death of hope

Chapter 1012 "Psionic Storm" (86) Different Paths, Different Destinies

The Ginza Building is the largest and most luxurious entertainment, cultural, and shopping center in Akihabara, a famous landmark in Shin-Sapporo, and a must-see for tourists.

Unlike other shopping malls, the Ginza Building primarily attracts customers through its cinema, entertainment, and exhibition halls on the first to third floors, and its amusement centers for couples and families on the fourth to sixth floors, showcasing film and animation IPs and offering a one-stop shop for food, drinks, and entertainment.
Tickets are expensive, the merchandise on the shelves is all high-priced, genuine brand-name goods, and even a bottle of drink in the restaurant is outrageously expensive. The customers are mostly stylish families or couples from the upper district.

In Shin-Sapporo, even the poorest families in the downtown area will do everything they can to raise money to bring their children on a trip to broaden their horizons, so as not to cause them any childhood regrets.

In the eyes of Leon, a wealthy Vilnius nobleman, the Ginza Building was nothing more than an ordinary movie theater and entertainment center.
But Yuna saw it differently; her eyes were like a lab mouse gazing at the aurora borealis, glistening with tears.

“When we were little, my brother (Ryūshun Jingūji) and I depended on each other for survival. Our adoptive parents abused us. We knew which places in the upper district were fun, but the tickets were too expensive. My brother worked several jobs but still couldn't afford them.”
One Halloween, my brother carried me over the fence to watch the ghost fireworks at Disney Castle and stole candy from pumpkins. Then we were chased by security guards for two blocks...

This is my first time visiting the Ginza Building. I'm already on the upper level (Z). Tetsuya-kun brought me here.

"I'm like a country bumpkin who just arrived in the city, I don't even know how to use an escalator... It's so embarrassing..." Yuna said, blushing.
"That day, we spent the whole afternoon at the movie theater on the third floor, remember, Tetsuya-kun~"

"Uh...yes...I remember..." Li Ang coughed lightly, covering his mouth, and nodded shamelessly.

·
"At the time, I thought, 'So many crystal balls, how much effort must it take to clean them all at once…' My poor mindset limited my imagination…"

Jinguji Yuna looked up at the huge, luxurious crystal chandelier at the top of the hall, and a wave of dizziness washed over her.
Due to the dissection, implanted chip, and radiation at the research institute, her brain was severely damaged, but some fragments of memory occasionally reappear.
Stepping onto the gleaming terrazzo floor for the first time, she breathed heavily, her sweaty hands gripping the hem of her JK uniform skirt, afraid of making a fool of herself and embarrassing Tetsuya-kun.

In the fragments of memory, the shadow cast by the floor tiles was that of a handsome Asian man with black hair and amber eyes.
The man in front of me, Tetsuya, was of European descent with a high nose, blond hair, and blue eyes… I was immediately surprised and puzzled.

(What... how come there are two Tetsuya-kun?)

Honestly... what am I even thinking about... my brain is a complete mess, I forgot the questions I memorized this morning by the afternoon...

Tetsuya-kun didn't mind my brain injury and sickly nature. Not only did he not break up with me, but he also spent money and time accompanying me to the doctor...

How could I possibly question such a good man? I'm so awful... I deserve a beating!

Yuna felt intense remorse and slapped herself hard across the cheek, startling the building's receptionist.

Li Ang's heart skipped a beat, thinking that his poor acting had given him away:

"Yuna... what happened to you..."

"I'm sorry... I had a brain fart... I'm so sorry I embarrassed you, Tetsuya-kun..."

"It's nothing, no big deal."

Li Ang stroked the soft, blond hair like he was soothing a kitten, then kissed it on the forehead:
"You'll be fine once you recover, don't worry about it."

·
On the third floor of the cinema, the two visited Yuna's favorite "Frozen" exhibition hall. In the surrounding shops, Li Ang bought an Elsa-style crown for Yuna to wear.
"Our Yuna is so beautiful~ She's like Elsa reincarnated~" Yuna noticed that everyone in the store was a parent with a child shopping, and her tall figure standing out conspicuously while wearing merchandise related to a movie or TV show.

"Um... Gao Z watches cartoons...doesn't that make me seem childish...?"

"How could that be?" Li Ang laughed.
"I'm watching Transformers too~", this doesn't need to be acted out, because it's the truth.

Yuna smiled brightly, taking Li Ang's hand: "I like Transformers too~ There's an Optimus Prime model over there, shall we take a picture with it~"

Let's go!

After visiting the cinema, we went upstairs to the amusement park and rode the bumper cars and carousel. Feeling a bit tired, we randomly found a restaurant to sit down and rest.

Li Ang bought the most expensive handmade ice cream, made with natural cocoa, the healthy, sugar-free beauty treat favored by the modern Sapporo bourgeoisie, and it even had fresh avocado added. Yuna ate it, but her face showed a pained expression:

"Ugh...it tastes so bitter...I'm sorry...I shouldn't have been a picky eater..."

Li Ang paused for a moment, then thought for a second and said, "I know, let's go to our usual spot. We're tired from walking around, it's time to head back."

·
Leaving the bustling Akihabara streets, we drove to a run-down tortilla shop in the downtown area, run by undocumented Mexican immigrants.

She opened the freezer and pulled out a cheap "chocolate bar" ice cream that was frozen solid. The price was unbelievably cheap. Yuna took a bite and smiled.

"This tastes right!" Li Ang took a bite, then frowned involuntarily.
(Industrial gels, chocolate flavorings, colorings, cocoa butter substitutes—the ingredient list is long and full of technology and rudimentary techniques… Ms. Yuna just happens to like these cheap products.)
"What a handsome young couple!" the restaurant owner exclaimed, looking at the two. "They're such a sight for sore eyes!"

The owner looked to be in his fifties, an old-fashioned Latino immigrant with a small mustache, wearing a large Mexican hat, and playing classic folk songs on his guitar. The gentle notes made the two of them reminisce.
The taste of the 'chocolate bar' reminded Yuna of her childhood, when her older brother, Ryūjun, would collect scraps to earn a few coins to buy her popsicles.

This brand is incredibly cheap; the kids in the slums nicknamed it 'Poor Kid Happy Ice'.

Li Ang recalled his childhood, at the lavish salon banquets of Vilnius nobles on the top floor of the Nest City, with unlimited desserts, chocolates made from pure cocoa powder, and whole hazelnuts inside…

Suddenly, it seemed as if I had realized something.
Li Ang turned his head to look at the makeshift shacks of the slums outside the restaurant window.
A homeless man warming himself by a fire beside a trash can; a ragged, undocumented immigrant child playing with a yo-yo under a streetlamp.

The corporate soldiers tracking and protecting them pinched their noses, swearing loudly from the pungent smell of the sewer.

(Miss Yuna belongs here, a beautiful legend of the slums, a girl who grew up in hell but retained her kindness and innocence, untainted by the mud, completely different from any noble lady I have ever met...)

The director and the others are all lying. Yuna isn't some kind of psychic monster; she's a Terran human who was separated from her parents for some unknown reason and ended up on the streets. The company killed her brother, who was her only family, and kidnapped her to be used as a test subject.

Our childhoods were from completely different worlds. I was so arrogant, thinking I understood her. How foolish I was. The hardships and grievances I endured are nothing compared to the suffering she went through.
No one can ever fully understand another person.

I never realized that I was a pampered young master born with a silver spoon in my mouth, a prince born at the very top of the Vilnius metropolis.
A fool who doesn't eat meat porridge and knows nothing of human suffering...)