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

Chapter 74 Saotome Ichinose, He Has Amano

It turned out that Saotome was at school all afternoon, and stayed with Ichinose while he painted until the evening, and then went home together.

After leaving Zaishigaoka, he went to buy two crepes, both filled with different flavors of ice cream and various nuts or fruit toppings.

I ate one for myself and took the other back to Ichinose.

As for Amano - she didn't seem interested in it at first, but when she saw him buy it, she ordered it herself while the boss was making the second one.

He and Amano took a taxi back to Kitayuka High School, and after passing the school corridor together, they parted ways.

Amano went to the top floor to discuss the competition with Hayami High School with advisor Nishimoto, while he returned to the art club. He brought the crepes he bought for Ichinose and saw Saotome sitting next to Ichinose, doodling and passing the time.

"...That's about it." He explained to Saotome in detail why there was no crepe for her.

"So, on the surface it's for Ichinose, but in reality it's that Amano who doesn't want it, right?" Saotome crossed her arms and didn't hesitate to slander him.

"Saotome..." Mr. Ichinose was angry, not because of the part about her, but because of her attitude towards him.

"Sorry--!" Whenever Ichinose gets angry, Saotome will apologize to him. This scene is not the first time it has happened, it is almost commonplace for him.

After that, I would be quiet for five minutes, and then continue chatting with Nozose, and he would still complain when the conversation turned to him.

It was in this environment that he made his final review of his painting, and his mood had changed compared to the morning before he went to find Amano.

The restless feeling of wanting to break through myself but not being able to do so disappeared, replaced by a kind of calmness as if I had left myself out of the matter.

This was his painting—it took him some time to realize that.

There was nothing left to change. If he wanted to make another breakthrough, he might as well start over again - this was something he had already understood.

In essence, he was eager to achieve success and was eager to grasp some inspiration that was still vague in his perception. This was nothing more than a questioning and denial of his own level. When he calmed down, he was able to overcome the human instinct of self-concealment and deception and analyze his own heart.

It was as if his consciousness had left his body and was in a painless place a little distance away, directing the carrion birds to peck at his flesh and observing himself who was enduring the pain.

Once he comes to his senses, the calmness that allows his consciousness to escape is broken, and he returns to his body, he will inevitably choose to command his body, waving his arms, driving away the birds, or fleeing somewhere, fleeing to the social forest where there are no carrion birds.

He will no longer suffer from pain, and the rotten flesh on his body that could have been pecked off by birds will continue to parasitize on him, without pain or itching, until he dies of old age.

He decided to stop painting and not seek any changes to the painting - it already represented the level of painting he should have at the moment.

He had tried his best and made every effort he could, and naturally expected to get better results - he understood this very well and instructed himself to be prepared for unsatisfactory results.

Only by accepting the status quo and then taking each step firmly can you be able to actively pursue change one day in the future.

He is no longer the man sitting dejectedly at the crossroads in the painting.

He was now strong enough to accept the current situation and still have the confidence to move forward. He had to have that.

"Inoue-san, are you finally going to submit your work?" Ichinose asked when she saw him tearing off the fixing tape.

"No need to change it." He nodded. "Well, I'm also...almost ready." Ichinose said hesitantly, with a hint of unsatisfied feeling. "Will Inoue-san come over during the rest of summer vacation?"

"Probably not." He already had a definite and feasible plan for the wind orchestra. He would have to come to school, but he would probably not come to the art department again.

"Like this..." Ichinose fell silent as he stared at his own painting. It didn't seem like he was examining it, but more likely he was in a daze, thinking about something else.

"Hey! Idiot Inoue," Saotome called out to him, "Why don't you invite us to watch the fireworks? You don't have any friends to go with you, do you?"

"I have plenty of friends." He answered proudly.

"Go out with you during the summer vacation?"

"No invitation." It's hard to say whether he will have the chance to go to any fireworks festival, beach, or summer resort this summer vacation. He is busy every day.

No, nothing else matters, but he must go to the Summer Resort once - he wants to go home, and his home can also be considered a Summer Resort.

There is still more watermelon at home than I can eat. If I can’t bring it to Tokyo, I will just eat it here to my heart’s content before coming back.

"That's it!" Saotome laughed at him, "It's just that no one invited you to play together!"

"What about you?" He asked without getting angry.

"I have Ichinose!" Saotome said proudly.

"I don't think I've ever invited you to hang out...Saotome." Ichinose destroyed her pride.

Saotome then started to make a fuss.

He took advantage of the chaos to flee the scene.

As I walked out of the art classroom, Amano appeared from the stairs.

"Is it solved?" He walked forward and asked very naturally.

"Yes." Amano nodded and walked towards the corridor with him. "Advisor Nishimoto agreed. It took some time to discuss this with the members of the wind band..."

"Amano-san." He looked out the window, where the setting sun cast a rosy glow. "When you have time, how about we go to the Summer Resort together?"

"…Summer escape?" Amano was puzzled. "Yes, but it's scheduled after the wind band, in late August."

"So you're willing to go together?" He didn't expect it.

"Just the two of us?" Amano asked him.

"Ah! Just asking." He was worried about the watermelons back home, maybe they could still be eaten. "Forget the Summer Resort..."

(End of this chapter)