Tokyo: My Girlfriend

"Although it's hard to believe, that's the truth. I felt sorry for the mother and daughter's unfortunate experience after hearing about it. But reality isn't a stage play, and even in a stage play, not everyone will have a bright future."

Kyoko Tamura held her kind best friend's hand: "Let's not worry about this anymore, okay? Whatever you think now, just leave it at that, Hina. It has nothing to do with you anyway."

Haruhi Hina's beautiful pupils trembled uncontrollably; she had never imagined that the other person's life could be so miserable.

I thought that hearing that they were also living new lives would make me feel better.

Her eyes were already a little red. Haruhi Hina picked up the photo of the silver-haired girl on the table:

"But... knowing all this, is it really okay to just ignore this girl? Even offering her some small help..."

Kyoko Tamura knew her best friend's personality well, and she put her hand to her forehead: "Good heavens, how did you come up with such a terrible idea? What can I say about you? It's like you're pushing your own happy life away from you."

She got up and took out a few cases of beer from the refrigerator: "Alright, alright, I'll drink with you until we drop one more time today. Maybe you'll calm down after drinking. My silly Hina, forget about all that stuff, let's talk about love instead, shall we?"

Kyoko Tamura dangled the ring on her ring finger with a grin: "I have good news for you! My boyfriend gave me a ring the day before yesterday. It's not exactly a proposal, but it's pretty much the idea, isn't it?"

Haruhi Hina looked up, bewildered and listless: "What do you mean by giving a ring without a proposal? I don't understand what you're talking about at all."

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"What's wrong, Hina? Why are you crying so much?"

On Wednesday evening, Shinichi Kitagawa was video chatting with Haruna Kasuga in his bedroom. The atmosphere had been much more harmonious these past few days since his brief conversation with Rena on Friday.

On Saturday and Sunday, he also wrote three short stories day and night in his room, as planned.

I plan to go to Tokyo this weekend to submit my work to the editorial department, so naturally I need to show it to my girlfriend and loyal female fan, Hina, before that.

I didn't expect that after only reading the second chapter, Haruhi Hina couldn't stop crying and had been crying for ten minutes.

She was wearing a women's vest and leaning against the headboard, her beautiful peach blossom eyes red and swollen, wiping her nose with a tissue in her hand: "So touching. Xin Yi is indeed Xin Yi, always able to write such moving stories. His level is getting higher and higher."

Shinichi Kitagawa knows Haruna Kasuga quite well; their three-year online relationship has brought them very close on a spiritual level. He smiled and asked:

"Is it really just because of the story? I feel like Hina's mood has been quite subtle these past few days. There's a faint sense of sadness about her, and I felt like I was about to cry even before I started watching."

Haruhi Hina seemed to have something on her mind, and the words her best friend had said that day flashed before her eyes again, but she still forced a smile and said:

"Actually, it's because a TV series my sister was watching recently ended, so she's been very sad these past few days and hasn't gotten out of that sad world yet."

Shinichi Kitagawa blinked knowingly: "What a flimsy excuse. Hina's lying skills are really not that great."

Haruhi Hinai playfully stuck out her tongue:

"You've been caught lying."

Kitagawa Shinichi asked curiously, "What? Can't you tell me what happened?"

Haruhi Hina crossed her arms and stared at Shinichi Kitagawa on the screen:

"Yes, it's possible. Shin-yi is my sister's boyfriend, so he should be able to talk to you about everything. But... maybe my sister is just a bit nosy and meddling. I can guess Shin-yi's answer after I told him about this."

It will definitely be exactly the same as Anzu's suggestion.

Shinichi Kitagawa became even more curious.

Haruhi Hina smiled and said, "How about I think about it some more? Aren't you coming to Tokyo this weekend to submit your work? You should be here by evening, right? I'll tell you about it then; it's a personal matter."

"Okay." Shinichi Kitagawa knew that there were some things the person involved didn't want to talk about, and it wasn't good to keep pressing for details. "So, we've agreed to meet in Tokyo this weekend?"

"Hmm! I'll introduce Shinichi to one of my sister's best friends, her name is Tamura Kyoko. We've known each other for over ten years, she's a really nice person." Haruhi Hina lay on the bed with her legs crossed and bent, her face pressed against her arm. "And it seems like she's getting married soon. The guy gave her a ring but hasn't proposed yet."

"Huh? What does it mean if you gave me a ring but didn't propose? Is there some special reason why we can't get married yet?"

Haruhi Hina gently shook her head: "I don't know. I've met her boyfriend and talked to them about things between our families. It seems like there's nothing wrong. I don't understand how the two of them got together, but since she gave him a ring, it must be soon."

The two looked at each other through the screen and suddenly smiled shyly at each other.

Haruhi Hina deliberately asked, "What are you laughing at, Shinichi? What are you thinking about?"

Kitagawa Shinichi was quite frank: "I was thinking about the marriage proposal that Hina mentioned, about the future."

Haruhi Hina glanced shyly to the side, then muttered knowingly, "Isn't it too early to think about these things now? Although it's bound to happen sooner or later..."

Outside the bedroom, the silver-haired girl, still hugging a rabbit doll, was eavesdropping on the two's conversation.

His brows were furrowed deeply.

Haruhi Hina... Is Shinichi going to see this woman again this weekend?

Since that's the case, I'll secretly follow her too. I want to see just how this woman is going to fool Xin Yi.

What kind of person is she?

The weather was beautiful on the weekend morning. Although the weather forecast predicted some light rain, it was unlikely that the sun would be shining so brightly.

Kitagawa Shin took a shower and changed his clothes early in the morning.

When I told Rena Kitagawa a few days ago that I was going to Tokyo this week, she readily agreed.

It seems that Rena has gradually begun to accept Hina's existence, even though her expression is still obviously reluctant. But Shinichi Kitagawa believes that Rena will fully accept Hina in the future.

And he will also realize her true feelings for him.

Perhaps the real answer to his relationship with Rena lies in their conversation that night, when the girl said to him, "It would be nice if we were siblings."

In reality, she probably sees herself as a brother, even though that feeling is still somewhat vague.

After having breakfast with Rena Kitagawa, he changed his shoes and went out: "Rena, I'm off now. I'll try to be back as early as possible tomorrow."

Rena Kitagawa stood at the door, holding a black rabbit doll, and calmly instructed, "Shinichi, be careful on your way."

"Bye! Call me if you need anything, I definitely won't turn off my phone this time. By the way, are you going out today too? You look like you're wearing a new white dress."

"Yeah, I made plans to hang out with Kana."

"It's so nice to be with my best friend and really relax."

Watching Shinichi Kitagawa leave with a smile, Rena Kitagawa quickly changed her shoes after he left.

He jogged and secretly followed them.

Although they can't ride the same train, Rena secretly stuck a tracking device on her brother's shoes today.

So even if there's a half-hour difference in distance, she can catch up. Anyway, her only purpose in following the woman this time is to see what she really looks like.

She didn't know exactly what to do after they met; maybe she'd find out when the time came.

Kabasaki Town is still too far from Tokyo, but fortunately, Shinichi Kitagawa chatted with Haruna Kasuga the whole time to pass the time.

When we arrived in Tokyo, it was already dusk.

Haruhi Hina originally planned to pick up Kitagawa Shinichi at the station, but the training company called her at the last minute, saying that she had forgotten some documents last week, which made Haruhi Hina extremely annoyed.

I kept apologizing to Shinichi Kitagawa, saying it was my fault, since Shinichi had been traveling all day and yet this accident still happened to me.

However, after thinking it over, she suddenly decided to tell the training company that she was sick and that she could talk about anything else tomorrow; receiving the letter was the most important thing.

This made Shinichi Kitagawa feel that Hina was really over the top:

"There's no need for you to come pick me up, or even lie about it. Hina can just go to the training company to pick up her things first, and I'll go to the editorial department to submit my novel materials and discuss the content with the editor. We can just meet up at the editorial department entrance, right?"

Haruhi Hina pouted and said shyly, "I'm so sorry, Shinichi. I'll make it up to you tonight. You can do anything for me then."

Shinichi Kitagawa's mind wandered after hearing that, as his previous intimacy was still fresh in his mind; Hina was quite adorable in that kind of way: "Yeah, I understand."

After getting off the bus, Shinichi Kitagawa went straight to the editorial department.

About half an hour later, Rena Kitagawa also got off the train, and the silver-haired girl continued her journey to the editorial department based on the location of the tracker.

But while jogging, he suddenly bumped into a woman on the road.

The collision nearly caused an accident. A truck happened to be passing by and almost grazed Kitagawa Rena's arm. Fortunately, the woman who was hit instinctively pulled her to her side, saying, "Little sister, be careful!"

Rena Kitagawa was still shaken; she was too nervous being alone in an unfamiliar city, having never done anything like this before.

She turned and gave the other person a half-bow to express her gratitude: "I'm sorry, sister, I've caused you trouble."

A woman wearing an elegant champagne apricot skirt, high-heeled sandals, and a white casual blouse looked down at the silver-haired girl.

Just as she was about to say something like "It's nothing," the girl's silver-white hair made the woman's beautiful peach blossom eyes widen almost instantly.

Her long, pale yellow hair swayed in the wind. Haruhi couldn't believe the coincidence, but... this girl looked so much like Shinichi... most importantly, she was extremely similar to the girl in that photo.

Seeing this from a distance, her best friend, Kyoko Tamura, who rushed over in a panic, was also startled: "Idiot! What are you doing? I saw you and this little girl almost get hit by a car!"

Kyoko Tamura, dressed in black stockings, high heels, a pencil skirt, and a white shirt, stood next to Hina Kasuga, creating a stark contrast with Rena Kitagawa's attire.

Hina apologized to Kyoko, but her embarrassed expression quickly caught Kyoko's attention.

Kyoko Tamura stared at the silver-haired girl in disbelief, her pupils dilating as if struck by lightning: "No way... what a coincidence..."

This world is so small.