Zongman: Complete Guide to Characters

Chapter 170: Rika Kimoto

"Rika, I brought you boiled eggplants..." An old man with gray hair and a kind face walked to Rika Kimoto's bed with a lunch box in his hand, muttering something incomprehensible.

The old woman spoke very quickly and was a little unclear. Except for the first sentence, Yeyue couldn't hear a word of the rest. But it seemed that she should be Qi Ben Lixiang's grandmother.

Yeyue gently turned her eyes away and looked out the window, leaving them some private space.

Rika Kimoto pursed her lips with a very faint arc, her eyes were blurred, and she just responded vaguely with "um" and "OK".

The old lady spoke louder and louder, and her language changed from the common language to a dialect that Yeyue could hardly understand.

Yeyue couldn't help but glance over and happened to meet the eyes of Rika Qimoto, whose eyes were empty and who knew what she was thinking. The latter smiled at her blankly, and her smile was sweet and clear.

Yeyue's eyes flickered and she smiled back, but her eyes swept across Qiben Rika's hands which were tightly grasping the quilt.

The old lady also noticed Yeyue. She stood up, and her old body burst out with unexpected speed. She walked over quickly, grabbed her hands, and spoke words that she couldn't understand. She didn't know where the dialect was, and her speech was unclear.

"Little girl, s@sksbj￥xj※n!"

The old man's hot and rough hands were holding and caressing her. The old man had a very loud voice, and saliva was flying as his lips opened and closed, which made her eyes twitch and she felt a little uncomfortable.

She instinctively leaned back, but felt it was impolite, so she stopped stiffly, forced a polite smile, and nodded.

Although she didn't understand what Grandma Rika said at all and was completely confused.

"Grandma, if we don't go back now, it will be bad if Dad comes back..." Rika Kimoto looked at her grandmother, lowered her eyelashes to cover her eyes, and reminded her, "I'm fine, don't worry, I'll go back in two days after I finish my physical examination."

The old lady hesitated for a moment, loosened her grip on Yeyue's hand, muttered something, and then patted Yeyue's back vigorously with her hand like a palm-leaf fan, with such force that Yeyue frowned slightly.

After the old man left, Ye Yue dared to move and reached out to touch the place where the old man had patted her. Although she couldn't see it, she was sure that it was definitely red!

"Yeyue, I'm sorry."

"Huh? What?"

"My grandma, it's very disturbing, right?"

Yeyue paused.

On the side, Rika Kimoto curled up her legs, wrapped her arms around her knees, and rested her chin on them. Although she had a smile on her face, her eyes didn't show a trace of smile.

"It's nothing, I..."

"Actually, I don't have a father. My father died in an accident not long ago." She interrupted Yeyue and narrated everything in a very flat tone without any ups and downs.

No dad? But Rika had just told her grandmother, "It would be bad if dad came back," and the old lady actually nodded and went back.

Yeyue looked at her hands that had been held by the old lady and saw that they had turned red.

Could it be that the old lady had become mentally unstable because of her son's death? Was that why she was behaving so strangely?

Yeyue was thinking. The little girl in the next bed regained her composure, tilted her head and smiled at him, "Would you like to eat boiled eggplant, Yeyue?"

"I don't need it."

"Is that so?" Rika Kimoto took back the lunch box that she had handed over.

"Well, Rika, eat it by yourself." After all, it was grandma's thoughtfulness.

In the morning and at noon, Shen Na also brought her lunch boxes. After delivering them, she left in a hurry, and no one knew what she was busy with. However, seeing her eager expression before she left, Ye Yue always felt that it was not a good thing.

——"Well~ Actually, I hate cooking eggplant the most."

Yeyue was stunned for a moment.

——"Especially grandma's boiled eggplant."

Rika Kimoto said this, and threw the lunch box with an indifferent look. The lunch box was thrown out, drawing an arc in the air.

The lunch box knocked over the trash can and hit the ground with a dull thud.

Qi Ben Li Xiang stuck out her tongue a little embarrassedly. She apologized to Ye Yue a little embarrassedly, "My aim has never been good. I'll go clean it up later."

"…Nothing. I'm here to help too." Are the family relationships complicated?

"It's okay, I'll be there."

Yeyue watched the girl in the clinic get off the bed, trot over to straighten the trash can, and not forget to stuff the lunch box in.

She slowly withdrew her gaze.

"The weather is nice today. Do you want to go out for a walk?" Yeyue smiled, pointed outside the window and suggested to her.

"Eh?" Rika Kimoto came back to her senses, a little surprised, and smiled brightly, "Yeah! Okay!"

"But my foot is still a little sprained, Rika, please walk slower so I can keep up."

"Yeah!" Qi Ben Lixiang protected her and covered her mouth to look at the staggering Yeyue. She blinked her clear eyes and chose to hold Yeyue's arm with one hand. "How about this! Yeyue can lean more on me."

As the girl spoke, she began to exert force, almost lifting half of Yeyue's body up.

She looked at her in surprise. She didn't expect that although Rika looked weak, she was surprisingly strong.

"Thank you. This will make things much faster." She thanked him sincerely.

"You're welcome!" Rika narrowed her eyes in pleasure.

Came to the backyard bench.

The bright sunshine shone on the girl's pretty and delicate face. Rika Qiben stretched comfortably, with a relaxed expression on her face.

"Don't worry about me. If Rika wants to go somewhere else, I'll wait for you here." Yeyue sprained her foot and had difficulty walking, so she could only sit on a bench when she came out.

"..." Qi Ben Li Xiang was silent for a while, and the smile she showed when she turned around was a little lonely, "Will Ye Yue reject me?"

"Will not."

My own situation is not much better, so there is no such thing as looking down on others. Besides, she doesn't think Rika is a bad kid.

Yeyue replied.

The girl opposite smiled contentedly, and came to her side lightly, her smile clear and fragile, "Then~ I want to stay with Yeyue, is that okay?"

"Please feel free to do as you please if I won't make you feel lonely." Yeyue touched the girl's head.

Rika Qiben did not dodge either. She blinked her reddish-brown eyes quickly and couldn't help but giggle. Her cheeks became rosy and she looked much more energetic.

[Favorability of Qibenlixiang: 60%]

"Yeyue's talk is really interesting. Hey~ Chinese women don't have to change their surnames when they get married, right? Does Yeyue have her mother's surname or her father's surname?"

"I don't have a father, I live with my mother..."

Yeyue replied with a smile, but suddenly the words got stuck in her throat.

She has no father, but her mother...what's her name?

Her brows were furrowed. Why couldn't she remember? She loved her mother very much, but why couldn't she remember that person's name, or even her appearance...

"Yeyue?"

"Sorry, I'm fine."

"I am! Um, Yeyue's father... I'm sorry for asking this question."

"It's okay, I don't mind. I have a good family. I am also grateful to my mother who gave birth to me. She is a very charming and good person."

Her brows relaxed.

Her memories of reality are somewhat similar to the fake memories created by the system for Kanna and Rei in the second round. Apart from a general framework, she cannot recall any specific details upon careful consideration.

But it doesn't matter. I found the problem but there is no point in pursuing it. Self-doubt is meaningless for the time being.

What's more, no matter what her situation is, she is alive and well now, and everything at this moment is real. She has established bonds with so many people and she will not deny herself just because of a little false memory.

Yeyue easily touched upon the topic.

"Compared to these, Rika, do you know the latest TV series? It's really good."