The long street curved slightly upwards, the lights dotted along both sides seemed about to connect with the stars in the sky. The road surface also shimmered, flowing light weaving through the massive city. Pedestrians on the road bore various expressions, passing by slowly or hurriedly. Just watching these vivid expressions through the car window couldn't help but evoke a feeling of "countless stories happening at this very moment." The taxi window seemed coated with a thin layer of mist. Ma En raised his hand to wipe the window, and his own face reflected on the transparent glass. Hirota Masami sat beside him, her head turned, staring at the window on the other side.
A distance the width of an arm separated the two. The familiar atmosphere from when they left the apartment gained a different flavor in this small space, yet conversely widened the distance between them.
No one spoke. The driver was also like a Buddhist statue, seemingly having forgotten the two in the back seat, solely focused on turning the steering wheel.
Ma En, however, felt the current distance between the two – whether the distance between body and body, or heart and heart, and regardless of what emotions were brewing, causing such a distance – was just right. Honestly, if he weren't someone pursuing the strange, not someone bringing danger, he would definitely want to close the distance with this newly acquainted neighbor. Hirota-san, whether as a professional woman or simply as a woman, could well be called beautiful. Although not yet familiar, he could sense many virtues she possessed from their brief interaction.
Assuming "no one in this world is perfect," the things Hirota Masami displayed in their few conversations were already enough for Ma En to consider her a good woman. Whether becoming boyfriend and girlfriend or getting married, there was nothing to criticize; conversely, he himself might be the one under pressure. As a normal man, Ma En felt he would definitely try to close the distance.
However, the current him could not do this. Precisely because Hirota-san was a woman worth interacting with, he couldn't do this even more.
Conversely, if he hadn't found the peculiar thing, hadn't thought about taking the danger away from his relatives, he absolutely wouldn't have come to Japan, nor could he have met Hirota-san.
Ma En had always cared about these cause-and-effect relationships. In this strange fate and encounter, he felt like he was already treading on a tightrope. If he were just slightly careless, many things he didn't want to see would happen. Although not opposed to interpersonal communication, he himself was like a hedgehog. Absolutely, absolutely cannot get too close to the other party.
A distance of one arm, their gazes fell on the car windows on their respective sides. Hirota Masami was also looking at the young man close at hand through the reflection on the window glass. Unconsciously, she realized she no longer viewed the other party as a flood or fierce beast ( - idiom for great disaster/evil), nor as a stranger just met. Perhaps it was the frightening encounter, perhaps the other party's unconventional behavior, perhaps the subtlety of that attire, perhaps the expression the other party revealed; without her noticing, the aura brought by this young man as a "man of similar age" had already entered her heart.
As for whether it was liking, Hirota Masami also couldn't say clearly; there was an ambiguous feeling. But what the other party thought, whether they had this feeling, was also hard to fathom. One could only say, if they continued interacting at this pace, or if some catalyst occurred, she probably would want such a member of the opposite sex accompanying her – thinking this, Hirota Masami felt her face flush somewhat.
She knew very well she was just fantasizing. The relationship between the two was far from being as deep as she imagined at this moment; sitting side by side right now, their positions and postures already proved this point.
Although the atmosphere in the car was silent, it had an indescribable flavor, making Hirota Masami not want to be the first to break such silence. She could feel, from this different flavor, some kind of inexplicable emotion she had never experienced after becoming an adult, no, even during her student days. If the so-called "first love" in the past, she only learned about from books, from others' mouths, from movies and television, then now, could this feeling be her tasting the flavor of that "first love"?
Hirota Masami also wasn't sure. She felt sitting in this small taxi, she was like a tiny quail. Looking through the car window at the night view she was long accustomed to, it also seemed more beautiful, more intoxicating than usual. Even to the point that she somewhat blamed herself, why did she suggest eating yakiniku back then? Why not find a hotel with more atmosphere?
Hirota Masami, twenty-seven years old, still harbored girlish pink dreams.
Time passed exceptionally fast. Who knows how many times her thoughts had revolved; just when she wanted to continue, the taxi stopped. Originally thinking it was just waiting at a crossroads, she was informed expressionlessly by the driver: "Customer, we've arrived." Hirota Masami didn't think about whether this indifferent language ruined the atmosphere, only felt this moment came too early.
With a feeling of regret, Hirota Masami sat upright, silently waiting for Ma En to pay the fare and get out of the car first, before following.
Ma En's hand already rested on the open car doorframe. That deep red tie, following his slight bow, was once again imprinted in Hirota Masami's heart. For so many years, this was also the first time Hirota Masami was helped out of a car by a man's hand; this was simply like a scene acted out in a movie, making her feel the colors settled down in the taxi were once again extending through this hand.
Their hands touched; Hirota Masami's heart felt somewhat nervous, but also a sense of relief. It seemed, this was what she wanted.
The restaurant Hirota Masami booked didn't look conspicuous among the buildings lining this street. Dark wooden strips surrounded the building's outer wall, in Japan's classical style. Decorative wall lamps cast clear pillars of light, precisely hitting the potted plants at the building's foot. Evergreen potted plants were lined up, the lights also lined up one by one, looking just like a fence of light. However, this quiet and elegant beauty did not conceal the brilliance of the shop's sign. The eye-catching sign was lit with pale yellow colored light; every character was calligraphy, and every character was also brighter than the background.
Overall, this was a building meticulously calculated by a professional designer; even the most imposing parts exuded exquisite beauty. Ma En had only been in Japan for a day; this was the first time he felt the unique flavor of this country at night.
If asked how it compared to his motherland, one could only say many things here were novel and wonderful, making one unable to help but exclaim: So this is Japan.
Judging from the restaurant's exterior, Ma En doubted even more whether his upper limit of twenty thousand yuan was truly enough. However, he wasn't worried either, because he brought a multi-national credit card.
He was already prepared not to appear too stingy after seeing the menu. The currency exchange rate between Japan and the mainland reached over ten to one. Although before leaving his motherland, he had already sent his savings back to his hometown, feeling somewhat strapped for cash now, he still had over a million Chinese yuan .
"Ah." Before entering the door, Ma En felt he might have made a mistake.
"What's wrong?" Hirota Masami noticed the soft sound.
"The twenty thousand mentioned earlier..."
"Too expensive?" Hirota Masami frowned, but she knew she actually didn't care much.
"No, the twenty thousand mentioned earlier was Chinese yuan ." Ma En explained: "But paying here uses Japanese yen, right?"
"Of course—Ya!" Hirota Masami also covered her mouth in surprise, asking in a whisper: "Twenty thousand Chinese yuan? How much is that converted to Japanese yen? Seems like the exchange rate is very high, right?"
"About three hundred thousand Japanese yen," Ma En nodded.
"You idiot." Hirota Masami revealed a slightly dumbfounded expression, looking at him and saying: "No matter how much you eat, you won't eat three hundred thousand yen's worth. I always thought you meant twenty thousand yen. The best yakiniku in this shop only costs one thousand yen per piece; ten thousand yen per person is enough to eat ten pieces."
"Ten pieces? Is that enough?" Ma En disapproved; how could one eat only so little yakiniku? "Don't worry, three hundred thousand. If it's things that only cost one thousand yen, just feel free to order."
Hirota Masami was stunned by Ma En's statement, couldn't help coughing twice. She had never thought this somewhat special new neighbor was actually rich... No, no matter how you put it, treating a neighbor just met to three hundred thousand yen worth of food was too unreasonable, too lacking in common sense, enough to make one suspect if this person had ulterior motives.
However, thinking carefully again, were the unreasonable things this guy did few?
Thinking this, the headache that had appeared several times in the apartment pulsed again in her forehead.
Hirota Masami took a deep breath, feeling that if they continued talking, more things that forced one to complain would happen. She quickly pulled Ma En into the restaurant. Soon, a waiter led the two to their seats. Ma En personally pulled out the chair for her, then took off his hat, placed the black umbrella beside the chair, stopping the waiter from taking the umbrella elsewhere. Afterwards, facing the menu, he felt somewhat troubled.
"You order," he said.
"Why?" Although saying this, Hirota Masami still picked up the menu.
"I've never ordered before," Ma En replied truthfully.
Hirota Masami shot him a sideways glance; the words stuck in her throat almost slipped out, but she held back. After a few seconds, she still helplessly said to the young man staring at her: "You really are an idiot."
"Well, I will reflect on it," although Ma En said this, his face showed an indifferent expression.
Hirota Masami wanted to say something else, but held back again. Now she finally confirmed that although this young man had many surprising aspects, with so many flaws, he really was just an ordinary person. However, precisely because of having such flaws, it conversely made one feel at ease. She didn't feel disappointed; amidst the awkwardness of holding back words, there was also some joy.
"Alright, I'll order," Hirota Masami said this. After this sentence, all her previous worries seemed liberated, giving her whole body a sense of lightness. In three or five moves, she ordered several medium-priced meat dishes, then said to the waiter: "Give him the same."
After the waiter confirmed the order and left, Ma En then said to her: "Is this enough? Not ordering some top-tier dishes?"
"What are you talking about? This is just the beginning. Tonight we're eating several rounds," Hirota Masami said matter-of-factly.
"Oh, oh—" Ma En was noncommittal, picking up a magazine from the corner and starting to look at it.
"Do you also read women's fashion magazines?" Hirota Masami glanced at the cover; it was a magazine she subscribed to year-round. Ma En had picked up the latest issue – why this magazine was placed in this restaurant, she wasn't too clear either. It was her first time at this restaurant too, having only heard recommendations before.
"Just casually looking. Is this specifically for women?" Ma En was just looking at the beautiful photos in the magazine, completely uninterested in the text introductions.
"Mm, I'm also a magazine editor. When I first started working, I wanted to apply for a fashion magazine, but was rejected. The reviewer said my aesthetic sense wasn't good enough," Hirota Masami said with some resentment. "How could my aesthetic sense possibly not be good enough? Look, isn't the hat I gave you very suitable? What do you think?"
Ma En lifted his eyes, an expression of "why are you asking me" on his face. He really didn't want to express opinions on such topics; judging from others' experiences, no matter what he said, the probability of it being his fault in the end was as high as ninety percent. Of course, the outcome of silence wouldn't be good either.
Hirota Masami's gaze kept staring over. He really had no choice. After considering for a moment, he said: "It's just that the magazine style and your aesthetic sense are inconsistent. Did you apply for an editor job at this magazine?"
"No, the one you're looking at is the only magazine I didn't apply to; they weren't hiring at the time. However, my work has some contact with their models, and I currently assist with material gathering too," Hirota Masami casually pointed at the cover girl of the magazine – a young woman whose age couldn't be clearly determined; Ma En felt perhaps she just had mature makeup, actually only being a high school student.
"This person?" Ma En closed the magazine, sizing up this cover girl again. "You assist with material gathering?"
"Mm, recent work is this. She's very famous; you probably don't know since you just arrived in Japan. Products involving her have generated over a billion in profit so far; she's the number one face young women dream of becoming in recent years." As Hirota Masami said this, the waiter began serving the dishes. After the plates were on the table, she declined the waiter's assistance, returning the table to the space of just the two of them.
"Know how to grill meat?" she asked.
"Haven't grilled in Japan," Ma En still replied truthfully. "Back home, our grilled meat is fully cooked."
"Then I'll grill for you." Hirota Masami had already lost hope in his answers, saying this very naturally, picking up the tongs to place meat slices on the already heated iron plate, only then continuing to talk about the magazine, "This model looks quite mature when photographed, but privately she's just a child."
Ma En didn't speak.
"Her name is Terahana; won't say her real name," Hirota Masami said while flipping the grilling meat. "She's a girl who likes visiting spiritually active spots . Not even an adult yet, high school second year. Looks very mature, right? Just makeup."
Likes visiting spiritually active spots? Ma En became somewhat interested in this. He glanced at the magazine again; from the photo, he indeed couldn't sense this girl had such a personality.
"Is she a lively person?" he asked.
"How to put it? Placed in school, she's probably considered a weirdo too. She's very pretty, but I don't think she's the most popular type." Hirota Masami placed the grilled meat slice onto Ma En's plate, continuing: "There are rumors she's bullied at school, but the actual situation isn't clear. Gossip says she'll transfer schools soon. I remember you found a job at a school, right? Maybe you'll run into her."
"Mr. Katsura Masakazu's new school opened locally," Ma En replied; he already had a premonition.
Sure enough, Hirota Masami also showed the expression he foresaw.
"That's the one!" Her hand grilling the meat paused; she said in surprise: "Really such a coincidence?"