Chapter 80 New Neighbors

"Hello, this is Jiuhua's mother, right? I'm her teacher, Fujii Itsuki. Here's the thing. There will be a trilateral meeting next week. Do you think you have time to come to Otaru?"

"call--"

Fujii Itsuki lay down on the chair with a heavy heart.

He had just been outside and had a phone call with Jiuhuayue's mother, Jiuhua Xifei.

"How is it?" Akai Muzi asked from the side.

“Neither of my parents are coming.”

Akai Muzi frowned, "Why?"

"She just had a falling out with them."

"She has a bad relationship with her parents?"

"Not good, otherwise I wouldn't have come to Otaru alone."

Fujii Itsuki closed his eyes and said with emotion: "But there is one thing I can be sure of. Jiuhua is indeed a member of the Takarazuka Revue, and a formal member. She will be the male lead of the future Moon Group. Her mother said so herself."

Akai Muzi was stunned. She knew Jiuhuayue might have outstanding grades after all her height and beauty were there, but she didn't expect her to be so outstanding.

"I didn't expect that he would be the future male lead of the Moon Group."

"Yes."

Fujii Itsuki was also surprised.

Although he didn't know much about Takarazuka, he knew that the troupe was composed of five groups: Flower, Moon, Snow, Star, and Sky, plus specialists.

Nearly four hundred people.

Each group has male actors, who are female actors playing male roles.

For historical reasons, male actors have a high status in the troupe.

Basically every woman in the troupe aims to become a male role.

Jiuhuayue is so young, but not only has he been elected as the male role in the troupe, he is also the future chief?
I really don’t know whether this thing is good or bad for Jiuhua.

*
The last class of the afternoon.

swish, swish—

Fujii Itsuki held an inch-long piece of chalk in his hand and left a few long lines of words on the blackboard.

[The Tale of Genji is a novel by Japanese female writer Murasaki Shikibu. It is also the earliest long realistic novel in the world and represents the peak of Japanese classical literature.]
[Murasaki Shikibu's metaphorical technique of linking flowers with human destiny set the tone for the entire Japanese literature.]
Fujii Itsuki wrote on the blackboard and the students took notes.

Chalk dust fell down in large amounts.

The baseball, soccer, and tennis clubs were cheering loudly outside, and the thumping of metal bats stood out among the other sounds.

After finishing writing on the blackboard, Fujii Itsuki put down his chalk and turned around.

In the quiet atmosphere of the classroom, the students were concentrating on copying on the blackboard.

He deliberately cast his gaze towards the window side of the back row - Jiu Huayue's seat.

All the students in the class were copying, except her.

The girl looked out the window.

The wind that blew in from the open window gently touched her black hair, which was straightened and stretched with a curling iron.

Jiuhuayue rested her face on her elbows on the old, scratched desk. Cumulus clouds and rain floated in the blue sky outside the window.

Jiuhuayue seemed to like looking out the window like this.

The girl in the sailor suit has a round profile, a focused expression, and empty eyes. She seems to be gazing at a place that can never be reached.

Fujii Itsuki had called on her no less than five times in class.

But for some reason, Fujii Itsuki did not remind her this time, but followed her gaze and looked outside——

On the playground, several students from the football club were gathered together, talking and laughing.

In the playground, several members of the football club were talking and laughing.
In the classroom, quietly watching their Jiuhuayue
This moment was like a TV scene that symbolized beauty and loneliness. It was so dreamy that Fujii Itsuki could sense the different emotions in Jiuhuayue's heart from her slightly cold profile.

He remembered the call that Jiuhuayue’s mother made to him in the afternoon.

On the phone, her mother's attitude was very firm, and she said that her father was very angry because she sneaked away to Otaru and would not come to Otaru for her.

Unless Jiu Huayue is willing to apologize to her father, he will try to forgive her.

Mrs. Jiuhua, as a mother, was caught in the middle and was in a difficult position. She could not make a decision at this trilateral meeting.

But what kind of thing is this? Shouldn't her father be the one who should apologize?
Fujii Itsuki knew that Jiuhua did not hate her parents.

You can even say that I like it very much.

The last time Jiuhua went back to Tokyo, she specially picked out gifts for her parents in Otaru, and even cooked a meal for them personally after she arrived there.

But her father not only scolded her, but also threw all the food she had prepared for the two of them to the ground.

To the extent that Jiuhua, who was usually cold and indifferent to everyone on campus, would sneak back to Otaru, crying and telling her stories to herself.

I watched TV with her for a long time that day.

Even until the end, she was still a little sad and fell asleep on the sofa.

Ugh.
When I think about next week, out of the 33 students in the class, Jiuhua will be the only student without parents or guardians.

Fujii Itsuki didn't know how to talk to this girl.

It's going to rain outside and the sky is getting dark.

The wind rushed in, and the notebook on Jiu Huayue's desk was blown over.

She blinked slowly and hard, and her head turned towards her.

Their eyes met and they stared into each other's eyes.

Then Jiuhuayue lowered her head, smoothed her hair, picked up the pen, and finally began to take notes.

It's time for school to end.

"You don't have to be on duty today. There's not much garbage. There will probably be a thunderstorm tonight. Go back early, otherwise it will be too dangerous."

After assigning the homework, Fujii Itsuki briefly talked about the trilateral talks that would begin next week, and then let the students go home.

The girls in the class responded one by one, and were very happy to go back early.

Probably because of the rain, everyone left very quickly, and only a few students were left in the classroom still taking notes.

There were very few people left in the classroom, and the atmosphere was a little depressing amid the sound of gray rain.

"See you tomorrow, Kokoharu-chan."

"Well, see you tomorrow."

After saying goodbye to Rinka Hiiragi, Matsumae Shinharu saw Fujii Itsuki on the podium, who seemed to be still waiting for Kyuukazuki.

During class, she actually noticed that Fujii Itsuki was always paying attention to Jiuhuayue.

Teacher Fujii’s eyes seemed to be saying to Jiuhua - I care about you very much.

This made Matsumae Shinharu feel a little uncomfortable. First, she didn't like that Mr. Fujii cared about other people in front of her like this. Second, Mr. Fujii was paying attention to Satsuki.

This made Matsumae Shinchun feel complicated.

Seeing that there was no one else in the classroom, she walked up and spoke to Fujii.

She first bowed very gracefully.

"Teacher Fujii."

"The eldest daughter of the Matsumae family, right?"

"."Matsumae Shinchun's face turned slightly red.

"It's okay. It doesn't matter at school. It's better to be formal." Fujii Itsuki smiled. "It's raining outside. There will probably be a thunderstorm later. Forget about the practice of the wind band today. You'd better go home early. Isn't Mr. Nagayama waiting for you at the school gate?"

"Yingbo won't be here for a while."

"Got it. Songqian can sit in the classroom for a while. Jiuhua is still copying the blackboard. I'll finish wiping the blackboard and go to the office to pack up and leave."

"As for wiping the blackboard, Mr. Fujii, I'll come and help you later."

"Ah."

Fujii Itsuki did not reject the student's kindness.

Although he didn't praise her, the smile in his eyes conveyed his gratitude to the girl.

When she saw the teacher's smile, Matsumae Shinchun felt as sweet as if a mouthful of honey was flowing out of her heart.

However, she didn't come to talk to Fujii Itsuki to talk about these things.

"Teacher Fujii."

"Ok?"

Matsumae Shinchun glanced at Jiuhuayue who was still taking notes in the corner.

Fujii Itsuki, who was writing something in his textbook, didn't notice Matsumae's little move.

"Teacher Fujii, I recently discovered a problem."

"Problems? Academic ones."

"No, Mr. Fujii, I actually still live in Sapporo."

Fujii Itsuki looked up and understood, "Yeah, then is it troublesome for you to go to and from school?"

"Even though it's the closest place to Otaru and the snow has melted, it still takes nearly an hour to drive here. The round trip, morning and evening pick-ups and drop-offs waste too much of Sakura's time."

Song Qianxinchun sighed softly.

"I'm so ashamed. I just realized that I disturbed Sakura's sleep time, causing his immunity to decline in recent days. He also caught a cold a while ago, but he only recovered yesterday."

Matsumae Shinharu's voice is very pleasant, and her tone is like music, constantly changing pitch, and it is easy to understand the worry contained in her voice.

"I understand. It has been difficult for Sakura-no-san for so long."

"So, Mr. Fujii, I want to find a place to live temporarily in Otaru. I don't know much about Otaru, Mr. Fujii, do you know any good places?"

"."

Fujii Itsuki did not answer immediately.

It seemed like Matsumae had something else in his words, and it didn't seem like he was simply asking himself this question.

Logically speaking, given Butler Nagayama's ability, he should not have been unable to find a place to live in Otaru.

Or did the Matsumae family think that just finding a random place to live would be too dangerous for the eldest daughter of the Matsumae family?
Matsumae herself still needs someone to take care of her life safety.

No, that's not quite right.

This shouldn't be the reason. Fujii Itsuki pondered for a moment, and suddenly caught a glimpse of Jiuhuayue who was still taking notes.

He turned his gaze and looked at Matsumae Shinchun, who had a teardrop mole on the right corner of her eye, and understood her intention.

"Matsumae, come with me first."

"Okay, teacher."

When leaving the classroom, Matsumae Shinchun deliberately turned around to look at Jiuhuayue who was looking at her.

The two girls looked at each other again.

But Jiuhuayue decisively lowered her head the next second and didn't look at her at all.

"."

Matsumae Shinchun lowered her eyes, looking very sad.

Later, she walked out of the classroom, crossed the corridor, and came to the platform at the end of the corridor on the second floor of Moon Building.

"Teacher Fujii"

"Does Matsumae have something to say to me?" Fujii Itsuki turned towards her and accidentally glanced at her collarbone faintly exposed on the front of her sailor uniform.

"Yeah," Matsumae Shinchun lowered her head.

Fujii Itsuki retracted his impolite gaze and said, "Go ahead. But before that, I still need to apologize for not coming to your house over the weekend."

".Didn't the teacher tell me about this on Line? Although I am a little disappointed that the teacher didn't come to my house on the weekend, the teacher's own affairs are more important."

Fujii Itsuki always felt comfortable talking to Matsumae.

Because she can always think from her own perspective and try to understand herself.

She never asked him why he stood her up over the weekend.

This is what I called "trust" in her, right?

Because of this "trust", Fujii Itsuki felt quite sorry for Matsumae.

"Thank you for your understanding, Matsumae."

Matsumae Shinchun shook her head. "Teacher is absolutely right. If Teacher Fujii is anxious, I can also bring the manuscript of my mother's novel to you tomorrow."

"That's not good," Fujii Itsuki refused, "After all, it's your mother's legacy."

"That's true. But you, too." Matsumae Shinchun continued, "Teacher Fujii, I want to talk to you. Actually, I want to ask you for a favor."

"What did you just say about finding a house?"

"Well, it's not that I can't find a place to live. I've actually found one, but I just want to be with Jiuhua."

The last word of Matsumae Shinchun was only pronounced unclearly from between her teeth.

She didn't say "I want to stay with you, teacher, with Jiuhua."

This is so shameful.

This is not what I, as a student, should say to my teacher.

Fujii Itsuki understood what Matsumae meant and nodded:
"Matsumae wants to live at Kuka's house, right?"

"Of course!"

Matsumae Shinchun became anxious, and her lark-like voice even became a little fluctuating.

Then, the girl's fingers intertwined and tangled in front of her somewhat restlessly.

"I'm sorry, I lost my composure. Although I really hope so, this is not what I want to say. Mr. Fujii probably doesn't know about the recent relationship between Jiuhua and me, right?"

Fujii Itsuki frowned, "Aren't you two very close friends?"

Matsumae Shinchun shook her head again, her tone filled with disappointment, "No, Xiaoyue, she really hates me now."

"Why is that?" Fujii Itsuki was quite surprised. "Aren't you two childhood playmates?"

At the same time, they are blood-related sisters.

"I don't know. I tried to communicate with Xiaoyue several times, but she always shut me out. She refused to talk to me. I thought I had made her angry and wanted to find out the reason, but Xiaoyue said it was not my fault. But she didn't want to talk to me anymore."

this.
"She really didn't tell you the reason clearly?"

"No. Xiaoyue doesn't want to tell me anything."

"."

Fujii Itsuki could see that Matsumae Shinchun was sad. He remembered how happy Matsumae was when he knew that Jiuhuayue had returned.

The two were close friends when they were young.

Matsumae has always missed their old relationship.

Now, what happened that led to the bad relationship between the two?

Doesn’t Jiuhuayue want friends very much?
Why don't you go find Matsumae?

That time, the Kasuga Shadow she played wasn't for Matsumae?

Fujii Itsuki comforted Matsumae Shinchun:

"Matsumae, please be at ease. Jiuhua is a little cold. When I first met her, she kept calling me a pervert. She always rejects people with a cold face and never tells us why she is like this. There must be a reason for this. Don't take it to heart, Matsumae."

"Well, I didn't take it to heart. Xiaoyue is indeed like that. She always likes to keep things to herself and bear them alone. She never wants to tell anyone else. The same goes for me."

Matsumae Shinchun's expression darkened.

Fujii Itsuki could see that the two seemed to have some history.

"Don't worry, Matsumae. I will ask you and Jiuhua about the matter between the two of you."

"Teacher Fujii, although I also want to live with you and Xiaoyue, Xiaoyue doesn't like me yet. Please don't ask about living together. It will embarrass Xiaoyue."

"understand."

"Actually, I'm a little scared. I'm afraid Xiaoyue will hate me even more after she hears that I'm still asking about her."

This is really difficult.

"Well, let me find a suitable opportunity to ask you indirectly. Is that ok?"

"Teacher Fujii——"

"No need to show such a thankful expression."

"Yeah," Matsumae Shinchun lowered her head happily, "But. Thank you! Thank you so much, Mr. Fujii. I don't know how to repay your kindness."

"Erasing the blackboard is also a reward."

"That doesn't count, teacher."

This little snow fox is so cute.

Fujii Itsuki laughed, "Matsumae, don't thank me so much."

"No, if the teacher doesn't want to accept the thank you, Xinchun will always feel guilty about the teacher who not only wrote notes for my music scores, guided me in my practice, and took care of my illness, but also said these things on my behalf.

"I should say that I have nothing to repay my teacher."

Listen
Listen.

What a good student! Matsumae not only studies hard and is obedient, but is also considerate of the teacher.

In the past, she always took the initiative to help me move my homework after class, and said to me obediently, "Teacher, please let me do it."

Matsumae is not only pleasing in his behavior and words, but also good-looking and of noble status.

If it weren't for the teacher-student relationship between them, Fujii Itsuki would have wanted to pat her on the head like Chitose did.

A metaphor is just a metaphor.

If Chitose who is being patted on the head is the kind of girl who wags her tail.

That Songqian should be the kind of little fox that runs out of the pine forest in winter.

She was covered in snowflakes, completely white.

She is a little shy, but once she is given some food and trust is established, she will become close to that person.

The little snow fox would come and rub against me from time to time.

Very comfortable.

If you touch Song Qian's head, it would probably be like scratching the chin of a little snow fox with your hand. It will squint its eyes, smile, and make that extremely comfortable purring sound.

Actually, there is no need to imagine.

Fujii Itsuki had just seen that Matsumae Shinchun lowered her head slightly and revealed this elegant and beautiful smile.

Although Fujii Itsuki always felt that Matsumae Shinchun's smile was very dignified, it was also a little charming and vaguely alluring.

Probably because of her beauty mark.

"By the way, Matsumae, you just said you found a place to live. Where is it? Are you alone?"

"Yeah, I was alone and I didn't let Sakura come with me. We were on the same street as Satsuki's."

"Oh, so they are neighbors?"

“That’s right”

Matsumae Xinchun thought of something and became happy again. She smiled and said to Fujii Itsuki, "That's right! Mr. Fujii can come to my house as a guest on weekdays. I will make delicious food for Mr. Fujii!"

This is the dish made by Matsumae.

Well, objectively speaking, the quality is several levels higher than what Jiuhuayue did.

delicious.

Of course, he was not belittling Jiuhua. He was still very grateful that Jiuhua was willing to cook for him.

"Then I'll be able to visit any time."

"Teachers are always welcome!"

By the way, can this be considered a home visit to the students?

No, not really.

Although I just went to discuss her mother's novel with Songqian and share our interests as friends.

But it’s never good to be seen by others.

Fujii Itsuki secretly lowered his voice and whispered to Matsumae, "Also, Matsumae, remember to bring the manuscript of your mother's novel. The two of us can analyze the story written by the professor sentence by sentence."

Because of the teacher's approach, Matsumae Shinchun was quite shy and clasped her hands together. "Of course."

(End of this chapter)