area51novel Chapter 1054 This is your celebration, Hui!
Chapter 1054 This is your celebration, Hui!
Chapter 1054 This is your celebration, Hui!
【Ruyi Dormitory】
In the lush green courtyard, even though the evening sun was scorching, the carefully tended flowers and trees looked vibrant.
There are tall houses on the left and courtyard walls and trees on the right, ensuring that you can find shade to escape the heat at any time of day.
The bright yellow sunlight filtered through the crisp cherry blossom leaves, casting dappled shadows. A black deck chair sat in the center of the grass, and a worm-like figure slept on it.
Slender legs awkwardly rested on the armrest of the recliner beneath white shorts, a section of her green T-shirt was lifted up, and a small, white hand touched her belly, scratching it occasionally...
Her eyes, as clear and pure as azure pupils, were empty and lifeless, and her hair, dyed golden by the sunlight, was haphazardly spread on the back of the chair.
"Peace..."
A listless, dejected girl sighed as she gazed at the sky.
"Eri, it's starting to get colder, be careful not to catch a cold!"
A voice came from the living room; it was Naoka Ueno's.
Twist~ Twist~
Cricket pupae, cricket pupae~~
Eriri wriggled a couple of times like a worm and stretched her hand out from under her T-shirt, as a response to Naoka's concern, but her eyes remained fixed on the sky.
"Peace..."
She sighed softly.
In the Japanese-style room next to the living room, a walnut wood coffee table was filled with drinks and various snacks, and two girls wearing Toyosaki Academy uniforms were kneeling facing each other.
"Is Eriri-san really okay?"
Rinko Ohashi cautiously peeked towards the courtyard, but there was no need to peek at all, because the two walls connecting the Japanese-style room and the courtyard were all transparent glass sliding doors.
The initial design aimed to allow the owner to fully enjoy the garden scenery while sitting in the Japanese-style room and sipping tea, or to appreciate the rain on rainy days—a perfect spot for relaxing and daydreaming.
Upon hearing this, Kato Megumi slightly raised her eyelids and glanced at the dejected girl before looking away, picking up the steaming tea on the table and taking a small sip.
The girl looked beautiful as she drank tea. She held the cup in her right hand and supported the bottom with her left. As she drank, she slightly raised her chin, revealing her slender, snow-white neck, and finally exhaled a breath of hot air from her nose.
"It's okay, Lily is just contemplating life," she replied softly.
"Reflecting on life?"
Rinko Ohashi frowned slightly. She cherished this opportunity to be with the school's princess. If she didn't still have a shred of conscience, she would have abandoned her friend to fawn over Sawamura.
After thinking for a moment, she said, "Is it like Hui from the other day?"
"..."
Kato Megumi, who had just picked up a potato chip and stuffed it into her mouth, froze upon hearing this, then looked at her friend with a deep gaze.
"Knowing I'm trying to forget those things, she deliberately reminded me. Rinko is so mean!"
Rinko Ohashi argued, "But it was so much fun! I almost became the family leader!"
Kato Megumi pursed her lips and took another sip of her hot tea.
On Monday, she brought her report card home and was surprised to receive exclamations of joy from her parents.
The parents, who were usually too "open-minded" towards their daughters and rarely asked about their studies, immediately called the most successful member of the family without understanding what such scores meant.
Yes, he studies at a medical university in Japan, with tuition of 28 million yen for six years. His car is an Audi. He is the pride of the Kato family, Keiichi Kato.
Keiichi's cousin, true to his reputation as a top student, answered Kato's parents' questions with a single sentence: "If he works a little harder, it's possible for him to get into a top-tier national university's medical school."
Upon hearing this, the Kato couple jumped for joy. Forgetting to celebrate with their daughter, they immediately made numerous phone calls to inform Kato's relatives of the good news.
When the takeout Kato Megumi ordered arrived, she realized that she was no longer an unknown figure in the family, but had acquired a resounding nickname—
"Little Keiichi"
Simply put, he's a smaller version of Keiichi; not quite there, but not far off.
Sitting at the table, the bob-haired girl ate her pizza expressionlessly. Because it was a pizza from a nearby restaurant, it was delicious, but that didn't cheer her up at all, because…
"Hui... no, from now on I should call you Keiichi!"
On the phone, my sister said auspicious words with a grin, and also said that if needed, she and her brother-in-law could sponsor the tutoring fees, and strive to become "Zhong Guiyi" or "Chao Guiyi" in the future.
Kato Megumi, feeling annoyed, pretended to be clueless and replied, "Sister, you should save your money for your future child's private kindergarten tuition. Kyosuke is in charge of my studies now; there probably isn't a better tutor in Tokyo!"
"..."
Kato on the other end of the phone... Yoshinaga Hiromi didn't say anything.
My dear younger sister can easily and happily get into a prestigious university while dating and talking about love, while I spent all my high school years "studying together at classmates' houses" and ended up only getting into an average university.
"It's all your fault! Why can't you tutor me?"
Before hanging up the phone, Kato Megumi heard her brother-in-law scream in agony.
The girl's lips curled up slightly, but her happiness didn't last long, because... in the chat group of the neglected sisters of the Kato family, everyone had now unanimously changed their address for her to "Little Keiichi," and they were chatting enthusiastically about it.
People frequently tag her asking for advice on "how to emulate Guiyi" and become the next Guiyi.
It's clear that everyone has been suffering under Keiichi's thumb for a long time. In such a family that favors women over men, having an exceptionally outstanding man is simply hell.
Although everyone was just joking, Kato Megumi was still quite upset. Fortunately, a phone call before bed cheered her up.
"Moshi moshi~~ Did I disturb your sleep, Hui?"
That's what the young woman's voice said on the phone.
Kato Megumi glanced at the 12 o'clock mark on the alarm clock next to her, shook her head silently, and said that she had just been about to go to sleep.
"Wow, young people are so energetic! They never get tired no matter how late they stay up. I'm so envious!"
"..."
Hui pursed her lips, thinking to herself, "Aunt Meiji, you truly have boundless energy. I, a 'young person,' would have gone to bed long ago if it weren't for the relatives being so noisy."
She looked at her phone screen, where Kato Mikiko was holding little Kayoko. The mother and son had big, bright eyes and looked incredibly energetic.
I inquired about Kyosuke's father with concern, and he replied that he had gone to prepare a late-night snack for the mother and son.
Ah...the relaxed and leisurely life in the countryside is truly enviable.
Hui admitted that she was a little envious. She felt that given Aunt Meiji's condition, she might look older than her one day.
The two adults and one child chatted for almost half an hour. Kayoko was very talkative, probably because she had been exposed to more people since starting kindergarten. She shared many of her learning experiences with Kato Megumi in her childlike words.
Things like, as long as you don't get caught hitting someone by the teacher, everything will be fine; if you are seen, you should cry as soon as possible; and if you want to get a reward from the teacher, you have to defeat the other kids first...
Hui laughed nonstop.
Finally, the arrival of Hojo Ichiro interrupted their conversation.
"Let's chat again next time~"
Hojo Mikiko smiled radiantly, clenching her fist in a gesture of encouragement:
"Don't give up! Next time! Next time, Megumi will shine brightly! So bright that everyone will have to wear sunglasses to look directly at you! Just like I believe in you, Kyosuke!"
"Uh-huh!"
Kato Megumi nodded vigorously, unaware that the smile on her face had long since shattered the calm she had set for herself. It was radiant and joyful.
After the call ended, the image that remained on Megumi Kato's retina was a happy scene of the Kato family of three.
The love in the couple's eyes overflowed the screen, with a chattering little one in between—it was the perfect picture of human life.
Yes, it was in stark contrast to the huge family in Ruyi Dormitory.
After this thought came to mind, Megumi couldn't help but wonder if it was because she felt that there were too few family members since she was a child that Kyosuke worked so hard to expand the family.
In short, bringing the report card home certainly garnered a lot of attention, but the feeling was definitely not great. To put it simply, it was probably as embarrassing as Kyosuke finding out that his TV recordings were being repeatedly watched by the Kato family members.
And Eriri...
Hmm... Kato Megumi picked up her hot tea and took another sip.
"Peaceful~"
The girl couldn't help but sigh.
Unlike Soubu High School, which starts its sports festival celebration right after the midterm exams, Toyonosaki High School's school festival is in the next semester, right after the sports festival.
So after the observation period, it was just ordinary studying. Ordinary students went back to normal, while Sawamura, who had multiple identities, was so busy that he wished he could borrow Yukinoshita's hand.
Since the craft club hasn't been holding any events this week, Kato Megumi has been coming to Ruyi Dormitory to play after school, and with permission, she's brought along her friend who kept begging her.
Then she witnessed firsthand the hell Eriri was in.
School ends around 3 PM. Sawamura first completes part of his work for the Tokyo Youth Exhibition at the school's art club, and also mentors other club members. Then he goes home, quickly eats dinner, does a set of calisthenics, and then crashes into his room, puts on his black-rimmed glasses, and starts drawing like crazy.
Out of curiosity, Megumi took over the task of caring for Eriri from Ms. Miyamizu, who had come home specifically to look after her. There wasn't much to do; she would just go in every now and then to remind Eriri to rest, and occasionally bring her some drinks and fruit.
She initially thought that Ms. Miyamizu and the others were making a mountain out of a molehill, since Eriri was a reliable senior trusted by her friends and juniors at school, so why would she need someone else to take care of her?
But then she witnessed just how focused a person could be.
One time, she and Rinko were so engrossed in watching a TV series that they completely forgot about Eriri. When she hurriedly brought drinks and snacks into Eriri's room, she found that the princess had already fainted on the ground as if she had eaten a poisoned apple!
No wonder
She was so thirsty that her lips were cracked, but she still held her paintbrush tightly, her eyes fixed intently on the digital screen, drawing nonstop.
Hui thus learned the difference between geniuses and ordinary people.
Eriri is not disciplined at all. She stays up late, either overeats or is so thirsty that her lips crack.
But she was really, really focused.
One day, Kato Megumi heard Eriri scream in pain. She rushed in and found the princess clutching her finger with a pained expression. After asking her what was wrong, she learned that the pain was caused by keeping her finger in one position for a long time, which was tenosynovitis.
This is a flaw that existed even before she met Kyosuke Hojo, and it's hard to eradicate because Eriri could never put down her paintbrush for an extended period.
Kato Megumi advised Eriri to take a break, but she simply stood up, did some stretching exercises to ease the pain in her fingers, and continued drawing.
Finally, Mitsuha Miyamizu, who happened to be at the Ruyi Dormitory, intervened and forcibly stripped Eriri of her right to draw. But even without a pen in her hand, she continued to flip through the original manga and exchange ideas with her colleagues in the work group.
Studying, living, working...
In just one week, Kato Megumi saw in all aspects what a true, respectable genius looks like.
Someone like Lily deserves to be in the spotlight.
The bob-haired girl thought to herself.
It's ridiculous to think that someone like me, who crams for a month and suddenly gets good grades, can attract attention.
"She's too tired. Only Kyosuke's return can give her the energy she needs."
Looking at Eriri, who was slumped in a recliner in the courtyard like a slime, Kato Megumi said softly.
Today, as usual, she bought some snacks and drinks and came to Ruyi Dormitory. As soon as she entered, she heard a shout of "Wuhu~~"
Then I saw Eriri rush down from upstairs at top speed, waving her arms and shouting excitedly:
"I'm free!" "I'm free!" "I'm a free man!"
He looks like a wild man.
That wild man demeanor, completely opposite to his school persona, startled Rinko Ohashi, who was still getting used to it, so much so that she didn't dare to enter the room. After asking her carefully, she learned that Eriri's original artwork had already been completed.
Although I will still need to be responsible for the subsequent episodes repeatedly, at least I can relax a little now.
Seeing Eriri so happy, like Sun Wukong on the beach, Kato Megumi couldn't help but feel genuinely happy for her, so she suggested making something delicious and having a celebration.
The suggestion was unanimously approved by everyone in the Ruyi Dormitory, but the reason for the celebration wasn't Eriri's successful completion of her work, but rather...
"Congratulations on Hui's excellent exam results!"
Without giving Kato Megumi, who was standing still, any chance to refute, Eriri quickly pulled out her phone and started calling people: Mitsuha Miyamizu, Miki Okudera, Yotsuba Miyamizu…
After waiting for a short while, the chef, Miki Okudera, whom I had met several times but was not familiar with, arrived.
The kitchen became a forbidden area, and Kato Megumi could only sit in the tatami room with her friends to enjoy the tranquil afternoon and the garden that Nishimiya Shoko had carefully tended.
Rinko Ohashi stared at Eriri for a while longer, but seeing that she was still motionless like a vegetable, she looked away out of boredom.
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(End of this chapter)