page, and quickly signed his name.

Akira Kurusu stood idly to the side.

After receiving the autograph, Takafumi Wakaba suddenly asked him with great surprise, "Oh, it's Amamiya-kun... Good evening!"

"Good evening, Brother Ruoye!" Upon hearing this, Laixi Xiao's expression immediately became warm.

If Ye Longwen reached out his hand, the two shook hands and then let go. At this moment, this highly influential artist in the entertainment industry said, "My Xiaomu has been wanting to see you ever since we last met..."

Akira Kurusu paused, and Kazuhiko Yoshizawa behind the desk also gave her a complicated look.

Ruo Yelongwen took in their reactions and found them strange, but still continued nonchalantly, "Xiao Mu saw your performance and has always thought your guitar skills are outstanding, so she's been saying these past few days that she wants to learn from you. Since you're Xiangzi's boyfriend, you should know that Xiao Mu used to be the guitarist in her band, right?"

Akira Kurusu nodded with some difficulty under Kazuhiko Yoshizawa's murderous gaze.

Wakaba Takafumi laughed heartily, "Seeing how busy you are, you probably haven't had dinner yet, right? Minami cooked a delicious meal today, it's quite a feast, would you like to come over to my house and have a taste?"

If she were to refuse her "confidant" senior colleague at this moment, she would be caught in the middle. Just then, Akira was planning to go to the vicinity of the Impression Space near Wakaba's house to conduct some research, so she readily accepted his invitation.

After Wakaba Takafumi left, Kurusu Akira finally managed to argue under Yoshizawa-sensei's increasingly strange gaze.

"We just have a good personal relationship. Strictly speaking, their daughter should be considered my junior."

In response, Yoshizawa Kazuhiko simply said nonchalantly, "These young people these days... they really play around with all sorts of fancy things. My daughter hates guys who are so frivolous when it comes to relationships."

Akira Kurusu selectively ignored the latter part of his statement, but for the sake of her already dwindling professional reputation, she still forced herself to defend herself, saying, "I only met the daughter of the Wakaba family once. It's just that Mr. Wakaba and I are on good terms."

He truly felt he had been wronged regarding that "Wakaba Mutsumi".

Let alone "dating", Lai Xixiao barely spoke more than a few words to her.

"That's hard to say," Yoshizawa Kazuhiko simply shook his head.

"Does this mean I'm supposed to stay overnight at Wakaba's house?"

Lai Qixiao was getting a little anxious. He was sitting upright and behaving properly, and he couldn't let himself be slandered like this!

Yoshizawa Kazuhiko gave Kurusu Akira a deep look. "You still want to spend the night at their house?"

"...So, do you think they would invite a guy like me, whom they haven't gotten to know well, to stay overnight?"

"Heh." Yoshizawa Kazuhiko remained silent, only offering a cold laugh.

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(The "four-in-one" is complete! It's the beginning of the month, so I'm begging for your monthly votes and swords!!!)

128. Wakaba Mutsumi's "Dream Lover" (Three-in-One)

The Moon Forest shrouded in twilight.

Ruoye Mu is watering a small cucumber whose leaves are wilting.

The warm, crimson light bathed her profile, and her long eyelashes cast dappled shadows in her pale gold eyes, like an iron gate that shut out freedom.

My right hand, holding the watering can, hovered for a long time as the melodious school bell rang in the air above the campus.

The hovering right hand shook violently.

A faint light gradually returned to the empty eyes of Wakaba Mutsu.

She felt as if she had just had a dream, and everything she saw and heard in the dream blurred when she regained consciousness, and then quickly faded into a distant and pale feeling.

If I were to try to describe those feelings... it would be like a lonely person paddling a small boat on a distant, seemingly endless racetrack, when suddenly a wave, appearing out of nowhere, sweeps in from afar, capsizing the small boat she can only lean on. She falls into the water, is swallowed by the waves, and watches helplessly as her only foothold rapidly recedes into the distance, then sinks and sinks...

Pat-pat, pat-pat, it sounded like a series of hesitant and conflicted footsteps.

The doll-like, exquisite, and silent girl turned back somewhat hastily. On the path bathed in the setting sun, only a few students were leaving school side by side, chatting and laughing, their words and smiles depicting a beautiful friendship that was somewhat enviable.

Ruo Yemu then realized that she actually came here every day to take care of the cucumbers she had planted, but not because she really liked taking care of cucumbers. It was just that she and her friends had planted these cucumbers together... She wanted to be with her friends, and all she wanted to do was fulfill this ordinary and pitiful wish.

Her attention slowly shifted to the cucumber leaves and stems.

The leaves, which were originally emerald green and spread out, are now slightly curled and wrinkled.

It's about to wither.

Wakaba Mutsu gazed at them with a somewhat bewildered expression.

Although the fruit was harvested recently, cucumbers are very vigorous plants, and their fruiting period can last up to two months. If they are carefully cared for after harvesting, this period can be extended to six months or even longer.

but......

They're almost withered.

If Ye Mun slowly realized this, she suddenly felt a slight pang in her heart.

She squatted down, anxiously checking the condition of the cucumber.

Then she nervously looked around, as if hoping for someone's help—

But the "friend" she was thinking of hadn't been here for a long time since the concert that confirmed the birth of "MyGO" ended a while ago, and after refusing the cucumbers she had spent an hour carefully picking.

Sure enough, it was because I said the wrong thing again...

The girl's expressionless face clearly conveyed a heartbreaking sense of loneliness and sadness.

That day in the classroom, I just wanted to remind Su Shi that Amamiya was Xiangzi's boyfriend and that we shouldn't go too far.

In the end, the "reminder" turned into a "threat".

This overwhelming pain and regret, coupled with the frustration of not being understood by her friends, left her feeling utterly helpless when faced with Nagasaki Motoyo's shocked anger...

Ruoye Mu has always been aware that he has a certain difficulty in expressing himself, and he often inadvertently says the wrong things in various situations, leading to incorrect consequences.

The more afraid she is of saying the wrong thing, the more likely she is to say the wrong thing.

She reached out to touch the wilted cucumber leaves, the fading gloom of the setting sun filling her vision along with flocks of birds soaring across the horizon.

In an instant, the setting sun appeared even more crimson, and the branches and leaves swallowed by the afterglow seemed to have absorbed a lot of blood, seeping out drop by drop.

I...don't know what to do anymore.

Ruo Ye Mu gently poked the leaf in front of her with her fingertip, wondering for no reason if Su Shi would forgive her if she managed to heal it.

The girl's thoughts ended in the next instant.

Her phone vibrated in her pocket, the ringtone being "Because I Can't Be Someone Else," the debut song of the "End Band," the first song of the band her childhood friend was now in.

When Ruo Yemu took out her phone and saw the caller's name on the screen, her face turned deathly pale.

【(Request a call) Minami Mori】

......

In the brightly lit living room, a thin shadow, so frail it seemed as if it might vanish into the omnipresent light at any moment, silently stumbled into the kitchen.

Ruo Yemu gripped her collar tightly, staring at the woman in front of her with confusion, shock, and even fear.

"Minami...why?"

Her voice trembled, as if she had used all her strength, "Xiangzi will be unhappy."

Minami Mori simply turned around and looked at her daughter calmly, her eyes filled with an unusual turbidity that was hard for ordinary people to detect. "Go change your clothes and spend more time chatting with Amamiya tonight."

Ruoye Mu shook her head with difficulty, "He's Xiangzi's boyfriend, I can't..."

“Mumu,” Minami Mori interrupted her rapidly, “Trust your mother, your mother will not harm you.”

If Ye Mu felt that the woman in front of her, who was already somewhat distant, suddenly became even more unattainable and frightening, she shook her head desperately and retreated as if trying to run away.

Sitting in the living room, Takafumi Wakaba tapped his fingers impatiently on the table, his eyes also filled with an unusual turbidity. "Mumu, listen to your mother."

Ruoye Mutsu turned around in a panic to look at her father, who said in an undeniable tone, "Go upstairs and change out of your school uniform. We can't embarrass the Ruoye family in front of our guests."

If it were just like usual, out of consideration for the guests' feelings and her parents' dignity, she would definitely obediently go back to her room to change clothes...

But this time, her parents made an additional request.

They wanted her to have a private chat with "Ren Amamiya"...

Ever since that day when an elderly member of the Toyokawa family came to visit, they have been paying close attention to the boy she had only met once, and have been frequently describing various things related to Ren Amamiya to her in different situations.

If Ye Mu doesn't want to listen, he is unwilling to listen.

Because she was very perceptive and sensed the couple's intentions regarding her...

But that's the only person my friend is dating who understands me.

If Mutsuka foresaw a future where Toyokawa Shoko might drift apart from him, his heart ached as if it were being squeezed by invisible hands. If even his only friend, someone who could read his mind and shared his fate, was about to lose contact...

She could hardly imagine anything more.

I felt an indescribable sense of suffocation.

Like a doll with its strings cut, it moved stiffly and woodenly toward the stairs.

After Wakaba Mutsu slowly went upstairs, Wakaba Takafumi stood up and walked into the living room. His tone showed no pity for his daughter. "I have to go to the program crew for rehearsal tonight, so I'll ask Minami to take care of Mutsu."

Minami was carefully cutting an expensive mango. "Young people always have a lot in common, so there won't be any arguments."

When Takafumi Wakaba thought of the Toyokawa Group, which immediately rallied after Masayoshi Shido's death, his expression became even more serious. "We must guard against any accidents. This time is different from the past. You must not subconsciously take the topic onto yourself... We must cherish every opportunity now and get Mutsu familiar with him as soon as possible."

Minami threw the mango peel she had cut off into the trash can. "Don't worry, I can tell the difference between the 'main character' and the 'supporting character'."

The conversation, which didn't seem like that between a married couple, ended so abruptly.

Wakaba Takafumi returned to the living room, picked up his briefcase from the sofa, and left in a hurry.

The hired nanny in the kitchen was busy with the table and utensils, seemingly oblivious to everything else, as if she had long been accustomed to the atmosphere of this family.

Only occasionally, when the gaze falls upon the second floor, a hint of worry and unease flickers.

......

Crystal chandeliers cast dappled light across the high ceiling, like shattered moonlight suspended in the void. Intermittent piano music drifted from the living room, Debussy's "Clair de Lune" broken down into disjointed notes, like someone gently tapping a whiskey glass with a silver spoon.

Ruoye Mutsu opened a wardrobe that Mori Minami had specially prepared for her, suitable for various "decent occasions." She picked up a stack of dresses from the section labeled "banquet," each one a carefully chosen outfit according to Mori Minami's personal preferences.

On many occasions, celebrities from society would visit Wakaba's home.

She was just like a puppet bound by that woman's threads, performing on stage every day with the same script, facing ever-changing guests, and exiting the stage as "the daughter of Minami Mori and Takafumi Wakaba" amidst their cheers.

Ruoye Mu slowly leaned back on the spacious bed, as if her hands and feet were reconnected by invisible threads. She mechanically took off her school uniform skirt and then reached for the buttons on her shirt.

Soon, a beautiful, white body, as white as mutton fat jade, appeared in the full-length mirror opposite the bed.

Ruoye Mu stared blankly at the exquisite, petite doll in the mirror, as if she could really see the threads connecting her to the invisible world. She slowly hugged her legs and curled up on the bed, thinking of the boy she had only met once at the banquet, and of her conversation with Toyokawa Shoko yesterday... Her light golden eyes suddenly dimmed like the dim yellow of a street lamp, casting long shadows on everything within them.

The doll in the mirror seemed to be warning her, slightly opening its mouth, "Xiao Mu, hurry up and change your clothes. The guests are coming. You mustn't embarrass Minami and Takafumi."

"......Um."

“This guest is very important. If you don’t perform well, Minami and Takafumi might get angry. You’ve probably noticed the changes in them lately… If you make them angry, they might send you to more places you don’t want to go.”

"I'm so scared... Xiangzi will get angry too." Ruoye Mutsu gripped the white sheets tightly with both hands.

The doll cast a disgruntled glance at her. "So, are we going to resist? If we resist those two..."

As she said this, the doll shook her head fearfully, "Xiao Mu could never do such a thing, could she? Xiao Mu has only just entered high school, and everything in her life has been given to her by them, whether it's her life itself or her life so far..."

Ruoye Mutsu trembled uncontrollably, "I...I still have my guitar."