Uneasy daily life

"The reason why people can't leave a certain way of life is often because they can't find another way of life."

The man stubbed out the cigarette again.

The woman froze, then her expression changed before she chuckled softly, "Now that you mention it, I can't find another way of life."

The man left, and the woman silently watched his departing figure. She walked down from the corner above, picked up the two cigarette butts, and a memory flashed through her mind.

It was a clean and bright room. The woman was carefully applying makeup in front of the mirror, opening her wardrobe and meticulously selecting clothes. She would casually toss aside any overly glamorous or seductive garments, not caring how much trouble she would have to tidy them up later. Her brow furrowed unconsciously; unable to find suitable clothing, her frustration deepened.

"These clothes are like a persistent ghost, clinging to me just like they used to... Even now, can't I escape my past life?"

Frustrated, the woman tossed her overly revealing lingerie aside, took a deep breath, sat down at her computer, hesitated for a moment, and then typed in "What clothes should I wear on a date to look prettier?"

Suddenly, the cell phone rang.

The woman picked up the phone, glanced at the number on it, and a deep sense of helplessness and annoyance reappeared on her face.

……

Do I have things I like?

Kaede Azusagawa tried hard to recall, "Yes, I think so? I like giant pandas, maybe I also like movies, and I like my older brother..."

At first, I didn't really like anything. It seemed like I was just like the bad guys in the movie, unconsciously being 'filial' to Hua Feng's parents. I thought that if I could pretend to be like Hua Feng, they wouldn't be so sad, and they wouldn't say so many hurtful things to me that I couldn't understand.

Now? I want to leave this life, to choose... no, it seems I have no choice.

I can't find another way of life...

Azusagawa Kaede suddenly paused, a strange premonition creeping over her—the actress in the movie, she's probably going to die, right?

Death is the only thing we cannot choose, yet it is more just than we should be.

Kaede Azusagawa wasn't afraid, nor did she feel it was painful, but now she was inexplicably worried, worried about what would happen to the characters in the movie.

……

Time passed day by day, and the man and woman met again and again at the corner, one at the upper corner, the other at the lower corner. Autumn and winter passed slowly like this. The woman wore thicker and thicker clothes, covering her body, while the man remained the same, except that he would occasionally smoke a few more cigarettes.

Time seems to flow on and on until the very end, until spring arrives.

The man was planning to die.

"Why did you notify me?" the woman asked, her scarf wrapped around her neck. "Did you want me to stop you?"

"No, how should I put it..." The man tilted his head and pondered seriously for a moment, then sighed, "Perhaps he wanted someone to remember him? Thinking about it carefully, it's really absurd. A suicide notice is simply an excellent lame joke."

The woman squinted and asked, "You're not planning to continue being 'filial'?"

“He’s dead,” the man said briefly. “He tormented himself to death because he kept doing it.”

"He succeeded?"

“He wanted to succeed until he died,” the man recalled. “At the funeral, quite a few strangers came to pay their respects. Everyone was very polite and respectful to the dead. I should have cried, but the time to cry had already been used up long ago… I hope he had no regrets in his final moments.”

The woman asked, "Don't you want to accept his apology?"

"No, that's unfilial."

The man laughed and said, "I've finished all the schooling I needed to do, all the jobs I needed to take, all the people I needed to support, and it's time to stop walking this path. I have no more wishes, and I can finally choose to die."

The man turned to leave when a woman's voice came from behind him: "I'm about the same, how about we travel together?"

The man turned his head, and the woman, just like when they first met, walked from the upper corner to the lower corner.

He hesitated for a moment and said, "I actually wanted to advise you, but after thinking about it, I decided not to—okay."

……

Azusagawa Kaede watched silently, trying to open her eyes wide. No, this can't be, right? Is it really time to choose death? Should I... or shouldn't I?

Although it seems like I also chose to die, there was nothing I could do... Kaede is the one who should live on.

Or is it that I shouldn't have accepted this?

Kaede Azusagawa pursed her lips tightly, fighting against the feeling of dizziness.

She watched as the man and woman on the screen arranged a time and place. The woman wasn't wearing thick clothes; she had changed back into the white dress she wore when they first met. However, her exposed skin was covered with ugly, mottled marks.

"sick?"

"The aftereffects of work are either spending money to prolong life or waiting for death."

"What a coincidence, the doctor also said I was sick, that I was under too much psychological pressure and was overworked, and suggested that I rest for a while."

"It's hard to encounter good things at work."

"really."

No one was surprised or flustered; they chatted casually as if they were on a spring outing rather than on their way to suicide.

Spring came at an unusually inopportune time.

The two were not in a hurry. They occasionally bought some food by the roadside, chatted, and even went to the movie theater together. They walked and played as they went. When they arrived at the cliff they had planned to visit, the sun was already setting in the distance.

Is there anything else you'd like to say?

The man spoke, his tone carrying a complex and ambiguous meaning, yet he maintained a restrained calmness.

"Death..." The woman's gaze, fixed on the setting sun, was somewhat unfocused. "What exactly is it?"

“Death gives meaning to life; only when life is destined to end will it strive to live,” the man said softly. “Death determines the length of life, and life determines its breadth.”

The woman smiled sideways: "Isn't it life itself that determines the breadth of one's existence?"

“That’s true.” The man’s gaze fell on the cliff. “Therefore, I want to decide the length of my life myself.”

"Actually, I had already quit my job when we first met. It's not some boring story of a prodigal son returning home; I just got sick and had to quit my job," the woman said slowly. "It was the first time I realized that I didn't know anything about makeup or clothing coordination. I hesitated and prepared for a long time, but in the end, I could only make do... You are more pleasing to the eye than I imagined, and you did a good job."

The man said dismissively, "Does that mean if I don't perform well, I can have a night of pleasure and then get sick and wait to die?"

"That's right, don't you feel like you've been cheated?"

The woman grinned, showing no trace of vulgarity. Dressed in a white dress, she looked like a young and beautiful female student: "As a result, my former customers still feel good and keep coming back to my door. Maybe my resignation made them misunderstand something, or maybe it's because my past job made me cheap, and they think they can just wave me away."

"His expression was hilarious when I took a picture of his medical record."

As the woman spoke, she looked up at the sunset and suddenly exclaimed, "It's so beautiful. Suddenly I don't want to die anymore."

"Then you can continue living. I'll go down and wait for you."

As the man took a few steps forward, the woman suddenly grabbed his arm from behind: "Don't you want to say something?"

"Hmm..." The man thought for a moment, "The first time we met wasn't the day you wore this outfit. I clearly remember someone crying upstairs, and I heard her hurried footsteps as she rushed upstairs. I could hear it every time I went to the corner to smoke."

"Just like life isn't just about yourself."

The woman paused for a moment, then a bright smile appeared on her face. She suddenly reached out and pulled the man towards her, tilting her head back and standing on tiptoe. However, the man's movements were the same as hers. He reached out and hugged her slender waist, then gently lowered his head.

Their lips met, locked together deeply.

The rays of the setting sun shone down from afar, imprinting the two intertwined shadows on the ground.

Azusagawa Kaede's eyes widened, wanting to look away but unable to look back at the screen. She could vaguely hear the voices of a few viewers around her. "Wow, is there really such an embarrassing scene?!"

A moment later, the two separated and walked hand in hand toward the cliff.

The woman suddenly stopped, pulled the man behind her forcefully, turned around, and revealed a serene smile in the sunset: "I think what you said is not complete... Life also gives meaning to death, so you still have to work hard, because you have to give meaning to my death."

Before the man could react, the woman had already let go of his hand and leaped toward the cliff. He instinctively rushed forward, but by then he couldn't catch up with her speed. He could only peer over and watch as she fell off the cliff. Her dress swayed in the wind like a blooming white flower. In her gaze, there was no fear or hesitation, only a deep love.

Azusagawa Kaede reluctantly closed her eyes, sleepiness gradually creeping in. After a while, she heard a melodious guitar sound, and a voice was softly singing.

Winter will bring spring.

'The night will give way to the dawn'

Meaning will always be sought.

My love is giving you a new life.

Kaede Azusagawa barely opened her eyes. On the screen, she saw an old man sitting in a wheelchair, silently watching the sunset sink below the cliff once more.

To live is to finish what one is meant to do, and then to die.

My father's obsession and struggle became my reason for living; his departure became the last thing I finally accomplished. Living needs a reason, dying doesn't, but on that day, she became my reason.

I've found a reason not to die: to give meaning to her passing. As long as I cherish her memory, she will be remembered; as long as I remember her, she will not be forgotten; as long as I love her deeply, death cannot freeze her life.

She extended the length of my life with her love and her life. All I can do is use my love and my life to broaden the scope of her life.

The old man gazed quietly at the sunset, his song softly expressing his love. The camera slowly zoomed in until it became one with the old man, and then slowly closed his eyes.

As the credits rolled, the film's title, "The Corner," slowly came to a close, freezing in the center.

Kaede Azusagawa's mind was in turmoil. Could life give meaning to death? Should I choose to die like my actress sister, to give meaning to my brother's life?

Isn't that kind of thing...too sad?

Or does it mean Huafeng's death? No, that kind of thing...

"I do not know."

As Azusagawa Kaede murmured blankly, tears welled up in the corners of her eyes.

Sakuta Azusagawa glanced over instinctively, feeling somewhat dazed... The last time Kaede cried, it seemed, was when he named her?

"That's right, I don't know."

The white figure beside him took out his phone and said gently, "An irrational choice, a choice where neither is good, a choice where there is no choice, the answer is always 'I don't know'... There is no answer to this kind of thing, and no one can give you the answer, because you haven't answered it yet, because you don't know—all we can do is embrace our ignorance and confusion, and with a feeling of not knowing, go through struggle, sadness, pain, joy, hesitation and confusion, and strive to become an answer."

"The death of others gives meaning to your life, and your death gives meaning to the lives of others. You are never alone."

"Yes, yes...it wasn't just one person..."

Kaede opened her mouth, drowsiness washing over her, a vague premonition rising within her. She reached out and grasped Sakuta's hand, struggling to lift her tear-streaked eyelashes, and whispered, "Brother... Kaede seems to be going to die..."

Sakuta Azusagawa opened his mouth; this was the first time his sister had confided in him directly. But he couldn't answer. He could only nod vigorously to show that he was listening, his voice trembling slightly: "Go on."

"Don't be sad."

"it is good."

"You can't hate Hua Feng."

"How could I hate my own sister?"

"I can't work too hard..."

"Yeah, I'll fire the boss later."

"Let Mom get better, we can't hate Dad..."

"I know."

"And...and another...I have another greedy idea..."

"You said."

Azusagawa Kaede's eyes gently closed, and she said in a muffled voice, "Don't... forget Kaede..."

Suddenly, darkness descended.

Chapter Ninety-Eight: Growth A

win!

Okita no longer considers Ninja a worthy opponent.

Lowering your own standards!

Ha! Just some director from out of town, showing lousy movies here!

"The Corner" combines Ms. Sakurajima's groundbreaking acting skills, Mr. Shiro's script and performance, Ms. Yukinoshita's guitar and gentle singing voice, plus their own filming and editing, it is sure to sweep the box office and create new glories!

Some people saw love.

"Woooo..."

Yui Yuigahama sniffled, her eyes slightly red as she looked at the big screen. She couldn't help but confide her feelings to the person next to her: "Sakurajima-senpai and Shiro acted so well, so well..."

Some people see the end of the road for corporate slaves.

“Yes,” Hachiman Hikigaya said with deep agreement, “It vividly depicts the wickedness of society and reveals the lonely souls of people after they have been dissected and reformed…”

Yui Yuigahama turned her head blankly: "Huh? Shouldn't it be a love story?"