Tokyo Psychic

Looking at the face that was exactly the same as his own as a child, Kurusu Akatsuki stopped flipping through the pages and couldn't help but take a few deep breaths.

There are cigarettes to smoke, and there is wine to drink. As an adult, he subconsciously thinks so, but there are neither cigarettes nor wine around him.

I had to endure the depression in my heart and continue flipping through the notebook.

After the seemingly harmonious and beautiful family photo, a few pages were torn off the notebook and it began to be used as a diary.

Kurusu Akatsuki pinched the contents of what might be a diary, estimated its thickness, and his breathing gradually became steady. He then began to peek into the life of "Amamiya Ren" up to that day.

The timeline starts from the spring break after junior high school graduation.

"Amamiya Ren" was once a person with a wealthy family and a happy life.

Because his parents run a real estate company in Tokyo and have considerable capital, they do not need to do many things in the company themselves, so they can always spare a lot of time to go to the countryside to accompany their children.

"Amamiya Ren" grew up under the meticulous care of her parents. She has a cheerful personality, loves music, and dreams of becoming a rock musician.

With his parents' support, he has his own phone and computer, as well as an expensive electric guitar and a host of other accessories. He's able to fly to concerts across Japan every holiday, visiting renowned bands to learn about music and techniques. He hopes to form his own band in the future and have his music be enjoyed by many.

This is better than Kurusu Akira. Kurusu Akira's family background was very ordinary. He relied on working in his spare time to buy his first mobile phone in his life before graduating from junior high school. It was even a flip phone.

He continued reading.

Such a happy life did not last forever, and "Amamiya Ren"'s family soon encountered a huge change.

In 2020, a terrible infectious disease spread wildly around the world. The whole of Japan was in panic because of this infectious disease, and the development of all walks of life took a sharp turn for the worse.

The company suddenly became busy. Many ongoing businesses and projects came to a halt, the capital chain was broken, and there were holes everywhere that could not be filled.

"Amamiya Ren"'s parents borrowed a lot of money for this, and even sold and mortgaged many assets. Then they drove to Tokyo with this huge sum of money to save the company that was about to go bankrupt.

And after this trip, they never returned to "Amamiya Ren".

A private hospital in Tokyo sent a text message to Ren Amamiya saying that the rescue had failed.

In that terrible plague, the boy who lost everything overnight was left alone by the phone.

The debt collection calls came like a torrential downpour, and houses, cars, and furniture were all forced to be auctioned off.

The only thing the boy could keep was the electric guitar that had accompanied him for three years in junior high school.

Sure enough, every photo and note inserted in the following diary contents was proof of debt, containing the creditor's name and contact information.

Even after selling all their assets, the Amemiya family still owed nearly 10 million in foreign debts to various "relatives and friends".

Even if the young man musters up the courage to continue living, interests will always make people override moral conscience.

There were even debt collectors who specifically hired gang members to block the school gate to collect debts from him, so that he spent every day of his campus life surrounded by the pity, ridicule, and fear of his classmates. There were even people who usually envied him but took the opportunity to add insult to injury.

After enduring all kinds of bullying and insults both inside and outside the school, "Amamiya Ren" finally chose to give up her studies at Hoori, blocked and deleted all the contacts on her phone, sold her tube speakers and limited edition headphones, and traveled to Tokyo alone.

It seemed that the debt collectors realized their extreme behavior, and it seemed that a prestigious local person in Hoori intervened to coordinate.

In short, after "Amamiya Ren" arrived in Tokyo, she was never harassed by them again.

......

The content that follows is nothing more than a record of the difficulties of renting a house and studying in Tokyo.

However, until the end, the diary did not describe how "Amamiya Ren" died, or why she died in the toilet next to the barbecue stall.

Anyway, when he traveled through time and space, only his will was supporting this weak body.

For a moment, Kurusu Akatsuki really hoped that he could live happily in another time and space instead of himself——

Of course, it was only for a moment. After all, no one really wants their good life to be replaced by another.

Kurusu Akatsuki rubbed his palms and then closed the notebook.

He packed all his things neatly back into his schoolbag, then stood up to leave.

"Amamiya Ren" is such an unlucky and poor child.

Kurusu Akatsuki thought.

Of course, I'm definitely not that unlucky.

After six years of life and death, he painstakingly trained his personality mask to an invincible level. He also became known as the "Thief of the Mind" all over the world, and had a cute and beautiful velvet assistant to accompany him closely.

He can be said to be successful in his career and promising at a young age.

Just as he was about to eliminate the paranormal phenomena that were causing serious social harm on the West Coast and receive a sky-high commission from the White House...

As a result, just because he pressed the flush button when going to the toilet, more than 20 years of his life were crushed and flushed into the sewer.

Whoever is responsible for this must not be caught by me.

Kurusu Akatsuki picked up the piano case, thought with a gloomy expression, and then walked out of the park.

As I passed the fountain, a pale profile was reflected on the shimmering water.

Inexplicably, he felt something in his heart, and subconsciously looked down at himself in the water. His dark gray eyes seemed to be burning with deep blue flames.

"Kurisu Akatsuki" on the water surface seemed to be feeling guilty and sad in the spreading ripples, and then she forced a smile.

As if to say:

"I'll leave this broken life of mine in your hands from now on."

*

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PS:

(An extra chapter.)

(Various data during the new book period are very important! Please recommend! Please monthly ticket! Please blade! Please reward! All kinds of requests!)

007. Get some sleep, tomorrow will be better

The burning dusk promotes the mystery of the night, and the crescent moon quietly visits along the long dark river.

Next to LeBron's shop door, a little orange-red fire flickered.

Sakura Sojiro was looking up at the sky with a cigarette in his mouth when he heard footsteps approaching from afar. He took the burning cigarette butt from his lips and turned his head to look at Kurusu Akatsuki, "Oh, you're back."

It was completely dark, the street lights were on, and in the dim light, a slender shadow could be seen staggering towards him.

"Sorry for the long wait." Kurusu Akatsuki stopped in the middle of the road, panting, carrying his violin case.

This malnourished and lack-of-exercise body had to carry such a heavy object back and forth, making him so tired that snow-like spots kept flashing in front of his eyes.

Sakura Sojiro pressed the cigarette butt in his hand to the concrete floor and extinguished it, then stood up and looked at Kurusu Akatsuki.

"Have you decided to work part-time here with me?"

"Yes, I'll leave it to you to take care of me from now on."

"Take care... I've printed out the contract, come with me to the store and take a look."

Kurusu Akatsuki glanced down at the scattered ashes beneath Sakura Sojiro's feet, then followed him into LeBron.

The time is now seven forty in the evening.

Sojiro Sakura walked into the empty coffee shop, took out a pen and a three-page contract from the counter and placed them on the table, then walked back to the counter and started selecting coffee beans.

"You look tired...would you like a cup of coffee? That would perk you up."

"Grateful."

Sojiro Sakura looked up from the counter at Kurusu Akatsuki who was sitting at the dining table and reading the contract carefully. Then he put on a mask and began to grind the coffee beans skillfully.

"I thought you would come back earlier."

"The day before yesterday, I wanted to rent a place in Shibuya and already paid the down payment, but I haven't received any notification that I can move in yet, so I'm going to get a refund... Life has been a bit tight lately."

The first payment for renting an apartment in Japan is called the "down payment." The down payment usually includes: a deposit, key money, security deposit, agency fee, monthly rent, and some miscellaneous items.

Kurusu Akatsuki hadn't checked in yet, so of course he could get a refund without any reason. A full 150,000 yen was directly refunded, which really solved his urgent problem.

He even had the audacity to walk into a busy ramen shop, slam the table, and shout to the chef, "I want a bowl of signature classic fish bone ramen, plus one portion of barbecued pork, one portion of pork chop, one portion of fish cake, one spoonful of back fat, and one portion of squid tentacles. No chopped green onions or bean sprouts."

Then he arrogantly pushed out four thousand-yuan bills, allowing the chef to squeeze out the patience rare to come out of his busy work during the evening rush hour to listen to the customer's request.

......

"Where are you planning to stay tonight?" While asking, Sakura Sojiro pressed down the mortar hard and carefully ground the coffee beans in the bowl.

"I've found a capsule hotel near LeBron and plan to stay there temporarily until I can afford the rent and then move out."

While answering Sakura Sojiro, Kurusu Akatsuki turned to the second page of the contract, which stipulated his daily working hours and work content.

"Capsule hotel? A lot of things would be inconvenient."

"How can everything be convenient for you when you go to Tokyo to study?"

"If you don't get enough rest at night, it might affect your classes during the day."

"Of course, we can only try to overcome this kind of situation. For example, we can use noise-canceling earplugs when we sleep...after all, we don't have money."

Kurusu Akatsuki turned to the last page of the contract. It was clearly a part-time job as a handyman in a coffee shop, but the salary was only slightly lower than the hourly wage of a waiter in a resort hotel.

He signed his name after confirming that everything was correct.

"Even though you're just a minor, you're surprisingly insightful. I wish my daughter could be as sensible as you."

Sakura Sojiro sighed a little.

He then compacted the ground coffee and placed it in the coffee pot, then took out a clean glass. "Regarding the accommodation issue, I have a better solution."

After signing the contract, Kurusu Akatsuki sat upright in his seat and said, "I'd like to hear the details."

Sakura Sojiro took a cup of hot water from the kitchen and started making coffee.

A minute later, he walked out of the counter with a cup of hot coffee and sat down opposite Kurusu Akatsuki.

The air is filled with a clear and mellow fragrance.

"You've already met Jingqin Renna. She's the daughter of a friend of mine. Due to some family and school conflicts, she came to Tokyo to study... I originally planned to let her live in LeBron's attic, so I cleaned it up today and bought some simple furniture."

"But I thought it was unsafe for a girl like her to stay in the attic alone at night, so I tried to find a spare room for her at home."

Kurusu Akatsuki took the coffee and could feel the warmth flowing through his palm and into his whole body through the glass.

Knowing the "supply and demand" relationship in the workplace, he quickly asked tentatively, "So this attic is now empty?"

Hearing this, Sakura Sojiro smiled gently.

"If you're willing to get up at six every day and clean the shop, you can use this place temporarily. There's hot water in the bathroom, so you can shower at night. If you find the space too cramped, there's a bathhouse on the right. There's a laundry next to the bathhouse, so you don't have to worry about having no clothes to change into."

"This 'temporarily' means..." Kurusu Akatsuki was interrupted by Sakura Sojiro before he could finish his words.

"Amemiya, remember not to play the guitar at night." Then, a key was pressed on the table and pushed towards Kurusu Akatsuki.

Sakura Sojiro stood up and said, "Feel free to read the magazines and newspapers in the bookshelf over there. You can also use the TV. The remote control is in the first drawer of the counter. Remember to wash the cups and pot after drinking coffee."

The shop door opened and closed, and the reliable figure quickly disappeared from Kurusu Akatsuki's sight.

The room was completely silent, with only a little night wind blowing in through the crack in the door, stirring a few old, curled-edge magazines on the bookshelf, making tiny friction sounds.

What a blessing.

Kurusu Akatsuki took a sip of coffee from the glass, feeling cheerful.

After humans have enough food and clothing, they will subconsciously begin to fantasize about countless beautiful futures.

But before this fantasy even began, it collapsed in an instant... Kurusu Akatsuki covered his face with a painful expression, and then did not move.

The bitter taste of the coffee came up.

I remembered the wonderful life I had in another world.

Now I remember the debts that filled up an entire notebook in my schoolbag.

Coffee is too bitter, but life is more bitter.

He suddenly pinched his nose, then picked up the glass and drank the coffee in it.

"Now I'm going to do three sets of simple strength training, then take a shower, change clothes, clean the cups and coffee pot, and finally watch a popular anime or live game on TV. Lights out at 10 pm sharp."

Tomorrow I will learn from Mr. Sakura how to complete various tasks in the store, so I must go to bed early today.

Kurusu Akatsuki plans for his next period of time.

Ten million in debt cannot buy his life.

No matter how much you owe, you will eventually pay it off. There is no permanent debt in the world.