4 04

◎これはなんですか? ◎

04

Today is the last day of final exams.

Finally, after handing in her last exam paper and leaving school, Ruoyi heard the chirping of cicadas.

Normally, she would go home with Hinata Natsu, who was in the same class and club, every day after school. But Natsu had to go to club activities, so she had to go home alone first.

"After all, Xia-chan is going to be making a personal appearance at next month's tournament..." Ruoyi murmured softly.

Now, the cast on her foot has long been removed, and she can walk without crutches. She just still walks with a slight limp.

I bought an ice cream at the convenience store, ate it in a few bites, and put the stick back in the bag to throw away. Just as I was about to throw it in the trash can, I accidentally touched the crumpled piece of paper in my school uniform pocket.

[Retired from the Ministry. 】

"..." Sure enough, there's no point in staying in the volleyball club now.

If you're just sitting in a corner of the playground under the blazing sun, watching others play around, you might as well stay home, enjoy the air conditioning, and watch anime!

With that thought in mind, she crumpled the ice cream wrapper into a ball, threw it into the combustible waste bin, and went home.

Originally, both of Ruoyi's parents worked. But after her accident, her father applied for working from home, which made it easier for him to take care of Ruoyi while working.

When I got home, the aroma of cream cake immediately filled my nostrils.

"Ruoyi's back? Dad just learned how to make a cream cake, would you like to try some?" Dad, wearing an apron, came out of the kitchen.

Kawakami Wakana's ahoge (antenna-like hair sticking up) immediately perked up: "Cake? That's great! Thank you, Dad!"

In the very center of the kitchen sat a large, round slice of cream cake. As always, Ruoyi cut off a piece for herself and, while eating, began to talk about school.

"Speaking of which, Dad, you have no idea how outrageous this final exam was! One of the social studies questions was about commemorative stamps from five different countries, and we had to analyze their meaning in the context of their respective eras. The last one was a stamp from China last year, depicting a mother monkey holding two baby monkeys, with the baby monkeys holding letters."

"Last year was the Year of the Monkey, and monkeys are a good thing. I think the big monkey and the little monkey symbolize that letters can become the key to connecting family ties."

At this point, Ruoyi became a little sullen: "The answer is that two monkeys mean that they can have a second child!"

"..."

While eating cake, Kawakami Wakana continued to complain about the absurd questions on the exam, but as she talked, she realized that her father was not responding to her or eating cake; he was just listening attentively.

“Ruoyi…” The man sniffed and said, “I took your medical records to a more authoritative plastic surgeon. I’m sorry, but their answer was also that they don’t recommend you do long-term strenuous work in the future.”

"..."

"It's okay." She smiled gently.

"Being an Olympic athlete is too stressful. I'd like to take this opportunity to find a more down-to-earth goal."

Dad just nodded, then raised his hand and patted her head.

"Oh, by the way, to celebrate Ruoyi's good exam results, Dad bought you a gift."

What was handed to Kawakami Wakai was a new cell phone.

"Thank you, Dad!" The little girl smiled gently, finished the rest of the cake in a few bites, and walked to her room with her phone.

"By the way, Dad, the cake was delicious!"

…………

The old phone had already been destroyed in the car accident. So, the first thing Kawakami Wakana had to do after returning to her room was manually download the necessary software.

But unexpectedly...

She had just unlocked her new phone when the first thing she saw was the green icon of "Jinjiang".

Kawakami Ruoyi: "...?"

Has "Jinjiang" become so frequently used that it's become a pre-installed app on mobile phones?

Although she had some doubts, Ruoyi didn't think too much about it. She silently logged into her account and then opened the chat history with "Russians".

After being discharged from the hospital, she'll soon be taking her exams. Plus, she returned Hinata Shoyo's phone to Natsumi, and it's been over a week since she last chatted with the Lucia people about movies.

[Meow: I've finally finished my exams!]

[Meow: Is summer vacation started where you are?]

The other party didn't reply immediately, so Kawakami Wakana exited the app and downloaded the necessary software on her new phone. Just as everything was settled, a new message notification popped up.

[A kind-hearted Lucia: Exams will be over in June.]

"...?"

Kawakami Wakana refused to give up: [So, do you guys start school relatively early too? Like, in early August?]

The other party replied: 【School starts on September 1st.】

"..."

No wonder he was replying so quickly even on weekdays recently!

It seems they've already been on holiday for a while.

What should I do if I suddenly smell a Versailles-like aroma?

Just then, the Lucias sent her a new message, asking how her exam went.

"It was alright..." Ruoyi thought for a moment, "I performed as expected. I got 45 in English. Although it wasn't a passing grade, it was much better than last time."

But then again, did the teacher really not mark this question wrong?

As he spoke, he indignantly pulled out an English test paper from his bag, took a picture of one of the big questions, and showed it to the other person.

On the other end of the phone, Fedor opened the picture and zoomed in to take a closer look—

The question requires translating a Japanese interrogative sentence into English and answering based on the picture.

The image marked by Kawakami Wakai is a picture of Indian naan bread.

Question: これはなん（nan）ですか（What is this）?

The translation of Kawakami Wakai is: Is it nan?

Answer: Yes, it is.

Fyodor: "..."

The meaning of なん should be "what" rather than 饢饼 (nabi).

Seeing that the other party had fallen silent, Kawakami Wakana was no longer in a hurry.

If even her friend Lucia, who speaks excellent English, remained silent, then perhaps there really is something wrong with the question.

So she tried her best to be understanding and not take it to heart. But then, her father said that Hinata Natsumi's phone call had come to the home phone.

She said the conference would be held before August 7.

"Ruoyi-chan, are you going to watch the game?" At this time, Hinata Natsu was unaware of Ruoyi's true condition. She thought that her friend had only been absent from the club because her leg injury had not fully recovered.

“Number 7…” Ruoyi paused for a moment, then smiled. “I’m sorry, my parents are planning to take me to visit several schools this summer and next. They’re going to Tokyo on the 10th, so I probably won’t be able to go.”

"Huh? What a pity—!"

The days when the chirping of the translucent-winged cicadas outside the window begins to grow louder signal the arrival of midsummer.

Originally, Kawakami Wakana had always kept her hair short for ease of movement. But since the car accident, she hasn't cut her hair again, and now it has grown into shoulder-length hair.

On the 7th, she got up very early. She simply tied her hair into a small braid and smashed the piggy bank. During this time, Ruoyi had been saving some of her New Year's money every year, and the savings were enough to buy a round-trip Shinkansen ticket from Sendai to Shinagawa, Tokyo.

Actually, Ruoyi had no particular reason for going to Tokyo. But for some inexplicable reason, she still secretly took a bag of cheese bread and milk and went out.

Come to think of it, the last time I went to Tokyo was when I was in elementary school.

It was noon when the Shinkansen arrived at the station. Wakai, carrying her little backpack, bought a map of Tokyo, found a ramen shop, and ate her ramen while looking at the map.

However, Tokyo, as the capital, is considerably larger than Sendai, a small city. Kawakami Wakana felt dizzy after only a few glances. In the end, she simply stopped thinking about it and went wherever Tokyo came to mind.

A few minutes later, she appeared on the pedestrian staircase of Tokyo Tower.

She didn't know how long she walked on those stairs, until the pedestrians and the surrounding traffic all looked like tiny ants, before she finally stopped.

At this time, Xia-chan should have already started the second half of the competition, right...?

Ruoyi took a sip of mineral water and thought to herself.

However--

Just as she was about to put the water back in her bag, she suddenly saw—

A boy dressed in black, with his left eye bandaged, was standing in front of the stair railing, and he seemed to be...

He'll jump off here in the next second.

Kawakami Wakai:! !

…………

Kawakami Wakana was somewhat stunned.

Although she often complained to her classmates that she "wanted to jump off the Tokyo Tower" when she failed an exam, was lectured by her parents, or had too much homework, this was the first time she had actually seen someone jump off the tower.

and……

Because of the hot weather today, most people took the elevator to the observation tower and then went down, so there were only a few people on the stairs, especially at her height, where there were hardly any people to be seen.

This means that she is the only one who can save this bandaged spirit who looks about the same age as her, or even a little younger.

"..."

Ruoyi had no choice but to rip off the bandage on her clothes, and the two of them fell heavily to the ground.

The other person blinked their iris-colored eyes and looked at her with some curiosity.

"emmm..."

This was the first time Kawakami Wakana had encountered something like this, and for a moment she didn't know what to say. After hesitating for a long time, she awkwardly began to speak;

"I don't know if you bombed your exam, argued with your parents, or got dumped by the girl you like, but...but..."

"...She didn't even know what to say."

"What," the bandaged boy blinked, "you...want to know my story?"

"It's not as complicated as you think. I didn't fail the exam, I didn't argue with my family, and I wasn't dumped," he laughed a few times, seemingly carefree. "It's just my daily hobby."

"—But you, are you alright? I always feel like you're the kind of person who's more likely to just disappear than I am."

"..."

[Author's Note]

In Japanese, both "shin" and "namo" are pronounced as "namo" ww