Chapter 51

Chapter 51: “Isn’t this basically a textbook case of being dumped!”

Ever since choosing the piano, Nagayama Naoki had noticed that his proficiency kept steadily improving.

In just a few months, even famous world classics could be played in a fairly presentable way after looking at the sheet music.

At first, he even thought his “cheat ability” had finally kicked in.

But after learning about true piano prodigies and masters, he realized his current level was nothing special at all.

So he stopped forcing himself toward becoming a concert pianist.

Now, playing the piano was simply a form of leisure.

He practiced a few etudes taught by Tokunaga Sachiko-sensei, just enough to loosen up his fingers.

Then he let himself go completely.

Enjoying his solitary time.

In early summer, fragmented sunlight filtered through the leaves and cast a patchwork of light and shadow across the living room.

The breeze moved through the room, causing the curtains to sway gently, making the shadows on the walls seem to dance as well.

The entire space felt almost alive.

Naoki played the piano casually, letting his fingers follow the melodies that occasionally surfaced in his mind, scattering into disjointed fragments of sound.

At one moment, he saw himself as a child playing on the beach with his siblings; at another, he was back in a study room before exams, desperately solving practice problems.

One moment he was sweating on a sports field; the next, he was experiencing a failed confession behind the school building.

Two lifetimes of memories overlapped chaotically, rich with contrast and surprise.

Thinking of summer, cicadas, swimming pools, fireworks—then Kikujirō, then the meteor from “Your Name” that turns you into a rural high school girl…

Meteor? Meteor shower?

The piano notes under his fingertips gradually became more coherent and smooth.

In the memories of youth, there was always at least one teen idol drama.

“Accompanying you to watch the meteor shower fall on this Earth, letting your tears fall on my shoulder…”

Naoki hummed the song “Meteor Shower,” recalling both the Taiwanese version of “Meteor Garden” and the mainland adaptation “Meteor Shower” (Let’s Watch the Meteor Shower Together). The memories became clearer and clearer.

His fingers moved through melodies:

From “Meteor Shower,”

To “A Person’s Romance,”

To “Remembering”

Until the emotional surge gradually settled and faded away.

Opening his eyes, Naoki knew he had once again tapped into memories deep within his soul.

Each such vivid recollection meant a further fusion between past and present—until one day, the two would become indistinguishable.

This time, he had gained fragments of two idol dramas and three Chinese songs.

While the memories were still fresh, he quickly wrote down the three compositions. Unexpectedly, when writing the lyrics, they automatically turned into Japanese.

Looking at the sheet music and lyrics, Naoki felt conflicted. Japanese lyrics didn’t quite match the tone of the compositions. Would he need to rewrite them?

But… weren’t these originally from Japanese dramas adapted abroad?

Domyoji? Hanazawa Rui? Were the songs originally Japanese covers?

What should he do? He had no memory of this at all.

While he was still struggling over how to handle this “divine gift,” the doorbell suddenly rang.

Anyone who has watched horror films knows that a sudden doorbell usually means either a ghost or a killer.

After the strange experience he had just gone through, the sound genuinely startled him.

Fortunately, it was daytime, and outside was still bright and sunny.

Naoki calmed himself, stood up, and opened the door.

As the door slowly opened, a young girl with a gentle, refined face appeared, smiling.

Her small tiger teeth were especially cute.

“I’m sorry, did I interrupt your piano practice?”

Seeing that the door was opened by a young handsome man, she asked a little shyly.

“Ah, no, I was already done practicing,” Naoki replied, slightly confused. “May I ask what you need?”

“Well… this is a bit embarrassing, but I wanted to ask you something.”

She suddenly remembered something and quickly bowed slightly.

“Um, I’m Kawai Naoko, your neighbor. Nice to meet you.”

Naoki instinctively bowed back.

“I’m Nagayama Naoki. Nice to meet you too.”

By the time he realized it, both introductions and bows had already been completed automatically. He couldn’t help but smile.

Seeing his smile, Naoko looked puzzled.

“Why are you laughing, Nagayama-kun? Did I do something rude? Is there something on my face?”

“No, nothing like that. It’s a bit hard to explain.”

He didn’t know how to explain the absurdity of his reflexive behavior. It was something only he himself could understand.

“So, Naoko-san, what did you want to ask?”

Noticing they were still standing at the door, he stepped aside.

“If you don’t mind, please come in.”

“Thank you.”

Once inside, Naoko noticed the living room was unusually clean, not like a place that was regularly lived in.

“Do you not live here, Nagayama-san?”

Naoki poured a glass of hot water.

“Please sit. Don’t be so formal. Just call me Naoki.”

“I understand.”

Taking the cup, Kawai Naoko explained her reason for coming.

“Naoki-kun, I came to bother you because I wanted to ask about the piece you were playing earlier.”

“Hm?” That was unexpected.

Naoko continued.

“I study piano as well, so I’m familiar with most classical pieces and popular songs. Even your practice etudes were recognizable to me.

But after a very scattered passage, there were suddenly three pieces. They were all beautiful, but I’ve never heard them before.

Since I really love piano, I came to ask.”

“You listened that carefully?”

Naoki was genuinely surprised. He hadn’t expected a musical expert living next door.

“Yes. Because I’m interested in music, I tend to listen very closely.”

Naoki couldn’t exactly say anything about “divine inspiration.”

“I see… Naoko-san, those three pieces were actually my own compositions. They haven’t been published yet.”

“Eh?!!”

Composing even one piece was not something done casually, let alone three works with such complete and refined melodies.

Normally, only established composers could do that—it didn’t seem like something a young man like him would create.

“Naoki-kun… are you a composer?”

“Well… I guess you could say that.”

“You’re being too modest. These are extremely high-quality pieces. Based on my experience, they have the potential to become classics.”

“If you keep praising me like that, I’ll get embarrassed.”

He didn’t actually doubt the quality of the pieces.

A brief silence followed.

Naoko lowered her gaze, took a sip of water, then held the cup in both hands.

“I’m sorry for asking something so rude, but… could I see the sheet music? I really like those three pieces.”

“Of course.”

Naoki took the manuscript paper from his desk.

“The lyrics aren’t finished yet, so they’re still basically drafts.”

“You’ve already started writing lyrics?”

Naoko quickly put down her cup and took the sheets.

“Meteor Shower,” “A Person’s Romance,” “Remembering”…

Naoko said:

“Is this about the March Centaurus meteor shower? Were you thinking about a date? Love!!”

“Ah… I guess so.”

Wait—was there even a Centaurus meteor shower in March?

Why is she getting more and more excited?

Naoko seemed to connect the three pieces into a narrative, interpreting them as Naoki’s personal experience.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked so much about your personal experiences.”

Eh?

Wait.

First, watching a meteor shower together.

Then, alone.

And then only memories left behind.

Isn’t this basically a textbook case of being dumped!