I'm doing abstract animation

She opened her eyes, and the first thing she saw was complete darkness outside the window.

It was still dark, but everyone was already awake.

"Hurry, the child has a fever, we must get him to the hospital immediately."

Kaien's clear yet anxious voice kept urging Hijikata Yosuke on.

"Okay, okay, stop rushing me."

Yosuke Hijikata was also very nervous: "I remember there's a hospital nearby, we have to hurry..."

Komi Shoko's heart skipped a beat. She had heard Miura Yumiko say that strange things sometimes happen in other dimensions.

Will this... lead to a car accident?

However, nothing happened. Although Yosuke Hijikata was driving very fast, he was an experienced driver after all, and there were no dramatic incidents like car accidents.

We arrived at the hospital without any problems.

Furumi Glass: "..."

This... went a little too smoothly, didn't it?

Somewhat bewildered, she followed the two to the hospital, where she successfully registered, underwent examinations, and was admitted.

No special events occurred during this period.

Furumi Glass: "..."

Did I enter a fake alternate dimension?

After all this running around, the group was in low spirits, especially Yosuke Hijikata, who sat in the hospital corridor smoking with a dejected look on his face.

"Yo-suke, this is a hospital, smoking is not allowed."

Haiyan frowned, stepped forward, and snatched the cigarette from Hijikata Yosuke's hand, extinguishing it: "Besides, smoking is bad for your health."

Hijikata Yosuke: "...I understand."

He didn't show much emotion, just nodded wearily, then stood up: "I'll go buy some water and some food."

The group hadn't eaten for over ten hours and were now starving.

Looking at Hijikata Yosuke's hunched back, Kaien sighed.

"He's had a tough time too..."

Now, only she and Komi Shoko are left in the entire hospital corridor.

"Shoko, do you know why I traveled all the way to Tokyo?"

Komi Shoko shook her head.

"I'm here to find love!"

Haiyan smiled mischievously at her. She always seemed to be happy, and could easily forget any bad moods.

Komi Shoko silently raised the small whiteboard: "Then how..."

Clearly, her curiosity was piqued as well.

"That was about six months ago. A circus came to our village."

circus?

Komi Shoko was somewhat surprised. What era is this? There are still circus tours, a relic of the times.

"Yeah, that show was amazing! Like that knife-swallowing guy, he swallowed a whole bunch of knives at once, and the clown riding a unicycle while throwing plates, wow, wow, wow, so impressive..."

When the circus was mentioned, Haiyan's face lit up with excitement, and she even gestured with her hands as she spoke.

Furumi Glass: "..."

This child...doesn't have a TV at home?

"The circus performance was absolutely amazing! I highly recommend you go see it if you have the chance!" Haiyan gave Komi Shoko a thumbs-up, flashing her white teeth.

So what about the love you're talking about?

They've completely dragged this into the circus!

"But among that group of circus members who were showing off their skills, there was one person who was not so conspicuous, but that one inconspicuous person attracted me."

Haiyan smiled and said, "He's not a member of the circus, but a writer who travels with the circus, supposedly gathering material."

Writer?

That's not surprising...

Komi Shoko nodded expressionlessly. The status of Japanese writers was ridiculously high, and the public was extremely tolerant of them. No matter what absurd things they did, they could be forgiven... Of course, this writer refers to the traditional writer, not the light novel writer.

"He was forcibly dragged onto the stage by the circus and forced to perform a show. With no other choice, he had to read an article."

"An article titled 'The Petrel'."

At this point, Kaien looked at Komi Shoko, a strange light flickering in her eyes.

"The petrel soaring proudly amidst the lightning... For some reason, this article immediately captivated me." The petrel clasped her hands together, her expression incredibly focused: "I suddenly had an idea: I want to be that petrel soaring amidst the lightning, I want to live a life that belongs to me."

Komi Shoko nodded. Haiyan's article was indeed very captivating. Although the girl's interpretation of Haiyan was slightly off, it didn't matter. A hundred readers, a hundred Hamlets; she had simply found the interpretation that suited her best.

"I don't want to stay in the village anymore. I want to go out and see a wider world, but where should I go?"

Haiyan continued, "Then let's go find that writer; after all, he's the one who inspired me to pursue higher goals."

"So I said goodbye to my childhood sweetheart, Daisuke, and embarked on a journey to pursue love."

Etc., etc!

Komi Shoko hurriedly held up her whiteboard: "This isn't love, is it?"

"Isn't that right?" Haiyan scratched her head in confusion, but quickly smiled: "It doesn't matter. Love isn't such a superficial thing. Loving yourself is also love!"

Furumi Glass: "..."

Is there really such a way to interpret love?!

"Hehe, don't rush, let me explain slowly."

"After leaving the village, I kept asking about the circus's whereabouts and followed them. Finally, I managed to catch up with the circus members not far from Tokyo, but unfortunately, the writer was no longer there. I heard that he had gone home to create something new."

"I feel a little regretful, but not too disappointed, because I already know that the story of the storm petrel was not written by that author; he was just reading it aloud."

"And what I've been looking for has never been him, but my own future."

At this point, Haiyan sighed, her mood becoming low.

“But I didn’t go into Tokyo. I just looked out from a hilltop and then decided to go home.”

Komi Shoko held up the small whiteboard: "Why?"

"Because I realized that those things weren't what I wanted."

Haiyan smiled slightly: "Or you could say I was scared. I grew up in the village and never went to school. After I became sensible, I helped my mother with farm work. I can't even read all the characters."

"That day, I stood on the mountain, looking down at Tokyo, its neon lights and bustling streets, and a lot of thoughts suddenly came to mind."

What should I do when I get to Tokyo?

"Still doing farm work?"

"What difference would there be between me and someone living in the village?"

"At that moment, I realized one thing: if you want to change, the environment is never the reason; you yourself are the ultimate answer."

Komi Shoko's eyes widened slightly. She was genuinely surprised that such words could come from the mouth of an illiterate rural girl.

“Yosuke, that boy, needs a change now. There may be a lot of hardship, but only by changing will his life be truly reborn.”

That child?

Komi Shoko remained expressionless, but inwardly she was thinking, "That kid is almost twenty years older than you, you know..."

"Alright, after saying so much, why hasn't Yosuke come back yet? You keep an eye on Aoi, I'm going to go check on him."

Haiyan stretched and regained her energy.

Watching Haiyan's departing figure, Komi Shoko turned her head to look at Aoi, who was sleeping soundly on the hospital bed, and couldn't help but sigh.

Perhaps life isn't as simple as she thought.

About half an hour later, Hijikata Yosuke and Kaien still hadn't returned, and Komi Shoko couldn't help but feel uneasy.

She thought for a moment, then wrote a note and handed it to the nurse at the nurses' station.

"I need to go out for a bit. Could you please look after the child in bed number ten for me?"

Thanks to her universally appealing face, the nurses at the nurses' station immediately patted their chests and said there was no problem.

Komi Shoko looked at the ceiling of the ward again, and after noticing the camera, she left the hospital.

There was no sign of either of them outside.

Where is this going?

PARKING LOT?

When Komi Shoko arrived at the parking lot, she didn't see anyone, just a car parked there quietly.

Yes, it was very quiet, so quiet that even all four tires were flat.

Furumi Glass: "..."

Now we know where those two went.

Komi Shoko asked the hospital security guard where the nearest repair shop was, and then hurriedly headed towards it.

Sure enough, as soon as I arrived at the repair shop, I heard a loud argument.

"I saw that brat drive a nail into my tire!"

"This is outrageous extortion!"

"Get my car fixed right now, or I'm calling the police!"

Yosuke Hijikata was shouting excitedly in the repair shop, his face flushed red, looking extremely angry.

The employees in the repair shop looked at him with disdain, as if he were a clown.

Haiyan stood by, somewhat at a loss, seemingly unaware of the situation.

Seeing Komi Shoko approaching, Kaien rushed forward and joined her.

"I was just looking for Yosuke, and I found out he was chasing a kid. He ended up here. Apparently, the kid punctured Yosuke's tire with a nail."

Komi Shoko nodded and glanced at the repair shop.

This is a very dilapidated auto repair shop. The facilities inside look very old, and there are a few cars parked haphazardly outside that look like they're in terrible condition.

The employees in the repair shop were all tall and burly, and their faces didn't look very good.

A flash of understanding crossed Komi Shoko's eyes.

This means you've run into an unlicensed auto repair shop.

These illegal repair shops target passing vehicles, causing them to malfunction before charging exorbitant prices for extortionate repairs.

Setting up such an unlicensed auto repair shop generally requires several prerequisites: the location must be remote, there must be some traffic but not too much, and there must be no competitors nearby. Only when these three conditions are met can such an unlicensed auto repair shop be established.

She didn't know any of this before, but when Yuki and he chatted on their phones, Yuki gave her a lot of anti-fraud guides. She thought it wouldn't hurt to learn more, so she read them all. There were such cases in them, and they also showed how to deal with them.

She stepped forward and tugged at Hijikata Yosuke.

"What's wrong, Shoko? I'm telling you..."

Yosuke Hijikata was still very agitated, but when he saw Shoko Furumi shaking her head at him, he immediately shut his mouth.

He felt he wasn't as smart as his sister, so he decided to let her make the decision...

Komi Shoko calmly took out a whiteboard and wrote a line of words on it.

"Who is your boss?"

Volume 1: Chapter 55 Komi's Strange Journey (Final)