Chapter 315: Karuizawa in August (10)
Toru Watanabe opened the curtains, and the morning sunlight suddenly shone into the room.
"Hmm——" The eldest lady's unhappy voice came from under the quilt.
She turned her back and continued to sleep.
Watanabe Toru walked to the bedside and looked at Kujo Miki's delicate face: "Get up."
"...Yeah." Without even opening his eyes.
"Didn't we agree to have breakfast together today?"
"No." He refused without hesitation.
Toru Watanabe walked to the end of the bed, lifted the quilt a little bit, and crawled in.
The two graceful legs of Kujo Meiji fell into his eyes and hands.
He gently touched her calf, then passed over the knee and moved towards her thigh.
The thighs are snow-white and smooth to the touch.
After touching enough, Toru Watanabe continued to move forward.
Miki Kujo suddenly closed her legs and clamped him.
"Meiji, let go. If you let go you don't have to get up early." Watanabe Toru said.
There was a brief silence, during which Miki Kujo groaned in dissatisfaction, as if she was totally helpless against someone, and then she sat up.
She turned over, lifted the quilt, and sat on Watanabe Toru's chest.
"Good morning, Miss Kujo Miki, it's another sunny day today." said Toru Watanabe.
Kujo Miki put her hands around his neck and said viciously, "I'll strangle you to death!"
"Hmm——" The girl's voice was strenuous and angry.
She didn't use much force, just kept pinching and shook Watanabe Toru's head up and down .
"Stop shaking, stop shaking, I'm going to feel dizzy."
At this point, the dangerous mission of forcibly waking up Kujo Miki was declared completed.
Miki Kujo got off Toru Watanabe and walked into the bathroom with her long and beautiful legs.
Watanabe Toru sat up and began to tidy up the bed, saying to her:
"Please put on an extra coat later. Even though there's sunshine outside, the temperature is very low in the morning."
"Hmm." The vague sound of Kujo Miki brushing her teeth.
By the time she had washed and dressed, the other four were already waiting on the lawn in front of the villa.
Last night, the two ladies suddenly got in the mood and made an appointment to have breakfast together this morning, which led to what happened just now.
They rode bicycles, and Watanabe Toru, who had deliberately not gone for a morning run, ran instead.
In the forest in the early morning, the birdsong sounds clearer than usual, and among the sounds of woodpeckers pecking at wood, there is a special bird call.
"Archer, what calling?" Xiaolian rode her children's bicycle and followed Watanabe Toru who was jogging.
Watanabe Toru listened carefully: "Cuckoo bird."
"Xiao Lian, come here." Qingye Rin's voice came from behind.
Xiaolian and Watanabe Toru looked at each other, and their young faces showed an expression of sudden enlightenment, as if they had to go to class again.
She slowed down and rode with Kiyono Rin.
"Sister Lin, will you continue learning English today?"
"Today I will teach you haiku and Chinese poetry about cuckoos."
"Um."
"It just so happens that there is a stele of Matsuo Basho's poems in Karuizawa, so I will teach you about the poems of this haiku poet."
"We know! It's the stone next to the Omiya Bridge!"
"Yes. "The cuckoo's voice is heard over the river."
"The cuckoo's call is heard across the river," Xiaolian repeated.
"It means: the bird has already flown away, but the sound still lingers on the river surface, even echoing. There is a similar sentence in Chinese poetry, such as Su Shi's "White dew across the river, the water shines to the sky"..."
Amid the cold and pleasant voice of Kiyono Rin, Kujo Miki rode to Watanabe Toru, put a hand on his shoulder, and asked him to lead her and the bicycle.
"Just running won't lead to any improvement. I'm helping you train," she described her behavior.
"Is this true? Are you lying to me?" Toru Watanabe showed a half-believing and half-doubting expression.
"I love you the most, how could I lie to you."
"No wonder Qingye-san broke up with you, a woman full of lies."
Kujo Miki sneered: "Do you think she is a good person?"
"I don't think so, but you can tell me your opinion." Toru Watanabe became interested.
"If you like someone, you will do everything you can to find fault with him. Do you think such a person can be normal?"
"This is indeed what Kiyono-san would do." Toru Watanabe agreed.
"Watanabe, come and have class with me." Kiyono Rin's voice was like the cool and clear air in the early morning.
In the morning sunshine, the leaves above my head rustled. I didn’t know if it was the wind or the squirrels jumping around on the branches.
When they got to the street and parked their bike, Xiaolian started saying that she wanted to eat croissants and so on.
After more than ten days, she was able to plan her breakfast in advance and integrate it into her current life.
Walk into a coffee shop that sells bread and various breakfasts, and sit by the window facing the street.
On the window glass, six people were drinking fresh milk and freshly ground coffee; eating fried eggs, grilled sausages, fresh fruits, and freshly baked bread.
After dinner, Xiaolian was taken away by Jiazhi and a group of people.
A group of children are riding their bicycles through the streets, forest trails, and riverbanks, and are almost becoming the masters of Karuizawa.
Toru Watanabe and the ladies went to buy today's ingredients and filled the bicycle baskets.
On the way back, the temperature rose and Miki Kujo tied her coat around her slim waist, turning into a youthful and sporty beauty.
Seeing her calm expression, I would have thought she was an early riser who did morning exercises every day.
I just went out for breakfast, but because I was too relaxed, it was already ten o'clock when I got back to the villa.
After putting the ingredients in the refrigerator and washing some fruits, they sat on the sofa and watched TV.
The Koshien semi-finals are being broadcast live on TV, with East Tokyo's "Kamikawa" facing North Osaka's "Osaka-Toin".
In the scorching air, which was completely different from Karuizawa, the noise of Hanshin Koshien Stadium resounded through the sky.
"I thought the two teams that had secured the championship and runner-up spots had to clash in the semi-finals ahead of time. What a pity!"
"There is only one champion in Koshien, no runner-up. Sooner or later, you must beat everyone!"
The commentary on TV was very excited.
Looking at the audience’s reaction, you can tell that everyone is looking forward to this game.
A scene on TV reminded Toru Watanabe of his own rescue in the regional finals - none of this mattered.
The most important thing about that day was what Kiyono Rin said to him in the stuffy corridor:
"Don't you have something you want to do first rather than consider others?"
What do you want to do?
Of course, the five of us, including Kiyono Rin, will live happily together.
This is impossible.
Qingye Rin has her own persistence and pride, her own commitments and responsibilities, and she will never give up so easily.
What else do you want to do?
Let Kujo Miki stop sleeping all day, let Kiyono Rin stop reading alone, let those two reconcile, and let them become friends again.
Having someone to go shopping with, someone to discuss which clothes look better with - this is the only thing he wants to do now.
Following this thread, the voice that replaced Kiyono Rin was that of Miki Kujo:
"You and Kiyono Rin are too close to each other to think calmly and objectively. You think about everything from her perspective."
Look at Kiyono Rin calmly... Not Kiyono Rin, but the relationship between Kiyono Rin and Kujo Miki.
If it were someone else, even if it was the whole world, Watanabe Toru would stand on the side of Kiyono Rin without hesitation.
But this person is Kujo Miki, and this is not an argument about whether it is right or wrong to insist on honesty. Watanabe Toru believes that he can remain calm.
Since both parties are equal, the problem can be simplified: when it comes to friendship, whoever makes more mistakes should apologize.
Based on Toru Watanabe's understanding of the two people, once one of them apologizes, the other will definitely be sarcastic.
But it doesn't matter, with Kiyono Rin's ability to not lie and see through lies, the two people's desire to reconcile and get closer will be clearly revealed.
As long as one of them apologizes, the two will reconcile - Watanabe Toru is confident enough about this.
There is no need to worry about knowing that you are wrong but refusing to admit it because of your personality.
Kiyono Rin will admit her mistakes. She is not the kind of person who will not allow anyone to be better than her or have flaws just because she has been excellent for a long time.
As she herself boasted last spring:
Admitting her own shortcomings is part of her excellence.
As for Kujo Miki, it is better to expect her to eliminate the person who pointed out the mistake than to ask her to admit it.
But the other person is Toru Watanabe and Rin Kiyono, one says sweet words in bed, the other can see the truth and only speak the truth under the bed.
After thinking so much, making one of the two feel sorry is the most difficult and crucial step.
After Kiyono Rin gained the ability to see through lies, she made an agreement with Kujo Miki: neither of them would lie and they would continue to be friends.
Kujo Miki agreed, but if she wanted to take over the Kujo family, how could she not lie?
The agreement was broken, and Qing Ye Lin felt betrayed and stopped associating with Kujo Miki.
Kujo Miki thought that Kiyono Rin was unkind and stopped associating with her;
Two little girls who played together all day before the age of four, started to dislike each other after the age of four.
In their hearts, they felt that they had been betrayed and treated unfairly.
Everyone has their own stance and their own difficulties. No one is wrong, and everyone makes mistakes.
This has been the crux of the problem that has troubled Watanabe Toru and caused the relationship between the two to become tense to this day, and the wives are helpless about it.
"We are behind for now, come on Shenchuan!"
There was a baseball game on TV, which Toru Watanabe had no interest in at all.
Along with the commentary, the camera turned to the Kamikawa support team.
All the teachers and students of the school formed the two big characters "Shenchuan";
The wind band playing vigorously under the scorching sun;
There was also Akiko, who was almost fainting from the heat in the front row, and Koizumi Aona and Miyazaki Miyuki, who were taking care of her.
I haven't seen you for half a month, but Aona Koizumi's eyes are still as gentle as ever.
Even though he couldn't hear what she was saying to Akiko, Toru Watanabe could imagine her gentle tone.
"..." Watanabe Toru suddenly remembered something.
The voice of Kujo Miki disappeared from his ears, and was replaced by the figures of Koizumi Aona and Asuka Mai on the lawn of Meiji Shrine:
"Only when we care for each other and understand each other can our lives be happy."
Those were the words that Koizumi Aona used to comfort Watanabe Toru when he was deliberately being polite to them in front of Kujo Miki, and when he apologized afterwards.
Each of the five of them has his or her own wish to achieve, their destinies are intertwined, and their emotions and desires are complicated.
Isn't the only way to happiness to care and understand each other?
After thinking this through, Watanabe Toru finally decided on a way to reconcile the two.
You may fail, but until there is a better way, you have to give it a try.
Whatever you do, even if it's just repeating the actions that the two ladies did to get the two of them to spend more time together, it's better than standing there and waiting.
Watanabe Toru was in a good mood and came back to his senses from his inner world.
Kiyono Rin was reading a book by the window, the two ladies fell asleep on the sofa, and Kujo Miki was sleeping on his shoulder.
The school song of Osaka Toin was played on TV.
The Kamikawa Baseball Club, these buzz-cut boys who insist on jogging every morning, use their black hands covered in mud to wipe away the uncontrollable tears from their eyes.
Toru Watanabe put Kujo Miki on the sofa, stood up and turned down the volume of the TV.
Surprisingly, he was not sad about Kamikawa's defeat, and was still happy that he had thought of a way to reconcile the two of them.
Winning is their youth; losing is also their youth.
Perhaps after school starts, everyone in Kamikawa will attribute the failure to Watanabe Toru's absence and blame him, but he doesn't care.
Running in the heavy rain last year not only made him hate wearing wet sneakers, but also made him develop the habit of ignoring other people's opinions.
"What are you so happy about?"
Toru Watanabe looked in the direction of the sound, and in the soft sunlight through the window, Kiyono Rin's eyes were still fixed on the hardcover book in his hand.
Her whole body was glowing, as if the light was emanating from her - Kiyono Rin's skin was just that transparent and white.
Toru Watanabe walked over with light steps.
"I discovered something extraordinary." He stood behind her chair and said in a tone as if he was about to reveal a big secret.
"Am I really God?"
"Yes, I am God." Watanabe Toru said seriously.
"I don't have time to listen to your fantasies." Qingye Rin's slender fingers, which were almost transparent in the sunlight, fiddled with the pages of the book and turned the page back.
"You are reading a book, how can you not have time?"
"Do you think listening to your nonsense is more important than reading a book?"
"Isn't it?"
"yes."
"...You are so cute." Watanabe Toru said seriously, "This is the amazing thing I found."
Kiyono Rin finally raised her eyes from the book, her expression grim and her eyes glaring at Watanabe Toru fiercely.
"My cuteness needs to be discovered?"
"You're focusing on the wrong thing. But you're getting better and better at teasing people now, unlike the R-san I knew."
"After being with you for so long, I feel helpless about this."
"Think about how cold you were when we first met. I asked, 'Human Observation Department?' You didn't even look up..."
"'Yes.'" The girl continued reading.
"'A fan club? A formal society?'"
"'The Society.'"
"'Can I leave early?'"
"'Can.'"
"'Can you join now?'"
Kiyono Rin raised her head and looked at Watanabe Toru, and they both laughed at the same time.
"How about bringing Miki along, and the three of us will perform a play at the cultural festival? It would be really fun," said Toru Watanabe.
"You're in charge of the script?"
"I've already thought about it. I'm a noble and you two are maids. I'll tease you and touch your thighs every day."
"Can you please say that again?"
"I am a nobleman, and you two are maids. I beg you, but you two touch my thighs with disgust on your faces. This is a very serious play that aims to expose the ugliness of medieval nobles."
"You've made the wrong point. But with your intelligence and ability to play dumb, you're very similar to the T-san I know."
"A smart person like me can definitely write a script that will surprise you, no, perform a play that will surprise you."
"There's something else behind your words. What conspiracy are you brewing?"
“It’s a nice day.”
Watanabe Toru, who was standing behind Kiyono Rin's chair, withdrew his gaze from her and looked out the floor-to-ceiling window at the sky obscured by branches.
"You won't answer me?"
"Ding-ling~Ding-ling~"
Toru Watanabe quickly took out his cell phone, answered the call and glanced at the sofa, worried about waking up the three sleeping people.
He put the phone to his ear, but the other party didn't speak. He didn't check the caller ID, but just heard the faint familiar breathing sound and knew it was Asuka Mai.
"Senior."
"Tetsu." Mai Asuhi called out softly and passionately, and then said, "I'm going to Karuizawa today."
Watanabe Toru was a little surprised for a moment.
"I can't pick you up, but I can accompany you tomorrow." He made everything clear in advance.
"Ichiki Aoi and the others are with me, Toru, can you please say pick up your classmates and then come pick me up?"
"…Senior, you are so smart. You are worthy of being a student of the University of Tokyo. What is the exact time of arrival?"
"They have to take the school bus from Hyogo Prefecture back to Tokyo, so they will be late. The 6:28 Shinkansen will arrive at 7:33 pm."
"Okay." Watanabe Toru suddenly thought of something, "We lost at Koshien in the morning, so is it appropriate to go traveling in the afternoon?"
“No one cares.”
"Poor baseball club. What about their wind training?"
"It's Bonsai these days, so we have a day off, so I waited for them on purpose."
"Okay then, I'll pick you up on time."
"Um."
