Chapter 75 To Risa: Next year on this day, let's go to the flower season together, as lovers...
Click—
The sound of the entryway door opening and closing came from inside.
Risa was on tenterhooks, holding her breath.
Yukimura obviously heard it too.
He paused, his purple eyes narrowed, and he listened intently to the sounds coming from downstairs.
"I'm back--!"
My younger sister's clear voice came from the first floor.
Then came the mother's gentle reminder: "Keep your voice down, your brother might be resting."
Footsteps approached the stairs downstairs.
Risa's heart was pounding so hard it felt like it would burst out of her chest. She instinctively took a step back, her back pressed against Yukimura's chest.
"!"
She froze, even her breathing became extremely soft, as if afraid of making the slightest sound.
Seeing her nervous expression, Yukimura's lips curled up almost imperceptibly. He pointed to the room on the fourth floor, put his fingertip to his lips, and made a "shh" gesture to her.
Risa understood, and the two of them stayed close to the inside of the spiral staircase, tiptoeing upstairs.
"Brother—are you there?"
From down the stairs came my younger sister's energetic voice, accompanied by the sound of her climbing the stairs.
There are only two rooms on the fourth floor, in addition to a large terrace. The terrace is planted with various flowers.
My sister's voice was getting closer and closer.
Countless excuses flashed through Risa's mind. Who was she? Why was she here?
Yukimura, however, remained remarkably calm.
He raised his hand, his thumb touching the smart door lock, and the door opened a crack, gesturing for her to hide inside.
Risa bit her lip and quickly slipped into the room.
As soon as she closed the door a crack, she heard footsteps thumping outside.
I reflexively took a step back, my back hitting the bookshelf, and in my panic, I knocked over the sketchbook that was leaning out of the bookshelf.
With a clatter, the papers scattered all over the floor.
Oh no!
Risa stood frozen in place, not daring to breathe.
A girl's clear voice came from outside the door: "Brother? You're home?"
"Yes, I just got back not long ago."
Yukimura's voice was gentle and composed.
—This masterful liar!
Risa bit her lip, listening intently to the sounds outside the door while frantically squatting down to pick up the scattered sketch papers.
My fingertips paused abruptly when I caught a glimpse of the contents on the paper—
It's all her.
Her profile as she looked down at a book while waiting for Akaya outside the tennis club.
Her silhouette as she stood under the cherry blossom tree, holding an umbrella.
The way she shone on stage
There are even more...
She was curled up asleep on the sofa.
Her eyelashes drooped, and the corners of her lips were slightly upturned, as if she were having a beautiful dream.
Each photo had a date marked in the corner, the earliest one being from the day they first met in front of the train station. She stood in the crowd, her eyes lost, like a lost soul.
Risa's heart skipped a beat.
When did he... draw so many?
Outside the door, Yukimura's mother's voice could be faintly heard: "Seiichi, what do you want for dinner? Dad asked me to buy some fresh salmon..."
"Either is fine, you decide," Yukimura replied gently.
His steady voice carried a hint of tension.
Risa couldn't help but look up towards the door.
Is he... nervous?
The thought had barely crossed Risa's mind when she heard Yukimura's sister suddenly exclaim, "Huh? Brother, why are your ears so red? Do you have a fever?"
"......"
Risa covered her mouth, her shoulders shaking.
Well done, sister!
Outside the door, Yukimura coughed lightly, his tone calm: "I'm probably a little hot from exercising."
Lies!
Risa glared at the door, embarrassed and annoyed, wishing she could glare a hole through it. Just now...
Her gaze unconsciously fell back to the sketches, her fingertips tracing the paper, her heart beating faster and faster.
He kept looking at her.
This realization made Risa's heart race for no apparent reason.
But when you think about it carefully, it's actually quite terrifying.
Risa tidied up the sketches, and when she stood up, her knees felt weak.
She stepped back against the wall and gazed out the window.
The distant horizon was cloudless and a clear, deep blue.
Are they... in a relationship right now?
She thought to herself, lost in thought.
In her previous 25 years of life, she was either in the hospital or on film sets, working non-stop. She had never experienced a relationship like this before.
The countless roles she has played have never involved romance, making them completely irrelevant as examples.
Yukimura's image appeared before her eyes. He was leaning back on the sofa, his collar loosely open, his gaze lingering on her.
Risa lowered her eyes, staring at her fingertips. She had almost lost control and attacked him.
"This is insane..."
She buried her face in her knees and suddenly felt that the adult soul inside her was terrifying.
Risa took a deep breath.
When I came to my senses, there was no sound outside the door.
She put the sketchbook back on the bookshelf, picked up the photo album, and went to the sofa by the window. She sat cross-legged on the carpet in front of the sofa.
The photo album rested on my lap.
Open the cover from front to back.
The first photo caught my eye unexpectedly.
These are close-ups of them experiencing flower pressing in the workshop.
Sunlight streams through the glass dome of the workshop.
Gold flows, light and shadow intertwine.
The boy leaned forward and gently wrapped his arms around the girl from behind.
His white shirt was rolled up, and his well-defined knuckles covered hers, their fingertips overlapping.
The girl lowered her eyes, her gaze falling on the aluminum plate, her ear tips slightly red.
The boy's gaze lingered on the girl's profile.
They were so close, like lovers.
There are also many photos taken in the sunflower field:
The moment the girl turned around amidst the sunflowers; the sunlight filtering through their intertwined fingers as they held hands; her pouty expression when he rubbed a flower against her cheek...
The last picture is of her profile as she sleeps, leaning on his shoulder on the tram.
At the edge of the photo, his fingers are twirling the ends of her hair.
The last photo is a picture of the two of them in a field of flowers.
Behind the photo were words that Risa had inadvertently seen, words that pierced her heart, elegant and powerful:
To Risa:
You said my world is like a silent snowfall.
Pure yet not to be ignored
But your appearance
It taught me what destiny is.
It was the weeping cherry blossoms that suddenly bloomed on an April morning.
When you call my name
The rhythm that the heartbeat missed
Next year today
Willing to be in the name of lovers
Let's go to this flowering season together
——Yukimura Seiichi"
Risa closed the photo album and hugged it tightly to her chest.
My cheeks were burning hot as I pressed them against the cool back of my hand.
"This person... is just too unfair..."
She murmured softly, clutching the photo album as she collapsed onto the carpet, her gaze fixed on a point in the void.
A strange throbbing in her chest, like the gushing water of a stream after the first snow melts, surged joyfully, swallowing up the rationality she was so proud of, the rationality that an adult soul should possess.
Despite having broken all rules and constraints, she is still agonizing over time and age. Yukimura was right; she is using the shackles of her past life to imprison her present self, trapping herself in her own web.
"bite--"
My phone suddenly beeped with a notification sound.
It was a message from Yukimura:
Are you bored in your room?
Risa's fingertips hovered above the screen, trembling slightly.
In the end, I only replied with a simple message:
"Won't."
The other party replied instantly:
"Mom and my sister are coming back to get some things, and they'll be heading out soon."
"besides......"
"[Image] (An electronic notepad filled with numbers)"
The moment Risa clicked on the picture, her breath caught in her throat.
She bit her lip, her fingertips hovering over the keyboard for a long time, asking a question she already knew the answer to:
"What...what are you doing?"
After sending the message, he immediately threw his phone onto the sofa, as if he had thrown away a hot potato.
But less than three seconds later, she couldn't help but reach out and grab the phone back, curling up into a small ball and staring intently at the screen.
"bite--"
Her phone suddenly vibrated, startling her so much that she almost dropped it on the carpet.
She caught it in a fluster, her cheeks flushing slightly.
"I will strictly abide by Risa's rules."
"but......"
"Until then, can we charge a little interest every day?"
What... interest...?
Risa muttered to herself, her ears burning with desire.
She curled her toes before replying, blushing.
"...What is interest?"
After sending the message, she pressed her phone to her chest, curling up into a ball. Her heart was pounding uncontrollably, as if a little deer was thrashing wildly inside her chest, making her want to scream.
Soon, the phone vibrated again.
Risa took a deep breath and secretly peeked at the screen with one eye—
"for example......"
Smile at me more each day.
"Let me hold your hand a little longer."
"Can I hug you just once in a while...?"
It ended with a pitiful puppy emoji.
Risa chuckled, and the image of Yukimura, usually so imposing on the court, now appearing like a spoiled puppy flashed before her eyes.
She unconsciously curled the corners of her lips into a smile, her fingertips lightly tapping on the screen:
"...You can only choose one."
"What am I saying...?"
She kicked her leg in embarrassment and annoyance, "This is just like..."
Grab a leather cushion and hug it to your chest, pressing your burning cheeks against the cool cushion to cool them down.
A reply came within seconds:
"Let's choose the first one today."
"Choose the second one tomorrow"
"Choose the third one the day after tomorrow"
"Isn't that fair?"
It was followed by a sly wink emoji.
Risa couldn't help but laugh out loud, burying her face even deeper into the pillow. Her hair fell down, revealing her bright red ears.
She typed softly:
"cunning......"
"but......"
"...Okay, that works too."
After posting this, she held her phone in both hands, lay down on the carpet, and stared at the ceiling, grinning foolishly.
Is this what love is?
My heart felt like it was being soaked in a carbonated drink, bubbling and releasing sweet bubbles. It was also like a scene that had been reshot countless times; the director yelled "Cut," but I just couldn't bring myself to look at myself properly.
This feeling of wanting to hide in one's shell, yet unable to resist peeking out; this contradictory feeling of being shy and wanting to run away, yet still hoping he will continue to push his luck...
This is probably what love is.
Risa rolled half a circle on the carpet, holding her phone, her hair scattered across the light-colored carpet like blooming flowers.
Reason tells me to "stop now" and "it's too childish," but my heart is pounding and I can't suppress the smile on my face.
Despite having the soul of an adult, she acted as innocently as a primary school student receiving a love letter for the first time. She nervously hid it, but couldn't resist taking it out again a while later, stealing a glance, and then another.
The phone screen lit up and then dimmed.
Unlock, gaze, lock screen.
This action has been repeated countless times.
Every time my fingertips swipe across that chat history, my heart skips a beat.
She bit her lower lip, but couldn't suppress the upturn of her lips.
And the smile that spread across his eyes.
"Waaah..."
Risa clutched her phone tightly to her chest, biting her lower lip as she rolled around on the carpet like a cat that had stolen a dried fish.
"Are you that happy?"
A familiar voice suddenly came from the doorway, carrying a teasing tone that she knew all too well.
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