After rebirth, I became Tokyo Sentimental

Chapter 219, Section 218: I Just Have a Few More Girlfriends

If you are helped by someone, you should know how to repay them.

Of course, Mizuno Naa also knows how to be grateful.

The simultaneous death of her parents was a devastating blow to her. She lost not only the two closest relatives she could rely on in the world, but also her source of income, forcing her to drop out of school for a year and work part-time to support herself.

He was ridiculed by his former classmates.

Watching them leave this small village hidden in the mountains, some went to university full of expectations, while others failed to get into university and went to work in big cities.

I've been looked at with pity countless times.

A neighbor with ulterior motives introduced her to a husband, saying that marriage would ease her burden. However, when she was in junior high school, Mizuno Naya had seen the neighbor's eldest son's wife doing housework all night long, and being beaten and scolded by her husband and mother-in-law at every turn, to the point that her arm was even broken.

Without her parents and without a stable income to support herself, Mizuno Naya has lost count of how many times she has sat at home, eating cold rice balls and crying.

She was like a fish whose tail fin had just grown out and then been broken off, so she could no longer control the direction she was swimming.

The reason she stayed in the countryside was that she was more afraid of being ostracized and completely alone in an unfamiliar place than of the difficult life and being pointed at and gossiped about in her hometown. She feared that she would not be able to survive. Many people had gone from here to Osaka, Tokyo, or other places, but she had not heard from them since. Although she did not think that they had died far from home, she thought that they must not have been doing well, otherwise they would not have done so.

Even though this lack of courage is shameful.

But Mizuno Naa also admitted it.

After all, this was where she grew up. Even if things were difficult, it wouldn't be to the point where she couldn't survive. Moreover, she had always longed to leave this place by going to school, but she couldn't go to school anywhere else. She could only hope that she could save some money to support her studies.

Besides.

Of course there are other reasons.

But reality is just that strange.

Just when she felt that her life was bleak and she could never get out of it, the staff of the town and ward self-government committee took the initiative to come to her door.

A charitable foundation from Tokyo selected six students and elderly people in Hokuei-cho, Tohaku-gun, Tottori Prefecture, who were facing very difficult circumstances, through various data screenings. They asked these people if they were willing to receive assistance, and she was one of those six.

When this unexpected surprise, which felt like a windfall, hit her head, Mizuno Naa's first reaction wasn't joy.

Instead, it was fear.

Because you have to give something in order to get something.

Not to mention something like money.

However, after the patient explanation and repeated assurances from the staff of the town and ward self-government committee, Mizuno Naya finally believed that this charitable foundation from Tokyo had taken the initiative to sponsor her until she graduated from university, and that she would not have to pay anything in return.

The only thing you need to pay is to go to the town/district every year to get various certificates stamped and submit them to people.

That is, after receiving funding.

It was only then that Mizuno Nami began to learn about the foundation.

She learned through an online search that the founder of the foundation was named Haruno Tsukasa.

That is, from that time onwards.

The name Haruno Tsukasa left an imprint on her heart, and she had been following his journey from being a master of ceremonies in Tokyo to becoming the Vice Governor of Tokyo, and then being elected as a member of the Diet. She felt both grateful and admiring.

But Mizuno Naya never dreamed that someone so important would suddenly appear before her, help her in the rainy night, let her stay overnight, cook for her, and even care about her wet socks…

In short, she felt like it was a dream.

I was afraid that when I woke up I would find it was all fake.

But this time the world didn't lie to her. Not only did she see Haruno Tsukasa again after waking up, but he also invited her to act as his guide and take a stroll around the neighborhood.

However, recalling the many unusual news articles she had found about him online, and with the scene of Haruno Tsukasa staring at her socks last night still vivid in her mind, Mizuno Naya finally couldn't help but let go of the straw she was biting. She turned to look at Haruno Tsukasa, whose temples were gray but whose face was young, and asked, "Mr. Haruno, do you really have many wives?"

"How could that be? Bigamy is illegal."

Haruno Tsukasa turned his head to look at Mizuno Naa, who had suddenly asked such a question. He raised his eyebrows slightly, decisively denied her guess, and then paused before saying seriously, "I just have a few more girlfriends."

"..."

"what happened?"

"N-nothing..." Mizuno Naya suppressed her shock and subconsciously asked, "Then when you publicly stated in the media recently that you wanted to promote the legalization of polygamy, was it for the sake of the other wives' status?"

“Of course…” Haruno Tsukasa was about to answer.

However, the next moment he asked with a smile:
What do you think of my proposal?

"I think... it's alright. Shouldn't outstanding people enjoy more resources normally?"

"What about fairness?"

“Fairness…” Mizuno Naya was stunned.

Haruno Tsukasa swallowed the strawberry daifuku in his mouth, casually picked up a pebble from the stream at his feet, and threw it into the crystal-clear water. After seeing the ripples, he said:

"If, as you say, outstanding people should enjoy more resources, then most of the poor people in this country will be without wives or husbands. Social resources are already being occupied by a small number of people. If even this basic fairness cannot be guaranteed, then this country will regress to the era of hundreds of years ago."

"Then why..."

“Because our former prime minister should already be in middle school,” Haruno Tsukasa interrupted her with a smile.

"Former Prime Minister?" Mizuno Naa was stunned.

Seeing her bewildered expression, Haruno Tsukasa instantly realized that the person he was referring to was no longer the former prime minister: "I almost forgot, it should be the former, former, former prime minister."

Mizuno Naya was confused for a moment after hearing this, but after a few seconds, an image of a man with long bangs, wearing khaki pants, glasses and a mask, shooting a gun in the street appeared in her mind. She immediately understood the hellish joke and its deeper meaning that Harano Tsukasa had said: "I understand. So you did this to protect yourself."

"bingo."

"I also want to know..."

"Ring ring ring!"

Before Mizuno Naa could finish speaking and continue to explore what she wanted to know, Harano Tsukasa's phone, which was lying next to her, suddenly rang.

Haruno Tsukasa glanced at his phone screen.

His eyebrows twitched slightly.

There seems to be some confusion.

But then a look of understanding appeared in his eyes.

Then she looked at Mizuno Naa.

"Excuse me, I need to take a video call."

"You don't need to worry about me." Mizuno Naya quickly waved her hand, indicating that he could answer the phone as he pleased.

Yuan Ye Si nodded, then picked up his phone and answered the video call invitation on the screen. After a brief pause, a beautiful girl with a youthful and energetic appearance, around twenty years old, appeared on the screen.

"Shina, what brings you to call me?"

"What's wrong? Can't we fight?"

"No, that's not true. It's just that the last time you video chatted was half a year ago when you asked for living expenses."

"..."

"Needing money again?"

“Nothing like that!” Sato Shina said on the screen, rolled her eyes and snorted, “I heard from Mom that you ran away from home a while ago. Can’t I at least ask? I thought you wouldn’t answer, but you did.”

"What do you mean by running away from home? I just came out to clear my head." Yuan Ye Si chuckled as he explained, then stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Your mom asked you to video call me, right?"

Sato Shina's face stiffened in the video.

It seems they didn't expect to be seen through so quickly.

But she had also learned the essence of Haruno Tsukasa's shamelessness in his youth. In an instant, she gritted her teeth and refused to admit it, forcing a smile as she said, "How could that be? Do I look like the kind of guy who would act as a spy? Honestly! How annoying!"

"You're becoming more and more outrageous."

Haruno Tsukasa shook his head and said, "Now that you're sure I didn't run away from home, are you relieved? If you're relieved, I'll hang up. I'll come see you at school when I get back to Tokyo."

"Wait!" Sato Shina on the other end of the line quickly stopped him after he said he was going to hang up the video call. A look of struggle appeared on her delicate face for a moment. In the end, as if under great pressure, she gritted her teeth and continued, "Please turn the video camera to the back. I want to see if you really went out alone this time!"

"Is this necessary? Don't you trust your father anymore?" Haruno Tsukasa asked, his eyes narrowing slightly.

Sato Shina retorted with a snort, "You're not my father, after all, you weren't even married to my mother."

"If that's the case, then since you're not my daughter, you shouldn't have the right to supervise me, right?"

"..."

"Ok?"

"…dad."

"Oh! My dear daughter!" Yuan Ye Si drawled out.

Sato Shina didn't actually mind calling Haruno Tsukasa that, but his expression was so smug that she couldn't help but frown: "Can we watch it now?"

Haruno Tsukasa glanced at the screen behind him.

Standing behind the camera on the bank of the stream, Mizuno Naya paused for a moment, then immediately understood what he meant.

She quickly nodded to Haruno Tsukasa.

Then she tiptoed to his side.

“Okay, take a look.” Haruno Tsukasa flipped the camera.

"Move a little to the left!"

"Hmm... to the right! Further to the right!"

"Where's down there?"

"Is it up there? Is it in a tree?"

"You need to turn around quickly, but not too fast, just enough for me to see clearly."

"There really isn't one..."

"Is it behind the rocks in that bush over there?"

Haruno Tsukasa watched as Mizuno Naa, flustered and nearly lost her footing by the stream, and his face darkened immediately: "You child, don't go too far!"

Seemingly distressed by not being able to find one, or for some other reason, Sato Shina snorted and said, "What have I done wrong? I was just worried about you, okay? Look at how white your hair is. Do you want to find another auntie?"

Whether I look for it or not is none of your business.

So you're saying it really exists?

"No."

"Please tell me! I promise I won't tell Mom!" Sato Shina said urgently, her eyes lighting up.

It would be strange if they didn't tell me.

I reckon Sato Mie is right next to me right now.

Yuan Ye Si did not respond to the lie about his first "black-hearted little cotton-padded jacket" (a metaphor for a woman's unscrupulous behavior), but instead turned the camera around and slowly began to speak:

"I remember the guy I saw shopping with last time was named Aoki, right? If you keep asking me, I'll send him a picture of you without makeup. You know I can find his contact information."

"I'm pretty even without makeup."

Sato Shina pondered for a moment.

“Your best friend Horii Saya is quite pretty too. Believe me or not, I can give her WeChat to Aoki and then arrange for someone to create a few perfect coincidences for them, the special kind of coincidences.”

"..."

"Why don't you speak?"

Haruno Tsukasa stared at Sato Shina's sudden silence on his phone screen, just about to tease his number one black-hearted damsel in distress, when her face quickly moved away from the screen and a familiar voice came from the microphone: "You have a woman by your side, don't you!"

"Haruno Tsukasa! You really did..."

The familiar female voice abruptly stopped.

The video call was immediately disconnected.

A familiar face lingered on the screen for two seconds.

Upon seeing Sato Mie's face appear, Haruno Tsukasa quickly pressed the hang-up button and patted his chest: "Thank goodness, I almost got yelled at."

"Mr. Haruno... Ah!"

"Crack!"

"Mizuno-san?"

Just as she saw him hang up the phone, Mizuno Naya, who was standing by the stream, was about to speak when she felt her foot slip and her whole body tilted uncontrollably toward the flowing stream.

At the same time, a crisp cracking sound came from his ankle.

However, there is no pain for the time being.

Then she saw Haruno Tsukasa walk over in a flash and hug her in his arms.

She opened her mouth to say something.

But the next second everything suddenly went black.

As we all know, when a person suffers pain that exceeds the body's pain threshold, the body will automatically trigger a protective mechanism. At this time, the person usually does not feel pain, but once the most painful moment has passed, a clear sense of pain will come rushing back.

Moreover, severe pain, especially from fractures and violent impacts, is most likely to cause a sudden lack of oxygen supply to the blood, which can lead to sudden fainting.

This is the state that Mizuno Naaya is in right now.

Fortunately, they didn't go to the sand dunes today.

Because Mizuno Naa's hometown is located in central Tottori Prefecture, Harano Tsukasa didn't plan to head straight to the Tottori Sand Dunes at the beginning. Instead, he went to Kannon-in Temple, which is closer to the area. As a tourist attraction open to the public, the latter naturally has a medical room.

When Mizuno Naya regained her sight, she had already been carried to a bed in the scenic area's medical room by Haruno Tsukasa. Because there were other patients seeking treatment, the doctor simply sprayed painkiller on her sprained area and fed her a piece of candy as emergency treatment, and would check on her later.

Mizuno Nami's eyes were dark for a very long time.

My right ankle also swelled up quickly.

His face was pale and he was sweating profusely.

Yuan Ye Si supported her back and fed her water. He then took two pieces of candy from the medical room and put them in her mouth. After a minute or two, she gradually recovered.

"Mr. Haruno..."

"I…"

Have I caused you any trouble?

Haruno Tsukasa shook his head and said with a slightly apologetic tone, "What do you mean you're causing me trouble? It was clearly because of me that you sprained your ankle."

"It's none of your business, it's my fault..."

"Are you kidding me, you unscrupulous doctor!"

A sudden shout in the medical room interrupted Mizuno Naya before she could finish speaking, drawing everyone's attention to the patient who had just come for a consultation.

(End of this chapter)