Kyoto: I just want to be a gentleman

"Sunlight is actually her..."

"Shocked! An 18-year-old girl actually did this on stage..."

"Professional music critics commented..."

After this concert, news popped up one after another, and the name "Sunlight" became very popular...

......

three days later.

Kyoto Prefecture, Kitano family.

Watanabe Hideyuki felt a little nervous when he saw Kitano Chiharu lying on the bed and flipping through the light novel she wrote.

After an unknown amount of time, he cleared his throat and said softly, "Chiharu...what do you think?"

Kitano Chiharu raised her head and smiled: "Very good, that is..."

"What is it?" Watanabe Hideyuki asked hurriedly, his heart full of anticipation and anxiety.

"It's just... I don't like the ending very much." Kitano Chiharu said softly, still smiling on her face, but a hint of disappointment flashed in her eyes.

Being smart and familiar with Watanabe Hideyuki, she already understood what he wanted to convey and what he wanted to express in his story.

She was touched, but also very rational.

She had seen through Watanabe Hideyuki's little thoughts.

As a woman, she could not accept someone else sharing the love of the man she loved deeply.

As a reader, she also could not accept the process and ending.

When she first read this story, many dangerous and extreme thoughts came to her mind.

She wants to...

Looking at the handsome face of the young man so close to her, she couldn't bear to do it.

So...compromise?

If she compromised easily, she would no longer be Kitano Chiharu.

So...what should I do?

Kitano Chiharu was silent for a moment, then slowly spoke: "I suggest you rethink the ending of this story." She raised a finger and drew a faint curve, "Tsubaki and Hideyuki..."

After hearing this, Watanabe Hideyuki frowned slightly.

He lowered his head and pondered for a while, and finally shook his head: "I think my idea is fine."

Kitano Chiharu narrowed her eyes and stared at Watanabe Hideyuki's profile for a long time.

Then she suddenly laughed, a little unscrupulously: "Okay, it seems that I worry too much. But I still think that your arrangement is too cruel. Don't you want to have all the love?"

Watanabe Hideyuki said nothing.

A hint of gloom flashed across Kitano Chiharu's eyes, but she quickly hid it.

She pretended to be nonchalant and asked, "If that's the case, then why did you write such a heartbreaking story? You know very well that it will only make us readers feel distressed and uncomfortable."

Watanabe Hideyuki was silent for a while before he whispered, "Because this is my dream. I long for that kind of crazy and passionate love, even if it is destined to bring harm. I want to experience the limits of human nature and feel the most primitive instinctive desire..."

His voice became lower and lower until it was almost inaudible.

Kitano Chiharu bit her lower lip tightly and felt her heartbeat speeding up.

"So that's how it is..." She sighed softly, with a hint of relief in her tone.

Watanabe Hideyuki looked out the window. The night was getting darker and the city lights cast a hazy shadow on the glass.

The two of them just stared at each other in silence, and the atmosphere became somewhat ambiguous and charming.

Kitano Chiharu suddenly reached out her hand and touched Watanabe Hideyuki's face, "Kiss me."

He leaned closer to her, stopping just inches from her lips.

Kitano Chiharu felt her breathing become rapid and her heart beat fast, but she did not dodge and just let Watanabe Hideyuki kiss her forehead.

A shudder like an electric current spread throughout her body, and Kitano Chiharu closed her eyes.

She didn't want to think about it anymore. Maybe today was not the right day to think. There was no need to dwell on the worries and leave them for tomorrow...

...

Time flies and it is now June.

There are still three weeks before the independent enrollment examinations of various universities.

In the classroom after school, while Nishii Satomi was packing her schoolbag, she suddenly said to Watanabe Jyouxing in a relaxed and natural tone: "Come home with me next week."

Watanabe Hideyuki turned to look at her, feeling a little confused and surprised. He wasn't sure whether he was surprised that she took the initiative to talk to him, or that what she mentioned was too unexpected for him.

So, Watanabe Hideyuki asked hesitantly, "What? You...you mean...you want me to go home with you next week?"

"Yes, Shikoku." Nishii Satomi nodded calmly, as if she didn't think it was such a big decision. "Isn't it a holiday next week? We can go back together."

Watanabe Hideyuki was stunned for a moment, and then suddenly remembered the conversation at Kiyomizu Temple before.

At that time, they stood side by side in front of the old wooden building, admiring the charming maple leaves...

"Do you remember what we said last time at Kiyomizu Temple?" Nishii Satomi asked softly, with anticipation in her eyes.

"Hasn't Hideyuki always wanted to know my secret?" she added with a faint smile on her face.

Watanabe Hideyuki's heartbeat suddenly accelerated. For some reason, he felt an unprecedented tension and anticipation.

At this moment, a system panel appeared in front of him.

[Xijingli's good feeling has reached the upper limit of 70]

[Unlock the upper limit of favorability after completing special serial tasks]

[Special mission: Follow the girl home and explore her secrets. ]

Chapter 172: Watanabe Hideyuki's Journey (I)

I looked at the ticket to Shikoku in my hand, feeling a little dazed.

"Let's go."

Rimi pulled my sleeve, shook it gently, then ran away with her twin ponytails swinging.

Her figure shuttled through the bustling crowd at the station like a lively little bird.

I smiled, quickly picked up my luggage and followed.

Rimi's enthusiasm and energy always infect me and make me full of anticipation and curiosity.

Shikoku, a place I have never been to, a place name I have only seen on the map, but now it is about to become the reality under my feet.

I caught up with Satomi, and we passed the ticket gate together and boarded the train to Shikoku.

In the carriage, we found our seats. Rimi excitedly pointed at the scenery outside the window and shared her expectations with me.

I looked at her, then at the rapidly passing scenery outside the window, my heart filled with longing for the future.

As the train sped along, the bustling city was gradually left behind, replaced by rolling hills, fields and streams. All of this seemed so fresh and so attractive.

Shikoku, a place that was once unfamiliar to me, is slowly revealing its mystery to me.

"Are you looking forward to what Shikoku will be like?" Rimi asked me.

I shook my head.

My knowledge of the four countries is limited to books, short videos on my phone, and related travel guides.

"I haven't been back to Shikoku for a long time." Rimi sighed softly, "I don't know how my family is doing now."

“It’s very troublesome to go back and forth once.”

“Even in the 21st century, with rapid technological advancement, a train cannot cross the ocean and leave its tracks on the surface of the sea.”

"Why not take a plane?" I asked.

"Trains and ferries are better, Hideyuki." Rimi tilted her neck and thought for a while, as if searching for the advantages of both in her mind. "When I was a child, my family and I took the train to travel between Shikoku and Honshu. The wobbly feeling... was like riding a wooden horse."

“And it tastes good,” she added, her eyes twinkling with reminiscence.

"What does it smell like?" I asked curiously.

"The smell of the land and the sea, right?" Rimi asked uncertainly, as if she was trying to capture the ethereal and complex aroma with words.

“Does the land have a smell?”

"Yes." Rimi answered confidently, "It is a mixture of the fragrance of soil, the freshness of grass, and the sweetness of crops..."

I couldn't feel what Rimi said, but I felt that her voice had flavor, a deep and mellow flavor.

The train was speeding, the scenery outside the window was changing rapidly, and the prosperity of Osaka City was just around the corner. The train soon reached our destination - Osaka City.

The prosperity and vitality of the city came into view through the car window, but what I was more looking forward to was the upcoming ferry trip.

We will take a ferry from Osaka City to Yoshino City in Shikoku.

We carried our luggage, walked out of the station and headed towards the ferry terminal.

The sea breeze blew gently, carrying with it a slightly salty and humid smell. That was the scent of the ocean, and it was also the smell of the ocean that Rimi had not explained in detail just now.

This smell feels strange, yet seems to contain a sense of familiarity.

It reminds me of those stories about adventure and exploration, and also fills me with endless imagination about the future.

I took a deep breath, as if I could feel the endless vastness and freedom.

In front of this boundless ocean, all the troubles and constraints seem so insignificant. I long to be able to merge into this ocean, breathe with it, and feel the magnificence and vastness of this world.

By chance, Rimi and I caught the last ferry in the morning.

Woohoo——

The first thing that reaches my ears is the deep and powerful sound of the whistle, which is like the overture to this symphony, long and high-pitched.

Then, you can hear the roar of the engine, which is the beating of the heart of the ferry, steady and powerful, pushing the huge hull to move slowly. As the ferry moves forward, the waves gently hit the hull, making a "rushing" sound.

Rimi pulled me onto the deck, and we leaned on the railing, staring ahead.