Chapter 16

The day we agreed to watch Phantom together, the temperature dropped considerably. Kanagawa, which had only been warm for two days, reverted to its wintery state. A sea breeze blew, and the chill seemed to turn into a layer of gray mist. I shivered, rubbed my nose, reached out and closed the balcony door tightly, then turned around and took a thick cashmere scarf from the closet, wrapping myself up tightly except for my eyes.

Actually, this is the scarf I forgot to bring with me when I left the country. My mom knows I'm afraid of the cold and reminded me twice, but I was too busy with the jar of dried plums in my hand, so I asked for Tezuka's scarf as soon as I landed and kept it until I returned home.

The night before, Liu Sheng and I planned to leave early and meet at the tram stop. Considering the performance time, we planned to have a simple dinner near the theater. I also remembered that there was a very nice Italian restaurant there. I had seen a recommendation for their mushroom risotto in a magazine last time, and I really wanted to try it.

When I got to the station, Yagyu hadn't arrived yet. I glanced at the time and saw that it was still eight minutes before the agreed time. I was early, but this gentleman usually arrives at least fifteen minutes early and pretends that he hasn't been waiting for long so that others don't feel uncomfortable. It's rare for him to do this today.

So I turned on my phone to continue working on the second half of the Sudoku puzzle that Niou had sent me that afternoon. I was struggling with the blank spaces that I couldn't fill in when I heard Yagyu's voice.

"Sorry I'm late."

He ran over, carrying a paper bag. A dark blue Cayenne was parked not far behind him, with Yagyu's mother in the driver's seat. She rolled down the window and waved to me. Before I could return the gesture, my younger sister in the back seat leaned out and called out, "Goodbye, Sanae-neechan!"

I bowed slightly to greet the aunt and said goodbye. I put my hand on Liu Sheng's shoulder and said with a smile, "The last time I saw the aunt personally drive you was when you were in the first year of middle school, young master Liu Sheng."

Seeing my expression, Liu Sheng could only helplessly press his temples and not respond to my words.

What else could he explain? There are very few people or things in this world that can bother him. It's just that his sister is bothering him, or his aunt is asking him to do something he doesn't really want to do. So I smiled again and walked towards the gate.

Not many people boarded at this stop, and the platform looked a bit deserted. As evening approached and the sky darkened, I put my hands in my cotton-padded coat pockets and walked into the tram with my head down. Standing next to me was Liu Sheng, who was only wearing a dark camel-colored woolen coat. In the reflection of the glass, I looked like I was submerged in the thick cotton-padded coat, while he looked like a handsome high school boy with a shiny face and a good figure.

We seem like two people from different worlds. No, he's just a high school student. Let me remove the qualifier.

"What are you daydreaming about?" Liu Sheng waved his hand in front of my eyes.

"I was thinking I should change my clothes before going out," I straightened up and stretched my neck as much as possible. "I'm dressed like a servant of young master Yagyu."

When I called him "Young Master" again, he smiled, took my hand, and linked it with his arm, saying, "Does this still look like it, Miss Okada?"

"Like," I nodded, "like you supporting your grandmother."

"You're overthinking it. Our Lady Yagyu only wears Kaga kimono." Yagyu exposed me, showing no gentlemanly manners whatsoever.

I immediately smiled, pinched his forearm hard through his coat, and he winced in pain, taking a half-step to the right before turning to look at me. He continued, "Wouldn't it be better if we looked like Hiroshi and Sanae?"

The tram arrived at the station just as he finished speaking. I patted him on the back and said, "Isn't that obvious?" I had no idea what he was trying to say, or perhaps he didn't mean anything by it.

Having done my research beforehand, I quickly found the Italian restaurant. Seeing that it was packed with people from afar, I started to panic. If I had to wait in line, I might miss the start of the show.

Liu Sheng gave me a reassuring look, because as soon as we entered the restaurant, a waiter led us to our reserved table, which was furthest from the door and next to the window, where we could see the colorful lights of the square across the street.

"I really want to compliment you, but I've decided to hold back for now," I said to him after ordering.

"No, please, have more, don't be shy." Liu Sheng's cheeky tone was just like the one I used to reply to his email.

"Then I'd rather hear your praise." So I took out the velvet pouch containing the fountain pen. I gave him a set of reprinted books before because I owed him a coat. As for why I bought this fountain pen, I just wanted to see his surprised look. I'm a very superficial person. If Yagyu could exclaim "Wow!" in front of me, I would definitely take a picture and send it to Niou to enjoy together.

As a result, no one exclaimed, because at the same time I gave him the gift, I also took the paper bag he gave me, glanced down at what was inside, and couldn't help but frown.

Let me be silent for a moment, and then deal with this situation later.

First of all, I must say that the Christmas gift that Yagyu gave me was just too perfect, so perfect that I don't know what to say. It's like someone handing you a handkerchief after you sneeze. It's so unoriginal and seems a bit perfunctory.

Those were shoes, a pair of running shoes that I'd been talking about since autumn and into winter.

In the end, I could only calmly express my gratitude and then skip the topic of New Year's gifts.

Even after the entire play was over, Christine's singing still lingered in my ears. Yagyu walked me to my doorstep, and before leaving, he held up the pen and said to me, "I really like it."

"I'm glad you like it!" I waved and turned around. The moment I reached out to turn on the room light, I realized that I was actually disappointed. This was the feeling I had, but it was so illogical. I had absolutely no reason to expect anything from Yagyu. All I expected was that Yagyu would show another side of himself because of my gift.

The next day, I changed into those new shoes for my run. I jumped in place a couple of times and then ran a few steps. The shoes were indeed very good. I thought to myself that the two expectations I had been struggling with yesterday were not much different. I had just complicated a simple problem.

Yagyu may have made the same mistake. He really thought that he would give the gift he couldn't give in the summer and say the words he couldn't say during this meeting. However, he hesitated until just before leaving the house. He left the velvet box containing the necklace in the drawer, and when he saw his mother about to leave, he hurriedly got into the car and asked her to take a detour to the running shoe store before going to the station.

Timing is crucial in doing things, but there's no standard answer to when the best time is. However, at that time, Yagyu Hiroshi always felt that the next opportunity would be the best time.

This is my last semester of high school. Right after the start of the semester, I started receiving good news from the seniors in the judo club about their college admissions. The judo club at Rikkai University High School has sent many talented students to various universities and teams in previous years. The club president was the first to receive her acceptance letter. She happily brought over two dozen cans of soda from the canteen and gave one to each of us juniors. She also told me that the third-year student I had eliminated in the competition had performed very well in the selection trials and was now preparing to join the national team.

I was probably the only main player in the club who didn't focus on this sport for college entrance exams. I used to feel like I was standing outside a glass window watching them. Whether it was the seniors in the club or Tezuka, they all chose completely different paths in life than me. But on the other hand, does that mean that I, who insisted on going to college step by step, had already paved the way for myself? All those freedoms that seemed like "I had a choice" were probably another kind of "I had no choice" for me.

Tezuka mistakenly believed that it was his choice that pushed him into this situation, but he didn't realize that he just wanted to make the most appropriate choice.

Perhaps I like it, perhaps I don't; what Master says may be right or wrong.

After returning from Germany, I gradually began to feel that none of this mattered. Perhaps I just couldn't find a dream that I could fight for my whole life. What I wanted was the thrill of victory. The satisfaction that a judo champion and first place in the school year brought me was the same. What I wanted was the fun of solving puzzles. The opportunities that mystery novels, Sudoku, and succeeding Tezuka Kuniichi could bring me were the same.

As an ordinary person who is not particularly noble, I have always believed that my current status is not unrelated to vanity. There must be easier ways to obtain those pleasures and joys, but I must choose the most difficult path.

My master, Tezuka, and I all said, "You can't negotiate with the world by just patting someone on the shoulder; people only listen to voices from above."

As the graduation ceremony in March approached, I listened to the speech of a senior who was about to leave Rikkai University. Her eyes shone brightly, her gaze went over everyone's heads, and she spoke each word with strength, making a firm promise to the future.

Just then, Yagyu gently nudged my elbow and whispered in my ear, "Have you picked up the flowers prepared for you, senpai?"

This sentence pulled me back from my reverie, and I immediately replied, "Katagura picked it up on her way this morning and left it in her office. I was thinking that the president would be going back to the student council to chat with everyone again, so I was planning to give it to her then."

I breathed a sigh of relief and stopped thinking about what my seniors and master had said, because I realized that I might have complicated a simple problem again.

After the morning ceremony, Liu Sheng and I walked towards the student council.

"After the subject selection this year, we will be divided into separate classes. I secretly looked at the class assignment list in the teachers' office yesterday. You know, Niou and I are indispensable in the sciences. Sanada is determined to study law and dedicate himself to justice, so he and Yanagi are both in the humanities preparatory class. But I didn't see your name. Didn't you choose humanities?" I asked him.

"No, I'm in a preparatory class for studying abroad," Yagyu replied casually. "Yukimura is too."

"Going abroad?" I was slightly surprised but not unexpected. "I thought you were going to join me and Niou in the national team. You've betrayed the revolution, my comrade."

"Sorry, I have a mine to inherit," Liu Sheng said jokingly.

"Young Master, how rude of you!" So I glanced at him, and then, no, gently, patted his back hard.

We joked and played around all the way to the office door. He pushed the door open first, and I followed behind. Looking at Liu Sheng's back, I vaguely saw a fork in the road.