Tokyo Rebirth: Start From Picking Up Sayu

In the blink of an eye, three days flew by.

In the villa on the Nasu Plateau, Eiri sat blankly on the outdoor terrace, her mind as blank as the drawing paper in front of her.

The cold air rushed towards my face. Although it was already March, the weather was extremely cold, and the blowing wind was accompanied by a deep chill.

The sky is blue and the winter snow is gradually melting. The mountains in the distance surround the entire plateau, and their outlines are particularly clear under the sunlight.

There are various trees planted on the hillside, such as spruce, ginkgo, birch and so on. New leaves sprout on the branches, and the dense branches and leaves seem to form a green barrier, wrapping this space.

Whenever the wind blows, the woods turn into a graceful green ocean with rustling sounds.

The natural scenery of the entire plateau is like an unfolding picture scroll, quiet and full of vitality, which makes people feel relaxed and happy.

However, Yinglili just stared blankly at the scenery in front of her, her azure eyes completely out of focus.

She was wearing her middle school sportswear and a thickened coat. Her slightly messy blond hair was hanging down with a scarf, and she looked a little listless.

As a result, even after coming here from Tokyo, the situation has not changed at all.

She still couldn't draw anything and could only stare blankly at the drawing board, making no progress at all.

"well……"

Ying Lili looked down at her toes, and a sigh naturally flowed from her mouth, "Forget it, let's go have lunch first..."

She murmured and stood up from the chair, and was about to leave when the cell phone in her pocket rang.

I took out my phone and looked at it. I found it was my mother calling, so I pressed the answer button.

"Mother?"

"Good afternoon~"

Sayuri Sawamura's voice came from the receiver: "Thank you for your hard work, Eiri."

Hearing this, Yinglili couldn't help but be silent for a moment.

"...Mom, I haven't started drawing anything yet."

"Hey~ This is already the third day, right? You haven't even painted a picture, okay?"

"Yes, what can I do? I just can't draw it." Ying Lili said helplessly, feeling frustrated inside.

In fact, it's not that she didn't draw, but the things she drew were useless scraps and couldn't be counted.

As if hearing the emotion in her tone, Sayuri Sawamura paused for a moment, and then asked with concern:

"Ah, that's really bad. Can you tell mom what's wrong with you?"

"...I have never been able to think of a satisfactory picture."

"Hey~~So that's what's going on. Is it a lack of inspiration?"

"...Probably. Mom, what's the matter with you? If nothing happens, I'm going to die."

"Ah, please wait a moment. Eiriri, have you and Kato-kun talked about your troubles?"

"How can I possibly talk about this kind of thing? We only talked about some ordinary topics..."

"If that's the case..." Sayuri Sawamura seemed to have thought of something and suggested: "Otherwise, do you want to have a chat with mom?"

"ah?"

Ying Lili frowned, "But, I'm not in the mood to chat now, and I'm also ready to have lunch."

"Don't say that. It's my responsibility to help my precious daughter solve her troubles. Anyway, you are very free now, so come and stay with me."

"What do you mean, people are very free now? I'm not like this just because I want to... But forget it, let's just chat for ten minutes, okay?"

"Hey~~Why is this like this?" Sayuri Sawamura said in a long voice, "Mom, I'm so sad. It seems I can only wait until later to find Kato-kun to relieve my boredom?"

"Wait a minute! You are not allowed to harass Yusuke! I have caused him so much trouble, and he has been working very hard recently...Ah, I understand. Can I talk to the head office with you?"

"Hmm~ It sounds good, let's do it like this!"

Eiri said "It's true" and sat down on the chair again.

"...So, mom, what do you want to talk about? If it's about love, I don't have anything to say, right?"

"Well~ Although that seems good, let's talk about creation today."

"Creative stuff...? It's possible, but I don't have any inspiration."

"That doesn't matter~ Just let mom try to find inspiration for you~"

Hearing what Sayuri Sawamura said, Eirili had a vague premonition in her heart, but she still wanted to listen and see.

So the other party asked: "Hey, Eri-ri~ Do you have anything belonging to Kato-kun with you?"

"...Why do you suddenly ask this?"

"Okay, okay~ You go and find it first, and I'll tell you something else later."

"Oh... then wait a moment."

Ying Lili depressedly put her hand into her coat pocket, took out a pair of black headdresses, and then said impatiently:

"Okay, I took it out..."

"What did you bring out~?"

"Tiara."

"Huh...? What kind of headgear?" Sayuri Sawamura asked in confusion.

"So I told you everything, it's the tiara that Yusuke gave me!"

"Ah...it turns out to be that one. Unfortunately, that one doesn't work, Eiriri."

"Huh?"

"So, please open the suitcase now and take out the things in the mezzanine~"

"Huh? Mom, did you put anything in my luggage?"

"As for this, you'd better confirm it yourself~"

"Why are you being so mysterious..."

Yinglili complained as she reluctantly entered the house, then followed the other party's instructions to open the mezzanine of the suitcase and take out the contents.

"Is this... a shirt?"

"That's right~ That's the one!" Sayuri Sawamura said happily: "By the way, that's the shirt Kato-kun wore when he stayed at our house last time, right?"

"Varied--!"

Yinglili's eyes widened in shock, "Wait a minute! Why is this kind of thing in my luggage!?"

"Of course, it's because mom thought it might come in handy, so she put it in for you~~~"

"Inexplicable! What use can this kind of thing be used for?"

"Is this~like an amulet or something?"

"What nonsense is this!?"

Ignoring her daughter's fierce reaction, Sayuri Sawamura laughed and continued.

“Congratulations on finding the shirt~ Yinglili, we can start the next step~~”

"Hate it, mom, what are you laughing at? And what's the next step?"

"Yes~What does it mean~~?"

"Mother!"

"Sorry, sorry~ Anyway, please smell that shirt while imagining Kato-kun's smell~"

Sayuri Sawamura made shocking remarks in a quite natural tone.

As soon as these words came out, Yinglili's whole body felt like being struck by lightning, and her thoughts suddenly came to a standstill.

Immediately afterwards——

"...Eh? Huh? Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!?!?"

She suddenly raised her voice and her face turned red.

"Mom!? You, you, you, you, what are you talking about——!?!?"

"What's wrong with me~?"

"How dare you say that! What, what do you mean by imagining Yusuke's smell and smelling it!?"

"Hey, Eiri, have you ever heard of simulation training~?"

"What……?"

"To put it simply, it is a training method to exercise human imagination. Is that what we are going to do now?"

"Are you kidding me!? I don't want-!"

"Eh~ But, this is all to train your imagination and stimulate your creative inspiration?"

Sayuri Sawamura said coaxingly: "Think about it, that's the shirt Kato-kun wore? It's the original shirt~ Don't you want to smell it?"

"Are you kidding me!? What is a plain shirt? Why do I have to do such perverted behavior! How could I possibly do that -!"

Yinglili was so angry that she couldn't help but yell, and even her body was shaking. Sayuri Sawamura on the other side of the phone remained calm.

"Ah~ But aren't you worried because you can't draw anything? This is a way to get you out of trouble. Are you really not going to give it a try~?"

"Help me get out of this predicament...?"

"Yes~ And this is an effective method tested by my mother. It is best to use when you are exhausted of inspiration~~"

The wife, whose age is a mystery, said this and inadvertently revealed the shocking news about the Sawamura family.

"Liar...?" Yinglili murmured unconsciously, confused: "Just because of this kind of thing...could it be that if I do this, I can draw it?"

"Of course~! Ah, but the specific effect depends on each person's situation. In short, mother will guide you, Yinglili~"

"No...but..."

"Hey, Yinglili, don't you believe what your mother says?"

"This, this... you suddenly said this, how can anyone believe it... If this method is really effective, why haven't you mentioned it before, mother?"

"Because you have never encountered such a situation before. The so-called nirvana is to be used at critical moments~ You have always been good at drawing before, so naturally you don't need to worry about your mother."

"Well……"

Ying Lili felt shaken in her heart and stuttered: "But...but...original shirts and stuff, it's really embarrassing."

"Ah, that's just a washed shirt. My daughter is so panicked. Who did she inherit it from?"

Sayuri Sawamura continued: "If you really want to say it, my mother actually recommends uniforms or sportswear that have just been changed out, which will have better results."

"The one I just replaced——!?"

"Hmm~ Think about it, clothes that carry the smell of Kato-kun's sweat and body temperature, as well as the unique rough smell of boys, are definitely more realistic, right?"

"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu...!"

Yinglili was so surprised that she couldn't open her mouth from ear to ear, and her face was so red that she was almost bleeding.

Putting aside other things, her mother is definitely the person who uses "presence" the most wrongly in Japan!

"Okay, Yinglili, the question and answer time is over, what do you want to do~?"

"Eh? Ah...I...I want..."

"What are you doing? We're on the phone right now. Mom won't understand if you don't speak out properly."

Sayuri Sawamura said meaningfully, like a devil's whisper.

Facing the other party's instigation, Yinglili's body trembled slightly.

She looked at the shirt in her hand and felt as if she was facing some important choice, struggling between reference for creative inspiration and reason.

Although her mother said so much, to smell the shirt while imagining the smell of that person... This kind of behavior is somewhat unnatural for a person, and the sense of shame makes her extremely resistant.

However, she really wants to break through the bottleneck!

!

When she thought about it, her rationality was almost at its limit, and the balance in her heart tilted towards the irreversible side.

Suddenly, a pair of angels and demons seemed to appear in my mind, arguing fiercely.

No, Yinglili! If you do this kind of thing, you will be screwed as a girl... you will be considered a pervert...!

Don't listen to his Yinglili! You were originally the author of the Ling series...haven't you ever drawn more extreme content than this? Good girl, smell it hard for me——!

As the last straw that broke the camel's back, Sayuri Sawamura asked:

"So, what's going on? Yinglili, do you want to smell it? Or not?"

"Gudu..."

Yinglili swallowed a mouthful of saliva and made up her mind to whisper: "I, I want to smell..."

As soon as the words came out of her mouth, she felt as if she had lost something important as a human being, but she couldn't describe it specifically.

Sayuri Sawamura's chuckle came from the receiver.

"That's it~ Then imagine the smell of Kato-kun and smell that shirt hard~"

There was a bit of excitement in the other person's tone, and she didn't seem to be able to resist this atmosphere.

So she sat down on the sofa, put her phone in hands-free mode and put it aside. Then she raised the shirt to her eyes with trembling hands and took a deep breath.

Wow...I really want to die...

A weak rationality shouted in a corner of his heart.

If she buried her face in her shirt now, it felt as if her life would be over.

But she is a creator, and ultimately this is to break through the bottleneck period.

Although this behavior is very bad as a person, it is a washed shirt after all, and there are no bystanders around.

So even God will understand her...right?

Yinglili kept convincing herself, and just when she was about to take action——

"Ah, but-"

Sayuri Sawamura suddenly interrupted her: "This alone doesn't seem to be enough. Let's add some settings~"

"set up……?"

"Hmm, listen to this."

Whoosh, whoosh~

There was a slight sound of water coming from the microphone, with a slight echo, which made people easily think of a familiar space.

"Did you hear the sound? Yinglili."

"Listen...I heard it."

"Well, Eiri, imagine this. Kato-kun is taking a bath in the bathroom of the villa, and you are standing outside the door holding the shirt he just took off."

"——!

! "

Phew~~~!

There seemed to be a sharp sound like a kettle boiling in his mind.

Yinglili quickly closed her eyes, emptied her mind, and began to construct pictures in her mind.

This is not a living room, but a blank room.

While imagining the empty room, recreate the bathroom there.

She is at the bathroom door now...

On the left is the washing machine, and at my feet is a basket with the clothes I took off.

Gradually, the image of Mo Lake emerged in my mind.

So she worked harder to mobilize her imagination, and the frosted glass bathroom door appeared in front of her.

What can you see through the frosted glass...and what can you see behind it?

Wow~

The sound of hot water shaking came from the phone speaker.

——Yusuke is taking a shower!

The picture suddenly became clear!

Through the glass door, she saw the silhouette of the young man's muscular figure.

"Mom, mom, I saw it!

"

Yingli couldn't help but shout out.

The scene in front of her was clear. Yusuke was taking a shower in front of her, and the air was filled with the smell of the mint shower gel that she often used.

As a creator, she truly feels that her imagination has reached a new level.

This is the essence of starting from nothing, from being to infinity——!

"Well done~ Now, you enter the bathroom."

Sayuri Sawamura guides softly with a hypnotic voice.

"Yinglili, imagine again, your favorite boy is taking a bath."

"Where did he start washing it? What's the color of his skin? And what does the shirt he just took off smell like in your hands?"

"Woo..."

Yinglili felt that her head was so hot that she was about to faint, but at the same time, her inspiration and imagination became more abundant, hitting her like a flood.

She saw it completely!

Yusuke's perfect body is like a carving, and the hot water flows down against the outline of the opponent's muscles, full of temptation...

"How's it going? Yinglili, are you smelling your shirt while imagining it?"

"ah……"

When she opened her eyes, Yinglili realized that she had pressed the shirt to her face.

The shirt had the fragrance of laundry detergent and mint, and there seemed to be a faint smell of sweat in the depths. They mixed together to corrode her brain.

'I...what on earth am I doing...'

Yinglili couldn't help but ask herself.

Even though she knew it wouldn't work, the smell that belonged to Yusuke invaded her consciousness and made her addicted.

"...Eiri Riri?"

Sayuri Sawamura's call came from the loudspeaker, pulling her back to reality.

"Huh……?"

Only then did Yinglili come back to her senses and looked at the phone blankly, "Mom...?"

"Ahaha, it looks like the simulation training was very successful~"

Sayuri Sawamura chuckled and said, "Judging from the reaction just now, you should have gotten what you wanted, right?"

Yinglili was stunned for a moment, then picked up the shirt and smelled it.

Then she couldn't help but wonder about her nose.

The smell of mint and sweat that was clearly present just now was gone now, leaving only the fragrance of laundry detergent.

"Imagination..."

She murmured the word, feeling lost for a moment.

"Do you understand now~? Yinglili."

Sayuri Sawamura was very happy for some reason.

"Imagination is the greatest gift God has given to mankind. As long as you can flexibly use your imagination, you will definitely be able to break through the bottleneck period~"

"Mother……"

Yinglili took a deep breath and said sincerely: "Thank you, Mom, I will definitely work hard...!"

"Hmm~ That's very good, so why don't you do your best? Mom will help you in private."

"Yeah! I understand."

"This kind of momentum is what you want~ so be it."

Sayuri Sawamura hung up the phone with satisfaction, and then drained all the water in the sink.

She glanced at the mirror in front of her, which reflected a young lady with a flushed face, as if to tell the owner's inner peace.

"Oops~ I just wanted to guide Ying Lili, but it turns out I'm a little obsessed myself..."

She murmured to herself, feeling shy inside.

Fortunately, there was no one else in the bathroom at the moment, so there was no need to worry about being seen.

As for the reason for shyness——

The main reason was that the son-in-law she was interested in had such a good figure that she inadvertently used him as a model when drawing the book. She even drew a lot of embarrassing content of this and that kind.

Therefore, she herself was inevitably affected by the guidance just now.

"..."

Sayuri Sawamura adjusted her appearance in the mirror, took a deep breath to suppress the strange excitement in her heart, and then put on a dignified smile.

Returning to the negotiation venue of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from the restroom, she found her husband.

By this time, she had transformed from her role as a book painter to a diplomat's wife who could chat and laugh with ambassadors from various countries.

…