Chapter 25 third quarter

"Ah, hum, I see, Miss Meixing!" Something unreasonable happened before my eyes.No matter how smart the American Star barista is, it is impossible to predict in advance that I will have something to do with darts, so there is only one conclusion that can be deduced through logic. "You peeked out at me on the same floor as the Heartwarming store trying to throw darts, bought it as soon as I was gone, and walked around behind me to say hello, right?" "I don't think so at all." The barista dismissed my speculation without hesitation.Shouldn't it be "I think"?

"As I said before, I saw Mr. Aoyama come out of Xinnuan store with my own eyes. Although your expression looking back at the building can be described as reluctance, but you only stayed for tens of seconds at most? If I’m going to buy darts during this time and ask the clerk to pack them, and then go around behind you from another exit, it’s actually a bit rushed! And…” "and?" "Isn't it weird to deliberately choose something as a gift that you decide not to buy?" "Uh, it's not that I don't want to buy it, but I can't—" That's right!I remembered why I had to give it up.

"I see. Having said that, I remember that there were still darts on the rack during the trial throws, but when I finished the trial throws, there was not even a box left on the rack. The only explanation is that someone was concentrating on my trial. When throwing, buy the darts, and that person is you." "You mean, I didn't take into account that Mr. Aoyama, you may decide not to buy it after the trial investment?" I murmured a "huh".When I think about it, I made up my mind to buy darts only because of that miraculous third try.If you only look at my miserable results before the second throw, it is more likely that I will not buy it, right?

"...No, no, since I'm willing to make a trial shot, I can be sure that I'm interested in darts. It doesn't matter if I take away the goods at that time. You can wait until my trial shot is over before going to checkout." "If so, as with your first inference, time will be too short." She dismissed my idea decisively and looked at her phone. "It's getting late, we're about to leave." Naturally, night fell by the time we paid our bills and took the elevator from the building to Kiyamachi-dori.It's not good to let her walk home alone at night, I was hesitating whether to send her back, when I asked the truth on the way...

"Then I'll go first." The barista tried to run away. "Go first? Are you going to go back alone?" "Don't worry, someone is waiting for me around here." "Are you here to pick you up? Could it be Mr. Sagawa?" "No, if you really want to say it, uncle is more like a person waiting for someone to pick him up." She slurs it off with banter filled with strong dark humor.Standing by the Takase River, she had a different smile on her face than before, and she felt a little uneasy. Seeing her attitude, I suddenly understood.Perhaps a man was waiting for her nearby.

If this were not the case, it would be difficult to explain why she did not want the person waiting for her to meet me.Judging from her saying that "it's not entirely impossible to pour wine for others", it can be inferred that she has friends of the opposite sex who are close enough to eat together.Regardless of whether the barista pays more attention to me or that person, there are a lot of reasons for not wanting two friends of the opposite sex to meet. "As long as you get home safely, I don't care." I felt my clumsy smirk covered by the night. "But first tell me what mechanism you used."

I lifted the paper bag and shook it from side to side, and she smiled and sighed. "Then treat it as an exercise. This is a trick and treat I designed. If you think of something, please come to Talleyrand." —Pranks and gifts... I looked at her figure who left after saluting to me, and smiled bitterly at the delicate thought of not forgetting to adapt the fixed lines of Halloween.When my puzzling exercises blocked the way to Talleyrand, a thought flashed in my mind, thinking that she might use this to temporarily dissuade me who wanted to go deeper.However, when she was about to disappear around the corner, she waved to me several times; her movements were so playful that my cranky thoughts disappeared and I set foot on the way home.

Less than ten days after that, the situation changed. It's really sad that I dare not go to school without solving the exercises.The gift that the other party specially gave me is not like mine at all, and I haven't voted for half a time until now.I really want to drink coffee, but I can't think of an answer at all, and I am embarrassed to patronize Talleyrand.With all kinds of desperation, I had to sit in the Rockon coffee shop I often go to, dazedly trying to piece together my useless thoughts. Suddenly, an aroma of self-roasted coffee beans drifted past my nose, and I realized that there seemed to be some movement in the store, so I looked at the glass door at the entrance of the store.

"—Huh?" The two said these words in unison. I have an impression of this gray suit.Because from a distance, I found that he was slender, with plastic-rimmed glasses clinging to his straight nose. "Hey, it's been really hard the past few days." I was taken aback.The person in front of me who smiled kindly at me was the man who encouraged me to try darts at the Xinnuan shop. "Thank you last time." "There is nothing to thank, I just asked if you want to take a shot." The man smiled troubledly, but didn't seriously respond to my thank you.Maybe it's because of working in a grocery store that is open all year round. There are no so-called weekends, and he wears a suit even on Sundays.Then he turned around and called out to the shop owner standing in the bar:

"Can I sit at the table with him?" "No problem. But the term "joining the table" should have been used for guests you don't know." The boss who answered with a chuckle had a hoarse voice, and with a thick mustache, he looked majestic.He chose to open in this place with a lot of students. In just a few years, he kept the number of visitors at a certain level. He also went to teach at a chef school in Osaka that offers barista training classes, and spared no effort in cultivating future talents. If the boss's words just now were redundant, the man's kind reply "I've been taught" is also redundant.What's more, I have nothing to talk to this young man at all.Why did it evolve into this situation?Although I was puzzled, I couldn't do anything to him, so I had to sit face to face with him at the next table.

The male ordered two coffees, one of which was for me.I took the cup embarrassingly, and was worrying about how to resolve the awkward atmosphere, but the next few words made my confusion disappear in one breath. "By the way, I haven't reported my name yet. My name is Hu Nebohe, please give me your advice." "Oh, I'm..." "I know who you are. Oh, I didn't expect Mei Xing to have a friend of the opposite sex who can go to the tavern alone with her." I almost spit out the coffee in my mouth. "Do you know Miss Meixing?" "That's right. I saw you talking to Mei Xing after leaving the Heart Warm Store. Her relaxed smile surprised me a lot. I didn't expect that she would be able to let go of her guard and talk to the opposite sex as easily as before." He could indeed clearly see the expression on her face when she was talking to me with my back to the Xinnuan store from inside the store.Before I knew it, I felt a bit uncomfortable, because only I still maintained a polite attitude when speaking, but the man named Hu Nei could call her by her name directly. At least it can be inferred that he should be older than me. I only ask questions about the parts of his statement that really bother me. "Wait a minute, please. What do you mean it's the same as before?" His hand holding the cup stopped in mid-air.It's like saying "Oops". "Did she not tell you anything?" "Is it about the opposite sex and the relationship between men and women? Although she said something that makes people doubt what happened, other than that, I don't know." Hearing my answer, he lowered his head and fell into deep thought as if he was worried about something.I didn't know how to react for a moment, so I just listened to the old rock songs from the speakers above my head.After one song is played, it is replaced by another song.The customers in the store left, and other customers came in.I took a sip of coffee.Finally, when the tune was changed again, Hu Nei said as if making up his mind: "Do you really want to know what happened to Mei Xing before?" "what?" "Even if you know, there is no way to change the facts of the past. Even so, are you still determined to accept what she has carried?" I have thought about his question for a long time, but so far, I have not found the answer. "...I want to know, not because of curiosity or pure interest. She thinks that maybe one day, she and I will develop a friendship that can go deep into each other's hearts, but she hasn't been able to muster the courage yet. So I want to wait until then to ask Her, otherwise it feels like I've betrayed her trust." I am not good at those high-sounding truths, but I still try to convey my ideas.Because I also felt that the serious eyes of the other party seemed to want to guide an answer from my heart. "Both you and she admit that I am a special person to her. It seems that my status in her heart cannot be explained by my self-love. I don't know why I became like that. But, I can't fail here if I'm targeting someone else, and I want to respect her wishes." However, Hu Nei said something unexpected to me at this time. "Even if that puts you or Meixing in danger?" I couldn't understand what he meant and frowned. "Danger?" "If not, I don't want to say it lightly. Because it was really not a happy past, Mei Xing didn't want to confess! But if I hide it because of this, it may happen again. To avoid this situation , I considered telling you. Of course, you can’t tell Mei Xing.” Hu Nei drank his coffee stiffly as if waiting for my response. I am in great confusion.Since I don't know what it is, I have no way of guessing the danger that we two may encounter.Suppose what he said was true?What if I have already stepped into the past that I am afraid it will repeat itself? The tune streaming from the speakers gradually fades out and is replaced by the next tune. "...I see." I said with a sigh, "Please tell me about Miss Meixing." If you don't know anything, you can't deal with it; if you know, you might be able to figure out how to avoid a nasty situation in advance.Even if it's just to judge whether I need to know, it's better to listen to what he has to say.At least in his words, I could already hear the unhappiness enough to change my mind a few minutes ago. "I knew you would say that. But I have a condition. What I'm going to tell you next... No, what I'm talking to you here, absolutely must not let Mei Xing know. Is it okay?" I nodded.I couldn't have confessed to her the betrayal of her trust by myself. As if drinking refreshing brandy, he raised his head and drank the coffee in the cup, and then opened his mouth slowly. "Well, I hope you can take it as a fable. ——She came to Kyoto four years ago in the spring. At that time, she had just graduated from high school in her hometown and was going to Kyoto to attend a short-term college." The barista once said that he was twenty-three years old this year, and the time coincided with what he said four years ago. "She is very curious and doesn't care about the gender, age, appearance or status of the other party. She is very active and wants to communicate with everyone. As soon as she entered university, she asked her relatives to introduce her and began to work in a coffee shop. No matter which customer she treated, her attitude was very good Friendly and cheerful. I have heard her say that she works with the idea of ​​getting the customers who come to the coffee shop to go back refreshed.” What he said was slightly different from my impression of her.She is indeed very curious, and it can even be said that I got to know her because of this.But her attitude towards other guests is not like this, on the contrary, she will not disturb the guests who enjoy the quiet time.Is that what he meant when he said it was the same as before?Based on the words and deeds of relatives who worked in the same store, Hu Nei's description of her feels a bit unexpected, but not impossible. "As soon as she sees customers who are depressed or depressed, she will take the initiative to care about them and find ways to cheer them up. Her ambition may be quite admirable, and I think there should be many customers who accept her help. But Treating everyone equally is not necessarily the best, but she doesn't know it. One day, a male customer came to the coffee shop. To be honest, his appearance does not make people feel good about him .Not because of physical characteristics, but similar to the way they dress and look dirty. Men also seem to be very aware of the fact and reasons for being alienated by others, so they have long been used to being alone. Walking into a coffee shop to drink coffee is inherently It's very common, but she took the initiative to speak to that man—why does your expression look so lonely?" "Isn't this a good story to be admired? Don't discriminate against people because of their appearance." "Do you really think so?" I froze.Because the young man looked at me with eyes of strong condemnation. "A person's appearance is made up of many conditions. Many of them cannot be changed by one's own will. For example, it is an excessive requirement to ask a person who is teased by others to find a way to grow taller. But there are also some conditions. Not so. When you know that you are not recognized by others, you already know how many conditions you can improve. Things like dressing are the easiest to improve. Whether the person involved is aware of it or not, everyone will pay more or less attention to it. Do others agree with themselves. Don't you think it's arrogant to force others to give up paying attention to or trying to improve these conditions and identify with the most primitive self?" Although I was confused, I shook my head in affirmation. "I'm not saying that to judge people from their appearance. I also think it's not good to alienate a person because of conditions that cannot be changed, but this does not conflict with the existence of conditions that can be changed at the same time. It can even be said the other way around. People don't care about appearance at all. The point is the difference in values! I'm correcting you for saying the word 'beautiful talk' easily. People who don't know how to pretend to understand will say 'don't judge others by appearance!'" not actually talk It’s not allowed to pass!’ But a person’s living time is limited, and he has no spare time to make a deep friendship with everyone he meets, determine his inner self, and then judge whether he is good or bad. I want to find someone who I like on the outside and inside. There is nothing wrong with it. Why must it be regarded as a violation of morality? As long as you don’t harm people you hate, you don’t have anything to criticize if you want to get close to someone, or alienate someone based on appearance.” "...I really shouldn't lightly say that this is a good talk. However, a person who is not attractive on the outside may hide a very good charm under the appearance. So I can't deny her behavior of looking for the other party's good points." "Of course! However, I would like to add one more point. It is enough to accept a person with flaws, but if you encourage him to maintain the status quo, it may become too conniving to the person concerned. Trying to change his attitude will only harm him. Don't Forget that when a person's shortcomings have room for improvement, it depends on the person's willingness to find a way to make others agree with him, or to give up letting others agree with him. Allow this kind of behavior like a child's willfulness, Is it really for that person? I think it's worth thinking about." Then he cleared his throat, apologizing for his agitated tone. What Hu Nei said did have his truth.However, he who seems to be born with a popular appearance should not be able to understand the mood of some people who cannot hope to become more perfect.It is very embarrassing and painful to insist on things that you know you are not qualified for.Even if you make up your mind to give up, deep down in your heart you must still hope that someone will agree with you. Perhaps Hu Nei's easy-to-approach temperament is actually created by his deliberate efforts!It is understandable that he cannot rationally agree with people who do not pay attention to this aspect, or is dissatisfied with the Barista of Beauty Stars for accepting such people... No, no.I revise my mind.He already knew the continuation of the story.If the "man" in the story is the culprit who left a stain on Barista's past, a young man who knows her original personality will naturally hate that man.He should have disguised his resentment as a general argument, or justified it. "Let's get back to the topic! She approached the heart of this man who had given up on being recognized by others without hesitation, and patiently used the time to slowly open the closed heart door. Even the man who just stepped into the coffee on a whim The man in the store also gradually opened up to her, and unconsciously came up with an idea—this person has always wanted to penetrate into my heart that no one has ever been willing to pry into, and he must regard himself as a very special existence." Unexpectedly, the man's thoughts seem to be exactly the opposite of the relationship I just described with the barista.If so, contrary to my positioning myself as a "special person", men feel that the barista is a "special existence".But the man got the subject mixed up. "In the end, the man took this unfamiliar emotion as his admiration for her, and proposed to her. As a matter of course, she solemnly rejected him, but the man couldn't accept it. If he was unwilling to associate with him from the beginning, why? How about trying to let go of his defenses—the door of my heart that I didn't intend to open opened because of trusting her, where should my emotions go?" Although I think the man is very irrational, I can empathize with some of his thoughts.When others treat you unkindly, of course you cherish others’ kindness to you more than anyone else, but the more friendly others are to you, the more you will feel that passive acceptance is not enough, and you will start asking for others.Although the mentality is ugly, it seems that people do have the idea that "if you haven't tasted good food, you can eat junk food with relish" for a moment. "Afterwards, something happened. One night, a man was walking near Talleyrand, and happened to see her and a woman of the opposite sex of similar age walking side by side from the tunnel between the two houses. The other party was coffee. Regular customer of the shop." The story is about to reach its climax, and I gradually feel shortness of breath. "The man knew that her attitude remained the same after rejecting his confession, even if the other party was the opposite sex, he did not hesitate to get close to him, so he realized that even the depression and pain in his heart did not affect her in any way, and finally became angry. Man I think she should be taught a lesson. When she bid farewell to the guests at the crossroads and walked into an alley with less traffic, the man attacked her from behind..." silence.All sounds were withdrawn from the space around the two of them.Although the youth only temporarily stopped talking, I thought for a moment that I had lost my hearing. Soon after, as if a heavy rock began to roll, Hu Nei continued. "Fortunately, the man who said goodbye to her just now turned back. When he rushed to her, he was nowhere to be seen. She barely escaped. However, when the man left, he said to her In a word." "What is that sentence?" "The man whispered in her ear: 'You play with other people's feelings!'" At first, I just thought it was a very common line in this situation, with no special meaning.But after two or three ruminations deep in my ear, like dew slowly congealing, I can begin to imagine how much the words hit her. "That was a comment that was completely contrary to what she had always believed in. As smart as she was, it didn't take a moment for her to realize why she was driving a man mad and frightened. Encouraging the other party to talk to her without considering the cause and effect is actually very irresponsible. After a period of recuperation, she returned to work in the coffee shop, but her attitude was completely different from before, and she began to keep a certain distance from customers. No, not just treating customers. She closed the door of her heart and blocked everything that might make herself People who repeat the same mistakes. To be precise, they should let the other party close the door on their own initiative." —I can't muster up the courage now. I thought back to what she had said in the tavern.I thought it meant the courage to let others have a deep friendship with me. I thought it meant the courage to open my heart and tell others about my pain. But I was mistaken.What she's talking about is the courage to go deep into the other person's heart. "The above is what happened four years ago. After that, there should be no man who can get as close to her as you are. At least as far as I know." "What about you? Then again, why do you know Miss Meixing's past so well?" After I asked him the question that I didn't have time to ask just now, the young man smiled "hehe".I don't know why, but I think his expression looks a bit self-deprecating. "Because I'm not good at lying, I'll tell you the truth! I also appeared in the story just now." It dawned on me.In the story told by the young man, except for the "man" he hated, there was only one man left. "You also have something to do with this matter. That's why you know the cause and effect of the matter." "...I've been having a bad feeling that night." Is it the so-called intuition?Following his hunch, he turned back along the original road and rescued the barista of Meixing.It is obvious that the hero saved the beauty, but his smile is still self-deprecating. "After that kind of thing happened, I can no longer communicate with her directly, but I still stay at a distance and protect her in my own way. Although I can't say how much credit I have, I still want to believe I can be a little bit of her help, after all, I have to give up some things." I finally understood why Hu Nei showed that expression.He wanted to help her who could no longer have a deep relationship with the opposite sex, so he gave up his love.Although it is a noble spirit worthy of admiration, it must be mixed with bitterness. She once said that there is someone protecting her, and that person is also a friend she values ​​very much now.When I knew who she was referring to and was about to thank the person who had cheered her up, it occurred to me that it was too soon. "Did you just say you were in danger? But, isn't it all in the past? It's fine if there are still men around her from now on, but I think it's because this is not the case that she can cheer up. Maybe you've been worrying about the same danger all your life?" "You're right. After all, this happened four years ago." Hu Nei smiled wryly. "Whether you want to treat this as a thing of the past is up to you or Mei Xing. I can only warn you in advance and advise you to think about what you should do to help your loved ones." "This, this is not love or not!" He said this for no reason, which made me stutter immediately. "I like the coffee she brews very much. In fact, I want to know the secret of the taste, so I approach her. I hope that the taste of the coffee will last forever. As long as I can help, I am willing to do it. I think The sense of taste is very delicate and sensitive, and it can only be maintained in a stable state of mind.” "Oh, coffee." He muttered to himself and drank the liquid in his glass.I also imitated him and drank the rest of the coffee.It's already cold, but I feel my face is hot like a ball of fire. Why? "It's time for me to leave. I'll pay for the coffee, right?" He glanced at his watch and got up from his chair. "No, in order to thank you for telling me such an important thing, let me treat you today!" "That's it, I'm sorry. Let me remind you again, you must never tell her about our meeting here today. Also, this is for you." He took out the manual from his pocket, tore off a corner of the white inner page, and quickly wrote on it.Eleven numbers were written on the paper, and the scene seemed familiar to me. "This is my phone number. Call me if you have any problems with Mei Xing." "May I take this as your approval of my relationship with her?" "Don't say what you agree with or not. The so-called relationship is defined by the parties themselves, right? The most I can help is to give you advice, and it's up to you whether you want to take it to heart or not. But, perhaps it can be said that it is better to let go Take the herding method." Hu Nei then blew a light breeze in the store, and hurried across Imadegawa-dori without seeing anyone.After watching him leave through the glass door, I looked at the string of numbers in my hand and thought: Now I can finally visit Talleyrand. I don't immediately want to break the agreement with the young man.So why?Of course it is because I have solved the exercises.