Pfft—
Kotomi Izumi was in the middle of drinking her mint green milk tea when she suddenly heard the little girl's voice. Caught completely off guard, she spat out a mouthful of mint milk tea. Fortunately, no one happened to be walking in front of her, or that would have been hard to explain.
Even though it was late at night and there were still quite a few pedestrians along the street, by all rights children should have been tucked into bed at this hour. Yet at a moment like this, a little girl had suddenly appeared beside her without warning and immediately asked if she wanted to buy a ring?
What was this? First there was the little match girl, and now we have the little girl selling rings?
Kotomi Izumi could not help but joke to herself as she lowered her head and looked at the little girl who had somehow appeared at her side, carrying a small basket in her hand.
The girl wore a padded winter jacket, gloves on both hands, and a scarf wrapped snugly around her neck that looked very warm. She did not look like a child forced to sell things on the street because her family was struggling financially.
"Little sister, it's so late. Why are you out here alone? Where are your parents?" Kotomi Izumi crouched down and asked with a gentle smile.
The height difference between them was impossible to ignore. Even crouching, Kotomi Izumi still had to look slightly up at the girl, who tilted her little head back and said,
"Mom and Dad are at the supermarket nearby buying groceries. They said when we get home tonight, they'll make me spaghetti!"
As she spoke, the little girl shook the small basket in her hand.
"When school ended today, the teacher reminded us that starting today we have to do our social practice assignment. I chose selling small accessories, so I asked my parents to bring me here tonight. I thought maybe someone here would buy a ring."
"Wow, that's impressive~"
Kotomi Izumi smiled as she looked into the basket. It was full of rings, just as the girl had said. She really was here to sell rings. But none of them came in elegant or luxurious ring boxes. They were all placed inside small resealable plastic bags, and the rings themselves looked cheap at a glance.
Only then did Kotomi Izumi understand. When the little girl said "rings," she meant these toy rings.
"Little sister, are all the rings in your basket real?"
"Mm-hmm!" The little girl nodded vigorously and said seriously, "They're all real! Big sister, do you want to buy one? They're very expensive, but you're the first person willing to talk to me, so I'll give you a discount!"
"You're so generous~ Then let me ask you, what was the original price of these rings? And how much are you planning to sell one to me for?"
Kotomi Izumi asked with a smile. Talking to children always lifted her mood unconsciously.
Of course, that excluded naughty brats.
"The original price is 200 yen. If you want to buy one, you can give me 100 yen," the little girl said earnestly.
Kotomi Izumi was a bit stunned when she heard the price. Even if the rings in the basket were not real diamond rings, they were still fine as props for children playing house. She had seen similar toy rings at convenience stores and toy shops before. They were usually priced around 500 yen.
At 100 yen with the discount, even for a toy ring, that was more than cheap enough.
"Little sister, if you sell it to me for 100 yen, won't you lose money? I've heard real rings are very, very expensive~"
Kotomi Izumi reached out and gently patted the girl's hair. The girl's hair felt a bit dry to the touch, but at her age, she was at that stage of being mischievous and energetic. After a whole day of running around and playing wildly with friends, her long hair was bound to end up messy.
Not to mention, she was at the age when washing her hair might still be a little scary. Whenever she closed her eyes to rinse her hair, she might secretly wonder whether a monster would suddenly appear and swallow her whole.
After hearing Kotomi Izumi's words, a look of shock appeared on the little girl's face. As if, in her understanding, 200 yen was already considered a very high price. Or perhaps she was stunned that a real ring could actually be so expensive.
Seeing the astonished expression on her face, Kotomi Izumi could not help but smile and continued,
"How much do you think would be appropriate? If big sister buys a real ring at a very cheap price, wouldn't you be losing out?"
Kotomi Izumi had already made up her mind. As long as the little girl's quoted price did not exceed 10,000 yen, she would pretend she knew nothing and buy one ring from her.
The reason was simple. Looking at this cute, chubby-cheeked, innocent little girl, Kotomi Izumi felt an inexplicable fondness for her. Even though she knew the girl had mistaken toy rings for real ones, she did not point it out. Instead, she was prepared to spend a little more money to buy one from her.
And just now, Kotomi Izumi had finally decided what gift to buy for Megumi Kato.
A ring.
If she bought a real ring right away, the meaning behind it would be too significant. It would feel as if she had bought a ring in Kyoto, flown back to Chiba overnight, and proposed to Megumi Kato on the spot...
Although Kotomi Izumi longed for married life, she was not mentally prepared to get married right now.
But if it was a toy ring, that was different. It would express her love to Megumi Kato without making it seem like a formal proposal.
When explaining why she had lied at noon and why she had not returned her calls, she could even use this toy ring as her excuse. For example:
The reason I didn't have lunch with Yukino and Yui at noon, and why I lied to you, was because I made up an excuse to tell them I had something to do and needed to go out alone. In reality, I secretly went to buy this toy ring for you. As for why I lied and didn't return your calls, wasn't it because I wanted to give you a surprise~
Back to the point—after finally deciding on the gift for Megumi Kato, Kotomi Izumi could not help but let out a sigh of relief. The plan she had already outlined in her mind now became even clearer.
In her eyes at this moment, the little girl in front of her was practically like a tiny fairy who had delivered a life-saving item at a critical moment.
If she were not afraid of being mistaken for a weird older sister, Kotomi Izumi would have wanted to pinch the girl's little cheeks.
Although Kotomi Izumi said the price could be changed, after thinking for a moment, the little girl still shook her head.
"No, I already promised you. One ring is 100 yen."
"This is a great opportunity to make more money, you know~"
Kotomi Izumi said with a cheerful smile. A buyer persuading a "seller" to raise the price—if word got out, people would probably laugh and say she had more money than sense.
But even in the face of Kotomi Izumi's encouragement to increase the price, the little girl still shook her head firmly. Then she looked at Kotomi Izumi and asked,
"Big sister, why are rings so expensive?"
"Ah..."
The question caught Kotomi Izumi off guard.
That's right. Why are rings so expensive?
When Kotomi Izumi did not answer immediately, the little girl lowered her head and looked at the basket in her hands. She spoke slowly,
"I think a ring is like a promise between lovers. As long as you convey your feelings to each other, whether there is a ring or not, whether it's expensive or not, it doesn't matter."
Listening to the little girl speak softly, Kotomi Izumi's smile gradually softened. She reached out and gently stroked the girl's slightly dry hair.
"All right. I'll listen to you."
After saying that, Kotomi Izumi took a 100-yen coin out of her pocket and carefully placed it in the little girl's palm.
"Thank you for your purchase!"
Seeing the coin in her hand, the little girl beamed happily. Then she lifted the basket a little higher.
"Big sister, pick one you like. They all look different. I also want to see what kind of ring you like."
"Let me see..."
Kotomi Izumi looked down at the rings in the basket and browsed through them briefly. In the end, she chose a pink-and-white ring as the gift for Megumi Kato.
When she first saw that pink-and-white ring, perhaps it was just an illusion, but the first thing that came to her mind was not a ring—it was a cherry blossom petal that had fallen into the basket.
"Big sister, you have great taste!" the little girl said happily.
"Thank you for the compliment." Kotomi Izumi smiled faintly and stood up.
Just then, Aunt Matsusaka drove up and pulled over nearby.
"Little sister, would you like me to walk you to your parents first? I'm about to leave, and I'm still a bit worried about you standing here alone," Kotomi Izumi said.
Faced with her concern, the little girl simply shook her head and replied with an adorable smile,
"It's okay, big sister! Mom and Dad will come find me soon. They promised we're having spaghetti for dinner tonight!"
"I see. Then that's good. By the way, what flavor of spaghetti are you having tonight?" Kotomi Izumi asked with a light laugh, casually.
Unexpectedly, this simple question seemed to become an extremely difficult problem for the little girl. Her eyes widened nervously, and her expression turned anxious, as if she were desperately searching her mind for an answer.
Finally, when a thin layer of sweat appeared on her forehead, her gaze shifted uneasily. With a hint of sadness and hesitation, she said,
"Yogurt flavor... maybe apple flavor... no... strawberry flavor... Mm! Strawberry-flavored spaghetti! And pickled cucumbers..."
Kotomi Izumi looked at the little girl in confusion. None of the flavors she mentioned sounded like spaghetti at all.
At that moment, Aunt Matsusaka finished parking the car and stepped out.
"Miss, thank you for waiting."
"Ah, it's fine." Kotomi Izumi snapped back to her senses and nodded to Aunt Matsusaka. Then she turned to the little girl. "Little sister... Huh?"
The little girl who had just been beside her had vanished in the blink of an eye.
Kotomi Izumi looked around and soon spotted her not far away.
The little girl was now standing at the entrance of a supermarket, waving her small hand at her.
"Big sister, thank you for your purchase! My parents are in this supermarket. I'm going to find them now. Bye-bye! Be careful on your way!"
"Bye~"
Kotomi Izumi waved back. Only after watching the little girl enter the supermarket did she turn to Aunt Matsusaka and say,
"I'm sorry, Aunt Matsusaka. It's so late, and I still made you come pick me up."
"Miss, please don't take it to heart. Serving you is my duty."
After saying that, Aunt Matsusaka respectfully opened the car door for Kotomi Izumi. Once Kotomi Izumi got in, she returned to the driver's seat, started the engine, and headed toward Kansai International Airport.
What Kotomi Izumi did not know was that while she had been talking to the little girl selling rings, several girls in uniforms from a nearby high school had been watching her from a dessert shop not far away.
Only after she left in the car did the high school girls begin whispering among themselves.
"Hey, you all saw that girl just now, right? The one with short white hair, great figure, and super high looks."
"That luxury car that came to pick her up looked insanely expensive. And the woman who got out of the car treated her so respectfully. Could she be some rich family's young lady?"
"Very likely~"
Although they were all discussing Kotomi Izumi, they had an unspoken understanding not to mention the bizarre scene they had witnessed earlier.
"But..."
After briefly steering the conversation away from that scene, one of the girls finally could not hold back and spoke up,
"Even if she looks like some rich young lady... she seemed like something was wrong with her head. She was squatting there the whole time, talking to the air. Even though she's really pretty, that scene was seriously creepy."
After saying that, she could not help but shiver.
Once someone took the lead, the others chimed in one after another.
"Yeah, yeah! I thought I was the only one who saw that weird scene. I was already wondering whether I had somehow traveled into some horror town or Silent Hill or something."
"What a pity. She's so pretty and probably rich too, but it turns out she's mentally ill. I was even thinking of going up to her to ask for her contact info."
"I thought she was some paranormal content creator filming a horror video..."
"If that was acting, then her acting skills are insane. Talking to thin air and smiling the whole time—it was so unsettling. With acting like that, why be a paranormal blogger? She could debut as an actress and become a TV star."
"I thought someone was filming a horror movie nearby. I even looked around for a camera."
"Stop, stop... the more I think about it, the scarier it gets. I'm staying alone tonight. How am I supposed to sleep?"
"Same here... I was planning to enjoy some freedom tonight, order takeout, eat a late-night snack, and stay up until three in the morning. But now? Forget staying up. Once I get home, I'm turning on every light in the house, diving under my blanket, and going to sleep as fast as I can."
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