Chapter 270: Confiding
“Eight thousand two hundred and seventy-six… eight thousand two hundred and seventy-seven…”
Inside the sealed room filled with a sense of technology and metal, a mountain-like blond giant was performing push-ups with his hands on parallel bars. The bulging muscles that writhed like earthworms and the special weight plates attached to his waist proved the intensity of the exercise. However, his determined face showed no signs of strain, as if he were effortlessly eating or drinking. Only his steadily rising chest indicated that he was indeed engaged in heavy strength training.
“Ring ring ring ring—”
The abrupt phone ring interrupted Sato Shinichi’s thought of completing ten thousand push-ups before resting. After a brief pause, the young man extended one hand to pick up the mobile phone placed on the nearby table. His other arm, however, enlarged by another circle as if exerting renewed effort, and his entire body maintained its balance. He continued his training single-handedly as before.
“Kazumi?”
Sato Shinichi opened his phone, but the name displayed on the screen made his eyebrows involuntarily arch. After all this time together, although they chatted a lot every day, he was always the one who initiated the calls.
Moreover, they were basically aware of each other’s daily routines. Today was an off-day, and the young girl didn’t need to go out for a part-time job. By all accounts, Kazumi should still be studying at this time.
So, this sudden initiative to contact him, and specifically a video call, made him wonder if something had happened.
With this thought, Sato Shinichi’s previously smiling face took on a hint of urgency. His towering body leaped off the specially made alloy parallel bars, his blood-engorged muscles constantly writhing.
Finally, he deflated like a balloon, shrinking from a giant over two meters tall to a delicate young man about 1.6 meters tall. Only his still dazzling golden hair and deep blue eyes proved his original identity.
Without bothering to wipe the sweat from his body caused by training, Sato Shinichi wiped his right hand on his pants and then eagerly pressed the video answer button on the screen.
“Good evening, Kazumi!”
Looking at the familiar cute face on the screen, the young man’s worries seemed to have melted away a bit. A genuine smile appeared on his face, and even his voice became much gentler as he greeted his most precious girlfriend in the world.
“Mm.”
Sato Shinichi’s tone was always so enthusiastic and uplifting, like an eternally burning sun, constantly radiating light and heat to his surroundings.
Kazumi knew that his intention was to inspire and motivate her, but she still responded with a cold “Mm” without hesitation. However, the unconscious smile at the corner of her mouth also showed that seeing Sato Shinichi had indeed improved her mood slightly.
“Did something happen? You don’t seem very happy.”
The young girl’s state wasn’t particularly good. Although Kazumi now had a faint smile on her face, the sharp Sato Shinichi still noticed a trace of dejection beneath her smile, as if she had experienced something unpleasant.
“Yes, I’m in a bad mood.”
In front of Sato Shinichi, Kazumi didn’t hide much. Or rather, her purpose in coming to Sato Shinichi was precisely this. She slightly blushed while tidying her hair at the temples, and spoke in broken sentences.
“Do you have time? Talk with me for a bit, half an hour is fine.”
“Yes, yes! Then Kazumi, I’ll come over to find you now!”
Hearing that his girlfriend was unhappy, Sato Shinichi’s first reaction was to put down his training and go find Kazumi. He directly picked up his phone and planned to head out the door.
“No need. Let’s just talk here. It’s inconvenient for you.”
Kazumi, who had anticipated Sato Shinichi’s action, immediately called out to him. In fact, Kazumi had also considered going out for a walk or something, but when she thought about her poor performance when interacting with Sato Shinichi, and the fact that it was late at night with a man and a woman alone, Kazumi truly feared that she might accidentally give herself away.
Moreover, she only needed someone to talk to and vent her emotions, right? As for why it was Sato Shinichi, it was simply because he was the only person she could contact!
There were no other reasons. If there were, she wouldn’t admit it.
“Oh, okay. Then Kazumi, wait for me.”
The words from the phone echoed in his ears. Sato Shinichi nodded obediently, carefully placed his phone aside, and went to the nearby lounge to get dressed to chat with the girl.
“Eh.”
Looking at the sturdy back of the man who had rushed away on the screen, Kazumi was initially stunned, then remembered something and smiled, shaking her head.
It seemed that before, this guy had foolishly chatted with her on video without a shirt and got hung up on. After that, he had become self-taught and knew not to be undressed when chatting, and even took the initiative to tidy his messy, strange hairstyle.
Actually, it wasn’t that Kazumi, a pure tomboy, cared about these rules and regulations. It was just that this simple-minded guy’s limbs were indeed quite developed.
Excessive fitness attracts the same sex. Since she was of the same sex, she was attracted. It didn’t seem wrong to say it like that.
Reasonable.
However, this guy, he’s truly foolish.
…….
“So Kazumi, you’re unhappy because you found your uncle and aunt’s things from before?”
In the bright lounge, the neatly dressed blond young man sat upright, looking at the phone screen in front of him. His standard posture and confident reply made him seem like a student answering a question in an online class. This serious and slightly comical appearance left Kazumi with a mouthful of complaints that she didn’t know where to start.
“You could understand it that way…”
Rubbing her forehead helplessly, although this explanation was slightly altered for her to confide, Kazumi wondered why Sato Shinichi’s focus was always so strange.
“It’s probably the misunderstanding I had of them before. I always thought they were very incompetent parents. Because of work, they rarely came home. Even when the accident happened, they were still working, as if they had never cared about me.”
“But after finding the things they left for me today, I realized that perhaps the little bit I considered insignificant was already all they could give me.”
Playing with the small skull toy in her hand, Kazumi’s calm words were inevitably tinged with a hint of sadness. The guilt she felt towards her original parents was gradually expressed through her conversation with the young man.
“Kazumi…”
The girl in his memory was always not good at expressing her emotions. Even though they had been together for several months, the young man still carefully maintained their relationship, trying his best to get closer to and embrace this fragile and pitiful girl.
Kazumi had never told him about her family matters. Even when the girl’s last relative was put on the wanted list, she hadn’t told him. But Sato Shinichi knew, or rather, it would be easy to find out if he inquired a little – the past of this pitiful girl whose parents died in an accident.
Precisely because of this, Sato Shinichi was unwilling to intentionally uncover the scar that the girl had secretly hidden in her heart, even though this scar was already known to everyone.
Sato Shinichi’s liking for Kazumi, perhaps it was pity? Protectiveness? Or love at first sight?
On that afternoon, the moment her eyes met the girl’s, the heart beating wildly to the left and below the center of his chest kept telling him, “It’s her!”
True love is a mutual pursuit. He liked Kazumi, and the girl was also expressing her feelings for him in her own way. Perhaps her way of expression was a bit reserved, but he could always feel her intentions beneath those subtle actions.
“Your uncle and aunt might have had their reasons, but no matter what, the only thing that won’t change is their love for you.”
He spoke to comfort the girl on the screen who was clearly feeling down. Perhaps for her, being willing to talk about such things with him had already taken all her courage.
Seeing Kazumi lower her head after hearing his words, Sato Shinichi didn’t continue speaking. Instead, he clenched his right fist, extended his little finger, and brought it to the camera.
“What?”
The young girl looked up and saw Sato Shinichi’s strange gesture, unable to help but ask.
“It’s a secret promise ceremony for exchanging secrets!”
Hearing the girl’s question, Sato Shinichi raised his hand with great seriousness, answering in a matter-of-fact tone.
“…Immature.”
“Kazumi, can we pinky swear? That way, we can exchange secrets from our hearts!”
“……..”
Perhaps it was because of the small secret about himself that he mentioned, or perhaps because of the almost pleading tone that the girl had never heard before, Kazumi looked at the boy on the screen who was looking at her with anticipation. She found that she couldn’t refuse him.
She could only sigh helplessly, and with a hint of disdain, extend her little finger and engage in this childish game with the teenage boy in the air.
After all, in Kazumi’s opinion, her purpose in seeking out Sato Shinichi was simply to find someone to confide in, just like how lonely people talk to their pets. As for any other extraneous matters, she hadn’t thought about them at all.
On the other hand, Sato Shinichi, upon seeing Kazumi make the pinky promise gesture, his deep blue eyes flashed with a brilliant light. His already energetic body exuded an especially confident aura, and he seriously looked at the black-haired girl on the screen.
“Then it’s my turn, to tell my story.”
