I won't be a loser.

He remembered that Taizi used to be a very normal person, so how come he suddenly became like this?

"I think I drank too much at the store yesterday and passed out on the way home~ But luckily, the guy saw me passed out at his door and took me back to his house and let me sleep on his bed~ There was a faint fragrance on the bed, the taste of a good man~ Tae Tae, I can be sure that he is a gentle man~"

"He was taken home by someone?"

Takasu Ryuji's expression became serious, and his already ferocious eyes looked even more hideous and terrifying under this serious gaze.

"Ah~ Ryuji's eyes have become like your father's~ But... unfortunately~ nothing happened."

Takasu Yasuko sighed, as if she was still looking forward to some plot. This made Takasu Ryuji feel relieved, but at the same time, she couldn't help but feel a headache.

"After waking up, I got up from his bed and saw the person who carried me home. Ah~"

Yasuko screamed shyly like a little girl, which made Takasu Ryuji sigh. He rubbed his forehead with his hand, sat down at the table, crossed his legs and stared at his mother.

"Is that why you came home just now?"

"Well, after I woke up, I went home right away because I was worried about Long Er~"

"Did you thank him properly?"

"Thank you for now."

"What's the other party's address?"

"He lives in an apartment called 'Fuji Highland' near Horizaka. He's very elegant and classy, and a very handsome guy."

So, after receiving some information about the wise man from his mother, Takasu Ryuji came to express his gratitude to her.

But he never expected that after the other party opened the door, the person who appeared in front of him would be a young man who looked about the same age as him.

He thought that the person who could make Taizi scream like a shy girl would be a college student or a middle-aged man.

But the fact made Takasu Ryuji begin to suspect that his mother had some special hobby.

But what made him even more helpless was that the other party quickly closed the door again after seeing him, which made him further realize the extent of his "ferocity".

However, before he could press the doorbell for the second time, the other party opened the door again. His expression did not show the fear he often saw. Instead, he asked about his identity in a very mature tone.

"Young man, what's going on?"

Although the boy looked about the same age as him, he spoke in a tone like an elder, which made Takasu Ryuji feel a little uncomfortable. While wondering if the other party was a weirdo, he still gave a brief self-introduction.

"Ms. Takasu from this morning... please come in."

He saw the other person clearly, and after hearing Taizi's name, he saw an expression of surprise and unexpectedness on his face, but he quickly believed what he said, opened the door, and invited him in.

It was the first time that Takasu Ryuji was trusted so quickly, and he felt touched in his heart. He agreed with Yasuko's evaluation that he was a "good man".

"He's indeed a good person."

While thinking this in his heart, he entered the apartment and handed the thank-you gift in his hand to the other party with both hands.

"This is a thank you gift for helping my mother."

The wise man, who had let the other party into his apartment, looked at the thank-you gift wrapped in a furoshiki that the young man named Takasu Ryuji handed to him, hesitated for a moment, and then stretched out his hand.

"this is?"

"I made this lunch myself, and I don't know how to thank you, so..."

"This is really a big help. Since we just moved here, we don't have all the kitchen utensils at home. Even though we bought a rice cooker, we forgot to buy rice and other ingredients. At noon, we just relied on those simple semi-finished products from the convenience store to fill our stomachs."

He took the lunch box from the other person's hand. Although it was not prepared by the beautiful girl, Xianren was not the kind of pretentious boy. For a man who was already an uncle, it was the best thing to have someone help prepare dinner.

"Can you open it and take a look?"

"of course."

Looking at the young man in front of him who seemed very satisfied with the bento as a thank-you gift, Takasu Ryuji felt a little more favorable impression of him and at the same time a strong expectation arose, wondering how the other party would evaluate the food he prepared.

In order to prepare this dish, he used his emergency reserve fund and bought a lot of fresh vegetables and meat at original prices that he would never buy on ordinary days!

"Please take a seat."

Because there was no time to prepare, the only place to sit in the apartment, besides Kento's bed, was the chair that came with the desk. Facing the guest, no matter what Kento said, he would not let the other party sit on the floor, so he moved the chair in front of the desk out and asked Takasu Ryuji to sit down.

"No, I can just stand."

Takasu Ryuji, who also noticed this, declined the wise man's kindness.

"Let's try it first and see if the flavor suits my taste. This may not be a good idea, but it's something I'm confident in."

Faced with Takasu Ryuji who declined his kindness, Xianren did not insist. He set his eyes on the lunch box in his hand. He put it on the desk and first untied the furoshiki wrapped around it. As soon as he opened the lid, he smelled a pleasant aroma of food.

Looking down at the temptingly colored food, Xianren couldn't help but close his eyes and took a deep breath. Then he took a pair of bamboo chopsticks from the kitchen counter, put his hands together, and after politely expressing his gratitude, he picked up the beef roll in the lunch box and tasted it.

"Excellent cooking, very delicious."

After taking a bite, he put down his chopsticks, an expression of surprise appeared on Xianren's face. He looked at Takasu Ryuji beside him and praised him.

It is not a deliberate politeness just to take the other person's feelings into consideration.

The other person's cooking skills were indeed excellent, at least the taste was definitely better than if he did it himself.

If I don’t spend a long time cooking, I probably won’t be able to make such delicious dishes.

"It's great that it suits your taste. I was worried that my family's taste would conflict with yours. On the way here, I was worried about what to do if the lunch box I prepared didn't suit your taste."

The seemingly bad boy breathed a sigh of relief after hearing the wise man's evaluation. His face turned slightly red and he reached out to wipe the bridge of his nose.

"Gifu and Tokyo aren't too far apart, so the flavors of the food should be pretty similar."

In order to reassure the young man, the wise man lied. In fact, the taste of food in Gifu is somewhat different from that in Tokyo, but because he has lived in Tokyo for a long time, he has already accepted the cooking style here.

After hearing the wise man's answer, Takasu Ryuji finally felt relieved.

Looking at the young man who was about the same age as him and seemed to have a very good personality, Takasu Ryuji felt that he might be able to become his friend, so he asked questions that he had never asked before.

"Well, what should I call you?"

"Now that I mention it, I don't think I've introduced myself yet. My name is Miyamizu Kento, and I'm from a small town called Itomori in Gifu Prefecture. I'm a freshman in high school here in Tokyo. Thank you for your guidance."

"Takasu Ryuji, I'm also about to enter high school this year. Just call me Ryuji. I think we could be good friends. Please give me your guidance."

As he spoke, Takasu Ryuji stretched out his hand.

Looking at the hand the boy extended to me, I recalled my life in high school. It seemed that there were no boys who could be considered friends, and I didn't have much interaction with girls. After I met Sayuri, almost everything in my life became about her. Except for school days, we would always spend time together during holidays. Now... having a friend doesn't seem to be bad, right?

He smiled and extended his hand, shaking it gently with the other person.

"Well, please give me your guidance during your time in Tokyo."

......

"Mom, I'm back."

The petite girl pushed the door open and entered the house. When she untied her shoelaces and was about to enter, Qingpu Mai, who was preparing dinner in the house, glanced towards the living room.

A girl who looked 70% similar to her, but was more petite, walked slowly into the house, walked to the sofa in the living room, and lay down on it.

"I'm back. Are you going shopping with Sekai again today?"

"No, because Shijie said she wanted to see the 'Father of Shoes' at the zoo. Today, she and I went to the zoo. There were a lot of people, and we were walking the whole time. I felt exhausted."

"Father of Shoes?"

Qingpu Mai didn't quite understand the language that sounded like young people's words. She put the almost prepared food on a plate, brought it to the living room, and glanced at her daughter Qingpu Setsuna.

The girl lay down on the sofa, tilting her head to look at her mother, with a hint of fatigue in her light red eyes, and answered her mother sullenly.

"The shoebill is also known as the 'Father of Shoes' because its beak looks like a pair of shoes."

"I see. By the way, did you know that new tenants moved into the apartment across the street today?"

"opposite?"

"It's the apartment across from us that's been vacant for a year. Today, when I went out to buy groceries, I saw a boy installing gauze curtains inside."

"so?"

Handing a specially decorated lunch box to her daughter, Qingpu Mai looked at her daughter and smiled slightly.

"Please say hello to the new neighbor on my behalf."

"Please~"

After returning home from the zoo, Qingpu Setsuna was exhausted. Faced with her mother's request, she hesitated for a moment, but still slowly got up from the sofa, propped up her arms, and sat up.

"Just this once."

Image: "Kiyoura Setsuna", Location: "Images/1634976899-100277911-107865903.jpg"

Image: "Shoebill", Location: "Images/1634976918-100277911-107865903.jpg"

- - - -

Thanks to Magical Girl Ban-O for the tip! Boss, you're so generous! Stay healthy!

Thanks to Magical Girl Ban-O Sauce, Nan Sheng Qi Jiu Meng, and last year's new traveler for their monthly tickets and blades! Thanks to everyone for their recommendation votes!

Cherry Blossom Season: 5. Visiting Neighbors, Warm Burdock

"Tokyo? It's pretty much like what you see on TV. Just a short walk away you'll find cafes open late at night, and there are all sorts of Japanese confectionery shops everywhere. There are even some high-end restaurants. Just one look at them from the entrance makes your eyes hurt."

"Want to come to Tokyo? School is about to start, right? Why not come during summer vacation? Bring Yotsuba and mom along too, so you can experience Tokyo for yourself."

"Well, I'll send you some Tokyo specialties when the time comes. Remember to share them with Yotsuba."

"So be it."

After hanging up the call from Itomori and making an agreement with his sister to send some special products from Tokyo back to her, Kento sat at his desk with a somewhat emotional look on his face.

After such a long time, I heard my sister's childish voice again, which made me feel a little nostalgic. I couldn't help but want to go to Itomori to see her.

"But school is about to start. If I go back, I'll be in a rush to get back."

It only takes two hours to reach Gifu Prefecture by Shinkansen from Tokyo, but to get from Gifu Prefecture to Itomori, you have to take a train that runs every two hours. There are only two buses a day, so you can't rely on them at all.

"I still have things to deal with in Tokyo. I won't have time if I go back."

Looking at his living room, Xianren took out a piece of paper and a pen and began to gradually write down what he was going to do next.

"First, we need to prepare a low table and cushions for dining and entertaining guests. Also, I don't think we've brought an umbrella yet. We need to prepare an umbrella, otherwise we won't be able to go out on a rainy day."

"Some cutlery, and..."

Ding-dong-

The doorbell rang again, and Xianren glanced towards the door with a confused expression.

It has been less than half an hour since Takasu Ryuji left his apartment. Even if he returned home, he wouldn't be able to take care of Takasu Yasuko so quickly and come to him again, right?

He tried to recall that when he first came here, there weren't so many guests visiting. It was only after he had known each other for a long time that he occasionally chatted with the neighbors.

The wise man stood up, walked to the door, unfastened the security chain, and opened the door slightly.

Even though Tokyo has been ranked among the capital cities with the lowest crime rates in the world several times, that is only relative. In Tokyo, with a total population of more than 13 million, no matter how low the crime rate is, it is still a considerable number.

in addition.......

Apart from the possibility of crime, there might also be a very annoying and hated guy at the door - the NHK toll collector.

They are ghosts that linger around like ghosts. As long as you have a TV at home or an antenna outside, you will be harassed by them endlessly. Only when you bow your head and choose to compromise, and as a loser sign a contract to pay the usage fee, can these greedy guys disappear from your sight - until the monthly usage fee is collected.

This may be a bit of an exaggeration, but the guys who act as NHK fee collectors are indeed quite troublesome. As long as you have a TV or a mobile phone at home, they will force you to pay the usage fee regardless of whether you use or watch NHK TV programs.

Even if you bought a TV simply for gaming or to watch your rented BDs, they don't care!

The methods they used were no different from those of the gangsters.

For a long time, it left a very deep memory in Xianren...a memory of gnashing teeth.

But when Xianren gently pushed his door open a little, the person standing at the door surprised him. He had some impression of the girl. She seemed to live nearby. He had met her by chance when he was in school and they had greeted each other, but that was all.

"I'm Kiyoura Setsuna, who lives in the apartment across the street. I saw there seemed to be a new neighbor moving in, so I came to say hello. This is the Konpei burdock that my mother made. If you don't mind..."

"Wait! Please wait a moment."

Facing the petite girl with a clear voice in front of him, holding an insulated lunch box in her hand, Xianren asked her to wait for a moment, closed the door, untied the security chain on the side, and opened the door again.

"Please come in."

“No…I…”

Qingpu Setsuna originally wanted to give the Jinping burdock in his hand to the new neighbor, get to know each other briefly and then go home, but when he saw the handsome young man in front of him, a hint of hesitation flashed through his heart.