Tokyo Psychic

Kumamoto, belonging to the past, created "I-Seri-Rin-Sai" (a type of herbal dish), which has become the path she has taken to this day.

Ideal, daily life, family—three separate words, like traffic lights beside a pedestrian crossing, guiding a naive girl as she walks and stops.

Jingqin Rencai's understanding of "betrayal" is very superficial.

Because she was an overly naive child.

She doesn't expect her friends to go through fire and water for her.

I don't expect anyone to be by my side all the time.

All she wanted was someone who would support her through hardship and danger, even if it meant lying.

Even so, it's still too harsh...

Celery seeds can easily distinguish right from wrong.

Mr. Zongnan taught her very well. At the age of seventeen, she was able to uphold her own small sense of justice even when she was in a strange city and facing a surging crowd.

only......

Upholding justice means refusing to follow the crowd.

This will surely leave the vulnerable girl feeling lonely.

In a place frequented by millions, the neon lights are dazzling, noisy, and glamorous, yet no one pays any attention.

When a person is lonely, time seems to stretch endlessly. That stretch is a solitary, arduous journey. Crossing deserts, swimming in the deep sea, scaling cliffs. In that vast expanse of sky and earth, only a lone figure struggles on. That is called loneliness; it is a poison that can intoxicate and corrode the bones.

When she left Kumamoto, Igarashi Jinna sensed it.

Time is getting longer.

Preparing for lessons was more difficult than she had imagined.

He clearly had the various methods taught by his father, and had successfully used them in school and study to make progress in his studies.

But when she was alone, she realized that life overwhelmed the black and white words of textbooks, crushed the mathematical formulas on test papers, and swallowed haiku without thinking. More important than English pronunciation was the next meal.

Sometimes, Ishihara Rina would admit that she was an incredibly lucky girl.

In the seemingly endless expanse of time, she met a boy who was equally lonely.

......

It was dusk, still with the night wind howling, when the boy and girl first met.

The car horns on Si Cha Street made the world seem narrow, so narrow that there was no past and no room for the future.

The girl, caught between a sense of justice and guilt and having run away from her past, stood in front of the coffee shop counter and timidly raised her schoolbag to the boy.

The gears of fate began to turn from that moment.

The boy, who had been walking the path of rebellion and freedom through his youth, took the schoolbag from the girl's hands.

Feeling lost and lonely, Akira Kurusu grasped the right hand of Nina Izayoi, who was in the same predicament, and together they walked the route to school again and again in this unfamiliar world.

The Phantom Thief of the Mind, symbolizing the most powerful form of personal justice, embraces the helpless Iori Rina in the deepest part of the Impression Space, and inflicts contempt and punishment on the enemy filled with murderous intent.

Life is always full of coincidences like this.

An ordinary girl who should have gradually given up her studies and filled the rest of her life with rock and roll encountered a rebellious teenager who could not be defeated by any disaster.

In fact, some coincidences are inevitably destined to be arranged.

After all, lonely people are always eager to reach out to those they encounter.

Two solitary elm trees, when they rely on each other, will gradually grow into a grove.

Jing Qinrencai turned around in a daze and found that many friends had gathered around her.

The emotions that bind them together are like powerful hands, propelling her steadfastly toward everyday happiness on this street bathed in twilight.

......

"dawn."

Accompanied by a very soft call.

Akira noticed the girl's suddenly lowered face.

Her fair cheeks had long since turned pink, and the ears peeking out from between her chestnut hair were also warmed by the sunset.

The heat of summer cannot be dispelled by the sourness and coldness of lemonade.

As usual, Akira Kurusu took the Bluetooth earphone out of Serina Ii's ear and put it into her own.

"It's 'Lemon'."

The boy recognized the song from his past life from the familiar melody.

“The lemon is really sour and bitter…” Ishigami Rina replied slowly, following up on Akira’s words.

Akira Kurusu looked up at the deep red sky. "Yes, but do you remember the story of 'scurvy' from our junior high school textbook? On a long voyage, even the strongest sailors would succumb to vitamin deficiency..."

"Hmm...I remember, later the ship's doctor used lemons to cure the sailors' scurvy."

“A long time ago, I thought that sourness and bitterness must be an indispensable part of life,” Akira Kurusu said, brushing aside a strand of Izanagi’s hair with her fingers and gently poking her burning earlobe. “But every era has different ways of healing, just as the same person can get a completely new life from different environments.”

His right hand brushed aside Jing Qinrencai's bangs along her temples, then he lowered his head and kissed her smooth forehead.

"Sometimes, it's not 'constant sourness and bitterness' that makes one strong in life."

"Remember those sweet moments, even though they're as expensive and perishable as strawberries..."

Looking into the girl's shy yet charming eyes, Akira Lai said gently, "Bitter experiences and scars are different; they can be covered by a sweet future."

Jing Qinrencai has never learned to play the drums.

But the drumbeats resounding in her chest at this moment were even faster and louder than the rhythm that Ichiji Nijika was pushing with all her might.

"Even if it turns me into a useless person who can't live without Akira Kurusu, is that okay?"

The girl asked the phantom thief beside her in a voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz.

The heart-stealing thief replied with a smile, "But I've already decided never to let go of Nina's hand, so whatever Nina thinks is fine."

The girl who would have run away out of shyness in the past now stood like a secret agent with no time to die, gritting her teeth in the scorching heat of the setting sun, staring wide-eyed at the boy in front of her.

She released her grip on Lai Qixiao's arm, ran two steps forward, and then turned around with her back to the setting sun.

The slender shadow was elongated, piercing straight into the boy's chest like a fancy sword.

The victorious knight, proud and vigilant like a kitten patrolling its territory, stood on tiptoe and shouted towards the street where Akira Kurusu was.

"Let's...let's date!"

The phantom thief gripped the slender blade, letting it pierce deeper into the heart.

He moved closer, hugged the girl tightly, and lowered his head to kiss her lips.

Every syllable of the reply was as hot as summer.

"Okay, let's date."

The last glimmer of the setting sun faded on the horizon.

The streetlights lit up one by one, replacing the setting sun and escorting the young boys and girls who relied on each other on their way home.

......

......

......

An ordinary morning in Kumamoto.

Jingqin Rencai rolled around on the bed.

The air conditioner was blowing just the right amount of cool air, just like the "home" that had never faded from her memory, making her reluctant to stay in bed in comfort.

It wasn't until the phone screen lit up with a Line message that the girl lazily opened her lake-blue eyes, turned her slightly flushed face to look at the two sparrows flitting among the greenery outside the window.

[Master of Schemes (Kurasu Akira): Nina, come out and play.]

[Master of Schemes: Let's go on a date to Kumamoto Castle today.]

Life has undergone subtle changes, becoming like a chemistry experiment, full of unknowns and mysteries, yet also inspiring endless longing.

"Mom, what are we having for breakfast today?"

Jing Qinren pushed open the door. She wasn't wearing slippers; her fair, delicate feet touched the floor, and the coolness dispelled her drowsiness.

Soon, a lecture from the mother could be heard coming from the kitchen.

Summer is always summer, but summers during student years are so long they can make you lose patience.

The sounds of Mom's nagging and chopping vegetables mingled together, an idol drama played on TV, and the crisp watermelon burst with sweet juice in my mouth. I kept refreshing the chat history, as if that would speed up the boy's reply on the other side of the screen.

The old orange cat across the street from the convenience store was squinting in the corner by the electric fan, the sunlight ironing a golden edge onto its fur.

She went out later and spent the evening with the boy she liked, sitting on the back of his bicycle as they rode home in the warm evening breeze.

I can guess that tonight's meal will probably be cold udon noodles drizzled with bonito broth.

Time drags on as far as the shadows of a tree.

Fill the remaining summer vacation little by little.

Of course, July and August are much more boring for adults. For example, Dad, who just got home from get off work, complained that today was just "a very hot day".

The teacher, who was usually taciturn and unsmiling, seemed to accept the fact that her daughter was dating Akira Kurusu quite naturally.

There were no curious questions, no worried inquiries.

When I saw the two of them walk hand in hand into the entrance hall, I could only detect a slight relaxation and sigh on that serious and upright face.

That's the role a father plays.

They concealed their delicate thoughts behind an idol-like, indestructible image.

He cannot allow himself to be weak.

Because they fear that the children they take as role models will no longer become strong.

Igor Muneo cut a slice of chilled watermelon and handed it to Akira Kurusu.

Red, it's fiery red as far as the eye can see, but cold when you bite into it. The tiny black seeds, though hard, reveal in the unripe taste that the watermelon isn't fully ripe if you bite into them firmly.

Middle-aged men can't talk much with boys who are half their lives younger than them.

He wanted to spit out watermelon seeds like a child with a childlike heart, but eventually found that the responsibilities and heavy workload of being a teacher had cooled down the last drop of his hot blood.

The warm evening breeze made the teru teru bozu (a type of Japanese doll) hanging from the eaves of the courtyard sway unsteadily.

A stiff smile finally appeared on his wrinkled face.

"Amamiya-kun."

"Please speak."

"Thank you." The father's sternness seemed to be completely overshadowed by the light reflected from his glasses this time.

His back, which had never bent before Jing Qinrencai, seemed unable to straighten this time.

"It was a soft, deep voice befitting his age," said Igor Muneo.

"My daughter has never smiled so happily... even blissfully, before."

He gazed at Lai Xixiao, "I have always felt ashamed that she has lost trust and reliance on me and this family."

"I've thought about trying to win him back..."

"But now it seems that I no longer need to do that."

Izayoi Muneo slowly placed his hand on Kurusu Akira's shoulder. "Nina, I'm entrusting the future to you."

Akira Kurusu seemed to want to say something, but swallowed the words back down.

The paper door between the courtyard and the living room was pushed open.

Barefoot, Jing Qinrencai, her face flushed with embarrassment, grabbed Qixiao's arm and ran outside.

Only Igor Muneo watched their departing figures disappear into the twilight, and a smile unconsciously appeared on his face.

282. [Love's Taste - Celery and Vegetables] (Part Two) (Original Version)