After taking a shower, Naruse sat on the sofa and listened to the TV while adding several makeup artists pushed over by Chiaki Matsu.

She had already greeted him in advance, explaining his intentions, saving him the time to explain, and after a brief greeting, Naruse asked questions that could not be answered on the beauty school's website.

After chatting with them for a few words, Song Qianqiu pushed another makeup artist.

Mom: Ms. Onishi graduated from Tokyo mode and has been working in the industry for five years.

Mom: Do you still need it?

Naruse: I don't need it.

She recommended a total of four makeup artists to him, from four different beauty schools, and there was no need for more.

Mom: [OK]

After saying hello to Miss Onishi, who had just been added as a friend, Naruse switched back to the chat of the previous makeup artist and glanced at the other party's reply.

Buzz –

Another message from Miss Makeup Artist has been sent again.

Buzz –

Buzz –

Buzz –

“……”

The phone vibrated constantly, and Naoko sat next to him, not knowing how many times she looked at him.

"There's a lot of news from Chunhai."

"Hmm." He just answered, his fingertips tapping on the screen without lifting his head.

“……”

Naoko puffed out her mouth.

Buzz –

Ms. Yamada: But as far as I know, there are less than five of my classmates who studied makeup with me who have actually embarked on the path of professional makeup artists.

Naruse: Is it because you didn't get a vocational certificate?

He continued to talk, pausing suddenly.

“……”

Two bare feet lightly stepped on his thighs.

He looked over and saw that Naoko was already lying down on the couch, her head facing the TV, as if unintentionally.

He touched the instep of her foot, and another message came.

Buzz –

Ms. Yamada: It's not easy to get a high-level qualification, but when looking for a job, it's important to have actual makeup skills and makeup experience.

Ms. Yamada: Most companies value work experience.

Naruse: But when you first graduated from beauty school, you didn't have any work experience, right?

Ms. Yamada: If you just stay in school, that's right.

Naruse: In other words, you can already get involved as a makeup artist while you're still in school?

Ms. Yamada: Naruse-kun is so smart.

Naruse: Excuse me, Ms. Yamada, to explain it to me.

He continued to reply, feeling the pressure on his leg increase slightly.

He lowered a hand and shook her ankle, "Is Naoko bored?" ”

“…… Nope. ”

"Hmm."

“……”

Seeing that he didn't react otherwise, Naoko rolled over.

"Haven't you finished talking yet?"

"It's almost ...... I've almost already asked the question I want to know. ”

"Oh."

She put both feet on her feet.

After a while, after chatting with the last makeup artist lady and expressing her gratitude, Naruse glanced at the time and realized that she had been talking to them for more than an hour since she came out of the bathroom.

Putting down the phone, he held the white tender feet on his thighs.

"We're done."

"Good work."

Naoko looked at the ceiling, shook her feet, and didn't look at him.

"It's not hard, it's just a chat for a while and some questions."

"Isn't it hard to talk to four people at the same time?"

Naruse pursed her lower lip, "It's okay." ”

Naoko finally looked at him.

"Is there a harvest in the spring sea?"

"It's so rewarding, after chatting for a while, it has subverted an ordinary high school student's naïve fantasy about the workplace and work - I will never work in the future."

“…… How could it be such a harvest? ”

Naruse smiled and held out his hand to her, "Just kidding." ”

Naoko looked at him, took his hand, and sat up under his tug.

Removing her feet from his legs, she leaned back on his shoulders.

"Is it hard to be a makeup artist?"

"Hmm. After all, it is a service industry, and it is still moving in other people's faces, and the requirements are quite strict. ”

"What do you do......?"

"Well, smear smear...... Anyway, there are quite a lot of things to learn.,It's said that in the first year of entering a beauty school, you have to learn painting first.,And etiquette or something.。 ”

Naoko exhaled slowly.

"It's hard."

The two watched TV absentmindedly for a while, and Naruse picked up his phone again.

Naoko glanced at him and saw that he clicked on the chat of one of the makeup artists again, and asked, "Do you have any more questions?" ”

"It's not. I'm going to look at it again and sort it out. ”

"Can I see it?"

She leaned to the left, and he switched to holding his phone in his left hand.

Pulling the chat log to the top, he flipped it down as he looked, and then cut it out from time to time, continuing to fill in the form he had been making in the afternoon.

It's hard for Naoko to focus solely on the content of his chat with the makeup artist.

"That's a lot......

"I only had a superficial understanding of the makeup artist industry, so I asked a few more questions."

"I mean the contents of this form in Harumi."

"Form...... Now fill it out a little more comprehensively, and then there will be fewer problems with starfish. ”

Naoko raised his eyes and looked at him, "To what extent does Harukai plan to do for the starfish?" ”

"She chose the direction herself, and I just helped her find a clearer goal in this determined direction."

"The Life and Future of Starfish...... Has it already been handed over to Chunhai? ”

“…… That's too heavy to say. ”

She bowed her head and leaned on his shoulder.

"But what Chunhai is doing now, isn't that it?"

Naruse put down his phone, was silent for a while, and said:

"I think ...... It's a good feeling to find a clear path in life in the midst of a mess.

If you can really help Starfish, maybe you can help others in the future, such as Naoko...... Even myself. ”

Naoko pursed her lower lip and didn't speak.

"I'm not going to make decisions for starfish, what I'm doing now is just collecting some online and offline information and integrating it together.

Give her this form when the time comes, and let her choose. As for how far she can go, it's none of my business. ”

Naruse paused.

"To make decisions about other people's lives and futures...... I can't take on that heavy responsibility yet, and I don't want to. ”

“……”

Naoko was silent for a moment, slowly grabbing his arm.

"Can I give my life to Chunhai?"

He was stunned and smiled.

"So, it's too heavy......"

Naoko didn't speak, just looked at him.

“……”

Looking at the look on her face, Naruse quickly restrained her smile as well.

The heaviness had never been so real and strong, weighing on his chest, and he couldn't say yes at will.

And with his silence, the uneasiness in Naoko's eyes grew, and her lips tightened.

She regretted it almost the moment his smile faded.

Tacit understanding is a long-standing tacit understanding with each other, and she has now taken the initiative to break this.

"Kidding ......"

Naruse grasped her hand.

"Yes!"

“……”

Naoko opened her mouth and looked up at him, speechless.

Naruse couldn't say anything more.

Her uneasiness prompted him to speak subconsciously, but he didn't know what to say next.

He likes Naoko, and Naoko likes him, but life is not only about feelings for each other, and what Naoko wants to express is probably not just that.

How is he going to take charge of her life?

When the long-evasive questioning finally caught up, Naruse suddenly realized that it was too heavy for him to look at.

["How long life is, isn't it just wasted? ”】

The words that Song Qianqiu had said when he talked to him the night before suddenly sounded in his mind.

He is already faintly prepared to "waste" a period of life, but Shangzi's life must not be involved with "waste".

Does he want to plan a perfect course in life for Naoko just like he chooses a school for a starfish?

- Isn't that what the couple did at the time?

"Is it still too heavy?" Naoko suddenly spoke.

Naruse looked at her.

"So...... It's just that the life before graduating from high school, can it be entrusted to Chunhai? ”

“……”

He looked at her for a moment, and suddenly realized that he might be thinking too much.

She's just upset.

Disturbed by being placed in a different class and separated from him, and disturbed by the fact that he had been paying too much attention to the affairs of the starfish all night.

She just wanted a little reassurance and comfort from him.

"I'm sorry."

"Eh......" Naoko was stunned.

【“…… Don't be afraid to fail – it's better to fail than to never start. ”】

"I'm sorry to upset Naoko......"

Naruse paused, clearly feeling that his impulse at this moment was genuine, not all from his mother's distant encouragement.

"No, I mean to say, I like Naoko."

(End of chapter)