[Hokage] A rose in mourning for the summer moon

With a "ding", the door of the Shinkansen opened.Xia Yue finally confirmed the name of the platform, dragged her suitcase, and followed the crowd out of the car door.

Japan's rail transportation is very developed, but it is a bit complicated for foreigners.There are often different trains running on the same track, with different speeds and different platforms.Departing from Haneda Airport, she got on the wrong bus in a daze, and found out that she had made a mistake after asking for directions; it took her a long time to arrive at her destination smoothly.

Stepping out of the station, the bright sunshine of Tokyo came into view.The wide modern streets are full of people and cars, and the wind blows through the tall buildings, which relieves the heat of midsummer, but the ultraviolet rays are still hot.

Most of the people around me are dressed as white-collar workers in the workplace, and all the young women without exception are wearing high heels, with exquisite hairstyles and decent makeup.They came and went quickly, and most of them would secretly glance at Xia Yue.

It was a foreigner at first glance - Xia Yue understood the restrained look in his eyes.Nowhere is the gregariousness, restraint, and inherent sense of superiority of Japanese culture more concentrated than in Tokyo.

She dragged her suitcase and booked a taxi according to the taxi number given there.After waiting for about 10 minutes at the agreed pick-up point, the other party showed up on time.The driver was a man in his 60s, wearing a black suit like all office workers in this city, and looked very energetic. He got out of the car and put Xia Yue's luggage in the trunk.

"I'm in trouble. 3-33 Tangshima, Wenjing District." Xia Yue said.

"Okay, guest. Fasten your seat belts, then, we're off."

The driver glanced in the rearview mirror.Usually they don't because it's rude.However, the driver was just too curious.

This lady is very young, about fifteen or sixteen years old, about the same age as his granddaughter, but she is quite different.In Tokyo, elementary school students know how to put on makeup, but she is naked, like a wild flower suddenly appearing in a carefully cultivated rose garden.If it is a foreigner, there is no curiosity or excitement on her face; if it is a citizen of this country, who can be so leisurely and unrestrained?Girls without make-up all over the street are wearing masks; young men will use masks to cover most of their faces if they don't repair their appearance well.

What's more, she was going to Yushima.People who live in Bunkyo District have an inexplicable sense of superiority in knowledge, not to mention Yushima, where housing prices are the highest.

The driver decided to start a conversation.Anyway, he is not a serious, rigid and cold Tokyoite.

"Guest, are you a foreigner?" He asked.

In the rearview mirror, the guest blinked and a gentle smile appeared on his face.Her eyebrows are long and slightly curved, the corners of her eyes are slightly raised, the bridge of her nose is straight, and her lips are slightly thin. She has a beautiful but somewhat cold appearance.But when she laughed like this, she suddenly became kind and lovely, as if the sunshine outside the window had infused the sweetness of a young girl at this age.

"Yes, did you see that?" She also spoke very leisurely, with a voice as clear as pearls and jade, which seemed to be able to drive away the heat of midsummer.

The driver couldn't help laughing too.

"Tokyo is a city that pays attention to every strand of hair." After he finished speaking, he couldn't help but praise, "As a foreigner, your Tokyo accent is really standard."

"You're too proud. I lived here for a while when I was a child." The guest smiled and became more lively. "Excuse me, are you from Kansai?"

"Yes. Did you recognize it? I'm from Osaka." The driver said straightforwardly, quite proudly, "It's a Kansai accent that's [-] times more friendly than Tokyo."

The guests just laughed.The relationship between Tokyo and Osaka is roughly like that of the imperial capital and the magical capital, but it is even worse than that: you say that my accent is strange and rude, and I say that you are putting on airs and being indifferent and rigid.Some people in China joked that Osaka should be the most similar place to China, with straightforward speech and less twists and turns.

If the driver is not from Osaka, he will probably maintain a "silent to the end" attitude all the way.But he is a lively Osaka native, and he is happy to talk to beautiful and kind foreign girls.

"Where do the guests come from? China, or Korea?"

"China."

"I see, it's really good. Are you traveling to Japan?"

"No, I'm here to study, that is, to study abroad."

"It turned out to be a great international student. Are you still in high school? It is really courageous to choose to study abroad at this age."

"Where... I didn't come to high school. Actually, I was admitted to a university in Tokyo."

University?Living in Bunkyo District, could it be that...

The driver was taken aback and said, "Hey, I'm so sorry, I thought you were a high school student. May I ask which university you are from?"

"It's okay, please don't worry about it, I do go to school earlier. In terms of school, it's the University of Tokyo."

The driver is from Osaka, and he has great confidence in the universities in the Kansai area. He thinks that they are as good as any famous school in the Kanto region—except for the University of Tokyo.It was the highest school in the country, a veritable No.1 school.When it comes to Bunkyo District, everyone's first reaction is the University of Tokyo.Although it has been expected, the driver will inevitably be surprised when he really hears it with his own ears.

He was shocked for a long time before he murmured, "This is really...too powerful."

"No, it's just the glory of being an 'international student'."

The lady guest's smile and voice were still so leisurely and calm, she didn't seem to take the four glittering golden characters "Tokyo University" seriously.From this point of view, she has more unfathomable taste.

The driver was in awe.

Soon, Yushima 3-33 arrived.The high-end apartment building stands there proudly, overlooking all living beings.

It's a 26-story condominium, the tallest building in the neighborhood.After ten years of cultivation, the appearance is still brand new and shiny, and "I'm rich" is written all over it.This is the driver's secret exclamation.

The lady guest still acted as if nothing had happened, with a flat face, paid the fare, took the suitcase, and said goodbye to the driver politely.The driver also noticed that she was wearing a Uniqlo T-shirt and jeans without any decorations. The whole clean and simple image could not be matched with a high-end apartment anyway.

What a strange lady.

Xia Yue didn't know what the driver was thinking.Even if she knew, she would just laugh it off.

This is a quiet community with nice greenery.This is her first impression of her new home.

Maybe it was because of the working day, there was no one around, only the sunshine dancing warmly with the grass and trees, and making the reddish bricks inlaid on the surface of the apartment sparkle.The sky is blue and transparent, the air is hot but clean, and the colors in front of us are also very charming.

She was about to walk through the door of the apartment when she heard a cat meow.The weak "meow" sound was weak and wronged, full of fear and fear.

"cat?"

She looked around and soon discovered the source of the sound.It was a maple tree next to the apartment, about two stories high, tall and graceful, with a stretched canopy; on the branches near the top of the tree, there was a small cluster of orange.

An orange cat, it seems to be a little milk cat.

"It's so small... how did it get up?" Xia Yue walked around the tree and found that the top of the tree was very close to a balcony on the second floor, and she might have jumped from there.

Probably seeing someone, the kitten screamed more and more pitifully, its fluffy little head moved around, as if it was begging for help.

Xia Yue looked around, but saw no one.

"This is impossible."

She put the box aside, grabbed the branches, and climbed up the tree in twos and threes.The branches and leaves swayed slightly, as if the trees were frightened and whispered; in the rustling sound, a few leaves floated down and fell to the ground.

The higher you go, the thinner the branches.Xia Yue avoided layers of branches, finally stepped on the forked branches, and stretched out her hand to the milk cat.

"Come on, jump over." She subconsciously spoke Chinese, but after thinking about it, she switched to Japanese and learned two milky meows.

The kitten was very frightened, grabbed the tree trunk tightly, and looked at her hesitantly.Xia Yue stood firmly, stretched out her hand patiently, and comforted it softly.

Finally, perhaps because it had been trapped for too long, the kitten jumped timidly.It seemed a little stupid, and it slipped its paws, and almost fell off the tree; Xia Yue had quick eyes and quick hands, and took the kitten into her arms, and then breathed a sigh of relief.

The furry mass was shaking in her arms, as if terrified too.

Xia Yue hugged the cat in one hand and supported the branch with the other, and lowered her head to search for the path down, but she didn't expect to see a person under the tree looking up at her.

She was startled and trembled all over, and the trees also protested with a "squeak".

"Sorry, please be careful." The man also seemed a little surprised, and hurriedly said, "Just now I was afraid to disturb you, so I didn't make any noise. Please rest assured, I am not a bad person, but I also heard the cat meowing, so I came to take a look .”

It was a young boy, about her age.He was wearing a white short-sleeved shirt and gray suit trousers. His raised face fell in the light and shadow. His facial features were surprisingly handsome, and the sun was shining in his dark eyes, as if a torch was lit in the dark.A few strands of black hair lined his cheeks, which was as soft as a cloud.

They stared at each other for several seconds.

The surrounding is very quiet, only the trees are ostentatious.

Xia Yue came back to her senses and let out a soft "Oh". "It's unfortunate that someone found you climbing a tree secretly." She laughed and asked him, "Will you tell the security?"

The young man was taken aback, and then smiled slightly.When he smiled, his cold brows and eyes softened.

"No. Please come down quickly and be careful." He stretched out his hand, "If you are not sure, I will catch you."

The tone is low and soft, reminiscent of the bells ringing in the valley after the rain, it is so distant and quiet, as if it can soothe all burning pain.

Xia Yue stepped on the tree trunk and quickly returned to the ground.She naturally grabbed the boy's hand and fell to the ground lightly.The cat in his arms poked its head out, let out a "meow", moved its pointed ears a few times, and struggled to leave.

"Don't move, be careful to be trapped in a strange place again." Xia Yue frightened it.

"This should be Mr. Yakumo's cat, named Songzi." The boy said, "Mr. Yakumo should be at work. You can hand over the pine nut to the apartment management office. Ms. Du Zhong will notify Mr. Yakumo and take care of the pine nut temporarily."

"Is that so? That's fine."

Her answer was ordinary, but it made him smile.I read it right just now, he has a pair of unusually dark eyes, which are more intense than ordinary people, as if they come out of the night, full of deep thoughts.Although he was dressed as a student, he had long hair; the soft strands of hair were tied behind his head, and a few strands were scattered around his ears, making him look like a beautiful boy in a haori in a Taiga drama.A bit like Okita Souji.

"that……"

His cry woke her up.Only then did Xia Yue realize that she was still holding on to his hand, she couldn't help feeling a little ashamed, she immediately let go, smiled embarrassedly, and said, "Sorry, I forgot."

The boy was silent for a moment, and glanced at his hand calmly.

"I'm Uchiha Itachi." He said, "Excuse me, are you a new resident here? I saw the suitcase over there."

"Yes. My name is Xiayue, and my surname is 'Xia', but I am used to pronounce it with Kundu here, so I can just pronounce it as Natsuki." Xiayue said, "Then, I have to check in. , and hand over the pine nuts to that Miss Duzhong..."

"I'll take Xia Yue there."

Itachi naturally picked up Xiayue's suitcase and led her to the door of the apartment.Xia Yue hugged the little orange cat and followed leisurely.

"Why does Itachi know that I'm a new resident when he sees me? Does it mean that Itachi knows all the people in this building?"

"Probably so."

"It seems very powerful."

She said that flattery very perfunctorily.Maybe Itachi also heard it, so he glanced at her with a little smile in his eyes.

Ms. Du Zhong at the front desk is a cat lover. She loves the kitten Pine Nuts, but she doesn't forget to take care of the new resident Xia Yue.She checked the appointment records and found the guarantor in her own country; a flicker of surprise flashed across her face when she saw the name, and then she returned to a polite smile.

"This is Miss Xia Yue's key, 2302, please keep it. If you have any questions, you can consult us at any time. Thank you for staying and I wish you a happy life."

Xia Yue declined the luggage delivery service, but when she turned around, she found Itachi was not far away and hadn't left.

"Itachi... are you waiting for me?" She was a little surprised, but she didn't seem too surprised.

The other party didn't answer, but still held the handle of her suitcase, indicating to her the direction of the elevator.

"It just so happens that I'm going upstairs too." He explained with a calm expression, which was quite natural.

"So, which floor does Itachi live on?"

"23 floors."

"Huh? I also live on the 23rd floor. There are only two households on the first floor of this apartment, so..."

Itachi looked at her, his true emotions could not be seen from that old-fashioned, calm expression.He nodded lightly and said, "So, Xia Yue is the new neighbor."

When the elevator door is closed, there are mirrors on all sides, visually expanding the narrow and enclosed space.But in the quiet world where there are only two of them, even turning their heads has become an earth-shattering move.

Xia Yue turned her head and saw her side face in the mirror: her eyes were slightly squinted, and the corners of her lips were firmly drawn up.

This is not acceptable.She calmly raised her hand to smooth out the tiny arc.Very good, this is the mature enough self.

Ding--

The 23th floor is here.

Itachi pressed the button to open the door, and waited for Xia Yue to go out before stepping out of the elevator door. 2301 is on the left and 2302 is on the right.He put the suitcase at the door of Xia Yue, turned around and opened the door of his own apartment, and said back, "Xia Yue, see you next time."

"See you next time, Itachi."

Xia Yue was the first to close the door.

However, just 2 minutes later, her doorbell rang.

Itachi stood at the door and handed her a piece of paper.It was a lined piece of paper just torn from a notebook, with a string of numbers written on it.

"This is my phone number," he said. "If you need help with anything, you can contact me. I'm free these days."

Finally, Xia Yue couldn't help it and showed a smile.

"Okay." She took the paper, "Thank you, Itachi."