Chapter 317: Karuizawa in August (12)
In the almost deserted forest, deep in the morning mist, the sound of horse hooves could be heard.
Walking down the mountain-like slope, Toru Watanabe felt a sense of loneliness as if he was marching alone on a vast grassland.
The mist is cool, and there are always birds singing in my ears, and occasionally the sound .
After passing by several empty villa courtyards, we arrived at a birch forest.
Gently pull the reins to the left and let the horse turn left into a path leading to the villa.
On the trail, in the misty forest, a figure was vaguely seen.
The figure was bent over, staring at the plants on the ground.
Hearing the sound of horse hooves, the man stood up, looked over here, and hurried back to the villa.
Watanabe Toru rode his horse closer, the thick fog dissipated, the vision became clear, and when he looked down, he saw that there were some beautiful mountain lilies.
He dismounted here, tied the horse to a tree, and walked towards the villa hidden in the birch forest.
Including the lawn, it covers an area of more than 10,000 square meters, which is very different from ordinary villas.
Toru Watanabe walked forward and saw the lawn in the mist. Some servants were clearing weeds and some were trimming moss.
Moss that grows freely elsewhere must grow here into the shape that the owner likes.
Toru Watanabe came to get Dorayaki.
The owner of this villa is from Kyoto and is a friend of Mrs. Kujo. He arrived in Karuizawa yesterday and brought her her favorite white jade Dorayaki from Tamba, Kyoto.
"Are you Watanabe Tetsu-kun, Miss Miki's boyfriend?"
"Nice to meet you. I'm Toru Watanabe."
"Watanabe-kun is indeed as handsome as the legend says."
"where."
"Why are you here so early? It's foggy in the mountains and my trouser legs will get wet. If I slip and fall somewhere, no one will find me for a while."
"I came here on horseback."
"We will go horseback riding in a couple of days, so please take care of me then!"
While greeting the hostess of the villa, Toru Watanabe glanced at a corner of the forest and saw a girl looking at this side.
It was the figure squatting on the path looking at the mountain lilies.
"That's my child. Please take good care of him in the next few days."
"If it's a girl, I might not be able to do anything. Meiji has the final say in my family."
"Yeah?"
"I am just a useless son-in-law."
"Haha, I heard Watanabe-kun is very talented."
After chatting for a while, Toru Watanabe accepted the Dorayaki from the villa hostess.
When we returned to where the horse was tied, the mountain lily had been eaten by it.
"You idiot." Watanabe Toru cursed and turned over and rode on him.
"Go!" He shook the reins, "Why don't you run faster or wait for others to catch us?"
The horses chewed wild lilies, sneezed happily, and trotted briskly into the misty forest.
On the way back, the morning mist covering the forest was dispelled by the sunlight.
The sun broke through the fog and the blockade of lush branches, casting beams of light in the forest.
At the end of the light column are tree roots, moss, and paths shining in the sunlight.
Riding freely in the forest on horseback, Toru Watanabe likes such a pleasant morning with cool mist and listening to birds singing.
This kind of scenery is something you never get tired of seeing.
After returning the horses to the stables and walking back to the villa, everyone except Kujo Miki got up.
"Thank you for your hard work. Let me take it from here!" Mrs. Kujo blocked Watanabe Toru at the door and snatched the Dorayaki away.
"We agreed that you four would take turns every day, and Xiaolian could do whatever she wanted. Why am I the only one left in the morning since the past few days?"
Mrs. Kujo ignored Toru Watanabe's complaints.
"Chestnut... red bean paste... shiratama..." By the time she walked to the dining table and put down the box of Dorayaki, she had already picked out her favorite chestnut and shiratama flavors.
"Is it so delicious?" Mrs. Kiyono felt that she was making a big deal out of nothing.
"You'll know once you've tried it. This is the taste of my childhood."
"You take them all every time, at least give me one."
"No." After rejecting Mrs. Kiyono, Kujo Maki thought about it and gave one of each flavor to Xiaolian.
"Since you are a child, I take special care of you," she said.
"Thank you very much." Xiaolian held the Dorayaki, which was smaller than ordinary Dorayaki, against her chest with both hands and bowed obediently.
"What about me? My dear mother?" Watanabe Toru changed his shoes and walked in. "Your clothes and hair are all wet by the mist. Is there no share for me?"
"There." Mrs. Kujo pointed to the remaining portion on the table.
On August 14, breakfast was Dorayaki that Toru Watanabe brought back from the fog.
By the time Kujo Miki got up, it was almost noon.
Everyone decided to go out for dinner and then visit the art gallery.
"Mr. Watanabe, I hope this visit will help you understand your own painting level." Mrs. Kujo rode her bicycle briskly on the sunny forest path.
"Am I not a good ?" Watanabe Toru said loudly, "I am willing to pay one million yen for the painting of "Kiyono Rin in Karuizawa"."
"Are you referring to the one you nominated but that Miki painted?" Mrs. Kiyono asked in a melodious voice.
"Your logic is flawed. Since I was nominated, it must be my painting. How could I be nominated if Meiji painted it?"
"I'm still willing to do this kind of thing." Miki Kujo wore a handsome baseball cap with her hair tied inside, looking cool and fashionable today.
No matter which route she took, Toru Watanabe wanted to hug her three times after seeing her.
"Meiji, you are so kind to me, I will treat you alone to lunch today."
"Don't change the subject, we're talking about your painting skills!" Mrs. Kujo said dissatisfiedly.
"Please ask someone to pay the portrait rights fee first." Qingye Rin was wearing a sun hat, and the blue ribbon on the hat was blown back by the wind.
"Meiji, she's talking to you."
"I'm talking about you, Mr. So-and-so. Please transfer 1 billion yen to my account."
"Aunt Kiyono," Toru Watanabe shouted to Mrs. Kiyono in front of him , "Your family became rich by extortion, right?"
"Yes! If you default on your debt, we have the best lawyers to deal with you!"
Amidst laughter and joy, the bicycles passed through patches of lush green shade.
After lunch without meeting Asuka Mai, Toru Watanabe was taken into a gallery by his mother-in-law who disliked him.
In the gallery, the walls are covered with pictures of naked women and cats.
"Fujita Tsuguharu?" After looking at a few paintings, Watanabe Toru immediately asked Kiyono Rin.
"Really?" Qingye Rin was not interested in the naked woman and just stared at the cat.
"How could you not know?"
"The reason you know this is because the women in the paintings are not wearing clothes, right? In any case, it's not because you learned to paint," Qingye Rin said with certainty.
"There are times when you guess wrong, R-san!" Watanabe Toru's voice was filled with joy.
"Then how do you know about Fujita Tsuguharu?" Mrs. Kujo asked, turning around.
"Because of my teacher - Picasso."
"Huh?" Kujo Miki wasn't the only one who expressed doubts.
Watanabe Toru didn't care at all and continued, "It is said that Picasso lingered for more than three hours at Foujita's first solo exhibition in Paris."
"lie."
"In fact, it was to learn how to please Meiji. I learned about the views of various masters on women, and Fujita Tsuguharu was one of them."
"What are you learning all day? You are not allowed to read this kind of books without my permission." Kujo Miki ordered.
"Curious about what Foujita said?" asked Mrs. Kiyono.
"Fujita believes that 'women and cats are the same creatures, their eyes light up at night. Although they look cute and sensible, if you are not careful, they will completely forget all their kindness and easily betray their masters.'"
"Just by listening to his remarks, you can tell that he is a person who behaves eccentrically and lives a crazy life," said Rin Kiyono.
"As expected of Doraemon, I totally agree with the point that 'her eyes light up at night'." The latter sentence was said by Toru Watanabe to Miki Kujo.
"It's the same to you. I'm a woman and you're a cat. Let's have our eyes shining together at night." Miki Kujo said with a smile.
Toru Watanabe looked at the back of her neck that was exposed when her hair was tied up, and decided to let her lie on the bed tonight, and he would lie on her back and kiss that place well.
On the wall, there was a painting of a naked woman by Tsuguharu Fujita, but Toru Watanabe didn't feel anything. But when Miki Kujo revealed a little bit of skin, he felt a warm current in his heart.
The women in Foujita's paintings all have ivory-like skin.
This makes the Western woman in the painting, who originally had bad skin, have some of the charm of an oriental beauty.
Qingye Rin stared at one of the paintings. There was a cat lying on its side in the painting. The whites of its eyes were yellow, its pupils were black, and its face looked a bit like a fox.
The name of the painting is simple and straightforward - "White Cat".
"Including the frame, 300,000 yen." The female boss who was walking around the gallery came over and said.
"Yeah." Qingye Rin nodded.
"If you like it, just buy it and have someone send it back to Tokyo. You don't have to worry about the trouble of bringing it back," said Mrs. Kiyono.
"It's not that I like it, I just remember something."
"What is it? I don't remember you having a cat."
"Some time spent with Watanabe-san."
"In the gallery, Rin is staring at a painting of a white cat - this is 'Confessions in a Gallery.'" Mrs. Kiyono's tone is very much like that of a female artist.
"It can be put in the same series as my 'Kiyano Rin in Karuizawa'," said Toru Watanabe, who had just been accompanying Kujo Miki around, "The name of the series is 'Rin's Seventeen Years Old'."
"Don't think that just because you're my closest person, you can make fun of me." Qingye Rin looked at the two of them coldly.
...Such threats will only make the threatened person happy.
Apart from deciding how to keep my eyes sparkling at night, I finished the exhibition without gaining anything.
The five of them went shopping at the "Outlet" and bought some clothes.
After having dinner there, they went to Chunyu Balcony carrying large and small bags.
Chunyu Terrace is the entrance to the Xingye Resort, a small wooden street hidden in the forest.
There are more than a hundred spring elm trees planted here, but there are only nine buildings in total. Even if you carefully visit each store, it won’t take much time.
Precisely because there are fewer buildings, you can slow down the pace and become more relaxed.
Watanabe Toru and his four companions came here in the evening because there was a summer night concert.
They ordered some snacks, each ordered their favorite drinks, and sat on the terrace overlooking the water.
"When does it start?" Toru Watanabe dipped his French fries in ketchup.
On the table in front of him was a glass bottle of Coke, with cool water droplets gradually appearing on the bottle.
"Here it comes." Kujo Miki pointed somewhere.
When the hustle and bustle of the day subsides, musicians take the stage with violins, accordions and guitars, presenting tourists with beautiful music only available on summer nights.
The sky darkened, revealing the clear starry sky of the Karuizawa Plateau.
The nine buildings on Chunyu Balcony all lit up with bright yellow lights, illuminating the already small Chunyu Balcony.
The five people listened to music, ate and chatted, and occasionally their attention was distracted by the fireflies in the stream beside the terrace.
"Wow~ Chunyu Balcony?"
"It looks like the place where the elves in the forest live!"
"Look, it's being performed. I saw it on the TV series Quartet!"
A youthful and lively voice came from below the terrace.
Toru Watanabe looked in the direction of the sound and saw four girls stopping the bicycles at the rental shop and running towards them in a hurry.
Asu Mai subconsciously looked towards the terrace overlooking the water and met Watanabe Toru's gaze through an elm tree.
Miki Kujo and Rin Kiyono, who were beside him, naturally noticed his seemingly accidental gaze and looked at the four girls at the same time.
"Ah, there are no seats left!" Ikki Aoi said regretfully.
"A lot of people are standing and watching, and we also...someone over there wants to leave! I'll go and grab a seat!" Tamamo Yomi rushed over and grabbed a seat.
"Sorry!" She smiled proudly at the tourists who also wanted to grab a seat but failed to grab it, and then shouted to the other three, "Senior, Aoi, come here!"
"So beautiful, you're so amazing!" Ikki Aoi ran over.
"Senior Mai, let's go too." Hanada Asako shouted to Asu Mai who was at the back.
"...Yeah." Asu Mai withdrew her gaze from Watanabe Toru and followed Hanada Asako.
"That's Watanabe-kun's lover." Mrs. Kujo also discovered the situation.
"A pretty girl," Mrs. Kiyono commented.
Miki Kujo sneered and snorted contemptuously, then picked up the juice and drank it.
The two sides did not interact with each other and did not even say hello.
After a few songs, Asu Mai suddenly came over.
Five people looked at her, especially the two ladies, who looked like they were watching a fun event. Facing their gazes, Asu Mai still had no expression.
When they got closer, Asu Mai didn't look for Toru Watanabe, but looked at Kujo Miki and said, "Miki-san, can I have a few words with you?"
"Go ahead." Miki Kujo, with her legs crossed, put down the juice and hugged her elbows with both hands.
"Thanks for letting Toru keep me company for a day."
"Just know that he is mine."
"Yeah." Asu Mai nodded gently, "Tetsu tried to kill me on purpose to reject me, but I can't live without Tohru. If it weren't for this, Tohru wouldn't have done anything to let you down. I'm sorry."
Kujo Miki glanced at her.
She had heard this from Toru Watanabe, but it felt completely different when it came from Mai Asu herself.
Looking at Mai Asu's expression again, even when she said such words, her expression remained calm.
Miki Kujo learned about Mai Asuka's personality from Toru Watanabe.
She didn't really want to apologize, she didn't have that kind of emotion, she just used her smart brain to do something that wouldn't cause trouble for Toru Watanabe.
She didn't want to cause trouble for Toru Watanabe, and everything she did was just to stay with Toru Watanabe.
"I don't care what's going on with you. It's because of Watanabe that I allow you to exist."
After saying that, Kujo Miki waved her hand, indicating that Asu Mai could leave.
Asu Mai nodded and said to Watanabe Toru, "Good night, Toru."
"Good night, senpai." Watanabe Toru replied.
After Asu Mai left, Mrs. Kujo took a sip of Karuizawa whiskey and said, "This girl is interesting."
"Well, Meiji must feel a little better now." Mrs. Kiyono was drinking beer. "Love is terrible. It's all a psychological warfare."
"Youko, don't deliberately instigate." Mrs. Kujo put down her wine glass, "Meiji has already acknowledged the current situation, just live a good life."
"That won't work. It's not my little Rin who won."
"Mother, I don't need such means."
Watanabe Toru looked at Kujo Miki, who glared at him impatiently and frowned, "What are you looking at?"
"It's night time, let's see if your eyes will sparkle."
"The last song! Please sing with us!" shouted the guitarist in front.
The piano hums softly, a song that is familiar to the entire island nation.
At the closing ceremony of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, the chorus sang this song to end the Olympic celebrations; it was also the ending song of the Red and White Song Festival - "Hikari no Hikari"
"Firefly light, snow on the window"
"Time spent reading accumulates day by day"
"In a trance, the door of time and years"
"Today is the beginning, and we are about to part"
Everybody hummed along, including the ladies.
Summer is like a street lamp that goes out, and it is one day closer to the end.
