I practiced as a monk alone in Japan.

Chapter 183 There aren't that many coincidences.
In the following days, as the summer vacation drew to a close.

Gen Tsukino had nothing else to do. He would train at night, go for a run during the morning, and then go next door to cook.

It's like a shut-in returning to his loyal throne.

Even Kiyono Mizuki found it unbelievable.

"Have you broken the law recently?"

"What do you mean?"

Gen Tsukino, who was washing the dishes, looked strangely at the young girl sitting in the living room with a blanket covering her legs.

With this period of nourishment, her legs gradually regained sensation. Kiyono Mizuki's mood also improved, and she became noticeably brighter. If before, with her bangs, she looked like she carried the gloomy temperament of Ms. Tomie in her hopeless life, then...

The current Kiyono Mizuki possesses both gentleness and liveliness.

"You've been spending all your time here lately, not going out at all. That's unbelievable. Did you do something wrong outside and are too scared to go out?"

"What kind of nonsense is that? What could I possibly do wrong, someone as academically excellent as me?"

"For example, did he seduce a girl who has a boyfriend? Or was he caught cheating? It's probably something that's related to women."

It really is.

My troubles are all related to women, but the reason I haven't gone out these past few days isn't because of any trouble.

"No, that's not true. I was going out a lot the past few days because I really had to. Now that I'm free, I'm too lazy to go out."

"Really? Sounds like you're a homebody?"

Kiyono Mizuki said suspiciously.

The boy, having finished washing the dishes, dried his hands and went to the living room, casually picking up an orange.

While peeling the skin, he said leisurely, "Of course, I actually dislike going out the most. It's more comfortable to stay at home, read more books, and take a nap."

"You live like an old gatekeeper. Oh, the only difference is that you don't know how to fish."

Gen Tsukino said softly, "Actually, the old man doesn't know how to fish and often comes back empty-handed. Later, to avoid people talking about him, he would go to the seafood market to buy a few fish beforehand. I happened to see him doing that last time."

"Hahahahaha."

Kiyono Mizuki laughed so hard she could barely breathe.

Then Tsukino Gen placed the remaining half of the orange in the other girl's hand, which she naturally accepted.

She said softly, "Oh, by the way, some former classmates said they were coming to visit me today."

"Former classmates? You still have classmates?"

"What nonsense are you talking about? I was studying before."

Kiyono Mizuki's eyes widened slightly, but she didn't seem angry. She understood the subtext of Tsukino Gen's words: Why didn't he look after her after the incident? Now that things have stabilized and she's achieved some success with her book, he's suddenly showing up.

So after saying that, the girl explained softly, "I should thank you for this."

"no need thank me?"

“Because of what happened before, I shut myself off. Actually, quite a few friends expressed their concern, but I rejected them all, and even actively blocked their messages and cut off contact with them. So the fact that no one came here except you is not due to the coldness of human relationships, but because I was too extreme at that time.”

This is why, although Tsukino Gen helped the girl, his attitude towards her was by no means gentle.

A person who constantly rejects others and then abandons themselves cannot be pulled back by gentle persuasion alone. Someone who is stuck in a rut must be allowed to find their own way out.

Kiyono Mizuki reached out and smoothed a strand of hair behind her ear, a little embarrassed, and said softly.

“During this time, I gradually learned to let go of those stubborn things and started to reconnect with my old classmates and friends. I found that they actually care about me, but they just didn’t know how to see me. They felt awkward about their concern because they thought I was still the same as before. Only after I took the initiative to explain did they feel relieved.”

"That's good. But you're not fully recovered yet, is it alright to meet?"

Gen Tsukino looked at her.

Kiyono Mizuki shook her head. "It should be fine, we've already agreed to treat it as a get-together with classmates and friends. Not too many people will come, so there's no need to bring any gifts, we'll just chat and stuff."

"If you need my help, just say so. By the way, if your friend comes over, will you be able to perform anything?"

"Perform a show?"

"Like a backflip or something."

"Get lost!"

The two were laughing and joking.

There was a knock at the door.

"Someone must have arrived; they pushed me to open the door."

Although Kiyono Mizuki had spoken eloquently and seemed quite prepared, she still showed obvious signs of panic when the knocking sounded.

Tsukino Gen looked at her with amusement, got up on his own, but made no attempt to push her away. Instead, he walked straight to the door and opened it.

"Qing Ye. Huh?"

"This is Kiyono Mizuki's place. Wow."

Once the door is opened.

Following the light, several young girls appeared, roughly the same age as Kiyono Mizuki. The difference was that some were dressed maturely, while others still exuded youthful charm.

In their eyes, it was the gateway to a new world.

Because when you open it, what appears isn't the beautiful girl you remember, but a handsome, almost unreal, young man.

For a moment, everyone forgot to speak and stared at each other in bewilderment as Tsukino Gen opened the door.

Gen Tsukino smiled.

"You're here to see Mizuki, right?"

The short-haired girl at the head of the group finally realized what was happening, her cheeks flushed slightly, and she nodded politely.

"We were classmates of Mizuki before. May I ask who you are?"

"Oh, I'm her nanny."

"A nanny? You must be kidding, where can you find such a handsome nanny?"

"Handsome guy, you're really joking. Are you perhaps Miyuki's boyfriend?"

"Wow, no wonder Jianyue didn't contact us before, she was dating! It's kind of worrying!"

Clang.

Clang.

Kiyono Mizuki hurriedly pushed her wheelchair over herself. The girl, her cheeks flushed, glared at Tsukino Gen, who seemed to enjoy watching the drama unfold, and then apologized.

"Come in quickly, he's not the nanny, he's my neighbor."

Gen Tsukino smiled and stepped aside, letting the four or five girls carrying things into the room.

The house is indeed not big, but after cleaning it up, it can still accommodate these people without any problem.

Several people came in chatting and laughing, making fun of Kiyono Mizuki as they went.

"Neighbor~ You never mentioned having such a handsome neighbor."

"Tell us honestly, why didn't you contact us before? Were you planning to keep a mistress hidden away?"

"Sigh, if we had known you were eating so well, we wouldn't have worried about you. Could it be that you're not contacting us because you're afraid we'll be jealous?"

"No way!" Kiyono Mizuki blushed at their words, but once they came in, it was no longer Tsukino Gen's turn to push the wheelchair. "Look at you, I told you not to bring anything, so many bags and packages, my little house can't hold them all."

Suddenly the whole room was filled with the sounds of women talking and drinking, and it became visibly lively.

"What are you talking about? You say you won't bring anything, and you really don't? We haven't seen each other for so long, shouldn't we bring gifts for this reunion?"

The short-haired girl said with a smile.

The other girls echoed this sentiment.

"Yeah, I was worried about your mental state, but you seem very reassuring now. Wait, have you gained weight?"

"Yeah, she was so skinny when she was in school, it was heartbreaking. Now she's chubby and so cute!"

"Let me pinch your fingers."

Listening to the girls' unique way of teasing each other, Tsukino Gen didn't intend to interrupt, but simply took over the task of entertaining them in place of Kiyono Mizuki. She brought them bottled water and placed washed fruit on the table.

The young women noticed Tsukino Gen's actions, and they tacitly avoided joking in front of him. Instead, they all looked at Kiyono Mizuki with ambiguous expressions.

Kiyono Mizuki's cheeks flushed instantly, and she couldn't help but change the subject.

"Eat some fruit, why are you all staring at me like that?"

"They're living a pretty comfortable life."

Some people are being mean-spirited.

Kiyono Mizuki said apologetically, "That's really not true. I didn't contact you before because I didn't want to bother you, so..."

"Sigh, no need to say all that, we all understand."

"Yes. We didn't mean anything by it, we were just worried about you. Now that we know you're doing well, that's good. A lot of people in the class are thinking of you. Oh, by the way, here, this is for you."

As they spoke, the group picked up a bag and took out many books from it.

Kiyono Mizuki looked somewhat taken aback, "This is..."

"Sigh, accidents happen so suddenly. You didn't even have time to go back to school to pack your things. Luckily, our homeroom teacher thoughtfully left them all behind, knowing we were coming to see you, and specially asked us to pick them up. Now they're back to their rightful owner. Look, there are your notebooks and comic books too."

"This"

Kiyono Mizuki saw something familiar appear before her eyes again, and for a moment she was moved and at a loss for words.

I even felt quite apologetic.

Because I felt that I hadn't treated that kindness properly, and instead chose to run away.

Several people noticed her expression and laughed to lighten the mood.

"Okay, this isn't the time for a romance drama, so no crying allowed."

"Yes, otherwise they'll definitely be avoiding us again. You can look at these things slowly after we leave. Let's chat first."

"What are you talking about?"

Kiyono asked, somewhat bewildered. Perhaps it was because it had been too long since she had experienced such an occasion, too long since she had relived this familiar feeling.

Several girls huddled together, talking about topics unique to them.

"Of course it's gossip!" the short-haired girl immediately said.

"Exactly, exactly! Let me tell you, so much has happened while you were gone! You'd never guess what happened to Natsume, the one who confessed to you back then... now..."

"Cough cough cough."

Someone reminded the girl who had a big mouth that she should be mindful of the occasion and the presence of another person, and that she should be more careful about the topics she discussed.

Tsukino Gen instantly realized his 'superfluousness'.

He immediately looked at Kiyono Mizuki.

"I'm going out to buy something. You two can continue chatting."

Kiyono Mizuki nodded. "Be careful."

"it is good."

After Tsukino Gen walked out the door.

The girls' gazes became even more suggestive. "Tsk tsk tsk, be careful~ Why does your voice sound so tight now?"

"Where is it pinched!" Kiyono Mizuki's cheeks flushed red.

"Not yet! I used to be very assertive with those boys at school, throwing away the flowers they gave me in front of them. Now I'm just saying 'Be careful~'."

"Tell me the truth! What happened? Where did such a handsome guy come from?!"

"No, stop scratching! We're really just neighbors!"

"Still not behaving yourself, huh!"

"Ouch, it really itches."

Gen Tsukino came downstairs.

It seems like this is giving these people some time to catch up, and they really need to buy some things. After all, since they're coming at this time, they might have to eat dinner, so they should bring something with them.

Kiyono Mizuki may not have thought things through completely, but he couldn't possibly ignore it.

There's nothing I can do about it; after all, he's my 'guardian'.

As Tsukino Gen saw something strange while leaving the residential area.

A car he had never seen before was pacing back and forth at the entrance of the residential area. At first, he thought it was practicing parallel parking, but then he saw the car drive away.

Without much thought, he went to a nearby supermarket and bought some vegetables and drinks.

When I returned, I saw the car parked directly at the entrance of the residential area.

It's difficult for him not to notice.

However, he still didn't intend to get involved, just as he was about to walk back to the community.

"Tsuno!"

A familiar voice called out to him. He turned around with some suspicion and saw a head of dazzling rose-gold hair through the rolled-down car window.

"...Ayaka Miura?"

What's this woman doing here?
Gen Tsukino was taken aback. She hesitated for a moment and asked softly.

"This isn't the right place. Do you know Kiyono Mizuki?"

Gen Tsukino then suddenly realized what was going on.

Perhaps because of their different social classes and the fact that Ayaka Miura and Shin Aoki were seen together at the same events, they were not connected before.

Now it seems.

Ayaka Miura is about the same age as Mizuki Kiyono.

The main difference is that after the accident, Kiyono Mizuki didn't have much contact with society, so she's more like a big girl in Tsukino Gen's eyes.

The social circles that Ayaka Miura frequents lead to her having a more mature demeanor, so in Gen Tsukino's subconscious mind, she is more like a young woman.

The fact that the two are about the same age was ignored.

But isn't this a bit too much of a coincidence?

"Don't tell me you're her classmate."

"You really know him?"

Ayaka Miura's eyes widened, naturally revealing a somewhat dazed expression of joy.

"I know you. You're not going to get lost again, are you?"

Ayaka Miura's cheeks flushed slightly, as if she were a little embarrassed. "This is my first time here, but I didn't get lost this time! I checked repeatedly, this is the place!"

"Then why are you parking your car at the entrance of the residential area without getting out?"

"Excuse me, have you ever taken a driving test?"

"What do you mean?"

"Um... the road here is a bit narrow, and the cars are parked haphazardly. My car is a bit long, so..."

"Oh, you can't park your car, right?"

No wonder he kept coming in and out like he was practicing parallel parking. Seeing the other person's face turn red, Tsukino Gen understood.

This is a real parking practice session.

I went to the supermarket and walked around, but I didn't stop inside!

"can you help me?"

Ayaka Miura asked, somewhat embarrassed.

"You're really something, now get down."

"Thank you~"

The woman smiled sweetly.

The car window reflected the dazzling afternoon light, making her delicate, fair skin shine even brighter.

It's a season that can easily make you feel disoriented.

Gen Tsukino easily parked the car for the other person and then handed the keys to Ayaka Miura.

"If driving is that difficult, I suggest you hire a driver, or just take a taxi."

Ayaka Miura took the key. She wasn't ashamed by the teasing remark; instead, she stared blankly at Gen Tsukino.

"Can I hire you as my driver?"

"what?"

You really dare to ask that!

She was very serious, however, and said, "I can offer you a high salary!"

Gen Tsukino stood there with his hands in his pockets, the sunlight shining directly on his dark hair.

He dropped his previous nonchalant expression and instead stared intently into the other person's seemingly serious eyes.

"Maybe you shouldn't pretend anymore. You're Mingyan's older sister, right?"

A glint of light swirled in the woman's eyes, like the stunning color of amber, before vanishing in an instant.

Her seriousness gradually faded, replaced by a faint, enigmatic smile.

……

(End of this chapter)