I am a teacher at a girls' school in Tokyo

Hirakawa Tetsufumi looked up and saw Ogasa Sayiko put down her shopping bag in a hurry, took out her cell phone from her pocket and answered the call.

His hand was over his mouth and his voice was very quiet.

However, even at such a distance, Chuan Zhewen could still hear a few words.

"Yes, this is Ogasa."

"what?"

"……Why?"

"There's no need to dwell on this, right?"

"Okay, okay, as soon as possible... I'll help."

The phone hangs up.

Hirakawa Tetsufumi looked at Ogasa Sayiko with confusion as she sat down again.

"Ms. Ogasa, please tell me, what happened?"

Ogasa Sayiko didn't answer for the time being, but moved the coffee on the table to the side. Then, she took out a small laptop from her shoulder bag, placed it on the table and opened it.

"Just some work, Mr. Hirakawa, you go first."

Ogasa Sayiko started typing on the keyboard.

Hirakawa Tetsufumi blinked his eyes and looked at Ogasa Sayiko who suddenly entered the working state. He thought for a moment and sat down again.

"...Teacher Hirakawa, what's wrong?" Ogasa Sayiko took the time to glance at him.

Although he didn't know what was going on, it would be better to wait nearby since he wasn't in a hurry to go home. That's what Hirakawa Tetsufumi thought.

"nothing."

"..."

It was obvious that they were really pressed for time. After hearing his answer, Ogasa Sayiko ignored him and went back to work on her own.

Tetsufumi Hirakawa just sat quietly on the side.

-

After waiting for nearly an hour, the night gradually moved on. The people in the cafe had almost changed.

At this time, Hirakawa Tetsufumi, who was sitting there feeling a little bored, finally saw Ogasa Sayiko, who was frowning and motionless in front of him, and seemed to have made no progress for a long time. He picked up his mobile phone and made a call.

It should be the person who called just now.

"Mr. Matsushita."

"Yes."

"I think... let it go, shall we?"

"Oh... okay, okay."

"..."

After hanging up the phone, Ogasa Sayiko supported her little face - a face exactly the same as her sister's - on the table. Judging from her expression, she seemed a little distressed.

"that……"

Looking at Ogasa Sayiko like this, Hirakawa Tetsufumi decided to speak up after all.

"Ms. Ogasa, I'm sorry... May I ask what's going on?"

It is a bit rude to casually ask about someone's job, but the word "teacher" on the phone still made Tetsufumi Hirakawa feel a little concerned.

Moreover, he thought, if there was anything he could do to help, that would be great.

Ogasa Sayiko put down her hands and looked at him.

She stared at him for several seconds, then, as if she had made a decision in her mind, she suddenly asked, "Teacher Pingchuan, I heard from my sister that you are a Chinese teacher, right?"

"...Yes." Hirakawa Tetsufumi nodded. After answering, he then asked in a puzzled tone, "What's wrong?"

"..."

"..."

"come here."

"Ok."

I don't know the situation, but just listen, there will always be an explanation.

Tetsufumi Hirakawa stood up, walked over and came to the side of Ogasa Sayiko.

Ogasa Saiko leaned slightly inward to make room.

Tetsufumi Hirakawa bent down and looked at the computer screen that Ogasa Sayiko had given up.

On the screen, there is a black and white painting, or to be more precise, a black and white cartoon.

"This is……"

As Tetsuo Hirakawa spoke hesitantly, Ogasa Sayiko controlled the computer and the screen kept turning pages.

At the same time, she explained at a fast pace as clearly as possible.

"Teacher Hirakawa, let me briefly introduce myself. My job is a comics editor. The call just now was from Mr. Matsushita, who is my contact."

——It turned out to be this teacher.

"The situation is that Ms. Matsushita had originally submitted her manuscript today, but she just said that there were some flaws in the manuscript and that there was a plot that she wanted to revise after much thought, so she contacted me hoping to give her more time to revise it."

"right here."

After the brief explanation, the switching images on the computer screen stopped.

Tetsufumi Hirakawa looked at the area circled by Ogasa Sayiko with the mouse.

"this……?"

Ogasa Sayiko continued to explain.

"It's a girls' comic. The main plot is about a girl traveling back in time and falling in love. That's it. The problem is..."

Ogasa Sayiko frowned.

"Mr. Matsushita is very particular and thinks that a picture must be inserted here, a Japanese poem expressing a girl's longing for love, which is more in line with the situation, otherwise the work will be flawed. Manyoshu, Kokinshū, or something like that will do."

"..."

Tetsufumi Hirakawa listened attentively to Ogasa Sayiko's introduction while looking at the screen attentively.

"So... Miss Ogasa asked me if I was a Chinese teacher just now, is that why?"

“……”Ogasa Sayiko glanced at the profile of Hirakawa Tetsufumi next to her.

"Well, Mr. Matsushita is busy redrawing the painting, so the task of finding this waka poem has to be left to me. I have no research on this, and I am in a hurry, so I don't have time to waste. So I was thinking, would Mr. Hirakawa have..."

As she said this, she shook her head again.

"But if Mr. Hirakawa doesn't have any opinions, then forget it... There's no need to apologize..."

"..."

Tetsufumi Hirakawa looked at the screen with a slightly subtle expression.

"what happened?"

"…Nothing. Ms. Ogasa, lend me the computer."

Ogasa Sayiko leaned to the side again.

Tetsufumi Hirakawa turned the computer screen around, took one last glance at the plot on it, and then, almost without hesitation, his fingers tapped the keyboard, making crisp sounds.

"If it's just a test of memory... I'm barely good at it."

"..."

After the last character was typed, Tetsufumi Hirakawa turned the computer screen back to Ogasa Sayiko.

"I personally think this one is more suitable. What do you think, Ms. Ogasa?"

"..."

With a slightly puzzled look in Ogasa Sayiko's eyes, she saw this Japanese poem written on the computer screen.

She read it out loud softly.

"Waiting for you to come, my thoughts are overflowing;

The door curtain suddenly opened,

It was the autumn wind. "

……

……

"Mr. Matsushita."

"Yes, the one I sent you."

"What do you think?"

"Yeah, okay, that's good."

"It's not me, it's one of my..."

Ogasa Sayiko hesitated and looked at Hirakawa Tetsufumi who had sat back down opposite her.

Tetsufumi Hirakawa smiled friendly.

"Someone I know, huh."

"Okay, that's it. Mr. Matsushita, please hurry up. I won't bother you any more."

After hanging up the phone, Ogasa Sakiko put down the phone and placed it on the table.

Then, his eyes followed the computer screen, lingered on the Japanese poem on it for a long time, and finally came to the gentle face of Tetsufumi Hirakawa.

Hirakawa Tetsufumi smiled and asked, "Ms. Ogasa, what was the result?"

"..." Ogasa Sayiko's expression was very complicated. After hesitating for a while, she finally spoke.

"Mr. Matsushita said he was very satisfied and that it couldn't be more appropriate. It was even worth it to draw a few more pictures for this poem to create a better atmosphere."

"That's good."

Nodding with satisfaction, as if he had accomplished his mission, Tetsufumi Hirakawa picked up the cup in front of him and took a sip of the coffee that had now gone cold.

When it was put down again, the scene returned to silence.

Ogasa Sayiko operated the computer, turned it off, closed the screen, and put it into her shoulder bag.

After everything was done, he just sat in his seat, looking around through the reflected image.

No matter how you look at it, facing such a scene is somewhat embarrassing.

He said before that he would not forgive me, but not long after that, something happened to him.

She wanted to find it herself, but she had no choice. She didn't have time to do it. Then she suddenly remembered that the other party was a Chinese teacher, so she wanted to try to bother him.

Unexpectedly, just by glancing at the general plot, the teacher immediately found a very appropriate waka and tapped the keyboard casually.

This kind of lighthearted, effortless look is a bit...

That’s a bit too awesome.

Excluding the time she spends introducing the plot, it’s less than a minute, right?

Ogasa Saiko remained silent.

And it was done so well that even Mr. Matsushita himself thought it was very appropriate.

This time, the other party really helped her.

and so……

If now - of course it's not time to forgive him immediately - but if Ogasa Sayiko continued to blame Hirakawa Tetsufumi because of that incident, she would feel guilty instead.

This tangled feeling really makes me speechless.

The situation remained at a stalemate.