I’M Really Helpless In Tokyo

"Why hasn't this guy Ryoma come here yet? Is the traffic jam so serious?"

Seeing that dusk was dying, Sosuke Araki took the lantern handed over by Tori Mayumi, and drew out a lighter.

"Leave him alone, don't miss the time..."

Although he is not superstitious of the "rules" of these sacrifices, only respect for the customs can reflect the respect for the deceased.

"Crack."

The faint sparks on the lighter turned into dim flames and moved up the wick, gently swaying in the lantern.

The bird Yu Mayumi on the side also kindly lit the lantern in his hand for the ancestors of the bird Yu family.

Then, the two of them left and right, and hung the "Yinghunhuo" on both sides of the elf shed.

Under the shining of the lights, the cute "elf horses", "elf cows" and wild "elf centipedes" in the fairy shed become vivid, as if they have been endowed with different spirituality.

That's right, Araki Sosuke didn't want to eat that expensive 40 cm long cucumber, and he made a rather magnificent "centipede" by himself...

He also boasted that this is the Ferrari of the "elves" world, and Xingping and Reiko must be very popular when they come back from sitting here.

"By the way, Xiaoniaoyou, there should be more lanterns, right?"

Looking at the things in the elf shed, Araki Sosuke's eyes were slightly frozen.

"Yes, yes... but the number of lanterns should be enough."

Hearing his request, Toriyu Mayumi tilted his head in confusion.

"Please get another one for me, I want to... give it to Qingren alone."

The Meng Lan Bon Festival, which happens to be the anniversary of Uncle Qingren’s death, is also...

Araki Sosuke’s birthday.

...

Four years ago, Yokohama City University Hospital.

"Uh..."

In the ward, a young man with a golden airplane head was forcibly inserting an exaggerated and messy bouquet of flowers into a small glass on the window sill.

"Zong Jie, I have said it several times, as long as someone arrives to visit me, don't pick the flowers downstairs in the hospital. If the nurse sees me, I think it's me..."

On the hospital bed, a middle-aged man with glasses and a skinny face watched the boy's rough movements with some distress.

"But, Uncle Qingren, the ward is all white and it's too monotonous. It will be boring if you look forward to it for a long time. What if you don't have some color! Anyway, these flowers are the same for the patients in the flower garden downstairs and upstairs. watch……"

"You guy is always so headstrong...Forget it, anyway, I can't take care of you anymore, just do it with you."

The middle-aged man, who originally seemed to want to say something, smiled helplessly and changed the subject: "Life in college is going well, right?"

"Ordinary, the food in the Kendo Department is not bad, there are gunners for exams, and there are a lot of part-time benefits in convenience stores..."

"It doesn't matter if you go to college, you don't have to be a joke, or you are a police officer. In short, it's good for you children to live an ordinary life."

Lie back on the bed, the middle-aged man put his hands behind his head, closed his eyes and smiled.

Putting the flowers away, the boy sat down next to the hospital bed and looked at each other worriedly.

"Always thinking about us, but Uncle Qing, you really don't plan to try chemotherapy? The doctor said there is hope. If it is a matter of money..."

"No, I am not a problem that doctors can solve."

Seeing the firm look of the middle-aged man, the boy frowned.

Regardless of the gentle appearance of this Qingren uncle, he is actually quite stubborn. Once he decides something, he will not accept anyone's persuasion at all.

"...Zongsuke, by the way, today is the Bon Festival of Meng Lan, and it is also your birthday. It's been twenty years without knowing it."

On the hospital bed, the middle-aged man looked at the ceiling, his eyes gradually becoming deep.

"So, is it because of this that I specifically called me over? I don't know if Qing Ren said, I don't have the habit of remembering my birthday. Anyway, everyone’s birthday is Uncle Qing. Registered..."

The boy touched the back of his head indifferently.

"Birthday" is more like an unaffordable luxury for them.

"Ahem, who said that I just registered casually...Speaking of twenty years old, but can drink alcohol and influence the age of one's life, I have already published the first book when you were so old..."

On the hospital bed, the middle-aged man was still muttering to himself, as if recalling his 20s.

"Sorry, for adult wine, I drank it with Xingping in advance last month."

Because the legal drinking age in Japan is twenty years old, many young people will choose to go to an izakaya with their friends on their twentieth birthday to get drunk and take a break to experience the stimulation of alcohol "legally".

However, for some people, this "statutory" is obviously just words written on waste paper.

"Zongsuke, unlike Ryoma and Xingping, you are very strong, beyond your imagination..."

The middle-aged man turned his head and looked seriously at the young man in front of him.

"Well, in terms of fighting, physical strength, and size, it is indeed stronger than them."

The young boy accepted his "praise" with a (thick) face (yen) frankly (no) (shame).

"So, you have to help others, and do your best to do it within the scope of your ability."

"Huh? From the perspective of social class, am I the one who needs public relief the most?"

"No one understands, it's okay, it doesn't matter if you don't get grateful, it doesn't matter if you are confused..."

Ignoring the young man's complaints, the middle-aged man turned over and turned his back to the other party, as if talking to himself, and like Chunchun's advice.

"...Promise me, you will try your best to help more people and bring encouragement to others."

"Even if it is going to hell, you have to break into the door as a hero under the gaze of everyone."

"Don't be like me, leave your family and friends behind and die alone in the end."

Hearing these gradually heavier words, the young man turned his face awkwardly: "Bah, baah, what bad words are nonsense? For the welfare institution, Uncle Qingren is everyone’s hero! As long as we are here, you Will not be alone..."

Twenty years ago, it was this man who suddenly appeared and rescued the Xiaodaisy Welfare Home that was about to go bankrupt, allowing more and more orphans to receive good care and grow up.

"What hero, I'm just a deceased person who has borrowed from hell for twenty years and wanders around the world... However, the current situation can be regarded as an explanation to ‘that one’."

The middle-aged man murmured softly, and stopped speaking as if he had fallen asleep.

"Hello, Uncle Qingren, what are you talking about?!"

Looking at the middle-aged man with his back facing him no longer speaking, the young man stood up angrily and quickly walked around to the other side of the bed.

Intuition tells him that something bad seems to have happened.

Glancing at the middle-aged man lying on the bed, the sharp eyes of the young man suddenly disappeared.

He slowly raised his head and looked at the ceiling above his head, as if there was something concerning.

"...I know, just promise you."

Even so, tears still filled his eyes, and he couldn't stop it from sliding down his face.

It's a pity that a middle-aged man lying on his side, seeming to just fall asleep, can never hear his promise.

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