People in Tokyo, the world is clear

"I found it in the side pocket of my senior's backpack," Miss Ito lamented. "Maybe someone slipped it in somewhere while we were passing by."

Then she lowered her head.

Sasagawa Rio saw the girl clench her fists lightly.

"That is to say... I'm not sure at all whether he has ever seen this card."

Chapter 87 What She Wants

Ito Xiguo remembers some things from his childhood.

At that time, I was about 20 years old.

My daily schedule, apart from going to and from school, is to accompany my grandmother who is in poor health but tries her best to support the family.

I have never felt like I exist and I have no friends.

But after all, I have the nature of a child and I am curious about how children's groups operate.

So, during the free time when grandma took a nap at noon, I would quietly observe a small trio that I discovered by chance and often played near home.

There were two girls with snot hanging from their noses, following behind an older boy.

Exploring the wilderness, catching insects and birds, picking leaves for weaving, or in the rare summer days, bringing back the hard-earned watermelon from home to share.

At that time, little Ito Xiguo liked to hide quietly near their secret base.

With a low presence that goes unnoticed by ordinary people, he acts as an outsider, squatting at a distance that is neither too far nor too close, holding his chin and observing the children laughing and playing.

There's a remarkable and interesting bond between them, so close and friendly that when something good happens, they think of each other first.

Deep down, Ito Nishika didn't envy such a relationship. However, his mood would be lifted and happy by the smiles on the faces of children his age.

Having friends is indeed a good thing - this was the thought in her mind at the time.

But that’s where I stop, I don’t have any more desires. As for friends, from childhood to adulthood, I have always let things take their course.

Regarding this, her grandmother saw the obvious and said that she was a special child - she had never had a strong desire to compare with others or a greed to possess everything.

When his cousin Dongcao was old enough to make a fuss and throw a tantrum asking for toys, little Xiguo just stood by, quietly and silently, staring blankly at the ancient paintings on the wall at home.

She doesn't care about getting things, but, strangely enough, she hates losing things.

When she was preparing to discard and replace old furniture and items at home, she would suddenly burst into tears, sobbing uncontrollably and completely unable to control her emotions. The first time it happened, it scared all members of her small family.

After that, the family in the countryside rarely threw things away—the excess would be saved and later placed in the storage room converted from cousin Dongcao's bedroom. This little family rule was maintained even after the girl grew up.

During this process, the elderly woman Ito Kazuko slowly figured out her granddaughter's temperament - perhaps the old woman's sudden illness had deeply affected the child, and she was a person who extremely hated to see things end badly.

In fact, grandma's judgment was not wrong.

After watching the three-person group she had been observing since childhood suddenly fall apart, the little girl felt lost for a long time.

There was a time when I even had no appetite and could barely eat a few bites of the lunch I brought to school.

After all, she really couldn't understand the reasons for the conflicts and contradictions -

It was clearly a joyful and impromptu game of pretending to be a house, but there was a huge problem in the choice of identity.

Two of the three girls wanted to be the mother in the role play, that is, the wife of the boy who played the husband.

They argued about this and their faces turned red, almost to the point of a fight.

This was clearly an incident the trio had never experienced before—so much so that none of the three involved could clearly identify their own position and could come up with a reasonable solution.

Finally, the leading boy was forced to help make the decision and designated one of the girls as the mother of the family.

But what still leaves a deep impression on Ito Nishika is that the game that started with a lively atmosphere ended up being extremely unpleasant.

Everyone seemed to have a gloomy face.

Then, a few days after that, the three children in the secret base became two, minus the girl who was not considered a wife.

A few days later, the three of them reunited briefly - this time, it was the boy's second house-playing game, and as compensation, he made the loser of the previous round the wife.

Will it be ok?

It will be fine. After all, everyone seems to have gotten a fair shake.

Ito Nishika, who was quietly watching at the time, thought so.

But the reality was completely unexpected - the next time, only the sad-looking boy was left in the secret base.

After that, no one came to this place anymore. It was gradually abandoned and no one cared about it.

It's a bit strange - when the desire for superiority or winning or losing in some aspect is involved in anything, all the original harmony will be destroyed.

In a complex multi-person relationship, if there are winners, there will also be losers. And then, there will be no place for someone.

Is this an isolated case?

The girl who was feeling deeply regretful and depressed at the time was willing to believe that this was not a common phenomenon.

Everyone was very naive, so no decision was made that would benefit everyone.

That’s what the girl thought at that time.

Maybe, when we grow up, there will be no such scenes among adults.

She was looking forward to it.

But it was not until later, when she became an adult and entered society, that she discovered that these principles do not change with age.

Almost the same plot keeps happening over and over again.

For example, you see two colleagues in the company who were childhood friends and took the same class almost falling out with each other in pursuit of a woman - even if both of them end up being big losers because they can't get what they want, their relationship can never go back to the same.

For example, two best friends who have a very good relationship suddenly stop contacting each other and don’t even see each other because one of them marries her common lover.

So, afterwards, Ito Nishigo understood one thing.

There's probably no single, mature, and correct approach to relationships and relationships. Everyone, when faced with this kind of situation, becomes anxious and worried, reverting to the naive, impulsive, and vindictive nature of a child.

Even her dear predecessor, the man who appeared carefree but was actually delicate and rational, would feel confused, uneasy and at a loss about similar things.

He said he might have feelings for someone of the opposite sex.

This probably wasn't good news. Perhaps, he would be forced into a decision similar to the one he'd seen playing house with as a child. And she, too, would be forced to become the one in the dark.

But what made Ito Xiguo happy was that even so, he remained true to himself - as he said, he really tried his best not to hide anything from her.

He said he was looking for this kind of real relationship - what he didn't know was that a certain girl was also looking for it.

Of course, it is clear that sometimes things cannot be solved by just being sincere.

But under this premise, Ito Nishigo grasped a target that she had identified.

She was extremely reluctant to let everything around her get worse.

Ever since she was little, she hated seeing ruin, loss, and disintegration. No matter what, she didn't want such things to happen around her.

Always hold this idea.

So, four months ago, she subconsciously ran towards a young man who was jumping into the water to try to stop him, but she didn't see where she was stepping, missed her step, and fell into the water. Then, as a blessing in disguise, she met and got to know the man who was worth liking and cherishing by fate.

So, now, facing the bird that appeared to be declaring war in a high-profile and domineering manner, and regarded itself as a love rival, but had actually surrendered in its heart long ago, and was obviously extremely embarrassed and entangled, she took the initiative to offer a way out.

Taking the initiative gave the other person a reason to go to him——

she says:

"I'm not sure if my senior has ever seen this business card from the [Free Information Center]. I'm afraid he won't be satisfied with me and will go to a place like that..."

"Please help me, Sasagawa-san."

Just like that, using a card she accidentally found while helping her predecessor clean his backpack, and using the excuse of needing a friend to help with surveillance, she allowed a woman who longed for love desperately but tried her best to endure it to temporarily take her place.

Ito Nishika was actually a little confused about his own motives - but he vaguely felt that this might be a direction in which everyone had a chance to be happy.

After all, this Sasagawa sister's heart is clearly with her boyfriend, Ito Nishika - Ito Nishika's observation skills come into play during his two visits to her small home.

The first time I visited her, I noticed she was working very hard to learn how to manage her life. Later, I realized she wasn't working hard for her daily life, but for her marriage, which represented a whole new chapter in her life.

When he came the second time, his situation had changed drastically as his identity was made public, but he suddenly felt the frustration of trying to integrate into life.

The soil in the flowerpot on her windowsill had dried up for days without watering, and the neatly trimmed branches were now in disarray.

Convenient meals such as bread began to reappear in the refrigerator - I clearly remember my boyfriend saying that this woman has learned to buy groceries and cook these days.

Then there’s the study—the books I’ve finished reading are scattered all over the place, and I no longer have the energy to put them in order.

Ito Nishika has been told by his grandmother since he was a child that he is a child who can put himself in other people's shoes and think from other people's perspectives - so, by putting himself in the perspective of this woman named Sasagawa Rimei, he can vaguely understand her feelings.

I did it all - I devoted a lot of effort to his career, listened carefully to his advice on major financial matters, got engaged to him, and fell in love with him.

Then suddenly you lose everything and become a loser who deserves nothing.

Ito Nishika actually admires Sasagawa Rio's strength - if the roles were reversed, and she were in this situation at this moment, she would definitely hide in the quilt and not want to do anything except cry.

The feeling of loss is really terrible.

When we first met, I found him to be a very gentle and kind person. It seemed like he had done nothing wrong, but for no apparent reason he was punished by fate.

Many aspects of interpersonal relationships are so cruel.

But Ito Nishigo really wanted to be friends with this woman. Firstly, she was her lover's business partner, and they were supposed to have a good relationship.

The second and most important point is that Sister Sasagawa is really interesting.

There is so much kindness in his heart that people can't help but accept it as soon as they come into contact with him.

It’s a pity that the real owner’s self-awareness seems to be not as clear as her, a bystander.

Before agreeing to exchange accommodations, I suppressed my anxiety and pondered some questions:

"Am I really suitable? Ito, don't you know that I..."

"My opinion is that it's because you like your senior that you cherish him."

Ms. Ito's theory was quite valid. "Only by keeping a close eye on him can we prevent him from making mistakes...right?"

Then, the short-haired girl covered her face with her hands, expressing her sincere sadness and apology:

"Actually, am I...taking advantage of you, Sasagawa-san? I feel so sorry."

"No, I..."

The tactic of retreating to advance is quite effective against someone who says one thing but does another.

Flamingo's face immediately showed a strange expression of having taken advantage and somehow being right—and then, the joy of having received such a pie in the sky suddenly turned into a strange sense of embarrassment and indebtedness:

"I don't know what to say, Ito."

Then, finally searching her mind for a reason to stand her ground, she suddenly frowned, "Anyway, a certain shameless guy must be responsible... For you to suffer this..."

"It's all Xiao Linsen's fault!"

Sister Sasagawa is indeed a kind and interesting person - Ito Nishika once again confirmed his conclusion and related thoughts.

Perhaps the only bad thing is that her dear predecessor will be blamed again.

But first of all, that guy definitely wouldn't care about this kind of thing - based on Ms. Ito's understanding, he would just treat this as a joke between them and enjoy participating in it.

Besides—it was his fault in the first place!

Having complicated relationships with these interesting women and making them fall in love with him, this is probably the original sin that is naturally carried in interpersonal relationships.

I've already taken on some of it. The rest is entirely up to you.

After driving away a female editor who stayed at home, Ito Nishika put down the phone receiver that he had hung up on at night while living alone in his rented house.

Stroll to the bed and sit down in front of the well-tended potted plants:

"Here, if you look up, you can see the moon. No wonder she put a chair here."

"But you can only see the moon. Because there is a high wall on the other side, everything else will be blocked."

"Well."

Miss Ito suddenly felt a little lonely.

Put yourself in her shoes and think about it. Is Sister Sasagawa like this every night recently?

And at those times, I was...

The sudden surge of satisfaction and joy complicated my mood.