I live my life in Tokyo

The girl lay in the bed, her cheeks still pink. She covered her head with the quilt to escape herself and moaned like a young animal.

She turned over, her heart beating so fast that it woke her up from her sleep. Higuchi Yuanxiang gritted her teeth and rolled over in the quilt.

"Uh-huh-"

The girl let out a long moan of annoyance and dissatisfaction, like a girl.

She closed her eyes and tried to enter that starry world again, but was depressed to find that she was too excited to fall asleep.

Higuchi Yuanka pursed her lips, and her arms, which were stretched toward the ceiling, fell down weakly and hit the quilt.

"Yuanxiang, I'm going out to see Tou's mother. Lunch is in the refrigerator. Heat it up before eating—"

"Hi--"

Higuchi Madoka responded weakly, and she didn't know whether her mother heard it or not. After a while, the sound of a door closing was heard on the first floor.

Awful.

Higuchi Madoka buried her head in the quilt again. Her nose was filled with the scent of the quilt that made her feel at ease, but her heart couldn't calm down for a while.

The shooting ended yesterday. She arrived home in the evening in Ms. Sato's car. After having a hearty dinner, she went upstairs to rest, feeling tired, and slept until noon the next day.

The results of the filming were very gratifying. After trying many rival scenes with Mai Sakurajima, she gradually found her own way to release her emotions. She played the role of Nana Asahina vividly and won the praise of Kiyoshi Takenaka.

After a while, she heard no other voices in the house, so she moved her head out from under the quilt.

Trying to fall asleep was impossible.

Higuchi Yuanka pursed her lips, got up and looked at herself in the mirror. She turned around in front of the mirror in her pajamas. In her mind, she was still wearing that beautiful dress.

If I were not an idol or an actor, and he was not my colleague, senior or teacher, and if the two of us had met in some other way instead of through Sakurajima Mai, what would it be like, and what kind of relationship would it become?

While laughing at her own childishness, Higuchi Yuanxiang simply washed up, went downstairs, opened the refrigerator, and found the lunch box her mother had prepared for her. When she opened it, she found that it contained some of her favorite dishes.

While the microwave was running, Higuchi Madoka leaned back on the sofa again, remaining silent.

Sometimes dreams are suddenly forgotten, as if one cannot remember the content of the dream the next moment, or one remembers the experience while sleeping but forgets it after waking up.

The scene in her dream seemed so real to her that she felt that... similar things would happen in real life.

Higuchi Madoka opened the diary on her mobile phone and wrote down the content of her dream, conversations, and expressions.

After quickly finishing her lunch, Higuchi Madoka began to prepare for her performance after the holiday next week, as well as the possible new character settings.

Even though such a character only appears for a few minutes in a 24-minute episode of Kamen Rider, she still wants to play the role well, as this is her job.

After previewing the manuscript, Higuchi Madoka returned upstairs. She opened the reference book that she had purchased using the list provided by Sakakibara Kaede and began writing down the steps to solve the problem in her notebook.

All in all, there is still about a month left before the college entrance examination, and she is not reviewing during this period. This is different from Toru Asakura. She needs to follow the crew to different locations for filming and learning, and the time she has to spend on her homework will be less and less.

Before this, she didn't have much expectations for the future. As long as she could enter the same university as Toru Asakura, that would be enough.

But Asakura Toru's goal has changed.

Then Higuchi Madoka must also change. Although it was Asakura Toru who took her away at the beginning, Higuchi Madoka now has a part of her own will in her heart.

After finishing the homework she had owed for the past few days, Higuchi Madoka stuffed her textbooks and notebooks into her bag, put on a warm coat, and changed her shoes in front of the entrance.

After sending a text message to her mother to inform her that she was going out to do homework, Higuchi Yuanxiang locked the door and walked in one direction.

After experiencing the process of doing homework like a sage's time, Higuchi Yuanka is now able to control her emotions very well. Her heart is as calm as still water, just like an ascetic monk sitting quietly in the snow in winter, or a practitioner washing himself under a waterfall to strengthen his body. Her mood has become as calm as a still well, and any sudden events cannot leave any traces in her heart.

"Ah... Higuchi... Good afternoon."

Higuchi Madoka watched woodenly as Asakura Toru opened the door of Sakakibara Kaede's house. She took a step back to make sure that she had not walked into the wrong Asakura house.

"Are you here to do your homework too?"

"..."

Higuchi Yuanxiang sighed deeply and looked at her childhood sweetheart's innocent face, "Asakura, why are you here?"

"Hmm... on a whim?"

A spur-of-the-moment extra lesson? Higuchi Madoka stepped onto the stairs, and she felt convinced.

"excuse me."

Higuchi Yuanka said softly at the entrance. She did not hear Sakakibara Kaede's response, so she took off her coat and hung it aside.

"Higuchi, you're so serious." Asakura Toru tilted his head and smiled.

Higuchi Madoka had to admit that the smile of her childhood sweetheart was very charming. The girl who usually had a poker face and didn't know what she was thinking showed such a chic and refreshing smile to others. This was also the reason why Asakura Toru was able to gain so many fans.

"Have you had lunch?"

"...The stew my mom made is delicious."

"Let's go out and grab something to eat tonight."

"it is good."

After a brief conversation, Higuchi Madoka entered the room. She got the answer to why Sakakibara Kaede did not respond. At this time, Sakakibara Kaede was wearing headphones and correcting Asakura Toru's English listening homework.

——Although he chose science, it doesn’t mean that his grades in other subjects are ridiculously bad. At least he can listen to English.

Now that the protagonists of the text are no longer Li Lei and Han Meimei, he feels a little nostalgic.

After a moment, Sakakibara Kaede stopped writing with the red pen in his hand, looked up at the newcomer, and waved in surprise, "Good afternoon, Higuchi-san."

"You look surprised."

"Isn't today Higuchi-san's day off? I thought Higuchi-san should rest at home."

The girl was silent. It was a rare occasion that she slept until noon today, and she was already very satisfied.

"Asakura-san has a lot of questions she wants to ask me. I have to say she has made great progress recently." Sakakibara Kaede handed the corrected exercises to Asakura Toru and nodded to her. "I have written down the main points. Let me see your composition later."

Toru Asakura took the homework and nodded.

Sakakibara Kaede stood up and stretched. It seemed that he had been sitting for a long time. While inviting Higuchi Yuanxiang to sit down, he walked towards the kitchen.

"Would you like to drink some warm water or something else?" Sakakibara Kaede asked very naturally.

Higuchi Madoka put down her bag and took out her homework when she felt a strange sense of familiarity. Sakakibara-san knew that she preferred to drink boiled water while working when he first met her.

Now that she is not working, she is not forced to drink boiled water, but in order to control her figure, Higuchi Madoka still does not touch drinks such as milk tea and soda.

This undoubtedly takes away a lot of the fun from life, but Higuchi Madoka is an idol as well as an actress.

Sakakibara bent down and took a look. "There's some unopened barley tea in the refrigerator. Do you want some?"

"icy?"

"Let me heat it up for a while. Drinking it at room temperature is also good for your throat."

Higuchi Yuanxiang hummed, glanced at the cupboard beside her, and suddenly saw a little duck in a swimsuit.

She blinked.

There is also a swimsuit duck exactly like this one in her bathroom. When the girl takes a bath, the swimsuit duck often shows her swimming posture in the water and drifts around.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sakakibara Kaede take out a bottle of barley tea and place it next to the heating system.

The young man sat down opposite the girl just like in the dream, but the difference was that he was not wearing the suit that made him look more mature and successful, his hair was not moussed, and his eyes were not as offensive and aggressive as in the dream, instead they contained a vague warmth.

"what happened?"

Sakakibara Kaede scratched the side of his face, his eyes warm, "Are you tired, Higuchi-san? You keep staring at one place."

Toru Asakura raised her head and looked at Higuchi Madoka. Although she didn't say anything, she was expressing her concern for her childhood sweetheart in her own way.

"...I'm fine."

Higuchi Enka suppressed the throbbing in her heart and rejected it.

"This is my practice, Sakakibara-san." The girl paused, looked into Sakakibara's eyes and said, "At this rate, is it possible for me to enter the University of Tokyo?"

"My answer is yes. I said this a long time ago. With Higuchi-san's progress in study, it will definitely be possible."

Sakakibara Kaede looked at the exercises, "But regarding the out-of-scope questions you left out, I think I should spend some time explaining them to you."

Higuchi Madoka hummed.

I hate Merry Yuanxiang's plot. This plot made me cry.

Someone has secretly stepped onto the runway of this humble woman.

Chapter 39: Sleepiness

Sakakibara Kaede was moved by the quick arrival of the New Year. He looked at the calendar on his phone, but there were only a few days left.

He had no plans for the first month of the year. Last year, he went to bed on time in his rental house, watching the Red and White Songs Contest while eating potato chips.

This year may be the same.

If possible, Sakakibara Kaede didn't even want to go out.

The biting cold winter wind stopped him in his tracks.

“——That’s the point, Higuchi-san, do you understand?”

“Oh, that’s very clear.”

"That's good. If you still don't understand something, just ask me... Now take a break."

He rubbed his temples, put down the pen in his hand, stood up and stretched his body. He was still a little bit wrong. Although the chairs in the restaurant had comfortable cushions, they were not as comfortable as ergonomic chairs or gaming chairs.

Looking at Higuchi Madoka and Asakura Toru stretching their bodies, "Are you used to sitting on this chair? Or do you prefer to sit on the cushions and do your homework on the low table?"

"Padded."

"Padded."

Sakakibara Kaede nodded. Well, this was not surprising. People in Japan were used to kneeling on tatami mats. If they maintained this posture for a long time, their legs would gradually turn inward.

The pigeon-toed standing posture is also a cute feature.

Kaede Sakakibara is still used to sitting on a wooden chair to do his homework. If nothing else, this wooden chair makes him feel special.

There is a kind of momentum that feels like a strict teacher is watching from the podium, and parents are standing behind with a ruler, ready to strike.

"After you rest, go upstairs and do your homework. I'll move the coffee table out."

Sakakibara Feng walked up the stairs. His room was covered with wooden floors, but he bought a carpet for decoration. In order to make the carpet not out of place, he also bought a low table and cushions to match the carpet. He usually had no chance to use it, but he didn't expect it to come in handy now.

When Asakura Toru saw Sakakibara Kaede leave, he lay down on the sofa as if he had no bones, covered his eyes with his hands, and didn't want to move at all.

"I hope summer will come soon..."

Higuchi Madoka heard her subtext. Asakura Toru wanted time to fast forward to summer, including the unified college entrance examination, the second entrance examination and admission.

"Higuchi, come lie down for a while too."

Higuchi Yuanka leaned on another sofa. She moved the pillow on the sofa, placed it behind her head, and slowly closed her eyes.

If she could fast forward time, she would definitely fast forward to one year later to see how her interpersonal relationships would change a year later.

Fatigue came over her like a tide, and the steady breathing of her childhood sweetheart was like the ebb and flow of the ocean waves. She closed her eyes, and the familiar fragrance filled her nose.

Kaede Sakakibara walked down the stairs and was about to coldly inform the two that the break time was over and to continue doing their homework when he found that the two had fallen asleep on the sofa in the living room. He was immediately at a loss whether to laugh or cry.

It turned out that the air conditioner temperature was set too high, causing the two of them to feel a little drowsy.

In this situation, it is obviously inappropriate to ask them to get up to do their homework. Putting aside the question of whether they are in a bad mood or not, he knows how hard Asakura and Higuchi work, so it would be good for them to take a rest now. A little time won't make a difference.

He took out two blankets from the closet and covered them both with them, then went back to the kitchen to make himself a cup of black tea.

Kaede Sakakibara doesn't particularly like drinking black tea, he just thinks it is very appropriate in the current situation.

Fortunately, there was still a sofa that was not occupied by anyone.

Sakakibara Kaede imitated the two girls and leaned on the sofa. After consuming a lot of brain cells, this was indeed the most comfortable way to relax.

After a hard day's work, sometimes you can't even play games, or you sit in front of the computer with hundreds of games in your Steam inventory but don't know what to play. Sakakibara has experienced this many times. In such a situation, the best way to rest... is to sleep.

How comfortable it is to sleep. Just close your eyes and spread out your limbs, feeling as if you are still feeling the warm embrace in the womb when you were a baby.

Sleeping is definitely the top priority for relaxation.

Sakakibara Kaede was thinking about these random things and fell into a deep sleep in a daze.

For a moment, the only sound in the room was the sound of steady breathing.