Tokyo Sick Girlfriend

Chapter 105 Evening

Tuesday evening.

After Hojo Shione thoroughly cleaned up the house, she used excuses such as "the kitchen in the new house is not working well," "it's too pitiful to eat alone," and "is Kiyoya also alone? If it's convenient, let's eat together tonight?" to buy a lot of groceries and stuff them into Shiratori Kiyoya's refrigerator.

"It's been a long time since I've cooked, so I'll just make a few simple dishes. I hope Kiyoya won't mind."

As she said this, a table full of dishes was prepared for tonight.

Although it was just a casual dish, looking at the delicious-looking hometown dishes on the plate, Shiratori Seiya knew that she must have put in a lot of effort beforehand.

"I'm going to start."

After Hojo Shione offered a brief prayer, Shiratori Seiya picked up a piece of fish and put it in his mouth.

Savoring the rich aroma of scallions in his mouth, he couldn't help but exclaim "Eh!"

I looked down and examined the dish carefully, but I couldn't see a single green scallion.

Hearing the questioning look in Shiratori Seiya's eyes, Hojo Shione stopped eating and looked at him. Following his gaze to the food on her plate, she was relieved that her efforts hadn't been in vain. She smiled gently at him and explained:

"I know you don't like the texture of scallions, but it always feels like something's missing without their aroma, so I fried the scallions in oil first..."

As she spoke, she pursed her lips and sighed helplessly:
"But there's nothing I can do about things like chili peppers. I know you can't stand spicy food, and you can't even stand the taste."

Raising his gaze, he met Hojo Shione's tender, watery eyes. Shiratori Seiya felt as if an invisible hand had gripped his heart, but outwardly remained calm, saying:
"There's no need to go to such trouble. I'm not that delicate. You should cook according to your own taste."

Upon hearing this, Hojo Shione did not refute it. She smiled slightly as she watched Shiratori Seiya eat, and lowered her eyes.

My dear Kiyosaki, how could I find anything about you troublesome?
If you find even this small thing troublesome, then I shouldn't be here...

A silence fell over the air. When they were almost finished eating, Shiratori Seiya suddenly put down his chopsticks, glanced at the girl opposite him, thought for a moment, and asked:
"Xiyin."

"Ok?"

Hearing him call her name, Hojo Shione poured herself a cup of tea and handed it to him, glancing at his empty rice bowl with her bright eyes and asking:
"What's wrong? Would you like another bowl?"

"Ah, no need."

"What I want to ask is, what would you have done if your aunt and uncle had been firmly against you becoming a singer?"

"Ok?"

Hojo Shione paused, met Shiratori Seiya's gaze, tilted her head, put down her chopsticks, and smiled:

Why are you suddenly asking this kind of question?

"No, I was just asking."

Seeing that he was unwilling to explain, Hojo Shione let out a long "ah," and then a serious look of thought appeared on her face.

"I strongly disagree..."

She hesitated for a moment, then gently stroked her legs with her slender, soft hands under the table, and said softly:

"Even if someone strongly disagrees, there must be various reasons, right?"

"What if there is discrimination against this profession?"

"discriminate?"

Upon hearing this, Hojo Shione frowned and asked a question, then thought carefully for a moment before replying seriously:

"If it were me... if it were something I had already decided to do, I wouldn't care what my parents thought. Although it's terrible for a child to do that, I am who I am."

Through the girl's words, one could sense the unwavering resolve in her heart. Shiratori Seiya opened his mouth and sighed:
"What an admirable determination."

So, was there both an advantage and a disadvantage in choosing Xiyin back then?

Once I've made up my mind about something, I don't care what others think. If only I could focus all my energy on my career...

Shiratori Seiya felt a pang of emotion, and then continued:

"However, not everyone is as determined as you, to stick to their own beliefs even if it means severing ties with their family. Isn't there a way to have the best of both worlds?"

"The best of both worlds?"

Hojo Shione frowned even more deeply, feeling that this statement was rather naive.

Is there really such a thing as a perfect solution in this world? If it were possible, I should be married to you and have children by now.

If you're not ready to accept it, you might as well give up now.

She took a deep breath and couldn't help but say:
"Prejudice in people's hearts is a mountain. Don't foolishly try to change them. That's what you told me, right, Kiyozai?"

Perhaps realizing her words had been a bit too forceful, Hojo Shione took a sip of tea, calming herself down, and said:
"However, on the other hand, any biological parents with a shred of humanity would care about their children deep down, right? If you really can't reason with them, then there's nothing you can do."

"Um……"

Shiratori Seiya nodded.

Don't fight against the atmosphere, don't try to overturn people's prejudices. These are indeed things I told Xiyin.

Unless ruthless and underhanded methods are used, no matter how much I plead, in the end it will still depend on Mio's choice.

Moreover, her understanding of Mio's father was based solely on hearsay. Whether he was truly that rigid or what his weaknesses were, she would only know after she had learned more about him herself.

After watching Saori's match, I'll first go and get to know her to see what kind of person she really is.

After all, everyone has weaknesses. If all else fails, we can use some tricks and not tell Mio about it.

Seeing Shiratori Seiya silently drinking his tea, Hojo Shione thought for a moment and tentatively asked:
"But why is Kiyoya suddenly asking about this? Is it because Ms. Takahashi's family doesn't approve of her becoming an actress?"

"more or less."

Upon hearing Shiratori Seiya's confirmation, Hojo Shione subconsciously narrowed her long, narrow eyes, her lips curving slightly upwards, before calmly nodding and saying:

"I see. That's certainly perplexing, but ultimately it depends on her own choice, right?" "If she truly trusts and likes you, she certainly won't let you down, and of course, she won't put you in a difficult position..."

"At least, if it were me, I wouldn't put you in a difficult position..."

As she spoke, she suddenly chuckled self-deprecatingly:

"Speaking of which, I'm quite lucky. My parents hardly ever cared about me, and it's only because I met you, Qingzai, that I'm where I am today..."

Hearing her words, which were both open and subtle, belittling him, Shiratori Seiya frowned and stared intently into her eyes, saying seriously:
"It's not because of meeting me."

“I’ve said it many times, even without me, you would probably have gone down this path anyway. Your talent for singing is the best I’ve ever seen…”

However, before he could finish speaking, Hojo Shione said with a smile:

"It's because of Kiyoya. If Kiyoya insists that it wasn't because of you, then he's belittling himself, isn't he?"

"If it weren't for Kiyoya, I'd probably just sing a few songs at karaoke and listen to my classmates praising me..."

"Purity is very important."

Although Hojo Shione's words sounded gentle and soft, her watery eyes revealed an undeniable firmness.

Shiratori Seiya paused for a moment, then smiled and asked:

"So, what you said you were going to tell me before was something like this?"

"Eh?"

Hojo Shione was startled, then a blush crept onto her cheeks, and she looked away in a flustered manner, saying:
"How could that be? Those words... I was just mentally prepared to say them on Thursday."

"Alright, has Kiyoya finished eating? I'll go clean up now."

As soon as she finished speaking, she stood up and hurriedly began clearing away the dishes, seemingly unwilling to continue the topic.

Shiratori Seiya helped tidy up, and after putting the last set of dishes and chopsticks into the cupboard, she seemed afraid that Shiratori would continue to ask about what had just happened, so she didn't linger, said "goodnight" and left in a hurry.

After seeing Hojo Shione off, I washed up and lay in bed. Just then, Saori called and told me about my day's itinerary. We chatted about all sorts of trivial things, and she mentioned that she had been eating with the school team recently. Although they ate at restaurants, the food was nowhere near as good as what I made.

On the phone, the sentence Saori said most often was, "Seiya, I miss you."

She was implying that he would come to watch her match tomorrow.

When she finally received a positive reply, even though they were separated by half a city, Shiratori Seiya could tell how happy she was over the phone.

Of course, Shiratori Seiya didn't tell her that Hojo Shione had moved across the street from his house. Anyway, she would find out sooner or later when she came back, so there was no need to ruin her good mood.

Finally, when my phone was almost out of battery and it was close to midnight, I heard a urging voice coming from the other end of the line.

Shiratori Seiya felt that was enough, so he casually said to her, "Good night, tomorrow will definitely pass."

Then, Saori reluctantly hung up the phone.

Lying in bed, Shiratori Seiya stared at the night sky outside for a while before drifting off to sleep.

The following morning, Shiratori Seiya woke up according to his biological clock.

Because I told Shion that I was going to see Saori today, she didn't knock on the door this morning.

Lying in bed, he glanced at the time and thought it was still early, so he took a nap and ended up sleeping until nine o'clock, which was a rare occurrence for him.

Since I'd already missed my morning exercise time, I figured I might as well take a bath. I came out of the bathroom around 10 a.m., ate breakfast, and then headed to the venue for the Saori competition ahead of time.

However, just as I opened the train commute timetable, a message suddenly popped up on my phone.

Miki Takahashi: Is that Shiratori-kun?

Shiratori Seiya was stunned for a moment when he saw the message, and then he realized what it meant and felt a little helpless.

So, after finding out I was the screenwriter, she wanted me to help her get selected as the female lead?
But upon closer reflection, some people wonder if what Miki Takahashi did was a bit too foolish, or even stupid.

Logically, she should have tested him through Mio first, and then come to him later.

However, just as he finished thinking this, the other party sent another message.

"Are you free now? There are some things about Mio. If it's convenient, we can talk about it over the phone to make things clearer."

Mio?

The other party's words were completely different from what he had expected. Shiratori Seiya frowned, thought for a moment, and then opened the software to ask:

"What is it?"

The message had just been sent when a voice call popped up on the other end.

Pressing the answer button, the other party's slightly hoarse voice came through the microphone:

"Shiratori-kun?"

"It's me, Ms. Takahashi. What's the matter regarding Mio?"

"Um……"

On the phone, Miki Takahashi hesitated for two seconds before saying:
"Although Mio told me not to tell you, I feel that this is not something she can solve by herself, so I still need to talk to you about it."

"Mio should have gone home this morning. She... is preparing to tell her aunt and uncle about her desire to become an actress..."

"what?!"

Hearing this, Shiratori Seiya instinctively gripped his phone tighter, his tone suddenly becoming serious:
"what happened?"

Seemingly startled by his tone, Takahashi Miki remained silent for a moment on the phone before continuing:
"Actually, the night you took me home... and yesterday, Mio talked to me..."

……
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(End of this chapter)