Tokyo, there are too many beautiful girls imitating me

Page 9

Her eyes, which usually wore a smile, were now red and swollen, with tears continuously flowing from them. At this moment, she was randomly wiping her hands with something to try to stop the tears from flowing.

You have never dared to look up at her expression, but from a long time ago, perhaps when you answered the first question, tears had already been falling from Chika Tachibana's eyes.

Those were tears of betrayal, tears shed because of the sadness of feeling betrayed.

Snapped!

With trembling fingers, you tried to hand her a tissue to wipe her tears.

However, while you were stunned, the crisp sound of hands touching each other had already echoed in your ears.

Your hand was brushed away.】

Chapter 16: The Last Step Not Taken

[“Thousand flowers…”

The palm was forcefully blocked and rejected without mercy or hesitation.

Your eyes widened, your throat dry, you froze, staring blankly at the red mark on the back of your hand as you hoarsely called out her name, your voice filled with disbelief.

But what is there to be unbelievable about?

Clearly, the person who completely defeated her was you.】

“I know, I know something is wrong, but I thought I was lucky to have met such excellent seniors and everyone in the band. I also wondered what you, Zhenling, did for me behind the scenes.

But I didn’t expect…it turns out…I should have noticed it earlier, ah, I should have noticed it earlier.”

Unable to wipe away her tears, she simply gave up, completely bent her back, covered her face with her hands and sobbed. Chika Tachibana trembled and spoke with tears, revealing her obvious vulnerability.

"I just want you to be better..."

Your heart has never changed. Even though you may have been carried away by success in the past, everything you did was driven by love.

"Everything I did was for you, Chika."

You do have faults, but you always feel that you can be forgiven and that Chika Tachibana may not hate you too much.

And it seemed that things happened just as you expected. After crying and venting her emotions, her trembling stopped with your comfort. When she raised her head again, it seemed that she had adjusted her emotions and she pulled the corners of her mouth and forced out a smile.

She is still herself. After realizing that her behavior may make you feel anxious and frightened, she chooses to comfort you, just as she did before.

but......

For some reason, you felt that there was not much warmth in that smile, as if Chika Tachibana was just trying to comfort you.

This time, as you anxiously waited for her to adjust her mood and shed tears of guilt and fear due to palpitations, Chika Tachibana did not hold you in her arms again.

"I realized the gap between myself and my seniors and practiced relentlessly. I was so excited about the success of my first commercial performance that I couldn't sleep all night. I participated in the performance of the movie theme song and received rave reviews. I continued to perform, continued to shine, and continued to climb towards my dream. Finally, I was about to reach the stage of the Budokan..."

Over the past three years, Chika Tachibana has worked hard for all of this and is delighted by it all.

But now, all of this turned out to be fake, it was all arranged long ago, and the complacent girl turned out to be just a puppet being pulled by strings.

So, what is the significance of these three years?

"Chika, do you... blame me?"

All the things you did secretly in the past are now put on the scale, and you finally feel the heavy weight. Listening to the words spoken by Tachibana Chika in tears, you still only think about yourself, and you ask tremblingly.

You are afraid that because of this betrayal and your own wishful thinking, you will completely break up with Chika Tachibana.

But how could that be? She was always gentle.

"It's strange... a little bit, but I know what Masuzu feels."

He stopped talking, stared at you deeply for a long time, then reached out to wipe away your tears. Chika Tachibana turned her head and looked out the window. There were no stars in the sky above the downtown area of Tokyo, which was severely light-polluted, only bright moonlight.

However, when she stared at the moon, her eyes were still empty.

What she had been pursuing with all her might had become a bubble, everything she believed in had collapsed, and even the pride burning in her heart was completely extinguished at this moment, without leaving a single spark.

It's not strange, but...

"Telling lies and doing wrong things for my own good will only make me sad, Mansuzu."

In the past, when you quit the band for Chika Tachibana’s sake in high school, she said these words to you again, and now she seems to be even more resolute and determined.

"It's not over yet, we can do it again!"

You spoke excitedly, but all Chika Tachibana did was wave her hand in rejection.

"Sorry, let me calm down now."

When speaking, Chika Tachibana's voice was very light and soft, yet very cold, so cold that you could feel the words piercing your bones.

In response, you subconsciously stretched out your hand, but your throat seemed to be stuck by an invisible hand, and you couldn't utter a word.

You struggled to reach the door, watching her figure fade away in the dark passage, a vague sense of sadness and foreboding emerging in your heart.

Perhaps, you will never be able to catch up with her footsteps again. 】

"Her performance was genuine. Capital can buy bestsellers, but it can't buy the public's love. She deserves to be featured at the Budokan."

Chika Tachibana has always been liked by others. It was like that during her school days, and there is no change now.

After the initial wave of attacks passed, before your public relations team could even take action, her fans, the millions of people online who had heard her performance and liked her, had already spontaneously organized themselves to speak out for her, to jointly resist the rumors, and to support her as she stood on the stage of the Budokan and shattered all doubts with her strength.

But she was no longer able to play.

She canceled her scheduled performance at the Budokan, thanked you profusely, and then quit the band, saying lonely words like "I need to find myself again." She completely disappeared from the public eye after rejecting your request to accompany her, and embarked on her journey alone.

Having been keeping track of her whereabouts, and hearing that she had stopped traveling and returned to her hometown, you thought that after a few months, Chika Tachibana's anger towards you should have dissipated a lot, so with a sense of trepidation, you went to Fuji City.

Fortunately, upon learning that you were coming, Chika Tachibana did not avoid you.

Your heart beats with joy, thinking that she might have forgiven you. Hesitantly, you finally say the words that have been buried in your mind since high school and have been buried until now.

"Chihua, I like you."

Hearing the words, Chika Tachibana didn't seem surprised. Your love is too strong, too passionate and too unconcealed. As smart as Chika Tachibana, there is no reason for her not to notice.

As for the answer, her words left your heart completely cold.

"I like Masuzu too, the way you like a best friend, the way you like a cute little sister."

"Is it impossible to move forward?"

In silence, Chika Tachibana shook her head.

"It's been like this since high school... I've never had a chance."

Tears welled up uncontrollably as you looked towards Chika Tachibana, praying for an answer.

In the blurred vision, Tachibana Chika was stunned for a moment, revealing a sad and miserable smile, and shook her head in response.

At that time, you couldn't understand the meaning of this smile and just thought it was a rejection.

Distraught and dejected, you leave Fuji City in despair.

A year later, Japan passed a same-sex marriage law.

In the same year, in an interview with the media, Chika Tachibana said frankly that she would not embark on the art career again in the future.

You don't understand. Chika Tachibana is obviously loved by thousands of fans. She can clearly start over, and you can also promise that you will never interfere with her artistic career again. Everything can be turned around, so why do you want to leave with regret?

However, the words of your agent, Ms. Horii, made you truly realize what you had brought to Chika Tachibana.

"Once a label is attached, it's hard to remove it. Fans know that Qianhua has a financial sponsor like you. The agency and TV stations will continue to release her to curry your favor, and the media will also seize on this negative information...

The brighter the light, the bigger the stain. Throughout her life, Qianhua will never be able to stand purely on the stage she desires. As long as she is still active in the circle, she will never be able to escape from your shadow.

She didn't become a musician for fame, but picked up the guitar to shine flawlessly. From the moment you, Miss, secretly provided her with resources, Qianhua's life as a musician quietly came to an end."

A subordinate would say such harsh words to the boss. Perhaps, Miss Horiuchi has already accumulated countless dissatisfactions with you in her heart, and it was not until this moment that you finally woke up and finally stopped deceiving yourself.

The person who destroyed Chika Tachibana was indeed you.

We choose music in order to shine, not step onto the stage in order to shine.

It seems like you misunderstood from the beginning why Chika Tachibana loves music and performing.

Perhaps I clearly understood it at the beginning, but along the way I forgot that original intention and distorted that wish unilaterally, twisting it into such an ugly appearance today.

You are often like this. You are clearly in love with Chika Tachibana and take actions for her wholeheartedly, but because of your immaturity, you hurt her again and again.

It was like this when we were in the music club, it was like this when we first started looking for a band, and now, you are like this again.

You, the one who loves her the most, have indeed hurt her the most.

It's only natural for you to lose, and it's also only natural that you have never truly entered Chika Tachibana's heart.

[Realizing what you did to Chika Tachibana and what you brought to her, you began to fear meeting her.

The two of you who were once the closest friends gradually drifted apart. One year later, you received a wedding invitation from Chika Tachibana.

She is getting married to your high school senior, Miki Matsuoka.

Once again, you lost to the other party.

This time, you didn't choose to attend the wedding again.

You love Ju Qianhua more deeply, but you also let her down more. You are alone in your home with the curtains drawn.

You calculated the time for Chika Tachibana and Miki Matsunami to say their wedding vows and exchange rings. You seemed to hear the sound of the bells conveying blessings in your ears. You could no longer hold back your tears and curled up in pain.

At this time, on TV, the one-person documentary disc that the agency had produced for Chika Tachibana was coming to an end.

The disc has never been released, and the final edit has not even been completed. Apart from the original file, you only have this copy in your hands. In the past, although you have tried to play it many times, you have never been able to finish it.

But now, with the disc playing on TV, you are crying so hard that your whole body is sore and you have no energy or desire to turn off the TV, and before you know it, you have played it to the end for the first time.

"Is this the end?"

"There's nothing left to record."

At the end of the documentary, between the shaking shots, the conversation between the agent Ms. Horii and Chika Tachibana can be heard. You seem to sense something while crying, and your mind is focused on the film.

Among them, Chika Tachibana, who was scheduled to take the stage at the Budokan soon, smiled shyly, her gentle temperament relaxed, and she was incredibly beautiful.

"Don't you have another song that you wrote the lyrics and composed yourself?"

"Huh? That's too embarrassing."

"I'm going to sing it for everyone at the Budokan anyway, so it doesn't matter if I record it now. Wouldn't a solo performance at the end of a documentary about a guitarist be the perfect ending?"

"Well......"

The camera finally returned to the center, and Chika Tachibana appeared in the center of the screen, sitting on a high stool with a guitar in her arms. She shyly plucked the strings a few times, touched her sore nose, and softly sang the song in her heart, a song with a mess of lyrics and music.

"My best friend is a big tsundere

I can never say I love you

Showing kindness to her, she never notices

Even a kiss couldn't muster up her courage

Is it too difficult to pray for her to be brave?

If she fails, she will cry terribly.

Make a name for yourself, and then you'll fall in love

Make a name for yourself, and then you can confess your love

I'm just delaying and loving you tomorrow

Make a name for yourself, and then you'll fall in love

Make a name for yourself, and then you can confess your love

If you can't do it, I'll do it.