Tokyo: Rabbit Officer and Her Evil Partner
Chapter 129 - 51: The Vegetarian

Chapter 129: Chapter 51: The Vegetarian

Before Riko became a vegetarian, Kamei Yuuta didn’t consider her a special person.

To be honest, when they first met, Kamei Yuuta wasn’t attracted to this gaunt woman. She had an old-fashioned bob haircut, yellowish skin, prominent cheekbones, thin lips, and a face that seemed sharp.

The reason he married Riko was precisely because she had no special allure, nor any intolerable flaws.

Because of this, Kamei Yuuta felt comfortable; he didn’t need to feel inferior about his appearance, nor did he have to sweet-talk to please her—being with a beautiful woman, in fact, made him feel very uneasy.

But from an outsider’s point of view, Riko had an unbearable flaw: her desire for control was too strong.

From her husband’s tie to the household expenses, she wanted to keep everything in her grasp.

If Kamei Yuuta worked overtime, she would relentlessly call the company to urge him to come home.

His colleagues were annoyed and thought Kamei Yuuta was pitiful; clearly, the husband worked diligently at the company just to earn money for the family, yet his wife didn’t understand him at all. Every time Kamei Yuuta answered the phone, they would loudly mock him, thinking they were standing up for their ’honest and timid’ colleague even though Kamei Yuuta whispered for them to stop.

’Kamei-san is meticulous and never makes a mistake.’, ’Yuuta works hard and often stays late.’, ’With him at the company, I feel reassured.’... Comments like these, Kamei Yuuta always heard them. Gradually, he also believed he was that kind of person.

But in reality, he only worked for two hours a day, spending the rest of his time pretending to work. Sitting at his desk, his only entertainment was doing crossword puzzles. He never tired of it; sometimes, he’d ponder over it for two or three hours, while others thought he was racking his brains over work documents.

When evening came, Kamei Yuuta would loiter, just to get more overtime pay. His boss saw him and praised his diligence.

Lately, he really didn’t want to go home; being alone was more comfortable. Riko’s urging became more frequent, and his colleagues said she was unreasonable, thinking Kamei Yuuta was too meek.

Why would a diligent man marry a wife who controlled him strictly?

Kamei Yuuta thought the same. Recently, when Riko called, he would coldly say, ’I’m working late, too busy’, and hang up; tonight, he didn’t even answer, having the operator hang up for him.

He wasn’t out carousing; he was busy with work, so it was reasonable not to answer the phone!

When everyone clocked out, Kamei Yuuta also finished the crossword in the day’s newspaper.

He folded the newspaper, closed the company’s windows, and doors gently, and went down the stairs, not hurrying home but going to the post office first to send the puzzle answers to the newspaper... If all the answers were correct, the newspaper would send a small mysterious gift, usually a hot spring voucher or something.

After mailing the newspaper, Kamei Yuuta went to the convenience store and bought a vegetarian bento.

He knew Riko made dinner at home, but those dishes didn’t suit his taste. He sat on the curb, clasped his hands together, said ’Amitabha Buddha’, and then guilt-free discarded the meat from the bento, feeding the stray cats. It was another day of doing good deeds.

Yes, Kamei Yuuta didn’t like eating meat; he preferred vegetarian food.

But Riko cooked just to cater to their son’s tastes; the latter liked raw and cold meats, like raw beef, raw yolk, sashimi, and wasabi squid... At family dinners, Kamei Yuuta would hesitate with his chopsticks, picking but not taking anything, inevitably earning Riko’s harsh glare.

Over time, he stopped enjoying eating at home and often went to the Kimura family’s house next door to eat.

Mrs. Kimura’s cooking was light, mostly vegetarian, which Kamei Yuuta found particularly pleasing.

Riko cooked a table full of dishes, yet her husband never came home. She couldn’t take it anymore and visited the Kimura family at mealtime to see what delicacies they were enjoying... Upon entering, she saw stir-fried cabbage, cold tofu, miso soup with seaweed, and a few side dishes that were simpler than her braised beef.

"Your wife’s cooking skills are amazing, I’m so envious you married such a wife." Kamei Yuuta laughed as he complimented someone else’s wife while eating right in front of her.

Riko couldn’t bear it any longer; she flipped the dinner table and stormed out.

Actually, Kamei Yuuta used to eat meat; he just didn’t like the fishy taste. He had mentioned it to Riko before, but she never took it seriously.

She often said, ’Others can eat it, why can’t you?’ ’A grown man like you, picky eating is absurd.’ ’I’m tired cooking every day too; be more understanding...’ Over time, Kamei Yuuta stopped mentioning it.

Logically, their marriage shouldn’t have come to this point.

Deep down, Kamei Yuuta still had feelings for his wife. They were faint but resilient feelings; no matter how much they now hated each other on sight, Kamei Yuuta never thought of divorce.

When exactly did his life become so miserable?

Kamei Yuuta numbly chewed his rice, watching cars pass by, as memories flooded back unexpectedly.

He remembered that rainy night when his son Yuusaku returned home.

From that day, something began to break and become unbalanced.

Riko questioned Yuusaku why he ran away and returned, but Yuusaku didn’t answer; he just smiled at them. They questioned him repeatedly, but Yuusaku never responded, so Riko couldn’t help but hit him a few times—yet Yuusaku kept smiling, which sent chills down their spines.

The next day, they took Yuusaku to see a psychiatrist. Family members were asked to leave, and they waited about ten minutes in the hallway before the doctor gave the result: ’The boy is mentally normal.’

"How is that possible? Don’t I know my son?"

Riko refused to believe it and argued. The doctor had no choice but to ask what she thought was unusual about Yuusaku. Riko stammered, unable to answer; she turned to her husband for help, but Kamei Yuuta turned his head and remained silent.

With no choice, Riko confessed: they had hit and scolded Yuusaku last night, but he had no reaction, only giving them a strange smile. The doctor’s face changed slightly and asked her, "What reaction do you expect from the child?"

Riko was speechless.

She looked at her husband again, but he still was silent.

Riko bravely said that the child should cry and make a fuss, not just smile like a wooden figure. The doctor then asked, "Then why did you hit and scold the child?" This left Riko with nothing to say; Yuusaku didn’t talk back or argue; he only smiled.

The doctor turned to Yuusaku and asked him why he smiled. Yuusaku said he wanted his mom to be happy and stop hitting him, so he forced a smile... Upon hearing this, the nurses in the hospital all looked at Riko with condemning eyes.

Riko fled the hospital as if escaping.

Later, Kamei Yuuta thought for a long time before understanding that Riko was angry because she felt ignored. But by the time he understood, it was too late; a dike of a thousand miles is destroyed by an anthill, and his life was already riddled with holes.