Tokyo: Love Begins with Controlling the Rich Girl

"It's just..." Her hand gripped the hem of her clothes, and her other hand, which was wrapped around her arm, tightened unconsciously, "It's just that... there's no point in living anymore..."

Shimada Sho narrowed his eyes and carefully examined the girl in front of him.

He was not tall, and he was wearing a large coat that covered him up completely. His hat was pulled down low, and his mask covered the bridge of his nose.

Although her face is not clearly visible, judging from her bright eyes and the contours of her cheeks, she must be quite good-looking.

Of course, he wasn't a pervert; at this moment, he was mainly observing the girl's posture.

She curled up slightly, her shoulders hunched inward, and one hand wrapped around the other arm.

His toes were pointing towards the door, as if he was ready to run away at any moment.

This is a typical manifestation of low self-esteem, timidity, and lack of self-confidence.

In addition to his behavior of bowing and apologizing frequently, he likely has a people-pleasing personality.

The thing these kinds of people are best at is living under the gaze of others.

Take all the blame upon yourself, and then silently attack yourself.

Shimada Sho had seen quite a few of them when he was out on the streets in his previous life.

A wife subjected to domestic violence, a student subjected to bullying, an employee subjected to exploitation.

They all had one thing in common: they felt they didn't deserve to live.

It could be due to some unexpected event in life, or a change in family circumstances.

In short, whenever something happens, I think about ending it all.

Shimada Sho is not a kind person, nor does he want to redeem any confused girl.

But since he had encountered it, out of conscience, he decided to do something.

Then he let out a cold laugh and sneered, "Meaning? There's no meaning to the life of someone like you."

The girl trembled.

"Come on, let me guess." Shimada Sho sat down in the lounge chair, crossed his legs, and looked at her. "Do you feel like the whole world is against you? Do you feel like everyone hates you? And that whatever you do is wrong, and that you're just a burden to others?"

With each word he spoke, the girl in front of him shrank a little more.

"I'm so sorry..." she began to bow and apologize again, "I know I'm useless, I know I..."

"Know?"

Shimada Sho interrupted her unmoved, "Knowing you still want to die here?"

"I……"

Shimada Sho suddenly stood up, walked around the counter, and came to the girl.

Looking down at her from above, his tall figure blocked the light, and shadows enveloped her instantly.

The girl became even more frightened, and her shoulders visibly trembled.

Seeing all this, Shimada Sho coldly asked, "Do you know where this place is?"

"Convenience store."

"This is where I work part-time!"

Shimada Sho's voice suddenly rose, and he scolded, "You idiot, you want to buy a utility knife here to commit suicide? If you die, the police will come looking for you, the store manager will have to cooperate with the investigation, and I will have to go along to give a statement. The store will be closed for rectification."

Do you know how much money you lose if you close your business for even a day? Do you know how troublesome it is to be questioned by the police?!

"I'm sorry... I really didn't mean it..."

"Didn't you think about it?" Shimada Sho's tone became even more disgusted. "You're just thinking that you'll be free if you die, aren't you!"

"But if you die, you'll still have to trouble people to collect your body, and you'll prevent me from doing my part-time job. Have some self-awareness!"

After a barrage of questions, the girl in front of him was completely speechless.

She lowered her head, her shoulders trembling violently, and tears fell to the ground in a steady stream.

"Raise your head." Shimada Sho commanded indifferently, completely ignoring him.

The girl dared not move and cried even harder.

Shimada Sho's tone gradually turned cold, and he repeated firmly, "I'll make you look up."

She slowly raised her head, revealing her red-rimmed eyes and wet eyelashes.

Shimada Sho's heart was as firm as iron. He completely ignored her tearful face and just stared into her eyes.

One second... two seconds... three seconds...

"Waaah... I'm so sorry... I'll leave right away, I won't cause you any trouble..."

She only held on for three seconds before lowering her head again to avoid eye contact and bowing repeatedly.

While apologizing, she turned around, clearly intending to run away.

Shimada Sho was faster, grabbing her wrist in one swift motion.

Why are you running?

The girl was grabbed by him and froze on the spot.

"You piece of trash, you don't even have the courage to look people in the eye, and you want to commit suicide?"

Shimada Sho seized on the sore spot and berated, "You want a poison that lets you die without pain? That's a treasure that can make all weeds disappear, a bottle costs tens of thousands. Your life is worth less than a weed's, do you even deserve it?"

"I won't kill myself anymore, sob sob sob, let me go!" The girl struggled frantically.

It seems like he's really scared.

Upon seeing this, Shimada Sho immediately let go of her.

This time, the other party didn't even bother to apologize and turned around to run out of the store as if fleeing.

Shimada Sho followed her to the door and warned her from a distance, "My phone is recording. If you die, I won't mind uploading this video so the whole island can see what a piece of trash you are."

"I'm sure your family will be proud of you, you piece of trash."

Swish!

The girl froze in place.

She opened her eyes wide, turned around in shock, and her face, visible through the mask, had turned deathly pale.

This time, however, they didn't even have time to be afraid.

He tried to come back several times, his expression hesitant, as if he wanted to say something.

Without giving the girl outside a chance to speak, Shimada Sho simply closed the shop door with a sinister smile and went back inside.

It's clear that the girl is very concerned about being filmed.

But I doubt she would dare come back to confront me and have the video deleted.

From their interaction just now, Shimada Sho could tell that this was the ultimate socially anxious and insecure person.

Faced with their own brutal threats and denials, they didn't even have the courage to utter a single word in rebuttal.

Although his behavior just now might have made him seem like a weirdo in the eyes of the other party.

But it doesn't matter.

Severe illnesses require strong medicine. If we don't threaten and intimidate them, they might feel hopeless about life tomorrow and go to the rooftop to experience high-altitude diving.

What Shimada Sho needs to do is to do everything in his power to prevent this from happening.

Or rather, to prevent her from dying after contact with him.

As for what happens next, that's none of his business.

After sitting down at the cashier, Shimada Sho glanced out through the glass.

The other party hesitated for a long time outside the store.

Ten minutes later, reluctantly, he left, looking back every few steps.

It was now 8:50.

Seeing that it was almost done, Shimada Sho didn't sit idle. He simply took out the registration form and started counting the goods.

After working for more than ten minutes, Takikawa Rena, who was completely drunk, returned to the store with the help of her best friend.

In this situation, let alone handing over shifts, it's difficult to even stand still.

"Thank you for your help, Genji-kun. Rena has had too much to drink. I'll help look after her tonight. Please wait ten more minutes, I'll take Rena home and then come over."

"My name is Shimada Sho."

Upon seeing the store manager's best friend, who was also a beautiful woman, Shimada Sho corrected her again.

"Okay, Shimada-kun, please wait a moment." After giving her a word of advice, her best friend helped Takikawa Rena leave.

About eight minutes later, he changed his clothes and reappeared in the convenience store.

"Thank you for your help. Leave the rest to me."

After looking at the inventory list without checking it in detail, my best friend took over the task of watching the store.

Remembering something, she added, "Oh right, Rena told me before she got drunk that if Shimada-kun needed a few more bento boxes, he could take a few more."

"Okay." Shimada Sho was already in the bento box area.

Nodding in response, he took an extra mackerel salt-grilled bento box on top of the three-compartment platter.

To be fair, while Rena Takikawa may be unreliable, she is quite responsible towards her staff.

Shimada Sho couldn't help but raise his opinion of the alcoholic shop manager by one point.

Chapter Nineteen: Who wasn't a transfer student at some point?

After leaving the convenience store, Shimada Sho rode his bicycle back home.

The house he rented was located in Higashi-Nakano 4-chome.

Located on the edge of Shinjuku Ward, on one side of the Kanda River, it is a two-story house.

To put it nicely, it's located in Tianchuan. With your eyes open, you can enjoy the scenery, see cherry blossoms, and with your eyes closed, you can be immersed in a painting, sleeping alongside the Milky Way.

To put it bluntly, it's drafty and an old, outdated wooden house residential area.

Perhaps the only advantage is that it's relatively close to Okubo 3-chome, where the school is located.

The distance is five kilometers, and it only takes a dozen minutes to cycle there.

This dilapidated house costs 43000 yen a month.

The original owner couldn't afford it at all; it was her stepmother who helped her pay.

Now, it's much closer for Shimada Sho to ride his bike back from the Imperial Garden.

He rode for less than ten minutes to reach the building, a distance of only 2.5 kilometers.

It's a two-story wooden building. No one lives on the first floor; it's filled with all sorts of odds and ends.

There are many rooms on the second floor, but only Shimada Sho lives there.

As you climb the stairs, the creaking sounds of loose wood and loose nails echo in the night.

Back inside, the familiar musty smell filled my nostrils.

This old house is on the verge of being habitable or uninhabitable; it could fall apart in a single storm.

But it was the home where Shimada Sho was able to settle down.

The room has an air conditioner that's even older than it.

There is also a refrigerator, but only the top compartment works; the bottom compartment is broken.

After returning to his room, Shimada Sho microwaved a three-ingredient bento box and ate it for dinner.

The remaining mackerel salt-baked bento box was frozen in the refrigerator.

Although it's almost expired, I can still heat it up for breakfast tomorrow, at least I won't have to live on bread anymore.

After finishing his meal, Shimada Sho returned to his bedroom.

Lying down on the bed, the thought that had crossed his mind the night before resurfaced—making money!

Eating leftover lunchboxes and living in old wooden buildings, this kind of life is okay for the transition.