Tokyo: Who would still fall in love after being spoiled?

Chapter 129 I won’t say I want to see you when I want to meet you.

When they walked out of the airport in Tokyo, they were greeted by a black sedan that was longer than usual.

"Zou, here." The passenger window rolled down and a beautiful woman who looked about 70% similar to Amano called out in a gentle but commanding voice.

Well, it seems that the only one who was greeted was Amano, and he was greeted by a tram that was only a five-minute walk away.

For just a few hundred yen, you can travel freely throughout Tokyo and arrive at your destination on time according to the schedule without having to worry about getting stuck in traffic and wasting time.

It was much more convenient than the black car that came to the airport to pick up Amano.

Of course, the most important thing was that he could go wherever he wanted on the train. The black car that was carrying Amano obviously wouldn't take her to where she wanted to go.

He slowed down his pace, staggered ahead of Amano, and kept some distance to avoid causing unnecessary trouble.

But Amano himself was rarely aware of his intention and waved to him before getting into the car.

"Goodbye, Inoue-san," she said.

"……goodbye."

Amano got into the car, and the beautiful woman sitting in the passenger seat also rolled up the window.

He watched the car leave the airport and walked to the tram station to freedom.

The highly anticipated Obon Festival isn't just about the temple fairs and fireworks, but also the packed trains.

He held up the handle of the suitcase, piled the backpack filled with watermelons on the suitcase against the handle, used his body to protect it as much as possible, and sat all the way to the old residential area where the rental house was located, sweating profusely from exhaustion.

When I got off the tram, my steps were even a little unsteady.

I didn’t feel so tired even after walking on the mountain road with Amano for a whole day.

When I opened the door and entered the house, I saw Takeda's shoes still in the shoe cabinet at the entrance, except for a pair of white canvas shoes that he wore most often.

He stuffed the watermelon and pear into the refrigerator, threw the suitcase into the bedroom, lay on the bed to rest for a while, and sent a message to Takeda.

[Inoue: Are you shopping?]
After thinking about it, I added a sentence even though I felt stupid.

[Inoue: I brought a watermelon.]
Less than a minute passed from the time the message was sent to the time the reply was received.

He had already opened the cached copy of "Mysterious Island" on his phone, and was prepared for the other party not to reply to his messages for a long time, so he was a little surprised.

[Takeda: Why did you come back early?]
Because the wind band will start ensemble practice tomorrow morning, and if we take the evening flight we will miss the fireworks in both Tottori and Tokyo, so we can only come back in the morning.

[Inoue: I want to watch the fireworks, but I’m afraid you’ll be angry and not take a video for me.]
[Takeda: You don’t even say you want to see me at this time.]
[Inoue: The watermelon has just been put in the refrigerator, so by noon it should be just cool enough, but not too cold.]
[Takeda: Not at noon.]
As he spoke, Takeda sent him a photo. It was of a wide riverside sidewalk, crowded with people and a picnic mat spread nearby. Takeda sat sideways on the mat, holding a typical fast-food bento box.

[Takeda: I secured my spot yesterday after the lockdown was lifted. I have to keep it close at all times, otherwise someone else will take it.]
[Takeda: I'm going to watch the fireworks with my parents tonight. Even if you say you want to see me now, I won't go back.]
The wider river is the Sumida River. If you don't have a paid ticket, you have to reserve a seat early like Takeda to have a good view and watch the fireworks.

When he looked at the photo, the first person he thought of was Amano.

If Amano also wanted to watch the fireworks with his family, he would probably be able to watch the fireworks in paid seats with a good view every year, maybe even the best ones.

He had no clear idea of the Amano family's true situation, and hadn't specifically researched it online. Because of this, he felt free to make the most exaggerated assumptions.

[Inoue: Where exactly? I want to deliver the watermelon there.]
As he asked, he had already begun analyzing the framing details in the photos sent by Takeda.

It is not difficult to find the approximate location based on the reference objects, and it doesn’t take too much time to find Takeda himself on the nearby streets.

If Takeda didn't tell him the address, he would take the watermelon and go there on his own initiative.

After spending some time together and having a few arguments, Takeda had probably come to understand his thoughts and would no longer misunderstand his actions.

[Takeda: So anxious? It's like you want to get this over with as quickly as possible.]
After waiting for a long time, until he had determined the approximate location on Google Maps, Takeda finally sent a reply.

Despite the complaints, he still gave the address.

[Inoue: Is there anything else you would like to see?]
[Takeda: I want you to stop messaging me before you come!]
But if it was Takeda who said this to him, how could he avoid misunderstanding it for a few seconds...

He put away his phone, sat up in bed, took out a watermelon that had just been put in the refrigerator, and stuffed it back into his backpack along with the pear.

I took a taxi and drove to the Sumida River as quickly as possible.

The street where Takeda was located was no longer open to traffic. Even if there were no traffic police on the side, the crowded street was enough to scare away most drivers.

The taxi found a suitable place to stop, he got out, carrying his backpack, and followed the crowd into the street on the shore.

The side of the originally spacious street close to the river bank was occupied by tourists who had stood in advance waiting to watch the fireworks, while the other side was partially occupied by various shops on the street, which served as paid seats for tourists to reserve in a different sense.

When he found Takeda, the girl was yawning and looking down at her phone, not noticing that he had walked nearby.

He put down his backpack and waited until Takeda noticed him before saying hello.

"Long time no see," he said.

"..." Takeda remained silent, staring at his face for more than ten seconds, then stood up from the mat and left with a word, "Guard me for a while, as compensation—I'll go for a walk."

“…Dede.”

Wearing a short-sleeved shirt and wide-leg shorts suitable for Tokyo summer, Takeda merged into the crowd and quickly disappeared.

On the way here, he had thought of many things to say during the chat, but now none of them came to mind. Besides his backpack, there was also a common student backpack on the floor. It contained quite a few things, but the contents were impossible to tell from the outside.

Takeda didn't tell him where he was going or when he would be back, just asked him to wait. He first stared at the crowd in a daze, waiting for a while, then took out his phone and continued watching "Mysterious Island".

The story has progressed to the point where the volcano on the deserted island is about to erupt. The people trapped on the island must find a way to escape danger before then.

The desperate situation is difficult to solve, time is imminent, and the previous chapters also laid the groundwork for the inexplicable appearance of supplies.

If he hadn't known in advance that the story of Mysterious Island would be related to Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, he would probably be more looking forward to the subsequent plot development, but now the only thing worth looking forward to is the form in which the submarine will appear.

In this way, he unknowingly finished reading the last part of "Mysterious Island". The first person to come to the floor was not Takeda, but her parents.

Takeda's father had a beard, was neither fat nor thin, looked fairly solid, and had short, stiff hair. He was pushing Takeda's mother, who was in a wheelchair, and greeted him with a silly smile, with a hint of guilt in his expression and tone.

Both parents had changed into yukata. His father's was an ordinary light grey style without any decorations; his mother wore a goldfish yukata with a white background, dotted with pink and blue flowers, which was much prettier.

She even put on makeup.

"The first time we met... was it the first time, right? I heard Qi mention you often."

"Hatsu Inoue."

"Ah... Inoue."

When he gave his full name, Takeda's father changed his words in a slightly flustered manner, as if he had had an argument with Takeda after returning from a business trip.

"How is Takeda's mother doing now?"

"You'll be able to leave the hospital in a few days," Takeda's mother said with a smile as she looked at him. "After that, you just need to go to the hospital for regular checkups."

His calf was still wrapped in a plaster cast, and Takeda's mother herself did not mention it either.

He didn't dare to ask more questions, so he just nodded.

"I heard from Xiaoqi that you went back to your hometown. I thought you would come back to Tokyo tomorrow."

“I wasn’t able to see the fireworks over the Sumida River last year.”

"So—together tonight?"

"If there is time..."

He opened his mouth to refuse, but before he could finish his words, he saw Takeda squeezing through the crowd, holding a string of tri-colored dango in one hand and wearing a light pink yukata.

"It looks good?" The first thing Takeda did when he came back was to push the dumpling towards his mouth. "I bought two and ate the other on the way."

"It looks good." He took the dumpling.

This snack is made of glutinous rice flour and milk, topped with strawberry jam. It looks very beautiful, and it is more valuable to take a photo with a beautiful girl in a yukata like Takeda than to eat it directly.

The price was 200 yen a string, and he passed by the stall on his way out of the taxi to find Takeda.

Indeed, there were quite a few girls taking photos there with dumplings.

"No pictures?" he asked before taking a bite.

"It's only afternoon, and it's still daylight." After changing into a yukata, Takeda's sleepiness, which had caused him to yawn repeatedly while sleeping on the floor, was swept away, and his expression was full of energy when he spoke.

"Hey, Dad, you guys have been walking around for a while, it's my turn to take a look around!"

When Takeda came back wearing a yukata, not only did he not give his parents any of the snacks he brought, but his first words of greeting were to ask them to take over the stall so that he could go play.

"Ah...that's right..." No wonder Takeda and her father often quarreled.

"You guys go. It doesn't matter if you don't come back." Takeda's mother touched her father's hand on the wheelchair with a gentle tone.

"That won't do. I worked so hard to get this position. How can I just give it to you?"

He bit off a glutinous rice dumpling and listened to the Takeda family chatting. He chewed it repeatedly. The sweetness was just right and it was a little sticky.

Finally, in response to Takeda's words, "Let's go! Accompany me shopping. I just saw a lot of interesting things...", he took a step forward and left.

Like an unknown guard who obeys orders at any time, he is at your disposal.

There were too many people on the street. Takeda looked back at him several times, and finally couldn't help but sigh and stopped.

"Are you not afraid of getting lost?"

"I followed you."

"Are you so confident in yourself?"

"Scan the crowd and look for the prettiest girl, and you'll definitely find you."

"Then just assume I'm afraid you'll get lost."

During the ceremony before the Obon fireworks were launched, in the crowded crowd, Takeda, not knowing whether he was happy or angry, suddenly took the initiative to grab his hand and walked against the flow of people.

(End of this chapter)