Cyberpunk: 2075.

Chapter 218 77. Meaning
"Why do you wear this every day?"

Asking questions when in doubt is always a good habit of Carl. So when he was wondering in his heart why Haruko always wore the same set of clothes, Carl approached her and asked, "Do you have more than a dozen sets of the same clothes in your closet, and you change them every day?"

Before Haruko could answer his question, Chiyome's eyes swept over him.

She was surprised at her colleague's recklessness. Even she understood this kind of thing. Normally, would a man ask a woman this kind of question?

This is very rude and the words are too casual and intimate.

Is this some kind of way that Carl and Miss Haruko get along?
While Chiyo stood at the door, watching the scene and thinking carefully, Haruko gestured to the seat opposite the coffee table without being shy. After Carl sat down, she spoke:
"Because I like cherry blossoms."

“I like cherry blossoms.”

Carl remembered the language of cherry blossoms. Cherry blossoms are the symbol of love and hope, representing elegance, simplicity and pure love. However, he felt that the flower language, which was already very niche in the past, should not be the reason why Haruko liked cherry blossoms.

In the Japanese context, cherry blossoms often represent other meanings.

Brilliant when alive, sad when dead.

“Some kind of Japanese aesthetic of mono no aware?”

Mono no aware means the expression of true feelings and the emotion evoked by the scene. It simply means that the soul comes into contact with the outside world, and develops special feelings towards it and is touched by it.

For example, looking at the new buds on old trees, I feel happy about their vitality, and seeing the petals of flowers crushed under the wheels, I feel sad about it.

This emotion, which some people call pretentious but is sometimes felt in certain situations and environments, is called mono no aware in Japan.

What Carl said was a little vague, but Haruko understood it.

He was asking, are you expressing your feelings about cherry blossoms because you are thinking about your own situation?
"No."

Haruko shook her head slightly at Karl's guess. She chuckled at Karl: "Just because I like cherry blossoms."

He repeated the words once more, but his meaning was already clear.

"You just like cherry blossoms? I thought you were born in an environment where you would be more or less sympathetic."

“I’m not some great writer.”

Haruko smiled and shook her head, gently clasped her hands together under the cherry blossom color, and then separated them. A hint of golden color appeared on the white palm of her right hand.

"Oranges as promised."

"Are you performing magic? Or are you hiding the orange in the sleeve of your kimono? This reminds me of the story of hiding oranges during the Three Kingdoms period."

Carl looked at the medium-sized orange in Haruko's palm and was somewhat curious about what Haruko had just shown him.

Can kimonos be used to hide things just like the wide-sleeved long gowns of ancient times?

In the past, Carl always thought that only the obi (belt) of a kimono could be stuffed with things.

Haruko had no intention of explaining the little magic trick or sleight of hand. She just blinked and responded to Carl's story about the hidden oranges during the Three Kingdoms period:

"You are talking about the story of Lu Ji carrying oranges, right? I have read that story too."

As part of her literary cultivation, Haruko still knew this classic story of filial piety, but
"Lu Ji carried oranges, but he only took three, and I..."

The left hand turned gently, and it was also spread out and stretched in front of Karl: “As many as you want.”

In the palm of her left hand is also a golden orange.

"I don't believe that you can have as much as you want."

It’s not like Carl hasn’t seen an orange tree before:

"You clearly said that it was just one orange tree. A well-cultivated orange tree can produce more than 200 oranges. A small orange tree can only produce 60 or 70 oranges at most. It's not like we can have as many as you want."

"Hehe." Haruko laughed. She didn't say anything, but just stretched out her right hand forward again. Karl understood what she meant and took the orange from her hand.

As soon as he picked it up, Carl felt that something was wrong with the orange.

It looks small, but why is it so heavy?
Out of curiosity, Carl peeled the orange, but found that the peel was only a thin layer, and the flesh inside was fuller than he expected.

Have you ever seen an orange with orange-red flesh, crystal clear and seedless?

Carl had seen it before, but there was only one possibility for oranges of such good quality in this era.

"Are these oranges grown in a special cultivation room?"

“For every environment, there are people who make adjustments.”

"Sure enough."

With the current level of air pollution around the world, the rain that falls may not be clean. How can we grow oranges like this?

Karl expertly split the orange in half, took half for himself, and handed the other half back: "We'll share half when we meet."

“But this is what I gave you.”

"Well, do you want it?"

"Peel it well."

"So that's what the young lady is like."

Carl handed it back without caring about leaving a little orange peel at the bottom after peeling it to prevent his fingers from directly touching the orange itself. Haruko also put the orange in her left hand on the coffee table and happily took the orange with both hands.

Haruko's white fingers gently picked up the orange segments that separated naturally when touched, and put them into her mouth to slowly taste them. After a few seconds, her eyes narrowed slightly, and the corners of her mouth unconsciously curved: "Delicious."

“It’s sweet and refreshing, juicy and has no residue. It’s really good.”

Unlike Haruko, who was meticulous, Carl ate half of the orange in one bite. It was too much torture for him, who was used to eating oranges one slice at a time, to eat them slowly.

After swallowing it, Carl, who felt that he had not tasted much of the flavor except for the first bite, focused on the orange peel.

He had seen oranges this good before, the peels were edible too.

Pinch it and put it in your mouth.

"Orange peel smells very fragrant, and the smell is very familiar. What kind of orange is this?"

"Aoki-kun orange."

Qingjian Orange?
No wonder.

This is a hybrid orange bred in Japan and originated from Chinese oranges.

It turns out to be the taste of hometown.

Carl picked up another orange on the coffee table and was about to peel it in half when he suddenly remembered something.

"I almost forgot. Yesterday I thought I'd come to your place to eat some oranges. It would be embarrassing if I didn't bring some gifts, so I made some extra."

Carl reached into his pocket and took out a small insulated box under the gaze of Chiyome at the door and the curious look of Haruko.

"Potato stew, I made it myself, just this morning, please don't mind."

Carl remembered a Japanese anime he had watched before, in which the neighbors liked to make potato stew and bring it over as a gift when they visited someone, so he followed suit and made a special portion to bring over.

(End of this chapter)