What does it mean when a girl personally gives you a spare key?
Even a blockhead should understand by that point.
Not to mention, Kotomi Izumi was a little scumbag girl, not a blockhead. If she were a blockhead, she could never become a scumbag girl.
Kotomi Izumi pointed at her own cheek and asked with a hint of surprise,
"Can you really give this to me?"
"Of course. Back when I spent extra money to make three keys, I already intended to give one to you."
Ayani Kika nodded, then seemed to remember something and added,
"Though I guess it still depends on what you think. I just wanted to give you a key to my place. That way, the next time you come to Kyoto alone, you won't need to spend money on a hotel anymore. You can just stay at my house instead.
"Oh, and by the way, the apartment I rented has three bedrooms. Renting a three-bedroom place costs way more than a two-bedroom one. And short-term leases aren't allowed either. I had to pay two years' rent upfront. So take a guess—why do you think I deliberately spent more money to rent a three-bedroom apartment?"
Now that things had been said this clearly, Kotomi Izumi knew that if she still refused to accept the key, she would only be wasting Ayani Kika's sincerity.
Still, Kotomi did not quite understand. Although she and Ayani Kika had not known each other for a particularly short time, strictly speaking, they had only met during her previous trip to Kyoto. From her first visit until this second one, only about a month had passed in total.
The amount of time they had actually spent together could be counted on both hands.
Yet whether it was the things Ayani Kika casually said during their time together or the various attitudes she displayed toward her in every aspect, all of it gave Kotomi Izumi the illusion that they had known each other for a very long time.
But Kotomi was certain that their previous meeting in Kyoto really had been their first encounter.
If that was the case, then why exactly was Ayani Kika doing all this?
Surely it couldn't just be because she thought I was cute? The number one oiran of Kyoto's Gion hanamachi captivated by my beauty?
Even the usually narcissistic Kotomi Izumi was beginning to lose confidence now.
Many thoughts surfaced in her heart. Looking at Ayani Kika's hand still extended toward her, along with the ring of keys she held...
After thinking for a moment, Kotomi finally reached out and accepted the keys.
"Thank you. Then I'll accept them. But since there's a room for me, I should pay part of the rent too."
Kotomi Izumi felt she could not just enjoy a room that belonged entirely to her for free.
Although she could be a little trashy at times, she was actually very clear-headed when it came to dealing with people. She knew exactly what advantages she should take and which ones she should not.
Honestly, this kind of thing could not really be taught directly. It was a combination of emotional intelligence and social adaptability. Half depended on talent, and half on upbringing and training.
Generally speaking, parents who ran businesses would gradually try to teach their children these kinds of skills as they grew older. The simplest example would be during family gatherings: how to greet people, how to make toasts, how to continue topics others brought up at the dinner table. In short, you could not just bury your head in your food the whole time.
Parents would provide a general direction, and children with a bit of intuition would understand, then gradually learn to apply those lessons broadly and continue improving their social skills.
But for children who were more socially anxious, they might either fail to understand how to respond, or clearly realize their parents were trying to improve their social ability yet still resist it for various psychological reasons.
In the end, it all depended on whether someone personally wanted to improve. Whether they chose to improve or not, they had their own reasons and goals.
Returning to the main topic, after Kotomi Izumi suggested splitting the rent together, Ayani Kika unexpectedly looked a little unhappy.
"Are you being too distant with me?"
Ayani Kika suddenly asked.
Kotomi Izumi was almost caught off guard. Internally, she thought: We've only known each other for such a short time. Of course I have to be a little polite with you!
If Kotomi had not been good at conversation, she might genuinely have had no idea how to answer.
"How could that be? It's just that this area is located in central Kyoto. Renting an apartment downtown, and for two whole years at that, definitely can't be cheap no matter how you think about it." Kotomi Izumi smiled slightly as she explained her reasoning.
Kotomi did not really understand how much geisha earned. She simply assumed that since it was a declining traditional industry, the income probably was not particularly high.
Ayani Kika seemed to see through her thoughts. With a helpless sigh, she said,
"Are you underestimating the foundations of an okiya too much? Even ordinary okiya usually have some level of wealth if they can manage to stay open at all. Not to mention opening one in Gion hanamachi. Without sufficient financial resources and influence, it simply wouldn't be possible.
"On top of that, the Kyoto Prefectural Government's annual subsidies are paid directly to individual geisha. So as long as someone successfully becomes a geisha, they generally have some money saved up. If anyone's truly short on money, it's usually just the apprentices who recently joined Gion."
"But..."
Kotomi Izumi still wanted to say something.
"All right already."
Ayani Kika directly interrupted her and lightly poked her little head with a finger. Half-jokingly, she said,
"If you really want to spend money, why not go talk to the owner of our okiya and ask her how much it would take to buy out my contract?"
Seeing this, Kotomi Izumi understood that Ayani Kika had already made up her mind not to let her share the rent. She could only temporarily give up on the idea and instead follow along with the joke.
"So how much would it cost?"
"I have no idea~"
Ayani Kika shrugged and reminded her,
"Our owner is actually a very easygoing woman. But I am still the oiran of the okiya. If you suddenly tell her you want to buy out my contract, she might politely pour you a cup of green tea and invite you to sit down for a nice conversation... but when it comes to money, she'll definitely take a huge bite out of you."
"Then what if I just elope with you directly?" Kotomi Izumi asked with a smile, thinking that since Ayani Kika was joking, she would joke along too.
"And after I run away with you, will you support me for the rest of my life?" Ayani Kika asked in return.
Kotomi Izumi instantly fell silent.
Seeing Kotomi momentarily at a loss for words, Ayani Kika burst into laughter. Pinching Kotomi's soft cheek, she said,
"All right, stop standing around. Sit down already, wherever you want. I'll go make tea. Black tea or green tea, which would you like?"
"Black tea. With sugar cubes?"
"I lied. There's only green tea at home." Ayani Kika smiled triumphantly.
"Then green tea it is..."
Kotomi Izumi twitched at the corner of her mouth. Saying this might be a little rude, but right now she genuinely wanted to spank Ayani Kika's butt.
After Ayani Kika left the bedroom to make tea in the kitchen, Kotomi Izumi sat on the tatami floor, occasionally glancing around the room.
"For such an elaborate traditional Japanese style, if someone wanted to renovate a room like this from scratch, it would probably cost a ridiculous amount of money."
After studying the bedroom décor for quite a while, this was ultimately the conclusion Kotomi Izumi arrived at.
After all, Kotomi considered herself a vulgar person. If someone really asked her to say something refined and poetic, she simply could not do it. She had read plenty of books, but she did not know how to use elegant descriptions of beauty. No matter how beautiful something was, the first thing that came out of her mouth would still be, "Holy shit, that's awesome."
Kotomi Izumi still remembered the promise she had made with Megumi Kato. Once she returned to the hotel, she would call her.
At first, Kotomi thought, Should I just call Megumi now? It would be the perfect opportunity while Ayani Kika is busy making tea.
But after taking her phone out of her pocket, another thought suddenly occurred to her.
Wait a second. Based on my previous experience calling Megumi, even when we see each other every single day, once we start talking on the phone, she can still chat with me for nearly an hour. And now that we haven't seen each other for so many days, if I really call her, it feels like she could start talking to me at one in the afternoon and continue all the way until ten at night.
Earlier at the restaurant, I could still use the excuse that the signal was bad. But if I call her now, then by the time Ayani Kika finishes making tea and comes back, I won't even know what excuse to use to hang up.
Am I supposed to tell Megumi the truth? That I actually didn't return to the hotel and am currently at another girl's house?
The moment that thought surfaced in her mind, Kotomi Izumi instinctively shuddered.
From Chiba to Kyoto was over five hundred kilometers away, yet Kotomi somehow had the feeling that if she really told Megumi the truth, her head might hit the floor before she even finished speaking.
Looking at the phone in her hand, Kotomi thought for a moment. Acting entirely on survival instinct, she quietly put it away again, deciding to wait until she truly returned to the hotel before calling Megumi Kato.
After all, she probably would not stay at Ayani Kika's house for very long.
After abandoning the idea of calling Megumi, Kotomi Izumi also did not spend the waiting time playing on her phone. Instead, she sat on the tatami and looked around aimlessly.
Back in middle school, whenever her phone battery died, Kotomi would also sit in the classroom and look around absentmindedly. It was not because she particularly wanted to see anything. She simply used the act of glancing here and there to pass the time whenever she was bored.
Unexpectedly, although she was merely trying to kill time, her attention was quickly drawn to a black cloth hanging on the wall.
Because she had happened to sit down with her back facing it earlier, she had not noticed it at all. Only after casually turning her head just now did she discover the black object hanging there.
"Why would someone hang a black cloth on the wall...? Ah, wait, it's a garment bag. Never mind then."
Kotomi Izumi had not even finished muttering her confusion before taking a closer look and realizing that it was not a piece of black cloth at all, but a black garment bag.
Although, hanging a garment bag directly on the wall still felt a little strange considering there was a wardrobe right beside it.
"Sorry for making you wait. The electric kettle at home has pretty low power, so it takes a while for the water to boil."
At that moment, Ayani Kika walked back into the room carrying a tray with two cups of green tea.
When she saw Kotomi Izumi sitting on the tatami and staring up at the garment bag on the wall, her expression paused briefly before she deliberately spoke first.
"Oh my, oh my~ Although I know girls your age are naturally the most curious, staring so passionately at another girl's garment bag without even trying to hide it will make the other person feel very embarrassed, you know?"
"Ah, sorry. I-I just happened to turn my head and saw something black hanging on the wall, so I thought it was strange. Then after looking more carefully, I realized it was a garment bag," Kotomi Izumi hurriedly explained after snapping back to her senses.
Watching the rare flustered expression on Kotomi's face, the smile at the corners of Ayani Kika's lips quietly deepened, like coffee midway through having several sugar cubes dropped into it.
"It's fine, it's fine. I just saw your curious little expression the moment I walked in and couldn't resist teasing you a little. Are you very curious about what's inside the garment bag?"
"It's obviously clothes."
"Then aren't you curious about what kind of clothes they are exactly?" Ayani Kika asked with a smiling expression.
For some reason, the way Ayani Kika phrased those words sounded extremely suspicious to Kotomi Izumi. She could not quite explain why, but it felt as though Ayani Kika was intentionally trying to guide her imagination in a certain direction.
What kind of clothes exactly...
In an instant, countless pieces of extremely bold clothing flashed through Kotomi Izumi's mind.
Or rather—intimate apparel.
Not only did the designs of the clothes appear in her imagination, but Kotomi also instinctively began imagining what Ayani Kika would look like wearing them...
Almost immediately, Kotomi suddenly felt her nose growing itchy, as though warm blood might start pouring out at any second.
A mature woman truly was a mature woman. Even though Kotomi Izumi had not said a single word, merely from the expression on her face, Ayani Kika had already roughly guessed what kind of fantasies were running through her head.
In fact, those deliberately suggestive words from earlier had specifically been intended to provoke exactly that kind of imagination from Kotomi.
And judging from Kotomi's current state, Ayani Kika's plan had clearly succeeded.
"Would you like to see what I look like wearing them~?" Ayani Kika pressed further.
Buzz!
That light and airy sentence was like a spark igniting dry firewood.
The excited roaring echoing in Kotomi Izumi's ears resembled the thunderous rumble of a nineteenth-century steam train releasing thick clouds of white steam.
The world is vast and beautiful. I want to be a vulgar person who loves money and beautiful women!
That was the motto Kotomi Izumi had created for herself, as well as the truest reflection of her inner thoughts.
"Mhm! Mhm!"
Without the slightest trace of coyness, if Kotomi wanted to see something, then she wanted to see it. She would absolutely never pretend to be reserved. She simply nodded vigorously.
Even Ayani Kika, who had intentionally lured her imagination in that direction, could not help laughing at how smoothly and shamelessly Kotomi admitted it.
"Pfft—You admitted it so naturally that I feel like if I refused, you'd start taking action yourself in the next second. Do you really have to be this impatient?"
Kotomi Izumi ignored Ayani Kika's teasing completely, because her head was currently filled with all kinds of clothing designs and what Ayani Kika would look like wearing them.
With an impatient tone, she said,
"I am impatient! I really want to see them, so hurry up and let me look already!"
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