Chapter 6: Girl Thousand Years Old
There was still a lot of free time, so Fujii Itsuki took out a cigarette and smoked it while reminiscing about the various scenes in the welfare home.

The sand field, the plastic slide, and the small vegetable garden planted by the children are still the same. The potatoes are growing quite well.

Continuing forward, there is a century-old red pine tree in the inner courtyard that is 30 meters tall and has a crown diameter of about 20 meters.

A simple wooden swing was tied with a red rope under the thick red pine branch.

Just by looking at the swing, Fujii Itsuki was filled with memories.

This was made for the little girl Qiansui when I was fifteen years old.

That girl has always been very clingy to me.

She was born weak and sickly, and was not as good as the other children in the orphanage. Once when snacks were distributed, everyone got some except hers.

As a child, he naturally felt aggrieved and cried loudly.

Fujii Itsuki carved wood, tied hemp ropes, and spent a lot of time climbing up the tree to make a swing for her before he could coax her into a good mood.

From then on, she occupied the swing alone for a long time. When other children wanted to play with it, she was reluctant to give it to them and even beat several boys older than her.

I haven't seen her for four years. I don't know what she looks like now.

Fujii Itsuki habitually took out a cigarette, lit it, and stood aside, thinking about the past in a mess.

Until a young girl's shadow hurriedly appeared at the gate of the welfare home.

Fujii Itsuki turned around and looked.

The girl was seen breathing hot air and having white sweat on her forehead.

The girl has neat short hair, which is gathered on the right side and tied with a striking red hairband.

It was winter, but the girl's upper body was so thin that she only had a short-sleeved white T-shirt, and her white arms were forced to be exposed to the air. However, she did have a blue jacket tied around her waist, which looked a bit like a skirt from a distance.

"Brother Tree!"

The girl saw Fujii Itsuki standing next to the swing, raised her hand, greeted him, and then ran over.

"Chitose?" Fujii Itsuki didn't dare to try to guess the girl's identity until she ran up to him because of her pretty face.

He secretly put the cigarette under his feet and put it out.

"It's me, didn't Brother Shu recognize me?"

The girl smiled beautifully, like the sun.

Fujii Itsuki looked at her carefully and remained silent.

The changes are too great.

After only four years of not seeing each other, Qiansui has grown from the weak little girl who could only cry and would gasp and faint after running a few steps into a graceful young lady.

So tall, so cute, so sunny, and kind of handsome.

"How did you grow so tall?"

"Really? It's not that bad, I'm only 1.64 meters tall."

"It's much higher than before anyway."

When Yang Kui Chitose saw him, the joy on her face could not fade away, "Why didn't you tell me that Brother Shu was coming back?"

"Sorry, I just came back to Otaru on a whim."

"So Brother Shu won't be able to stay in Otaru for much longer?" Yang Kui Chitose asked hurriedly.

"That's not the case. We may all stay in Otaru in the future."

".real?"

"What did I lie to you for?"

"real.?"

"do not trust me?"

“That’s really really really great!”

When Yang Kui Chitose heard this, there was a hint of joy in her eyes, but then she became a little confused, "But isn't Brother Shu teaching in Tokyo? What should we do over there?"

"It's hard to explain. Let's not talk about this for now." Fujii Itsuki smiled and took the initiative to change the subject. "Looking at your sweaty face, you must have suddenly rushed in from the store again. It's likely that Mr. Nagano will call you again in a few minutes to ask you to go back."

He habitually wanted to touch her head, but when he saw that Chitose was just taller than his shoulder, he took his hand back.

"It's okay. I've informed my father about Brother Shu's return, and he agreed to let me come to see you. But I have to go back soon."

“Is the store busy?”

"It's almost New Year, and business has been good recently."

"That's good."

Chitose, whose formerly known surname was Tachibana, is Fujii Itsuki's half-sister, and they grew up together.

Her name was given to her by Fujii Itsuki when he found her at the door of an orphanage when she was ten years old and saw a big orange in her cradle.

Chitose was born with Tetralogy of Fallot, and is naturally weak and sickly and cannot run.

She was abandoned by her parents shortly after she was born. When she was seven years old, she was adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Yang Kui, who ran a hot spring shop in the town. With the financial support of Mr. and Mrs. Yang Kui, her long-standing heart disease was cured when she was eight years old.

Yang Kui and his wife were both over 60 years old. In the year when Qiansui was receiving treatment, their son slipped and fell off a cliff while climbing a mountain and died early in the heavy snow.

Chitose is now the couple's only child, and they treat her as their own. In the past few years, she has been actively contacting me and chatting with me often.

The relationship between the two is like that of brother and sister.

But she never showed up in the past four years, saying that she would give him a big surprise when he returned home next time.

Now it seems like a surprise.

"Even if you are cured, don't run away so fast. What if it relapses?"

"What are you talking about, Brother Shu? It's okay. I've recovered a long time ago. Now I can run every day without any problems!"

In the past, Qiansui could not run as fast as other children in the orphanage because of a heart disease. She also tended to be withdrawn and weak in character. Now that she has recovered from her illness, she has become much more sunny.

"Then put on your clothes first."

"What does Brother Tree mean?"

Fujii Itsuki pointed at her thin T-shirt from the hot spring shop, and then at the blue jacket tied around her waist, "What should I do if I catch a cold?"

Chitose Yangkui smiled, unbuttoned her clothes, put them on, and pulled the zipper to the top.

"Pull it down a bit. Isn't it uncomfortable with the zipper against your chin?"

"Listen to Brother Shu."

The two then walked towards the welfare home building together.

"Who told you I was back?"

"Dean Hanashiro! And the dean also said that you met Jiuhua-san at the station."

"Jiuhua-san?" Fujii Itsuki realized it later and looked at the red hair tie on the right side of the girl's short hair. "Jiuhua Yue?"

"Oh, yes."

"You know her?"

"Well, I don't know her very well, but she is from the class next door. She transferred here three months ago, in September."

"I see. What is she like in school?"

Yang Kui Chitose, who was originally very enthusiastic, suddenly became quiet for two seconds, and then looked at Fujii Itsuki, speaking a little slower, "What did Brother Shu ask her to do?"

"Just curious."

"Does Brother Shu care about her a lot? I heard from the dean that you also asked her a lot about Jiuhua classmate."

"That's not the case," Fujii Itsuki looked ahead, "It's just that I ran into her yesterday and today, so it's a bit of fate. I'm just curious about her situation."

"Hmm," Yang Kui Chitose lowered her head and thought for a moment, "As for Jiuhua-san, he is usually a rather withdrawn person."

"Solitary?"

"Yes," Yang Kui Chitose nodded, "Because she is a transfer student who suddenly transferred here."

"She's so pretty, she shouldn't be unpopular just because of this, right?"

When Yang Kui Chitose heard Fujii Itsuki say the word "beautiful", she looked at him for a moment longer, then lowered her head and spoke inexplicably in a much lower voice, "Of course there's more to it than that. I didn't know it originally, but after hearing a lot from my classmates, I went back and asked my father and found out that the Kuka family used to be very famous throughout Hokkaido."

Fujii Itsuki noticed something and glanced at the girl beside him, "Do you have a conflict with her?"

"No, no," Yang Kui Chitose shook her head and laughed, "It's just that I always hear her name from boys, and I think she's more popular than me, so I mind a little bit!"

It turned out to be the case.

It is true that adolescent girls will have some comparisons with others, which is a very normal psychology.

"I think you are no worse than her, Chitose. If you dress up a little, you will be more beautiful than her."

".real?"

What's going on with these shining eyes?

"Why do you say 'really' so many times today? Of course it's true. I'm telling the truth."

The girl who was praised was really happy from the bottom of her heart, and her face visibly turned a little red.

The girl is so cute.
Fujii Itsuki put his fist to his mouth and coughed twice. "If you say so, then isn't she very popular?"

"Brother Shu, being popular and being aloof are not the same thing," Yang Kui Chitose deliberately tucked her hair behind her ears, revealing her fair face. "Boys secretly praise her for her beauty, but they don't dare to approach her. And she doesn't seem to like contact from boys."

"Um"

"Girls in school have their own circles. Once boys pay too much attention to a girl, all the girls in the circle will consciously or unconsciously avoid her. In addition, Jiuhua is a transfer student and doesn't have many friends."

That's it.
Fujii Itsuki was very familiar with this. The group of kids in Tokyo were very good at it and they were very united. He couldn't even catch the leader.

It’s really hard to be a teacher.

"But don't get me wrong, Brother Shu. The word eccentric isn't entirely derogatory. Jiuhua's family is well-known, and Jiuhua isn't the type to be bullied at school. No one dares to bully her. It's just that everyone is a little afraid to approach her."

So that’s how it is. It’s a unique position, right?

Compared to "eccentric", the word "aloof" is more suitable for Jiuhuayue.

He comes from a wealthy family, has caring parents, has a special status in school, and has a very tough personality.

I can't understand why she would want to commit suicide?

(End of this chapter)