After rebirth, I became Tokyo Sentimental

Chapter 218, Section 217: Who wants to be attacked by the entire bacterium?
Charitable foundations are legitimate social organizations that use private wealth for public welfare purposes, aiming to fund education, science, medicine, public health, and social welfare.

Ten years ago, Tsukasa Harano established a foundation.

In reality, it is a very worthwhile thing for the rich to do charity work. After all, they can legally avoid taxes and increase their reputation. However, they have no need for either of these. The reason for establishing a charitable foundation is simply because they have too much money and don't know what to do with it. They just do good deeds as a matter of course, and it doesn't matter if they don't get anything in return.

Apart from the initial organizational structure of the foundation planned by Tsukasa Harano and the determination of the main beneficiaries, it has been managed by Shizue Shio ever since.

He doesn't know the specifics of the situation right now.

They just keep investing money every year.

I only look at the annual funding report occasionally.

Perhaps it's because Japan is too small, or perhaps the charitable foundation is indeed quite large, that the young woman named Mizuno Nami standing in front of Harano Tsukasa is one of the beneficiaries of his charitable foundation.

After a brief conversation, Haruno Tsukasa also figured out why the other person, who looked quite old, was being sponsored by his charitable foundation.

That's right.

Nami Mizuno is twenty-four years old this year.

My parents died in an earthquake, and I have no other close relatives, and I no longer keep in touch with other relatives.

The reason the recipient was sponsored is because ten years ago, due to various tragic circumstances, they were selected for sponsorship. They completed only one year of high school, and for the next five years, they studied at home because they failed to get into university, and they still are.

in other words.

Except for the first year, Mizuno Nami has applied for financial aid on the grounds of getting into university.

This is clearly suspected of being a scheme to embezzle funds.

However, Haruno Tsukasa thought again that since she could pass the charity foundation's annual review every time, there must be a reason. After all, manual review can avoid many oversights, and Mizuno Naya obviously didn't have the ability to use back channels.

Perhaps having no relatives or friends is a strong reason to pass the annual review. In addition, given that the other party has a low level of education and lives in a poor and remote area of ​​Tottori Prefecture, which is an economically disadvantaged prefecture, it is only natural to give them extra care, just like the University of Tokyo also has policies to help people in poor areas.

After listening to her explanation of the basic situation, Haruno Tsukasa took a sip of the sour genmaicha and sighed, "So that's how it is. I didn't expect we were so destined to meet."

"So please stay. It's raining so hard outside, it's too much trouble for you to run around. Let me do my part as a host and also repay you."

"please!"

Mizuno Naya stood up and bowed to him.

Yuan Ye Si accepted the bow with great composure.

Since he had truly helped the other party, he wouldn't belittle himself; there was no need to feel guilty or let himself down.

Having roughly figured out the other party's background and reviewed Mizuno Naya's financial aid application forms over the years, he was basically certain that she was not some passerby murderer from some remote, impoverished area. In addition, although she lived alone, she was already an adult, so there was nothing wrong with her staying here. Harano Tsukasa simply agreed: "Then I'll take my leave."

"I'll tidy up your room."

"..."

Once the conversation was out in the open, although it wasn't quite the kind of recognition that comes with being close relatives, the two of them gained a lot more trust in each other. After all, based on their brief interactions, Haruno Tsukasa felt that Mizuno Naya had a rather gentle personality, while the latter thought that he was exactly the image she had in mind, especially since Haruno Tsukasa had been particularly polite when she suddenly helped her.

Mizuno Naya went to get busy, carrying blankets and quilts from her bedroom to make his bed, while Harano Tsukasa took out his phone to reply to some messages, mostly messages of concern from Shimizu Yuko and Shigeie Shio.

Although he went out to play alone, he didn't cut off contact with anyone. Besides, apart from Sato Mie and Suzumiya Saka, everyone else was supportive of him going out. The person next to you is undoubtedly the one who can most clearly perceive your state. Although Haruno Tsukasa doesn't have any real-world pressures, they are still very clear about how many worries and anxieties he usually carries.

Mizuno Naya was used to living alone and had mastered most of her life skills. She was also quick at tidying up. After making the bed for Haruno Tsukasa in the second bedroom, she took his change of clothes first. After finishing everything, she suddenly asked, "By the way, you haven't eaten yet, have you?"

"No, we don't." Haruno Tsukasa patted his stomach and asked, "Do you have any bento boxes or anything like that at home?"

"Let me make you something, it'll be quick."

"Actually, there's no need to go through all that trouble..."

"Grandma Azaki just gave me a sea bass this morning. It'll be delicious steamed. Please wait a moment."

Watching Mizuno Naa's hurried figure heading towards the kitchen, Harano Tsukasa lowered his hand that had been hanging in mid-air.

This child does resemble Chongzhi Xi.

However, he was not as timid as Shigeo Shigeo was when he was young.

After driving all day and barely eating anything along the way, Haruno Tsukasa was indeed hungry. He figured that since Mizuno Naya had been living independently for a long time, she must be quite good at cooking, so it was only fair that he ate a meal with her as her benefactor.

However, before he could finish his thought, a terrified scream came from the direction of the kitchen, which had a half-open door.

"what!"

Haruno Tsukasa frowned slightly, immediately got up from the sofa and went to the kitchen. After opening the door, he glanced at the scene inside and asked, "What's going on?"

Standing by the sink, Mizuno Naa, wearing a light blue apron, was at a loss, holding a stick that looked like a rolling pin in her hand. When she turned to look at Haruno Tsukasa, the panic on her face hadn't faded. She pointed at the fish jumping around in the sink, seemingly with inexhaustible energy: "I...I can't stun it..."

"Let me do it."

Haruno Tsukasa took the wooden stick from her and took her place, grabbing the fish in the sink and saying coldly, "You really are a case of refusing a toast only to eat cooking wine!"

Spotted sea bass are generally small in size but are fierce in temperament.

They like to prey on small fish and crustaceans.

The perch at Mizuno Naya's house was clearly just pulled out of the water, and it was larger than the ones you usually buy at the seafood market. It might have been caught in a mountain stream or river. Even he felt a strong resistance from it.

However, she still couldn't break free from his grasp.

Even with its eyes covered, the fish still frantically thrashed its tail back and forth, making a loud banging sound on the cutting board.

Haruno Tsukasa lowered the stick without any expression.

"Snapped!"

With a heavy thud.

The fish's eye suddenly bulged.

It has lived a straight life.

Then, use another stick to scrape off the fish scales, cut open the soft belly to remove the internal organs, and then wash away the blood.

Sea bass has tender flesh, and steaming is the most common and best way to preserve its freshness and flavor. After cleaning the fish, Yuan Ye Si sprinkled some salt, ginger slices and scallion segments, poured in some cooking wine and started to rub it to marinate it.

The most important thing in steaming fish is to remove the fishy smell from the fish meat itself, so you have to stuff a few slices of ginger into the fish's belly. Then, neatly arrange scallion segments on the plate used to steam the fish. Finally, put the fish on the rack in the pot and cook it over high heat. It only takes ten minutes.

Haruno Tsukasa's cooking skills were naturally a reward from his wish list, reaching the master level. He could easily be a head chef at an ordinary restaurant, so he was quite confident in his skills. However, when he took out his phone to set a timer, he realized that Mizuno Naya had been standing in the kitchen the whole time, staring blankly behind him. She raised an eyebrow and asked, "Why are you still here?"

Mizuno Naaya was stunned for a moment, her eyes filled with shock, as if she had seen something impossible. After regaining her senses, she hurriedly said, "I... I want to see if there's anything I can do to help you."

"Go and wait. I'm quite experienced in handling fish." Yuan Ye Si thought that eating only one fish might be a bit monotonous, and he also had a big appetite at the moment, usually eating two bowls of rice, so he asked, "Are there any other vegetables in the refrigerator?"

"There's only..." Mizuno Naa was about to answer instinctively, but a look of panic suddenly appeared in her almond-shaped eyes, and she quickly changed her words, "There's nothing in there..."

"Aren't there any other vegetables?"

Because the refrigerator was in the kitchen, as soon as Haruno Tsukasa asked that question, his hand had already reached towards the refrigerator. Before Mizuno Naya could finish speaking, he had already pried open the top shelf of the refrigerator.

at the same time.

Mizuno Naa's voice abruptly stopped.

The scene inside the upper part of the refrigerator also came into Haruno Tsukasa's view, which surprised him as well. Rice balls.

They're all rice balls!

The deep green seaweed wraps around the rice, giving it a rich and bright color. The triangular rice ball has a smooth and rounded edge, just like a miniature hill.

It is clear.

This is the rice ball that is often sold in convenience stores.

Perhaps because it was too full, when Haruno Tsukasa opened the refrigerator door, a rice ball fell out and spun around on the floor.

Silence.

The atmosphere suddenly became quiet.

Haruno Tsukasa also fell silent.

Gulu.

I heard the sound of someone swallowing beside me.

A few seconds later, Harano Tsukasa broke the silence: "Does Mizuno-san prefer rice balls?"

Mizuno Nami opened her mouth as if to say something, but then turned her head slightly away, saying awkwardly, "Because the rice balls were cheaper after the discount and can be stored for a long time, I stocked up on more..."

Normally, rice balls in convenience stores cost between 110 and 140 yen, and with discounts they can be 30 or 40 yen cheaper, which is a very affordable price. Moreover, although these rice balls don't look very appealing, two of them can fill you up.

And this thing can hold a lot of things.

Especially salt rice balls.

The top shelf of the refrigerator was crammed full of rice balls; Haruno Tsukasa roughly counted at least a hundred.

It seems that this is how they usually make a living.

While cooking is economical, if you can resist the blandness of just eating rice balls, the latter is still more cost-effective.

Yuan Ye Si knew that no one wanted others to see that they were not doing well, so he didn't continue to ask her why she bought so much. He just casually took out a few and said, "Then heat up a few rice balls as a staple food. Otherwise, it won't be enough if we only cook one fish."

“Hmm…” Mizuno Naya nodded, her face slightly flushed.

The two didn't talk much during the meal, perhaps because of the rice ball incident earlier, or perhaps because they were strangers to begin with. It was mostly Haruno Tsukasa asking questions and her answering, talking about ordinary things.

"I'm so sorry to have invited you to my home and then made you cook for me," Mizuno Nami said apologetically.

"It's nothing, don't worry about it."

"I…"

"It's getting late, so I'll make the best of it and ask to stay the night. Mizuno-san, you should get some rest too."

"…it is good."

Considering that it was indeed very late, Mizuno Naya felt embarrassed to bother him any longer. However, before Harano Tsukasa entered the room, she gritted her teeth as if she had made up her mind, quickly walked to the sofa, picked up something, and blushed as she stuffed it into his hand.

"This is for you!"

Yuan Ye Si instantly felt something soft and wet being stuffed into his palm, but when he looked down and saw what it was, his face immediately turned black.

It’s endless, right?
Just because I glanced at him a couple more times, it was like I was handing him a treasure, as if I had decided he was a lung-breaking athlete?
Who wants to be attacked by all bacteria?!

If Haruno Tsukasa hadn't glanced at Mizuno Naa's wish list after finishing his meal, he probably would have thought she was using a roundabout way to win his favor.

Haruno Tsukasa sighed softly.

I then helped her throw it into the washing machine.

Behind Haruno Tsukasa, Mizuno Naya, who was secretly peeking through a crack in the door, couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief upon seeing this, but at the same time, a faint sense of loss welled up in her heart for no reason.

She pursed her lips, her expression complex.

She closed the door with mixed feelings.

The next morning, when Haruno Tsukasa got up and came to the living room, Mizuno Naa was already setting out breakfast at the dining table. Noticing Haruno Tsukasa, she turned around and said, "These are all breakfasts I bought on the street. I don't know if they will suit your taste."

"Sure, I have a wide range of tastes."

Haruno Tsukasa glanced at the breakfast she bought: oden, char siu buns, salmon, and even a box of natto and two thick omelets. She didn't know if the miso soup was made by her, but it looked quite thick.

We were even quieter during dinner than last night.

But soon Mizuno Naaya took the initiative to say something.

Are you leaving after you finish your meal?

“Yes.” Haruno Tsukasa nodded.

"Where are you going?" Mizuno Naya pressed.

"No destination, just going wherever the road takes me."

"Did you come out for a walk to relax?"

"That's it."

Looking up at Mizuno Naa's hesitant expression, Harano Tsukasa swallowed the char siu bao in his mouth, took a sip of water, and then asked with a smile:
"Is there something you want to say, Mizuno-san? If so, please don't hold back and feel free to say it."

"No, I just felt..." Mizuno Naa hesitated, somewhat avoiding Haruno Tsukasa's eyes. Her gaze flickered as she brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, replying softly, "I just felt that it was such a rare opportunity to meet you, and I left without really getting to know you..."

"So, how does Mizuno-san want to get to know you?"

"I…"

"I've heard that the sand dunes in Tottori Prefecture are quite famous. I came here for a trip anyway, so if you have time, Mr. Mizuno can be my guide."

Before she could finish speaking, Haruno Tsukasa stuffed the remaining half of the char siu bao into his mouth and said.

Mizuno Naa was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, seemingly not expecting Haruno Tsukasa to say such a thing, but the next second her heart started pounding, and her lips trembled slightly as she hurriedly said, "I have plenty of time!"

“I will pay the guide fee.”

Haruno Tsukasa added with a smile.

"How could that possibly be necessary!"

"That's what Mizuno Naa said instinctively."

Without continuing the topic, Haruno Tsukasa simply smiled and said, "Let's not talk about the guide fee for now. After you finish eating, Mizuno-san, go and prepare your personal belongings. I just saw on my phone map that there's a car wash in the town. I'll go wash the car first."

It was obvious that Mizuno Naa had something to say to him.

But I've been keeping it to myself until now.

However, after glancing at the contents of the other person's wish list, he felt he needed to stay for two more days.

(End of this chapter)