4 Trying to be sincere at first but not satisfied
4.
Reiko thought that Giyu Tomioka would not come to see her again in the next few days. After all, they parted on bad terms that day.
Although Tomioka Giyu took a few steps forward, he stopped and said "Goodbye" in a muffled voice.
However, the next day, when the sun rose, she took the quilt to the yard to dry it. By the time she put the soft white bedding away, not many people were walking around in the Butterfly House.
She gets up early and never stays in bed.
Reiko turned around and was caught off guard by the sight of Giyu Tomioka standing not far away, still wearing the same haori.
She really didn't expect it this time and took a step back in fright.
As she stepped back, she was about to bump into the quilt rack. The girl's face turned pale instantly, but at the moment she leaned back, a hand reached out.
For the first time, Reiko had a clear idea of the speed of the pillar. Tomioka Giyuu was originally standing not far away, but in the blink of an eye he was in front of her and grabbed her wrist.
But that was not enough. She staggered back, and Tomioka Giyu's eyes seemed to waver, and the hand holding her wrist exerted a little force.
She did not fall back, but fell into the swordsman's arms.
The quilt swayed slightly.
Mr. Water Pillar's body stiffened slightly.
Giyu Tomioka knew that Reiko had a pleasant smell. It might be because her clothes were fermented in the sun, which gave off such a comfortable scent.
Ah, it turns out it’s not the scent of clothes.
The swordsman had a keen sense of smell, and Tomioka Giyu subconsciously lowered his head and smelled the fragrance of her hair.
The girl's cheeks were slightly flushed. She stood up, took two steps to the side, and thanked him in a soft voice, pursing her lips.
Tomioka Giyu lowered his hands and nodded, as if nothing had happened, but asked her: "Are you better now?"
Lianzi blinked and smiled faintly, "I still need to go to the doctor and take medicine."
The swordsman breathed a sigh of relief.
His blue eyes reflected the girl's figure. The baggy white skirt that was worn by the nurse girls fit her perfectly, except that the belt around her waist was changed to dark blue.
"I thought Mr. Yiyong would never come to see me again."
Lianzi walked towards the backyard door. This was not a place to chat, and they were used to talking outside the butterfly house.
Tomioka Giyu followed closely, not noticing that the distance between them was any closer than before.
"Why?" he wondered.
When they were a little further out of the courtyard gate, Lianzi turned around, but her usual bright smile was gone. Her brows were furrowed, and after hesitating for a moment, she said, "In the beginning, I hoped that Mr. Yiyong would take me away, but now I have failed Mr. Yiyong's kindness."
Tomioka Giyu lowered his head and listened quietly.
Lianzi paused for a moment, and without waiting for the young man's reply, she continued, "Mr. Yiyong's words reminded me, and I thought about it for half the night. I will study nursing knowledge hard in Butterfly House for the next two years. I heard that there are hospitals outside recruiting nurses. After I leave Butterfly House, I will work as a nurse in the hospital and support myself."
The young man lowered his eyes to determine if she meant what she said.
But he got an answer that made him silent.
He remained silent, his thoughts in a turmoil.
Lianzi looked at his taut lips and whispered, "Mr. Yiyong took me away from that place and gave me a second life. Lianzi doesn't have the same strength as other swordsmen. If Mr. Yiyong doesn't mind, Lianzi can talk to you."
Tomioka Giyuu likes people who chat with him.
He looked at the girl intently and finally said, "Two years?"
It was the time Lianzi mentioned yesterday, he remembered it clearly.
Lianzi nodded.
She just said two years casually, but two years was indeed about the same amount of time. She would be eighteen years old by then, and if she went out, she wouldn't be looked down upon.
I heard that some hospitals have age restrictions for nurses, and they must be over 18 years old.
Tomioka Giyuu fell into deep thought again. After a moment, he asked, "And then?"
Lianzi hesitated for a moment, and after confirming that he was asking about becoming a nurse, she smiled faintly: "When I save up some money, I will buy a house and then I will have a home that belongs only to me."
When she said this, her eyes showed a strange light, which was a yearning from the heart.
She didn't want to be a prostitute who was despised by everyone. Even if she was a famous courtesan in Tokyo, she was still a prostitute, a geisha.
She had no intention of climbing up the social ladder; she just wanted to use every available power to make her life better and more respectable.
Thinking of this, her eyes calmed down, and when she looked at Tomioka Giyu, those vague emotions settled down, leaving only gratitude and respect.
She had thought about the other members of the Demon Slayer Corps. During this period, she had also met the other pillars of the Demon Slayer Corps, as well as many swordsmen. She even considered Tanjiro Kamado who wore strange earrings.
In the end, she rejected them one by one. These people were very powerful and she couldn't afford to offend them. Moreover, this group of people had to go on missions every day and were often injured. If one of them died one day, all her efforts would be in vain.
Learn a skill in the Butterfly House, and then return to her world, the world of ordinary people.
She was extremely lucky to be in this situation. No one else in the entire Youguo had such an adventure as hers.
She should be content.
Tomioka Giyuu looked at her.
He touched upon a trace of true thoughts in the heart of the man in front of him, but it did not make him happy.
Lianzi always makes him feel comfortable when talking to him, which is very difficult to do. When two people are talking, one person has to try hard to figure out the design and make the other person feel comfortable, which requires unparalleled attention.
When Giyu Tomioka realized that this was wrong, he wanted to change.
But he found that he really didn't seem to be very good at speaking.
When he returned to the headquarters, he went to ask his lord with doubts, and Madam Tianyin was also there.
Giyu Tomioka recounted his daily conversations with Reiko.
The lord's expression was a little strange, and Madam Tianyin smiled faintly, but the smile was a little stiff.
However, the lord still gave gentle advice.
——Yiyong, you should also learn to understand her so that you can say more appropriate words that will make her happy.
Now, he seemed to understand something.
Oh, she's getting out of here.
Oh, she has planned the future.
Oh, her eyes became so open.
There was still no expression on Tomioka Giyu's face. He didn't bring his Nichirin Sword with him today. He moved his wrist and remembered this matter. Now he couldn't even stroke the Nichirin Sword to think.
Buy a house.
He had a large salary and had never spent it, so he could help buy a spacious enough house for Lianzi.
Thinking of this, he suddenly felt that his depression had dissipated by half, and his whole body felt relaxed. It was as if by doing this, an invisible thread could be hooked from his body to Lianzi's body. He now had a reason, a reason to go see her even if Lianzi left.
So he said, "Okay."
"I'll help you buy a house."
Reiko looked at him in astonishment. After spending some time with Giyu Tomioka, she thought she knew him quite well, but now it seemed that she still didn't understand Giyu Tomioka's thoughts.
Her eyes moved, and she frowned and refused: "How can this be? Mr. Yiyong has helped me so much. Something like a house is so valuable. I can't enjoy Mr. Yiyong's gift with peace of mind."
Tomioka Giyu: "I have a lot of money."
Reiko smiled slightly: "I will work hard on my own, Mr. Yiyong."
The swordsman looked at her, and the depression that had just dissipated suddenly came back, blocking his heart, and seemed to be even stronger than before.
His expressionless face became even gloomier.
"Mr. Yiyong, are you angry about my rejection?" Lianzi looked at him.
Tomioka Giyu: “…”
The girl smiled helplessly. "But, what kind of identity should I have to live in Mr. Yiyong's house? Mr. Yiyong said this, I think he has already decided what kind of house to buy. In two years, I will only be seventeen or eighteen years old. Living in such a nice house alone, what will others think?"
The swordsman remained silent.
Lianzi didn't expect him to give the answer she wanted. Voices gradually came from the Butterfly House, and everyone got up one after another. She shifted her gaze and saw a figure walking out of the backyard door.
It was Tanjiro Kamado who went to the nearby mountains for running training.
When Tanjiro Kamado saw the two figures, especially Giyu Tomioka, he was very happy and ran over to greet them.
"Mr. Yiyong!"
Tomioka Giyu turned sideways and nodded.
Tanjiro Kamado looked at Reiko again, his eyes sparkling, "Reiko, the clothes you re-sewn for me fit perfectly. I haven't thanked you yet!"
The girl pursed her lips and smiled, without saying anything more.
The boy's training was very strict and his clothes were often torn. The Butterfly House didn't have that many clothes that fit Tanjiro. Reiko had wanted to dispel Tanjiro Kamado's suspicion, so she offered to help Tanjiro Kamado sew clothes.
Tanjiro Kamado ran towards the back mountain and his figure disappeared at the end of the road.
Reiko turned around and looked at Tomioka Giyu: "I have to go to work too, Mr. Giyu, goodbye."
This was the first time that Lianzi took the initiative to end the chat.
Giyu Tomioka watched the white figure enter the Butterfly House, paused, and then he also walked towards the headquarters.
He was still thinking about what Lianzi had just said.
It seemed as if an answer was about to come out, but his other consciousness was trying to suppress that answer.
As he walked, he came to the vicinity of the lord's house.
After thinking about it, he went to report to his lord about killing ghosts last night.
Ubuyashiki Yoya noticed that he was worried, so after the report was over, he took the initiative to ask, "Is Giyuu worried about something?"
Lord Shuizhu knelt in the room and was silent for a while before telling about his conversation with Lianzi today.
The lord's faint smile faded as he spoke, and his expression became serious.
The swordsmen of the Demon Slayer Corps have been killing demons for years and do not have a deep understanding of secular society, but he understands what Reiko is concerned about.
Living in a certain place, if such a bad discussion is triggered, the strange looks are enough to crush a girl, especially an unmarried girl.
"What about Giyu's idea?" The lord did not rush to point out the problems in Tomioka Giyu's idea, but asked slowly.
Tomioka Giyu lowered his head slightly and said calmly, "I want to see her."
He knew very well that after leaving the Butterfly House and the Demon Slayer Corps, he and Reiko would have almost no contact.
When he said this, the young man's eyes dropped.
Ubuyashiki Yoya sighed slightly: "Reiko rejected you."
Tomioka Giyuu didn't say anything.
"A house that costs a lot of money will cause a lot of trouble for a young girl," said the lord.
The swordsman's body stiffened.
He had indeed thought about buying a house that was comfortable enough... no, a house with a yard and several floors.
Ubuyashiki Yoya talked to Tomioka Giyu for a long time before he said he was unwell and asked Tomioka Giyu to leave.
Inside the Japanese-style room, Madam Tianyin came in with the cooked medicine, and the smell of medicine instantly filled the entire Japanese-style room.
"Lianzi doesn't necessarily like Yiyong." The lord said to his wife.
Madam Tianyin had a faint smile on her face.
Ubuyashiki Yoya finished the unfinished second sentence.
"But Yiyong is her best choice."
He had never seen the girl, but just from Tomioka Giyu's words, he could infer that she was a smart girl who knew very well what she wanted.
After all, she was able to chat with Yiyong for such a long time and maintained it for more than a month.
She could have accepted Yiyong's gift, but she refused it without hesitation.
Rather than material things that can be obtained with just a nod of the head, she cares more about becoming a complete being without flaws in the eyes of others.
Lianzi has her own self-esteem.
-
Giyu Tomioka returned to his room and thought for a long time.
His haori was folded and placed in front of him.
This strange haori is different from everyone else's, and the meaning it represents is extremely important to Giyu Tomioka.
His fingertips, covered with calluses from sword practice, were tapping his knees.
Just like the haori, neatly laid out in front of him was the salary he had saved up over the past few years.
On the other side of the haori is his Nichirin sword.
Evil spirits are rampant, and the Upper Moons have appeared. One of the Pillars has already died in the battle with them.
Maybe he will be the next to die.
He sat there, not knowing how long it had been. Finally, he stood up, his legs a little numb, but it was nothing to him.
He put the haori back on and smoothed out the wrinkles.
Lord Water Pillar visits the Butterfly House again.
When the little girls saw him, they smiled mischievously, pushed each other, and said to Master Shuizhu, "Let's go call Reiko."
Soon, a girl in a white dress came over.
Her features have become more and more beautiful over the past month of recuperation. Just a glance at her makes people reluctant to look away.
Reiko had a smile on her face, and Tomioka Giyu suddenly realized that her smile was much lighter than it was a month ago.
His blue eyes flashed, and the two of them stood in the flower garden. Lianzi asked him softly what was the matter.
"Stay in the Butterfly House."
Lianzi looked at him, seemingly not understanding what he meant.
Tomioka Giyu's eyes darkened slightly, her overly beautiful face reflected in them, and he whispered, "...wait for me for another three years."
【Author’s words】
Recycling copy [kiss]
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