Tokyo Sick Girlfriend

Chapter 111 Waiting
A moment of silence fell over the air. Takahashi Reie exhaled deeply, as if trying to dispel the oppressive atmosphere among them, and stood up, saying:
"I went to cook."

She took a few steps forward, then turned back and said:

"Shiratori-kun, please try my cooking today."

"Mio, come and help me with this."

"..."

Shiratori Seiya opened his mouth, then suddenly wondered if he had gone too far.

He felt no sadness at the moment. What seemed like an extremely painful growth experience to others had long since faded from his memory.

He was still thinking about Saori's match. He had originally planned to finish things here and then drive back, hoping he could make it to Saori's match.

But now it seems I was being too presumptuous.

Even if things didn't go as smoothly as they are now, if something went wrong with Mio, she probably wouldn't be able to get back today.

However, the current situation does not seem to be going so smoothly.

Takahashi Isao was staring intently at him, their gazes meeting in the air. He said in a deep voice:

"Kid, do you know how to play chess?"

Shiratori Seiya pursed his lips and said:
"I know a little bit."

Upon hearing this, Takahashi Isao's eyes lit up, and he tapped the table, speaking directly in a commanding tone:

"Come play two rounds with me."

Watching him get up and go to the study to get the chess set, Shiratori Seiya narrowed his eyes.

His own 'father-in-law' didn't seem very convinced.

But that's normal. He had just said so much, about being genuinely devoted and putting on a melodramatic show. These things might be useful to his 'mother-in-law' and reduce her resistance to him to some extent.

But if he wanted to convince his Showa-era father-in-law, he had to completely win him over; words alone wouldn't be enough to win him over.

With this thought in mind, once Takahashi Isao had set up the chessboard, he held nothing back and utterly crushed his opponent.

He had been practicing chess since he was a child in his previous life. Although he wasn't a professional, he could easily beat the old men in his neighborhood.

Although the rules of Japanese chess are somewhat different from those in my hometown—for example, in Japan, once a bishop is captured, it can be taken and used—I have studied it for a period of time out of interest since I was a child here.

After only five or six moves, Shiratori Seiya roughly understood what level Takahashi Isao was at. He was not much better than the old man in the neighborhood, and he didn't follow the rules at all. To put it bluntly, he was a terrible Go player.

By the time Mrs. Takahashi called out, "Dinner's ready," Takahashi Isao had already lost three games in a row and was struggling in the fourth game.

His buttocks were firmly planted on the sofa, his face as red as a monkey's bottom, and his eyes were fixed on the few remaining pieces on the chessboard, wishing he could grow laser eyes and wipe Shiratori Seiya's pieces out of the game.

Finally, after thinking for a few minutes, Takahashi Isao gripped the car tightly and moved it to the side with difficulty.

‘Click! ’

"Will."

Shiratori Seiya placed a chess piece, took a sip of tea with a calm and collected expression, sent a message to Saori apologizing and explaining that he couldn't go to watch her match today.

However, the message was shown as unread after it was sent.

Were phones confiscated because of the competition?

He thought for a moment, put away his phone, looked up at Takahashi Isao, and found that he was still scratching his eyebrows and looking worried.

After a moment's hesitation, Shiratori Seizai said:
"You can take back your move."

Upon hearing this, Takahashi Isao's eyes lit up with joy. He disregarded his pride and quickly pulled the car back, becoming a sergeant.

‘Click! ’

"Will."

"You can take back your move."

"..."

'Clap. '

"General!"

After being checkmated three or four times, Takahashi Isao couldn't think of a way to counter it. Frustrated, he scratched his head, angrily took his king, threw it into Shiratori Seiya's chess basket, glared at her, and said irritably:
"You only know a little bit?!"

"You're a complete liar! Do you have any sense of responsibility as a man?!"

Upon hearing this, Shiratori Seiya smiled, and calmly said as he carefully put away the chess pieces:

"It was just luck; we gave it our all."

"you!"

Takahashi Isao wanted to say something more, but Takahashi Reie had already put down her chopsticks, glanced at the situation, and said:
"Shall we eat?"

Hearing his wife's urging, Takahashi Isao had no choice but to give up. However, after taking two steps toward the dining table, he suddenly stopped, as if remembering something, and went into the storage room to take out two bottles of wine.

'when.'

He placed it on the table, raised his thick eyebrows at Shiratori Seiya, and said in a deep voice:
"Come have a couple of drinks with me!"

Upon hearing this, before Shiratori Seiya could speak, Takahashi Mio directly said:
"I can't drink it."

"Huh? Why do you seem to be involved in everything?"

"Why can't he drink? Is he a woman? Lianhui can drink several bottles..."

Takahashi Isao glared at his daughter with a sullen face, his jealousy and resentment towards Shiratori Seiya deepening.

As expected, a married daughter is like water spilled from a bowl; she's starting to side with outsiders now!
Mio Takahashi turned her head away, staring at the television, and said:

"Kiyoshi isn't even twenty yet, how can he drink?"

"..."

Now Takahashi Isao was completely at a loss. His thick lips moved slightly, and finally he sat down in his chair and said in a low voice, "Eat!"

Seeing his discomfiture, Shiratori Seiya couldn't help but glance at Mio again.

The way the two of them looked when they were embarrassed was so similar that he had to purse his lips tightly before he couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Perhaps trying to drown his sorrows, Takahashi Isao drank an unusually large amount this time, almost to the point of getting completely drunk.

Even after drinking too much, he still insisted on dragging Shiratori Seiya to go fishing, and even when Takahashi Reie and Mio tried to persuade him, he wouldn't listen, saying he had to catch the late-night fish.

Do you know how to fish?

Hearing Takahashi Isao ask him this question, his breath reeking of alcohol, Shiratori Seiya knew that Takahashi was determined to get revenge today, and after thinking for a moment, he replied:
"I know a little bit."

It's just a brief overview.

Hearing him say that, Takahashi Isao felt like his chest was about to explode with anger. He clenched his fists, barely managing to hold back from beating up the brat, and with a cold snort, turned to pack his fishing gear.

This time, Shiratori Seiya wasn't lying to Takahashi Isao. He really wasn't very good at fishing. He used to love going fishing with his uncle Ando when he was a child, but after various family problems arose, he never went fishing again...

"Keep an eye on him, make sure he doesn't fall into the river again. Call me if anything happens..."

Before leaving, Mio Takahashi reached out and tugged at Seiya Shiratori's sleeve, her beautiful eyes revealing a look of worry.

"Well, I see."

Watching the two disappear into the street, Reie Takahashi turned and walked towards the house, but after taking two steps forward, she turned back to her daughter and said:
"Mio, come here, Mom has something to ask you."

Upon meeting her mother's gaze, Mio Takahashi had a bad feeling.

Although her father was the one in charge of things at home, the person who understood her best from childhood to adulthood was her mother. She could put on a confident and righteous act in front of her father, but she had no confidence at all in being able to deceive her mother...

"Oh, I know."

Mio Takahashi responded and followed her mother into the bedroom.

The two sat on the edge of the bed. Takahashi Reie held her daughter's hand in one hand and gently stroked her long, smooth, black hair with the other. Looking at her daughter's beautiful appearance, she said softly, "Mio has grown up."

As she spoke, a smile appeared on her face, which was gradually etched with the marks of time:

"Even though Mio came back and argued with Daddy today, Mommy is actually very happy that she can go to such lengths for what she insists on."

Hearing her mother's gentle voice, Takahashi Mio felt a warm current envelop her heart, and tears welled up in her eyes again. She couldn't help but throw herself into her mother's arms, her voice choked with emotion.

"mom……"

"good."

Takahashi Reie gently stroked her daughter's long hair and whispered:
"Speaking of which, Mio, it's been a long time since Mom has talked to you. Can you tell Mom what happened?"

"Don't worry, Mom will definitely support your dream. However, Mom is still a little worried that you might be deceived. Can you tell Mom about you and Shiratori-kun?"

Upon hearing this, Mio Takahashi sat up, glanced at her mother, then lowered her eyes, swallowed hard, and said:
"Mom, Kiyoya wouldn't lie to me."

"Ah."

Reie Takahashi raised her hand to wipe away the tears from her daughter's eyes, waiting for her to speak with expectant eyes.

"Keiji really did a lot for me..."

Mio Takahashi took a deep breath and recounted, in fits and starts, all the things Seiya Shiratori had done for her.

Of course, she didn't have the courage to tell her mother about the loan yet, feeling that telling her would only make her mother more suspicious of Shiratori Seiya.

"After learning that I wanted to be an actor and a star, he decided to stop writing and started studying scripts every day. He also found a lot of books about acting for me and would talk to me about acting theory whenever he had time..."

"He even paid to take me to artist training classes. Every time I went to a training session, he would sit next to me and take notes on my shortcomings in each class... He also took me shopping, buying clothes, getting my hair done, and eating delicious food..."

“Every time I doubted myself, he knew… He told me, ‘If you don’t believe in yourself, then believe in him.’ Kiyoya said he would never let me down…”

As she spoke, Mio Takahashi took a deep breath, her eyes red as she stared at her mother and asked:

"But Mom, if it were you, could you accept all of this with a clear conscience?"

The smile on Takahashi Reie's face had vanished, and she slowly shook her head.

After all, she was his daughter. From her words, he could understand how much Shiratori Seiya had sacrificed for her and could comprehend her moved heart.

My daughter and I are actually the same kind of people. We know who is truly good to us, and when we have experienced someone being good to us, we want to try our best to reciprocate.

Seeing this, Takahashi Mio bit her lip and cried out:

"Right, Mom? You can't just accept someone's love like that, right? Of course I can't either."

"So, he has put so much into me, I absolutely cannot let him down."

"Mom, I like him!"

…………

Shiratori Seiya followed Takahashi Isao to the riverbank, where he spent some time adjusting the float and making a shallow fishing spot.

"If you use this, don't say I'm bullying you. This is my newly bought bait, with a unique formula. Don't blame me if you don't catch any fish."

Takahashi Isao threw a ball of bait into Shiratori Seiya's bait tray with a displeased expression, and then began fishing on his own.

Takahashi Isao glanced at Shiratori Seiya, watching his obviously clumsy baiting technique, and let out a sneer.

I'm sure I'll win this time!
Cast the line into the water, and the glowing float slowly rises to the surface. The water reflects the bright moonlight under the night sky, and occasionally the croaking of frogs can be heard.

Compared to Takahashi Isao, who was intently staring at the float, Shiratori Seiya's mind wasn't on that. He stared at the float for two minutes, pondering, before carefully saying:

“Uncle, Mio often talked about you when she was in school.”

Takahashi Isao kept his eyes fixed on the float, but his index finger resting on the fishing rod twitched slightly.

Seeing that he did not answer, Shiratori Seiya continued:
“Miyo told me that she really admires you. She’s always thought you were good at everything, willing to take her out to play, and very kind to her since she was little. She has always remembered that clearly…”

Takahashi Isao remained silent, took a deep breath, and couldn't help but scratch the back of his head.

"But she told me she didn't understand why you had such a bad attitude towards her being an actress..."

With a 'click', the lighter lit up.

Takahashi Isao removed his hand from the fishing rod and lit a cigarette for himself.

"I know you love Mio more than anyone else and genuinely want to be good to her, but why aren't you willing to let Mio give it a try?"

"Try?"

Upon hearing this, Takahashi Isao finally responded, seemingly opening up a floodgate of conversation. He said in a deep voice:
"How long will it take? How much time does she have to try? *hiccup*"

He burped and then continued:

"Besides, aren't you being far too naive, kid?"

"Have you been blind to all those disgusting news reports on TV? Her cousin always wanted to be a star, and look what happened to her now? She's neither human nor ghost..."

"And... I don't know if your brain was run over by a car tire, but you can accept your wife being all lovey-dovey with other actors? You're really generous, it's fucking disgusting."

'Pooh! ’

With that, Takahashi Isao spat into the water.

"So, that's why I want to write screenplays."

Takahashi Isao was taken aback and couldn't help but turn to look at Shiratori Seiya, who showed no sign of embarrassment on his face.

Upon hearing this, Shiratori Seiya stared at the fishing float and said seriously:

"Of course I'm not as magnanimous as you say, Uncle. In fact, I'm quite selfish. I get angry even when I see my girlfriend talking to other men. So, that's why I want to be a producer."

"There are more than just love stories in movies and TV shows in this world. The reason I want to become a producer is partly because of my possessiveness, and partly because I hope that I can save Mio as much as possible when she encounters difficulties."

"Also, after saying all this, you're actually worried about Mio's future, aren't you?"

"But even if we disregard Mio's dream of becoming a star, have you really planned out her future?"

"Have you ever asked Mio what kind of life she wants, or what kind of future she wants to live?"

"You haven't planned anything for her, and you don't care what she thinks. You just think you're doing it for her good. Is this your understanding of love?"

Upon hearing this, Takahashi Isao's face turned ashen, his arm gripping the fishing rod tensed, veins bulging, and he glared coldly at him, saying:

"How old are you, you little brat, lecturing me like that? You think you can talk to me like that just because you're married to Mio?"

Shiratori Seiya ignored him and continued:

"I will strive to climb higher, to climb higher with Mio, to protect her as much as possible, so that she can realize her dreams without being tainted by corruption. I think that's true love for her..."

As the last word was uttered, the glowing float on the water suddenly sank completely into the water.

Fishing!
Shiratori Seiya suddenly jerked the rod, and the fishing line tugged with a 'whooshing' sound.

………………

Inside the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, in the kendo area, at rest area A17.

The girl in the kendo uniform sat on the ground, her hands cupping her knees, her clear and bright eyes fixed on the doorway.

Seeing that she was almost like a statue waiting for her husband, Yokoyama Miyu couldn't help but ask:
"Saori, hasn't he arrived yet?"

The girl didn't speak, her gaze never leaving the entrance.

Seeing this, Yokoyama Miyu felt a surge of anger and couldn't help but say:
Is he not coming today?

This time, the girl finally reacted, shaking her head slightly, resting her smooth chin on her knees, and murmuring to herself:

"Keiji wouldn't lie to Saori..."

……
-
(End of this chapter)