Chapter 106 A Tribute to the Future! A Tribute to Our Brilliant Youth

The results of the Tokyo University of the Arts' independent admissions exams were released.

The ginkgo leaves on campus have long since fallen, leaving only branches swaying in the cold December air, like a meticulous painting, outlining sharp lines.

Risa carried the bag of enrollment documents, her breath lingering briefly in the morning light before dissipating.

"Your file folder is about to hit a tree," Yukimura's voice came from behind, tinged with a hint of exasperation.

As Risa turned around, Yukimura walked up to her. He took a heat pack out of his coat pocket, tore open the packaging, and placed it in her palm.

"Hold on tight."

"I'm not cold," Risa said, but she still obediently took it.

Warmth spread from her palms, but it wasn't what truly warmed her heart.

"Look at this!" She proudly waved the document bag, "I passed the exam, Oichi!"

Starting next spring, she will be a student at Tokyo University of the Arts. The regrets of her past life can finally be made up for in this one.

Yukimura looked at her red nose and bright eyes, and a gentle smile spread across his purple eyes.

"Yes, I saw it." He reached out and brushed the snowflakes off her shoulder. "Shall we go celebrate now?"

"Hmm!" She exhaled a puff of white mist.

Yukimura had just flown back from Madrid yesterday. Despite the lingering fatigue from the long flight, he insisted on accompanying her to see the results.

Over the past year, they each went to different battlefields. Yukimura traveled around the world to ITF Tour and ATP Challenger tournaments, accumulating ranking points.

She turned down all drama offers and, apart from occasionally working as a part-time model for magazines, devoted all her energy to preparing for the art university's independent admission exam.

Fortunately, hard work pays off, and time has finally rewarded this couple who worked so hard.

Last month, three top European tennis training centers simultaneously extended offers to Yukimura; and today, she finally received acceptance letters from Tokyo University of the Arts.

In December, Tokyo was bitterly cold. The planned celebration turned into grocery shopping, and then we returned to our villa in Bunkyo Ward with hot cocoa and strawberry cake.

Winter is the perfect time to stay home. The heater hums softly, and Risa nestles in the kotatsu, flipping through her college application materials. Yukimura sits beside her, replying to emails about the competition, occasionally exchanging a warm kiss. For lunch, they ordered takeout, and she snatched the tempura from his bowl, while he chuckled and lightly tapped her fingers with his chopsticks.

As evening fell, light snow began to fall outside the window. She curled up on the sofa watching him brew black tea. Lost in the moment, she couldn't resist tiptoeing up behind him and embracing him as if she were assassinating him.

They play couple games together, hug each other when they're tired, and casually play an old movie... Couples who have been separated for a long time love to be together, and even if they don't do anything, happiness overflows.

They had classes the next day, so the two had to return to Kanagawa.

"It's such a shame I can't drink..."

After leaving the station, Risa clung to Yukimura's arm and muttered to herself.

Her eyes suddenly lit up. "Then let's go to your house for some black tea! I remember you have a Darjeeling tea collection?"

Yukimura raised an eyebrow: "Being alone late at night seems more dangerous than being in a bar."

"Hey—are you implying something?" She deliberately tiptoed closer.

“No,” Yukimura smiled and pressed his hand on the top of her head, “it’s a hint.”

At the entrance of the Kirihara residence, the two shared a brief farewell kiss.

Risa patted her burning cheeks, took a deep breath, and then pushed open the entryway door—

"Bang!"

Colorful fireworks suddenly rained down from the sky, showering her with light.

Congratulations, Risa, on getting into Tokyo University of the Arts!

Congratulations to Risa on getting into Tokyo University of the Arts!

The Kirihara siblings, holding up their firework tubes, shouted in unison.

The living room was decorated with colorful ribbons and balloons, and a delicate cake was placed on the dining table with the words "Congratulations on passing the art college entrance examination" written on it.

Kirihara's mother, wearing an apron, poked her head out of the kitchen: "Come in quickly, the food will be ready soon!"

"What are you doing...?" Risa stood there, stunned, her eyes welling up with tears.

"Of course we should celebrate!" Mr. Kirihara laughed heartily, still holding his camera. "This is a great occasion for our family!"

Kirihara couldn't wait to pull her towards the dining table: "I specially asked Mom to make your favorite fried shrimp! Yukimura-senpai said he must treat you well today... Ah!" He realized he had let something slip and quickly covered his mouth.

Risa blinked, realizing what was happening. No wonder Yukimura kept urging her to go home; he had already conspired with the Kirihara family to plan this surprise.

“Idiot Akaya,” Akina ruffled her younger brother’s curly hair, “You’re about to take the exams, and you still can’t hide anything.”

Risa smiled, her voice slightly choked with emotion, "Thank you all..."

"Don't cry, Risa-nee!" Kirihara frantically searched for tissues. "Today is a happy day!"

The table was soon filled with a sumptuous meal, and laughter filled the air.

Looking at her family sitting around her, Risa felt that her life was complete.

-

After the winter break, an unusually tense atmosphere permeated the class.

The desks piled high with reference books and mock exam papers, and the prominent countdown numbers on the blackboard, all silently proclaim the approaching college entrance exam.

Since Risa decided to prepare for her exams last June, the doujinshi club's activities have gradually come to a standstill. The door to the activity room has been locked, and a thin layer of dust has accumulated on the windowsill.

Asuka and Yuzuki also helped her prepare for the exams. Chinatsu was only a second-year high school student, so she continued to manage the account.

Taking advantage of this rare period of leisure, Risa began designing tennis merchandise for graduation season. Limited-edition graduation items from the four prestigious high schools—Rikkai, Shitenhoji, Hyotei, and Seigaku—are poised to spark a new wave of excitement.

This will be her first collection since she took over LUMIERA as an independent entity.

One afternoon, as spring break was drawing to a close, Risa was designing a limited-edition illustration for Shitenhoji Temple when her phone suddenly vibrated. The screen displayed the name "Akito Kurosawa".

"Hello, Director Kurosawa?"

"Matsuno, there's a role I'd like you to consider." The voice on the other end of the phone was deep and went straight to the point. "It's the lead role in my NHK morning drama, '17-sai no Rinne,' where you play a girl who is reborn and searching for herself."

Risa paused, her paintbrush still.

"A girl who is reborn... searching for herself?" She repeated softly, a smile unconsciously creeping onto her lips. She hadn't even read the script yet, but the premise alone made her heart race.

"Yes, filming is tentatively scheduled to begin in October, with a shooting period of 6 months. How about it, are you interested?"

“Of course.” Risa unconsciously drew an ∞ symbol in her sketchbook. “This character… is very interesting.”

Akito Kurosawa seemed to chuckle softly on the other end of the phone, the rustling of papers turning through the receiver. After a brief exchange, he promised to send detailed information via email.

Just as the call was about to end, Kurosawa suddenly asked, "I heard you got into the Department of Film and Television at Tokyo University of the Arts?"

Risa was taken aback. "Yes."

Will you give up your acting career?

Not for now.

“If you cultivate a deep career in the entertainment industry,” his voice suddenly turned sharp, “you will quickly reach the top.”

Risa tightened her grip on the pen. She suddenly remembered the man who had stood in the shadows, seeing her as prey and promising to groom her into a movie queen.

Has he not given up after all this time?

“Then Director Kurosawa should be careful,” she said, gently turning her wrist and drawing a small crown next to the ∞ symbol. “Maybe I will soon reach the pinnacle of the directing world as well.”

There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone.

"I'll be waiting for you at the peak, Junior Sister Matsuno."

"..."

After hanging up the phone, Risa looked out the window.

Cherry blossoms are beginning to sprout new buds, swaying gently in the breeze.

Rebirth, reincarnation, 17 years old.

These words swirled in her mind, as if the gears of fate had begun to turn again.

My phone vibrated again.

Atobe's message was concise: [15:00 Tomorrow, Atobe Building. LUMIERA Co., Ltd. First Board Meeting.]

Last June, Atobe sent a revised shareholding agreement, which specifically required Risa to complete five commercial advertising shoots for the Atobe Foundation within ten years, each costing 20 million yen per year.

In exchange, he handled all the tedious company registration paperwork, as well as shops and offices in prime locations in Tokyo.

Risa was too busy to deal with the miscellaneous matters of company registration at the time, so she agreed to Atobe's conditions.

-

The following day at 14:55, on the 35th floor of the Atobe Building.

When the elevator doors opened, Risa looked at the arrows made of rose petals on the floor, and everything went black.

Following the signs to the conference room door, the smart lock suddenly activated Yukimura's voice:

"Voiceprint authentication failed, please try again: The most perfect minister in the world is—"

“Atobe Keigo!” Risa gritted her teeth.

"Matsuno-san is so fierce~" Oshitari's voice came from behind.

Risa turned around and shot her a glare: "...This twisted voiceprint authentication, you'd better change it tomorrow."

Yuushi Oshitari shrugged, a sly glint in his glasses. "Too bad, the highest system privileges are with Atobe." He waved his phone. "But I can help you switch to fingerprint authentication. As for the price..."

"Alright, shut up now."

The heavy walnut door opened automatically, and the sight before her made her gasp in shock.

The overwhelming scent of roses, the floor-to-ceiling windows framing the Tokyo skyline like a giant oil painting—every detail reveals the young master's extravagant style, his powerful presence making one want to disappear underground.

Atobe Keigo sat upright in the main seat, with an expression that said, "You're probably captivated by my splendor."

Risa's nails dug deeply into her palm.

This isn't a board meeting; it's clearly—

"Welcome to LUMIERA's hellish team building event," Renzu whispered in her ear, handing her a tablet.

The tablet displays a personnel allocation table.

In addition to the original veterans of the doujinshi company, Atobe invited Yuushi Oshitari to join as the public relations director. To put it nicely, he was actually Atobe's informant.

Risa invited Renji Yanagi to use a data tennis model for financial statement analysis to assist Yuzuki. The two are aiming for the same university, making future collaboration easier.

"Don't look like that," Jieyue comforted her, rubbing her forehead. "At least we didn't have to pay for the renovations and venue fees."

“That’s right, that’s right,” Asuka said, trying to reassure herself, “Just bear with it and it will pass.”

Risa closed her eyes.

When I opened my eyes again, everything was still black.

Indeed, what's free is often the most expensive.

-

After finishing their business, on the train back to Kanagawa, all three of them seemed to have been drained of all their energy.

The shadows leaned against each other, swaying gently on the seats.

"Are you sure everything's okay?" Risa's gaze darted between her two friends. "The second exam is in three days..."

Yuzuki's goal is the University of Tokyo, where her boyfriend, Mitani Akuto, studies, while Asuka, like Yagyu and Niou, aims for Waseda University. Each is a top-tier, prestigious university, and their entrance exams are incredibly difficult.

"Don't worry, Risa-chan." Asuka pushed up her reflective glasses. "It's also important to relax a bit before the exam."

When they got off the bus, Risa suggested that they go out for a meal together.

"I'm sorry, I have an appointment later," Yuzuki said apologetically, clasping her hands together.

Following her gaze, they saw that Senior Mitsuya was leaning against the ticket gate. After their eyes met, he greeted them.

"Um... I'll be going now!"

Watching the young couple disappear into the crowd, Risa looked at Asuka and said, "So the two of us are left alone..."

"Let's go eat this!" Asuka pointed to the huge advertisement plastered on the platform—[Victory is assured! Exam candidate support package]

-

Inside the restaurant, Asuka was biting on a straw.

"So, Yukimura-sama ultimately chose the Nadal Academy in Spain?"

"Yes, formal enrollment will begin in April."

"So fast?!"

Asuka gasped dramatically, "Then won't you have even fewer chances to meet in the future?"

She rested her chin on her hand and said, "It must be so tiring... dating an athlete."

"It's not so bad, actually." Risa unlocked her phone and opened the calendar that Yukimura had sent her. "He has already discussed the vacation plan with the coach."

Asuka took the phone, and when she saw the schedule marked with different colors, the straw fell into the cup with a "plop".

"Wait a minute! All this in total..." she counted on her fingers, "and we only get to see each other for less than 30 days a year?"

"If you include the time I spent going to see him..."

"But Risa-chan, you're busy too, aren't you?" Asuka's expression turned serious. "Now I'm witnessing that statement for the first time."

"Um?"

Asuka adjusted her glasses and said in a reciting tone, "A brief separation is for a more dazzling reunion in the future."

Risa was amused by her.

“Speaking of which,” Risa blinked, “how are things between you and Feng Jun?”

Asuka suddenly became unnatural.

"More than friends!" she exclaimed, frantically stirring the ice. "We haven't been in touch much during the six months I've been preparing for the exam, but last year on the day of the unified exam, he specially came to wait for me outside the exam hall..."

"Isn't this amazing progress?!"

The two girls smiled at each other, and the glasses clinked together under the light.

"Come, let's toast our dazzling youth."

"To the future!"