"Ernie chan, I actually like you."

The snowflakes on the ground seemed to be overflowing with emotion.

Kana Kuroda stood alone in the snow, she was extremely sad, she didn't want to tell the truth, but how did she say these words?

She is just reluctant to Shimatanigawa, once she tells the truth, it will be difficult for the two to get along day and night in the future.

Shimatanigawa's eyes widened slightly, this moment came so suddenly and without warning that he was directly stunned in place, and when he reacted, he could only laugh in a joking tone: "Really? Thank you! ”

He always knew that the girl had an attachment to him, perhaps because her father died when she was young, and for children who grew up in single-parent families, because of the lack of fatherly love, there would be an attachment-like liking for older and mature men.

Shimatani Kawa touched her head: "I thought you were sullen today because I did something wrong, so you hate me." Oops, I ate the strawberry sugar gourd first. ”

Kana Kuroda took the strawberry sugar gourd in a daze, picked up a string and took a small bite, like a docile little milk cat.

He replied, "Thank you"... What is the meaning? ’

'Am I... Got something wrong? ’

Kana Kuroda stood quietly in front of Shimatani River in a navy blue sailor suit, with two strands of broken hair on her smooth forehead.

She raised her chin and said earnestly word by word, "What I said is true—I like you very much." ”

At this moment, Shimatanigawa seemed to realize something, "Kana, what's wrong with you?" ”

The two stood opposite each other, letting the snowflakes fall on them, as if this could wash away the indescribable emotions in their hearts.

Kana Kuroda looked at him with a hopeful look in her eyes, and even threw herself into his arms tightly and hugged him under the uncontrollable eyes.

She is not afraid of the so-called age gap, on the contrary, she enjoys, attaches to, and likes to stay by Shimatanigawa's side.

The reason why she can be called a little witch also proves that she is not afraid of things, but she is afraid that she will be rejected, afraid that she will tell the truth, and she will never see Shimatani River again.

Why the people I liked when I was young are always unforgettable, maybe it was because there was no weighing of pros and cons at that time, only simple liking.

And when she was most lonely and helpless, that person happened to appear and gave her warmth and companionship.

At this moment, Shimatanigawa was silent.

For Shimatanigawa, who will be 26 years old immediately after the New Year, Kana can be ignorant, but she can't.

"It's snowy." Shimatani looked at the sky and wanted to smoke a cigarette.

"Ernie sauce" Kana looked up cautiously.

Shimatanigawa looked at Kana in front of him, overlapping with the poor and vigilant girl figure he saw in the custom street, which suddenly made him a little confused.

She may not know what liking is and what attachment is.

Mistakenly interpreting longing for fatherly love and security as 'liking'.

Also, otherwise, how could he fall in love with him as an 'uncle' who is nearly 26 years old?

How could you possibly like it......

But you can't say too much, Shimatani Kawa pondered for a moment and said: "You are still young, you may have a misunderstanding of feelings, and you don't know what is real"

"Ernie sauce! What do you think of me, please answer me first. Kana Kuroda said angrily.

“.”

Shimatani looked at her, standing on the railing of the seaside, the girl's orange curvy hair fluttering. She didn't seem to care about the truth of this 'misunderstanding', and waited for him to answer with a stubborn face.

In other words, he had to find a way out of nowhere, thinking in confusion while listening to the sound of snowflakes breaking on the seaside path.

"I can't give you an answer to what you just said."

"Why?!"

"You must understand, don't you?"

Kana Kuroda shook her head: "I don't understand. ”

Shimatanigawa put his hands on the railing and watched the tide rise and fall of the seaside: "Kana, I'm almost 26 years old, think about what other people think."

"It doesn't matter what other people think!" Kana Kuroda's innocent pretty face was twisted, and she gritted her teeth and stared at him, as if she was about to explode at any time.

"No, no, no, no."

Shimatani River said with a pleasant face: "In terms of age, I can be your brother." ”

"But we're not brother and sister!"

"But I'm a generation older than you, and if I'm with your mother, and then let you call me Daddy, outsiders won't be surprised."

"It's not father and daughter at all! It's not allowed to be a father-daughter relationship! ”

"But"

"I just like you, Shimatanigawa!"

Kana Kuroda was hoarse, her voice trembling a little, and even a hint of crying.

The upper half of her face was obscured by shadows, and when she looked up, tears poured out of her tear frame uncontrollably, across her rosy cheeks, and dripped at Shimatanigawa's feet.

"Ernie sauce, don't you want me?"

Her voice was tinged with an uncontrollable tremor and a heart-rending cry.

Shimatanigawa resisted the urge to help her wipe away the tears on her cheeks, and said, "It's almost early in the morning, and it's going to cool down again, so let's go back." ”

The street lights on the trail are dim and sparsely populated.

Quietly, Shimatani followed Kana with a frown, turned on the lighter and lit a cigarette several times, but it was blown out by the sea breeze.

Helpless, he had to put away the lighter, put his hands in his pockets, and he didn't know what he was thinking at the moment.

Kana Kuroda didn't know what his answer was, all she could do was wait quietly, but her eyes had begun to fade.

——

In the park, there is a ginkgo tree.

The two of them stood under the tree so that they would not be covered in snowflakes.

"What the hell is good for people like me?" Shimatani muttered quietly.

Kana Kuroda raised her chin, let out a "huh" sound, and said, "Do you need a reason to like someone?" ”

"I really don't need to like it between adults, but when it comes to you and me, I think I still need a reason."

Hearing this, Kana Kuroda held her left arm with her right hand, and couldn't help trembling all over: "I just like you."

"Huh?"

"I just like you, Ernie sauce."

She suddenly stepped forward to hug Shimatanigawa, using a lot of strength, she was afraid of losing someone who accompanied her to grow up again, afraid of losing someone who gave her a sense of security and warmth.

Tears gradually wet Shimatanigawa's shoulders, and all the grievances and uneasiness of the girl gushed out at this moment.

She is actually a girl who seems tough on the outside, but is actually very fragile on the inside, except in front of her mother, she has never cried in front of a third person like today, crying so heartbreakingly.

Shimatani felt the touch of dirt coming from under the soles of his leather shoes, the smell of the ginkgo trees stained with frost and snow, and the collar of his white shirt stuck to his body with tears.

- And the girl who said she liked her sailor suit.

As a human being in two lives, it seems that he has never encountered such a situation.

"Kana, I think you should think about it again. At the age of 25, I am still only in a corner of the world, and I am only a middle management in the club, and I am still far from my goal of becoming the head of the company."

As he spoke, he suddenly noticed that Kana had stopped her tears and looked at him curiously.

"Hey, what's that look on your face?"

"Poof~"

Kana Kuroda put her hands on her knees and laughed softly while crying: "Your serious expression just now. Completely different from your usual life, I finally learned about Ernie sauce's dream. ”

Shimatanigawa covered his face with his hands and turned around: "You don't understand, you don't understand at all, using dreams to describe adults will seem a bit middle-class, and adjectives like ambitious and self-motivated are more in line with the values of adults." ”

Suddenly, his back was gently wrapped around his back, and Kana Kuroda's voice rang in his ears.

"Can you put one more Kana in your ambition?"

In just one sentence, Shimatani could clearly feel the caution in her tone.

There are no words that are enough to bear this feeling.

He is a selfish person, but even so, Shimatani River now wants to wipe away the uneasiness from her heart, even if he doesn't think he has the qualifications right now.

It's just that at her ignorant age, it is too light to name this relationship "love"?

At this moment, he thought about it a lot, and for this he made up his mind to make the other party make a new agreement, and this agreement can only be fulfilled by two people.

"Okay."

When the word 'good' was spoken, the night wind blew by, and the leaves of the ginkgo tree fluttered and fell.

Shimatani didn't know if his choice was the right one, but he still said what was in his heart: "You also have to promise me an agreement, our relationship must be officially determined and started when you are admitted to university, and I will do my best to successfully become the head of the headquarters at that time." ”

"Hmmm! Kana promises you. ”

Under the ginkgo tree, the two didn't know how long they had been hugging.

On a winter night when snowflakes fell, the two made a new promise.

One day, even if time passes, both of them will succeed in fulfilling each other's promises.

"Ernie sauce, I'll be the first to tell you at that time."

"Hmm."

——

The park steps go down to the edge of the road.

"Even if we can't be together now, we will still spend a long time together, so no matter how time passes, we will still be there for each other. It's the same for you and me."

"Even if you are worried about passing by, you must believe that there will be another good day"

Hearing Shimatanigawa's words, Kana Kuroda smiled a little proudly: "I'm very happy to hear you say this, Ernie sauce, I hope to see you interviewed on the financial news one day, although it is difficult to become the head of the headquarters, but you must not give up easily and enjoy comfort." Because if you really give up on the swallow that leaves the nest, you will forget even if you look up at the sky. ”

"Kana will also study hard, and it is difficult to get admitted to the University of Tokyo, but Waseda and Nagoya University still have a chance!"

Shimatani River was stunned, and after coming back to his senses, he looked at the energetic girl around him, and sometimes he was worse than a girl as an adult. Because even swallows know that where they can't get rain, they can't bathe in the sun.

It turns out that he is not very high-sounding.

Kana Kuroda stretched out her hand towards Shimatanigawa's head, flicked his forehead in his stunned gaze, and smiled like a flower: "As your punishment for making me cry tonight, forgive you." ”

"Let's go home." Shimatani rubbed her head.

"Okay." Kana nodded.

The hands of the two people naturally held together, and their fingers were interlocked.

"Wang!"

"Wang!!"

On the way back to the apartment, the barking of stray dogs in the alley successfully attracted the attention of Shimatani River and Kana Kuroda, and the two of them couldn't help but laugh when they looked at the big yellow dog barking at them.

Well. It was a single dog.

Shimatani Kawa suddenly glanced at Kana, snatched the strawberry candy gourd from her hand like a mischievous, picked up a string and took a bite, then let go of his hand and walked towards the apartment.

Kana Kuroda hurriedly chased after him, took back the strawberry sugar gourd she had eaten from him, and then viciously bit the sugar gourd with tooth marks.

"Ernie sauce, there are obviously two strings of sugar gourds, why are you eating me!" Kana Kuroda opened her teeth and claws and pounced on him.

Shimatani River was in a good mood, so he raised his hand and patted Kana's head.

With his understanding of the character of the little witch of Kana, this Sailor Moon must be in an extremely happy mood at this moment, and has a goal to strive for, which is why he is so lively and active.

The little witch of Kana pretended to be fierce and said, "Shimatanigawa, I warn you, don't slap my head again!" ”

"Why?"

"My mother said that if you are often patted on the head, you will not grow tall"

Before she finished speaking, there was a 'snap', and she received another slap on the head.

It turned out that Shimatani Kawa took advantage of the gap in her speech, not only snatched another string of sugar gourds, but also quickly raised his hand and slapped Kana Kuroda's head again.

He stopped being a man and sneered: "What's wrong with me just filming you?" Do you still want to rebel? ”

Without waiting for him to finish speaking, Kana Kuroda's two small hands were clenched into fists, her innocent pretty face tightened her eyebrows, and she gritted her teeth and stared at Shimatanigawa, like a fried cat.

Her feet were in the air, and her whole body hung on Shimatani River like a koala all the time, beating and making trouble.

After the commotion, the two finally returned to the apartment.

In front of the entrance, Kana Kuroda half-bent her thin waist and took off her uniform shoes, and her two soft and white jade feet put on slippers, as if she remembered something, and turned her head to look at Shimatanigawa:

"It's late, I'll go to the kitchen and wash the dishes, and then you'll send me home if you trouble Ernie sauce."

"Okay."

Shimatani Kawa walked slowly to the sofa, looking at the little witch who was busy in the kitchen, watching the clock time rotate, and there was still half an hour, and it was time for the system to sign in every month.

This month, he didn't know what rewards he would sign in, and he was a little curious.

Time ticked by, and the sound of the kitchen faucet was gone. Kana Kuroda brushed the dishes and originally wanted to come out directly, but when she saw Shimatanigawa watching TV on the sofa, she turned back to the kitchen halfway through.

After a few minutes, she took a plate of sliced apple pie and placed it on the coffee table, and inserted the sliced apples into a toothpick.

Kana Kuroda raised her chin, very arrogant, still puffing out her cheeks, looking a little cute.

"Kana-chan, you're like this. Poofha! Shimatani couldn't help but laugh.

Kana Kuroda was so angry that she picked up a pillow and smashed it on Shimatanigawa's face, "Don't laugh!" ”

"Okay, okay, I won't laugh anymore." Shimatani sat cross-legged and ate an apple.

Kana Kuroda saw that the corners of his mouth rose uncontrollably, and with a huffing face, she snatched back the pillow and hugged it in her arms, and snatched the remote control to change the TV.

'It's almost time......

'Last time, you also achieved the dating task at this point in time, right?' ’

Shimatani was thinking about it when a blue panel popped up in front of him.

[Tips: A total of 31 days of dating this month, do you sign in and punch in?] 】

"Check-in."

Shimatani Kawa thought silently in his heart.

[Check-in days: 31 days]

[Random Reward: (Transformed) Steel's Kidney]

(End of chapter)