LRAB Page 12
Page 12
He stretched out his hand: "Next, I will make no mistakes and steadily increase your favorability."
Miyuki covered his forehead with his hand and grinned disdainfully: "Trouble often comes from doing things beyond one's capabilities."
She stood up from the caregiver's chair, picked up the manuscript, and said, "I'm leaving now."
"Leaving already?" Shirakawa Natsu glanced at the time. "Aren't we going to have lunch together? There's no one in the editorial department at noon."
After she left, Shirakawa Natsumi could only eat boiled cabbage at the hospital.
"No, thank you." Miyuki turned around and lifted the bed curtain: "I just felt something, I'm going to go outside the school to take a look."
Shirakawa Natsumi's lips twitched, and she gave her the middle finger: "Scumbag woman."
Miyuki left the ward with a flourish, without looking back.
Shirakawa Natsumi pouted. She would only be able to eat boiled cabbage for lunch. Her next priority was to make a plan to pursue Hashimoto Arina.
Every meeting with Kimura Hama, the Minotaur, is important.
Most importantly, you must never do anything that would lower Hashimoto Arina's favorability.
Suddenly, the sound of footsteps echoed outside the ward door. Miyuki turned back, carrying a cloth bag in her hand.
Shirakawa Natsu wondered if he thought it would be too much trouble to make an appointment at noon and decided to come back to find him instead.
"Here, take this." Miyuki placed the cloth bag on Shirakawa Natsu's bedside table. "I picked it up at the door just now. There's no one else in the ward, so it must be for you."
"Thump." Shirakawa Natsu's heart skipped a beat when she saw the cloth bag.
Recalling his phone call with Arina Hashimoto that morning, he complained about how bad the hospital food was.
He opened the cloth bag, took out the familiar lunchbox, opened it, and the presentation was still not very good.
But compared to two days of mushy food, at least you can tell which dishes were made, so it's clear that the person who cooked it put their heart into it.
Shirakawa Natsu covered her face with her hands. She had just thought that there would be no mistakes, but this slap in the face came too quickly.
Most importantly, he didn't know when Hashimoto Arina arrived, or what she heard outside the bed curtains.
"I'm leaving." Miyuki turned and left the ward.
Shirakawa Natsu didn't speak, closed her eyes and began to sort out the current situation.
Miyuki came out of the ward and stopped at the corner of the floor.
Hashimoto Arina kept her head down, her back pressed against the closed door. When she saw her walk over, she looked up and forced a smile: "Thank you for helping me deliver the bento to him."
After she finished speaking, Asami no Shiki bowed slightly and said, "I have something to attend to at home, so I'll be leaving now."
Miyuki looked at her expressionlessly: "Don't you have anything to say to me?"
Hashimoto Arina paused as she turned around, and after a long while, she spoke: "Who made the first move?"
"Hmph." Miyuki's expression was contemptuous: "It was my initiative."
After she finished speaking, she walked up to Hashimoto Arina. She was 1.79 meters tall, stood in front of Hashimoto Arina with her hands in her pockets, and looked down at her:
"And on what grounds do you, his attending physician, ask such a question?"
“I…” Hashimoto Arina felt the pressure she was exerting and involuntarily took a half step back, but quickly retorted angrily, “I am him…”
She didn't finish her sentence, swallowing the rest back down, and shook her head: "You wouldn't understand. I'm sorry, you must have found this amusing."
Hashimoto Arina clearly didn't want to argue with Miyuki, and turned away after speaking.
"Stop being so self-righteous." Miyuki had no intention of letting her off the hook. Her voice was icy and chilling: "Your behavior is disgusting."
"What do you know!" Hashimoto Arina suddenly turned around. She was finally broken by Miyuki's words. Her eyes were red and tears were welling up in her eyes.
“Xia…he…”
Hashimoto Arina clenched her teeth, but still couldn't finish her sentence.
“His health is failing; he won’t live more than a few months.” Mikoto calmly stated what she wanted to say.
Hashimoto Arina's expression froze, her eyes wide with surprise: "You...why?"
“I grew up with him since I was a child, and no one knows his situation better than me,” Mikoto said calmly.
"Since you know, why are you denying me?" Hashimoto Arina gradually calmed down and looked at Miyuki.
"So you think what you did was out of good intentions?" Mikoto stepped forward.
This time, Hashimoto Arina's gaze was firm as she met Hashimoto's eyes without backing down.
"Yes, I am a doctor, and my position is to help my patients spend the last part of their lives with minimal suffering."
"Doctor? Patient?" Miyuki stared into her eyes: "Is this your reason for deceiving him like a child?"
“I didn’t.” Hashimoto Arina shook her head, her tone firm: “Everything I did came from the bottom of my heart.”
“No.” Mikoto shook his head: “Your behavior is like an adult deceiving a child, telling him that as long as he works hard enough, he can surpass anyone and realize his dreams. Isn’t that ridiculous enough?”
"He is not a child; on the contrary, he is a genius, better than the average person."
"Your so-called goodwill is nothing but a ridiculous, third-rate performance that can be seen through at a glance."
"And all you've done is a childish display of self-satisfaction through what you perceive as noble sacrifices."
Hashimoto Arina's newly mustered courage was shattered by Minoki's barrage of words.
She took a half step back and murmured, "No."
"Stop your self-satisfaction and stop using goodwill as an excuse." Miyuki stepped forward, reached out, and tapped Hashimoto Arina's chest.
"If you like him, tell him, and then be there for him in his final moments."
"If you don't like him, tell him the truth, whether he's a doctor, a patient, or a friend."
"He needs respect, not deception."
“I…” Hashimoto Arina lowered her head, seemingly unable to meet Miyuki’s gaze. After a long while, a blush rose to her face:
"Excuse me, could you please remove your finger?"
She was a full E cup, and when Miyuki shoved his penis against her chest, he didn't hold back, causing his fingers to sink directly into her.
That really ruins the atmosphere.
The next day, Shirakawa Natsu spoke with Hashimoto Arina on the phone in the morning; she was still staying home on leave.
He tried to probe about what happened yesterday, but Hashimoto Arina dodged the question with a laugh, told him to eat on time, and then hurriedly hung up the phone.
Only Mikoto came to pick up the manuscript as usual. She didn't mention what happened yesterday: "Are you a monster? A normal painter updates one chapter a week and often takes a break. You can draw two or three chapters in one night."
"It's just drawing what I remember." Shirakawa Natsu shrugged. "Besides, the background of 'Bleach' is simple, so it's relatively faster to draw."
Miyuki didn't continue the topic. After flipping through the manuscript, she put it in an envelope and looked up at Shirakawa Natsu:
"The comic is very popular. The editorial department called last night. This comic has a high probability of breaking the record since its inception. If you can finish drawing the first volume, we can adapt it into an anime."
"Hmm, I'll think about it." Shirakawa Natsu nodded; the magazine also knew roughly about his condition.
If it weren't for the fear of his sudden death or worsening condition leading to an indefinite hiatus, this manga would have already been adapted into an anime.
It now appears that the comic's success is exceeding expectations, and for profit reasons, the editorial department has extended an invitation to him to create an animation.
Shirakawa Natsu doesn't plan to adapt it into an anime for the time being; he hasn't even solved his survival problem yet.
There's simply no time to worry about those things.
“Hmm.” Miyuki nodded, she could roughly guess what Shirakawa Natsu was thinking: “And about the hot spring trip we mentioned last time, they’re also urging us to book tickets for you.”
“A hot spring trip, huh?” Shirakawa Natsumi patted his head. His original plan was to invite Hashimoto Arina.
But now that Hashimoto Arina is clearly avoiding him, he's starting to feel conflicted.
"The schedule for this weekend," Miyuki said, "must be finalized by today at the latest."
“Okay.” Shirakawa Natsu nodded. He couldn’t just give up like that. If he stayed in the hospital bed, in a familiar environment, it would be difficult to make progress with Hashimoto Arina. He had to stay in an unfamiliar environment to have a chance.
After Miyuki left, Shirakawa Natsu took out her phone, took a deep breath, and realized that she couldn't care less about saving face at this point; she had to use the tricks she was told.
He dialed Hashimoto Arina's number, closed his eyes, and listened to the "beep beep beep" sound coming from the receiver.
The phone rang for a long time but was not answered. I don't know if Hashimoto Arina's phone wasn't with her or if she didn't want to answer.
The call was only connected just before it was about to automatically disconnect.
“Natsu…” Hashimoto Arina answered his call, her voice clearly tense: “Is something wrong?”
"I'd like to see Yuzuri-nee today, is that alright?" Shirakawa Natsu asked.
“This…” Hashimoto Arina hesitated, then said after a long pause, “I’m sorry, Natsu, could you give me a few days?”
"But the editorial department has an event this weekend, which is very important to me," Shirakawa Natsumi immediately said. "Could Sister Cai come with me?"
Hashimoto Arina hesitated for a moment. She had already refused once, and her mind was in turmoil. She didn't want to refuse again.
I am his attending physician, and it is reasonable for him to take him to participate in activities since he is unable to go out.
She nodded and said, "Okay."
Chapter 16 This is a double standard
Hashimoto Arina took a vacation until the weekend, knowing that Shirakawa Natsumi's important activity was a hot spring trip.
They didn't realize they'd been tricked.
"Sister Cai, actually I don't need a wheelchair, I can walk by myself." Shirakawa Natsu sat in the wheelchair, feeling the gazes of passersby around her, and felt inexplicably ashamed.
Hashimoto Arina brought out a wheelchair and refused to help him with her hands to express her dissatisfaction.
He was about to be discharged from the hospital, and if she really pushed him to the party in a wheelchair, he would immediately become the center of attention.
"Hmph, I don't want to touch you." Hashimoto Arina pouted, pushing her wheelchair with both hands, looking angry. "It's no use saying anything. I will never forgive you so easily."
"Sorry, Sister Yuzuri." Shirakawa Natsu glanced at her out of the corner of her eye. Her long black hair was neatly draped over her shoulders, and she was wearing a beige batwing shirt and a short skirt.
The silver earrings hanging from her ears are both mature and fashionable.
As a doctor, she doesn't usually wear jewelry, but this time she not only wore light makeup but also jewelry.
Typical of someone who says they don't care, but takes their health very seriously.
“I often see families going to hot spring inns on TV and in comics, but I’ve never been one.” Shirakawa Natsu looked into the distance with longing on her face. “I want to take this opportunity to go and see one. Even if it’s not with my family, it’s the same as going with Arina-nee.”
Seeing the longing look on his face, Hashimoto Arina's feigned anger instantly melted away.
But then I felt that if I had said I wouldn't forgive him just a second ago, it would be too embarrassing to immediately back down.
She silently reached out and helped him up from his wheelchair, lowering her voice to say, "Don't try any more tricks on me."
“Mm.” Shirakawa Natsu nodded obediently. He wasn’t lying; he did often see families going to hot spring inns in manga.
The one that impressed him the most was the story of three people and a younger boy.
Arriving at the meeting point on time, the group was led by a slightly overweight middle-aged man with glasses, who was also Shirakawa Natsu's editor.
He had been bothered for a long time by the fact that his editor wasn't the girl in black stockings and glasses.
Based on his experience, those time-traveling predecessors, whether they wrote novels or drew comics, all possessed extraordinary abilities.
The editors I encountered were either pretty and cute new girls or mature bespectacled women in black stockings who were being ostracized by others.
So he always thought the editorial department should be full of beautiful girls, so why did he end up with a middle-aged man with glasses?
Upon seeing Shirakawa Natsu, he immediately greeted her warmly, addressing her as "Teacher" repeatedly.
The number of people at this event was not large; including him, there were only a dozen or so people in total, and it seems they were just painters under his supervision.
When Shirakawa Natsu appeared, everyone else looked over, curious about what this prodigy who was destined to break publishing records looked like.
However, their attention quickly shifted to Hashimoto Arina.
Talent remains, but beauty is still more captivating.
Shirakawa Natsu quickly noticed a familiar figure in the crowd, with short, messy hair tied into a short ponytail, looking both unrestrained and handsome.
I was chatting with the only pretty-looking woman with glasses among the dozen or so people, and she kept laughing.
"Miyuki, what are you doing here!" Shirakawa Natsu walked over and grabbed her leather jacket.
Hashimoto Arina witnessed what happened between him and Miyuki in the hospital bed a couple of days ago.
Although she doesn't know exactly how many people have seen her, judging from her behavior these past two days, it's clear she's been seen kissing someone.