Flying over the bubble era

Chapter 1520 1521. Take a Step Back

The next weekend, Ayumi Hamasaki stayed at home, waiting for her mother Akiko to arrive.

Shinichi Iwahashi and Akina Nakamori were getting ready to go out. Ayumi Hamasaki went to get Akina Nakamori's shoes. When she came back, she saw her reaching out to smooth out the wrinkles on Shinichi Iwahashi's shirt and she stood there for a while.

Iwahashi Shinichi was joking with his wife, "Koichi went out early this morning. ... He didn't want to go with me to Chieko's house."

Utada Hikaru has an appointment with Maiko today, and the two kids are going on some adventure. Utada Hikaru is always tight-lipped about her own affairs.

Akina Nakamori revealed the girl's thoughts: "Xiao Guang doesn't want to go with us."

Shinichi Iwahashi smiled and agreed with his wife's statement.

It is not appropriate for a child who is not related to the couple to accompany the wife back to her parents' home. Moreover, the wife is pregnant. Ayumi Hamasaki subtly understands Utada Hikaru's approach.

Living under the same roof for so long, both of them are children of the Iwahashi family. Although they are very different from Utada Hikaru in many aspects, there are always some similarities between the two. Perhaps only these two girls can understand each other.

Ayumi Hamasaki didn't dislike Utada Hikaru, but she couldn't say whether she liked her or not. However, she knew that this girl was smart and probably saw everything clearly.

Ayumi Hamasaki couldn't help feeling a little uncomfortable when she thought of this.

She thought, if Utada Hikaru's recent changes were because she saw everything clearly, then Utada Hikaru's sudden change in attitude towards herself was probably because her inner heart was realized by this child.

What did Utada Hikaru realize?

Such a strange question popped up in Ayumi Hamasaki's mind. However, when she thought about it, she did not reject Utada Hikaru's approach.

Shinichi Iwahashi saw Ayumi Hamasaki standing there and said to her, "Please give my regards to Akiko-san when you see her. If she's not in a hurry to go back to Fukuoka, it would be great if we could meet and have a cup of tea together."

He spoke in a tone as if he was going to call the parents, in an extremely connoisseur-like manner.

"Until then, Ayu-chan, have fun." Akina Nakamori supported her husband with a smile.

Is this kind of harmony a tacit understanding between husband and wife?

The fact that a new life was about to be born into the Iwahashi family shocked Ayumi Hamasaki and frightened her into taking a step back. Taking a step back, she unexpectedly saw a full view that she had not seen before.

……

Before leaving, Akina Nakamori called Chieko. After completing this last step of preparation, the couple left the house. Ayumi Hamasaki, who stayed at home, waited for a call from her mother Akiko and went to meet her.

She was the one looking after the house during this period until Zhang Zi called.

The daughter who called her mother and the daughter who was waiting for her mother's call. This coincidence is really interesting. On the way there, Akina Nakamori suddenly realized something and told Shinichi Iwahashi about it.

"That's quite a coincidence." Shinichi Iwahashi also laughed.

He told Akina Nakamori, "Summer vacation has been over for so long, and Ayu hasn't mentioned whether she wants to go back to Fukuoka. I'm still thinking about it. Zhang Zi-san's visit will save me from worrying."

There was a hint of helplessness in Shinichi Iwahashi's tone, as he was unable to do anything about the adolescent girl.

Akina Nakamori listened to her husband's words, but she seemed to be thinking about something. She suddenly mentioned: "The child said, 'We shouldn't come to Tokyo.'" When his wife brought up Ayumi Hamasaki's rebelliousness at that time, Shinichi Iwahashi felt a little bored and replied casually: "She was just excited at the time and said something she didn't think about."

Akina Nakamori said, "That's exactly what Ayu really said, so she doesn't mention going back to Fukuoka."

Shinichi Iwahashi seemed to be dragged into a sticky topic by his wife. He did not take up the topic. However, it was not because he was unhappy, but because he acquiesced to his wife's words.

In fact, on the contrary, the fact that Ayumi Hamasaki did not mention returning to Fukuoka during this summer vacation just shows that this girl has really made the decision to stay in Tokyo.

"Ayu is a good kid," said Akina Nakamori. "Because she is a good kid, she always competes with herself."

The flip side of the coin of being competitive with yourself is not wanting to cause trouble for others.

If things don’t go as planned, that’s another matter.

Although Ayumi Hamasaki's rebellion had caused a stir in the Iwahashi family some time ago, Akina Nakamori had always been tolerant of her. However, at that time, Akina Nakamori's gentleness and patience came more from the tolerance of an adult woman towards a young girl.

Since she got pregnant and realized that she was going to be a mother, Akina Nakamori suddenly began to understand Ayumi Hamasaki's previous awkwardness and rebellion in a more subtle way. The girl's reckless emotions were wrapped in something more delicate and fragile.

This girl was still young when her father left home and never came back again. She had no memory of her father, but she didn't have any deep memory of him either, which left a vague shadow in her heart.

For many years, she had not felt that her father had abandoned her, but she had imagined that Iwahashi Shinichi was her father. When she tried to find the shadow of her father in Iwahashi Shinichi, the hazy shadow left in her heart was projected onto Iwahashi Shinichi. Then, when Iwahashi Shinichi turned a blind eye to her, she truly felt the pain of being abandoned by her father.

Her struggles and erratic emotions are a manifestation of her struggle against this non-existent thing. It is precisely because those things are "non-existent" that her actions and behaviors appear to be willful and reckless.

As she was about to become a mother, Akina Nakamori had a deeper understanding of these subtle emotions. When she realized this, she couldn't help but feel more compassion for Ayumi Hamasaki.

Shinichi Iwahashi also noticed the change in his wife's attitude and asked, "Why are you suddenly siding with Ayu?"

Akina Nakamori didn't like his wording and asked, "Was I inconsiderate to Ayu before?"

Iwahashi Shinichi smiled, "That's not what I meant." He paused and said, "Recently, Xiaoguang and Ayu have been at loggerheads."

"..."

"This is a good thing." Iwahashi Shinichi explained, "It's not that Xiaoguang's attitude towards Ayu has changed, it's that Ayu's own thinking has changed."

Unlike Akina Nakamori, Shinichi Iwahashi cannot approach Ayumi Hamasaki blindly in the face of her complicated and tangled emotions.

Now, it was Akina Nakamori who remained silent.

"This child is very special. She had to work to support her family since she was young. Rather than saying she is the daughter of a woman's family, it is better to say that she was a 'little woman' from the beginning."

This is the first time that Shinichi Iwahashi has spoken so candidly about Ayumi Hamasaki. "After all, she is just a child. Many of her inner conflicts come from this. But this child has a personality that would rather break than bend. She cannot be easily restrained."

On the way to see Chieko, the couple unexpectedly talked about the girl living in the house.

The two people seem to have different ideas, but in fact, they are thinking about the same thing.

(End of this chapter)