Chapter 54 Little Seaweed (Bonus Chapter with Landmine) Having you is my blessing (...
In early July, the weather became even hotter.
After the exam week ended, Risa enjoyed a short break.
The cicadas chirped incessantly outside the window, while the air conditioner inside was set to 26°C.
Sunlight filtered through the sheer curtains, casting dappled patterns on the floor as the curtains swayed gently.
Several newly arrived sample magazines were scattered on the coffee table, the cover featuring a girl with a bright smile. No one would guess that this energetic girl in front of the camera was secretly struggling with final exams and deeply troubled by adolescent anxieties.
Risa sank into the sofa like a lazy cat.
Her right hand dangled over the armrest, her fingertips hooking a can of chilled lemonade. Condensed water droplets slid down the aluminum can, leaving dark stains on the wooden floor.
The final exams that had just ended had drained her energy, and this morning's magazine photoshoot only made things worse. At that moment, she didn't want to move at all, just staring blankly at the ceiling light.
In a daze, the photographer's voice echoed in my ears:
"Risa-chan, make your expression more lively!"
"Yes, just like a real high school student."
(What does "like" a real high school student mean?)
(What am I in their eyes?)
She, Risa Matsuno, is 17 years old, a genuine high school student.
Although she often overlooked this fact at first, recently it seems that others besides her are also selectively forgetting it and treating her directly as an adult.
Risa curled the corners of her lips into a self-deprecating smile.
My hand is numb.
She sat up and tilted her head back to gulp down a large mouthful of lemonade.
The carbon dioxide bubbles burst on her tongue, the intense stimulation bringing her back to her senses.
The phone on the coffee table vibrated and the screen lit up.
Risa glanced at it and saw it was a message from Akito Kurosawa:
[Filming for "Blue Bird" is scheduled to begin on July 25th. The call sheet and revised script have been sent to your email address; please check. The script reading for the lead actors will be held tomorrow at 10:00 AM in Toho Studios' B312 conference room. —Akito Kurosawa]
She stared at the screen for two seconds, then rubbed the water droplets that had condensed on the can.
Logically speaking...
For an amateur actress like her who hasn't even debuted yet, her daily affairs should be handled by her assistant.
This world is never short of geniuses. Even if she has an "extraordinary talent" in acting based on her memories from her past life, it shouldn't be the place for a great director like Akira Kurosawa to personally intervene.
The night she returned from the audition, she made her rejection of Kurosawa Akito's advances and overstepping boundaries very clear. If Yukimura hadn't arrived in time, perhaps everything would have been irreversible.
She expected to face retaliation—being given the cold shoulder, being replaced at the last minute, receiving a contract termination notice, or even being attacked, slandered, or blacklisted.
But nothing happened.
If I had to pinpoint a change, it would be that Akito Kurosawa's attitude became completely indifferent.
All communications strictly adhered to professional standards, with appropriate wording, polite yet distant, as if the transgression that night had never occurred.
Risa shook the can, unable to understand why.
(It doesn't matter, this is for the best.)
For her, acting is just a job; she plays the role well, gets paid according to the contract, and that's it. As for the complex thoughts hidden behind the camera, she neither wants to guess nor bothers to get involved.
Risa picked up her phone and replied: 【Received.】
The sound of a key turning came from the entryway.
"I'm back--"
Kirihara Akaya's voice came along with the sound of a plastic bag rubbing together.
"Risa-nee! I bought salmon rice balls and strawberry daifuku!"
Risa placed her phone face down on the coffee table and smiled at the source of the voice: "Is the makeup exam over?"
"Of course." Kirihara put the convenience store bag on the coffee table, proudly raising his chin. "This time, I'll definitely pass English!"
Risa pulled out a tissue to wipe the sweat from his forehead: "So confident? What about math?"
"Absolutely no problem! The minister and Senior Liu gave me special training!"
Kirihara plopped down on the floor and eagerly tore open the rice ball packaging.
"Senior Liu said if I pass this time, he'll take me to watch a professional player's match..."
Risa paused slightly.
Liu Lian'er is quite doting on the people in his team.
"Risa-nee?" Kirihara asked, his mouth full of rice balls, "What's wrong? You've been spacing out a lot lately?"
"It's nothing." Risa snapped out of her thoughts and picked up a strawberry daifuku. "I was just thinking..."
The doorbell rang immediately.
Kirihara got up to open the door.
"Eh? Yukimura-senpai?"
Risa's fingers trembled, and the strawberry daifuku almost fell to the ground.
Her gaze traveled through the entrance hallway and she saw Yukimura Seiichi standing at the gate, his white shirt billowing slightly in the summer breeze.
He seemed to see her and gave her a slight smile.
The sunlight was too bright. Risa squinted, her heart pounding uncontrollably.
Summer is really...
It's so hot.
-
The cicadas chirped tirelessly.
Summer vacation has finally arrived.
Early in the morning, Risa was woken up by a series of calls from Kirihara Akaya.
"Risa-nee! Help! Someone's going to die!" Kirihara's voice sounded pitiful on the other end of the phone.
Risa instantly snapped out of it: "What's wrong?"
"The homeroom teacher said that although I got a C grade in Chinese and Math, the deviation value was close to a D grade... so I have to attend the summer tutoring class!"
Risa lifted the air-conditioned blanket and sat up straight.
This is a rule of a private high school in Kanagawa. In order to ensure the college entrance examination pass rate, students whose grades are repeatedly rated as D or E must attend summer tutoring classes on campus from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. every day.
This might not affect others much, but for the tennis club, it just happens to overlap with the training schedule for the national tournament.
Risa sighed, rubbing her forehead, and asked helplessly, "So?"
“But the old teacher said…” Kirihara’s voice became eerily bright.
"If a guardian signs the 'Off-Campus Tutoring Commitment Letter' and submits an off-campus tutoring plan, then in-school tutoring can be waived!"
After hearing this, Risa lay down, covered herself with the blanket, and continued to sleep: "You should talk to your aunt about this. What's the point of calling me?"
“When my mom found the make-up exam notice I hid in my tennis bag last week,” came the sound of swallowing on the other end of the line, “she said that if I mess up again this time, she’ll make me quit the tennis club.”
Auntie values Akaya's grades more. She seems to prefer that he go to university and enter the workforce in the future rather than become a professional tennis player.
"Ugh! Mom will definitely not agree to me going to private tutoring outside of school."
Kirihara wailed, "Risa-nee, are you impersonating Akina-nee to come to school?"
Risa: "..."
Akina is a student at Tokyo University and is indeed Akaya's guardian. However, she went on a trip to Europe with her friends last week and won't be back until next week.
This little seaweed is really asking for trouble.
But she heard herself say, "Okay."
Risa hung up the phone and sighed.
She opened the wardrobe, pulled out the light gray shirt and skirt that Qiu Nai had forgotten at home last time, and changed into them.
She looks capable and mature, like a reliable college student guardian. Add to that black-rimmed glasses, adjusted makeup, a low ponytail, and a touch of light lipstick.
"Hmm, that should be enough to fool them..."
She turned around in front of the mirror to make sure she looked "serious and reliable" enough.
-
Half an hour later, at Rikkai University Affiliated High School.
Risa, wearing high heels, walked calmly into the staff office. Kirihara was already waiting at the door, and he froze when he saw her.
"Little seaweed, don't you recognize me?" She lowered her voice, pushed up her glasses, and entered through the door.
Kirihara Akaya blinked. He knew that Risa was a great makeup artist, but he didn't expect that she would actually look somewhat like Akina.
The homeroom teacher was a middle-aged male teacher wearing thin-rimmed glasses. He looked up at her, seemingly without suspicion, and asked in a businesslike manner, "Are you Kirihara-kun's...?"
“I’m his older sister, Kirihara Akina. I’m studying law at the University of Tokyo,” Risa answered smoothly, her voice a few decibels lower than usual. “Our parents are busy with work, so I’m in charge of his tutoring.”
The teacher nodded and handed over a "Commitment Letter for Off-Campus Tutoring" and a "Tutoring Plan".
Risa quickly glanced at it, signed her name in imitation of Akina's handwriting, and filled in the schedule according to the "tutoring class" that Kirihara had prepared in advance.
"Thank you for your help." She smiled and handed back the documents, feeling relieved.
(Plan successful!)
Her acting skills are indeed impeccable.
-
Risa and Akaya walked out of the staff office.
Akaya clenched his fist excitedly: "I did it! Risa-nee, you're my savior! I'll treat you to the Sakurai family's super deluxe pork cutlet lunch at noon."
Risa pushed up her glasses: "Come on, remember what you promised me... huh?"
Before she could finish speaking, she suddenly felt a chill down her spine.
A shadow loomed over.
"Sister Qiu Nai?"
That deep baritone voice sounded like the headmaster appearing at a truancy scene.
Risa and Akaya both had their neck hairs stand on end.
The two turned their heads mechanically, their movements as synchronized as robots back to factory default settings.
Genichiro Sanada stood at the corner of the corridor, arms crossed. His gaze was fixed on Risa's face, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper.
Akaya's voice even changed tone: "Good morning, Vice Minister..."
Risa nudged him with her elbow: "Didn't you say he went to the kendo dojo today?"
Akaya was almost in tears: "That's what he said last week."
Sanada approached step by step: "Didn't Akashi say you were traveling in Europe?"
Risa's brain raced: "Ahaha, right, because Venice was flooded, and St. Mark's Square was submerged."
Akaya covered his mouth in horror: "Risa-nee... Akina-nee went to Switzerland."
The air suddenly became quiet.
Sanada's eyes turned dangerous.
Risa forced herself to continue fabricating: "I meant... the snow-capped mountains of Switzerland! An avalanche! I had to change my flight back at the last minute!"
Sanada sneered: "Matsuno Risa."
Risa struggled desperately: "Sanada-kun, you've mistaken me for someone else. I really am Kirihara Akina."
Sanada took out his phone: "Should I make a video call to Akina-nee now to confirm?"
A bead of cold sweat slid down Chi Ye's forehead and landed on the floor with a thud.
Risa grabbed the seaweed and ran, yelling, "Akaya! The house is on fire! Run!"
Akaya looked completely bewildered: "Huh? The house is on fire?"
Sanada roared, "Too lax! Stop!"
Risa wasn't about to listen obediently; she grabbed Akaya and ran even faster.
The high heels scraped against the floor, making a series of rapid sounds in the hallway.
Akaya shouted as he ran, "Risa-nee, the emergency exit is on the other side..."
Risa slammed on the brakes: "Why didn't you say so sooner—ah!"
With a crisp "click," Risa came to a bizarre stop at the top of the stairs, kneeling on one knee with her expression contorted in a grimace.
"Risa-nee..."
Akaya came up to her, knelt down, and asked, "Did you twist your ankle?"
"Matsuno Risa!"
Sanada strode after him, his face grim: "What are you doing? Impersonating a guardian, forging signatures, disrupting school order..."
Risa gasped in pain. Biting her lip, she was trying to figure out how to get through this when a gentle voice broke in:
"Sanada."
The three of them turned their heads at the same time—
Yukimura Seiichi leaned against the classroom door, his left arm crossed over his chest, his right hand supporting his chin, a faint smile playing on his lips.
"Who is this...?"
His voice was gentle, yet it sent a chill down Risa's spine.
That's it. You can dodge the first day of the month, but you can't dodge the fifteenth.
Risa stood frozen in place, wishing she could dig a hole in the ground and disappear right then and there.
Is this what they mean by "when it rains, it pours"?
"It really is Matsuno-kun."
Yukimura walked slowly to her, knelt on one knee, and performed a graceful salute, as if he were performing some kind of chivalrous gesture—if one ignored the playful glint in his eyes.
"A sprained ankle?"
His gaze slowly moved up from her swollen ankle, finally settling on her trembling eyelashes.
How could you be so careless?
Risa: "......"
(...Is this person gloating? Absolutely gloating!)
Kirihara Akaya, standing to the side, widened his eyes: "-Captain?! When did you...?"
“I’ve been listening to it since ‘Venice Floods’.” His smile deepened, his gaze still fixed on her. “Can we still go?”
Risa nodded reluctantly.
"Go to the infirmary and apply an ice pack."
He reached out and supported her arm, smiling as he helped her up, but deliberately didn't exert any force, letting her stagger and lean into his arms.
Risa: ? ?
(...Did he do it on purpose?!)
Sanada frowned and stepped forward: "Yukimura, she is—"
"You can ask for the reason later."
Yukimura interrupted him lightly, his voice still gentle, yet carrying a hint of authority:
"Now, she is injured."
Risa lowered her head, letting Yukimura help her downstairs, her mind filled with only one thought:
—Little seaweed, having you is truly my blessing.
Another free kill for the tennis team.
Why does Yukimura always appear on time whenever she is in trouble?
Did she trigger some kind of pre-defined plot?
Or is it...?
As a reincarnated person, she actually possesses a system and cheat abilities, right? They just haven't awakened yet?
-----------------------
Author's Note: Friday, finally here! (Hugging a leg)
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, there will be an extra chapter tomorrow!
I'm finally going to start writing the romance scenes! I'm so impatient!!
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Who remembers when I started writing this novel I said I planned to write 200,000 words? [laughing and crying with face covered] I will definitely finish writing the detailed outline before starting the next novel.
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