I practiced as a monk alone in Japan.

Chapter 65 A Kiss in the Dark (Seeking Monthly Tickets~)

"What to drink?"

The reason I didn't choose the private room that Asagiri Rin preferred to enjoy alone wasn't because I felt Tsukino Gen wasn't worthy of being there.

She didn't think it was something to hide. In fact, she wanted her relationship with him to be normal more than anyone else, but she had twisted it herself.

Gen Tsukino thought for a moment, "Martini, I guess. I tried it last time, and yours is pretty good."

"You talk as if you drink cocktails all the time."

Gen Tsukino smiled. "I'm not exactly an expert, but I do have some whiskey and base spirits at home, and I mix and match occasionally. I think the best testament to a bartender's skill is the Martini."

"A thousand martinis have a thousand different flavors."

"You drank quite a lot too."

Gen Tsukino looked at the girl with a hint of surprise.

Instead of answering that question, Asagiri Rin simply asked, "Wet or dry?"

"I want to be extremely dry."

Asagiri Rin glanced at the boy before saying to the waiter who had been waiting for a long time, "Two extra dry martinis, vermouth with ice, please. And six shots of tequila."

Are you using tequila as an appetizer?

Tsukino Gen asked curiously.

"If you can't hold your liquor, don't drink. Nobody's forcing you."

The girl snorted coldly, leaning back in her chair. No matter where she was or what position she held, she always maintained the most assertive posture. It was as if an invisible crown was atop her head, and only in this way could she remain stable.

Gen Tsukino laughed too, "Your provocation is old-fashioned, but sorry, I fall for it."

Is this something to be proud of? You say it with such self-righteousness.
However, he seems to have changed quite a bit since he was in the orphanage.

The tequila was served quickly, while the martinis were still being prepared.

There was no opening statement, perhaps because it had already been said. Asagiri Rin picked up a cup directly, and Tsukino Gen also picked one up.

He looked at the girl.

"Want a toast?"

"I never toast with anyone."

She frowned.

"boom."

Then the boy took the initiative to clink glasses with the glass, but with such precision that not a single drop of wine spilled, and then drank it down in one gulp.

There was no sign of struggle or discomfort on her face, only a slight expression of enjoyment.

Rin Asagiri hesitated for a moment, but still frowned and drank it down.

After she finished drinking, Tsukino Gen's smiling eyes seemed so close, even in the dim light of the paper airplane. His face was like the moon getting closer and closer to the Mid-Autumn Festival, so near and bright.

“Every time you tell me something you’ve never done before, I feel a strong urge to do it. Or is it actually a way of inviting me?”

"I've discovered that you're not only narcissistic, but you also like to immerse yourself in your own world, completely disregarding how outrageous your ideas may be."

The girl retorted sharply.

Gen Tsukino smiled indifferently.

"Only those who believe in themselves and are fascinated by themselves can truly enjoy the beauty of this world. At least that's what I think."

It's not the brave who enjoy the world first, nor the gentle who does. It's those who love themselves who can truly enjoy the world.

Why can't I be narcissistic? Is narcissism shameful? At least Tsukino Gen feels that if he had children, he would rather they be narcissistic than he feel inferior.

Some people, due to extreme insecurity, desperately try to deny any expression of confidence, as if humility has become an innate quality, a fundamental moral principle, or even a characteristic of character. Is that really the case? It's merely a seemingly easier way to integrate into this world.

In essence, it was nothing more than a complete and utter annihilation.

To erase personality, to eliminate individuality, it would be best if the whole world wore masks of friendliness and humility, and if everyone bowed and scraped to strangers on the street.

Asagiri Rin shook her head and sighed, "I underestimated the inner strength of someone like you. Is it because you're narcissistic that you haven't accepted adoption or guardianship yet?"

The people who had a lot of contact with Tsukino Gen tacitly avoided mentioning his time in the orphanage, even though they wanted to know more, because they felt it might touch on the hidden corners of the boy's heart.

So basically, the approach is to wait until he decides to speak for himself. This is considered the best way to respect him.

I know your present, that's enough. Tell me about your past when you want to.

But Asagiri Rin was different. During that time, there was no one else but them. So she could be reckless. Even if she hurt him, so what? She didn't stop being a bad woman.

Thinking about it now gives me a strange sense of joy.
Gen Tsukino shook his head. "No, it's just that I don't think I need it. Some things we didn't have at the beginning, we don't need later either."

"For example, family ties?"

"You can say that."

Asagiri Rin fell silent for a moment, then picked up her next glass of tequila.

This time, she didn't learn from the lesson of having Tsukino Gen clink glasses with her. Instead, she picked up her glass and stopped in that spot, clearly waiting for something.

She is a lost child, waiting for a bus to take her home.

She was also a child who had forgotten happiness, standing on the hillside of her childhood, opening her arms and waiting for a gust of wind to blow all the dandelions into her arms, just like the one that the man who would never appear would personally give her.

"boom."

The cups clinked together crisply, and the paper airplane played "Don't Look Back in Anger," a classic track by the band Oasis, often referred to as "Little Penicillin."

Every time Asagiri Rin hears the line, "She knew there was no way to turn back, so she had no choice but to continue on her journey," she can't help but be moved.

The lingering effects of the alcohol turned into a blush on her neck. She thought, perhaps words spoken while drunk are just nonsense, and no one takes them seriously. That's why so many people speak their true feelings with such conviction, indulging in unrestrained behavior.

After finishing this glass, two extra-dry martinis were served.

The waiter had a vague idea of ​​the identity of the girl who occasionally frequented the bar's most secluded and forbidden private room, so he came quietly and left quickly, not daring to disturb her in the slightest.

He didn't even have time to appreciate Tsukino Gen's face.

The girl had barely put down her empty cup when she immediately picked up her martini.

"cheers."

This was the first time she had uttered the word voluntarily.

Gen Tsukino paused for a moment, "You just finished drinking this and you want to drink this again? It's very strong."

Asagiri Rin shook her head. "Martinis are meant to be drunk in three gulps while it's still chilled. Do you even know anything about alcohol?"

"Row."

You can't persuade someone who wants to drown their sorrows in alcohol, and you're too lazy to talk about health issues. If the price of living to 100 or 120 is having to silently digest all the bitterness in your heart without any outlet, then it's just a hundred-year imprisonment.

He took a big gulp of it.

The flavor of vermouth assaults the mouth.

It deserves to be savored.

Looking at Asagiri Rin again, her posture had softened, and she was quietly looking at Tsukino Gen, seemingly still quite calm, but noticeably different from her usual demeanor.

Well, with her cheeks slightly flushed, Rin Asagiri looked so alluring in the dim light that you wanted to reach out and brush her black hair aside, cup her face, and kiss her.

They seemed very natural, but they didn't actually have much to say. Or rather, there was an invisible barrier that made Asagiri Rin feel she had to speak out, yet she couldn't bring herself to say it.

So I listened to music, drank wine, one sip after another.

Looking at him, so real yet so distant, right in front of her, she longed to ask if he truly hated her.

She also wanted to say that she initially wanted him to hate her, but now she's sad because of it.

But in the end, they said nothing, asked nothing. It seemed they could only remain indifferent, untouched by each other's pain. Was that so?

Even though they didn't drink too fast, they finished the martini and six glasses of tequila in less than an hour.

Asagiri Rin's vision began to blur gradually. It seemed like she had drunk about the same amount as usual, but the effects hit her faster than ever before.

She tried her best to look normal as she looked over.

What's next?

"That's enough, isn't it? You have class tomorrow, don't get so drunk."

"I'm not that drunk; I have a high alcohol tolerance."

She said defiantly.

Gen Tsukino smiled and nodded, already standing up on his own initiative. "I know, but I don't want to drink that much."

"So you've given up."

She seemed very serious at that moment, a kind of inexplicably childish seriousness, yet it was precisely because of this childishness that she appeared adorable.

Gen Tsukino stood beside her and nodded.

"Well, I lost."

His smile was gentle, just like the boy in my memory; it was as if his smile could dispel the dark clouds and turn the rain into a hot spring.

She hated the boy's gentleness because gentleness was a hypocritical quality, something that could be used on anyone. It couldn't be possessed, yet it made one want to monopolize it.

"Hmph, I'll let you off this time."

She stood up, but her steps were unsteady. Her body was far less clear than her mind, perhaps neither was fully conscious.

However, the quick-witted Gen Tsukino seemed to have anticipated this, and easily and naturally grasped her slender arm, stabilizing her center of gravity.

The moment she felt that reassuring power and warmth, she turned her head.

The boy was right there.

A face even more beautiful than before, with those same unfathomable eyes. And... the veins on her neck, her prominent Adam's apple.

Everything was so dazed, it seemed like a hallucination born of drunkenness.

Even the scent is captivating, but it doesn't belong to me.

"Let go. I can walk by myself."

"I'll see you to your car."

Gen Tsukino didn't let go. In fact, Kaoru Morita, who was not far away, had already seen this scene.

She also came over and glanced at Tsukino Gen, who was supporting a girl who seemed to be unconscious.

"Shall I help Miss up?"

Gen Tsukino simply smiled at her, completely clear-headed.

"Don't worry about me, and don't worry about her."

"."

I don't know why, even though he was just a high school student, and even an orphan from an orphanage, his gentle gaze seemed to possess a power that naturally persuaded people.

It seems like all you have to do is listen to him and that's enough.

She turned around and went to get her car.

Gen Tsukino led Rin Asagiri to the back seat of the car, but didn't get in himself. He said to Kaoru Morita in the front, "Just take her home. I can go back by myself."

Without hesitation, Kaoru Morita nodded.

"Ok."

Just as Tsukino Gen was preparing to leave.

Suddenly, the car window was rolled down.

First, a pair of fair and delicate hands climbed onto the edge of the car window, and then a girl with messy hair struggled to stick her head out.

Her chin rested on the back of her hand, a few strands of hair swaying across her face.

She was confused, her eyes were blurry.

"Hey, Gen Tsukino."

"Ok?"

Gen Tsukino stopped and looked over.

She pouted, "Come here, I want to whisper something to you."

Whispering? Did drinking you make you young again?

But the boy still walked over, looked down at her, leaned close to her face, and pressed his ear to hers.

"You said."

The girl's voice was soft, yet clear. The street was noisy and bustling, but Tsukino Gen could automatically block it out.

"I don't actually hate that time at all."

She forgot the original purpose of the meeting.

Gen Tsukino laughed.

"Ok, I know."

Asagiri Rin seemed somewhat downcast, even aggrieved.

"When they left, I said I wanted them to take you with them. But no one listened, no one listened."

She seemed to have transformed back into that little girl who needed to rely on him, searching for airplanes outside the orphanage.

"."

An inexplicable emotion, like a river that you thought had long since dried up, suddenly turns into a tsunami and crashes down on you.

The faint sobs were like a torrential downpour.

Gen Tsukino looked up at her face.

"Asagiri Rin."

"How dare you call me by my full name?"

The girl's cheeks were flushed, and her eyes were red. Even the most wicked demon should be spared because of this face.

"you are cute."

"Ok?"

She looked up in confusion, unsure if she had heard clearly.

but.

The boy reached out and cupped her face, fulfilling a wish he had made not long ago.

In the darkness, some people dance, some sing, and some give kisses.

Amidst the dim, noisy, chaotic, and intoxicating atmosphere of the street, he kissed her.

……

(End of this chapter)