weddingnovel Chapter 2 The Lingering Fragrance of Cherry Blossoms
Chapter 2 The Lingering Fragrance of Cherry Blossoms
After traveling for so long, the cheat code has finally arrived.
Kiryu Yaya is usually calm and collected, but he couldn't help but pause for a moment when he looked at the panel.
What kind of life choice system is this? This is clearly a dating choice system!
He paused for a moment, then made his choice.
As a time traveler, he knew all too well which option to choose in this situation.
"OK."
The two walked along the street in Beixindi.
The silence lasted for about two hundred meters.
Keiko Miyazawa spoke first.
"Kiryu-kun has changed a lot, but he's still as quiet as ever."
"Um."
Keiko Miyazawa chuckled softly, a sound so faint it was carried away by the wind.
"actually……"
Her steps slowed, her gaze fixed on some uncertain spot ahead:
"Actually, I called you today because I have something I want to tell you."
Kiryu Yaya didn't say anything, but simply slowed down to match her pace.
They walked past a flower shop that was closed.
"My father..."
Keiko Miyazawa's voice became very low:
"He passed away last month."
Kiryu Yaya paused for a moment.
Liver cancer.
She continued, her tone so steady it was almost numb:
"From the time he was diagnosed to his passing, it was less than four months. I stayed by my father's side at the hospital for three nights when he passed away."
"At that time, he couldn't speak anymore. He just looked at me and kept looking at me. I knew what he wanted to say. He wanted to say sorry, that he had dragged me down. But he couldn't say it."
"I suddenly thought of you those few days."
A night breeze blew from the direction of Midosuji, brushing the stray hairs from her forehead onto her cheeks, but she didn't try to brush them away.
"During our senior year of high school, when rumors about Kiryu-kun's family were circulating in our class, I never dared to ask you about it. It wasn't that I didn't want to ask, it was that I was afraid."
She looked up at Kiryu Yaya, her eyes slightly red, but she didn't cry.
"I don't know how to bring it up. I've never experienced anything like this before. But during the time my father was hospitalized, many people who used to be on good terms with me gradually stopped visiting. The phone calls became less and less frequent, the visits became shorter and shorter, until eventually it was just my mother and me..."
"It was then that I realized that people are actually quite clumsy when faced with the misfortunes of others. They don't know what to say, they don't know what to do, they're afraid of saying the wrong thing, afraid of doing the wrong thing, afraid of being dragged into it. That's why most people choose silence and distance."
She looked at Kiryu Yaya, the light in her eyes trembling slightly.
"Just like I did to you back then."
"During those months, I kept thinking, was Kiryu-kun feeling the same way back then?"
He went to the hospital alone, handled everything alone, and returned to the empty apartment alone. Everyone around him pretended nothing had happened. He hadn't done anything wrong, yet he had to carry everything forward alone.
"I'm sorry, Kiryu-kun."
"I'm sorry I couldn't be by your side back then."
The night wind passed between the two, scattering her apology into the darkness of North New Town.
In the distance, there was the faint sound of a tram passing by, as if it were coming from a very deep tunnel.
Kiryu Yaya looked at her:
"Miyazawa-kun is still the same as ever."
Kiryu Yaya's voice wasn't loud, but a smile played at the corners of his mouth.
Keiko Miyazawa was slightly taken aback.
"After all these years, you're still so understanding. Even when you're in so much pain and so sad, you still think of others. You're just too kind."
Keiko Miyazawa's eyelashes trembled.
What she just said was clearly an apology—an apology for her silence back then, and for not being able to stand by his side.
But Kiryu-kun didn't mind at all and even comforted her, which was something she couldn't have imagined.
Kiryu Yaya turned around, put his hands in his trench coat pockets, and slowly walked forward along the street.
Keiko Miyazawa paused for a moment, then subconsciously took a step and followed him, walking beside him.
"My parents have been gone for five years, but what they just said—"
Kiryu Yaya looked at her, a hint of peace in his eyes:
"This is the first time I've ever heard of this."
Kiryu Yaya shifted his gaze from her face and looked towards the end of the street:
"You just said that most people choose silence and distance themselves when faced with the misfortune of others. That's true. But you missed a point—that's human nature."
"It's normal for a seventeen-year-old high school student to not know how to deal with other people's misfortunes. Not everyone is capable of saying the right thing at that time. You can't, and neither can anyone in the class. It's not your fault, and it's not their fault either."
Keiko Miyazawa's lips moved slightly, as if she wanted to say something.
Kiryu Yaya didn't look at her and continued talking.
"My father's company went bankrupt in 1986. That year, the Plaza Accord had just been signed, the yen appreciated, and a large number of export companies went bankrupt. His company was a small and medium-sized enterprise that did metal processing, and it didn't last for more than six months. After the bankruptcy, he owed about 40 million yen. Debt collectors came every day."
"My father passed away that winter. It was a Friday. I came home from school and found him lying in the bathtub."
"My mother had always been in poor health. She had heart disease, and she passed away a week after my father."
Kiryu Yaya paused here.
"So what you said, going to the hospital alone, handling everything alone, returning to the empty apartment alone—yes. That's exactly it."
He turned his gaze away from the end of the street and looked back at Keiko Miyazawa.
"But you didn't cause that."
"You just don't know how to face it. That's not wrong. Rather, at least you remember this incident, and you remember to come and apologize to me."
Keiko Miyazawa's eyes reddened even more.
She lowered her head and pressed her lips tightly together to keep herself from making a sound.
So stop thinking about it.
Kiryu Yaya's voice was still very flat.
"I've already processed everything you said. Carrying it all on alone isn't as hard as you think; you'll get used to it. So, Miyazawa-kun—"
"Please don't blame yourself anymore."
Kiryu Yaya stopped and turned to face her:
"You need to get over this soon. Not for anyone else, but for yourself and for your mother."
Keiko Miyazawa nodded vigorously, but her throat felt like it was blocked by something, and she couldn't make a sound.
Kiryu Yaya looked at her slightly trembling shoulders, remained silent for a few seconds, and then took out a business card from the inside pocket of his trench coat.
The standard business card of Mitsubishi Bank's Osaka branch has a dark blue background and gold lettering, giving it a very formal appearance.
His name and the branch's direct phone number were printed on his business card.
He handed over his business card:
"If you encounter any difficulties, feel free to come to me anytime."
Keiko Miyazawa was stunned.
She looked down at the business card, then looked up at Kiryu Yaya's face, her eyes filled with disbelief.
"Kiryu-kun... what did you say?"
"I told them, 'You can come to me if you have any problems.'"
Kiryu Yaya pushed his business card forward again:
"You heard me just now, I work at a bank. Although I'm new here, I can still be of some help."
Keiko Miyazawa did not reach out to take it; instead, she took a half-step back.
"No, no, no!"
She waved her hands repeatedly, her voice several octaves higher than when she had spoken earlier:
"Kiryu-kun, you've only just joined Mitsubishi Bank, and your salary isn't much. Besides, you live alone in Osaka, and you have to pay for your own rent, living expenses, and transportation. How could you possibly have extra money to lend to others? No, absolutely not!"
Kiryu Yaya looked at her like this and suddenly chuckled softly.
"Kiryu-kun, what are you laughing at?"
Keiko Miyazawa was a little anxious:
"I'm serious! You really don't need to—"
"I know you're serious."
Kiryu Yaya interrupted her:
"But I'm serious."
He gently slipped the business card into her hand.
"Take it first."
Kiryu Yaya's voice was very soft:
"I'm not saying I'm going to lend you the money right now. I mean, if you ever really run out of options and feel like you can't go on, remember there's a guy named Kiryu Yaya you can turn to. Although... he's also struggling financially, I'll try to find a way to help you."
Keiko Miyazawa held the business card, opened her mouth as if to say something, but found that her throat felt like it was being choked by something.
The night breeze blew in again from the direction of Midosuji, this time carrying the last trace of the sweet fragrance of cherry blossoms.
The distant rumble of the last tram passing by echoed, growing louder and then receding into the night.
Keiko Miyazawa has finally regained her voice.
"……Thanks."
"Okay, I'll contact you again when I have time. Be careful on the road."
Kiryu Yaya didn't say anything more. He simply put his hands back into his trench coat pockets, turned around, and walked towards the parking lot.
Keiko Miyazawa stopped in her tracks, glanced down at the business card in her hand, and saw the four characters "Kiryu Yaya" printed neatly on a dark blue background.
She carefully tucked it into a compartment of her handbag, then looked up, took a deep breath of the April night breeze, and smiled gently.
Kiryu-kun, thank you.
Then, Keiko Miyazawa composed herself, concealing her sadness, and waved to someone not far away.
A black Toyota Crown slowly drove out from the street corner, its headlights shining quietly and restrainedly in the night.
When the car came to a stop in front of Keiko Miyazawa, it made almost no sound.
The driver's side door opened, and a middle-aged man in a dark gray suit got out of the car.
He was in his early fifties, thin, and ramrod straight. His hair was cut very short, and his temples were already a little gray, but he was meticulously groomed.
He quickly walked around to the other side of the car, opened the rear door, and then bowed slightly.
"Young Miss, please get in the car."
Keiko Miyazawa did not get into the car immediately.
She stood by the car door and glanced back at the direction Kiryu Yaya had left in.
The parking lot was at the other end of the street. Under the dim streetlights, the figure in the trench coat had already walked far away, leaving only a blurry outline.
The night breeze lifted the hem of his clothes slightly, then let it fall back down, as if nothing had happened.
"Young Miss?"
The driver called out again, his tone now questioning.
Keiko Miyazawa withdrew her gaze and got into the car.