Tokyo Sick Girlfriend

Chapter 199 Pitiful (Thanks to '鸢一折远' for the Alliance Leader!)
"and many more!"

Mio Takahashi's red lips parted slightly, a hint of anxiety appearing between her brows. She ran in from outside, her long black hair blowing wildly behind her.

Afraid of not being able to catch up with the other person, she took three steps at a time, her short boots stomping heavily on the tiles, making a slightly heavy sound.

'Beep.'

The elevator closing indicator light came on, and the two silver-gray doors slowly closed.

Hojo Shione looked at Takahashi running towards her, somewhat puzzled. After thinking for a moment, she raised her hand to block the elevator door.

'call……'

Stepping inside, Mio Takahashi breathed a sigh of relief, gripped the doorframe, and looked into Shione Hojo's eyes.

"Thank you."

"Need not."

Hojo Shione smiled slightly, took a small step to the side to make room, and then turned her head to examine the other person.

Mio Takahashi's willow-leaf eyebrows furrowed slightly.

Although Hojo was wearing a white mask and a baseball cap, obscuring her facial expression, she noticed the scrutinizing gaze directed at her, which made her particularly uncomfortable.

Mio pursed her red lips and met the other person's gaze, asking:
Is there something wrong with my face?

Hojo Shione chuckled softly, removed her baseball cap and mask, revealing her smooth, black hair and exquisitely beautiful face, and said softly:
"Hehe, no, it's just that you've changed so much, Takahashi, that I almost didn't recognize you just now."

Mio Takahashi was wearing a pink Chanel-style jacket over a white knit sweater, a peach-colored short skirt that reached just to her knees, flesh-colored stockings over her long, shapely thighs, and brown Chelsea boots.

This outfit is both stylish and warm, and paired with her outstanding looks, it exudes youthful energy.

Walking down the street, you'd get at least 99% of people turning their heads to look at you, if not 80%.

If someone were to compliment her like this, Mio Takahashi would be very happy, would politely give the other person a smile, and then humbly say something like, "Oh, not at all, you're beautiful too."

But it felt completely wrong that the person praising him was Hojo Shione.

If I had to explain why, it would be that the other person's looks were in no way inferior to mine, and their temperament was even significantly better.

Hojo Shione wore a simple white dress today, a style that was simple yet sophisticated.

In particular, Mio Takahashi felt that Hojo was acting a little strange towards her today.

She couldn't quite put her finger on what was wrong, but something made her feel particularly uncomfortable; just standing next to her made her feel like she had lost.

It's not hard to imagine that if she and she were walking down the street together, Mio Takahashi would feel that her approval rating might plummet.

Her praise was more like: 'You're good, but compared to me, you're nothing special.'

"..."

Mio Takahashi's lips, which were coated with a bright lip gloss, moved slightly.

She didn't want to respond at first, but then she remembered that she was the one who had caught up with her.

So he kept his words to himself for a moment, then turned to face her, pursed his red lips, and gave a fake smile:

"People always change. You look much better than when you were in the hospital."

"hehe."

Her words were still so aggressive. Hojo Shione narrowed her long, narrow eyes slightly, too lazy to argue with her, and smiled gently:

"Thank you, but is there something you need from me?"

"Have……"

Mio Takahashi slightly averted her gaze. As the elevator ascended, a feeling of weightlessness washed over her, making her a little dizzy. She then said:

"Are you going to Kiyoya's house?"

"Ah."

"Let's talk about it inside."

"it is good."

Hojo Shione nodded gently. When the elevator reached the third floor, she walked out unhurriedly and then skillfully entered the password in front of Takahashi Mio.

"Click."

"?"

The door opened, and a question mark appeared on Takahashi Mio's forehead. Looking at Hojo Shione, who was bending down in the entryway to change her shoes, she opened her mouth slightly, as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.

Hojo Shione changed her shoes and saw that the door was still open, with Takahashi Mio standing in the doorway. She asked in confusion:
"It's cold outside, aren't you going to come in?"

As she spoke, she bent down, took a pair of slippers from the shoe rack, and placed them at the door.

Hey!
What's with this lady-in-waiting attitude?!

Are you Kiyoya's girlfriend or am I?

Mio Takahashi felt a surge of irritation, her gaze towards Hojo grew increasingly hostile, and she walked unhappily into the entryway.

He lightly kicked away the slippers in front of him, suppressing his impatience, and continued with a fake smile:

"These are your sister's slippers."

Then he took out another pair of blue slippers, put them on, and waved them in front of Hojo, saying:
"this is mine."

Despite being told that, Hojo Shione wasn't angry. She reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, then smiled and said:
"Oh, it's my fault for being too busy lately and not having time to come to Kiyoya's house. I hope my sister hasn't caused Kiyoya any trouble?"

"..."

Seeing the other party's calm and composed demeanor, Takahashi Mio felt somewhat helpless for a moment.

She didn't believe Hojo couldn't understand the meaning behind her words, but if he just wouldn't take the bait, there was nothing she could do.

Nothing.

Instead of making herself look like a petty person, she decided to stop subtly provoking him, put on her slippers, and walked into the living room. As she passed Hojo, she glanced at her and said:

"They didn't cause me any trouble; on the contrary, they helped me a lot."

Upon hearing this, Hojo Shione narrowed her eyes.

Lingyin, you didn't tell me about this.

So he wondered:
"Oh?"

"Ah."

Mio Takahashi responded, but showed no intention of explaining. She went into the living room, poured herself and the other person a glass of water, sat on the sofa, and looked up at Hojo, saying:

"I have something I want to ask you."

Hojo Shione smiled gently:
"Okay, but please wait a moment while I tidy up the house."

After saying that, she nodded to Mio, as if to say 'excuse me', and then went into Shiratori Seiya's bedroom to start tidying up.

First, she took off the bed sheet and changed it, then took a new duvet cover from the closet and put it on, and then went to the bathroom to pick up a broom and start cleaning...

"..."

As Mio Takahashi watched her practiced movements, the look in her peach blossom eyes grew increasingly gloomy.

She finally realized that something was wrong.

The last time I saw her was at the hospital.

At that time, Hojo looked pitiful, down on his luck, and gloomy, like a drowned rat.

But this time it was completely different; she looked confident and elegant, and she also gave herself a special feeling.

If asked who she resembled, the first person she thought of was her mother. Although the two looked completely different, the mature and composed demeanor they exuded was remarkably similar.

Even Hojo Shione showed no signs of a mother's weariness or worry.

Instead, she seemed more like a noblewoman...

Even though she was about the same age as Takahashi Mio, she felt like they weren't from the same age group.

She felt like a carefree, youthful girl who hadn't yet entered society and was still living on campus, while Hojo was a beautiful young woman who had already experienced the hardships of society and was even married.

hateful!

What exactly is causing this strange feeling?

What medicine did Shiratori Seiya give her?!
Mio Takahashi's heart twisted in pain. She had initially felt much better after learning that her talent was no less than Hojo's and that Shiratori Seiya had firmly chosen her.

But at this moment, that feeling of inferiority from before surged up again.

She was clearly Kiyoya's girlfriend, so why did she feel like a guest?
She couldn't help but raise her hand, press it against her chest, and take a deep breath, which relieved the tightness in her chest considerably.

She stood up, looked at Hojo Shione who was still cleaning, and asked directly:

"Did Shiratori Seiya send you? How much longer are you going to clean?"

"Ok?"

Hojo Shione tilted her head, looking at the obvious impatience on Takahashi's face, and smiled:

"No, but Kiyoya is a boy after all, and he usually has a lot of things to do. I had some time today, so I came over to help with the cleaning."

"Besides, this kind of thing doesn't need to be said, does it?"

As she spoke, she gave Takahashi a deep look, casually put the broom aside, clapped her hands, and said:

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. What's wrong? Tell me now."

"..."

Watching her walk to the sofa and sit down, Takahashi Mio forced herself to calm down, took a sip of water, turned her head to look into Hojo's eyes, and asked directly:

"I want to ask you, what is your goal?"

"?"

This question seemed rather absurd from the start. Hojo Shione was taken aback, glanced at Takahashi with a puzzled look, and didn't know how to answer.

Seemingly aware that her question was somewhat strange, Mio Takahashi added:

"Or rather, what are your life goals?"

"Life goals?"

Hojo Shione blinked and asked a question in return, wondering why she suddenly asked that.

Turning his head, he saw Takahashi Mio staring intently at him, realizing that the other woman's purpose in asking this question was clearly not ordinary.

But after thinking about it carefully, he still couldn't figure it out, so he smiled and said:
"If I had to ask about my life goal, it would be to spend my whole life with Kiyoya."

Takahashi Mio's heart skipped a beat, but she remained outwardly calm and asked:
Isn't your dream to be a singer?

"That's only part of it, isn't there a lot of dreams in life?"

"Is Shiratori Seiya more important to you than being a singer?"

"...?"

Hojo Shione gave her a strange look.

The meaning in his eyes couldn't be clearer: Did he even need to ask that question?

Seeing the other party's attitude, Mio Takahashi unconsciously tightened her grip on the water glass, her fingertips turning white. She felt she was getting closer and closer to the truth.

So he decided to subtly ask about his suspicions:

"You initially chose to sing... because of Kiyoya?"

Upon hearing this, Hojo Shione keenly sensed something was amiss, and her gaze toward Mio was filled with vigilance.

She raised her hand, smoothed out the white hem of her skirt, and asked with a light laugh:
"Does it matter?"

"unimportant."

Mio Takahashi shook her head, then turned to look at the clock on the wall and sighed:
"I just feel that we are a bit similar. I think if it were you, you would probably give up your career in the entertainment industry after marrying Kiyoya, right? I'm just asking you today because I don't want to lose to you."

After all, if it were you, you wouldn't want to lose to your ex-girlfriend, right?

"..."

Hojo Shione remained silent, her narrow eyes narrowing.

Although he didn't receive a response from Hojo Shione, Takahashi could tell from her attitude that she had tacitly agreed.

it is as expected.

Mio Takahashi sneered inwardly, a hint of pity in her eyes as she looked at Shione Hojo.

It's truly pathetic and pitiful.

I already know everything, what can you do against me?

She forced herself not to laugh, and having gotten the answer she wanted, she felt a sense of satisfaction. She stood up and said:
"Okay, that's all I wanted to ask today."

As she spoke, she picked up her handbag, walked across the coffee table to the door, then suddenly turned around, looked at Hojo Shione, and smiled:

"By the way, do you think Kiyoya would be very touched if I told him these thoughts?"

As soon as she finished speaking, her figure disappeared through the doorway.

'Click.'

The door was closed, and the room fell silent.

Hojo Shione suddenly clasped her hands together tightly on her knees, closed her eyes, and frowned.

Although Mio Takahashi's words about "holding the idea of ​​not losing to yourself" were provocative, she didn't believe a word of them.

She couldn't have just done this on purpose to disgust herself.

There must be some other reason...

I carefully considered the logic behind the question she had just asked.

Hojo Shione interlocked her fingers, her hands trembling with the force.

Why exactly?
The minute hand on the wall slowly turned, and the sunlight streaming in from the window gradually slid across the broom beside the table, until the shadows gradually covered the coffee table in the living room.

Time passes little by little...

At one point, she suddenly opened her eyes.

'Xiyin, I want to see you shine on stage. I've always longed for that scene…'

"Hehehe..."

A harsh laugh escaped her throat, and she understood the pitying look Takahashi Mio had given her earlier.

She raised her snow-white neck, and crystal tears streamed from the corners of her eyes, sliding down her cheeks and dripping onto the sofa.

The girl's thin shoulders trembled, and her desolate laughter filled the empty room.

"Hahaha……"

……
-
(End of this chapter)