As soon as twelve o'clock passed, things were much simpler.

Higashino took out the unfinished New Year's dishes, made miscellaneous dishes, and had a rough meal with Higashino Chihaya, and then watched a program with an interview outside for a while.

This program is mainly to interview the masses who do not stay at home for the New Year today, but rush to temples and shrines to go to the first ceremony.

The so-called Hatsumi actually means to visit a shrine or temple for the first time in the New Year.

As part of this tradition, on December 31, Japanese trains run all night and there are disciplined police officers on site to make it easier for those who are going to temples or shrines for the first time.

In fact, many people are stolen from their wallets or lost their children when they visit the shrine every year.

The shrine on the TV program is lit up all night long, and it is crowded with people, and it looks spectacular.

People gave money, went up and directly pulled up the stake to hit the bell, then rang the golden bell to pray for blessings, and finally bought some shrine specialties before leaving satisfied.

There are many things sold at the shrine, such as magic arrows and windmills, which are meant to drive away bad luck and bring good luck.

This spectacle of tourists is seen all over Japan, and it will continue for several days, before it gradually subsides after January 3.

By this time, Tsukasa Higashino felt that the Japanese shrine was really making money.

I don't know how much sesame oil money can be collected for a year.

It won't be over for a while, and Higashino Chihaya is already a little sleepy, so she goes to bed first.

Tsukasa Higashino, on the other hand, took a moment to walk outside the room, looked at the unchanged snow scene, and stretched.

Most of the time passed so easily...

Tsukasa Higashino is a person with bittersweet memories, and he will not forget the fact that Chihaya Higashino has eaten convenience store bento with him for a long time in the middle of this year.

Well, we still have to work harder and strive to make more achievements.

The winter of Japanese manga will continue for a while, and Tsukasa Higashino still has a chance to get a lot of firsts.

He was still working his side, but the phone on the other end suddenly rang.

This made Tsukasa Higashino somewhat strange.

Who is it? Calling so late?

"Hello? That one? ”

"Ace, I've worked hard for you today, this year!"

As soon as you hear this voice, Tsukasa Higashino knows who it is.,Isn't it my cheap girlfriend?

Higashino Tsukasa thought about it and laughed: "It's very hard, my girlfriend doesn't accompany me for the New Year, and she didn't call me until after twelve o'clock." ”

"No... I... I was just getting started... Some time was delayed. ”

The guard over there gasped, and after a long while, she called out in surprise: "By the way, Asi, you look downstairs!" ”

Well?

Higashino listened to her voice and looked downstairs.

He saw the figure of Konoe Ryoka under the street lamp, she was holding her phone in one hand, she was carrying something in the other, and her head was half-raised as if she was looking for Tsukasa Higashino.

She's fairly thickly wrapped, not like Yumi Takahashi.

It's just that Konoe Ryoka looked left and right for a long time, and she couldn't see the shadow of Higashino Tsukasa at all.

Of course, she is still a conspicuous target standing under the street lamp, and Higashino Tsukasa is standing quietly on the side of the corridor, and the figure is such a small piece, of course Konoe Lianghua can't see it.

Konoe Ryoka glanced around several times, but didn't find Tsukasa Higashino, so she couldn't help but hold her phone: "Ace, did you see me?" ”

"See."

Tsukasa Higashino on the other side of the phone answered.

"That's great... I, I'll come up. ”

Konoe Lianghua's feet were a little numb from the cold, and his face was also red from the cold.

It's really cold...

Ryoka Konoe shrunk her neck and prepared to move.

She was supposed to be sent to the vicinity of Tokyo by her own bodyguard at nine or ten o'clock, but after thinking about it, she decided to go to Chuyi.

It's just that there are so many people, so it's already more than twelve o'clock when I get back here.

Thinking about it, she raised her palm, sighed cautiously inside, and took a step forward—

"What are you doing?"

Ryoka Konoe watched Tsukasa Higashino walk out of the apartment building with frowning eyebrows, and opened her mouth: "I..."

Higashino Tsukasa looked at her as if she was shivering from the cold, and couldn't help but lower her voice and reproach: "Lianghua, your body is already weak, right?" ”

What kind of first thought is there for this kind of body?

Isn't that just nonsense?

It is said that 80% of the Japanese believe in God and Buddhism, Higashino didn't believe it at first, but seeing that Konoe Lianghua would rather be cold than go to worship, he couldn't help but shake his head and scolded: "The body is like this, why do you go to worship on the New Year?" Aren't you cold? Hanhan. ”

Ryoka Konoe, who originally saw that Higashino Tsukasa was a little excited, shrank her head when she was scolded by Higashino Tsukasa like this, and didn't dare to speak again, and lowered her head with a very aggrieved and sad expression: "Hmm." ”

Seeing her angry expression, Higashino couldn't help but shake his head: "... Let's go, let's go back. ”

He reached out to hold Wei Lianghua's palm, but before he could touch it, he couldn't help but raise his eyebrows, a little confused: "Lianghua, what are you holding in your hand?" ”

Look at this silly... His hands were frozen red.

Noticing that Ryoka Konoe subconsciously hid her hand behind her, but only halfway through hiding, she heard Tsukasa Higashino say 'No hiding'.

She honestly lowered her head, stretched out her hand, and replied, "It's something that the shrine prays for..."

Yes? Pray for something?

Tsukasa Higashino glanced at Ryoka Konoe and took the paper bag in her hand again.

It was full of paper bags, all kinds of things, and even bought a handful of ropes, and people who didn't know thought that some onmyoji was going to come to his house to do things.

Higashino Tsukasa was speechless: "Why are you buying so many of these things?" And make yourself cold, is it worth it? ”

It's just a lottery and you can just buy one or two of these gadgets, why do you need to buy so much?

"It's worth it, it's worth it!" Konoe Ryoka lowered her head, gently held the palm of Higashino Tsukasa with her frozen red palm, and whispered, "These are all what I asked for Asi... It's all working! ”

"Ask for me?" Tsukasa Higashino looked at the prayer props full of paper pockets, and couldn't help but glance at Ryoka Konoe.

Konoe Ryoka was facing him at this time, grinning, looking at him very quietly, pursing her lips and smiling.

It's just that this smile is only halfway through the laughter, she coughs several times, and shrinks her shoulders from the cold.

Seeing that Higashino Tsukasa was distressed.

This silly...

There are a lot of people going to shrines and temples today, and she's short, so it's hard to move in the crowd.

And on this day, these gadgets are big sellers, and it is estimated that many people will line up.

It's no wonder that Ryoka Konoe hasn't come back until now.

I was frozen for so long, so I bought these things...

It's really a fool.

Can't you learn to be smarter?

But it's just this kind of silly performance... made Higashino hold back for a long time and didn't hold back a word to scold her.

He could only take Konoe Ryoka's palm and put it in his pocket, and asked, "Is it warmer?" ”

"Hmm."

Ryoka Konoe approached Higashino Tsukasa and half-raised her head: "Asa is so warm." ”

Then she blushed again and said very awkwardly, "That... The moon and moonlight are so beautiful. ”

Her words made Higashino Tsukasa cough several times.

Tsukasa Higashino understands that the other party is trying to say that I like you very much, but there is no moon at all today, and it has been snowing.

In this case, you still have a sentence that the moonlight is so beautiful... I really didn't expect that.

Higashino shook his head, gently patted the thin snowflakes off her shoulder, and led her straight upstairs.

You can't let her keep blowing cold wind, right?

Back home.

Tsukasa Higashino first brought out the rest of the mixed boil for her to eat to warm up.

Then he turned on the hot water and put it into the bathtub, ready for her to take a bath.

Then he ran to Konoe Ryoka's house and fetched the clothes she wanted to change.

When Konoe Ryoka went in to take a bath, he warmed the hot water bottle again and threw it into Konoe Ryoka's futon, warming her cold futon in advance.

After Konoe Ryoka came out, Higashino took some cold medicine and asked her to take it to prevent it a little.

Tsukasa Higashino doesn't like to spoil his girlfriend, but he also doesn't have the interest in watching his girlfriend catch a cold.

As for the bag of prayer products that the shrine bought...?

Tsukasa Higashino didn't particularly care.

After doing all this, Ryoka Konoe went back to sleep at home, while Chihaya Higashino woke up because of the movement outside, and was ready to drink saliva in her pajamas and continue to sleep.

"Ace? What are you doing? ”

Watching Tsukasa Higashino take out the prayer items from the paper bag, Chihaya Higashino was puzzled.

His movements are solemn, and his expression is serious...

"Didn't do anything." Higashino Tsukasa turned his head with a smile: "Sister Chihaya, you go to sleep first, I'll sleep right away." ”

“... Oh, okay, I see. Chihaya Higashino glanced at Tsukasa Higashino strangely and nodded.

When did my own Assi also believe in gods and Buddhas? Didn't you believe it when you were young?

Odd...

......

The next day, the first of January. (I was dizzy and made a mistake in the previous chapter, but a book friend pointed it out and changed it.) )

Higashino Tsukasa got up early in the morning and first glanced at the state of Konoe Ryoka, and found that the other party's expression was not sluggish, and his body temperature was normal, so he went out to the post office.

Yesterday he received a lot of gifts, and today he returned the gift and sent a New Year's greeting certificate by the way.

Twenty or thirty people, return gifts and writing New Year's greetings are all university questions.

Higashino Division's replies are all formulaic, except for a few extremely close relationships, most of them are some innocuous blessings—similar to the Celestial Empire's official sayings such as 'wealth is rolling, Wishing you prosperity'.

After an hour or two of busy work, and after taking care of the gift, Higashino Tsukasa was visited when he returned home.

The first person to come was Kuronomiya Akisa, who apologized for getting drunk a few days ago and asking Tsukasa Higashino to call Chimi Nagawa to pick her up, and at the same time said that in the new year, she would continue to learn to draw under Tsukasa Higashino as a serious apprentice.

Her appearance at a glance made Higashino Tsukasa a little uneasy when he saw it...

After more than half a month of getting along, he knew that this product was actually extremely off-line in some places, comparable to Yumi Takahashi.

Chimi Nagawa followed closely, but the words she said were sour, with an expression of concern that Higashino Tsukasa would abduct her Kuronomiya Akisa.

Sending the two of them away, another person came.

This person is Hosokawa Koharu.

She came to the door and brought some Nagoya specialties to Tsukasa Higashino, and then said that she would also work with Tsukasa Higashino this year and win "Bad Cold".

Tsukasa Higashino's conversation with her was only halfway through, and Tobashi Daohiro and Toda Shimitsu also came.

After all, they and Higashino Division are currently creating an iron triangle combination, and both are indispensable, so it is natural to have feelings at this time.

And the topics that men talk about, in addition to their careers, are nothing more than some fancy words.

Why did you invite Tsukasa Higashino to the club in Ginza for a massage, and when will you go to eat something... It's basically all of these things.

Let's be honest... At the beginning, Tsukasa Higashino saw that the two of them were sticky together even during the New Year... In fact, I felt that something was not quite right in my heart.

But when he heard the back, he found that their orientation seemed to be normal, so he smiled and nodded, indicating that he would talk about it next time.

Hosokawa Koharu listened to it again and again, and he didn't expect that the famous superintendent in the industry, the famous golden partner, would be so good at talking meat.

But it's also a matter of course to think about it, Benqiao Daohiro and they are also men, and they can mix so well in the industry, most of them are old oilers.

After talking like this for half an hour, the two of them also left quickly.

They still have others to visit, unlike Hosokawa Koharu, a manga editor who only has a manga writer under him.

After another hour, Hosokawa Koharu got up to say goodbye, and happened to meet Riko Hasegawa and Kako Mizuguchi to visit again.

This time, Higashino Tsukasa was also a little speechless.

You guys came here in a group? Pick someone else to come in turn?

And how did Kako Mizuguchi get mixed up with Riko Hasegawa? And it seems that the relationship is not bad?

As soon as Kako Mizuguchi saw Tsukasa Higashino, she praised him for his discerning eyes and ability to recognize people and things, and discovered Riko Hasegawa's strengths.

This convincing look made Higashino Tsukasa a little suspicious, so he asked a few tentative questions.

The other party seems to be really convinced... It seems that Kako Mizuguchi listened to the tape that Riko Hasegawa used to practice before, so she changed from being unhappy at the beginning to being convinced later.

Tsukasa Higashino won't take all the things she says, but for now, her relationship with Riko Hasegawa is really good.

Tsukasa Higashino decided to see how she performed.

After all, multiple friends have many paths.

In this way, he was busy until more than two o'clock in the afternoon, receiving Riko Hasegawa, Kako Mizuguchi, Aoi Fujiwara, Yumi Takahashi, and Chihaya Higashino, who had been asleep, finally woke up.

Yesterday was the first time the two of them stayed up so late, and of course they had to stay in bed.

At this time, Konoe Ryoka also adjusted her state, so Higashino Tsukasa, the head chef of the family, began to cook.

After all these miscellaneous affairs were settled, Tsukasa Higashino made himself a cup of tea, and was just about to shrink into the stove and sit for a while-

The phone rang.

Well?

Tsukasa Higashino was a little confused.

He congratulated everything he should have congratulated, and he dealt with everything he should have dealt with...

How can there be anyone else?

Higashino Tsukasa answered the phone, and then he heard the first words of the other party-

"Higashino-sensei! Congratulations! ”