Mamura slept so deeply that he didn't wake up for half an hour, and finally I had to wake him up.

"Ah...... It's a fold. What's wrong with me? Why are you lying here? ”

After shaking it twice, Mamura opened his eyelids and reached out to rub the corners of his eyes in confusion.

"Just now we went to the bathroom, and I proposed to rest here for a while, who knows if you fell asleep after sitting down for a while."

I casually made up a lie to hide the past. Mamura showed a strange expression after hearing this, but after thinking about it for a while, he still shook his head as if giving up: "Is that so?" Why do you seem to have some misremember? ”

"Maybe you can't remember it when you fall asleep."

"Oh, that's right. But did we really finish going to the bathroom? Why do I feel like I want to go now? ”

"It's just too much water."

……

When I returned to the eastern suburbs with Mamura, it was already noon, and the number of people practicing by the river had decreased a lot, so I thought I would have gone to the market area to eat. I immediately found Yarn and Mika in the sparse crowd, and the two of them were idle, wearing protective gear, holding shovels, carefully shoveling the excess of the ice.

The ice cube for practice hadn't been what it was when Mamura and I left, but now it had a simple outline, and it was clear that the two girls had definitely put a lot of effort into it.

"Yarn, Mika. We're back. ”

I held out my hand to greet them, thinking about how to fool them when they asked about the goodbye they had just made, when in fact the lie had been made up a long time ago, and now it was just organizational language.

Just as I was about to blurt out the lie as soon as the two girls asked, my eyes inadvertently fell on Sa's body. She wore a visor and goggles that didn't fit well, and because they were too loose, she had to reach for them every once in a while so that they wouldn't slip off her face. And since the mask and goggles were hung, she also tied up her red hair, and after it was clumped, she tied it up with a wooden hairpin from Miss Liuzhi's hand.

Every time she chiseled a few times with her shovel on the ice, she would stop and observe before continuing to raise her shovel and chisel towards the ice. When she swings the shovel, the red hair balls start to bounce slightly, which is particularly interesting.

"Fold, promise me, okay? Please never lie to me, and if there is something you can't say to me, just keep silent to me. ”

Looking at this veil, I couldn't help but recall what she had said to me, and the look on her expression full of hope at that time, and my heart trembled inexplicably, and I dispelled the idea of hiding the past through lies.

After waiting for a while, Yarn and Mika were still carving ice cubes on their own, as if they didn't notice that Mamura and I were standing next to me, so I had to call them again: "Sa, Mika." I'm back with Mamura, so let's get it instead. ”

As a result, there was no reaction for a long time, and the two girls did not smile, concentrating on the ice sculpture in front of them, and they looked like they had not heard anything. Mamura, who was beside me, tugged at my sleeve and leaned in and whispered, "They must have heard, but they just pretended not to see us." ”

"I know."

I nodded at him, knowing that the two of them were angry at me and Mamura's sudden departure, so I deliberately pretended to ignore the two of us. But there was no point in continuing to be angry like this, and the matter itself was my mistake, and it made them wait for nearly an hour, so I sincerely lowered my head and apologized to them: "I'm sorry, I walked away from Mamura just now because I couldn't tell you." I'm very sorry, but please forgive us. ”

"Oh."

This time Mika reacted, she put down the shovel, took off her mask and goggles and grabbed them in her hands, turned around and threw herself on one hand, her cheeks bulging: "Is that just a sentence?" What about sincerity? Didn't anyone tell you to apologize and take action? Such an insincere apology, neither Saya nor I accept it. Yarn, right? ”

"Yes."

Yarn also stopped, and her eyes under the glass of the pale red goggles bent into the shape of a crescent moon: "There must be compensation." ”

"What do you want? I don't have anything for you. ”

Mamura scratched his head, looking nerve-wracking. I shrugged my shoulders and sighed, "You can put forward any conditions, but I can't guarantee that you can do it." ”

After listening to my words, Yarn and Mika looked at each other, looking like they had succeeded in their plan. Then Mika patted her stomach with a sad face: "I'm hungry and want to eat." And after standing for so long, my feet are also tired. ”

"Me too."

The yarn gently took off the blindfold and goggles, and put down the coiled red hair, which looked a little messy because it had not been tidied up. Then she tilted her head and stole her head towards me, like a cat stealing food.

I knew this, so I naturally walked over to her and reached out to help her with the scattered red hair, untangling the tangled strands, and smoothing them one by one. The hair is smooth and supple, with the same tactile feel as the finest silks, and a subtle scent of herbs that is particularly pleasant to touch.

Sasha lowered her head slightly, but this time she didn't blush, apparently getting used to my way of taking care of her hair.

I don't feel troubled about this job, because whether it's helping Jing or Sha to take care of her hair, it's not hard or punishing. On the contrary, the process is more like painting, you can arrange their hair according to your own heart, and when I watch the messy hair gradually become pleasing to the eye at my fingertips, my heart is full of a sense of accomplishment and pleasure.

"In other words, do you want us to bring you something to eat?"

While I was helping Sato with her hair, Mamura asked Mika about it, and he probably found it troublesome with a reluctant expression on his face. But Mika ignored him, she just lowered her head, as if thinking about something, and after a while stroked her short black hair that reached her shoulders, and muttered to herself, "Wouldn't it be better for me to keep my hair longer?" But it seems to be a lot of trouble to take care of. ”

I glanced at her and decided that while she had good long hair, short hair was more suitable.

Mika lowered her head and thought, ignoring Mamura as if she were holding out her hand and shaking it in front of her eyes, she raised her head and glared at him: "What are you shaking, I heard you." Mamura, you idiot, what a big idiot! How could I have told you to bring back the food? It's such a cold weather, and by the time you bring back the food, it's all cold. Let's eat that kind of thing, do you want me and Sato to be sick? ”

"So what the hell are we going to do?"

Mamura was scolded and shrugged innocently. Meijia glared at him again, and couldn't help but sigh: "Forget it, I really lost to you, I mean you have to carry me and Sa." I don't want to walk at all now, my feet hurt a little, and my stomach is so hungry. After knocking on the ice cubes with my hands for so long, I feel numb - I don't care, I want you to carry it on your back. ”

"So be it. I'll carry the veil. Mamura, you carry Mika. ”

I happened to be helping Sha straighten out her red hair, so I stretched my arms, walked over to Sha and bent down, and motioned for her to lean over. She hesitated for a moment, then lifted the overly long hem of her fur coat and parted them to the sides before she lay on my back and wrapped her hands around my neck.

"Is it okay?"

I felt my back sink and my breathing intensified, but I tried my best not to shake my body and avoid making the yarn feel like I was struggling.

"Yes, that's fine."

The sound of the yarn as sweet as honey came from my ears, and because her chin was resting on my shoulder, her voice was exceptionally clear and pleasant, mixed with a faint fragrance, which made people unconsciously have the illusion that her body was light, as if she could carry her forever.

(The sound of the yarn can refer to Toko's CV: あじ saury, I personally like this sound.) ）

The body of the yarn is very light and soft, and if I had to carry her in the past, it would have been a breeze, but it would have been a little difficult to change the body that has not yet developed.

When I wrapped my hands around the crook of the yarn's legs, I finally stood up, and my body shook uncontrollably twice, but fortunately, there was no snow or broken ice under my feet, so I didn't slip.

"Fold, is it okay? Otherwise, let's take a break and walk over. ”

Although the shaking was very slight, the yarn was still sensitive to it. She reached out and pressed my shoulder lightly, poking her face out from above my right shoulder, as if trying to see my expression to see if I was struggling. I don't know if she saw my expression, but I felt that my ears and cheeks were close to a delicate, cold skin, and it was very comfortable.

"It's okay, it's not very heavy."

I shook my head, it wasn't easy, but it was hard to say for someone with the mind of an adult man.

"Then be careful, if you can't carry it, put me down."

Sa's voice became reassuring, and she lay quietly on my back, motionless. Only then did I take the time to look at Mika and Mamura, and realized that Mamura was leaning down with difficulty, and Mika was sitting on his back as if he were riding a horse, making it difficult for Mamura to straighten up, let alone stand up.

"Mika, you're so heavy! Hurry down! I can't carry you. ”

Mamura's face was flushed, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, but he didn't dare to reach out to push Mika, so he had to shout.

"First of all, I'm not heavy at all; Second, it's obvious that you are too weak, you look at the folding, and you will carry the yarn all at once; Third, I think you must be underwhelmed! ”

Mika's expression became a little gloomy, she reached out and pinched a small piece of neck flesh exposed by Mamura, and spun it left and right: "Can you move your back now?" ”

"Ah...... It hurts! Don't twist my neck! ”

Mamura screamed in pain and almost threw Mika off. I couldn't stand it, if the two of them continued to make trouble like this, maybe someone would get hurt later, so I stepped forward and gently pulled the ink-colored scarf around Meijia's neck: "Meijia, you come down first." Riding on his back like you, it is impossible for him to stand up at all. ”

Mika snorted, but still got off Mamura's back, which allowed Mamura to finally catch his breath. At this time, I pointed to Mamura again: "Mamura, if you lower your head a little, just bend down, you don't have to squat down, it will not be easy for you to get up." ”

Under my step-by-step guidance, Mamura finally carried Mika smoothly, although it looked a little laborious, but it was no problem. Then I told Mamura and Mika respectively, to walk slowly, not to be greedy, and to stop and rest when you are tired. As for Mika, she was asked not to make a mess on her back, let alone move around.

After the instructions, we walked slowly in the direction of the market area. At this time, it was time for Chinese food, and most of the people who came to practice their ice carving skills also put down their tools and walked towards the market area in twos and threes. Generally speaking, during the Snow Festival, most people choose to serve lunch with snacks that are provided free of charge at various snack bars – not breakfast.

Since Mamura and I were carrying people on our backs, we chose not to take the shortcut on the ice wall, but chose to enter the activity area through the east entrance. Because we were walking a long way, I couldn't see anyone else except the four of us.

We were not in a hurry, we stopped and stopped along the way, and occasionally saw ice flowers floating in the stream, so we stopped to watch for a while, took a short break, and then continued on our way. The yarn lay quietly on my back, but the hands around my neck seemed a little tight, as if afraid to slip down, as if afraid that I would disappear.

Although my neck was a little uncomfortable, I didn't plan to say it, but I just kept my head down, tried to avoid snow and icy roads, and found a rough and flat place to stay. From time to time, he looked back at Mamura and Mika on his back, making sure they hadn't fallen to the ground, and that they were walking properly and not arguing.

"It's very reassuring to fold on the back."

When I started walking again after resting for a while, the soft voice of the yarn came into my right ear, as if it was whispering, as if it was saying to me: "I want to, I want to keep folding my back like this." However, it will be very tiring to fold, so don't do it. If...... If one day, I feel tired, and it doesn't matter if you put me down. ”

The last sentence was almost hard to hear, but I could still hear it clearly, and even the way of thinking about the stone could not help but set off layers of ripples in my heart, and there was an emotion that crept in, although fleeting, made people unconsciously want to say something.

"No, I can carry you forever."

"The yarn is very light, and you won't feel tired no matter how long you carry it."

"It's okay, as long as the yarn is willing to let me carry it, I will never put you down."

……

All kinds of sensational words passed through my heart, but I still didn't say anything in the end, because these words are said now, neither for Yarn nor for me, and not to mention that my current state of mind is not the time to really experience this emotion.

After all, what kind of emotions do I have in my heart, even I haven't certified to think about and straighten it out. To a certain extent, I think my feelings for yarn are closer to the love of elders for younger generations, and at the same time, it is mixed with the guilt and apology of the user to the used. Of course, there may also be friendships between friends - but none of them can be considered unique emotions that belong to each other.

And what is the emotion that yarn has for me? Although she has a more mature mind than her peers, is her emotion really not a paternal complex or a worship of outstanding peers? Before she can accurately judge her emotions, all the choices she makes are actually blind, and can only be regarded as the innocent whispers of a little girl, not as true feelings.

So I shouldn't say these sensational words, at least not now.

Fortunately, after the murmur fell, the yarn regained its quietness, and her gentle body remained motionless, and the sound of breathing from behind me, which gradually became even, seemed to tell that she had fallen asleep on my back.

I turned my head a little and saw that her eyes were indeed closed, and gradually there was a shallow smile on Miss Liuzhi's face, as if she had dreamed of some sweet dream. Her chin rested on my shoulder, and a few strands of soft hair were blown by the cold wind and scratched my face, a little itchy and painful, but there was an indescribable comfort.

Looking at this veil, I had the illusion of carrying the most precious treasure in the world, as if if I had moved a little more violently, it would have disappeared without a trace.

So I slowed down a little more, not hoping to freeze the moment forever, but wishing that time would pass more slowly, so that I could leave time for the aftertaste.

……