Tokai Shizen's recovery was not going well, probably due to her previous extreme fatigue, so she still needed to stay in the hospital for several days of observation before considering discharge.
Since Representative Chiaki couldn't come every day.
Only Sakura Chiyo O, who had not yet debuted, could take care of Tokai Shizen.
After arriving at the ward, Sakura Chiyo O first, as usual, changed the flowers in the vase before sitting by Tokai Shizen's bed: "Tokai-san, do you need me to take care of Mochizuki for a bit?"
"Hmm, thank you."
Saying this, Tokai Shizen handed the child in her arms to the other party.
Unlike Representative Chiaki, Chiyo O was very good at taking care of infants, so there was no crying.
And once she was sure that the child in her arms wouldn't wake up for a while, Chiyo O looked at Tokai Shizen.
After these days of interaction, Chiyo O could confidently say that Tokai Shizen was a good person, and of course, she could also be described as gentle.
But… every time she saw Tokai Shizen, the doubts in Chiyo O's heart inevitably increased.
Most of these doubts stemmed from why someone would abandon such a good person, and a small part came from the relationship between Tokai Shizen and Maruzensky.
It's just… looking at Tokai Shizen gazing out the window, Chiyo O always felt that this question was not easy to ask.
"Hmm? What's wrong?"
It was as if Tokai Shizen had noticed Chiyo O's gaze, as she turned her head to look at Chiyo O.
"Ah, no."
After immediately shaking her head to indicate that she didn't have such thoughts, the girl lowered her head to look at the infant in her arms.
The infant in her arms was quiet, not crying or fussing, just like her mother.
Noticing this, Chiyo O looked up, only to find Tokai Shizen still watching her.
"Ah..." With a slight blush on her cheeks, Chiyo O felt a little shy.
But the next second, Tokai Shizen's words smoothly followed: "Thank you for your trouble during this time. As for later..."
After thinking for a few seconds and realizing she didn't have much to offer as a return gift, Tokai Shizen spoke again: "Chiyo O, do you want a return gift?"
"Tokai-nee, you don't have to do that. It would be a big burden for you, wouldn't it?"
Facing Tokai Shizen's words, Chiyo O quickly refused. This was natural, because after seeing Representative Chiaki pay the medical fees, she understood that Tokai Shizen's financial situation might not be very good.
So Chiyo O didn't overthink it and directly rejected Tokai Shizen's offer.
Listening to Chiyo O's words, Tokai Shizen didn't dwell on the issue.
Because her financial situation didn't just look 'not good'; it looked like it didn't exist at all.
So Tokai Shizen didn't plan to dwell on this matter. She simply made a new promise: "Then I'll give you a return gift later."
Facing Tokai Shizen's words, Chiyo O nodded.
And it wasn't until then, when the distance between them had slightly closed, that Chiyo O found a bit of courage: "Tokai-nee."
"What is it?"
"Tokai-nee, why did you end up like this?"
The boldly asked question was not answered immediately like before.
Looking at Tokai Shizen, she found that the other person was looking down, lost in thought.
This made Chiyo O a little flustered, because she felt that she might have asked a bad question, a question that Tokai Shizen didn't want to answer.
However, contrary to Chiyo O's imagination, while Tokai Shizen really didn't want to answer the question, the main reason was that she didn't know how to explain it.
If she were to directly mention Rudolph, it might... After looking up at Chiyo O, Tokai Shizen decided on the direction of her answer: "It's not a very serious problem; I just met a heartless man."
"A heartless man..."
Looking at the unchanging expression on Tokai Shizen's face, Chiyo O chose to believe her.
"Yes, a heartless man. And because of my physical condition, I couldn't catch him at the time, so this is how it ended up. But it was quite difficult back then."
Her flat, straightforward words made her sound like an outsider.
And in reality, it was pretty much the case, as Tokai Shizen hadn't told the truth, because she didn't want Chiyo O to get involved in her and Rudolph's affairs.
But even with such a story,
Chiyo O still looked at Tokai Shizen with teary eyes: "Tokai-nee is so pitiful."
"Actually, it wasn't that bad. After I finally gave birth to Mochizuki, I met Maruzensky. Maruzensky has been quite good to me. Thinking about it this way, I feel that if it weren't for what happened back then, I might not have met Maruzensky."
Tokai Shizen comforted the almost crying Chiyo O while telling a slightly modified story.
In the story, although Tokai Shizen met a heartless man, she still had a lot of autonomy, which was a world of difference from Tokai Shizen's actual experience.
"Then, then Tokai-nee, how did you meet Maruzensky-senpai?"
With a slight sob, Chiyo O asked this question.
"Oh, that. I guess that day I didn't have rent, so I was wandering the streets alone, and then Maruzensky, who was about to go out for a drive, picked me up."
After slightly modifying the story of that day, Tokai Shizen told a story that sounded quite good.
And reality was roughly the same.
But as for the subsequent changes... Looking at Sakura Chiyo O's almost crying expression, Tokai Shizen decided not to continue telling the true story, as it wasn't really suitable for her to know.
So, Tokai Shizen just smiled at Chiyo O, and then continued: "But if Chiyo O plans to marry a human, don't have such poor judgment as I did. If you meet a heartless man like that, a lifetime of effort won't be enough."
"Mm!"
Nodding firmly, it seemed Chiyo O had completely believed Tokai Shizen's words.
And just as Chiyo O was about to continue asking questions,
The hospital room door opened.
"Shizen, are you feeling better? The doctor said your recovery seems to be quite good..."
A sudden pause, because she saw the teary-eyed Chiyo O and Tokai Shizen, who was tilting her head to look at her.
Looking at this scene, Representative Chiaki was silent for a few seconds, and then, as if suddenly enlightened, she said: "I want to join too!"
Facing Representative Chiaki, who had understood something unknown, Tokai Shizen merely tilted her head:
"?"
And Tokai Shizen's response was the same expression:
"?"