People in Tokyo, the world is clear

The door knocked, but no one's voice was heard.

I have the impression that there is a gloomy, reclusive girl living in this room. She has a head of golden hair, which I don’t know if it is dyed. She hides in the room with disheveled hair every day, fiddling with something.

The original body and she had no interaction at all. They would only run into each other occasionally in front of the udon noodle restaurant not far away that served large portions of food. They had never even spoken to each other on weekdays.

In a word, I'm really unfamiliar with it.

After knocking a few more times and getting no response at all, Lin Sen could only put his hand down in disappointment.

It seems that he is either asleep or doesn't want to pay attention to himself. Both situations are quite normal.

I can only try the other one next door.

Lin Sen had no recollection of the resident; he had no idea even of their appearance. If it weren't for a piece of paper taped to the illegible number on the doorplate, with the numbers carefully filled in with black ink and a cat's head drawn in the corner, Lin Sen would have thought it was a deserted house.

"Dong dong..."

"coming!"

This time there was a quick response.

However, when the crude and rusty iron plate was pushed away, the two people standing there were dumbfounded.

The short-haired girl in front of him opened her mouth slightly, with a dazed expression on her face.

"Senior Kobayashi?"

"...Ito Nishika?"

Oops.

What a cheesy, melodramatic TV drama plot.

But that's okay. Although this girl and I are just casual acquaintances, if we don't talk about it, we can still be considered as lifelong friends.

Besides, I have fleeced others once, so I don’t feel that burdened to fleece them again.

She shamelessly explained the reason. The girl was quite enthusiastic. She welcomed her into the house and poured her a glass of water. Then she sat down and watched her hurriedly open the drawer.

I found a bottle of sleeping pills.

Another bottle of sedatives was found.

The prescription drugs were stacked high, but there were no remedies for the usual physical aches and pains.

For a moment, I was so embarrassed that my face turned a little red.

"These are the medicines my grandma left with me. She had epilepsy for many years..."

He quickly shook his head and explained, shaking his black hair, and quickly found a bottle of blood pressure-lowering medicine as evidence, but his tone obviously did not sound confident.

Of course, Lin Sen didn't quite believe this statement.

But I can understand her reasoning for lying. Taking sleeping pills and sleeping in a shared apartment like this, leaving the body to rot and stink without anyone caring, would be a huge nuisance to the neighbors.

In Japan, a country that values ​​small gestures, this is a method that even those who commit suicide would find shameful.

It is human nature that no one wants to deal with a neighbor who has a bunch of sleeping pills hidden at home with "bad intentions".

Therefore, Lin Sen could understand her hesitation.

A calm, crooked smile eased the atmosphere, and he quickly spoke to change the subject:

"So you didn't find any cold medicine, huh?"

"I'm...I'm really sorry."

Having said this, Ito Nishika lowered his head.

This attitude made Lin Sen a little uncomfortable. It made him feel like he was the one being begged.

This is a country where everyone competes to be humble. Honorifics and humble words are poured into everyday language like they're free, and the two of them are almost nodding their heads to the ground while chatting.

For this way of communication, Lin Sen couldn't adapt to the local customs, but at least he was not used to it.

"Then Ito, can you lend me some money for food and medicine? I don't have a penny in my pocket now."

"Ah... sure!"

She hurriedly and attentively ran to the cabinet, took out a few wrinkled copies of Natsume Soseki's works, and presented them to them with both hands.

Finally, Lin Sen couldn't hold it anymore.

"I say, you're treating me like some robber bully."

"Eh?"

The girl looked up with a silly look on her face.

"I'm the one who borrowed money for medicine, can you please be tougher?"

"Is this, like this?"

"At least show your disdain. If you keep being so easygoing, I, your penniless neighbor, will probably become even more demanding and push you over the edge. Then you'll be in big trouble."

Silly little guy.

Looking at his silly look, combined with the few words he revealed when we first met, I guess he was just a poor kid who was played around with by some bastard and then kicked away because he was too honest.

People are always willing to gossip about others with the worst intentions, but smart people with a conscience know how to keep their speculations deep in their hearts.

After a few bantering exchanges, the girl was actually amused and started laughing, finally putting away her annoying Japanese-style humble attitude.

"Why do you like to see the look of disdain on your face, Senior..."

"Don't get me wrong. It's just that your excessive politeness really makes it hard for me to relax."

This reaction made Lin Sen breathe a sigh of relief.

That's right, that's right.

Chapter 4 A Bowl of Udon

The owner of the self-operated udon restaurant near the apartment building is from Kansai.

Just like most Lanzhou ramen restaurants are not run by Lanzhou people, this old man who calls himself Fujiwara Ichimine, speaks fluent Kansai accent, and sells authentic Kagawa Udon noodles is originally from Tottori and his family is in the seafood business.

Judging from family traditions, it has nothing to do with pasta.

But no one cares whether his noodles are authentic or not. There are only two reasons why this shop is so popular.

First, the price is cheap.

Second, the portion is sufficient.

Therefore, it is favored by many workers who go shopping in Tokyo.

It also meets Linsen’s dining needs given his current economic situation.

"Then this is it. Have you ever eaten there?"

"No."

Ito Nishika, who was following beside him, sniffed the aroma of warm food and denied it.

After we chatted, I found out that the girl had only eaten a bowl of oden tonight and was still half hungry, so I urged her to bring it over.

Stepping into the shop, he saw the dark-stained floor, knocking on the wooden table with a cloth curtain, and then he laid out a few large coins.

"One bowl of udon noodles, and an extra empty bowl."

Because a bowl of noodles is filling enough, many poor friends who travel together will choose to share a bowl of noodles.

Ito Xiguo was only half-hungry and had emphasized that he didn't eat much. In order to promote the virtue of saving food, Lin Sen only ordered one bowl.

The customer's request was quickly answered by the aroma of the food. The squinting boss brought out a bowl full of it.

"so much?"

"Hey, what are you talking about? We're just buddies. Just bring your girlfriend here for noodles more often and take care of the business."

The boss, who was whispering in a deliberately low voice, had a lewd expression on his face and reached out to pat Lin Sen's shoulder.

"She's not my girlfriend."

"Oh~ Well, come on!"

"..."

Don’t add any more, or the United States will attack here.

Such an ambiguous expression with a greasy face really gives me goosebumps.

Although the man did have good intentions, Lin Sen felt that he had no obligation to explain the misunderstanding to him.

You get the advantage, just keep quiet about it.

Holding a large bowl of noodles, he placed it on the table where Ito Nishika was sitting, while she was staring at him with wide eyes. He then put down another empty bowl and began to pass the noodles with soup to the girl one chopstick at a time.

"Ah, enough is enough!"

"Give me some more. I can't finish this much."

"Oh..."

This scene made the proprietress who was hiding aside feel so sweet that she pulled her husband over to chat with him in private.

"Look at that little girl, she looks so well behaved, sitting there so cute."

"I just do nothing and watch my boyfriend pick noodles for me..."

"Speaking of this young boy... He always looked terrible when he came to the noodle shop before. He looked like he'd lost his soul, and you could tell he was in a bad mood. But today, when he was with this girl, his whole spirit was completely different."

"It must have been cured."

As her long-lost girlish heart overflowed, Mrs. Fujiwara couldn't help but hold her cheeks as she began to automatically imagine a story for the two of them.

Fujiwara Ikmine did not respond, but pulled out a small stool from under the table and sat down, opened a bottle of sake, and pulled back his wife who was peeking through the curtain.

"Alright, alright, if you keep looking at me you'll be embarrassed."

He tilted his head back and drank the drink in one gulp.

He let out a long burp, and the voice of the no longer young woman, chattering in her even more excited tone, continued to reach his ears.

"I really miss you. Back then, I was also tricked into buying a bowl of noodles by you..."

The old man, who was no longer a boy, stopped talking and just shook his head.

That’s another story from long ago.

Like all other big cities, Tokyo's thousands of lights at night hide one life after another.

Lin Sen didn't know what his future life would be like.

He only knew that he was now a pauper in his fifties.

Pushing open the glass door of the pharmacy and holding a warm box of cold medicine in my hand, I felt so uncomfortable.

I have to borrow money to eat and buy medicine, and I am spending the money of a girl who also lives in the same apartment and is not well-off. It’s really embarrassing to think about it.

I still have to find a way to make money. I'll have to think about this before I go to bed tonight.

Not to mention making a fortune, at least I don’t have to live this kind of life of worrying about my salary every day.

He walked out of the door with big strides, and the girl waiting at the door quickly followed him, and they set out on the journey home side by side.

This time we didn't separate halfway.

"Is there enough money to buy medicine?"

"Of course. It's just cold medicine, it doesn't cost much."

Lin Sen straightened his back proudly and handed back the remaining banknotes and coins from buying medicine, which made Ito Xiguo cover his mouth.

"You're so confident even though you're penniless, Kobayashi-senpai."

"It's not like I won't pay it back, so of course I can be tough."

Perhaps because they had dinner together, the interpersonal barrier between the two of them had almost disappeared.

Lin Sen could feel that the girl had obviously let down her guard when facing him.

That's a good thing. This will make things easier for both of us.

Lin Sen, who was delighted to see this, looked at the other person calmly with a faint smile, and watched her put her hands behind her back.