010 Jingjie, do you love me?
Translator: 549690339
"Sachiko Kuriyama, I love you! Please go out with me!"
"But, but we're still not familiar with each other. Love and all... I'm sorry!"
...
"Kuriyama, I love you! Please go out with me!"
"Nagasawa, I might not be ready yet. I think we should start off as friends first, get to know each other better, okay?"
...
"Xiangzi, I love you! Please go out with me!"
"Fool."
...
"Keisuke, do you love me?"
"Of course, I love you. We'll be together forever."
"But, they told me, you're only with me because my parents are wealthy, because I'm willing to spend money on you."
"Don't you trust me, Xiangzi?"
"Of course, I trust you."
...
"Keisuke, I'm scared."
"Don't be afraid, I'll be gentle."
"Do you love me?"
"I love you."
...
"Keisuke... do you love me?"
"Of course."
"I'm pregnant."
...
"Keisuke, my father won't let us off."
"...Yeah."
"Do you still love me?"
"...Yeah."
...
"Keisuke, you and I will be together forever. As long as we jump, we will be together forever, won't we?"
"Keisuke, do you love me?"
...
Did Nagasawa Keisuke love Sachiko Kuriyama?
Who knows? Nagasawa himself couldn't tell.
For the Nagasawa Keisuke of eight years ago, the naive and wealthy Sachiko Kuriyama was more like an ATM machine.
Moreover, since the friends of a wealthy woman were mostly also rich, Nagasawa Keisuke had more opportunities to meet and socialize with these scions of wealth while he dated Kuriyama.
There were many benefits.
So, did Nagasawa have absolutely no feelings for Kuriyama at the time?
It didn't seem like that.
At the very least, upon learning of Kuriyama's pregnancy, Nagasawa truly entertained the thought of dying together with her. Although this thought was stupid and foolish beyond measure.
Thereafter, on the night they agreed to die together, the thought of suicide strangely dissipated from Nagasawa's mind.
That night, the wind was strong, the lake was dark; Nagasawa Keisuke watched Kuriyama, who had jumped into the lake first, struggling helplessly in the water, and suddenly became afraid.
It was just a moment, but the fear of death, like an electric shock, spread through his entire body, paralyzing him.
There's a saying that the vast majority of people who commit suicide feel regret during the act. After all, whether it's humans or animals, the instinct to survive is innate.
"Should I die here? I'm not like this silly girl who only knows about love, not like my incompetent parents who can only plant potatoes."
"I'm destined to be a cut above the rest... My life, my future, hasn't even started yet."
And suddenly, Nagasawa wanted to live.
"If Kuriyama and the child in her womb just die like that, there would be a way for my future to continue, right?"
So, Nagasawa Keisuke did nothing, just watched Kuriyama sink.
Just watched impassively.
Is wanting to live wrong?
Kuriyama had sunk; whatever Nagasawa Keisuke still held in his heart also sank to the bottom of the water along with Sachiko Kuriyama.
But that didn't matter because Nagasawa would keep climbing up.
By any means necessary, regardless of the cost.
What needed to sink sank, what needed to rise rose.
...
"I just think, perhaps you should show some guilt, even if just a bit."
Kamiyagawa's words, laden with a tinge of contempt, pulled Nagasawa Keisuke from his memories of eight years past back to reality.
"Indifferent? Heartless? The brat who uses Kuriyama's incident to blackmail me, do you have any right to say this to me?"
Nagasawa's expression darkened. He still firmly believed that Kamiyagawa was only after the money.
What else could it be?
Human sentiment? Humanity?
How naïve, how ridiculous these claims are.
On that night when Sachiko Kuriyama sank into the lake, Nagasawa Keisuke had discarded so-called humanity to the bottom of the lake as well.
For him, the state of mind that night was nothing short of Nirvana.
This society is inherently diseased; those who abandon humanity and resort to any means necessary are the ones who gain more. That's why Nagasawa Keisuke could rise above the rigid social hierarchy to achieve his current status and position.
Those fools at the bottom who still talk about rules and sentiment are forever weak, merely destined to be trampled underfoot.
Nagasawa Keisuke had always believed this.
"Say whatever you want," Kamiyagawa shrugged his shoulders, then suddenly laughed, "Heh, actually, this is good."
Nagasawa Keisuke frowned, "This is good?"
Kamiyagawa didn't respond directly.
Yes, this is good.
To be honest, delivering messages from a game's ghost to real people, Kamiyagawa carried a certain psychological burden.
He figured, if he delivered this letter, something bad would surely happen to Nagasawa Keisuke.
If Mr. Nagasawa wasn't a scumbag, Kamiyagawa probably wouldn't have been able to deliver the letter at all.
So, this is good.
Thus, Kamiyagawa calmly picked up the Ramune soda, drank the last sip, and said, "Alright, thanks for the hospitality. Also, Miss Sachiko Kuriyama asked me to deliver something to you."
He took out the damp white paper from his bag, slid it across the table, then grabbed his bag and left his seat.
His movements were streamlined and graceful as he did so in one fluid motion.
Real men never look back at explosions.
As for what would specifically happen to Nagasawa Keisuke after he received that letter, Kamiyagawa didn't know and wasn't curious.
"Anyway, it's none of my business." He lifted the noren and walked out onto the street from the white wooden house.
Nagasawa Keisuke was a hypocritical piece of trash.
And he was just a messenger running an errand.
That's all.
Buzz buzz.
The phone vibrated.
A notification popped up from "Strange Tales" —
[Task: The Drowned Ghost's Request, Completed!]
Having had a delightful lunch in the city, Kamiyagawa planned to take the tram back. In the evening, he still had to rush back to school to play the game.
He wondered what reward he'd receive from Drowned Ghost Sachiko Kuriyama.
He's somewhat excited.
...
"Did that kid just leave like that?"
After Kamiyagawa's dashing exit, Nagasawa Keisuke was left sitting alone at the izakaya's dining table.
He couldn't understand what the bizarre high school boy wanted to do, not asking for 3 million Yen in hush money, just leaving behind a white paper before leaving.
As for the paper, it was supposed to be from Sachiko Kuriyama to him.
What a joke, Xiangzi had been dead for eight years.
The white paper lay there quietly on the table, its surface moist as if it would never dry.
Nagasawa Keisuke didn't reach for the paper.
The unexplained appearance of the brat had left him in a foul mood; he just wanted to pay the bill and go home to rest.
Before Nagasawa had even risen from his chair, that damp white paper started to change. Dirty black water stains began to flow along the surface of the paper, meandering across the tabletop.
The filthy water flowed more and more, the twisted stains gradually shaping into coherent characters.
Nagasawa Keisuke adjusted his glasses and rubbed his eyes. When he looked back at the tabletop, the characters of the water stain were already fully formed—
"Keisuke, why just watch?"
The handwriting was very familiar; he recognized it, it was unforgettable.
It was Sachiko Kuriyama's handwriting!
Splash—
From the tabletop, that white paper continued to pour out dirty water. No, the water seemed to gush out from the paper itself!
More characters were outlined by the black water—
"Keisuke, why did you leave me? Why didn't you stay with me?"
"No! No... This can't be happening!"
Nagasawa Keisuke staggered, knocking the chair next to him. A profound sense of fear erupted from his spine and rapidly spread throughout his body!
He began to scream hysterically, unable to comprehend what was happening before his eyes.
He wanted to flee.
At the same time, from the white paper, wet black strands of hair began to emerge, the long hair twisting like lively Poisonous Snakes, coiling around Nagasawa Keisuke's arms and legs, quickly clinging to him.
The slender strands of hair seemed to possess the strength of thousands of pounds.
The air became suffused with the stench of putrid water, mud, and decay.
"No! No! Xiangzi, I..." Nagasawa Keisuke screamed hoarsely, but it was futile.
Splashing.
Waste water surged like a wellspring, flowing to Nagasawa Keisuke's feet, forming twisted and manic characters—
"Keisuke, do you love me?"