Tokyo: Oreimo

The train ride from Chiba Station to Shinjuku takes forty minutes. When Ryosuke and Ayano boarded the train, the carriage was already packed with people.

On Christmas Day in Tokyo, every subway line was like a sardine can, with people packed together with almost no space between them. The air was filled with the damp, cold smell of snow and all sorts of perfumes.

Ling Nai squeezed in front of Liang Jie, one hand holding onto the overhead ring, the other hand nowhere to go but tucked into her chest.

The inertia of the train as it started made her fall backward, her back slamming solidly into Ryosuke's chest.

"...Feel sorry."

She muttered something under her breath, almost swallowed up by the noise in the carriage.

Ryosuke didn't say anything.

He looked down at the top of her head; the golden whorl of hair looked exceptionally soft under the warm yellow light of the carriage. A few snowflakes that hadn't yet melted clung to her hair, turning into tiny water droplets at a visible speed.

As the tram passed a station, the crowd surged, and Ling Nai was pushed back half a step.

This time, her back was pressed completely against Ryosuke's chest, and the last bit of space between them was squeezed out completely.

Ryosuke could feel her shoulders taut under her down jacket. She didn't turn around, but the tips of her ears turned red at an alarming speed, burning from her earlobe all the way to her earlobe, becoming almost transparently red.

He hesitated for a moment, then raised his free hand and gently supported her waist.

Ling Nai's shoulders stiffened for a moment.

Then, little by little, like ice and snow melting, the tense body slowly relaxed.

She didn't push his hand away, nor did she turn around to glare at him; she simply lowered her head even further.

The announcement of the station sounded in the carriage, and the crowd surged again. Ryosuke felt something gently pressing on the back of his hand.

It was Ling Nai's hand.

She didn't look at him; her gaze was fixed on the car window.

Her face was reflected in the glass, as red as if it were about to bleed, her lips pressed into a thin line, her eyes fixed on the buildings rushing past the window, pretending to be admiring the scenery.

But her fingers were carefully resting on the back of his hand.

It was just hanging there, as if it were ready to shrink back at any moment.

Ryosuke stared at her face reflected in the car window and remained silent for a moment.

Then he turned his hand over so that his palm was facing up.

Ling Nai's fingers trembled slightly.

After a few seconds, those fingers slid little by little into his palm.

Ryosuke closed his fingers and took her hand in his.

Her hands were small, her fingers were cool, and her fingertips were trembling slightly, whether from the cold or from nervousness, it was hard to tell.

In the reflection of the car window, Ling Nai closed her eyes.

Her lips moved as if she were saying something, but the carriage was too noisy to hear anything.

The tram travels through the snow, with the white streetscape receding behind the window.

They just held hands like that, and neither of them said a word.

……

We've arrived at Shinjuku Station.

The car doors opened, and the crowd surged out like water released from a dam.

Ling Nai quickly pulled her hand back as if she had been burned, hiding the hand he had held in her down jacket pocket, and strode forward without looking back.

"Hurry up, you idiot."

Her voice drifted over from the front, slightly raised in an unnatural tone.

Ryosuke watched her retreating figure.

The girl walked quickly, her ponytail swaying behind her, her leather shoes making rapid sounds on the platform floor.

But she didn't actually go far. She walked seven or eight steps and then stopped, pretending to look at the bus stop sign, waiting for him to catch up.

Ryosuke smiled and followed.

Chapter 201 Still in the Pursuit?

The crowds at Shinjuku Station were several orders of magnitude larger than those at Chiba Station.

On Christmas Day, it seemed like the whole of Tokyo had flocked here.

The shop windows were filled with red and green Christmas decorations, bells and carols were playing everywhere on the streets, and the air was filled with the aroma of roasted chestnuts and cinnamon.

Ling Nai walked ahead at a fast pace, but at each intersection she would unconsciously slow down and speed up again after Ryosuke caught up.

"Where are we going?" Ryosuke asked, finally unable to resist following behind her.

"You'll know when it arrives."

Ling Nai didn't turn her head, but her ears were abnormally red in the cold December wind.

It wasn't frozen; it had already turned red on the tram earlier and hasn't faded yet.

The two people walked through the underground passage of the station, came out from the east entrance, and walked along Central Avenue.

The red sign of the electronics store is very eye-catching on the street corner.

Ling Nai paused at the door, glanced at him sideways, then quickly looked away and pushed the door open to go inside.

The warmth of the heater and the buzzing of voices filled the air.

The electronics store was much busier than the outside, filled with customers taking advantage of the Christmas sales. The TV wall was playing advertisements for the latest digital products, with flashing lights and music playing in the background.

Ryosuke looked around, somewhat surprised.

What brings you to the electronics store?

"Buy a mobile phone."

Ling Nai walked straight to the mobile phone counter, her steps more hurried than before.

“My phone is two years old, it’s time to replace it,” she added, her voice muffled behind her scarf. “Yours is about the same, right? It’s a flip phone that doesn’t even have a camera, it should have been obsolete a long time ago.”

Ryosuke glanced down at his phone in his pocket.

I bought this flip phone two years ago. It was the most popular model in Japan at the time. It could make calls, send text messages, and occasionally receive emails.

Digital products have been updated and replaced very quickly in the past two years, almost changing every six months.

Most importantly, it has many more features, especially photography. New mobile phones now have the ability to take pictures.

In that case, it really is time to replace it.

The mobile phone counter is located in the most prominent position on the first floor of the electronics mall, with various new models neatly arranged in the glass display case.

Ling Nai stopped in front of the counter and looked down at the displayed mobile phones.

Welcome!

The sales clerk at the counter was a young woman in her early twenties with a standard and friendly smile, and her name tag read "Suzuki".

She glanced at the two people standing in front of the counter, her gaze settling on Ryosuke, who looked more mature.

"Are you choosing a phone for your girlfriend, sir?"

Ling Nai's fingers froze for a moment on the edge of the counter.

“No.” Her voice came out muffledly from behind the scarf. She paused, then added, “...I wanted to buy it myself. This guy just bought it on the side.”

"Okay, do you have any styles you'd like to see?"

The Suzuki clerk ignored her denial, his gaze still sweeping back and forth between the two of them, a knowing smile playing on his lips.

Ling Nai's ears turned even redder under her gaze, so she simply pulled her scarf down to reveal her entire face and pointed to a silver-white flip phone in the counter: "Take this one out and let me see it."

Ryosuke stood half a step to her side, watching her take the demo unit from the shop assistant, open the cover, and press a few buttons.

She tried the camera function, took a picture of the demo unit on the counter, then frowned as she looked at the result, shook her head in dissatisfaction, and handed the phone back.

The main reason I'm getting a new phone is because of its camera; the photos this one takes are terrible.

"Is there anything else?"

"Yes, these are all new products that were just launched last month, and their pixel count is much higher than that one."

The Suzuki salesperson took out several more units from the counter and lined them up in front of her.

Ling Nai tried each device one by one, turning on the camera function of each one, taking a picture of Ryosuke, and then flipping it over to check the effect.

Ryosuke stood beside her, watching her take photos and delete them repeatedly, freezing his image on the screen at least ten times.

What are you filming?

"Testing the camera function," Ling Nai said without looking up, as if it were a matter of course. "You're just standing there doing nothing, so what's wrong with being a model?"

As she spoke, she raised the dark blue flip phone in her hand and pointed it at him.

Click.

Ryosuke's slightly helpless face was captured on the screen.

Ling Nai glanced at her phone, her lips curving slightly involuntarily before she quickly straightened them and put the phone back on the counter.

"This one isn't very good either; the color is weird."

The Suzuki employee watched for a long time before finally speaking up.

"that....."

Ling Nai raised her head.

"Are you two really not a couple?"

The air was quiet for a second.

Ling Nai's face burned at a visible speed, turning red all the way from her neck to her forehead. She looked like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, with all the fur standing on end.

"I already said no!"

Her voice rose a half octave, but her eyes glanced at Ryosuke unconsciously before quickly looking away, her fingers fidgeting with the edge of the counter.