Putting down the vegetables in his hand, Naruse turned his head to Naoko beside him and asked, "Does Naoko have any other interests besides handicrafts?" ”

Naoko glanced at him, puzzled face, and then picked up the vegetables and stuffed them back into his hands.

"It's going to be eaten at night."

"Ah, oh."

She continued to walk forward, and Naruse followed, grabbing a shopping basket by the way.

The two of them are at the supermarket picking up ingredients for dinner.

"Why do you suddenly ask that?"

"Because it came to me suddenly."

Naoko stopped, picked up the onion in her hand and looked at it, "Let's cook." ”

"I think it's closer to a skill than an interest." Naruse said.

"But I do like cooking."

"Okay. Is there anything else besides cooking, doing housework is not counted? ”

Naoko looked back at him, "Harumi has almost eliminated what I like and what I am good at." ”

"That's it?"

She looked at him, her eyes rolling left and right on his face, "And some of them are girls' privacy. ”

Naruse pursed her lips, "I'm sorry." ”

She smiled, "If I have to say, shopping should be one of my hobbies." ”

To be precise, it should be a visit to a fabric store, but Naruse didn't correct it and didn't ask any more.

"I see."

"Why do you ask?" Naoko still cared about the reason for his inquiry.

"Curious." Naruse said, "I want to know more about Naoko. ”

She looked at him for a while, and then smiled slightly: "Chunhai's perfunctory level of others has improved again." ”

"Thank you."

Naruse was a little embarrassed, "I think silence is more powerful than verbal praise for this kind of thing." ”

Naoko nodded, raised the onion in her hand, and chose another way besides silence, "Let's eat curry at night." ”

"Okay."

The topic was revealed, and the two continued to wander around the supermarket, stopping and stopping.

Watching Naoko stand in front of the shelves comparing the prices of two servings of chicken, Naruse suddenly thought of something.

"Naoko."

"Huh?" She was still staring at the label.

"Did my mom leave you any money before she left for Tokyo?"

Naoko looked over at this time, "No." ”

In this way, he is relying on Naoko's money these days.

Naruse knew that she had a habit of keeping accounts, so she said, "At the end of the month, remember to give me the bill." ”

"It's okay."

He shook his head, insisting.

"Okay."

Naoko didn't say much, and finally made a choice between two servings of chicken.

"Is there anything else in Chunhai to buy?"

"Nope."

"That's pretty much it, go check out."

"Hmm."

After paying, Naoko put the receipt in her wallet and kept it with the other tickets.

The Aoyagi area is not within the urban limits, and supermarkets, convenience stores, and local small hospitals are basically concentrated on both sides of the county road.

The supermarket is a little further away, and on the way back, you will pass the Maki Hotel and the Morimi Furuhonten, which is diagonally opposite.

When Naruse and Naoko returned from school, they didn't see Starfish and Morimi on the bus, and at this time they couldn't see anyone in the two stores, and they didn't know if they were in the store or didn't come back at all.

Remembering what he had heard in the staff room this morning, Naruse's guess was more inclined to the latter.

"Starfish seems to need to retake the exam, she failed the final exam last semester, and she failed four subjects."

Naoko looked at him, then nodded, "Starfish often make up exams. ”

Seeing him smile inexplicably, she also smiled, and quickly retracted, "Starfish has never been very good at studying." ”

This was no different from the situation before he went to Tokyo, Naruse was not surprised, and asked casually, "What about Morimi, her grades should be good." ”

"Kazuha is the first in the grade." Naoko said, "I've been like this since middle school. ”

"Yes." Naruse was a little surprised, but he took it for granted.

Although he didn't have much contact with her during the time he came back, he could also get a glimpse of her hard work in learning.

"After the festival, it seems to be the first comprehensive exam of the semester."

"It's really okay to schedule it at that time."

Naoko smiled, "Maybe the school just wants to use a fiasco to remind the students: the cultural festival has ended, and it's time to take care of it." ”

"Well, it makes sense."

Chatting all the way, Naoko passed the door without entering, went home with him directly, put down the schoolbag and went to the kitchen to process the ingredients and prepare to cook curry.

Naruse went back to his upstairs room and stayed alone for a while, and after thinking deeply, he made some plans.

Then he went downstairs to help in the kitchen, and he said to Naoko, "Tomorrow afternoon, I will go to the handicraft club." ”

“……”

Naoko suddenly remembered the surprised look in the eyes of those female members when he came to the department in the afternoon.

She gripped the handle of the kitchen knife.

"Are Harumi going to join the Handicraft Society?"

"No, not really. It's just that there's nothing else to do after school, so let's stay with Naoko. ”

Naruse said, handing her the washed onion.

Tuk Tuk Tuk –

Dice the onion and set it on a plate, and Naoko motions for him to take out the chicken as well.

"Does it bother you?" Naruse asked.

"No, it won't."

Naoko shook her head, "The overall preparations for the cultural festival have almost entered the final stage. There's still a month to go, and it's going to be busy anyway. ”

"That's good."

When he went over today, he saw that most of the members of the handicraft club were busy with their own affairs, such as Naoko sewing her zodiac puppets.

Stir-frying the onions, chicken, carrots and other ingredients together and then pouring them into the boiling pot, Naoko asked as she added water:

"Is Chunhai considering joining any clubs?"

"We're still waiting and seeing."

Naruse watched from the sidelines and duly handed her the lid of the pot.

"The festival is an opportunity to learn about all the communities. Whether or not to join a club, which club to join, or wait until the festival is over. ”

Naoko nodded, staring at the faintly dancing flames under the pot.

"Uh-huh."

......

After dinner, Naruse and Naoko cleaned up the mess together.

After tidying up, both of them sat on the sofa in the living room again and watched TV.

After Matsu Chiaki left, the rhythm of life between Naruse and Naoko at home did not change much, staying together before and after meals, and doing their own things the rest of the time, just like ordinary family members.

"A typhoon is coming."

"I'm almost forgetting it's summer. Will the typhoon be able to hold out to Aomori's side? ”

"It's hard to say."

"I hope you don't come."

Looking at the weather map on the TV screen, Naruse only hoped that the tropical cyclone, which was still hovering in the Pacific Ocean at this time, would understand his commute inconvenience and disappear in place.

"No, it's better not to come."

Naoko smiled and hugged the pillow she had sewn.

After reading the weather forecast, Naruse stood up, "I'll go take a shower." ”

"Hmm."

When he came out of the wash, Naoko had already gone back and brought a change of clothes, and walked into the bathroom like a substitute.

After Song Qianqiu left, she took a shower here, saying that it was for convenience.

Back in the living room, Naruse flipped through the messages on his phone and watched the TV absentmindedly.

The longer he left Tokyo, the less news he heard from there, even though he didn't have many serious friends.

Staring down at his phone, he unconsciously pinched the stud in his left ear, and after a long time, a damp aroma suddenly wafted behind him.

"What happened to Harumi's ears?"

He turned his head, and his eyes were snow-white.

When she came out of the shower, Naoko had already changed into her pajamas, and at this time she was hunched over and standing behind him, her eyes fixed on his ears, close together.

"It's fine."

Naruse turned his head away and let go of his hand, "I just remembered the people who used to put me on the studs." ”

Naoko walked around the sofa and sat down beside him, her eyes fixed on him, "Is Chunhai still connected to those people?" ”

"It's long gone."

"Really?"

"Hmm."

"That's good."

She seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, and then she didn't move away, and sat down beside him and wiped her hair.

The pajamas were loose and held up high below the neckline, swaying slightly as she wiped her hair, and one couldn't help but wonder how the incredible weight was hidden in them.

The long, wet hair wafted with a faint scent, and it took a lot of time to dry completely, and the two huddled together, both engrossed and absent-minded until late at night.

"I'll go back and rest."

"Hmm."

Sending Naoko back to the house next door, Naruse returns to her room and says goodnight to her by the window.

This is the end of the first day of the new semester.