The earth was already asleep, except for the gentle breeze and the occasional bark or two of Shiba Inu.

On the edge of the old residential quarters, the deserted streets are silent.

Shimatani River chased him out and searched for an hour on the road in the early hours of the morning.

"Have you seen a pretty girl with orange hair and a double ponytail?"

"Orange hair, ponytail? Are you still wearing sailor suits? The passerby thought for a moment and said.

"Yes!" Shimatani said excitedly.

"See! What is your relationship with her? ”

"I'm her uncle, and just now her mother beat her, and this girl ran away from home in a fit of rage."

"Well, well—I saw her in front of me just now, and she seems to be heading in that direction." Passers-by pointed in the right direction.

"Thank you!" Shimatani River bowed in thanks, and then hurried in the direction of the river bank pointed by passers-by.

——

The river flows silently, sparkling in the moonlight.

The water and grass by the river were green, and the pretty figure of a kingfisher suddenly swept out of the grass and plunged into the water like an arrow.

In the darkness of the night, the kingfisher flew over the plains, bringing a thin mist over the water, and then a faint crescent moon rose, casting a cool glow on the blue sky.

Shimatanigawa stopped and saw a young girl sitting on the hillside of the riverbank, so he slowed down and approached.

"Asuka, go back, or your mother will be worried."

“.”

"Asuka, if you really can't accept that I am so close to your mother, I promise that I will not disturb the peaceful life of your mother and daughter in the future."

"Huh?"

The girl was slightly moved, and turned her head to look at him.

"I didn't lie to you, in fact, I thought about it for a while, and the life of a person in the past was actually quite good. As for finding someone to live in that kind of life, it may just be said - fate is not enough. Ask yourself, I'm really not qualified to associate with your mother, it's that I'm not worthy. Shimatani said with a friendly adult smile and a sincere tone.

Then, he continued to use extremely friendly words in a measured manner, and gradually unloaded the girl's psychological defense.

"It's just that my mother is really hard, but I'm not qualified to say these things for her. In short, it can be said to be sympathy or hypocrisy; You'd better go back first, or if your mother really loses you, she will definitely not survive, be obedient, let's go! Let's go back! At least don't bother me, can you? ”

Seeing that 'Ernie sauce' in front of her finally taught her in the voice of a stranger, the girl buried her head in her knees, as if thinking about something.

After a long time, the girl looked up sharply and asked, "Then can you tell me, you and my mother. Have you ever done anything like that? ”

Shimatani Yoshimasa said, "No! We have always had a very pure colleague relationship. ”

The girl's expression was complicated, and her fists were clenched on her knees: "Really? Then be in the bathroom tonight."

Shimatani Kawa hurriedly explained: "It's a broken toilet, Risa asked me to help fix the sewer, I wanted to help her unclog it, but you woke up, worried that you would be misunderstood, so you chose to hide it"

“.”

The girl raised her head with a complicated expression, looking at him half suspiciously and half hopefully. Later, she asked, "Do you like my mother?" ”

“.”

Shimatani looked at the bright moon and the fields of Hirano, a thin mist covering the water, and a crescent moon rose over the blue sky, sprinkling a cool glow.

Approaching, sitting on the grass next to the girl, Shimatanigawa lay down with his hands behind his head, a piece of grass in his mouth.

"Before I met you, really, your mother was the most important thing to me!"

"——?"

"Please listen to me." Shimatanigawa smiled and pretended to be deep: "She is my subordinate and my recognized colleague, she is the person who has always been by my side, and she is as important as her right-hand man." But what about you? You're not like her. ”

"What's the difference?" The girl looked at him.

"The reason why you are different from your mother is that even if your mother is always there, you will grow up eventually, but she will not look at you for the rest of her life; You are an assertive, free, and independent-minded girl, just like the kingfisher in the plain field, unrestrained; Even so, your mother is still my amiable and capable colleague's subordinate, but what does that have to do with you? Regardless of my mother's boss, I am still your amiable and respectable Ernie sauce, which is completely different, you are the one who wants to be with me for the rest of my life, and of course you are equally important to me. ”

"Equally important? So who is more important? The girl looked a little immature in the face of the adult's persuasion, and her little face was confused.

"Uh, you're important!" Shimatani Chuan knows how to talk nonsense, and he talks to people: "You are the one who wants to accompany me through my life, and when you graduate from college, we can be together in the name of righteousness, and then we will have a good life, and your mother will be happy, so you are important." ”

The girl's face was suspicious: "Will my mother really be happy?" ”

An hour ago, she was only educated by her mother, and the slap marks on her face were still faintly painful.

Shimatani Chuan said firmly: "Yes, I don't believe it, I will ask you in person after graduating from college." As for now. Don't ask, your mother is still angry, and your monthly test results are average, so you should choose a private second- or third-rate university, right? ”

I want to study medicine, and I want to go on to Keio University." The innocent girl was subconsciously diverted from emotional problems to studying.

"Keio University?!"

Shimatani Kawa looked at the little devil with an unreasonable expression, he never expected that this little witch with average academic performance would have such a belief to enter this private university's No. 1 higher education institution.

But it's not bad, it's good to have ambitions, after all, the social status and salary of being a doctor are very high;

In addition, more than one-tenth of the presidents of listed companies in Japan graduated from Keio University, so Keio is also known as the cradle of entrepreneurs.

Maybe this girl will impress him.

"Hey, how many points is your deviation from the monthly test this time?"

“6”

"Deviation value 69? That's not bad, if you work harder, you will be stable when you reach a deviation value of 72. Shimatani nodded.

The girl lowered her head in shame: "It's 62"

Shimatanigawa: "."

——

Shimatanigawa stood up with his hands on the grass with his hands, picked up a small pebble and threw it into the river, and suddenly, it stirred up layers of ripples, gradually expanding and expanding

The moon in the water also broke with the ripples and rippled in circles.

"Don't talk about grades, this is something you should worry about as a teacher."

Shimatani looked at the front, and the girl looked down at the ground and slowly walked back behind him.

"That."

Suddenly, the girl looked up and called out to him.

"What's wrong? Asuka? ”

On the way, Shimatani Kawa turned his head curiously and looked at the little witch with her hands in her pockets, and kicked the can on the ground forward.

"Ernie sauce, I don't know you call me by that name. Habit. ”

Stunned, Shimatani Chuan immediately came to his senses, smiled and stretched out his hand to touch the girl's head, "Although I promised not to disturb your life, you are still the willful Princess Kana in my heart, don't worry, just look for me if you have something in the future." ”

"Wayward?"

"Oh, it's casual."

"That's pretty much it."

The girl smiled slyly, put her hands on his arms, and as she spoke, she chewed the bubble gum in her mouth and blew out a pink bubble.

Until the chewing gum bubble she blew suddenly burst, and the 'pop' sticked to her delicate little face.

Shimatani River followed the prestige and couldn't help but be amused by the cute appearance of the girl.

"Ernie sauce, don't laugh!"

The little witch puffed out her cheeks and pounced on him with her teeth and claws, and the two boldly finally returned to the downstairs of the residence.

"I promised you wouldn't have a relationship with your mother, so at least don't trouble me until you get into college, okay?"

"Hmm"

"You should know what to say and what not to say, right? Don't embarrass me. ”

"I know"

"Go upstairs, or your mother will be worried."

He finally used the stranger's tone before the girl set off and walked slowly with him.

When I got back to the house, I knocked on the door.

Risa opened the door, her face seemed to be a lot haggard, and when she saw Shimatani River and her daughter returning, she laughed from the bottom of her heart, and tried her best to open her arms and hold her daughter tightly in her arms.

As Shimatani River said, if she really loses her daughter, she will definitely not be able to live.

"Great, great, Asuka you're finally home, you don't know how worried your mother is, how much she regrets it"

"I'm sorry, my hand is heavy, does your face still hurt?"

Risa kept shedding tears of joy, and kept saying that it was so good.

Shimatanigawa stood aside and smiled bitterly, not interrupting the mother and daughter, maybe just trying to maintain the proper demeanor, or just wanting to be transparent.

And Asuka didn't show her previous restlessness or interrupt her mother's muttering, but just listened to her mother's whisper in her ear - "Great." ”

The warmth at the entrance lasted for a long time, as if it was a happy family of three.

"Come in, I've made a supper, I don't know if it's to your liking." Sofa smiled from the heart, gently pulled her daughter with both hands, and invited Shimatani River into the kitchen together.

Risa seemed to be waiting for him and his daughter to return home, and plates of home-cooked delicacies were placed on the table, although it was already cold, but the tempting color was still there.

Shimatani Kawa took a casual taste, "It's not bad." ”

Risa, on the other hand, was propped up on her chin with her hands on her chin, looking at him and Asuka with a happy smile and a sparkle in her eyes.

'My daughter listens to the words of the second adult......

'What a harmonious picture... How like a happy family of three......

'Perhaps... My daughter really needs a father......

Risa looked at the freshly eaten dishes in the bowl of her daughter and Shimatanigawa, and immediately picked up chopsticks to help the two of them pick up the dishes.

"I guess I'll be able to go home after eating......

'What a horrible atmosphere... This little witch actually put her foot on my calf and rubbed it... She's crazy......

Shimatani Kawa swallowed it unhurriedly, but his heart was already turbulent!

Asuka ate it in a big gulp, then handed the empty bowl to her mother, and when her mother turned around to go to the kitchen to serve the meal, she looked at Shimatani River with a defiant look, and her little feet in a pair of white stockings were very restless, and they were doing nonsense under the table.

Risa came back from the meal, sat down, and began to eat herself, but she paused as soon as the dish was eaten.

The two people on the other side of the table also froze, not daring to move.

"That."

"What's wrong?!"

The two spoke in unison.

Risa shook her head, but asked Asuka with a smile on her face, "Mom's cooking is still delicious, right?" Good daughter? ”

"Hmmm! Yes! ”

Two brilliant meteors streaked across the night sky.

First Long Diary:

"That night, two brilliant meteors streaked across the night sky, and at the same time, a huge crater was smashed into a small town in the island nation......

"But that's another story......

(End of chapter)