The rain in Tokyo had been falling incessantly for half a day, and it finally eased up a little by evening.
The air was filled with a moist humidity, the temperature pleasantly cool, and the shops on either side of the street were lit with warm lights. A yellow Ferrari drove down the avenue, turning into a lush, green private parking lot.
After parking the car, Fujiwara Reya opened an umbrella and headed toward Senior Rinko’s house.
A fifty-ter long slope flanked by ginkgo trees stood with a two-ter-high stone wall at the top. Below the stone wall was a deep ditch, resembling a moat, surrounding an aristocratic residence.
When he used to visit Senior Rinko’s ho, Fujiwara Reya loved sneaking over the wall to find her, feeling like a poor boy in ancient tis secretly eting a daimyo’s daughter. But now it’s different; now he is a man of status and must enter through the main gate.
Formally dressed guests were constantly coming in and out at the entrance to the mansion.
"Good evening, Master Fujiwara."
"Young Director, tonight you must allow us to witness your tea ceremony performance."
"Director Fujiwara, could you make ti to visit our Goutoku-ji? We have so excellent burial plots..."
Along the way, people kept greeting Fujiwara Reya. Their looks toward him were no longer filled with suspicion and amazent as they had been at the previous assembly, the unparalleled shock this young man brought had directly stirred the entire transcendent world’s dynamics...
After registering his na at the entrance, a maid led Fujiwara Reya along the corridor to the front courtyard.
This residence was divided into two courtyards, front and back. The front courtyard was a Japanese-style house for entertaining guests, while the back courtyard comprised a Western-style villa where Senior Rinko lived her daily life in Tokyo.
In the courtyard under the night rain, small birds chirped and sang.
After a few steps, Fujiwara Reya asked, "Did Senior Rinko co to the front yard yet?"
"Still changing in the back courtyard," the maid replied, glancing back at the rear courtyard.
"Should I change into a kimono too?" Fujiwara Reya looked at the female guests in their luxurious kimonos, "Wearing casual clothes in such a formal setting feels sowhat out of place."
"Let the mistress decide," the maid replied with a warm smile.
As they talked, they rounded a corridor where a teahouse appeared at the end. Mrs. Hoshimi, in a beige kimono and surrounded by a group of people, was just entering the room. She moved gracefully yet exuded an irresistible authority.
Truly worthy of being the Director.
If she were in a Yamato drama, she might be the kind of ruthless female antagonist!
As she stepped out, Mrs. Hoshimi spotted Fujiwara Reya and waved him over.
Her beige kimono was accented with a white embroidered obi, her hair elegantly pinned with pearl adornnts. Up close, the pattern on the kimono’s chest was of small chrysanthemums with hues that deepened gracefully down to the skirt’s hem, culminating in a truly elegant appearance.
"Why are you so late?" Mrs. Hoshimi scolded him with a stern face.
"The traffic was so bad." Fujiwara Reya adopted a humble posture fitting a junior, and said softly, "If I’d known Miss Hoshimi looked so stunning in a kimono, I wouldn’t have driven here but rather carried the car on my shoulders and run over."
"You’re only daring to say that because Hiko isn’t around, right?" Mrs. Hoshimi’s lodic voice ca through her beautiful lips, and her fair neck glead brightly, full of girlish vitality.
Fujiwara Reya looked around in surprise, "Aunt Kasahara isn’t here?"
That one word, "Aunt," made Mrs. Hoshimi burst into laughter.
Like an elder she had known for a long ti, she affectionately grasped Fujiwara Reya’s arm, joyfully asking, "You’ve got such a sense of humor, kid. I’ll say sothing to Rinko later on, tell her you’re trying to win over, so she’ll dislike you."
"She already dislikes enough," Fujiwara Reya sighed.
"There’s still hope..." Mrs. Hoshimi said with a laugh, then gently nudged his shoulder, "Go to the back courtyard and change into sothing more formal, Rinko’s waiting for you. Try to appease her well."
After saying this, Mrs. Hoshimi turned around and walked indoors, the bow at her waist forming a drum-shaped fan knot.
Fujiwara Reya headed in the opposite direction.
Following the route from mory, he passed through a small archway between the front and back courtyards, walking along the gentle breeze and rain corridor. Small pine trees lined the way, their leaves showing traces of careful trimming, and a white wall could be seen beyond the pine grove. The ginkgo trees stood tall, their sparse twigs unable to cover the branches. They exhibited a vivid contrast under the interplay of nightti rain and lights, as tender as a young girl’s skin.
Arriving at the small building where Senior Rinko lived, which boasted iji-era Western architectural features, with high ceilings and cream-colored exterior walls. The windows were set high and were of the old-fashioned upper-and-lower sash type, having been repainted several tis but still evoking echoes of a beautiful bygone era.
The courtyard featured hedges and ticulously pruned pines, and the graceful veranda extended endlessly like a bowling alley. In the misty rain of the night, a girl stood beneath the veranda, raindrops clinging to her hair and stray strands stuck to her delicate face.
As a pleasant night breeze blew, amid the pitch-black rainy night, Fujiwara Reya bent down and plucked a purple bellflower from the roadside.
"For the beautiful Senior Rinko," he said, bending low to offer the flower.
"No!" Hoshimi Rinko, still a bit sulking over yesterday’s incident, turned her head away with a huff. Her black hair swayed, her elegant neck comparable to a fairy descending to the mortal world.
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