Chapter 107 Brother, it’s too intense
"Brother, this is so intense..."

Reina Shimizu was breathing slightly, with a hint of trembling in her voice.

"Reina, is it really okay? You don't have to force yourself."

Shimizu Reina's body was trembling slightly, and her legs were wobbling when she walked, which made Shimizu Ken worry, is there really anything wrong?
"Well, I'm fine..."

Reina Shimizu walked out of the cinema, her face a little pale but she still had a beautiful smile on her face.

"I'm sorry to ask you to watch this kind of thing with me."

Shimizu Reina shook her head gently, trying to make her voice sound more relaxed: "No, it's okay, the movie... is really good."

It turned out that it was too intense for her to watch a horror movie.

After the movie ended, the people who had gathered gradually dispersed.

Shimizu Kenya took Shimizu Reina back to the furniture store on the first floor to get down to business.

After some selection, Qingshuijian decided to buy an air purifier and a vacuum cleaner according to his needs.

Now is the pollen season.

In Tokyo, and even throughout Japan, hay fever can be said to be a "national disease" and has become a social problem in Japan today.

Without a good air purifier, many people will suffer from the pollen of fir, cypress and other trees in the spring, especially now that it is peaking in April.

After paying a deposit using the credit card given by Shimizu Ningzi in advance, the home appliances will be delivered to Shimizu Reina's home within a week.

After buying the air purifier, Qingshuijian looked at his mobile phone. It was getting late and it was almost time to go back.

When leaving the shopping mall, Rena Shimizu's eyes were suddenly attracted by a huge display screen at the entrance of the mall.

A colorful video of marine life is playing on the screen, with marine creatures of various shapes and sizes swimming freely in the picture.
They swim powerfully in the picture, a shark with a triangular head, a snapper that looks delicious, a turtle circling gracefully, two stingrays swimming side by side with their bellies showing like human faces, and thousands of sardines circling in a school, forming a wonderful sphere in the center of the tank.

Reina Shimizu stuck to the screen, watching the leaping lives in the sea in a trance.

If it was Hoshino Akiko watching TV at this distance, she would definitely hit Shimizu Mi on the head.

Suddenly, a huge shark swam past Reina Shimizu.

"Ah ah!"

Reina Shimizu let out a cute scream and fell backwards, with her proud butt resting at the feet of Shimizu Mi behind her.

"Are you okay?"

Under the gaze of passers-by, Shimizu Ken reached out and helped Shimizu Reina up.

"Thank you, thank you."

“You like marine life?”

"Ok!"

Although frightened by the shark, Reina Shimizu still nodded vigorously, her eyes still sparkling with love for marine life.

Come to think of it, this is the first time Qingshuijian has seen her laugh so relaxedly in these days.

……

Because they had to take different trains home, they parted at the train station where they had met in the morning.

After parting with Reina Shimizu, the evening was drawing to a close, the sky was gradually darkening, and the tree-lined avenue along the river was completely immersed in the night.

Shimizu walked alone on the road, leaving behind the setting sun that was slowly sinking into Tokyo Bay.

As the sun almost completely set, Chiba began to become lively. Shimizu entered the city from National Highway 14 and headed towards Chuo Station.

Completely opposite to the direction of home, Shimizu's destination was Sakurai Haruka's apartment.

The envelope that Sakurai Shio handed him really made him feel uneasy.

It may be embarrassing to say it, but it was the first time that Shimizu carried such a huge amount of cash on him, so much so that even the footsteps chasing his own shadow seemed particularly heavy.

Moreover, Sakurai Shio said that Sakurai Haruka might need this right now, which made Shimizu Mi a little concerned.

In Act 1, Shimizu Mi had visited Sakurai Haruka's apartment many times, so he was quite familiar with the route.

After taking the bus, they walked for more than ten minutes. Just as Shimizu reached the last corner and arrived not far from the building where Sakurai Haruka lived——

Something suddenly jumped out from behind him, rushed into Qingshuijian's eyes, and completely blocked his view of the road ahead.

"Wha, what?"

She almost pounced on him while hugging Shimizu's arm.

Although being held tightly, I could not feel any weight. I only felt a light and soft touch pressing down on my right arm.

Qingshuijian turned his head and found that the other person was breathing heavily, with a gloomy look on his snow-white face, and his slender body was close to Qingshuijian.

The familiar short golden hair gleamed in the night. Wearing sunglasses and a black mask, it was none other than Sakurai Shio who had parted before.

Most people might think so, but Shimizu would never make a mistake in identifying someone.

"remote……"

Haruka Sakurai, who looks like an angel fallen into the mortal world, is wearing a clean white sportswear. The contrast between her simple dress and her outstanding beauty makes her even more eye-catching.

Could she be running even though she was injured? But——

"See you, please..."

Sakurai Haruka's pleading voice revealed genuine fear, and her breathing was a little intermittent.

Shimizu Ken had no idea what kind of help Sakurai Haruka was going to provide.

"Haruka? ...Please what?"

"that person……"

Sakurai Haruka grasped Shimizumi's arm tightly with her slender fingers, her palms trembling slightly with cold sweat.

It looked like something unusual had happened.

Shimizu looked behind him in the direction Sakurai pointed.

"What is that person...doing?"

There was a figure standing unnaturally behind the shadow of a telephone pole at the corner behind him, and Qingshui couldn't help but frown.

I've never seen that guy around here before - from a distance he looked slender and neatly dressed, but I couldn't see his features clearly because he was hiding behind a telephone pole and had his black hat brim pulled down to cover his face.

Although I couldn't tell the other person's identity, he had been hiding there, so he must not be an ordinary passerby.

That posture instead gave off an eerie aura, making the man even more conspicuous.

Judging from the situation, I am afraid I have encountered the kind of person that is not uncommon in this country.

stalker!
Sakurai Haruka seemed to be very afraid of that person and tried her best to hide herself behind Shimizumi's body.

The other party didn't care whether he was discovered or not, his eyes were still fixed on Sakurai Haruka, a gaze that was almost obsessive.

It’s a bit... No, it’s very scary.

Sakurai Haruka, who was hugging Shimizumi, shrank back a little, and her body was trembling slightly.

It's hard to imagine that Sakurai Haruka would behave like this.

But why was he targeted by a stalker?

Shimizu could feel Sakurai Haruka's body trembling, and could also feel the panic in her heart.

Taking a deep breath, Shimizu gently patted Sakurai Haruka's back, slowly turned around, and locked his eyes on the stalker.

Just as Qingshuijian was about to take action, the other party seemed to realize that something was wrong. He took a few steps back, turned around, and ran away stumblingly.

After the man walked away, Sakurai Haruka was finally able to continue breathing, but her body did not leave Shimizumi's arms, and her steps were still a little staggering.

"are you OK?"

"...Well, it seems that the injury on my foot hasn't healed yet, so running like this... is still a bit strenuous."

Sakurai Haruka pretended to be joking, but her stiff and tense expression was very different from her usual self.

Shimizumi reached out to support the unsteady Sakurai Haruka and asked:
"What happened to that guy just now?"

"I don't know... I was just about to go home... and that person followed me... and recently... he often follows me for no apparent reason."

Sakurai Haruka's eyes moved around restlessly.

Anyway, it was not a good idea to continue standing on the street like this, so Qing Shuijian suggested:

"It's not safe here. Let me take you back first."

However, Sakurai Haruka hesitated and said hesitantly:
"Eh? You want to go to my house... No, no need. I can go back by myself."

"why?"

"because……"

Sakurai Haruka lowered her head, avoiding Shimizu's gaze. After a moment of silence, she finally said in a low voice:

"Well, that's fine."

……

Under the night sky, Shimizu Jian supported Sakurai Haruka all the way, and after turning a corner, they arrived at a super-luxury apartment building with more than 50 floors. The white marble entrance was filled with colder air than outside. In this inappropriate atmosphere, in front of them was a machine that they had only seen on TV.

On the waist-high marble table is a combination lock with a fingerprint recognition system and something similar to an intercom.

After Sakurai Haruka pressed her thumb lightly on it, the automatic door in front leading to the interior of the building opened.

Despite having been here a few times, it still lacks a sense of authenticity.

It turns out that there are really people living in places like this in real life.

Qing Shuijian will probably never have the chance to see such a place in his life.

Although he felt emotional, Shimizu Mi did not complain. He felt very satisfied living with Hoshino Akiko in that warm and comfortable two-story house.

The two walked through the automatic doors and arrived at the entrance hall.

The surroundings were unusually quiet. Apart from Shimizu Mi and Sakurai Haruka, there was no one else there. The automatic door behind them also slowly closed quietly.

The frosted glass with low transparency matches the building decoration, and the light yellow plywood is used to add color, but the other side of the glass cannot be seen clearly.

Get on the elevator and press the button for the second floor.

As soon as the elevator door opened, I saw the carpeted corridors of the hotels I stayed in when I traveled.

This made Qing Shuijian immediately think of how much the rent was...

But if you think about it carefully, she is the only one who owns this building.

If this is your first time here, you might be confused about the room number of Sakurai Haruka, but there is actually no need to worry about this.

Because there is only one door at the end of the corridor...which means that the second floor of this building is all her rooms.

Sakurai Haruka inserted the key deeply into the keyhole, turned it, and gently pushed the door open.

"excuse me……"

Shimizu was about to take off his shoes and go in when he felt a gentle pull from behind him. He turned around and saw that it was Sakurai Haruka who was pulling his sleeve, with a hint of hesitation in her eyes.

"See, you really don't want to do it. Otherwise, come back next time..."

"Is it inconvenient today?"

Sakurai Haruka hurriedly shook her head to deny: "No, no...um, please, please come in..."

She seemed to have something difficult to say. Qing Shuijian didn't ask any more questions. He changed into slippers and walked into the room.

The house was dim. Qingshuijian walked into the entrance and pressed the light switch by the door based on his memory.

With a slight sound, the room suddenly became bright.

So rich...

Qing Shuijian couldn't help but smacking his lips.

Whether it is the living room with more than 20 tatami mats, or the pure white dining table with exquisite chairs designed by famous designers, the low-key furniture absolutely does not detract from the spaciousness of the living room, and the beautiful crystal chandelier hanging high on the ceiling, they are all quite tasteful and completely different from other apartments nearby.

But there is a strange phenomenon.

All sofas and chairs are single seaters.

In such a spacious living room, it would not be unusual to have only five or six chairs placed in it, so it seems a bit deserted and lonely.

However, what really made Qingshuijian feel strange was somewhere else.

His eyes fell on the high-end dining table, on which was placed a bucket of steaming cup noodles that had just been filled with hot water.

"Is this what you're going to eat tonight?"

"..."

Sakurai Haruka lowered her head and remained silent.

Seeing this, Qingshui felt a stronger sense of strangeness in his heart. He walked straight to the kitchen and opened the large double-door refrigerator.

However, the scene before him shocked him - the refrigerator was empty.

In the big refrigerator worth hundreds of thousands of yen, there was not even a bucket of 200 yen cup noodles, and the power plug was not even plugged in.

He recalled what Sakurai Shio said when she handed him the envelope.

She needs this right now... So that's what it means.

"Haruka, what happened?"

"That's why I said... don't come in yet..."

Although that face exudes unruly handsomeness, Sakurai Haruka now acts like a pretentious girlfriend who has made a mistake, making soft sounds.

Later, Shimizu noticed a note under the cup on the dining table.

"Ah, no!"

Shimizu ignored Sakurai Haruka's obstruction and pulled out the note from under the cup.

After a quick glance, I found that it was actually a bill.

It clearly stated that Sakurai Haruka owed a debt of nearly 80,000 yen, and had not yet paid it off.

And the creditor is - Polo Cafe.

Shimizu remembered that it seemed to be the restaurant where Sakurai Haruka worked part-time.

"when did it happen?"

"…three days ago."

Sakurai Haruka hesitated for a moment and gave an answer.

Qing Shuijian didn't say anything, but just looked at her quietly.

"……One week."

Sakurai Haruka changed the topic again.

"One week?"

Qing Shuijian asked back.

"Um... a month ago."

Under Shimizumi's continued questioning, Sakurai Haruka began to confess the truth.

"I was fired a month ago because I accidentally placed an order for 1,000 greeting cards instead of 100. In addition, there were also broken plates and dishes served to the wrong table..."

After hearing this, Qing Shuijian didn't know whether to say that she was really a naive person or what.

It is reasonable to be fired for making such a mistake.

At this moment, Sakurai Haruka's stomach made a miserable growling sound.

After connecting all the things together, Shimizu suddenly understood why Sakurai Haruka received four bento boxes at one time during the sports meet, and also queued up at the free window in the student cafeteria to receive food she didn't like.

She was unwilling to use the savings given by her family, and was fired from her job. She lost her only source of income, and even her daily living expenses became a problem, not to mention eating.

She is a rich lady who can do whatever she wants and enjoy life, but now she is facing the dilemma of not being able to afford food.

Before this, Shimizu had imagined all kinds of possibilities, but he never expected it to unfold like this.

This was probably why she lost to Kenji Saito before.

An Aikido master was defeated due to hunger and lack of strength...

It sounds a bit absurd, even embarrassing, but considering that it is Sakurai Haruka, such a development seems reasonable.

Given her strong character and her desire to handle everything alone, Qing Shuijian was not too surprised.

No wonder she refused to say anything before.

"Let's go."

Shimizumi's words were too concise, and because they lacked a subject, Sakurai Haruka couldn't tell what he wanted to say.

"Go, where?"

"Go out to eat."

"But I...have no money."

As she spoke, Sakurai Haruka lowered her eyes, with shame that was difficult to conceal in her voice.

"My treat."

"No, I'd better not trouble you..."

Sakurai Haruka waved her hands quickly, obviously not wanting Shimizu to worry about her.

However, Qing Shuijian held the hands that kept refusing.

"What's wrong with me treating my girlfriend to a meal?"

Hearing this, Sakurai Haruka raised her head, and certain emotions in her heart surged like a tide. Unconsciously, her moist eyes were shining with a light that was brighter than the crystal chandelier above her head.

(End of this chapter)