Tokyo Sick Girlfriend

Chapter 159 Determination
'You can't try on wedding dresses anytime; you have to wait until after the engagement.'

Shiratori Seiya once said this to Saori when they were dating.

The timeframe was roughly after he was discharged from the hospital following his surgery.

Saori seemed particularly interested in marriage during that time. Even though she trained hard every day and was so tired that she lay on the grass and didn't want to get up, she kept asking him about it.

Whenever she hears Shiratori Seiya recount the details of the wedding, she smiles foolishly, and pink bubbles of happiness appear in her clear eyes.

Unfortunately, Shiratori Seiya didn't have much of a feeling about marriage at that time. He was more concerned about whether Saori could raise her kendo level to the next level after winning the championship. If she could reach LV3 before entering high school, she could achieve a grand slam in her first year of high school...

With a clear goal in mind, he wanted Saori to focus her attention on kendo, so he explained in detail the importance of the wedding dress, for example:

'Wedding dresses should be considered before the wedding; trying them on so early will make them less novel later.'

As for holding a wedding, we need to get engaged beforehand. If we want to get engaged, we have to wait until we graduate from university.

'High school is three years, university is four years; if Saori keeps thinking about this every day, she'll lose interest by then…'

When Saori Hasegawa heard him say he would lose interest, she panicked, almost to the point of tears. She quickly got up from the lawn, grabbed his hand, and said:

'How could Saori be impatient about marrying Kiyoya? Saori wouldn't, Saori absolutely wouldn't...'

Seeing her kneeling before him, looking up at him with such distress she was on the verge of tears, Shiratori Seiya's heart stirred, but he still avoided her gaze and said:
'Maybe, but what if? So, to ensure the fabric still feels fresh by then, there's no rush to think about that now.'

'Oh……'

Hearing him say that, Saori Hasegawa loosened her grip on his arm slightly. Dusk fell behind her, stretching her shadow longer and longer under the treetops, completely obscuring the disappointment in her eyes.

…………

"Qing Zai?"

Saori Hasegawa's soft voice reached Seiya Shiratori's ears, and he looked away from the shimmering wedding dress.

I turned around and wanted to say something like, "Why are you thinking of trying on wedding dresses? It'll probably take a long time. Are you sure you want to try it?"—a kind of rejection.

However, when he met the girl's gaze and saw the light in her eyes, Shiratori Seiya's heart skipped a beat, and he suddenly couldn't utter a word of refusal.

He found it difficult to describe the emotions in Saori's eyes at that moment.

It wasn't a joyful anticipation, nor a pitiful pleading, but rather a simple inquiry like, "Is it okay? It's alright if you can't."

There was a faint sadness mixed in, like the relief of desperately pursuing something only to find it slipping further and further away, and finally letting go of the obsession. For a moment, he felt a panic, as if Saori had found out what he and Shion had done the night before, even though he had made sure Saori was asleep when he returned last night and couldn't possibly know he was back.

But considering that Saori had told him that morning about talking in her sleep, he felt that Saori was probably suspicious.

The terrifying intuition of women in love.

Shiratori Seiya suddenly felt like slapping himself twice. This damn mouth of his was quite well-behaved when he was awake, so how come it seemed to have a self-awareness after he fell asleep?
He gritted his teeth, suppressed the chaotic thoughts in his mind, grabbed Saori's wrist, and showed a resolute expression on his face.

"Saori, let's go buy a wedding dress!"

The moment he grasped the girl's wrist, Shiratori Seiya made a decision in his heart:
Whether Saori finds out or not, from today onwards, I must fulfill any request she makes, no matter what.

Shiratori Seiya's sudden surge of power startled Saori, causing her to stumble forward as he pulled her forward.

The girl blinked her clear eyes, then followed him blankly. Her gaze lingered on his broad, sturdy back for two seconds, as if she had just understood something. Suddenly, her eyes softened, her lips curved slightly upward, and a smile appeared on her pure, bright face. Her long, black hair, tied up with a hair tie, swayed behind her like a dancing sprite...

"Hello sir, how can I help you?"

Shiratori Seiya stepped through the transparent glass door, holding Saori's hand, and stood in the crystal-like light. The manager, dressed in a black women's suit, came up to them with a smile and asked questions.

Rei Mizutani's keen eye, honed by years of work experience, had long ago noticed the two people hesitating by the shop window outside the door.

She really hadn't expected these two extremely young-looking children to come into the store.

Despite being somewhat surprised, Mizutani Rei still felt that the two people weren't really there to rent a wedding dress. Putting aside the issue of their financial situation, if they really wanted to rent a wedding dress, they would have come in already. They wouldn't have turned back after passing by and hesitated in front of the shop window for so long.

However, even though she already had the expectation that the other party wouldn't buy anything and was probably just browsing, Mizutani Rei still didn't slack off. She used to be the top salesperson in this store and had received professional training. No matter how much she looked down on the other party, she wouldn't show it. Her professional smile was like an iceberg that had been deeply rooted on her face for thousands of years.

In response to the question, Shiratori Seiya turned slightly to look at Saori behind him, his gaze sweeping over her face before he spoke directly:

"Choose a wedding dress for her."

After a pause, Shiratori Seiya gave Mizutani Rei a deep look, then took out his bank card from inside his clothes and handed it to her, adding:
"Don't worry about the price. Give her the best. If it's suitable, we'll just buy it."

He didn't say that out of nouveau riche arrogance, but rather to send a signal to the salesperson: don't try to fool me.

Under normal circumstances, if Shiratori Seiya decides to buy a wedding dress, he will choose a good wedding dress shop in advance, send Saori's body measurements to the shop, discuss with a professional designer to customize a dress for Saori, and then pay the deposit. This way, there will be no situation where the shop staff neglects him, and it will be much more convenient.

However, although his behavior now seems vulgar, like that of someone from the countryside, Shiratori Seiya is fine as long as the desired effect is achieved.

Just as he had expected, Mizutani Rei was taken aback when she saw the bank card handed to her by Shiratori Seiya. She hadn't expected that a scene from TV would unfold in front of her. She even wondered if she had misheard and instinctively wanted to ask Shiratori Seiya if he was sure it was a 'buy' and not a 'rent'.
……
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(End of this chapter)