r18novel Page 18
Page 18
"Taro, let's get this straight, okay? Don't you dare say you want to come along, okay? And don't you dare say you want to see your older sister while you're at it, okay? Even I'd get angry!" Hina glared at Taro fiercely: "Interrupting a girl's date will get you kicked by a donkey, you know?"
"I see, I understand." Taro nodded. Although he had indeed wanted to ask if they could go together, he didn't bring it up since Hina had said so. Although Taro didn't quite know why she said that, "Hina really does like Saya as much as ever."
"Oh yeah, I really like my older sister." Hina said with a carefree laugh, as if she were talking about something trivial. "But I also really like Taro, after all, Taro is so cute~."
"Well then, I'll be going now," Hina waved her hand, as if she were saying something very ordinary, and walked away from Taro.
Taro was a little confused about the situation. He tilted his head and thought about something. He didn't care much about such a small matter. After putting his coat back on, he decided to continue his journey—to record a song.
After Hina left, she touched her cheeks. Hmm, perfectly fine. Not that burning sensation you get in shoujo manga, what a pity, I thought saying that would make them flush.
Hina and Taro knew each other a long time ago, even before Hina joined Pastel-Palettes.
That day was just an ordinary holiday. In Hina's memory, all she remembers is the scorching sun and Taro's gloomy mood, which is completely different from what she recalls.
She had a fight with her older sister that day. Although it was called a fight, it was more like her sister was being mean to her. Hina loved her sister the most, so how could she possibly argue with her?
But no matter what, she was still in a bad mood after being scolded by her sister. So, she decided to go out for a walk to clear her head.
She just didn't expect things to go so smoothly; she encountered something really strange shortly after leaving home.
As usual, she walked towards a place she had never been before, and in a secluded parking lot on an unknown street, this happened.
A tall, slender, handsome young man dressed in a deliveryman's uniform stood next to three people who were doing something suspicious to a delivery truck. He spoke up, "This is my truck, isn't it?"
The thug who had been squatting by the car door trying to pick the lock stood up, turned around, and explained, "Hey, buddy, we just wanted to borrow your car for a bit."
"Are you sure you're not confusing stealing with lending?" the young man replied without hesitation.
Hina, standing on the street corner, watched his answer with interest. Generally speaking, such remarks are particularly prone to escalating conflict, so usually, people will subtly invite the other party to leave.
"I don't need a car, money is fine too," another thug chimed in, just as Rina had predicted, "Hey buddy, how much money do you have?"
Sure enough, the conflict was about to escalate. Hina watched the delivery guy with great interest, wondering what even more outrageous things he would do.
The deliveryman lowered his head and thought for a while, then looked up and said, "There are quite a few cash-on-delivery packages today, and I have about 645,200 yuan in cash on hand."
Haha, this person is definitely different from everyone else... My mood has completely improved. Hina thought to herself, a smile spreading across her face, and decided to help this very...unusual person.
"You're really honest, buddy." The thug who started it all seemed to have grown bolder and asked Taro, "Could you also honestly hand over your money?"
"Gentlemen over there, what you're doing is absolutely inappropriate! Can you please stop?" Hina walked out without hesitation, intending to stop the riot.
"Huh? Where did this chuunibyou girl come from?" One of the thugs was enraged by Hina's attitude and charged forward in a frenzy.
Hina shook her head. Her opponent was full of openings. She dodged the attack by sideways and stomped hard on his shin with her calf, causing him to fall to his knees in pain.
The Japanese girl had also learned freestyle fighting for a few days, but she didn't find it interesting, so she stopped learning it. She felt that it was perfectly sufficient to deal with people like that.
The other two quickly surrounded her and launched an attack on Hina. However, this chaotic fighting made it difficult for them to hit Hina, and she quickly subdued them both.
But the thug who had been knocked to the ground first was clearly enraged. He pulled out a butterfly knife from his pocket, struggled to his feet, and charged at Hina with the knife in hand.
Hina was prepared to counter his attack just as it was about to land. But at that moment, a hand swiftly and accurately reached out and grabbed the man's wrist.
It was the delivery guy. He forcefully grabbed the man's wrist and lifted him up. The man cried out in pain, and the butterfly knife fell to the ground. Then the delivery guy pushed him hard, and the man fell down next to his companion.
"Don't think this is the end!" "Just you wait!" The three men struggled to their feet, uttered these harsh words, and then staggered away.
"You're really good." The delivery guy genuinely praised the Japanese girl.
"Haha," Hina smiled, put her hands on her hips, and patted the other person's shoulder: "Looks like I've been meddling. Even if I didn't lift a finger, you could have easily solved this."
The deliveryman gave a gentle smile and replied, "I don't hit people."
"What kind of way of saying that is? It feels really special~" She looked at Taro: "Momoi Taro? My name is Hikawa Hina, nice to meet you."
“Yes, this way we’re also connected.” Taro smiled.
"As expected, you're really something else, aren't you?" Hina's inner gloom was completely dispelled. Although she was a little unhappy after being scolded by her older sister, the fact that such a thing had happened made it all worthwhile.
"By the way, is your job delivering packages?"
"Yes, but what I'm transporting isn't just goods, it's happiness too." That's Taro's feeling.
"Taro is really interesting! I'm already feeling all excited~" Hina hadn't been this happy in a long time. She wanted to know more about this interesting person: "Speaking of which, Taro looks about my age. Doesn't he have to go to school? Can you work part-time as a deliveryman?"
"I... I was expelled from school." Taro brought it up, but he didn't seem to be shaken.
"Huh? Why?"
“When I was in school, I often pointed out the teachers’ mistakes and told them the correct way to do things.” Taro looked at the sky and recalled his school days: “In the end, the teachers all told the principal that either they would resign or I would leave the school, so I dropped out.”
"This has happened a few times, so I decided not to continue my studies." Taro's tone remained calm. "Anyway, I've already learned everything the school teaches, so there's no need to continue. There are also many open courses online for university-level knowledge. You can learn it by watching them once."
Hina's smile suddenly vanished. This person was truly extraordinary. He was like her, able to learn anything with ease, but unlike her, his very presence was incredibly...extraordinary.
So, she had something she wanted to ask, and her usually relaxed expression turned serious: "Taro, don't you get bored?"
"Boring? I don't understand the meaning of your words." Taro looked at Hina: "Why would you have such a thought?"
"Because Taro is like me, right? No matter what it is, if you just watch it once or twice, you can learn it, right?" Hina's tone became a little lower: "Won't it feel really boring?"
“I see.” Taro nodded, thought for a moment, and replied seriously, “I don’t have that feeling. As for the reason… I roughly know.”
"What? What?" Hina asked eagerly, "Can you tell me?"
"Yes, it's very simple. It's probably something I still can't learn," Taro said earnestly.
"What could it be?" Hina looked at Taro with great anticipation, hoping she might find some enjoyment in it.
“Happiness itself,” Taro answered with absolute certainty. “I don’t understand the meaning of happiness. So, I aim to make others happy, and in the process, I gradually learn the meaning of happiness.”
"I see, but that can't be taken as a reference," Hina said thoughtfully, a very sincere smile on her face. "Because, with my older sister by my side, I feel very happy. But, you really are a very talkative person, aren't you?"
“I see. Happiness is what matters most. It’s more important than anything else.” Taro smiled as well. “I still have work to do after this.”
"Should I add your contact information...? No, never mind," Hina asked with a smile, then tapped her cheek and corrected herself, "I have a feeling we'll see each other again soon."
"I had the same feeling." Taro smiled and nodded, then opened the car door and drove away.
This is the story of how the boy and girl first met.
Some thoughts about Metis and related bounty information.
Because I was busy with ancestral worship, I forgot to write the chapter description in the previous chapter, so I'm posting a separate chapter to explain.
Because in this book, Metis's birth is different from her original circumstances (the reason for her birth is also a very important plot line, so I won't spoil it for now).
Therefore, the personality of the Metis here is slightly different from that of the original Metis.
Also, the monster concept from Mujica is retained here, but it's changed so that the appearance of guitar-wielding Mumu is the birth of her true self, and the previous fragments... didn't die. That's roughly the general idea.
Then I'll post more updates! I'll be doing a big update next month, and I've already prepared a stockpile of chapters.
Regarding the bounty progress, the recommended vote requirement has been met, and the current shortfall is 2 votes.
Here is the bounty information again:
Based on other people's offers, the reward is 100 monthly tickets, 100 blades, and 10000 cookies per chapter, all to be released at once on the 1st of next month.
One update per 600 recommendation votes. 8 updates for the Silver Treasure Chest, 16 updates for the Gold Treasure Chest. The recommendation vote bounty will be settled on the first of next month based on the total votes; the others are considered permanent bounties (although it feels like it'll never be reached, currently I have 20 monthly votes).
The maximum number of extra chapters that can be added with recommendation votes is 4; there is no limit for other types of votes.
Currently, I'm adding an extra chapter because I'm not satisfied with one of the chapters I wrote, and another extra chapter because I've reached the required number of recommendation votes, so I owe a total of two chapters.
And the missing updates are calculated in 2K increments, so one chapter counts as two updates.
Chapter Seventeen, They Came Out
A crescent moon hung high in the sky. The dark clouds could not obscure its light.
I don't know where I saw this legend, but it says that the moon can give dolls a short life.
Could a doll like herself, confined to a basement, also gain life? A doll hiding in a basement shouldn't be able to bask in moonlight, and therefore shouldn't gain life either—that's how it should be. But she came into contact with the real sun.
"Why do you always talk about what will happen to your friends, or what will happen to Xiangzi?"
I just want them all to be okay...
"So, haven't you thought at all about what you want to do, what you want to achieve?"
Yourself.
"You're always thinking about other people."
Own..
"A person who has no ideas of their own cannot do the right thing. Because they have lost the definition of what is right. In that case, whatever they do will be wrong."
Own...
Taro's words echoed in Wakaba Mutsu's mind, and his pale face was reflected in the mirror in the basement. What was he?
From childhood, she had always played the role her parents wanted her to be. When performance was needed, she became a puppet; when social interaction was required, she became a social puppet. Her inner self had always been empty... When did she develop her own color?
Was it when he came into contact with the guitar? The day he died as a doll should have been the day he was reborn as a human. However, after hearing Taro's words, Wakaba Mutsumi wavered again. Could he truly be called human?
Compared to humans, she was more like a more exquisite doll, perhaps? Only more exquisite than before. She looked at her pale reflection in the mirror and touched her lips.
The lingering warmth from Taro's touch seemed to remain there. Burning, like the sun. But the sun cannot bring life to a doll… The gentle moon is a moon of lies. Only lies can bring life to a doll.
But Taro's appearance is like the sun getting close to a doll... It shouldn't be like this.
She saw beads of sweat on her forehead in the mirror. She felt a hand pressing down on her shoulder, but nothing appeared in the mirror.
"You're taking Momoi Taro's words too seriously." A very familiar voice came from Wakaba Mutsu's ear... it was her own voice.
Her eyes widened as she looked to her side. A figure that wasn't in the mirror appeared beside her, wearing the same clothes, with the same long green hair, the same amber eyes… it was herself.
"Xiao Mu, don't listen to Momoi Taro anymore. You're in a lot of pain right now. Don't think about your own problems anymore."
"Wakaba Mutsumi" looked at Wakaba Mutsumi with a bright smile, and "Wakaba Mutsumi" wrapped her arm affectionately around Wakaba Mutsumi's neck:
"What's wrong with having other people on your mind? Mutsumi, Momoi Taro's words will hurt you, hurt Motoyo, and hurt Shoko. So, stop thinking about it, okay?"
Is it okay to just not think about it...? But if you don't think about it, you'll only end up hurting others your whole life. As Mr. Momoi Taro said, the root of everything is a self without a self.
Wakaba Mutsumi's eyes trembled as she looked at her other self. Her body gradually blurred in the air, turning into mist and dissipating little by little: "Don't worry about Momoi Taro anymore, Mutsumi. You don't need any self! Mutsumi only needs me, and I will protect you."