Tokyo: Starting with a fake boyfriend

Xiao Nan is an example of someone with absolutely no chance of being a philanderer, because she has a tragic family history of her father's infidelity during marriage, which caused her mother great sadness and grief. She will definitely hate all philandering men in the world.

"Let's reduce contact and interaction with Xiaonan, gradually reduce her dependence, and not renew the lease when it expires."

After careful consideration, Shiratori Osamu sighed and finally made his decision.

Although this approach would hurt Xiao Nan, he truly couldn't guarantee that he would never change his mind and would make her happy for the rest of her life, so he decided that it was better to end it sooner rather than later.

Moreover, he also understands the principle that if you don't court death, you won't die.

Konan's maternal grandfather, Hojo Yuki's father, Hojo Ryoma, is a very dangerous person. Just by his name alone, he can scare a tough guy like Yamabuki Tomoya to his knees and beg for mercy, which shows how terrifying his methods are.

Chapter 99 Sleeping Together

After taking a shower and changing into a lace nightgown, Hojo Yuki went to bed early and covered herself with a light blanket.

However, she was unable to get a good night's sleep like she had the night before; instead, she tossed and turned, feeling restless and agitated.

Hojo Yukiaki knew she needed to go to bed early because she had to make bento boxes and breakfast for her daughter the next day, but she tossed and turned and couldn't fall asleep, frequently opening her eyes in the darkness with the lights off.

The reason was something her best friend said to her on the phone that afternoon:

"Even if you don't want to remarry, it doesn't mean that bastard won't regret it. He might come back to bother you and cause you trouble."

These words were like a poisonous spider that could be seen one second, but vanished without a trace the next, sending chills down one's spine and making one uneasy.

My ex-husband is a very unstable factor; I never know when he might suddenly appear and ring the doorbell.

"I'll start packing tomorrow, and we'll move in the next few days."

Realizing this situation, Hojo Yuki decided to put moving on the agenda.

Moving was indeed a good idea, but she didn't plan to move into her best friend's house. Instead, she decided to contact her father after her daughter went to school the next day.

Just then, a few sounds suddenly came from the darkness.

It was a very faint sound, the sound of someone slowly turning the doorknob with extremely light force.

Someone is opening the door!

"Could it be that he's back?" Realizing the situation, Hojo Yuki's heart was filled with turmoil, and her heart began to pound wildly.

Given the argument before the divorce, her impression of her ex-husband was no longer just disappointment and dislike, but more of fear and dread.

Tomoya Yamabuki is a terrifying person. He is fickle, selfish, a liar, and will even want to hit people when he gets angry.

How could this be? Her ex-husband didn't have a key to the house; there was no way he could have broken in so quietly.

Did Shiratori confiscate one of her ex-husband's keys, and is there a spare key?

"I need to ask Shiratori-kun for help... No, he's not here tonight, and I don't have his contact information." Darkness breeds fear, and because she was helpless and had nowhere to turn for help, Hojo Yuki hurriedly reached out and pressed the lamp on the bedside table.

With a snap, the lights came on, instantly filling the bedroom with warm light.

However, Hojo Yuki's unease had not subsided.

Because her room was too big, and the door wasn't facing the bed but rather around a corner, she still couldn't see the true nature of the unknown voice.

"who is it?"

Hojo Yuki was terrified, but she mustered her courage and called out; she needed to confirm the situation.

Besides her, her daughter was also in the family.

"Mom, it's me... I'm sorry, did I wake you up?"

The next moment, a weak voice rang out.

"It's Xiaonan..."

Hearing her beloved daughter's voice, Hojo Yuki, whose heart had been pounding with tension, felt a huge weight lifted off her shoulders and collapsed back onto the bed.

Following closely behind, Minami Yamabuki, wearing a thin, light pink summer nightgown and carrying a large pillow and blanket, appeared around the corner, opening the door.

"Mom, I can't sleep... I want to sleep with you, okay?"

Looking at her mother, who was slumped on the bed, Minami hesitated before cautiously asking.

She couldn't sleep alone in her room tonight, so she took her pillow to the guest room hoping to find Xiu Jun's comforting scent on it, but the scent was too faint, almost nonexistent.

After going through this ordeal, she realized she couldn't sleep at all, and in desperation, she could only turn her attention to her mother.

"Sleep together? Of course, come on over."

Faced with her delicate, soft, and adorable daughter's request to sleep with her, Hojo Yuki naturally had no reason to refuse, so she sat up and opened her arms to her.

Oh right, how could she forget about that?

The past is the past, and the present is the present. Now that she's single again, she can sleep with her daughter.

Minami Yamabuki nodded and walked towards the bed. As she got closer, she suddenly noticed something and reminded him:

"Mom, why are you sweating?"

"Ah, I'm really sweating... It must be because the air conditioning temperature isn't set properly."

Noticing her gaze, Hojo Yuki raised the back of her hand and lightly touched her forehead, only to find that she had been sweating profusely without realizing it. After a moment of surprise, she made an excuse.

She knew the reason, but she couldn't very well say that she was startled by her daughter's sudden nighttime visit.

Without thinking much, Yamabuki Minami nodded, climbed into bed, put her pillow in place, and began to spread out the blankets.

"Why did you bring a blanket? Share it with your mother."

Seeing this, Hojo Yuki gently pushed her, with a hint of reproach.

This child is too distant; even when sleeping with his mother, he insists on having a separate blanket.

"But your blanket is the one your father slept in..."

"It's okay, I changed the blankets last night, and this set was washed before."

"But he slept with him before."

"Then I'll share a blanket with you."

After a conversation, Hojo Yuki was convinced on the spot. She threw off the blanket and crawled into her daughter's bed.

"Mom, you smell so good..."

Sleeping under the same quilt, Minami Yamabuki was immediately much happier. Smelling her refreshing and invigorating scent, she couldn't help but sigh.

"My little Nan smells good too."

Hearing her daughter's praise, Hojo Yuki's heart melted, and she reached out to pull her into her arms.

The mother and daughter chatted softly for a while before saying goodnight to each other.

However, Minami Yamabuki couldn't fall asleep after trying, so she made another request:

"Mom, can you come sleep in my room with me?"

"why?"

"Because he slept in this bed."

"it is good."

After this exchange, Hojo Yuki was once again persuaded by her daughter.

She hadn't realized this last night, but now that her daughter has told her, she understands that it's true.

Moreover, since her beloved daughter, who had lost her father, had made a request, even if it was unreasonable, her mother couldn't bear to refuse.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Because of the intense study, Shiratori Osamu didn't have any trouble sleeping.

As long as he lies down on the bed and shuts down the counterattack, he can fall asleep on the spot.

He was so tired that he didn't even have time to worry about anything.

The only downside is that after he wakes up, he still feels listless and heavy-hearted.

Toshima Ward is adjacent to Shinjuku Ward, but even with the distance, Shiratori Osamu's commute time is still as long as 37 minutes.

"I shouldn't have used those three times in a row. I should have used them more rationally, like waiting until I was too tired to use them." Dragging his heavy body out of the station, Shiratori Osamu yawned and suddenly regretted it.

He realized he hadn't been careful enough; he should have used the limited-time reward of high-quality deep sleep more prudently.

But there was no way around it; the feeling of being refreshed, full of energy, and energized all over after waking up from a high-quality deep sleep was so addictive that he couldn't resist using it all.

"I wonder what the effect of the talent [High Energy] is..." As he felt the lingering fatigue within him, this thought came to Shiratori Shu's mind.

However, he didn't think about it too deeply and quickly put it out of his mind.

Upon arriving at school, Shiratori Osamu resumed his routine from the previous Thursday, greeting Tomoaki and Yuki before beginning his studies.

He hasn't slacked off for a moment in preparation for next Wednesday's final math exam.

Aside from lunch breaks to replenish his energy and trips to the restroom, he spent the rest of his time studying in the classroom.

The students in Class 3(1) had different opinions on this situation.

"This guy is putting on a show. Who reads and studies by turning a page every few minutes?"

"Being at the bottom of the class is being at the bottom of the class, how ignorant."

The top students in the class were surprisingly unanimous in their opinion: this self-study efficiency was too fast, to the point of being unreal, and it was definitely a show.

However, they only dared to keep such thoughts to themselves.

As for running up to mock and expose their lies... that's Shiratori Osamu, the super bully at the top of the food chain in the small social ecosystem of Takeno High School. It's good enough that he didn't bully them, why would they go looking for a fight?

"Xiu is studying hard, so I have to study hard too."

Seeing this, Nakamura Tomoki became incredibly motivated, studying diligently even during breaks.

In order to improve his grades a little in the final exam and prove to his best friend that he was studying hard, he is studying Chinese literature.

Actually, he originally wanted to emulate Xiu's learning method and start with mathematics, but his grades were too poor, so he gave up after trying it.

Unless he starts learning from "Mathematics I", he simply cannot understand the third-grade "Mathematics III". Opening the textbook is like reading gibberish, and he is quickly put to sleep.

Minami Yamabuki naturally noticed that Osamu Shiratori was studying diligently, but she already knew that Osamu wanted to go to university, so she wasn't surprised at all.

"Xiu Jun didn't come yesterday, he should be here today, right?"

While Shu-kun's focused study was certainly handsome, what Yamabuki Minami was more concerned about was after school.

Although she felt comfortable sleeping with her mother under the same quilt last night, she still preferred the feeling of snuggling up to Xiu Jun to fall asleep, which gave her an unparalleled sense of security.

"Ring ring ring!"

When the school bell rang, Takeno High School began to buzz with noise.

Finally, school was over. Shiratori Osamu continued studying at his seat for a while, and after confirming that Mr. Shinonome did not intend to talk to him alone after school, he packed his bag and left school.

However, when he walked out of the school building, the scene from yesterday was repeated once again.

It feels like just yesterday that Minami Yamabuki, carrying her schoolbag, stood under the shade of a tree, the summer breeze blowing and lifting her glossy black hair.

After Shiratori Osamu left the school building, she lowered her head and fiddled with her phone again, sending out the content she had thought about and prepared for a long time.

Minami Yamabuki: "My mom and I didn't celebrate our divorce yesterday. We were planning to wait for you to come back together, shall we?"

The response was very fast this time; although it wasn't instantaneous, it was much faster than yesterday.

"Yay!" As her phone vibrated slightly, Minami Yamabuki was overjoyed to realize what was happening.

Just as she thought, Xiu Jun should have finished his business yesterday and could come to her house today.

However, before she could be happy for long, she saw the reply.

Xiu Jun: "I've been a bit busy lately, you guys just celebrate, no need to wait for me."

"Huh?" Minami Yamabuki was dumbfounded, wondering if she had seen it wrong. She blinked and checked it again.

But no matter how she looked at it, the content remained unchanged.

Xiu Jun still won't be coming to her house today.

When Minami Yamabuki looked up, she saw that Shiratori had left, just like yesterday. He looked very unfamiliar, as if he were walking on a different parallel line.

Sensing the distance emanating from his every move once again, Yamabuki Minami's face turned pale, and her body trembled involuntarily as feelings of unease and fear welled up from the depths of her heart.

But just then, the conversation from the night before last rang in her ears again: