Chapter 107: The Young Girl’s Ongoing Moment
The feelings surging from the chest have nothing to do with so-called romantic feelings between men and women. In Kazumi’s chaotic and complex society from her past life, pure and sincere individuals like young boys have likely already gone extinct.
Thus, people restlessly seek their own desires, viewing feelings and chastity with increasing indifference, to the point where it has become a social trend. Boys no longer uphold so-called virtues; instead, they boast about the number of different girls they have been with, and feelings have mostly become a means to fulfill physical needs. Girls, too, have become increasingly easy-going. A person one has only known for a few hours could easily become a bed partner for the night over a drink or a few words.
To put it somewhat exaggeratedly, in today’s society, if one wants to find a naïve girl, they might as well go to kindergarten.
Of course, this is merely an exaggeration to criticize the current social climate. In Kazumi’s past life, there were still many good girls around her; one cannot judge all people by the bad aspects of a few.
However, at her core, Kazumi is a very traditional person, likely influenced by her family’s upbringing and childhood experiences. Growing up in a strict household, Kazumi places great importance on order and rules in social interactions, which is why she has always detested slick-tongued individuals. After experiencing bullying from thugs, she has an even stronger aversion to such people.
When it comes to feelings, she values them highly, believing that a couple should mutually like each other and decide to spend their lives together. This conservative, even somewhat outdated view of love has been completely washed away in today’s restless society. The kind of love described in books, full of vows of eternal devotion, no longer exists. As Kazumi grew up, the stories around her were filled with betrayal, separation, and dirty tales of desire or exploitation.
This isn’t an exaggeration on Kazumi’s part; it reflects the reality of today’s society. Think back to her friends—how many have truly transitioned from a youthful romance to a lasting relationship?
Among those who marry, how many step into the marriage hall because it is “time to marry,” “they have children,” or “this person’s family background is suitable,” yet cannot even claim to love the person? No one seems to stand up and say the most simple and sincere reason—“because I love her.”
Boys at school are freely emitting their restless hormones and energy, taking pride in having girlfriends, and bragging daily about the various girls they have dated, while engaging in indiscriminate actions like peeking at pornography. Even the act of finding a girlfriend can simply be about wanting someone to fulfill a physiological need.
This is also the reason Kazumi never found a girlfriend in her previous life—she sees dating as sacred, a decision made after deep consideration by both individuals.
This mindset has doomed Kazumi to never find a partner she yearns for in such a society. Is Kazumi wrong? Perhaps she is.
Because everyone in this world is like this, and Kazumi is different, making her wrong, that’s all there is to it.
Maybe the young her could still rely on her youth to stubbornly seek her imagined spiritual partner, hoping that one day the person destined for her would appear.
The outcome could be either waiting and meeting them or not; who can say for certain what the end of a fairy tale story should be?
More likely, due to family reasons, she might end up marrying someone deemed a match but whom she doesn’t love, dedicating her beautiful youth to another man, bearing a child, fulfilling the duty of continuing the family line, while facing the endless grind of daily life.
Such a foreseeable life and future are as despairing as reality, yet one cannot resist.
Perhaps this is also why Kazumi has always held a favorable view of young boys, cherishing this pure and clean feeling that she hasn’t encountered for so long.
Smiling, she gently grasped the hand of the adorable boy, who still looked as if he had done something wrong, and said softly, “Shinichi-kun, when two people are together, it should be an equal relationship. They should mutually like each other, which is why they come together; there shouldn’t be any hierarchy or debts owed. You shouldn’t and can’t lower yourself to say such things.”
“This is also why I was so angry. You chose the most humble way to apologize, which is very unhealthy. Think about it; do you really want to speak to me in that manner?”
“And if I forgive you this time due to your humble attitude, what about next time? What about the time after that? Eventually, you’ll find it unbearable, and what will that end up being?”
The soft yet cold little hand suddenly grasped his palm, momentarily stunning Sato Shinichi. The soft touch and the scent emanating from the girl made his heart flutter, as if a little kitten were scratching something inside.
But what concerned him even more were the words coming from the young girl’s small lips. Kazumi spoke quickly, but he firmly etched every word into his heart.
“But… I was just afraid of making you angry, so I acted like that…”
The inarticulate boy could only respond with such a feeble answer to the girl’s long string of questions, likely not even knowing himself how far he would go if such a situation truly occurred.
Kazumi’s laughter at Sato Shinichi’s response turned into frustration as she pinched the flesh at his side and said fiercely, “You know to be afraid of making me angry, so tell me, is it right to take someone to watch a documentary on a first date? Shouldn’t you be angry about that?!”
“Girls should have the right to be upset, okay? Should I have to comfort you?”
After a couple of unsuccessful pinches, she realized she couldn’t actually pinch this guy, who had no excess fat around his waist. Even more exasperating was that he wouldn’t even cooperate to wince a little, but instead looked puzzled at her actions.
“It should be… not… I… Sorry…”
Even when Kazumi reached such an extent, the clumsy boy still found himself at a loss for words, as if he had lost the ability to speak.
Watching the boy stammer and only apologize, Kazumi realized her plan to turn him into a flirtatious man seemed to be extraordinarily challenging.
Letting out a helpless sigh, Kazumi finally stood up and addressed Sato Shinichi in front of her, “Forget it, you don’t understand this much. It’s hard to ask you for sweet words. Just come here for a hug, and consider it my forgiveness.”
“Wha… What? Kazumi, wouldn’t it be too… to hug?”
Sato Shinichi only grasped the gist of what Kazumi said, but he clearly heard the last sentence and asked with some concern. After all, they hadn’t even held hands much, so wouldn’t hugging be too much?
However, before Sato Shinichi could finish his sentence, a petite figure imbued with a lilac fragrance had already actively opened her arms and dove into him.
