I live my life in Tokyo

"Thank you."

Asakura Toru reluctantly let go of Sakakibara Kaede's arms, took off his helmet, and revealed a smiling face.

"It's a small matter. By the way, I'm going to Yokohama next week. Do you want me to bring you some local specialties?" Sakakibara Kaede took the helmet, parked the motorcycle, and took the elevator to the first floor lobby, where the two will go to different floors.

Asakura Toru pondered for a moment, chuckled and tilted his head, "You."

"It's not like I won't come back." Sakakibara Kaede laughed.

"Then... Maple will become even more brilliant."

Asakura Toru waved at Sakakibara Kaede with a half-smile, and entered the elevator first. After entering the elevator, she turned to the dazed Sakakibara Kaede and made a face, "Ah... and Kaede, who is one step closer to her dream."

The elevator door slowly closed and Sakakibara Kaede stood there.

"Are you talking to Asakura?"

The familiar cold tone made Sakakibara Kaede nod, "Higuchi-san, good afternoon."

Higuchi Madoka was dressed in a casual manner. She was carrying a small bag filled with food purchased from a nearby supermarket. It seemed that she did not have work today and was just traveling in casual clothes.

"Did Asakura just call your name?"

Higuchi Madoka saw the mysterious smile that Toru Asakura gave her before he entered the elevator. She stared straight at Sakakibara Kaede, and she seemed to hear Toru Asakura calling her name excitedly.

"Ah... this is Toru-san's request." Sakakibara Kaede said helplessly, "He said that we have known each other for more than two years and have become more familiar with each other. Calling each other by our names would seem a bit strange or something."

"Well, I see."

Higuchi Yuanka bit her lower lip and responded faintly. She turned around mechanically and pressed the elevator button.

She felt the long-lost heartache. The young man standing next to her was so close, yet he seemed so far away from her, as if he could not be touched and was about to disappear.

The pain of impending loss made her clench her fingers. Perhaps this was the loss mentioned in the movie. Higuchi Madoka had a clear understanding of her own awkward personality. She knew that treating the young man with this attitude would only push him further away.

She played so many characters with lifelong regrets in the movie, and her opposite was always Sakakibara Kaede who was beside her.

Now in real life, she seems to be filled with regret for the rest of her life, and the object is still Sakakibara Kaede who is beside her.

It's such a boring joke that can make people laugh and cry.

But if she changed herself, then... Higuchi Madoka would no longer be Higuchi Madoka.

She was very afraid that if she opened her mouth, she would no longer be herself, but just another female student she could see on the street.

The elevator has arrived.

Higuchi Madoka lowered her head, hiding her emotions in her eyes, savoring the familiar sweet and sour pain in her chest, and entered the elevator in silence.

"——Yuanxiang."

The girl suddenly raised her head.

Sakakibara Kaede put one hand in front of the elevator door, stopping the elevator from closing. He naturally pried open Higuchi Madoka's fingers and transferred the shopping bag into his own hands.

The elevator doors are closed.

"What do you mean?" Higuchi Yuanxiang frowned.

"What do you mean?" Sakakibara Kaede asked back.

"You just called me Yuanxiang, Mr., you are not self-aware."

Sakakibara Kaede smiled and said, "It feels like I've known you longer. We met in October of the year before last. Although we didn't say anything at the time, we quickly became familiar with each other during the filming of the commercial."

"We have been friends for two years. Well, according to galgame theory, we should really call each other by their first names."

"...What a mess."

Higuchi Madoka turned her head away to hide the throbbing in her chest, pursed her lips, and spoke with a cold face.

"Yuan Xiang, please call me by my name from now on."

"Huh?" Higuchi Yuanka snorted, turned her head and saw the shopping bag in the hands of the young man next to her. She swallowed the rejection that was about to come out of her mouth and snorted, "Whatever you want."

The two walked out of the elevator and Higuchi Madoka took out the key, "Sakakibara... What are the plans for dinner, Kaede-san?"

"Well, Yuki-chan is at home today, so she should cook and I should help her, right?" Sakakibara Kaede said half-certainly.

"Let Yuuki-san come to my and Asakura's house. We bought too many vegetables today."

"what about me?"

Higuchi Yuanxiang glanced at Sakakibara Kaede, and the corners of her mouth turned up beautifully, "You want to make a living."

"Why are you saying that so harshly? Can I help you?"

"Oh... whatever you want."

Higuchi Yuanxiang opened the door and saw Asakura Toru lying on the sofa as if he had no bones. She suddenly felt competitive... Asakura had already flown so far.

But she was still standing still. If Sakakibara Kaede had not walked into the elevator today, she would have been unable to fall asleep because of this bitterness.

She wanted to change, but she was afraid of change.

"Ah... welcome back."

"Ah."

Higuchi Yuanxiang agreed softly, turned around and said, "Feng, open the bag and sort the things inside and put them in the refrigerator."

"OK, Yuanxiang, you take charge."

When Asakura Toru heard the two people calling each other, he raised his head with a half smile, and his gaze met Higuchi Madoka's from a distance.

Unexpectedly, the glances did not produce any sparks. Asakura Toru's eyes were filled with a smile as calm as water. Higuchi Madoka snorted when she saw Asakura Toru like this.

"Ah... I see. Higuchi, Kaede-san, I'll take care of dinner~"

After saying that, Asakura Toru's bones melted again, and he lay on the sofa and hummed the personal single that Higuchi Madoka had recently shot.

"Don't look at her, look at me." Higuchi Yuanxiang pulled Sakakibara Kaede's gaze back. She curled her lips and said coldly, "Asakura has always been like that."

"Well... this is slander."

"Then come and help."

"Ah ha ha..."

Sakakibara Kaede listened to the bickering between her two childhood sweethearts, smiled and shook her head, and followed Higuchi Madoka's instructions to put the vegetables and meat into the refrigerator separately, putting those that needed to be put into the freezer in the freezer, and putting those that needed to be thawed to be eaten tonight aside to thaw naturally.

After finishing all this, Sakakibara Kaede temporarily said goodbye. It was not time to make dinner yet. He still needed to look at the manuscript in the afternoon. By the way, he also proposed to Yuuki Asuna about the arrangements for tonight's dinner.

Higuchi Yuanxiang closed the door, felt the warmth of the young man's presence, and sighed.

"That's great, Higuchi."

"You did this on purpose, Asakura."

"Hmm... It's hard to say. I can only say it's just a coincidence."

Higuchi Yuanxiang came to the sofa and looked at Asakura Toru leaning on the sofa reading the manuscript. The latter smiled at her and patted the empty space beside him, "Look at the manuscript with me."

Higuchi Madoka sighed, not knowing whether she was sighing for herself or for her childhood sweetheart. There was still an empty seat on the sofa, so she leaned next to Asakura Toru and started reading the manuscript with her.

"Ah... it feels so good to be called by my name~"

"Ah."

Chapter 20: As Excellent as I Was Back Then

The young man turned around in front of the mirror, seemingly hesitating about his attire.

He felt that he couldn't dress in the style of Japanese rock, so did he really have to dye his hair?

Applying mousse can make my black hair stand up and look less ordinary than before.

"Well, I feel like Harukaze looks a bit like the big brother next door when she wears this."

Asuna Yuuki was sitting at a table in the restaurant with her school supplies on the table. She heard the rubbing sound of clothes and turned her head to comment.

"How about this one?" Sakakibara took out the white coat that he and Sano Ken bought at the mall last year and compared it in front of him. "It doesn't seem as good as the one just now, Asuna."

“I feel like this piece can bring out Harukaze’s aura.”

Yuuki Asuna tapped her chin with a pen and blinked her eyes. "Is that all Harukaze's clothes are?"

"Um... I still have the uniforms of Sobu High School and Shuchiin Academy, as well as the Kamen Rider belt. What do you think will happen if I go out dressed like this?"

“It will be photographed by paparazzi and posted on Twitter to shock fans.”

Yuuki Asuna clapped her hands, "Okay, this one is very good, it has a very good temperament."

"That's good."

Kaede Sakakibara zipped up his suitcase, glanced at the time on his phone, and then looked at the small suitcase parked in front of the gate, which contained a week's worth of supplies he would need for his trip to Yokohama.

Most of them are T-shirts and spare underwear, socks and the like.

"I'm sorry, Asuna. I promised Yuuki-senpai that I would take care of you."

"Why are you apologizing again?"

Yuuki Asuna put down her pen, and seeing Sakakibara Kaede looking ashamed, she snorted, "Don't underestimate me, okay?"

"But living alone would be lonely."

"...That's true. It would be lonely without Harukaze to play games with."

"Sakurajima-san wants to move in."

"Eh? Mai-senpai?"

A faint smile suddenly appeared on Yuuki Asuna's face. "If it's Mai-senpai, that would be great. Brother left at the right time. The room has been empty for so many days and the smell should have dissipated..."

"It will be very lively if Mai-senpai moves in."

Sakakibara Kaede chuckled upon hearing this and walked towards the door.

"Have you brought all your clothes? Have you brought your water bottle? With a water bottle, you can drink water anytime and anywhere. Oh, have you brought your umbrella? I checked the weather forecast for Yokohama and it says it might rain tomorrow..." Yuuki Asuna stood up and followed Sakakibara Kaede.

Sakakibara Kaede smiled bitterly. Why did the feeling of a mother telling her children to go to summer camp seem so serious?

Asuna Yuuki was talking while thinking about what she should bring with her when going out. Finally, she stopped when she was only one step away from Kaede Sakakibara.

"I'm looking forward to the concert."

"Are you going too?"

"Well, I made an appointment with my classmates to go to the concert on the first day together." Yuuki Asuna narrowed her eyes and smiled, "The process of scouting the venue must go smoothly~"

"Don't worry, I will finish everything smoothly and go home. When I get home, you must tell me welcome home."

As if stroking her sister's head, Sakakibara Kaede gently stroked Yuuki Asuna's chestnut hair, then turned around, picked up the box, smiled at the latter, and closed the door.

The young man's footsteps gradually faded away. Yuuki Asuna stood there blankly. When she was touched just now, she got goose bumps for some reason, and her heart felt sweet and sour.

She raised her hand and touched the place that had just been touched, and Yuuki Asuna sighed softly.

She turned around and looked into the empty room.

This place is full of the breath of life. On the sofa in the living room, you can see cute little bear and rabbit pillows. In front of the bar are decorations that the young man bought from some small shop. There are two little yellow ducks on the cabinet at the entrance. The balcony that welcomes the sun is filled with flowers and plants that the young man planted when he was bored.

Normally, you may not care about the living scenes here, but now it seems that it makes Yuuki Asuna feel extremely fulfilled and happy.

Is this what it feels like to lose someone? When he was still here, she took it all for granted, but when he left, the girl felt a long-lost loneliness.

It's been a long time since I've felt this way.

At this moment, she heard the terminal call downstairs requesting access to open the door. The girl quickly walked to the LCD monitor and saw the people on the screen. She couldn't help but whispered, "Dad, Mom... Why?"

The girl glanced at her appearance in the mirror and found that because she was comfortable at home, she was wearing loose clothes. Her parents would definitely be worried if they saw her like this.

Her home clothes were like this before, but when she lived with her parents, she would usually change into a neat, aesthetic uniform that looked like she was going out immediately.

The most important thing is that she has been wearing such loose clothes and living with Sakakibara Kaede. She doesn't know what he thinks of her. Upon learning this fact, Yuuki Asuna's pretty face blushed slightly. She stumbled into the bedroom, clicked the mouse, exited Sword Art Online, which had been idle in the main city all night, and hurriedly searched for the clothes belonging to the eldest lady in the closet.

The last image that appeared on the computer was still a human female with the ID Asuna standing motionless in place with a rapier in her hand. Yuuki Asuna knew that next to Asuna there was a minotaur warrior with the ID Harukaze. The two stood together before going to bed and hung up in the main city together. At this time, Sakakibara Kaede went out, and his identity as Harukaze from another world naturally went offline.

Not long after, she finished dressing and waited in front of the door while complaining quietly about why the real world did not have a one-click dressing function like in Sword Art Online.

"Dad, Mom!"

When Yuuki Shozo and Yuuki Kyoko, who were outside the door, saw the energetic Yuuki Asuna, a smile of emotion appeared on their faces.