Your hair is messy (11)
Naoki travels to a parallel universe where Kotoko doesn't love him. (2013 Japanese TV series)
twenty two
Rujiang felt depressed and walked with murderous intent.
Kotoko was always like this, putting on an innocent face, hurting people without realizing it. Then, when they were on the verge of exploding, she would become gentle and understanding, like a giant plug suddenly blocking the crater of a volcano, leaving the scalding magma with nowhere to vent, and only able to boil violently inside.
The most infuriating thing is that she almost never studies the reasons why Irie is angry. Irie will forgive her in the end anyway, and it doesn't matter if he doesn't forgive her. So this time he was wrong, but he will dare to do it again next time, and please bear with me next time.
Irie had thought she'd gotten better after falling in love, but she'd only gotten worse. Why was she so nonchalant, as if this relationship had nothing to do with her? Why was he the only one holding a grudge?!
Irie became angrier and angrier as he thought about it. He walked through the locked doors on both sides of the hotel corridor and stopped at the very end. He saw that the door on the right was not closed tightly. He thought that the owner of the room must have been following them all day and had just returned from dinner, so he skipped the greeting and just barged in.
The room suddenly became chaotic. Several people were busy putting on wigs, or looking for places to hide, or turning their backs and scolding Rujiang in English for being rude and ignorant of etiquette, and telling him to leave quickly.
Irie sat down on the sofa and said weakly, "I had a fight with Kotoko."
"ah?!"
They exclaimed in unison.
Disguised as a foreigner, she secretly followed Irie and the others on their trip to record the couple's sweet journey. Irie's mother was the first to come to her senses. She sat down next to Irie and asked with concern, "What happened to my brother and Kotoko? I saw Kotoko was so happy today."
Of course Kotoko was happy. She was happy every day and left all her worries to others. There was no reason for her not to be happy.
Irie's father, however, did not support his son: "Naoki, if there is any problem between you and Kotoko, you should communicate properly. I saw you lose your temper with her as soon as you got off the plane. These past few days, you have been inseparable from a strange girl. It's a bit outrageous. It's inevitable that Kotoko will be jealous."
Aihara's father also said: "Naoki, Kotoko is a simple child. If she does anything wrong, please point it out in time. This is also for the good of both of you. If a relationship wants to last, it must be understood and tolerated by both of you."
Yuki also had a lot to say, but he couldn't say it in front of a room full of elders, so he held it in until his face turned red, and then he managed to say, "Brother, you're not the kind of person who gets angry for no reason!"
Yuuki's words reminded Irie.
Irie suddenly realized that he was irrational in his anger towards Kotoko because Kotoko would not do anything for him. If she did nothing, then there would be no such thing as "doing something wrong", so Kotoko was not at fault.
Even if she told Horiuchi Mari that her relationship with Irie was boring, it could be understood as "not wanting to chat with strangers who don't get along well with each other." No matter how you exaggerate it, it's just a small matter. On the other hand, Irie actually made a big fuss about it, which made him seem petty.
How could this happen? Irie couldn't understand Kotoko, and he also couldn't understand himself.
After saying goodbye to his family, it was already late. Irie didn't want to go back to his room, nor did he want to go to Kotoko's room to find her, so he simply went to the beach alone to relax.
The sea breeze was salty and carried with it icy water vapor. Rujiang calmed down a little. His heart was cold, and he even ignored the coldness from his body. For the first time, the world felt so empty. There was a faint light coming from somewhere, but it was so dim that it seemed like it would go out at any time. Apart from him, there was only endless, impure darkness.
After a long while, Irie heard hurried footsteps, as if someone was looking for him.
He continued to lower his head listlessly, because he knew that the person coming would not be Kotoko. That idiot of hers probably still hasn't figured out the situation. Everyone in the room is in a heavy mood, but it doesn't affect her happiness. She is really capable, so capable.
During his autism, Irie didn't like being disturbed. Since it wasn't Kotoko, it didn't make sense for anyone to come. He looked up and guessed right, the person who came was indeed not Kotoko.
But it wasn't what he imagined, his father, mother or Yuki - it was actually Aqiao.
Okay, this is where the story starts to get a little weird.
Irie couldn't help but wonder, "What are you doing here?"
"I saw you coming downstairs, so I came to try to persuade you!" Aqiao was out of breath from running. His face was red as a shrimp, his back was hunched, and his face was long and red, just like a shrimp. "Naoki, in order to help Mari-chan and me, you almost got into a fight with Kotoko, and ended up making yourself feel bad. We feel really guilty too."
"The conflict between me and Qinzi has nothing to do with you."
Rujiang's words were simple and easy to understand, and he made them clear enough, but Aqiao began to sigh, with a hint of vicissitudes of life in her heart.
He said, "Naoki, I understand your feelings best."
"you?"
Irie is a big question mark.
Do you understand? Why do you understand? What do you understand?
Aqiao's eyes hidden behind the lenses were clear and wise. He pushed the frame of his glasses, and his movements were very similar to those of the famous detective Conan who was about to peel off the layers of silk and reveal the cruel truth.
"Are Naoki and Kotoko a contracted couple? The kind where they have to pretend to be a couple in order to achieve a certain goal, and then they separate when the time comes."
Irie didn't understand why he thought that, and immediately replied unhappily, "No, Kotoko and I are a real couple."
Then Aqiao's next words made him even more unhappy.
"Ah, that's really hard to tell."
Qiao spoke quickly, not giving Irie room to vent: "Naoki and Kotoko don't seem to have any feelings for each other. Although I have a one-sided love for her, Mari-chan is willing to marry me after all, and we have had happy and sweet moments together. Unlike Kotoko, she didn't care about Naoki from beginning to end."
Irie: "..."
"Because Mari-chan really likes Naoki, and she told me that you're great in every way, and that the reason you're with Kotoko must be because Kotoko is so persistent. But I noticed on the plane that Kotoko and Mari-chan have similarities in terms of love, which means you and I must have similarities as well."
Entering the river "..."
"Naoki's pursuit of Kotoko must have been an extremely difficult journey, right? It was the same when I was pursuing Mari-chan. She's such a passionate and lively person, but she ignored me. I put in a lot of effort to get the chance to date her. But all my efforts were nothing more than what Mari-chan called a boring office romance."
Having said that, Aqiao smiled bitterly. He was completely immersed in sorrow and had no time to pay attention to Rujiang. Naturally, he did not see Rujiang's unbelievable and fierce look.
Rujiang could tell that Aqiao, like Ajin, felt that they shared the same suffering as him, so they came to him to find resonance.
How ridiculous! Akin, who has been pursuing Kotoko for many years but has never been able to impress her, treats Irie as his own kind; Aqiao, who can't take care of his wife and has been a dog for many years, also treats Irie as his own kind.
Aqiao even has a sense of superiority, and can laugh at others' mistakes. She gave Irie some sympathy: "I am luckier than you. After all, I have gone through hardships and finally got my reward. As for you, Naoki, alas, I don't know how long the road ahead is."
Irie: "..."
"I know you're sad, and I know you don't want to be ignored by Qinzi, but there's nothing we can do. Men like us who aren't loved are so pathetic."
Men like us who are not loved?
Rujiang was deeply offended, but he was known for his forbearance, and even when his defenses were broken, he remained calm. Screaming and going crazy in public, or crawling in the dark on the beach, was not his style. He simply wanted to take advantage of the dark and windy night to make Aqiao disappear forever in the surging waves beside him.
Ah Qiao didn't even know that he had been secretly manipulated in Irie's mind. He continued to chatter away diligently, "In order to gain the love of our loved ones, we are destined to encounter many difficulties. But please don't lose heart. I believe that someone as outstanding as Naoki will also have a happy ending like me."
Aqiao is a person who is purely in love. After spending a few days together, Rujiang realized that he is not a bad person. So the heart-wrenching conversation just now may really be from the heart, rather than a malicious act.
But even though he had no ill intentions, Irie was really hurt by him. He had already left the hotel and hid at the beach, but Aqiao still chased him out and rubbed salt into his wounds. What kind of person is she?
"Kotoko is different from Horiuchi Mari." Irie retorted, unable to bear it any longer. "As for you and me, we are even more different."
twenty three
The next morning, Kotoko came to Irie for breakfast. Irie was tormented by his worries at night and didn't sleep well, so he felt a little tired. He was even more unhappy when he saw the real person of his worries.
He wanted to say, "I don't want to see you, go away!"
But the person standing in front of him was Kotoko.
Others would dig deep to find the reason, but Kotoko wouldn't. She would just walk away without a trace, maybe leaving him behind and going back to Tokyo.
When there was a price to pay, Irie couldn't say anything hurtful and could only hold it in.
Kotoko was the opposite of him, she was in a very refreshed mood. She didn't have dinner last night, so she went to a shop next to the hotel to eat something. She ended up finding a shop that sold delicious sea salt caramel pancakes. Kotoko paired the pancakes with juice, and her mouth was full of sweetness.
She packed another portion to take back as a midnight snack, but after washing up, she just wrapped herself in the soft and warm quilt and fell asleep until the alarm clock rang in the morning.
Kotoko was in a good mood. In her opinion, she had performed very well last night. Even though Mari was so annoying and had been coveting someone else's boyfriend for a long time, Kotoko was still willing to put her illness, whose true or false she didn't know, first and let Irie touch her and examine her.
Irie didn't say it openly, but in his heart he must have been praising Kotoko for her understanding and her ability to correct her mistakes. She was simply perfect for dating a doctor.
Kotoko decided to keep up the good work and continue to show her selfless concern: "Irie-kun, was Mari feeling better yesterday?"
"Um."
"That's great!" Kotoko said in admiration, "I knew Irie-kun could do it!"
Irie, who had done nothing last night, expressed her inability to take responsibility: "She suddenly got better on her own."
"Is this really possible? Then what's causing Mari's stomachache?"
"How should I know?"
"oh……"
Kotoko screamed for help in her heart.
What the hell is wrong with Irie?! Didn't I just listen to him last night? It's fine if he didn't give me a compliment, but why is he throwing a tantrum so early in the morning?! What did she say or do wrong? Or is Irie just in a bad mood and taking it out on her?! Help!
Kotoko prepared to retreat.
That’s right, running away when encountering danger is still her number one survival rule.
What else could she possibly do? There was only one day left in her Okinawa trip, and she still had places she wanted to visit. She had to hurry. Life was short, so she couldn't make things difficult for herself.
Just then, Irie spoke up, "Don't you have anything else to say?"
Kotoko did. She wanted to tell Irie that she suddenly couldn't go to breakfast. The reason... The reason she stayed on hold for so long was that she couldn't think of a suitable reason.
Kotoko couldn't form her words, so Irie spoke first. He said to Kotoko, "Aqiao came to me last night and said that you've been ignoring me. He felt very sorry for you."
"I didn't ignore Irie-kun."
"Didn't you notice that during my time in Okinawa, I was usually with Horiuchi Mari?"
Kotoko understood.
Look, what she said was that Irie and Mari were close, which would definitely make Aqiao unhappy. Didn’t her husband come to talk to her? This was a point to Irie - "Your girlfriend is cold to you, and I sympathize with her, but if you are lonely, don't come near my wife."
Kotoko also began to sympathize with Irie: "Although Irie-kun and Mari-chan are just friends and have never done anything excessive, Qiao loves Mari-chan so much that she can't help but care."
"What about you?"
Aqiao would care, why don’t you care?
"Because Irie-kun is my idol." Kotoko answered without hesitation: "Irie-kun is so kind. It's normal for Qiao to feel a sense of crisis, but I believe Irie-kun will definitely not like Mari-chan."
If Irie still has evil thoughts about a frivolous woman like Mari, who is already a married woman, Kotoko will probably have to re-evaluate his character. She doesn't believe in Irie's aesthetic taste, but she believes that he still has a bottom line.
In addition, Irie is really difficult to please. Although Kotoko doesn't care about him being close to other women, she showed "care" similar to Aqiao last night. As a result, she was scolded by Irie and didn't end up well.
It’s wrong to care, and it’s also wrong not to care. Anyway, it’s wrong no matter what. As the saying goes, if you wear the crown, you must bear its weight. It’s not easy to be the heroine in a romance comic.
Kotoko finally acted right for once. Seeing Irie's expression soften a bit, she quickly seized the opportunity to break the ice: "Irie-kun, we're going back to Tokyo tomorrow. How about spending our last day in Okinawa just the two of us together?"
"……good."
As soon as Irie said "OK", the revived Horiuchi Mari appeared out of nowhere. As usual, she left Aqiao behind and trotted over. She naturally took Irie's arm and said happily, "Naoki! Thank you for coming to see me last night! How about I treat you to dinner today? I know a restaurant that's really delicious!"
"Which restaurant?" Kotoko became excited when she heard about eating. In her happy life without worries, eating, sleeping and having fun were more important than anything else, so she was looking forward to it more than Irie who was invited.
But Irie didn't do what Kotoko and Mari wished. He pulled his arm back and clearly rejected Mari for the first time: "Today is just for Kotoko and I. I don't want to be disturbed by others. Sorry."
——————————
On the last day in Okinawa, Kotoko finally completed the task entrusted to her by Irie's mother and had a sweet time with Irie.
Irie, who has returned to normal, is a very good partner. He will unconditionally meet all the requests made by Kotoko. He even specifically asked Mari where the delicious restaurant she mentioned is, and then took Kotoko there at noon. The food was indeed delicious, and Kotoko was very satisfied.
The sun was shining brightly that day, and the air was filled with golden light. There was also a gentle breeze that blew away the necessary heat.
On the way to buy local specialties, the two chose not to take a taxi in order to digest their food. As they walked, Kotoko looked through the photos Irie had taken of her in her camera and praised them highly: "Irie-kun can even take such good photos. Every one of them is beautiful!"
Irie wasn't interested in taking photos. He thought simply pressing the capture button wasn't challenging, and the finished product wasn't worth mentioning. "As long as you like it," he said.
"Wow!" Kotoko suddenly exclaimed loudly. It turned out that there was a beautifully decorated pure white auditorium standing beside the road ahead.
The auditorium is newly built, and every corner is brand new and shiny, without any trace of the wear and tear of time. In front of it is a lush garden, dotted with red flowers just right, and the back is close to the blue coast. The scenery is naturally amazing, and it is suitable for some beautiful stories to happen.
"Irie-kun, look!" Kotoko said with longing, "What a beautiful auditorium!"
Rujiang watched calmly and saw a newlywed couple in formal wear just walking in from the gate. The woman's wedding dress was also a grand style, with a long skirt and layer upon layer of dreamy white gauze. The whole person seemed to be shrouded in pearly light, shining brightly beside the blue sky and the blue sea.
Qinzi was envious again: "They even provide wedding dresses here! So beautiful!"
"Why, do you want to go in and try it?"
Qinzi's whole body was full of longing, but after thinking for a long time, she refused: "I like wedding dresses, but I am not really looking forward to marriage at the moment, so I'll just take a look."
Irie nodded, showing his understanding: "Yeah, you're still a child."
Kotoko likes the adjectives used to describe Irie, because children are innocent and only need to be responsible for growing up carefree. She likes to be a child in Irie's eyes, and hopes that he will not argue with her over trivial matters, not hide his thoughts for her to guess, and not have too many expectations of her.
After many setbacks, Irie apparently had the same realization. When he was calm and not angry, there was a sense of unreachable distance, as if he had hidden all his emotions in an isolated island.
Kotoko secretly observed Irie. She was clumsy and could not understand what she was observing, but she suddenly realized that the person in front of her was her boyfriend, Irie, a genius who was difficult for others to approach. He was also the one who helped her regardless of the consequences when they first met, and had always treated her well and loved her firmly.
At this moment, Irie's usual bad habits of being weird, moody, and unpredictable all disappeared like smoke. Kotoko only remembered his good points. Then she stood on tiptoe and gently kissed Irie's lips.
The imagined first kiss should be passionate, frozen in the sweetest moment into eternity in memory, but when we really return to reality, we will find that it is just a warm and soft touch, fleeting.
Fortunately, the scenery was really beautiful, much more beautiful than the night of their first kiss before they traveled through time. At that time, they were in a dim and quiet corridor, and Kotoko said to him aggrievedly, "I'm going to give up liking you anymore." Including the four years since they traveled through time and space, nearly seven years have passed, so long that Irie almost forgot what she looked like.
But he firmly believed that he would find her. The Kotoko who loved him and only had eyes for him would always appear again, like now.
The wind blew through the hem of Kotoko's turquoise skirt, and the colorful dots on it surged, like a field of deep and light flowers blooming on the sea. She smiled brightly and said sincerely, "Irie-kun, thank you, you are the best!"
Irie said nothing more.
Those problems that are shelved indefinitely will never disappear on their own, they will always exist, but Irie has his own awareness. He has no expectations of Kotoko, and being able to get along with her as harmoniously as they do now is already hard-won.
As for the others, since they cannot be solved, why bother thinking about them and only adding to your troubles?
tbc
The talkative author is here to chat with you again after the update!
It's not your fault that Irie gets angry over trivial matters; the bottom line is that Kotoko has never given him enough sense of security.
Before they fell in love, B Kotoko liked someone else. After she found out that Irie liked her, she distanced herself from Irie. Her attitude towards Irie has always been indifferent, so after they fell in love, Irie needed to repeatedly confirm whether B Kotoko cared about him. He could not accept that B Kotoko might not care about him.
Just like in another time and space, Kotoko, who loves Irie deeply, is still shrouded in the shadow of anxiety no matter how positive and sunny she is. She often wonders, "Does Irie hate me?" "Does Irie not like me at all? Then why did you marry me?" "Is Irie going to leave me?"
Even Irie himself was puzzled. He said to Kotoko: "I don't think I have done anything to make you worry. Please have some faith in me."
He certainly didn't do anything to make A-Kotoko uneasy, but he also didn't make A-Kotoko truly at ease. Irie kept testing the red line, giving A-Kotoko the illusion that he was about to cross the line and abandon her at any time. Although it hadn't happened yet in this second, who knew if it would happen in the next second?
Therefore, Irie doesn't need to explicitly abandon A-Kotoko. As long as he makes any move that approaches the red line, A-Kotoko will be alarmed.
This is the same as what B Kotoko did to Irie, so it's no wonder Irie is neurotic.
So why didn't Irie just give up on Kotoko?
Reason 1: It is entirely possible that Kotoko B will completely transform into Kotoko A one day.
In Irie's cognition, it is impossible for him to return to time and space a, because he has already lost time and space a, and time and space b is the same as time and space a except that he does not love him.
Kotoko's attitude was also rather ambiguous. She didn't tell Irie, "I will never like you in my lifetime, so just give up!"
What she said was, "I also have feelings for Irie-kun, but I've never been in a relationship before and I don't really understand it. Give me some time to adjust."
She also responded to Irie's affection and took the initiative to confess her feelings to him. Although she didn't respond when Irie was playing the silent game with her, she would still listen if Irie gave her serious advice. At least it seems that B Kotoko is currently evolving into A Kotoko.
Reason 2: The sunk cost of entering the river is too high.
When Irie first traveled back in time, he was so confident that he thought as long as he waited for Kotoko to confess her feelings, they would be able to reconcile. Later, he found out that Kotoko didn't fall in love with him at first sight, and after being angry for a while, he adjusted himself.
Irie believed that it was inevitable that Kotoko would fall in love with him. Even if she didn't love him now, she would definitely love him in the future. He invested a lot of time and energy to make Kotoko fall in love with him as soon as possible. After finally winning her over, he would not let her go easily.
Otherwise, what were his previous efforts? What was the point of his time travel, which he regarded as a way to defy fate and change his destiny?
Reason three: Irie just can’t live without Kotoko.
Whether it is A Qinzi or B Qinzi, they are both rare bright spots in his boring life, and he cannot give them up.
Don't be fooled by Irie's arrogant attitude in World A. He often breaks up with Kotoko A, teases her, keeps her hanging, and the cold war lasts for several months.
But if Kotoko actually leaves, Irie's immediately freaked out. There's the kiss in the rain, the sudden mouth that tells Kotoko, "I love you the most," and the public confession in the cafeteria—"I can't live without Kotoko." And Saku also loves seeing Kotoko care about him. What a genius's mischievous taste.
Admit it, he loves it.
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