novelraw Chapter 23 Request
Chapter 23 Request
By the time we got back to Yokohama, dusk had already fallen over half the sky.
Lin Xiuyi opened the car door, her legs feeling weak, and stood on the ground by the street, letting out a long, weary sigh.
Dealing with Isshiki, who is skilled at playing pranks, is truly terrifying, like walking blindfolded on the edge of a cliff.
"Shuichi, you should seriously consider my suggestion and make plans as soon as possible."
Inside the car, Isejin smiled brightly.
"Yes."
Lin Xiuyi straightened up and answered hesitantly and perfunctorily.
"See you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow."
……
After waving goodbye and the car leaving, Lin Xiuyi walked into the streets of Kotobuki-cho.
As she walked, she pondered her relationship with Isshiki Kin.
He counted on his fingers and confirmed that today was the 9th day since he met her. If you don't count the six days he was in a coma, then the two of them had actually only spent two and a half days together.
Two and a half days later, she's going to invite me to live with her.
It's worth noting that even in the "chicken and rabbit in the same cage" scenario, such a wide range of unconditional and insane behavior only occurs during the mating season.
Could it be that Isshiki Kin really fell in love with him at first sight?
After thinking about it again, Lin Xiuyi realized that he was probably overthinking things.
After all, he had never made friends before, and perhaps this is just how friendships work.
This might also be the reason why Lin Xiuyi himself feels old before he has grown up. He has also used his mobile phone to go online recently and knows that Japanese society is now in an open era where men and women are free to engage in various behaviors. People like him who have not yet realized this are considered by some netizens to be backward and conservative.
According to these seniors, in reality, even if friends don't reach the level of "relationship," they can still freely love each other.
Lin Xiuyi now understands these words somewhat.
From this advanced perspective, he and Isshiki Kin are also friends. If Isshiki Kin has a need and asks him to help resolve it, then he should indeed accept it and actively fulfill his duties as a friend.
And he wasn't a eunuch, so doing this kind of thing would also benefit him.
However, while this is the truth, he's used to a conservative lifestyle and can't leap to that level overnight. He still needs time to work hard and improve himself...
Lin Xiuyi was so engrossed in the wildly misguided ideas of a serious but naive virgin that he didn't know much about the world that he finally snapped out of it and sighed.
Even disregarding these surreal factors, he was quite tempted by Isshiki's invitation. At least he would be spared the trouble of finding a new place to rent, and the rent would be split with someone else—if it wasn't too expensive…
But one uncompromising reason prevented him from accepting the invitation. Lin Xiuyi took his phone out of his pocket.
—As long as he still has this phone as a secret, and there is no better way to cover it up, he is destined to be unable to enjoy cohabitation with more than one person.
To be honest, since he woke up, Lin Xiuyi hasn't seen if there are any new requests.
He subconsciously opened the Wretch app.
[Daily Commissions]
Hey, how long has it been since you've checked on that roe deer in the park? It's come back early this morning to freeload! This is an unforgivable offense, so go stop it!
[Reward: 5 points]
[Objective: Kick the roe deer in the park hard until it runs away]
Status: Incomplete
Sure enough, since the app store and points system were unlocked, the rewards for daily commissions have also been changed to points, which is quite thoughtful and convenient.
Lin Xiu glanced at the 5-point reward, then at her 499-point balance, stood up and tried to kick forward... but as soon as she took a 30-degree step, pain shot straight from her toes to her forehead.
To prevent himself from tearing apart at the base, he immediately stopped and took a couple of breaths to calm himself down.
The side effects of using "TRYHARD" haven't completely subsided yet. Although the mosquitoes, worth 5 points, are small but have some meat, Lin Xiuyi won't be able to enjoy them today.
He abandoned his plan to make the appointment and went straight home, intending to take good care of his health that day.
He was gone for six days, and nothing had changed in Kotobuki. The same group of homeless people and drunkards still roamed the streets, and a few of them would even greet him when they saw him. He wasn't worried that his room would be sublet because he hadn't been back for too long, since few people wanted to live in that secluded Doya. His only concern was that the old landlord might sneak into his room again and rummage around.
Speaking of which, he'll probably keep me occupied again and make up some nonsense to get me to pay rent.
Walking through the alley in front of the gate, Lin Xiuyi arrived at the open space in front of Doya and saw that the ground was in a mess.
Everywhere were the old man's usual garbage that he collected to exchange for money, as well as several appliances that had been dragged out and smashed, broken furniture, and torn clothes from his house, and himself—who had been beaten half to death, lying in this chaotic scene with bruises all over his head, his arms and ankles covered in purple and blue, one eye bloodshot, the other swollen shut, and tissues stuck in both nostrils to stop the bleeding.
When he saw Lin Xiuyi, he seemed to see some hope and smiled happily. He opened his mouth, which was missing a front tooth, and made a muffled sound due to the slurred speech: "Lin Xiuyi... come and help me."
Lin Xiuyi couldn't ignore him, so she went over and helped him sit down against the wall.
"Please help me." The old man was in great pain, his eyes red and swollen. "I'm going to see my granddaughter today... but I can't see her like this. Please help me, go and bring her dinner. Please, for the sake of the discounts I've always given you..."
A red tear welled up in her eye.
"Let me take you to the hospital first," Lin Xiuyi said after a moment of silence.
"Alright, forget it. I don't have that money. Those debt collectors still expect me to pay them back later. They only gave me minor scratches. I'll be fine after a couple of days of rest." The old man pulled out some banknotes from his tattered kimono and stuffed them into Lin Xiuyi's hand.
Lin Xiuyi opened her palm and found a crumpled 1000 yuan note.
"Go to Sukiya and buy her one of those toy set meals. I don't remember the name, so ask around yourself. Also, go to the fruit shop and buy her as many strawberries as you can. If you don't have enough money... deduct it from your rent... okay?"
The old man hesitated before finally making his request.
Where does your granddaughter live?
"The city's public hospital is called Che. Just tell the nurse at the front desk that you're here to visit Xiao Che on my behalf."
"I see."
Lin Xiuyi wanted to help the old man into the room whose door had been broken open, but he waved her off, saying, "It's getting late, you should go quickly, don't let my granddaughter go hungry."
He had no choice but to leave, but the old man called him back before he did: "Hey, that girl is already pitiful enough, so don't tell her about me. Remember, smile more."
……
Lin Xiuyi walked into Yokohama Municipal Hospital with a "SUKISUKI Set Meal" he bought from Sukiya and a bag of three boxes of strawberries.
"I'm here to replace..." Lin Xiuyi said to the nurse at the front desk, then realized that she still didn't know the landlord's surname, so she said what the neighbors usually called him, "I'm here to visit Xiao Che in place of Qing Sanlang."
The nurse looked him over for a moment, then nodded and handed him an open register. "You're here to visit Maeda Tetsu, right? Please register your name in the blank space."
Maeda?
Lin Xiu turned her gaze to the names already registered on the roster—
Kenpei Maeda
【Masako Maeda】
【Keizaburo Maeda】