NABC Chapter 67 As I Have Heard
Chapter 67 As I Have Heard
When Rito returned after dinner, Mio was nowhere to be seen; only Yoko remained, sitting on the floor of the pure white space. Her legs were curled up, her chin resting on her knees, her whole body rolled into a ball. Although Rito hadn't systematically studied psychology, she knew this was a very defensive posture, and her steps unconsciously became lighter.
Yoko didn't notice his arrival and continued to tossing candy in her hand, as if performing some kind of acrobatics. Her long hair, which she had finally managed to grow out, swayed wildly, making her look somewhat different from the energetic image she had always maintained. But then again, she was already nineteen years old, and it wouldn't work to always be energetic.
Li Ren didn't want to say that he saw the word "loneliness" in her, but it seemed to be true. The space was too big, the girl was too small, and the scene of her entertaining herself was hard not to think of classic scenes in many art films. If you added a sentimental background music and a piece of youthful angst literature, and posted it on a video website, it would probably make a lot of sensitive young men and women cry.
After regretting for three seconds that she couldn't bring electronic products into the space, Rito took a step forward. The floor didn't make a sound, but Yoko, with her absolute sixth sense, still sensed something and slowly stopped moving.
"Meiqing hasn't come back yet, although you should have figured it out even if I didn't say it." Her voice was a few tones lighter than before, with the ending tone sinking, as if she suddenly realized halfway through her sentence that she didn't need to put in so much effort.
"Of course, I'm not that blind yet." Rito walked over and sat down cross-legged next to her. He looked at the candy in her hand, which was originally a gummy candy, but it had been squeezed and deformed by her. He quickly snatched it, tore open the wrapper, and stuffed it into his mouth.
"This is food, not a toy, Masayuki Yoko. This is a warning."
He chewed twice, then quickly swallowed it, and Rito gave the girl a big smile.
"I just really have nothing to do," she said, as if explaining, or perhaps talking to herself. "Before it was a space, and now it's a space again. At least when I'm in jail, I can go out and see the world."
Li Ren glanced at her but didn't reply. He simply braced himself against the floor behind him, gazing up at the simulated starry sky above. The starlight wasn't bright, but it was abundant, densely covering the entire dome like someone had accidentally sprinkled flour on a black evening gown.
There was a silence of about two minutes.
"Kubo Rito," Yoko suddenly spoke, her voice exceptionally clear in the empty space, "Will you regret it, even for just a second? Ah, losing your family, your friends, and your advanced standard of living, ending up in this outdated era, dating a bunch of girls who could be your grandmother?"
The girl's words were both sharp and slightly comical, making Rito chuckle. He turned to look at her and said in a teasing tone, "Grandma Yangzi, could I have another piece of candy?"
"Don't be so greedy, even your grandma Yangzi doesn't have any spare food." Yangzi laughed heartily. Coming from the variety show scene, she was very good at responding to jokes. If it were Meimei, she would probably be waving her little fists in embarrassment and annoyance as if she was about to hit him.
Seeing that he couldn't stump her, Rito smiled and shook his head, then stood up and patted her on the shoulder: "Masaoka Tsuyoko, since you're so bored, let's set off. How about it, are you ready to welcome the new world?"
Yangzi raised an eyebrow, revealing her signature puppy-dog smile. Just as she was about to say that she was ready, a familiar electronic voice suddenly rang out in the space without warning, freezing both of them in place.
[Beep - New character's in-game affinity quest detected]
Rito and Yoko heard the voice simultaneously. Yoko sat bolt upright, her eyes wide with shock; Rito's brow furrowed, for he rarely saw the system trigger automatically when he wasn't in the gacha interface. The last time it triggered was when Sayuri nearly fell off the roof, an experience he never wanted to relive.
[Mission Name: Sakamichi Sisters]
Completion Requirements: Trigger three special bonds before the end of this year. See the Bond Quest List for a list of special bonds.
Reward: 500 City Moyang (from the same plane as Zhengyuan Siyangzi, removed from the regular pool before the mission is completed or expires)
Failure penalty: Forced to trigger a scandal, which will have a major impact on the group.
As soon as the words were spoken, a light screen appeared in the center of the pure white space. This light screen was different from the previous ones; its borders flowed with a luster between gold and white, and in the upper left corner were five words engraved in a serif font: "Knock, you can knock."
Rito stood up and walked to the screen. Yoko followed, standing slightly behind him, her hands unconsciously gripping the hem of her denim jacket. Her breathing became a little more rapid than before, but her expression remained calm—only the fatigue on her face had largely disappeared, replaced by a focused intensity.
Li Ren tapped on the screen.
The list expanded, revealing a long string of avatars, some in pairs and others in groups. The sheer volume of content momentarily distracted him.
Anxious Yoko also came over and saw that each pair had a small note under it. For example, the first pair, Mai Shiraishi and Sayuri Matsumura, had the following note:
The idiot couple, trigger condition: both of them have been summoned.
Completion progress: Mai Shiraishi 1/1, Sayuri Matsumura 0/1
"Isn't this simple? You'll get it eventually if you keep trying."
She had already learned everything about this space from Meiqing, and looked at Liren excitedly, as if she could already see her cousin waving at her.
Seeing the girl's overjoyed expression, Rito couldn't be as optimistic as her. He made a face and gestured for her to read two more lines.
"Buckwheat, trigger condition: consecutive encounters with Hashimoto Nanami and Fukagawa Mai"
As she read, Yoko blushed and her voice involuntarily lowered, but her longing for her older cousin overcame her girlish shyness. A few seconds later, she pursed her lips, patted Rito's shoulder, and whispered to him, "Go for it. I know you can do it."
"You know nothing!"
Of course, Rito wouldn't admit that he had actually felt a flutter of attraction for a second just now, and quickly put on a gentlemanly demeanor. Unfortunately, Mio didn't give him any face in front of her classmates and had already spilled all his dirty laundry. Therefore, Yoko wasn't fooled at all. She stretched out her ancestral big foot and gave him a vicious slap, demanding, "Try pretending again. If you can't summon your cousin, forget about the system, I'll expose all your secrets to Bunshun first. Anyway, there's no one in this world's Sakamichi that I care about!"
"Okay, okay, I got it." Rito cried out, shrugging his shoulders reluctantly. "Master Masato, I'll definitely try my best to sleep with everyone in the group and achieve a grand slam, alright?"
"You pervert!" Yoko blushed even more at his strange words, and quickly gave him another whip kick to stop him from talking nonsense. Then she seriously studied the bond list, trying to see if there was any way to cheat.
Sure enough, after her efforts, she did find some clues on it.
"Kubo Rihito, come look at these two!" She beckoned to the man, pointing at the two achievements and exclaiming, "This 'Wanwan Leiqing' requires collecting Nagahama-senpai and Uemura-senpai, and this 'Sheng Sheng Bu Xi' requires Kosaka-senpai, Uemura-senpai, and me. Now that everyone else is there, it means that drawing Uemura-senpai will unlock two achievements directly. That's a great deal!"
When Li Ren saw this, the situation was indeed as she had said, and he also became happy.
"That's right, well done, Yoko."
As he said this, he sighed again: "It's a pity that the pool is too big, and the chance of getting a specific member is terribly low. I don't know if I can get the change ball before the end of the year."
"Try a few more times, or have you already set your sights on someone and are preparing to carry out your evil plan?"
Yoko grinned wickedly, and Rito snorted twice, slapped her on the head, casually shut down the light barrier, and then said to her:
"Alright, it's still early until the end of the year. We can study it later when we have time. Come on, let me take you to meet your senior. She'll take care of you for now."
Tokyo's summer nights aren't too unbearable, but the air conditioning in the house was still blasting cold air. Hashimoto Nanami sat cross-legged on the living room sofa, reading a book, wrapped in a thick blanket—a typical Hokkaido habit. However, she was clearly not in the zone today; her usual enjoyable reading time was now becoming increasingly difficult. She could only read a few lines before turning her head to look towards the hallway every now and then.
Finally, the bedroom door opened, and two different footsteps echoed from the depths of the corridor, one familiar and the other unfamiliar.
She let out a long sigh, put down the book, took off her glasses, and stood up.
Then she saw the girl behind her man. She was wearing a denim jacket, cargo pants, and canvas shoes. A pair of round eyes were looking at her with obvious curiosity and restraint. Her wispy hair was haphazardly pinned back with a pink clip, and a few strands were still hanging down in front of her forehead.
"Masayuki Yoko, I just told you." Rito picked up the remote, turned up the air conditioner a few degrees, tossed a pair of slippers at Yoko's feet, and spoke as naturally as if she were bringing a stray cat home. "She just arrived, so let her stay at home for a few days. Tomorrow I'll have Airi help her get her immigration status."
After he finished his introduction, Yoko immediately gave a perfect 90-degree bow, her movements impeccable, befitting a fourth-generation Hinatazaka student who had specifically practiced greetings. She called out loudly, "Hello, Hashimoto-san! My name is Masatoshi Yoko! I'm from Hyogo! Nineteen years old! Sorry to bother you!" She paused for a moment, then added quietly, "I'm your fan."
Nana Min raised an eyebrow, not caring whether her last statement was true or false, and smiled kindly, nodding in response, "I understand, no need to be so polite, just call me Hashimoto or Nana Min, come with me."
"Thank you, Nanamin." Yoko didn't stand on ceremony and went straight for it, completely forgetting that the other party was a super senior—although the two of them were actually very close in age now.
Rito coughed twice, signaling her to stop being so disrespectful, but Nana Min quickly noticed and glared at him, drawing out her voice as she sent him to the bedroom first. Then she took Yoko to the guest room that had been prepared.
Yoko stood in the center of the guest room, tilting her head back and looking around. From her angle, the floor-to-ceiling windows offered a quiet night view of the Songtao residential area, with tree shadows swaying gently under the streetlights, and the Tokyo Tower in the distance glowing with warm orange lights—a view she had never experienced in her previous life.
"It's so beautiful," she whispered.
"If you like it, stay a few more days." Nanamin walked to her side. "The bathroom is on the left side of the second-floor corridor. The water heater switch is behind the mirror. If you get hungry, just tell me, and I'll cook for you or order takeout."
She looked up at the senior colleague for a few seconds, her gaze calm and unreadable. Then she smiled, her eyes crinkling into crescent moons, revealing a row of pearly white teeth: "Okay."
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The next day, in order to save his assistant from having to make an extra trip, Rito personally went to the Nogizaka headquarters, which he hadn't visited in a long time. As soon as he stepped out of the elevator and was about to turn into the corridor, a hand reached out from around the corner and grabbed his sleeve.
"President, it's been a long time."
Nishino Nanase leaned against the wall, her arms crossed over her chest, a standard business smile on her increasingly refined face. Her hair had grown quite a bit darker, and her skin seemed to reflect light under the pale corridor lights. More than a year had been enough time for her to transform, becoming more and more like the person Rihime had in her heart.
"Nana Sai." Rito stopped. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing much, just haven't seen the president in a long time, so I caught up." She loosened her arms and poked his chest with her index finger. Although the poke wasn't hard, it was effective, making Rito take half a step back. "What, finally willing to put down Keyakizaka's new love and come see your old flame?"
"Stop, Nishino Nanase." Rito smiled helplessly, raising her hands in surrender. "I'm sorry, but didn't I just go to your house last week?"
Nana stared at him for two seconds, then withdrew her finger, sighed, and leaned against the wall. The cold white light in the corridor shone on her face, making her false eyelashes look like spears.
"Hey, Kubo Rito." Her voice lowered, no longer carrying the aggressive tone from before, only a hint of pure grievance remained. "Do you think I'm here to fight for favor? I'm not that selfish, but if you hadn't come soon, even the staff would have started to wonder if Nogizaka had fallen out of favor. Maybe no one's told you, but their attitude has changed a bit lately."
Li Ren opened his mouth, about to answer.
At the other end of the corridor, the elevator doors opened with a ding. Yumiko Seki stepped out.
Today she was wearing a well-tailored navy blue suit jacket over a white silk shirt. Her hair was a little shorter than when we last met, just reaching her shoulders, making her look capable and refreshing. She was looking down at her phone as she walked, carrying several paper bags in her hand, the contents of which were unknown.
Rito's gaze followed her, and he frowned—why did Yumiko come here? He hadn't received any news, that shouldn't be the case.
Yumiko, on the other end of the corridor, was completely unaware of Rito and Nanase standing at the corner on the other side. She glanced at her phone, then looked up to make sure she was in the right place, before gently pushing open the door to the small conference room at the far end of the corridor. The door closed behind her, and through the crack, Rito glimpsed that someone was already waiting for her inside.
"It's Kobayashi, isn't it?" Nana Sai, with her sharp eyes, recognized the person inside first.
"Oh, you go ahead, I'll find you later." Rito waved his hand, but his eyes didn't look at her; they remained fixed on the door of the small conference room.
"Hi—" Nana drawled, her eyes turning playful. She turned her head to scrutinize Rito's expression, then gently patted his shoulder. "Be careful, the young lady isn't as easy to fool as we are."
Then she really turned around and left, her steps light and quick, without even looking back.
Rito stood there, hesitating for about ten seconds, before slowly walking to the door of the small conference room. The door wasn't completely closed, leaving a narrow crack. From this angle, one could see Kobayashi Yui sitting on the side of the conference table near the window, her hands on her knees, sitting very upright. Yumiko stood with her back to the door, obscuring half of Kobayashi's face.
He heard Yumiko say, "...Then it's settled."
Kobayashi's answer was hard to hear, but I caught a few words: "President," "marriage," and "It should be okay."
Li Ren's heart skipped a beat. Countless thoughts flashed through his mind, but for the time being, it was all a jumbled mess, and he couldn't find a clue.
Then, he saw Yumiko take something out of her bag—a white envelope with a light gold sticker on the seal, looking very formal—and hand it to Kobayashi. Kobayashi took it with both hands and nodded. The two exchanged a few more words, after which Yumiko turned and walked towards the door.
The moment Yumiko pushed open the door and came out, Rito had already retreated to the vending machine at the other end of the corridor, pretending to be on the phone with his back turned. He watched Yumiko's figure disappear into the elevator lobby out of the corner of his eye, then straightened up and, seeing Kobayashi also come out of the conference room, casually followed behind her.
Perhaps because she was preoccupied, Kobayashi didn't notice him and walked into the lounge. A few seconds later, she came out again, and the envelope in her hand had disappeared.
Rito watched her retreating figure until he was sure she had entered the practice room before quickly turning into the women's lounge at the back of the corridor. This was his first time entering a women's lounge; the air was filled with a faint scent of hairspray mixed with fabric softener. He paused for a second at the door, then steeled himself, pushed open the door, glanced around, and quickly found Kobayashi's bag on the second dressing table.
The white envelope was on top of the bag, its seal carefully torn open. Rito pulled it out, opened it, and took out its contents.
It's a wedding invitation.
The paper is made of heavy white paper with a fine texture and delicate embossed gold foil patterns along the edges. The cover features a simple botanical design, with branches and leaves intertwined in a soft arc. Inside, all the blank spaces are filled with printed text in a sophisticated dark gray font. The top line reads:
"We are pleased to announce that the wedding ceremony for Rito Kubo and Yumiko Seki will be held on Saturday, September 14th, 2016. Your presence is cordially requested."
The date was September 14, 2013, and the location was Gajoen Garden in Meguro Ward. It's one of Tokyo's top luxury wedding venues, renowned for its indoor waterfall garden and some of the most expensive wedding packages in Japan. A small note was attached to the bottom of the invitation: "Private wedding, no photography."
As Kubo Rihito looked at the words above, he suddenly felt a wave of despair and dizziness. Since he transmigrated, he had never doubted the reality of this world as much as he did at this moment.
"Masaka, am I dreaming?" he muttered to himself, just then the door opened.
Rito looked up. Kobayashi Yui stood in the doorway, one hand still on the doorknob. Her gaze first fell on Rito's face, then moved to the invitation in his hand, and finally returned to his face. Her expression didn't change much, only her eyebrows raised slightly, and a mischievous smile flashed in her eyes.
"President, congratulations!"
She rested her chin on the back of the chair, tilted her head to look at him, and said with a rare teasing tone, "If Yumiko and I weren't close, I really wouldn't have guessed that you two got married so early."