Chapter 385: Kimono Girl's Confession (asking for monthly ticket)
On August 23, after being woken up by Yan Molin, Xia Pingzhou was no longer sleepy.
In the dim light, he looked up at the clock on the wall. It was already early morning and almost sunrise.
Xia Pingzhou breathed a sigh of relief and rubbed his forehead with his hand. He was no longer in the mood to sleep, but he still walked silently towards the bar's private room.
Although he had tried to be as restrained as possible, even cautious, when turning the doorknob, the moment he opened the door, the kimono-clad girl on the bed was still awakened and slowly opened her eyes.
In the darkness, Ayase Origami stared at him quietly for a while, as if she was looking at a kitten that suddenly slipped out of the house in the middle of the night.
Xia Pingzhou raised his eyebrows and had no choice but to stop at the door as if he was being punished.
He suddenly recalled that when they were still in the attic in Tokyo, he had promised her not to run around while she was asleep.
After all, this young lady who came from a mafia family seemed to be prone to nightmares.
She often dreamed of being strangled by her father and of her father's grimacing face when he was torturing people, so she felt particularly at ease when she saw him when she woke up.
When Ji Minghuan was a child, he read a book in the library and saw that the happiness of childhood can heal a person's life, so the shadow of childhood will naturally be like a maggot attached to the bones.
In fact, Ji Minghuan often dreamed of that rainy night. He dreamed that he was locked in a closet, with heavy rain outside the window and the wind and rain making the window bang.
At that time, he was curled up in a cramped darkness, with piles of clothes beside him. The clothes surrounded him like a chrysalis, making it difficult for him to breathe.
He thought about it now. When he was first sent to the orphanage, the reason why he liked to lock himself in the bathroom and wrap himself with rolls of paper towels like a white cocoon might be due to his past experiences.
As fate would have it, this habit of his in childhood was photographed by the nurse at the welfare home, causing the tutor to suspect the relationship between him and Hei Pupa.
But thinking from another perspective, perhaps the birth of the black pupa is also related to his subconscious. After all, the emergence of every superpower is closely related to the growth experience of the superpower user.
Sometimes he likes to sleep on rainy days, and sometimes he doesn't like it, because when he sleeps on rainy days, he is always afraid and uneasy, while at the same time looking forward to his parents coming back to find him.
So every time it rained, Ji Minghuan always felt like he had become the child locked in the closet again, although he was also a child.
But in that attic in Tokyo, there were many nights of heavy rain. Every time he opened his eyes, he would see pieces of white paper covering the gaps in the window, blocking out the whistling wind and rain.
Then he looked up and saw the girl in a kimono sleeping quietly in bed, a ray of moonlight falling on her plain face. Her breathing was very even and smooth as a doll's, almost drowning out the last sound of the rain.
Although he was an unreasonable person, for some reason she noticed that he was afraid of the sound of rain. One time, he woke up from a dream and suddenly saw the girl's dark and gorgeous eyes, staring at him quietly.
Amid the rustling sound of rain, the two looked at each other silently in the quiet attic. At that moment, it seemed as if the wind and rain had stopped. Ji Minghuan was stunned for a very long time.
But this relationship will soon end. When the countdown is over in a few days, he will kill Jack the Ripper with his own hands and become an out-and-out traitor in Ayase Origami's eyes.
For some reason, he felt a little reluctant.
Xia Pingzhou actually knew that Ayase Origami was not a puppet without dignity; he knew very well that she would not follow him away knowing that she was being betrayed and used.
But he still repeatedly sought the answer from Restricted 1001. Although he got the same response every time, she would not leave with him, she would stay here.
His thoughts were wandering, and Xia Pingzhou raised his eyes silently. The girl in kimono was still just looking at him quietly in the darkness, without saying a word.
Her eyes were as empty as a doll's, but when she looked at him, she was like a little black cat lurking in the dark.
Xia Pingzhou silently closed the door of the private room, blocking out the only source of light.
In the dim light, he originally wanted to get away with it, lying down on the sofa and closing his eyes, like an old monk in meditation, leaving his worries behind and going to sleep, but Ayase Origami's eyes were always staring at him.
So he sat down on the edge of the bed, leaning his back against the wall and took a breath.
"It's all the Ripper's fault. She just woke me up suddenly and asked me to chat with her in the middle of the night, and told me not to wake you up." Xia Pingzhou said.
"Jack said that?"
"Yeah." Xia Pingzhou said expressionlessly, "Don't worry, I'll assassinate her tomorrow."
Just as he finished speaking, there was a sound of a scabbard hitting the wall in the next room.
"Bang!" The wall cracked slightly with a loud bang, and even the movie poster of "Kung Fu" on it was cracked. Stephen Chow's face and neck were separated on the poster.
"Look, she confessed everything."
Xia Pingzhou didn't react at all, just said calmly. Ayase Origami stared into his eyes.
"What did Jack want to talk to you about?" Ayase Origami thought for a moment, then lowered her eyes and asked.
Xia Pingzhou thought about it.
"Can't you tell me?" the girl in kimono asked in a low voice.
"Of course, but she's eavesdropping in the next room." Xia Pingzhou gasped, "I can already imagine a scary female ghost in school uniform crawling on the wall."
"Whatever Jack."
"Okay..." Xia Pingzhou nodded. "Actually, the Ripper told me she was a depressed and lonely little girl who had suffered a traumatic childhood. She had nightmares every day and heard terrible noises coming from her body, and she trembled with fear... She also said that you were her best friend and she hoped I wouldn't make you sad, otherwise she would chop me up and feed me to the pigs. Women are truly the most vicious."
Just as he finished speaking, the sound of a scabbard hitting the wall came from the next room again.
The next moment, cracks appeared on the wall, along with a gap about the thickness of a scabbard. Stephen Chow's head on the poster disappeared.
"Look, this guy confessed again."
Xia Pingzhou pointed at the wall and said expressionlessly.
"Jack, bad guy."
Ayase Origami spoke calmly, expressionless. She leaned her head against the pillow, glanced sideways, and covered the hole in the wall with a piece of paper, blocking out the light seeping in from the next room.
Xia Pingzhou sat quietly beside the bed, looked at the crack covered by the paper, then turned his head and met the eyes of the girl in kimono in the darkness.
"Well...if I was really killed by Jack, would you help me get revenge?" he asked casually.
Ayase Origami yawned and nodded. She was actually very sleepy, her eyelids almost drooping, and she only responded to Xia Pingzhou reluctantly.
"That's good." Xia Pingzhou said, "Are you sleepy now? If so, take a nap and I'll wake you up later. If not, do you want to go for a walk with me?"
"A little sleepy."
"Then go to sleep."
"I'll lie down for a while and I'll be able to get up soon." said Ayase Origami.
"Okay, then I'll take a break too." Xia Pingzhou said.
At this moment, the girl in kimono suddenly pulled his hand and said, "Don't go...talk to me."
Xia Pingzhou was about to get up from the bed, but then sat down again. "That's fine."
"So, what are we going to do next?" The kimono girl thought for a moment, then tilted her head. "Assassinate Jack?"
Xia Pingzhou was slightly stunned.
He originally wanted to say okay, then let's go kill Yan Molin together, then we will all be traitors, and no one will owe anyone anything, but he was worried that Yan Molin's scabbard would directly overturn the entire wall, so he decided not to do that.
"You'll know when the time comes." Xia Pingzhou said expressionlessly, "I won't tell you now."
"Kitten, so mysterious." Ayase Origami whispered.
"By the way, is your father dead? Or is he still alive and well?"
"Dead." Ayase Origami was silent for a moment, then said softly, "The captain told me that he was shot dead by his enemies."
"This is the Japanese mafia. I thought your father would commit seppuku or something like that," Xia Pingzhou said. "After all, his daughter became a villainous witch and even went to an auction and killed everyone in the mafia family."
Ayase Origami looked up at him and raised her eyebrows slightly.
Xia Pingzhou originally thought that she would blame him, but she said nothing.
"I'm a witch, so what are you?" She thought for a moment, "A magic cat?"
Xia Pingzhou coughed twice and said expressionlessly and seriously, "I am the Devil King of Destruction."
As soon as he finished speaking, a cold laugh suddenly rang out from the adjacent box, Yan Molin's laughter was not concealed at all. Her ridicule was merciless and penetrated Xia Pingzhou's heart.
Xia Pingzhou was silent.
After a moment, he turned to look at Ayase Origami, "The paper isn't enough. The sound insulation isn't good enough."
So, the girl in kimono covered the entire wall with layers of paper, filling every gap.
"Actually, it would be more convenient for us to go to another place. There's no need to chat here." Xia Pingzhou looked at the piece of paper covering the wall.
The girl in kimono raised her head, feeling as if she had been fooled, and stared into his eyes silently.
"Are we leaving? Since you're not sleepy," Xia Pingzhou asked.
"Um."
The girl in kimono yawned softly and finally stood up from the bed. Her white legs fell down and she put on her sandals. Then she used a piece of paper to smooth her slightly messy hair.
She took Xia Pingzhou's hand.
Before daybreak, the two of them walked out of the dim underground bar together. When they left the alley, the sea breeze blew in their faces, and they took a deep breath of the quiet air.
Then they followed the coastal road up the mountain. The forest was quiet under the moonlight.
Looking up, a sea breeze blew through the tall treetops, and the bright moon could be seen between the leaves. The kimono girl walked quietly, and Xia Pingzhu also walked quietly, listening to the huge rustling sound enveloping the forest.
Ayase Origami also didn't understand why Xia Pingzhou was so familiar with the paths of Kaihan Mountain.
In fact, Xia Pingzhou learned about these mountain trails from the memory of the little Nian beast, so he would not encounter the situation of suddenly hitting a wall and having to take a detour halfway through.
Xia Pingzhou led her up along the mountain path, and then they came to a high cliff. Usually, the little Nian Beast would be alone here, gazing at the sea and sky.
There was a public wooden chair placed abruptly on the cliff, and no one knew where it came from.
Ayase Origami turned her head and looked at Xia Pingzhou, who just said, "Isn't it magical? This chair is a gift from God." The girl in kimono was skeptical and looked away from his face.
In fact, an hour ago, Xia Pingzhou had the soldier giants cut down several maple trees with long swords, and then used the long swords to cut the wood into flat boards, which were then spliced together to make a long public chair.
Xia Ping Zhou took Ayase Origami's hand and led her to sit on a wooden chair.
They lowered their eyes and looked out at the moonlit sea. It was late at night, and the moon flickered in and out amidst clusters of fish-scale clouds. The seawater on the cliffs lapped against the shore, making a cold, rushing sound.
Xia Pingzhou said to her, "You can sleep for a while now, I will wake you up later."
Ayase Origami nodded and leaned her head on his shoulder.
Listening to the sound of the tide, she slowly fell asleep. After an unknown amount of time, Xia Pingzhou suddenly reached out and gently scratched her hair.
"You can wake up now."
On the long wooden chair, Ayase Origami woke up and slowly opened her eyes.
At this moment, the first ray of morning light crossed the vast ocean and shone into the girl's dark pupils.
The sky was already slightly bright, and the huge sun rose from the horizon, illuminating the harbor and the cliffs, dyeing the whole world golden. The windmill in the distance was turning slowly, and the sea breeze and the morning light brushed her cheeks.
The girl stared blankly at the rising sea. In the sunlight, the down on her ears swayed like bird feathers. Tens of thousands of hectares of maple forest swayed, like an orange tide overflowing, pouring into her pupils.
"So beautiful..." she said softly.
The only response she got was the rustling sound of wind blowing through leaves. The sunlight shone in her face, casting a long shadow behind the wooden chair.
A moment later, the young man sitting next to him broke the quiet silence.
"When we were in Bergen, didn't you say you wanted to watch the sunrise from the cable car?" he said.
Ayase Origami nodded silently without even turning her head.
"We overslept on the cable car and didn't see it, but we've made up for it now." Xia Pingzhou shrugged. "Actually... I wanted to wait until your birthday to show it to you, but I was afraid I'd forget. I don't have a very good memory."
"...Very happy." The girl in kimono said softly.
"real?"
"Well, it's a good cat for taking its owner to see the sunrise." The kimono girl moved her lips and spoke softly.
It was just daybreak, the world was still empty and lonely, and there was still no sign of fishermen in the harbor.
After watching the sunrise from the top of the mountain, the two of them rode down the mountain on a paper dragon. The snow-white dragon flew through the swirling fallen leaves and carried them down to the mountainside.
They returned along the coastal road, went into a deserted alley, and soon returned to the underground bar.
The entire bar was silent at the moment; it seemed the other members were fast asleep. Both of them seemed a bit sleep-deprived, their eyelids almost closing to their eyes. So they walked into their private room, closed the door, and sat down on the bed.
"Goodnight, kitten."
The kimono girl said softly, then staggered onto the bed, her face pressed against the pillow.
"Good night." Xia Pingzhou said, "But then again... why are you still calling me like that?"
"What?"
The girl in the kimono opened her eyes from the pillow and looked up at him.
Xia Pingzhou thought for a moment and said, "What I mean is, if we follow the process I agreed upon earlier, shouldn't we decide who's better now?"
"Why?"
Xia Pingzhou lowered his head and met her eyes.
He continued, "Didn't I say that as long as I'm better than you, we'll switch sides? As long as I can prove that I'm better than you now, that promise will come true."
"The kitten... is rebelling." Ayase Origami only then realized what he was saying.
"Come on, how can this be considered a rebellion? So you're not going to honor our previous bet?" Xia Pingzhou said, "Then I'll assume you lose."
Ayase Origami was silent for a while, then suddenly moved her head off the pillow, leaned closer to him, and whispered softly in his ear:
"Meow."
Xia Pingzhou was stunned.
Immediately, she closed her eyes, pressed her fair cheek against his palm, and rubbed it gently like a cold-faced kitten.
Xia Pingzhou was stunned for a moment. At this moment, he felt as if a thin cherry blossom was sliding across his palm. Then his face turned red, followed by the tips of his ears.
After a moment, he came back to his senses, his lips moving slightly. Just as he was about to say something, the kimono girl suddenly looked up at him and said, "Just this once, I'll treat it as a kitten acting coquettishly."
She spoke softly, moving her fair cheek away from Xia Pingzhou's palm.
After a long while, Xia Pingzhou finally responded. He coughed twice and said incoherently, "Indeed, well, that's right... You've been bullying me for so long, it's only right that we switch sides occasionally."
"Kitten, blush."
"I'm just too sleepy."
Xia Pingzhou turned his face away.
"Will you blush when you're sleepy?"
"Come to think of it, do you still have nightmares now?" Xia Pingzhou suddenly changed the subject.
Ayase Origami nodded.
"Or did you dream about your gangster dad?"
"Um."
Xia Pingzhou lowered his head and thought for a moment, "Actually, I'm like you. I often have nightmares."
"Why?"
"My parents abandoned me when I was a child and locked me in the closet. It was raining heavily and thundering that day, and I hid in the closet and didn't sleep the whole night," Ji Minghuan said softly. "I thought they would come back, so I kept looking outside through the crack for a long, long time. Every time there was thunder, the room would get brighter, and the doll on the bedside table would suddenly become hideous."
"Are you scared?"
"Um."
Ayase Origami was silent for a while, then suddenly said, "Then I'll find you out of the closet."
"What if I don't want to come out?" Xia Pingzhou asked with his head down.
"Why?"
"Because they wouldn't let me out, they told me to wait for them inside," Ji Minghuan said. "If you come looking for me in the closet, I won't go with you."
"Then I'll hide in the closet with you."
"Is this true?"
"Um."
"Although I won't come out of the closet at that time, I might agree to this."
After saying this, Ji Minghuan was silent for a long time.
He suddenly closed his eyes and imagined the banging and deafening thunder outside the wardrobe on that stormy and rainy night.
In his eyes at that time, the world was like a wild beast, baring its fangs and claws.
The boy hid in the closet, staring outside the closet vigilantly, his heart pounding and his pupils contracting in fear.
At this moment, he turned his head and suddenly saw a little girl in a kimono hiding in the closet. The girl hugged her knees, turned her head, and stared into his eyes in the darkness, like a vigilant little black cat.
He looked at her curiously. The girl was as quiet as a doll, which calmed him down.
After a moment, the girl in kimono gently took his hand. At this moment, the sound of rain and wind seemed to stop, and the world was silent.
In the dim light, Ji Minghuan slowly opened his eyes. Inside the private room, he lowered his gaze and saw Ayase Origami quietly grasping his right hand, which was resting on the bed.
"What about you? What nightmares do you often have?"
He felt the coolness coming from his palm and asked softly.
The girl in kimono was silent for a while.
"Dad pinched my neck and said to me, 'Why do you want to laugh like mom? It's obviously me who killed mom.'" She said softly and closed her eyes sleepily.
A hideous man appeared before her eyes, roaring angrily as he gripped her neck. She turned her head and saw her mother's photo lying on the ground. In the photo, her mother was still smiling, a smile so kind, yet slowly twisting.
"Don't be afraid, I will kick him away." At this time, Ji Minghuan suddenly said.
The next second, a boy with black hair and black eyes appeared before Ayase Origami's eyes. He trotted over, leaped up like an anime character, and delivered a flying kick to the man's body.
"He is an adult and you are a child." The girl in kimono said softly.
As soon as he finished speaking, the boy kicked the man in the waist. The man's body was as unmoved as a mountain, and he continued to pinch the kimono girl's neck angrily.
The boy in the hoodie tilted his head and continued:
"It's okay, then I'll kick him in the gut."
After saying that, the little boy kicked the man in the lower body. The man screamed in pain and finally let go of the girl's neck.
The girl in kimono was stunned.
The boy took the hand of the girl in the kimono, pulled her up, and ran with her hand in his. He knocked over the paper screen, pulled open the wooden sliding door with her, and ran to the courtyard of the Japanese-style house.
That day, two rows of cherry trees were in full bloom in the yard, and the falling cherry blossoms streaked across their cheeks like pink snowflakes.
"You can laugh."
The boy turned his head and said as he ran through the falling cherry blossoms. The girl in the kimono stared at his face for a long time.
"Why?" she asked.
"Why do you need this? Because you look beautiful when you smile, so you don't need anyone's permission. Don't listen to that stinky old man, he's nothing."
The boy said, pointing to the roaring man with a distorted face behind him, "Only ugly people don't allow others to laugh."
The girl looked at him, raised her eyes and lowered them, the world became bright and dark.
"Um."
After a moment, she suddenly raised the corners of her mouth slightly and smiled at him.
The boy stared at her blankly. After a while, he suddenly asked:
"Hey, can you just smile at me?"
"Why?"
"Because I like you."
"like?"
The girl tilted her head in confusion.
"Yes, I do." The boy nodded. "When you like someone, you want her to smile only at you."
"Then..." the girl said softly, "I like you too."
The boy was stunned for a moment, then suddenly smiled, holding her hand and running in the autumn sky with falling cherry blossoms. It was as if he had left the whole world behind.
In the dim box, the girl in kimono closed her eyes. Unknowingly, she had fallen into a deep sleep with a slight curve at the corner of her mouth.
Xia Pingzhou lowered his eyes and looked quietly at Ayase Origami's sleeping face. She slept more soundly than ever before, her breathing more steadily, and her hand was still gently holding his fingers.
After a moment, Xia Pingzhou let out a long breath and lay down on the bed.
He slowly closed his eyes. Listening to the girl's harmonious breathing, he felt calmer than ever before. After a while, he fell into a deep sleep.
(End of this chapter)
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