Chapter 5 The Mysterious Girl and the Club
"Ding ding ding! Ding ding ding!"
Toru Watanabe reached out from under the quilt, turned off the noisy alarm clock, and lay in the quilt for another ten seconds before sitting up from the bed.
The time is 7:15 on Thursday morning.
I brushed my teeth with my eyes half closed, washed my face, put on a white shirt and trousers, tied my tie in front of the mirror, and put on the suit uniform that I was not used to wearing yet, leaving the front open, which looked more handsome.
In fact, I am tired of buttoning my clothes every day, and I feel constrained and not free.
Toru Watanabe began to miss his hometown where the bus ran every two hours - the school uniform only required a shirt, and the tie and other things he was given could be used as ropes.
Putting on his schoolbag and carrying the garbage, Toru Watanabe walked out the door.
If he remembered correctly, his tie should be tied to the old well in the backyard. He suddenly thought of it when he threw the garbage into the trash can.
When he just woke up, Toru Watanabe's mind was always unable to concentrate. He thought about all sorts of things, and sometimes even recalled experiences that he thought he had forgotten long ago.
“Ah~~~”
Yawning, I swiped my card to enter the station and boarded the 7:30 train.
After getting off the train at Yotsuya Station, Toru Watanabe walked up a long uphill road to Kamikawa High School.
Although Tokyo is located at the southern end of the Kanto Plain and close to Tokyo Bay, it has many ups and downs, both large and small.
His thoughts, like vines and weeds, began to wander again. He thought of the beautiful girl from the Human Observation Department, Kiyono Rin, whose breasts were exactly the same as hers. It seemed that he had them, but it also seemed that he didn't have them either...
Watanabe Toru shook his head, interrupting his own thoughts of where he was going.
When I walked to the school gate, I saw a group of guys in sportswear, lined up neatly, with shaved heads , shouting slogans and running around the school.
The last person in the team threw a wink at Watanabe Toru. It was Kunii Osamu.
“Kamikawa——”
"come on!"
“Kamikawa——”
"come on!"
Toru Watanabe stood there, paying solemn tribute to the passionate and inspiring high school life.
"Good morning, Watanabe-san!"
"Good morning."
On the way from the school gate to the teaching building, girls from the same class wearing bows and pleated skirts would greet him from time to time.
After all, he was ranked third in the grade and had outstanding looks. If his family wasn't poor, he would have received twice as many love letters every week.
Toru Watanabe threw his indoor shoes on the ground, stuffed his feet into them, and put the pink letter of unknown origin from the cabinet into his schoolbag.
He, who had no reaction to love letters, suddenly had a new feeling: It would be fine if he was a scumbag. He could just agree to a few girls and always find one who agreed to his conditions, thus getting a lot of points.
When he arrived at the classroom, it was still early before the 8:30 class, so Toru Watanabe was busy writing the submission that he had not finished yesterday.
"You're here so early today!" Saito Keisuke, who arrived late, walked in and greeted.
Seeing him writing something, I asked, "Haven't you finished your homework? Do you want to borrow mine to copy?"
"No, it's a submission to the literature club."
"You're actually interested in something like this? Let me guess." Saito Keisuke put his schoolbag on his seat and sat on the chair of a classmate who hadn't arrived yet in front of Watanabe Toru's desk. "Is there a cash reward if the submission is accepted?"
"There is no such good thing. Besides, it is faster to make money by writing articles."
"So... you joined the Arts Club? Submitting a work is the entrance exam for the Arts Club!"
“It’s not some writers’ organization.”
"Why?" Saito Keisuke patted his head, and suddenly an idea flashed in his mind, and he said with certainty: "Teacher Koizumi asked me to do it!"
"Is this her responsibility?"
Saito Keisuke gave up: "Why is that? Are you crazy?"
"That's right." Watanabe Toru directly crossed out the wrong word with a pen, "But it's someone else."
"Has Xiu finally come to this point?"
Keisuke Saito picked up Toru Watanabe's eraser, took off the packaging, revealing the white rubber, and placed it vertically on Kunii Osamu's desk on his right.
Watanabe Toru looked up at his eraser which looked like a white bouquet and said, "Saito, you are not far away."
"It's a lie, isn't it?"
"I, Watanabe, never lie."
After the joke, Toru Watanabe told the story of how he joined the Human Observation Department and was asked to submit his work to the literary club.
"Kiyono Rin?!"
Saito Keisuke's voice was very loud, and Watanabe Toru subconsciously asked, "Do you know him?"
"One-sided acquaintance. By the way, is there anyone in Kamikawa High School who doesn't know her?"
"I am one in front of you."
"Watanabe, you..." Saito Keisuke hesitated to speak.
Watanabe Toru didn't know what he meant. Was he implying that he was not a human?
Never mind. Compared to all these, he cares more about how to end the last sentence of his submission.
Saito Keisuke took the eraser back, tossed it in his hand, and said:
"The flower of Gaoling is referring to Kiyono Rin herself. Although we don't have the saying of school belle in Kamikawa, when it comes to who is the most beautiful, it is this young lady."
"It's so amazing, why haven't I heard you and Kunijui mention it before?"
"Who dares to talk about her at school? And it's useless to talk about it. People like that are too far away from us." Saito Keisuke showed a regretful and low smile.
As soon as they leave kindergarten, humans will more or less begin to consciously divide themselves into classes: the poor will feel inferior in front of the rich, the ugly will not dare to pursue the good-looking, and so on.
Saito Keisuke's feeling of loss only lasted for a moment, but he quickly recovered: "But you dared to approach her on your own initiative?!"
"I just wanted to leave early."
"Don't pretend. Tell me secretly, have you fallen in love with her at first sight? Even though I think it's impossible, I will still cheer you on silently in my heart!"
"Whatever you want."
"Then let me tell you some information about her!" Saito Keisuke lowered his voice, "Her family..."
Toru Watanabe looked at the blue sky outside the window and tapped his pen on the paper.
"ah."
Saito Keisuke stopped talking and said, "What's wrong?"
“I figured it out.”
"What?"
Toru Watanabe ended the article with a high-spirited haiku:
"The grass in my garden is sprouting again, and the boundless world is about to turn green."
After the morning class, Toru Watanabe had his meal and went to the literature club, ready to hand in the first draft directly.
There is not much space left for people to move around in the Art and Literature Department, but what takes up the other space are bookshelves and display windows, on which various books and certificates are displayed in different categories.
Unlike the human observation department, which is filled with irrelevant items, or even garbage.
Toru Watanabe looked at his own reflection in the window. It seemed that the Arts and Literature Club paid great attention to hygiene and cleaning - at least the glass was wiped clean.
"Please tell me your name, class, and the type of work you're working on."
"I joined under the name of a club. My name is Toru Watanabe, and the type of my work is..." Toru Watanabe recalled where the article he saw in the library was published in a magazine: "Prose, probably."
"Okay, please give me the manuscript, and what is the name of the club?"
"Human Observation Department." Toru Watanabe handed over the manuscript.
"Human Observation Department?" The member of the Literature Club in charge of registration repeated this sentence subconsciously, and his eyes turned unfriendly when he looked at Watanabe Toru.
"Sure enough, he is of the same character as that guy!"
"That guy is fine, but this guy actually dared to send the manuscript directly to me!"
"How can this be fair if the school allows such a club to exist?!"
The loud whispers behind him made Watanabe Toru a little concerned.
What happened to the Human Observation Club? Didn't the literary club post the invitation for submissions? Or was it because Qing Yelin used her privilege to create a club that made the "readers" in the literary club unable to bear it?
If it is the last reason, he will stand with "the people" for the time being.
"Name?" The person in charge of registration glared at him fiercely.
"Didn't I tell you, Watanabe Toru?"
“The name of the article!”
Watanabe Toru then remembered that he did not write a title for the manuscript.
Think about it...what's the name of the article in the library... "Us in the Past"...
"Us and Ourselves"
The member in charge of registration quickly wrote the title on Watanabe Toru's manuscript and wrote the relevant information on the registration form.
"alright!"
Watanabe Toru nodded: "Thank you for the trouble."
"Get out, get out! You are not welcome in the Arts Department!"
What happened to the beautiful girl, Kiyono Rin, in the literature club?
With such doubts, Toru Watanabe returned to the classroom.
As soon as he entered the room, Kunii Osamu shouted in a loud voice: "Watanabe! I heard from Saito that you joined Kiyono Rin's club!"
Watanabe Toru noticed that other students in the class were looking over at him.
"That's right." He nodded.
"What exactly does that club called Human Observation do?"
"I'm curious too. I really can't understand what the connection is between submitting to a literary club and observing humans," Keisuke Saito asked.
Watanabe Toru shrugged. "Maybe I'll write a report on the results of my observations of humans and publish it through the literature club. It doesn't matter, as long as I can leave early."
"Can I not go to the club?" asked Keisuke Saito.
"We'll go once after school on Friday. According to the department manager, Kiyono Rin, it won't take long and we'll be able to leave soon."
Saito Keisuke showed an expression of sudden enlightenment on his face: "It suits you quite well, Watanabe. No wonder you joined. I thought you were really fascinated by Seino-san."
If Watanabe Toru remembered correctly, he had clearly said in the morning that he was leaving early, but Saito still looked unconvinced. How come at noon...
At this moment, he noticed the eyes around him.
So that's why. Are you afraid of rumors that Toru Watanabe joined the Human Observation Club to pursue Rin Kiyono?
If a poor boy like Watanabe Toru dared to pursue a high-class beauty like Kiyono Rin, he would probably be laughed at by those around him, saying that "this guy doesn't know his own social class."
People in Tokyo are really good at reading the atmosphere.
Just as Watanabe Toru was thinking, Kunii Osamu suddenly lowered his voice and said, "Hey, Watanabe, my good partner, what are the conditions for joining the company?"
“…No?”
Toru Watanabe was not sure either, since he had not gone through any test to join the company.
"You want to join too? You're a member of the baseball club. Even if the human observation department only takes up a little time on Friday, it's still enough, right?" he asked curiously.
It is true that students at Kamikawa High School can join three clubs at the same time, but the baseball club has already used the morning time, not to mention the official time for club activities set by the school after school.
Kunijii Osamu didn't care at all and showed a lewd expression: "As for time, we can always find it if we squeeze it in."
"Hey!" Saito Keisuke frowned, "Don't you already have Yamaguchi Naomi? And is Kiyono Rin someone you can pursue?"
"What's wrong with me? I'm still a member of the baseball club!" Kunii Osamu avoided answering Yamaguchi Naomi's question.
Men, they’re already thinking about what’s in the pot before there’s even anything in the bowl.
Saito Keisuke laughed twice with disdain.
The baseball club is a popular club at Kamikawa High School, and the boys who are able to join are all quite capable and popular - professional baseball players are among the top candidates that Japanese women want to marry.
But compared with the daughters of big capitalists, it is hard to say whether it is a member of a high school baseball club or a star professional baseball player.
Kunii Osamu obviously knew about this situation as well, he stroked his short hair and said: "I just want to accompany Watanabe, nothing else."
Watanabe Toru glanced at this guy and said, "You want to get close to Kiyono Rin every week, right?"
"You still understand me! There are still twenty minutes before the afternoon class, let's go!" Kuniu Xiu slapped the table and walked out of the classroom.
"Where are you going?" Saito Keisuke shouted.
"The club building!"
"Now? Are you crazy?"
"Are we partners now?"
"No. But if you're treating me to dinner tonight, it's not impossible for me to go with you."
"Okay, okay, hurry up!"
Saito Keisuke smiled and patted Watanabe Toru on the shoulder: "Let's go, Watanabe."
The three of them walked through the elevated corridor between the buildings and came to the activity classroom of the Human Observation Department.
Kunijii Osamu stood at the door but didn't have the courage to knock.
He pushed Watanabe Toru forward and urged him in a low voice: "Watanabe, knock on the door!"
Watanabe Toru had no feelings towards Kiyono Rin, so naturally he didn't feel inferior or shy. He knocked on the door and was the first to walk in after getting permission.
The girl sat by the window, holding a hardcover book in her hands, which looked like freshly peeled bamboo shoots; the sea breeze blowing from Tokyo Bay caressed her long hair.
There was no expression on her pretty and lovely face, except for her charming eyes, which were filled with ripples from time to time because of reading.
Kunii Osamu and Saito Keisuke were stunned.
"Kiyono-san, the submission to the literature club is ready," said Toru Watanabe.
"Well, thank you for your hard work." Qingye Rin nodded and turned the page of the book in her hand.
"Also," Toru Watanabe made way to reveal the two people behind him, "I have two classmates who also want to join the Human Observation Club."
Keisuke Saito, who came along, did not object.
Qingye Rin picked up the bookmark and put it between the title pages, put the book aside, and looked at the two of them.
The activity room fell silent, and Toru Watanabe heard Kunii Osamu swallow nervously and make a loud noise.
He turned around and glanced at Kunijimasu, whose face had already flushed red.
Qing Ye Lin crossed her arms across her chest, and although she was sitting, she seemed to be looking down at the two people: "Answer me a question, and you can join if you pass it."
"No problem!" Kunii Osamu replied in the loud voice he used to answer the baseball club captain.
"You, eliminated."
Kunijiro Osamu was stunned, and after a long while he stammered, "Eh?"
Qing Ye Lin's originally calm tone cooled slightly: "You came for an interview without even reading the requirements for joining the company?"
"Um, I..." Kunii Osamu was speechless and looked very anxious and uneasy.
Kiyono Rin ignored him and looked at Saito Keisuke with a scrutinizing gaze.
Saito Keisuke quickly said, "I've seen it."
When Watanabe Toru talked about it in the morning, he repeated the strange requirements for joining the company, and he roughly remembered some of them, but Kunii Osamu, who heard him repeat it, was not so lucky.
Just as Keisuke Saito was about to repeat the joining requirements that he had not remembered in full, Kiyono Rin glanced at Toru Watanabe and picked up the hardcover book again to read.
Let them go... This is what Toru Watanabe read from her eyes.
"Kiyono-san, Saito has really seen it and he came with sincerity. If you don't believe me, you can ask him."
"I hate liars." If there was still some temperature difference in Qingye Rin's voice just now, it has now become completely bland.
An aura similar to 'Don't bother me, it's a waste of time' emanated from the girl.
Watanabe Toru looked back at the two of them. Kunii Osamu looked at him with a pitiful look that said, "Leave quickly, I can't hold on any longer." Saito Keisuke also shook his head, indicating that it was okay.
"Sorry to bother you," he said.
Qingye Rin nodded almost imperceptibly: "Slow down."
Kunii Osamu rushed out immediately, followed closely by Saito Keisuke. When Watanabe Toru was about to go out, he heard Kiyono Rin's voice from behind him.
"Watanabe-san."
"Huh?" Toru Watanabe turned around subconsciously.
The girl kept holding the book, facing the sunlight outside the window, and looked at him motionlessly : "Do you like me?"
"Ah?" Watanabe Toru was stunned by what she said.
"Answer the question." Qingye Rin had no intention of explaining his doubts.
"I like it. Kiyono-san is so cute."
It’s never wrong to say nice things, right?
"It's worth continuing to observe. Remember to come to the club after school tomorrow." Qing Ye Lin retracted his gaze, "Close the door when you leave."
Toru Watanabe had no idea what the other party was talking about. What was the value of observation?
Watanabe is just an ordinary high school student. Even though he has a cheat, he has never used it!
However, he was not interested in asking about things that others did not want to talk about, so he turned around, closed the door, and followed Kunii Osamu and Saito Keisuke away.
