Tokyo Sick Girlfriend

Chapter 172 Disheartened
That's roughly it...

While eating dinner, Hojo Suzune seemed to be in a better mood and recounted the events of the evening in fits and starts.

She didn't mention that she played a piano piece that shocked the entire audience and overwhelmed Matsushita Yuzuki and her group with her imposing presence. She simply said that she couldn't stand them and helped Takahashi Mio humiliate them before pulling her away.

Shiratori Seiya listened silently to Rin's explanation, finished his rice, put down his chopsticks, and then looked at the girl beside him with a puzzled expression.

"Rin, you went to see Mio today...did you need something from her?"

"what……"

Hearing his question, Hojo Suzune's heart tightened. After hesitating for a moment, she gave an embarrassed smile, ran her hand through her hair, and explained:

"No... what could I possibly want with her? I just happened to be outside the restaurant when I went to buy groceries. I saw her through the window and she seemed to be in a bad situation, so... out of curiosity, I went in to check and found her being bullied..."

Facing Shiratori Seiya, she unconsciously became nervous, anxiously wanting to explain:
"Although I don't get along with her either, she is, after all, your girlfriend, Kiyoya..."

She hesitated for a moment before saying the word "girlfriend," biting her lip before uttering it smoothly.

“Those people who say bad things about her are saying bad things about you, Kiyoya… I couldn’t stand it, so I went over and talked to them.”

She blinked again, carefully observing the expression on Shiratori Seiya's face, and gently touched his leg with her knee beneath her skirt, saying:
"Kiyoshi, I... I did these things on my own initiative, please don't blame me..."

Hojo Suzune pouted, looking pitiful, and kept praying in her heart.

Please, Kiyoya, don't blame me, Rinne is only good for this much...

Lingyin doesn't want to leave you.

As she prayed in her heart, her eyes reddened again, and tears rolled around in her eyes like dewdrops on lotus leaves.

Seeing Rin's appearance, Shiratori Seiya's heart stirred. He wondered why she was so sentimental today. Normally, after not seeing him for so long, she should have clung to him and been acting cute.

Although her clingy behavior could be a headache for him, he would rather Lingyin be clingy to him than see her acting strangely now.

He frowned, thought for a moment, and decided to ask anyway, so he said:
"Lingyin, you don't seem very happy today? Is something on your mind?"

"..."

Upon hearing this, Hojo Suzune paused, swallowed hard, and a gentle, alluring look appeared between her brows as she chuckled softly:
"How could that be? Rin could be happier to see Seiya than anything else..."

She paused, her smile fading, and turned her head slightly to carefully observe Shiratori Seiya's expression, tentatively asking:

"Does Rinne look unhappy?"

"A little...it seems a bit different from before."

"Haha, maybe you're a little tired?"

Hojo Suzune chuckled, but this attempt to cover up her misunderstanding only fueled Shiratori Seiya's suspicions. He grabbed her wrist and pressed her for an answer:

Are you really alright?

Feeling the warmth of her beloved's hand, Hojo Suzune opened her mouth, looking at Shiratori Seiya's expression, almost unable to resist asking him, 'Is Suzune really that much worse than them?', 'Why didn't Seiya choose Suzune?', 'Suzune has been working so hard,', 'Without Seiya, Suzune really doesn't know what to do…'

However, before she could finish speaking, she raised her hand and yawned, a tired look on her face, and said:
"No, it's just that I've been running around Tokyo with my sister these past few days and haven't had a chance to rest properly."

"..."

Seeing that she was unwilling to say more, Shiratori Seiya decided not to press her for answers all at once. Even if he couldn't get any information from Rinne for the time being, he might be able to find some clues through Shion.

Xiyin must know something...

Although Lingyin still has a long way to go in terms of her current development, she is, after all, an S-class talent, and with full favorability, I will make money from her sooner or later.

The mental state of potential stars also needs to be taken good care of.

However, to his surprise, Mio was bullied at the party tonight, and Suzune had to come to her rescue... and she didn't even tell him, pretending nothing had happened.

Is it because you feel ashamed, or what? Or perhaps, what Lingyin just said wasn't the truth?
Shiratori Seiya lowered his gaze, his mind racing with thoughts.

Suddenly, he heard a bell ringing in his ear:
"Qing Zai..."

Looking up at the other person, he saw Lingyin staring at him, her eyes glistening with tears, her gaze extremely serious.

Shiratori Seiya was taken aback. He quickly pulled a tissue from the tissue box on the coffee table and, while wiping away her tears, asked:
"Oh, what's wrong?"

Hojo Suzune spread her five fingers, her slender fingers gripping Shiratori Seiya's wrist tightly, and asked:

"Kiyo, can Rin always stay by your side?"

Why... are you suddenly bringing this up?

"Is it okay..." The tissue lingering at the corner of her eye was damp. Hearing the girl's choked voice, Shiratori Seiya quickly responded:

"Sure, of course."

"Even if Rinne is completely useless and can't do anything, will Kiyoya still abandon her?"

"How could that be? Rin is the smartest."

Can you be as clumsy as Saori?

Shiratori Seiya thought to himself, sensing that Rin's heart was especially vulnerable at this moment. He gently stroked her cheek with his other hand and whispered comfortingly:

"Lingyin is good at studying and plays the piano well, how can she be useless? If you are useless, then what am I?"

As he spoke, Shiratori Seiya said self-deprecatingly:

"I'm just a jack-of-all-trades, and the university I got into was just average. I seem to know a little bit about everything, but I'm not an expert in anything. I can only write a couple of songs. Compared to you, Lingyin, I'm far inferior..."

He spoke at length, but Lingyin seemed not to hear a word. She simply smiled, snuggled into his arms like a little rabbit, and whispered:
"Keiji won't abandon Suzune, right?"

"Will not."

Hearing Shiratori Seiya's reply and feeling the warmth of his embrace, tears welled up in Hojo Suzune's eyes.

She realized she had misunderstood.

Kiyosuke's love was not purposeful.

Even if he was completely useless, he would still be willing to take him in...

From childhood to adulthood, many people have liked me. Even though I have a bad temper, people still write me love letters.

However, these people either admire his good looks, his musical instrument skills, or believe that having him as their boyfriend will prevent others from bullying him...

But at this moment, Hojo Suzune felt that Shiratori Seiya was not like that, even though he saw her crying and looked pathetic, knew that she was ordinary and unremarkable, allowed her to be vulnerable and sentimental, naughty and stupid, and was willing to offer her a shoulder and a hug.

She was even willing to deceive herself to comfort her fragile heart...

At this moment, nestled in Shiratori Seiya's arms, Hojo Suzune felt that there was nothing better than loving Seiya.

I really want to stay nestled in his arms forever and never come out.

However, reality is not a fairy tale, and happiness at a certain moment cannot be frozen into a permanent ending.

After only a few minutes in Shiratori Seiya's arms, Hojo Suzune felt him pat her shoulder, followed by his voice in her ear:
"Alright, if you're tired, get some rest. Your sister has already given me the training schedule. I remember you have a training test tomorrow morning, right, Lingyin? Get some rest tonight, and I'll go with you."

"..."

Upon hearing about the training test, Hojo Suzune's shoulders trembled slightly, and her lips trembled as if she wanted to say something. However, when she raised herself up and met Shiratori Seiya's gaze, she swallowed her words back, nodded silently, and then silently stood up to clean up the trash on the table.

Having worked alongside Rin to clean up the trash, Shiratori Seiya sensed something was off about her today and, after a moment's thought, said:

"Lingyin, are you scared living alone? If you are, you can stay here tonight. You can stay in the bedroom, and I will sleep on the sofa. If you are scared, just call me."

Upon hearing this, a look of joy appeared on Hojo Suzune's pretty face. She was about to agree, but when her gaze fell on the bed in the bedroom, she couldn't help but recall the blood-stained sheets, and her smile froze on her face.

The thought of the two of them making love that night made her stomach churn, and she almost vomited up her dinner. She turned to Shiratori Seiya, shook her head, and forced a smile:
"It's alright, Kiyoya, Suzune isn't a child anymore."

"Ok."

Shiratori Seiya nodded, and as he stood at the door seeing her off, he still asked:
"Is everything packed up there? Call me if there are any problems..."

"It's fine."

Hojo Suzune waved to him, then quickly went back home.

She stood at the door, and only after listening to Shiratori Seiya close the door did she slowly walk into the bedroom.

As she passed through the living room, she saw the piano already set up and stopped.

Want to practice?
There's a training test tomorrow, maybe...

Such a thought flashed through Hojo Suzune's mind. Her slender fingers traced across the white piano keys, but after hesitating for a moment, she still raised her hand and closed the piano lid.

'Bang.'

I never really liked playing the piano that much.

……
-
(End of this chapter)