Tokyo Rebirth: Start From Picking Up Sayu

On the second morning after arriving in Chino City, everyone unanimously decided to go hiking.

The Baihua Lake Scenic Area is built among the mountains, surrounded by mountains and rivers, and is a famous local tourist attraction.

After having breakfast at the hotel, the group got ready and then climbed towards the highest hill nearby.

Although it is said to be a hill, the place they are going to can be easily climbed by even high school students, and the height is probably more than a hundred meters.

Considering the strong wind on the mountain, everyone wore very tight clothes.

They started from the hotel and walked about three kilometers along the uphill road before arriving at the observation deck.

This place is a temporary parking lot, facing the entire Shirakaba Lake Resort, with an unobstructed view.

In the clear winter sky, there are cotton-like clouds floating.

The view is as far as the eye can see.

The entire scenic spot is like a basin with a gap.

The gray mountain forest is covered with white snow, and a few winter buds appear here and there on the bare branches. There is vitality in the silence, as if to indicate that spring is coming.

Whenever the cold wind blows, the branches sway. Once you get used to the coldness, you will feel comfortable again because of the fresh air.

As March approaches, the winter snow is already quietly melting.

Although there are large pieces of floating ice on the green lake, the melted parts are also filled with the feeling of spring.

The bright sunshine shines on the sparkling lake water. Occasionally, a school of fish will jump out of the water, and the birds will sing loudly and fly across the lake with their wings spread gracefully.

"says……"

Ying Lili frowned openly and expressed disgust:

"Except for a little snow, there's nothing else here! Is it necessary to go all the way here?"

Serizawa Yu let out a sigh of relief after hearing this.

"But I think this feeling of looking at the white snow is great. Miss Sawamura, don't you like this?"

Yoshida on the side nodded slightly in agreement, took a deep breath and moved his body.

Ying Lili slightly pulled up the scarf around her neck and shook her head.

"It's not that I don't like it, it's just that my father takes us to Nasu Plateau every year to escape the heat and watch the snow. Although there is no lake there, there are very few people there, so it's very quiet."

"Hey~~Is that so? Brother Yu."

Serizawa Yu nodded as if she understood something, and turned to look somewhere.

Kato Yusuke was helping Shiyu arrange her scarf. Hearing this, he glanced at them and then explained:

"...I don't know the specific situation, but Yinglili's family has her own private villa there, so there are no ordinary tourists. You don't have to worry too much."

"Private, private villa..." Serizawa Yu scratched her cheek in embarrassment, "So, that's what it is... Ahaha."

Others also looked at a certain young lady with indescribable expressions and had nothing to say.

It can only be said that the joys and sorrows between people are not the same.

While everyone is still busy running about life, a certain daughter has long lost her worries and is no longer bothered by these mundane things...

When they thought of this, everyone couldn't help but smile bitterly.

Under such circumstances, Hasumi Kanoko spoke up.

"Well, Sawamura-san, actually, Lake Shirakaba has not always been like this. Although you can't see it now, this is actually a place with four distinct seasons, right?"

"In spring and summer, this place will turn into a sea of ​​​​green forest, with lush branches and leaves like a canopy, and the hillside behind the hotel will be filled with colorful gardenias."

"In autumn, frost leaves will cover the ground again, dyeing this broad-leaved forest fiery red. Whenever the sun rises and sets, a beautiful Venus belt will appear in the sky here."

"As for winter, some tourists also come here to ski and soak in hot springs. Maybe you don't really like the way Shirakaba Lake looks now, but this is a view that can only be appreciated now~"

With a gentle smile on her face, she explained the seasonal changes of Baihua Lake to everyone in a leisurely manner, as if she had returned to the time when she was teaching in school.

Everyone listened to this vivid explanation with fascination in their eyes, and even more in surprise at the end.

""""...Okay, so awesome!""""

"Ms. Hasumi knows so much, she's so amazing~!"

"Um, has Mr. Hasumi been here before?"

Sagara Mayu and Megumi said one after another, making the person involved slightly stunned.

"Huh...? No, there's nothing like that... These things are all available on the Internet. I just looked at them a little bit. It's not as exaggerated as everyone said."

Looking at Kanoko Hasumi who was suddenly surrounded by everyone and waved her hands shyly, Yusuke Kato couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth with a gentle expression on his face.

Then, he looked back.

Shinjoka was walking slowly holding on to the guardrail, her furry snow boots leaving footprints on the ground with remaining snow.

Seeing that she seemed to be struggling, Kato Yusuke went up to help her.

"Give me your hand."

"Huh?"

"Watch your step, don't fall."

"President...?"

Shinjoka looked at the stretched out hand and was stunned for a second, then happily held it and walked to the flat area with his help.

“Thank you, President~~”

"Won't."

Everyone stayed on the observation deck for a while, and Yinglili suddenly suggested this:

"I always feel that opportunities are rare... I want to go to the woods to sketch. Can we go down there and take a look?"

Everyone looked at each other and unanimously agreed.

So the group moved from the observation deck to the mountains and forests, and then moved around freely.

While Shiyu and Eiri were bickering, Kato Yusuke chased a certain figure and caught up with him at the dock by the lake.

Ding--

The zippo lighter made a crisp sound, and the cigarette between the man's fingers lit up with an orange-red halo.

"Mr. Yoshida."

"...Huh? What, it's you..."

Yoshida turned around when he heard the sound, while Kato Yusuke nodded lightly.

"Are you smoking here?"

"Oh... my mouth is just a little itchy. What's the matter with you?"

"Nothing, I just came to say sorry to you."

"What?"

"It's about what happened last night."

"last night……"

Yoshida suddenly reacted mid-sentence, his face became extremely speechless, and he scolded with a dark face: "You are outrageous, can't you pay more attention to the occasion!?"

"I'm sorry, what happened yesterday was a little unexpected. I promise I won't disturb you, Mr. Yoshida, next time."

"Idiot! It's not just this problem, right? You should also pay attention to who you attack, right? Your girlfriend is also in the hotel. Aren't you afraid of being discovered for being so unscrupulous??"

"They were taking a shower, so it shouldn't matter."

"Your optimistic thoughts... hmm-? They-!?!?"

"……Um?"

Kato Yusuke looked at him thoughtfully and smiled vaguely: "...I'm sorry, because Mr. Yoshida said that to me last time, and I thought you knew it."

Yoshida was shocked and subconsciously asked: "What do I know??"

"It's about me, Kano-chan and Shiyu-senpai."

"Wait a minute! Are you talking about Miss Hasumi!? I remember she is not your boss..."

"—Not anymore." Yusuke Kato interrupted him calmly, "She resigned since we confirmed our relationship."

"——!"

Yoshida's eyes widened in shock, and the cigarette in his hand fell to the ground with a clatter. He hurriedly bent down to pick it up, tremblingly put it in his mouth again and took a deep breath.

"Huh-I said...are you kidding...?"

"Didn't Mr. Yoshida also date an older senior from the baseball club? Isn't this kind of thing common?"

"Ordinary...you ghost! How is this the same!? It's completely different, right? Are you so brave that you dare to flirt with the teacher?"

"If you want to say..."

Kato Yusuke squatted down by the pier and stared leisurely at the bottomless lake. "Between me and Kano-chan, she is the one chasing me."

"--ah!?"

Yoshida was silent for a while, and then suddenly said: "Go to hell now—!"

The furious look made Kato Yusuke smile, as if the person in front of him was not his neighbor, but the Mangkhut brothers who played tricks all day long.

He shrugged his shoulders and made no sign.

Yoshida gritted his teeth and asked, "What about the girl yesterday? What is your relationship?"

"Xinjou and I... are contract partners in the same situation, right?"

"Then, where is Sister Yu who came to see you in a sports car before?"

"Oh...you mean the little aunt."

"What??"

"Well, the relationship between me and Qian is complicated. In fact, she has always coveted me and wanted to trick me into using me as a horse. But... I won in the end."

"...Being like a cow or a horse? What do you mean?"

"To put it simply, she told me to give up my efforts to start a business and live under her hand until death."

"…………"

Yoshida's lips trembled, and suddenly he didn't want to say a word.

Neptune, it’s not like he hasn’t seen it before...

But it’s the first time that a big girl is getting into a sedan chair when others are rushing to get in front of her.

I think he is a well-behaved older young man. When he is still obsessed with the girl he likes, his confidante over there can play mahjong together!

It is simply unheard of and unseen, so shameless and unreasonable——!

I am so fucking envious...

Everything suddenly became boring.

Yoshida smacked his lips, paused for a moment and then said: "...Can I ask you a question?"

"go ahead."

"How did you survive until now safely?"

"Um??"

"I mean, how did you date so many people at the same time without being discovered?"

Faced with this inquiry, Kato Yusuke temporarily looked away from the lake and turned his head to look.

"...Actually, I didn't hide anything. If I had to say it, I was just lucky enough to be accepted by Kano-chan and Shiyu-senpai."

"...What did you say?"

"That is to say, we are together on the premise of knowing each other."

"Pfft-ahem...ahem...!"

Yoshida coughed violently and was speechless for a long time. He was greatly shocked in his heart. Then he scratched the back of his head irritably. After a while, he finally spoke:

"No, no, even if you are both willing...then if you want to marry someone in the future, what are you going to do with other people? Do you want to break up?"

Kato Yusuke narrowed his eyes and said indifferently: "...I don't know what will happen in the future, but I will not give up on them and will be responsible until the end."

"You said you were responsible..."

Yoshida felt extremely speechless at his ambiguous answer and couldn't help complaining: "How can I be responsible for such a thing?"

"all will be good."

"Ah... forget it, it's not my turn to worry about these things anyway, so just do whatever you want... But -"

He frowned and cursed angrily: "You provoke so many women, sooner or later you will suffer!"

Kato Yusuke nodded lightly, looked at the ripples of the lake again, and responded with a half-smile:

"……yes."

…

After parting ways with Yoshida, he didn't want to return to the meeting point for a moment, so he chose a random direction for a walk.

Slowly walking along the narrow mountain path for about a quarter of an hour, a flat rock in the forest caught his attention.

To be precise, it was the owner sitting on the rock that attracted him.

"……benefit?"

Kato Yusuke paused and walked up directly, "What are you doing here?"

"...Eh~ Yusuke?"

Hui, who had his head lowered, heard the sound and immediately put his right foot down on the rock without putting on his shoes.

"Um~ why did you come here...?"

"I was just chatting with Mr. Yoshida at the pier, and I came over here on the way."

Kato Yusuke observed her as he spoke, his eyes passing over the medical box and socks placed on the rock, and then looking down.

Sensing his gaze, Hui hurriedly hid her naked right foot behind her left leg, but she still couldn't escape his eyes.

"Your foot hurts?"

"...Well, probably so."

"perhaps?"

"Ah, it's not a serious problem. It's just that the new shoes I bought don't fit properly and the leather is slightly worn. I'm just about to take care of it."

"Is this so..."

Kato Yusuke nodded and squatted down directly.

"Let me see the wound."

"Huh……?"

"You can't help yourself with the medicine. I'll help you take care of it."

"...No, I can just do it myself."

"I've always been taken care of by you, at least let me help with this."

"But……"

"Any questions?"

"this……"

Hui showed a troubled expression and said a little embarrassedly: "Because... I have walked for a long time and am a little dirty... It would be too rude to ask you to help me like this."

Kato Yusuke raised his head to look at her, then grabbed her right ankle and placed it on his left knee regardless of resistance.

"Eh? Um, um, Yusuke...?"

"Don't worry about such small things. Hui has helped me deal with wounds before, so you're welcome."

"Well……?"

"In contrast, could you please help me pass the tools?"

Kato Yusuke smiled cheerfully, while Megumi sighed gloomily.

"...Really, sometimes you really can't listen to other people's words at all."

"Sorry, did I cause you any trouble?"

"It's not a trouble...rather, it's me who is about to cause trouble for Yusuke, but..."

"only?"

Hui turned her face to the side shyly and said in a weak voice: "It's just... I haven't had my feet touched by a boy before, and I always feel so embarrassed."

Kato Yusuke raised his head suddenly, focusing his eyes on the slightly red cheeks and ears.

The next second, the corners of his mouth curved unconsciously.

…