Chapter 165: Night Encounter
After Ezaki Suguha left, Sawayama Haruno also gently closed the door.
Then, looking at the room full of Japanese-style decorations and the brand new tables and chairs that didn't fit in, he breathed a long sigh of relief.
In fact, I still feel a little uncomfortable, he thought helplessly.
But this was also good intention of Ezaki Suguha. If I refused too much, the other party might be hurt because of his straightforward personality.
No matter what, I'll just do it anyway.
Compared to where to live, the most urgent and important priority is to finish all my manuscripts.
On Friday afternoon, all contestants' manuscripts will be taken away, which means Friday is the final deadline.
Not only did he have to finish the remaining 40,000 to 50,000 words within two days, he also had to find time to check and revise them.
Even with the help of Mine Shiori, the workload is still real and we cannot afford to be careless.
Thinking of this, Sawayama Haruno had already taken out his computer.
He was obviously not used to sitting on the brand new desk and chair, but he quickly forced himself to get into the working state of typing.
After fully focusing on the matter at hand, he gradually relaxed in this extremely quiet environment.
After all, Ginkaku-ji Temple is the most tranquil place in Kyoto. It was listed as a World Cultural Heritage not only for its historical significance, but also for its beautiful environment and unique geographical conditions, which make it particularly cool in hot weather.
Sawayama Haruno wasn't quite sure how this was done.
However, if it is possible to use moonlight to illuminate the entire courtyard, then it must be easy to make the design particularly airy and cool, right?
All in all, sitting in front of the computer desk, Haruno Sawayama quickly adapted to the working state here.
The surroundings are also very quiet, with only the occasional chirping of birds and cicadas. Far from feeling noisy, on the contrary, there is a relaxing feeling of being in nature.
It seemed that thanks to this, Sawayama Haruno hardly got stuck during the whole process and started typing the text he wanted on the computer with amazing efficiency.
Time passed quickly and quietly, and even Sawayama Haruno couldn't remember exactly how much time had passed.
He only knew that he arrived at the Ginkaku-ji Temple at noon. Around three or four in the afternoon, he opened the door and waved to the outsiders. After the bodyguards in the dark appeared, he asked them for a meal.
After finishing his meal, he quickly returned to his room to continue his "retreat".
During this time, no one came to disturb him, even his cell phone was set to silent mode and left aside completely.
Just like that, by the time Sawayama Haruno finally felt the fatigue rising up in his heart, it was already 11:47 in the evening.
"Is it this time already?"
Sawayama Haruno stopped typing on the keyboard and looked at the time displayed in the lower right corner of the computer. He couldn't help rubbing his eyes.
There are less than 20,000 words left.
The efficiency is so high that it is beyond words.
Moreover, he tried his best to work with quality as the premise this time. Although it took more time than before, the improvement in quality would probably save a lot of time for subsequent refinements.
"Is it almost finished?" Sawayama Haruno whispered.
There are still 10,000 words left, and the remaining content is to refine the parts that Mine Shiori has already marked.
It should be solved by working on it all day tomorrow, Thursday.
This way, you can feel much more at ease.
As soon as his body relaxed, the hunger in his stomach came over him like a burning sensation. Touching his stomach, Sawayama Haruno couldn't help but smile bitterly.
Yes, the long period of seclusion and typing was more engaging and tiring than he had imagined.
Not to mention that we had kaiseki cuisine in the afternoon which is famous for its small portions, so I didn’t feel full at all.
I don’t know if there will still be bodyguards on duty outside at this time.
Sawayama Haruno thought about it, took out some snacks from his luggage, and ate while looking at his mobile phone.
As expected, Miyazawa Maki sent him a lot of text messages, but after seeing that he didn't reply for a long time, she didn't bother him anymore.
At this time, he didn't know whether the other party was asleep or not, but Sawayama Haruno still replied to every text message he sent.
After replying to all the text messages and looking at the long row of unread messages, Sawayama Haruno turned off his phone without thinking and planned to go out for a walk.
It's a rare opportunity to spend the night in a place like this, so it would be a pity not to take the opportunity to see the night view of Ginkaku-ji Temple.
Even if there are videos of tourists visiting the temple online, most of them came in during the day. So I might be one of the very few people who can see Ginkaku-ji Temple at night, right?
Thinking of this, my mood inexplicably became better.
Sawayama Haruno turned off the computer, opened the door of his room and walked outside.
The entire courtyard was bathed in a layer of silver gauze. Only after walking a few steps did I realize that the ray of light indeed enveloped all four corners. As expected, this should be what Suguha Ezaki had mentioned before, the landscape of refracting moonlight with the help of sand dunes.
The picture was indeed beautiful, and even he couldn't help but take out his mobile phone to take a photo, thinking that he would send it to Miyazawa Maki the next day.
However, it is a pity that the brilliance of nature seems to be biased after being recorded by a mobile phone. No matter how you look at it, it does not seem as beautiful as when observed with the naked eye, which makes people feel a little regretful.
He shook his head slightly and turned his gaze to another corner of the courtyard.
That side is connected to the pine park outside, which is also one of the few places that cannot be illuminated by the moonlight. I don’t know where it will lead to in the end.
Zeshan Haruno stared at it for a while, thinking for a moment. He did not stop looking until he heard a noise from behind him.
"Mr. Zeshan, do you need any help?"
The person assigned by Ezaki Suguha appeared out of nowhere, bowed slightly to him and asked, "Do you need a midnight snack, or do you need me to take you to the bathing place?"
"Oh, these two are not in a hurry."
Sawayama Haruno subconsciously touched his belly.
Thanks to the snacks I just had, I’m not so hungry that I can’t walk.
As for taking a shower, he wanted to wait until he walked around for a while before coming back to take a shower.
After thinking for a moment, Zeshan Haruno asked casually, "Is there anyone else moving in this afternoon?"
"Yes, it's a petite girl, and she's also your friend. She's currently living in the courtyard next to yours."
"Yeah."
Sawayama Haruno subconsciously glanced to the other side.
It's a pity that the distance was too far and the pine trees blocked the view, so I couldn't see clearly whether it was still light over there.
"The young lady is still awake now. Mr. Zeshan, are you going to go find her?"
The bodyguard seemed to see that Zeshan Haruno was looking for someone. After thinking for a while, he whispered, "About ten minutes ago, the lady went to the top of the mountain alone."
“Top of the mountain.”
Sawayama Haruno was slightly startled.
It should be the one we talked about this afternoon. Standing on the top of the mountain, you can look down at the entire Kyoto city?
But it's almost twelve o'clock now. Is the other person staying in a place like that alone?
Thinking of the hint he had gotten from the system before, Zeshan Haruno's expression suddenly turned a little ugly.
Looking at the bodyguard standing in front of him, he hesitated for a moment and said, "Then please take me to the top of the mountain as well."
"plz follow me."
The bodyguard immediately led the way towards the top of the mountain.
It seemed that there were no street lights inside Ginkaku-ji Temple at night. At least, the road that Sawayama Haruno was walking on had no lights. It was not known whether it was because there were no street lights in the design or because there were only three of them living there.
He was a little worried that the road would be difficult to walk on after dark, but after leaving the courtyard, Sawayama Haruno quickly realized that he was overthinking.
The reason is simple. There are bodyguards at every location along the way who use the flashlight function of their mobile phones to help light the way.
Although it is not as bright as the street lights, it is more than enough to reach the top of the mountain.
After walking for about ten minutes, the bodyguard who had been leading the way suddenly stopped and turned around.
"The top of the mountain is just up there." He whispered to Sawayama Haruno, "Because the young lady asked not to go up and disturb her, I can only take you here. Next, please go up on your own, Mr. Sawayama."
"Thanks for your hard work."
Seeing this, Sawayama Haruno had no choice but to nod and walk towards the top of the mountain.
It wasn't that far away. Standing on the edge of the mountain road, you could clearly see the bright lights of Kyoto city in the distance.
Completely different from the bustling metropolis of Tokyo, Kyoto is an island country famous for its ancient capital. The buildings here tend to be short and flat in ancient Japanese style. At first glance, it feels like going back to the Heian period.
If the lights below were real, the feeling would be even stronger, Sawayama Haruno thought.
The road leading to the top of the mountain was shrinking. Sawayama Haruno looked up and with his excellent eyesight successfully captured the blurry figure standing in the shadows.
It seemed that she had changed her hairstyle, which was rare. She no longer tied her hair up high like before, but let her long hair fall down casually.
The night breeze is naturally strong, not to mention standing at this position on the top of the mountain.
Suguha Ezaki's beautiful hair was also fluttering in the wind, and pleasant scents were drifting towards Sawayama Haruno, making him unable to tell for a moment whether it was the other person's natural hair fragrance or the result of using expensive shampoo.
However, the only thing that is certain is that the smell is not unpleasant.
Sawayama Haruno did not speak in a hurry, but walked forward a distance in silence.
Looking at the tall girl who seemed inexplicably slender and fragile in the wind, he stood quietly for a while before speaking: "Are you thinking about jumping off?"
"I was discovered by you."
Ezaki Suguha stared into the distance, his eyes slightly blurred as he whispered, "Standing on the top of the mountain and feeling the wind, I feel as if my body is being blown away, and I feel a sense of freedom that is blown into pieces."
Zeshan Haruno was silent for a while, then said: "I can probably understand it."
"After a busy day, I feel relieved when listening to the night breeze. I even can't help but let out an "ahhh" sound like a middle-aged man soaking in a bathtub."
“That’s a very accurate description.”
Ezaki Suguha smiled, then suddenly turned his head and stared at Sawayama Haruno.
In the dim night, her lips moved slightly.
(End of this chapter)
