Maki House, dinner time.

The starfish was silent with its head buried in its head, and a cloud shrouded its brows, and it did not disperse until the end of eating.

Seiichiro Maki sat across the dining table, unable to guess his daughter's true thoughts, so he missed his first wife who had died of illness for many years.

"I'm full."

Starfish put down his chopsticks and got up to go back to his room.

"Starfish." Seiichiro stopped his daughter, feeling that he had to say something, "Is the starfish angry?" ”

She denied it faster than she turned back, "No." ”

Sure enough, he was angry.

Seiichiro sighed inwardly, and intuitively guessed part of the reason.

"Is it because of the party over there?"

“……”

Starfish pursed her lower lip, her eyebrows furrowed, "No...... No, I'm not angry. Leave me alone. ”

"But didn't Chunhai invite you in the afternoon?" Seiichiro looked at his daughter, "It was the starfish himself who refused." ”

Starfish turned around abruptly, "He didn't say-"

"Didn't say anything?" Seiichiro was stunned and hurriedly asked.

“……”

She opened her mouth and swallowed the words that came to her lips.

"Leave me alone."

Leaving the last sentence, Starfish left the dining room and went upstairs to his room.

"Starfish!"

Closing her father's call out of the door and turning to face the dark room, she felt her chest tighten.

When she turned on the lights and opened the windows, it was already dark outside, and she could see the light box of the Morimi Komoto store diagonally opposite.

In the afternoon, the guy suddenly came over with Kazuha and invited her to a party.

But he just invited, and didn't say that the woman who had been her stepmother for two years was leaving here tomorrow.

"What should I do......"

The starfish lay down by the window and revealed her thoughts to the starry sky.

She wanted to apologize to her.

Apologize for misunderstanding her for believing in neighborhood gossip when she was young, apologize for her childish behavior, and apologize for her tolerance that she didn't understand until now......

She wanted to apologize to her stepmother alone, and there was no one else, especially not the guy present, so she turned down today's party invitation and planned to find another opportunity;

But it wasn't until her father accidentally mentioned it at dinner that she knew that the person she was going to apologize to would be leaving the place tomorrow......

Starfish buried their heads down.

She's angry.

I feel angry at myself who knows that my last chance is going to disappear, but I still can't muster up the courage to go to the party.

......

After drinking the juice in the cup, Naruse shook his head at Naoko, indicating that there was no need to add more.

The tables are in shambles, there is little food left, and the farewell party is coming to an end.

"It's almost over." Naoko whispered.

"Hmm."

Naruse nodded, his gaze swept over the empty space next to him, and looked at his mother's room.

After the party began, Matsu Chiaki answered several phone calls and made more calls to go out, and before he returned to the "circle" in Tokyo, he had already revealed his busyness as a well-known artist;

In order not to let her busyness affect the children's interest, she basically stayed in the room.

After another phone call, Matsuchiaki returns to the living room to find Morimi and the Takigawa sisters looking at her.

Sweeping the mess on the table again, she also understood.

"It's not early, it's almost time for us to go back." Morimi was the first to get up and say goodbye to her, and Hikaru Takikawa helped Takikawa to stand up.

Song Qianqiu smiled helplessly, "I'm sorry, I've been on the phone, and I haven't been with you much." ”

All three shook their heads, indicating that they understood her busyness.

"I'm looking forward to Miss Song's new drama!" Takigawa said.

Song Qianqiu smiled at her, "I'm also looking forward to the results of the entrance exam this month." When the time comes, be sure to send a Line to let me know. ”

Takigawa Yue nodded again and again, his face full of happiness.

Sending the three of them to the door, Song Qianqiu said:

"The office sent someone to pick me up, and I have to leave tomorrow morning, so I won't greet you when the time comes—don't come to see me off, it's too early, let's sleep at home."

"Okay......" Takikawa Tsuki's mood fluctuated greatly, and there were tears in his eyes at this time.

Matsuchiaki looked at her, then at Hikaru Takikawa and Morimi, and finally at Naoko, still feeling a little sorry for the starfish's absence.

"Chunhai will ask you to take care of it."

"Don't say anything superfluous." Naruse began to urge a few people to go back.

Song Qianqiu smiled and continued, "Although Haruhi looks quite mature, in some ways, it is actually quite naïve and awkward......

"-Morimi just said that you should go back to reading early, right?" Naruse interrupted her again.

Morimi pushed his glasses and looked at him without speaking.

Song Qianqiu smiled and shook his head, said no more, said goodbye to a few people one last time, and then asked Naruse to send them back.

Takigawa's house is very close, and Morimi's house is far away, and when they come to the intersection, Hikaru Takikawa says that their sisters don't need to see them off, and let Naruse send Kazuha home.

"Well, bye-bye."

"Good night—"

Seeing the Takigawa sisters go away, Morimi glanced at Naoko who came with him, and then looked at Naruse, "Actually, I don't need to send it." ”

"Do you want to live in the bookstore?"

"Nope."

"Let's give it away."

Morimi was not reluctant, and walked away.

Passing by her own bookstore, she went in to say hello, and soon came out to see Naruse looking at the real wood hotel.

"The starfish didn't come, and Auntie seems to be a little regretful."

"It's okay if you don't come, don't worry." He withdrew his gaze, "Let's go." ”

The three of them walked in front of the real wood hotel, got closer, and saw that the window on the second floor was open, and they all kept silent with each other.

After dark, the streets become quiet.

The street lamps stingily shrouded the surroundings, leaving the rest to the moonlight.

The shadow followed closely, and when it faded occasionally, it would split into a deeper doppelganger, quietly appearing and then disappearing.

"You really don't have to send it." Morimi suddenly spoke.

"What...... Do you say my mother? No need to send it. ”

Naruse looked at the lonely lights in the darkness in the distance, where was Morimi's house, "I don't even know what time she will leave tomorrow morning." ”

"Looks like someone was going to pick it up?"

"Probably an assistant. I actually came from Tokyo to pick up people......"

He shook his head and didn't say any more.

Morimi looked at him, but he was happy to talk to him more about the daily life of a star of Song Qianqiu's level, which was a side that was difficult for ordinary people to touch, but when she caught a glimpse of Naoko staring at her all the time, she had such thoughts again.

The three of them chatted without saying a word, and the road did not seem far.

When they arrived at Morimi's house, Naruse and Naoko said goodbye to Kazuha, then turned around and walked back.

"Yiye's home is really a bit far away, and everyone rarely came here before." Naoko said.

Naruse answered, and memories of the past came out of the corner.

"But every time we play together, Yiye will come over, although it is very inconspicuous, I don't remember what she looked like at that time...... Hmm, it seems like you're always with starfish? ”

"Is it because the two stores are very close to each other?"

"Perhaps."

Naoko looked at him, "It's like me and Harumi." ”

Naruse looked at the moon, "Hmm. ”

When the two of them got home, it was nearly twenty minutes later.

Naoko said goodnight to Naruse's mother and son as usual, and then went back to her house to rest;

Matsu Chiaki is no different from usual, while applying a mask, she is shaking around in the living room with a script, and at the same time she doesn't forget to remind Naruse to take a shower early.

After cleaning up the mess of the party and taking a shower again, Naruse went back to his room to read the new book he bought in the afternoon, but found that he couldn't read it at all, so he lay down in bed early.

The night in the countryside was so quiet that there was no need to listen attentively, and the sound of the next-door neighbor opening the window was clearly heard in his room.

“……”

The feeling of being unexcited in the afternoon came back to him, and Naruse lay still, staring at the ceiling in the darkness.

He didn't know how long it had been before he heard a much more subtle sound of the window closing.

Naruse closed his eyes and let the feeling of powerlessness overwhelm his body, thinking that he would soon fall asleep, but what awaited him was tossing and turning all night.

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't sleep, and by three or four o'clock in the morning, Naruse finally gave up.

He sat up, stared out the window for a moment, and decided to get up when it was a little lighter, only to fall asleep within a few minutes of lying down.

When the next day really came, he was even full of anger at the moment when he was woken up by Song Qianqiu.

In that moment, nothing is more important than sleep.

But he quickly came to his senses.

"Mommy is leaving."

"Now?"

"Now."

Naruse went downstairs to see him off, and his assistant, Miss Sato, smiled and nodded at him, and then lifted Matsuchiaki's luggage to the car.

His mother let go of his embrace, and the early morning wind blew him a little cold.

"Chunhai's own life has just begun."

Seeing her get into the car, Naruse turned around, and Naoko appeared behind her at some point, wearing an apron.

"Eat something and then go to sleep."

He touched his stomach and yawned again.

"Okay."

·

【Tokyo Return: End】