I won't be a loser.

"Sorry for bothering you, these will do."

After handing some of the lighter vegetables to Kento, Takasu Ryuji raised his arm and pointed in the direction of home.

"My home is here, a little distance from yours."

"It's okay, I just don't have anything to do. Let's go. I just happen to be a guest at your house. You don't mind, do you?"

"Of course not, you're most welcome!"

When Takasu Ryuji heard that the wise man was coming to his house as a guest, he became very happy. Usually, no one was willing to visit his house. Even his good friend Kitamura Yusaku had never been to his house.

If a wise man came to visit his home, it would be considered the first time that a person of the same age officially visited his home.

"Come to think of it, that girl looked familiar. Does she live nearby?"

"Yes, it's called Saionji World."

"So it's the Saionji family."

As the two walked towards Takasu's house, they chatted about some random things and interesting stories about the neighborhood. Perhaps there were few people who could be considered friends, but after all, they were old residents who had lived in this area for more than ten years. Takasu Ryuji's understanding of this area was more familiar and profound than the world of Saionji.

He told the wise man about some of the strange people nearby, as well as some places and life details that needed attention. As a result, the wise man, who had lived here for nearly three years, noticed some details that he had not discovered before.

"I feel like you...."

"Just call me Sage."

"Well, Xianren, your understanding of this area is no worse than those residents who have lived here for a long time. Did Xiyuanji tell you this?"

"Well, she also told me a lot about this film."

During their conversation, Xianren inadvertently revealed some of his familiarity with this area, which confused Takasu Ryuji. However, before Xianren could explain, he had already found the right answer and convinced himself.

It saves the wise man some trouble.

"My house is in front, it's a bit simple..."

"No, it looks like a very cozy home, and it seems that the space is much larger than my apartment."

The two came to the door of the Takasu family and looked at the house in front of them. It looked a bit old, but it was not bad. At least it looked quite ordinary from the outside.

"Please come in."

"excuse me."

Under the guidance of Takasu Ryuji, Xianren followed him into the house. Then, as soon as Xianren entered the house, he saw a pair of purple lace underwear lying quietly on the floor at the entrance.

Xianren was stunned and looked at Takasu Ryuji beside him, but he only found that Takasu Ryuji walked into the house calmly, put the ingredients into the refrigerator, and then turned back to look at Xianren who was standing there.

"what happened?"

"Uh... no, nothing much. By the way, where's Mrs. Takasu?"

"Taeko? Taiko should be out working at this time. He won't be back until the early morning. Come in and sit for a while. I have to prepare the ingredients and save them first."

"Ah."

After inviting the wise man to enter the living room and sit down, Takasu Ryuji poured a glass of water and placed it on the table in front of him, and asked him what he thought.

"How is it, my family, are you a little disappointed?"

"No, it's about the same as my hometown in Gifu, but the environment there isn't as developed as here."

Looking at the environment of the Takasu family, compared with his hometown in Itomori, Gifu, it is already quite good. At least when Kento was young, the environment he lived in was not much different from that of the Takasu family. At most, the environment was closer to nature and the houses were a little bigger.

"You and Mrs. Takasu..."

"No, no, don't call her Madam. It's too awkward. I don't think Taizi would like it either. Just call her Taizi."

"Uh... Miss Taizi then."

"Well, she will probably like this name very much."

Takasu Ryuji nodded, and was no longer in a hurry to clean up and store the ingredients. He sat down and prepared to chat with the wise man for a while.

"Have you and Miss Taizi always lived here?"

"Didn't I tell you this before? My irresponsible father seems to be dead. Ever since I can remember, I've been living here with Taizi."

"That's really amazing, Ms. Yasuko."

Hearing Takasu Ryuji's words, Xianren couldn't help but sigh.

"Ok?"

Facing the wise man who suddenly became emotional in front of him, Takasu Ryuji was a little dazed and puzzled, not knowing what the wise man meant by "great".

"Raising her own son alone, and being able to persist in such an environment for over a decade, is truly remarkable and hard work. She must have suffered a lot of grievances, but she never gave up on you, Long'er. You are truly a great mother."

According to data from the 'National Living Basics Survey', the poverty rate for single-parent families is 50.8%, and families with no savings account for 14.9% of the total, with single-parent families consisting of only one mother and one child accounting for nearly 4% of them.

The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare's 2012 "Survey on the Current Status of Single-Parent Families" showed that the proportion of irregular employment in single-parent families with a mother and a child was 57%, while the proportion in single-parent families with a father and a child was 12.9%.

A simple comparison shows how difficult it is for a single mother to raise a child.

What's more, for a single mother like Yasuko Takasu, who cut off contact with her family but raised Ryuji Takasu alone, the hardships and setbacks she experienced are probably only understood by Yasuko Takasu herself.

Before she could go to work, Takasu Yasuko, who had just woken up, leaned quietly against the shoji screen, her hands wrapped around her knees. Her expression was no longer as frivolous as usual, and a faint smile curled up at the corner of her mouth.

"I'm sorry, Long Er."

"Mom, I...I think I've really fallen in love with a kid younger than me..."

Image: "Takasu Yasuko", Location: "Images/1635325425-100277911-107883335.jpg"

Cherry Blossom Season: 12. Shopping in the Shopping District and Sending Gifts Home

Kento didn't stay at Takasu's house for long. They just met by chance on the road and helped the other party take the ingredients home. He himself had to buy some discounted vegetables, so he just sat at Takasu's house for a while, then got up to say goodbye to Takasu Ryuji and went to buy vegetables.

When Takasu Ryuji sent the wise man away and returned to the living room, he saw Taizi appear in front of the low table, holding a cup of water in his hand and drinking water, and glanced at him.

"That water cup was once used by the sage. If you want to drink water, you should at least get a new cup, right?"

Walking into the living room, Takasu Ryuji was not very surprised to see Taiko appear in front of him.

"Haven't you gone to work yet?"

"The bar's work doesn't start until the evening. Going there this early is just to clean up the bar and do some other preparatory work. It's the same as going there later~"

"Since you're home, why didn't you say anything just now? It's rare for someone to come to your home as a guest, and it's someone who helped you. It's a bit unreasonable not to thank them, right?"

Putting down the water cup in her hand, Takasu Yasuko gradually sat up straight and looked at her son. Her expression and eyes seemed extremely serious and solemn, which made Takasu Ryuji a little uncomfortable.

"What's wrong? Why are you suddenly so serious?"

"Hey, Long'er, what do you think of Xianren?"

"Suddenly asking this...nice guy, what's wrong?"

"Then, do you think you would support Taizi if she were to date him?"

After he finished speaking, Takasu Ryuji's expression seemed a little subtle. He gradually squatted down and sat in front of Takasu Yasuko, observing Yasuko in front of him seriously, confirming Takasu Yasuko's expression and reaction.

"Are you serious?"

"Taeko, I've always been serious!"

"I didn't feel anything at all. However, Xianren is a nice guy. When I met him today, I saw a girl confessing her love to him. He's only moved in two days ago, and a girl has already confessed her love to him. Do you really have a chance?"

"Taizi, you will work hard!"

Looking at Takasu Yasuko in front of him, who was clenching her fists like a little girl, he felt helpless. He sighed slowly, stood up and waved his hand slightly.

"It's up to you, but don't make things too awkward. He's still a neighbor after all. If things get awkward, it'll be very troublesome for me."

Watching her son stand up and start to prepare the ingredients, Takasu Yasuko was a little surprised. She didn't expect Ryuji's reaction to be so calm. The expression on her face became cheerful and excited. She stood up and began to cheer herself up.

"Don't worry, Ryuji! I, Taizi, will definitely work hard and try to win Xianren's heart!"

"..."

While walking on the way to the shopping street, Xianren couldn't stop sneezing. He always felt that someone was talking about him. After thinking about it, the first person he thought of was his sister who was far away in Itomori.

"Oh right, Tokyo's souvenirs! I really need to take care of her affairs first and send her some Tokyo souvenirs. Otherwise, I don't know how she'll curse me in Itomori..."

However, Xianren was a little troubled about what kind of local specialties to send back to his sister.

Foods and snacks like wagashi are mostly found in special places, like the famous souvenirs at Tokyo Station and the sesame eggs in Ginza...you have to walk a long way to get them. Today, it's not impossible, but you have to go to the shopping street to buy the ingredients.

"I just don't know what to buy, so I'll send a text message to ask. I'll think about buying local specialties tomorrow."

Given Sanye's personality, she would most likely ask him to buy some cosmetics like those in fashion magazines, or some popular clothing styles, and then he could send some to her depending on the situation.

Arriving at the commercial street of Koishikawa, Xianren looked at the various shops on both sides of the street and began his shopping...

In addition to some common ingredients and seasonings, when Xianren saw a drugstore, he went in and bought some emergency medicines that might be used in daily life, such as cold medicine and fever-reducing patches, as well as disinfectant sprays and bandages for treating wounds. He bought some of all of them.

Living alone is different from living with your family. Even if you are sick, you can only take care of yourself. This is inevitable. No one can guarantee that they will not catch a cold.

When Xianren walked out of the shopping street, his hands were full of shopping bags, more than Takasu Ryuji had before. As he walked on the road, he felt his hands were being tied tightly, and the pain made the corners of his mouth twitch slightly.

I didn't meet any acquaintances who could help me, and it took me about half an hour to finally get back to the door of my apartment.

Before opening the door, he put down the shopping bags, looked down at his hands, and saw his knuckles that were blue and white from being squeezed. He sighed helplessly, opened the door of the apartment, and at the same time thought about buying a bicycle.

"Never mind, it's not like this every day."

The bicycle issue had just popped into the mind of the wise man when he rejected it himself.

In the entire Tokyo metropolitan area, the most common crime is bicycle theft, with nearly 40,000 cases occurring each year. Every time you ride a bicycle on the street, the police will require you to produce proof of your bicycle.

It was too troublesome, so he chose to give up.

He quietly brought all the purchased ingredients into the house, processed them first and put them in the refrigerator for storage. At the same time, he placed the emergency medicines in a more conspicuous place, such as next to the desk, and stacked them up.

"I need to buy some small storage boxes, and also..."

Xianren took out some remaining cosmetics from the shopping bag.

Looking at these seasonal limited edition wet wipes and daily cosmetics in cherry blossom packaging, I think Mitsuha would be interested in them. No, it would be better to say that she would be quite interested.

After all, she is someone who can say that she wants to come to Tokyo to be a handsome guy. Her yearning for the city of Tokyo can be said to be far beyond that of ordinary people. She should be very happy to see these limited edition products that can only be bought in big cities.

'Drug cosmetics' and 'limited edition' can be said to be the 'best match' for women.

He placed them on the desk and planned to wait until tomorrow to go to a place like the post office again and send them back to Itomori. Some of them were prepared for his mother's second master and his younger sister's fourth leaf. He hoped they would like them.

"Speaking of which, we have to give our mayor a gift. Otherwise, even if he doesn't say it, he will feel bothered in his heart. Giving him a tie clip should be enough. I don't think he will care too much about the gift."

— — — —

Thanks to Guozitang, Gongwang, and Kejia for their monthly tickets! Thanks to everyone for their recommendation tickets!

Cherry Blossom Season: 13. Jimbocho and the Visiting Girl

On the 24th, nothing happened.

When he went out to send mail again, he did not meet Saionji Sekai again. He went to the post office alone, handed some gifts and envelopes he had prepared to the post office staff, signed his name, paid the fee, and all that was left was to wait quietly.

It would take about three or four days to send these from Tokyo to Itomori. By the time Mitsuha receives the email, she will probably contact him actively, so he doesn't need to pay too much attention to this matter.

After finishing the letter-mailing task, Xianren began to grope his way towards a nearby bookstore.

Since I am starting over, all the knowledge I had about studying has been almost forgotten. Now that I have set a new goal in life to get into a liberal arts university, I have to work hard once again.

He didn't have any photographic memory, so the only thing he could do was to make up for his shortcomings with hard work. It would be a bit of a stretch for him to get into a top university like the University of Tokyo, where the deviation value was nearly 70, but if he set a goal as a university with a deviation value of around 60, it wasn't impossible for him to try his best.

In such an academically oriented society, you don’t necessarily have to get into college to find a job, but whether or not you get into a good college determines the lower limit of a person’s foundation and the upper limit of his future achievements.

Perhaps his father, the mayor, can provide him with a safety net. If he wants to live a good life, he inevitably needs to seriously consider things like academic qualifications.

The largest bookstore street in Tokyo is in Jimbocho in Chiyoda, where there are nearly 200 bookstores, most of which are second-hand bookstores, and there are also some discounted bookstores. Kento only needs to walk along Horizaka to Kasuga Station, and then take a bus directly to Jimbocho Station.

Jimbocho is full of bookstores, and looking at the dazzling array of books, Xianren's eyes became a little complicated for a moment.

If you ask him what he likes most, it is reading. He likes to learn all kinds of knowledge that he has never known and then feel the stories in the books. This used to be his favorite thing, but as time passed, he didn't pay much attention to his posture and light. After reading for a while, his eyes would feel sore. If he read for a longer period of time, he would even feel stuffy, so he didn't read much anymore.

"From now on, start paying attention to your reading posture. Let's take a look at what books we have."

Xianren's goals are textbooks and some popular literature. He's also considering whether to use his spare time to create a popular work of his own, hoping to win an award...

After walking around the bookstore, he liked a lot of books, but after looking at the prices, many of them discouraged him. After a lot of hesitation and confusion, he had to give up the purchase temporarily.

The books were not cheap, especially the ones he liked which were all around 1,000 yen. One book was fine, but if he bought three or four, it seemed that his already tight wallet could no longer afford such an expense.