Chapter 93 The Unsure Person
At nine o'clock on Sunday evening, Tokyo Station was still bustling with people.
Toru Watanabe, wearing a shirt, was reading the original Spanish version of "Don Quixote" borrowed from Rin Kiyono. He had a serious expression on his face and occasionally looked up at the ticket gate.
While studying hard, he also tried to make sure people wouldn't disturb him.
The reason is simple.
The night breeze from the Shinkansen trains entering and leaving the station would blow his naturally long hair, and at this time, lustful girls would come to him to ask for a line.
Well, actually it had nothing to do with the tram, or whether his hair was blown by the night breeze, it was mainly because he was so handsome.
While memorizing an unfamiliar Spanish word he had never seen before and preparing to go back and look it up, Toru Watanabe looked up at the ticket gate again.
A thin, pretty woman with dark skin attracted his attention.
The woman looked around the station, and when she saw Watanabe Toru, a smile immediately broke out on her face.
Watanabe Toru couldn't help but smile, charming everyone around him.
He closed the book and walked towards the woman.
"Mom!" Watanabe Toru stretched out his hand while greeting.
"Xiao Toru." Watanabe Eda handed the lighter department store paper bag in her hand to Watanabe Toru, while she still carried the heavier red Boston bag.
"Why do you bring so many things?" Toru Watanabe opened the paper bag. Inside were shelled tender corn, edamame, radishes and other seasonal vegetables, as well as a bottle of homemade jam.
"These things can be bought already, it's so troublesome to carry them here," he said.
“How can anything in Tokyo taste as good as the ones you grow yourself?”
"That's right." Watanabe Toru was too lazy to say things like 'bad vegetables can't survive in big cities'.
Arguing with elders, especially your mother, is a waste of time. It is better to just accept it.
Besides, the things have already been brought, so now I just need to express my gratitude.
The two had just taken a few steps when Watanabe Toru was talking to his mother about putting her things at his rental house first and then taking her to dinner when a woman in a suit stopped them.
"Hello, do you have an office?"
"Office?" Watanabe Toru asked in confusion.
"If not, please consider our company." The woman handed over a business card.
It said: Johnny's Office, Shirase Keiko, and a phone number.
Shirase Keiko looked at Watanabe Toru and said in a pompous tone, as if she were praising a work of art: "What our agency needs is a face like yours. If you sign a contract with us, I promise that in terms of resources..."
It turned out that he met his agent. Watanabe Toru was still wondering why even people in their thirties were asking for lines like little girls.
"Thank you. I have no plans to debut as an artist." Without waiting for the other party to continue, Toru Watanabe gestured to his mother and left quickly.
"If you want, please call the number on the business card!"
The mother and son arrived at the Marunouchi Line platform.
Watanabe held the title card and said jokingly, "Isn't it good to be an artist? Like Kitano Takeshi."
"Why does he look like Kitano Takeshi? After all, he's still Kimura Takuya." Watanabe Toru retorted unhappily.
"Ah, Takuya-kun, mom is waiting for him to divorce me now!"
"I'll tell Dad about this."
"Your dad is also waiting for his Shizuka-chan to get divorced. Oh, and by the way! Takuya-kun is also an artist at Johnny's Office. Little Toru, you should make your debut and ask for mom's autograph!"
"Let's talk about it later." Watanabe Toru said perfunctorily and looked at his watch.
The next tram will arrive in five minutes.
"What do you mean later? When exactly?"
"If I don't get into the University of Tokyo, I will debut and ask you for your autograph." Watanabe Toru promised.
"If you don't want to help, just say so. Why are you being so perfunctory? Mommy is not forcing you. But getting Takuya-kun's autograph was Mommy's unfulfilled dream when she was young. Now, my son, you will do it for me..."
Balabala, blah blah.
Toru Watanabe casually agreed with his mother's words without paying any attention.
Watanabe Eda probably didn't expect her son to really debut as an idol in her place, and she just kept talking about how handsome Kimura Takuya was when he was young.
Clank, clank, the lights were getting closer and closer, and the train that saved Toru Watanabe drove into the platform.
"I'll go grab a seat." Interrupting his mother who was still talking to herself, Toru Watanabe squeezed into the crowd and rushed into the carriage.
After getting on the tram, Watanabe finally calmed down and gazed curiously at the moat and the Imperial Palace outside the window in the night.
After putting the things in the rental house and washing his sweaty face, Toru Watanabe took his mother to a pretty good restaurant.
"It's very expensive here, isn't it?" Watanabe Eida quietly looked around the spacious and bright hall.
"It's okay. I earn money from working, so I can indulge myself occasionally."
After ordering the main course, Toru Watanabe thought that women should like desserts, and his mother had never had the chance to eat them since she lived in the countryside, so he ordered some pastries that looked very fashionable, as well as an ice cream set with eight flavors.
Soon, elegant waiters brought over the beautifully presented food and pastries.
Watanabe Eda wanted to leave the pastries and ice cream for Watanabe Toru, but she started eating only after he repeatedly told her that he couldn't finish them.
"You're much more sensible than before. It seems that going to school in Tokyo has paid off." Watanabe said while eating.
"What does it have to do with Tokyo? That was before we had no money. I would treat you to a meal even if I had money."
The mother and son were chatting.
"I've gained some weight and look more energetic. I was too thin before."
"yes."
"Did you make any friends?"
"Two or three."
"Where's your girlfriend?"
“…There is one.”
"Hmm? Is she a classmate? Tell me her news and photos!"
"This kind of thing requires other people's consent, right? I'll tell you after I've discussed it with her."
"That's right. We must respect girls' opinions." Watanabe nodded solemnly.
"clear."
After dinner, the mother and son walked back.
The next morning, when Toru Watanabe got up, his mother was already mixing a vegetable salad and soup was stewing in a pot nearby.
"So early?"
"Go for a run."
Watanabe Eda exclaimed in surprise, "Wow!" and looked at Watanabe Toru with disbelief.
Watanabe Toru ignored her and said, "I'll be back in twenty minutes," then put on his shoes and went out.
"Remember to buy two boxes of milk!" I heard my mother's voice behind me.
After breakfast, Watanabe Toru repeated the interview time before picking up his schoolbag and going out yawning.
I have to send my mother home in the afternoon, and I probably won’t be participating in club activities at school, so I didn’t bring my oboe.
Perhaps it was retribution for cutting in line to grab a seat last night, as Watanabe Toru didn't have a seat in the morning. He had to hold on to the hanging ring and his body swayed with the train.
After the morning class, considering that Watanabe Toru's home was quite far away, Koizumi Aona arranged for him to be the first to attend the interview.
Unlike those guys who didn't do well on the exams or made mistakes at school , Toru Watanabe was very calm during the interview.
Anyway, Koizumi Aona promised him that she would not tell his mother about him peeking at girls' measurements and learning the ability to calculate them, so what does he have to be afraid of?
Actually, it doesn’t matter if I say it. At most, I’ll be laughed at .
It's a good opportunity to train yourself to not care about what others think.
There were only three desks in the empty classroom.
Toru Watanabe was looking at the leaves outside the window that were illuminated by the sun while listening to Koizumi Aona chatting with her mother.
"Hello, Mother Watanabe."
"Hello, Mr. Koizumi. Our little Che is troubling you."
"Watanabe is very sensible and works very hard. I and other teachers like him very much."
“No, no.”
After the greetings, the formal interview began.
"Have you decided on your academic direction?"
"Well, this kid has always wanted to go to the University of Tokyo."
"What kind of career do you want to pursue? What is your dream?"
"Debut as an idol and become an outstanding artist like Takuya-kun."
"…Huh? Really?" Koizumi Aona looked surprised.
"That's your dream, mom." Watanabe Toru rested his elbows on the desk, chin supported by his hands, and complained weakly.
"So what is your dream? What kind of career do you want to pursue?" Watanabe asked.
"I haven't decided yet. It won't be a signed photo of Kimura Takuya."
The fifteen-year-old Watanabe Toru would tell everyone that he wanted to become a qualified "Tokyo handsome guy", but he was already sixteen years old and had learned a lot from Kiyono Rin.
One of them is: before you succeed in doing something, you should remain calm but full of excitement.
"Sit down properly! Teacher Koizumi is here. You are not sitting properly." Watanabe Eda seemed a little angry and scolded.
"No, it's totally okay! It makes a teacher very happy that students can be so relaxed in front of them." Koizumi Aona persuaded with a smile.
Watanabe E gave Koizumi Aona an apologetic smile and glared at Watanabe Toru unhappily.
Watanabe Toru pursed his lips helplessly.
After the interview, Watanabe said he wanted to visit his club.
She definitely couldn't go to the wind orchestra - for fear of being reported, Watanabe Toru had to take his mother to the human observation department.
"Oh, you're here." Toru Watanabe looked at Kiyono Rin who was listening to music by the window.
"Yeah." Qing Ye Lin replied without looking up , "They want to have a face-to-face interview, so let them practice on their own."
Watanabe quietly pulled on his son's school uniform and asked, "Is this your girlfriend?"
“I guess so.”
"You're talking nonsense..." Qing Ye Lin raised her head and was startled to see Watanabe, and stood up immediately, "Hello."
"Hello, I'm Xiao Che's mother."
"Hello, Auntie. I'm Qing Ye Lin. I'm not your son's girlfriend."
"When I say girlfriend, I mean female friend. Why are you in such a hurry?"
Qing Ye Lin glared at Watanabe Toru and politely said to Watanabe's mother: "Auntie, please sit down first. I'll bring you some tea."
"Thank you." Watanabe sat on the sofa with a smile.
Although he didn't know whether Kujo Miki would mind her mother sitting on her sofa, it would be very troublesome to pull her up now, so Watanabe Toru decided that if Kujo Miki got angry afterwards, the worst that could happen was that he would lick her shoes to make amends.
...Just kidding.
While Kiyono Rin was boiling water to make tea, Watanabe Eda kept winking at Watanabe Toru.
But unfortunately, Toru Watanabe did not have the ability to read the old lady's eyes and had no idea what she was expressing.
Messages like "the young couple were acting on purpose" and "don't think I can't see", all seem to indicate that he was blinded by the midday sun on the way here, so he misinterpreted the meaning.
It was only after Aunt Watanabe took the steaming tea from Kiyono Rin that she gave up trying to stage a mother-son heart-to-heart show with her son.
"Rin-chan, does Toru usually cause you any trouble?"
"No, Watanabe-san is very dedicated in club activities."
Watanabe Toru dared to guarantee that the trouble his mother was talking about was definitely not about club activities.
"I see. I was worried that this child could do nothing but study."
Watanabe Toru was not happy: "Nothing is too much, right? I'm pretty confident in growing potatoes, and I recently learned to play the oboe."
Watanabe completely ignored his son, blew on the tea, took a sip, and then asked Kiyono Rin: "Are you getting along well?"
Under the direct gaze of Watanabe's mother, Qingye Rin awkwardly shifted her gaze and stared at a corner of the sofa.
"Very interesting." After she whispered, she felt her face getting hot as if it was exposed to the sun.
She wasn't sure if her face was red, and she didn't want to confirm it.
"That's good, that's good, I feel relieved." Watanabe Eda's still young face showed a relieved smile like an old woman.
Watanabe Toru couldn't stand it anymore: "Mom, she's really not my girlfriend, I was just joking."
"What?" Watanabe was shocked. "Why?"
"Why? What why?"
"I think Rin-chan is cute. No, she's very cute! I really want her to be my son's girlfriend!"
"..." Watanabe Toru was speechless, "If things in the world could be done just by thinking, there would be no famine and the gap between the rich and the poor."
"Watanabe-san, do you mean that I'm not cute?" Kiyono Rin stared at Watanabe Toru with extremely cold eyes.
Toru Watanabe could understand her obsession with her appearance having to be cute, but did he just mean that she was not cute?
"I'm saying my mother's last words."
"So what you mean is that I'm not qualified to be your girlfriend?"
"I mean this?"
"Isn't it? That's what I heard."
"You, I... Never mind, whatever you say is what happens."
"Then Toru Watanabe is a puppy. Please turn into a dog quickly, Watanabe-san."
“…I’ll try harder in my next life.”
Watanabe Eda was holding a cup of tea, and for some reason she suddenly laughed happily, with the cheerfulness of a country boy.
"Oh, Auntie, I'm sorry." Qingye Rin's expression, which was cold just now, immediately turned red with embarrassment.
Watanabe Toru said angrily: "Mom, your son is being bullied in school, and you can still laugh?"
"I just think Rin-chan is really cute. Alas, why isn't she my wife? Is there a girl better than Rin-chan around you?"
"Auntie, I'm not being modest, to be honest: no." Qingye Rin said firmly.
"Wife? You mean daughter-in-law, right? As for excellence, there is a senior named Hanada Asako who is very good." As soon as Watanabe Toru finished speaking, he immediately attracted the unanimous dissatisfied looks of the two women.
Watanabe looked at Kiyono Rin: "Rin-chan, do you know Kotetsu's girlfriend?"
"Um."
"What kind of person is he?"
"Arrogant, conceited, selfish, narcissistic, and hypocritical."
"Well……"
Watanabe Toru explained: "Kiyono Rin is a fool who only speaks her own true subjective thoughts. Don't care about her."
"Third in the grade... Never mind." Qingye Rin decided to swallow her anger for the time being.
After drinking tea, Watanabe Eda went to catch the bus, so the mother and son left the school.
While waiting for the train at Yotsuya Station, Watanabe said proudly, like a detective who had seen through the truth of the incident, "Rin-chan has a lot of complaints about your girlfriend."
"Everyone knows that."
"Then do you know the reason?"
"I really don't understand this, and I haven't asked. Maybe they don't like each other." Watanabe Toru added, "Kiyono Rin doesn't like anyone."
Watanabe patted his son on the back: "You are still too young."
"Although I don't know what you are thinking, mom, I can tell you first that what happened between the two of them has absolutely nothing to do with your son and me."
Watanabe looked at his son's determined face and grinned for some reason.
"why are you laughing?"
"I always feel that your high school life will be very enjoyable, Xiaoche."
"Will it?"
My mother nodded vigorously: "At least it will be fun for me to watch."
"That would be great."
joy?
If your son hadn't sold himself to survive, our family would have ended long ago, although it was he who caused the trouble.
Toru Watanabe looked at the railroad tracks that were about to melt due to the heat, and felt that he was almost there too.
Tokyo's summer is really hot.
