Page 41
"No, it has to be certain." Shiina Mahiru placed her finger on Natsume's forehead and smiled.
……
There was still an hour before departure. Natsume Rin was lying on her bed, staring at the ceiling in a daze.
There are several unread text messages in the phone, from different people.
Even if he didn't read it, he could guess the general content, so he didn't intend to be disturbed by these things. The mall refreshed by the system in recent months did not live up to its status as a waste material. Except for the attribute points that made him excited, the rest were all weird props.
Damn it!
No matter how much he complained, Natsume still packed his clothes properly. After he was done, he opened the door and looked at Shiina Mahiru outside with a formal smile on his face.
"set off!"
She was very enthusiastic tonight, waving her arms and leading Natsume towards her goal.
They walked and stopped, and when they arrived at the venue of the fireworks display, there was only the last ray of afterglow in the sky, and the nearby river was dyed a brilliant golden color.
Tourists who came to participate in the fireworks display like them passed by one after another. Some were wearing yukatas, some were in ordinary clothes, and most of them had cameras in their hands, ready to record the rare scenery.
As the last rays of the setting sun faded away, the quiet atmosphere gradually dissipated, the street lamps lit up with a dim light, and the vendors who had also come to the party made regular hawking sounds.
There is still a long time before the fireworks display begins, but the festive atmosphere is already brewing.
"That Natsume-san."
Since arriving at the fireworks display, Shiina Mahiru, who had been quietly following behind him like a curious baby, observing the venue, suddenly grabbed his hand.
"Come with me somewhere, okay?"
Being asked by such a lovely girl with pleading eyes, even though Natsume Rin felt that something might be wrong, she really couldn't say no.
It has nothing to do with whether his willpower is strong or not, it’s simply because when Shiina Mahiru acts like a spoiled child, it’s a dimensionality-reducing level blow.
She held Natsume's hand with her doll-like slender hand, bypassed the crowd along the way, and headed towards an unknown direction.
The long flaxen hair fluttered in the wind onto his face, stimulating Natsume to sneeze, but before he even started, he was suppressed by the pleasant smell on her body.
After walking around for a few circles, Shiina Mahiru, who said in the morning that it was her first time to attend the fireworks display, led him to a remote place. From the looks of it, it should be a izakaya.
"Where is this place?" Natsume Rin widened her eyes, wondering why Shiina Mahiru, who was very sensitive to alcohol, came here.
"Come on, follow me in." She seemed very nervous too, and the hand holding Natsume's was sweating.
When I entered the pub, there was no scene like on TV where a few big men suddenly appeared, nor was there any fantasy of men in black squatting down to greet the ladies.
But there are indeed very few people here. There is only a woman in black sitting in the corner, and the boss sitting at the front desk in a daze.
Chapter 61: Meeting the parents? Twice!
Shiina Mahiru walked up to the woman in black in the corner with an embarrassed look on her face.
"Mother……"
Natsume, who had already come to his senses, also felt dizzy when he heard this name. In this situation, when meeting the other party's parents, it is hard not to make other associations.
But isn't Mahiru's relationship with her mother bad? How can she still say something so unreliable?
Shiina Sayo nodded, but did not call her daughter to come over to her. She watched the two of them sit down opposite her.
"Hello, Auntie..." Natsume Rin greeted.
Following the other person's daughter out alone at a fireworks display would indeed cause misunderstanding.
"Is this your neighbor?" Shiina Sayo finally raised her head.
Mahiru should be the combination of her parents' looks. Her mother is very beautiful, but she has a cold temperament, just like those strong women in big companies who can ignore all their family members when they are busy.
"Yes, Natsume-kun has helped me a lot during this period."
"No, it's Shiina-san who's helping me."
"That's just what I should do. It's nothing compared to what Natsume-kun has done." Mahiru looked at him firmly.
Natsume himself couldn't understand what he had done. He just gave an umbrella to his cute neighbor on a rainy day, but in the blink of an eye he had to meet his parents.
Shiina Sayo turned a blind eye to their mutual humility. After all, her daughter was not the focus of her life. The reason she came here today was not only on a whim, but also because of Mahiru's request.
But her boyfriend looks quite handsome. I hope Mahiru is not attracted by his appearance.
"Natsume? Are you two classmates?" After drinking a glass of sake, Shiina Sayo asked casually while looking at the time.
She had already made an appointment to meet up with her lover today, but she wasted her time because of this burden.
Shiina Mahiru's face turned pale, and Natsume Rin was also surprised. Even he knew that Mahiru's school was a girls' school, but her mother didn't know it.
"Auntie, Shiina's school is a girls' school, right?" Natsume Rin reminded.
"Is that so?" She responded nonchalantly, and even an outsider like Natsume could see how little she cared.
"It's almost time. I've met Mahiru's friends. I'm leaving now."
She sat there for about ten minutes, drank two glasses of sake, and talked less to Shiina Mahiru than to Natsume. After feeling that she had completed her task, Shiina Sayo picked up the bag on the chair and said goodbye in a hurry and left.
If she hadn't remembered to pay the bill before leaving, Natsume would have suspected that she was an illusion.
"Um..." Noticing the depressed mood of the girl next to her, Natsume Rin's voice softened.
"It's okay, I'm used to it." Shiina Mahiru sighed, lying weakly on the table, playing with the wine glass.
If she wasn't worried about accidents that might happen if she was drunk, she would have wanted to get herself drunk.
"If your relationship is not good, why are you still thinking about meeting?" Natsume Rin reached out and stroked her hair.
"It's all Natsume's fault. I asked you to go buy a yukata that day, but you ran away because of something!" Shiina Mahiru perked up and glared at Natsume.
He recalled the past and remembered that this incident did happen, but he couldn't figure out whether it was related to meeting her mother?
"Of course, because I met her when I was shopping alone, and then I accidentally let it slip that I was going to the fireworks display with someone else." Shiina Mahiru complained.
She kept repeating that she was forced to invite her mother over, but Natsume could still sense her low mood.
"It's time to start setting off fireworks." He thought for a moment and said.
There was the sound of salutes outside the house, and the first tentative firework created a beautiful pattern in the sky, which also made the emotions of everyone present more intense.
The sounds of cheering and joy drowned out the salute which had not yet fully begun.
"Well, let's go out." Shiina Mahiru perked up.
After leaving the remote izakaya, the dark path was illuminated by the gorgeous Milky Way in the sky. They did not go into the busiest crowd, but stood here and looked up at the stars.
In the sky full of fireworks, Natsume Rin looked around, and her profile looked as if she was crying.
"You know, I was the one who asked my mother to come here," she said gently.
"I guessed it." Natsume Rin answered honestly.
"No wonder smart people are so disliked." Mahiru turned around, "But you are an exception, Natsume. Thank you for not exposing me just now."
If someone chooses to ask questions at a time like this, how low is their emotional intelligence? Even Yukino wouldn't do such a stupid thing.
"I've always wanted to improve the relationship between my parents, so whenever I encounter something worth sharing, I can't help but go to them. Maybe that's why she hates me even more." Shiina Mahiru said with a smile in a crying voice.
"But I haven't told Natsume-kun about my parents yet, right?"
Natsume Rin shook his head. He only knew that Shiina Mahiru had a bad relationship with her parents, but he didn't expect it to be this bad.
"It's a very boring story, and it sounds like a melodrama. I hope you don't laugh out loud when you hear it."
Next, looking at the fireworks in the sky, Shiina Mahiru tried to talk about her family in a relaxed tone.
The two young people were forced to get married because of family reasons. Both sides had great malice towards each other, and on a drunken night, Shiina Mahiru was born.
Her appearance caused trouble for both parties, so the nanny in the family took on the responsibility of raising the child, and the only thing the parents did in a timely manner was to pay child support.
"Does it sound like a TV drama?" She looked very cheerful.
"Almost." Natsume nodded, "But if TV dramas still use this kind of routine nowadays, they will be criticized, right?"
"It seems that reality is more cruel than the fake world."
Mahiru stretched and suddenly grabbed Natsume's hand, "Natsume-kun..."
"Ok?"
The grandest fireworks display has passed, and Natsume Rin's heart is about to jump out of her throat.
At this time, time is simply his life.
"Hey, suddenly I don't know what to say." She said playfully.
There was a honking sound from outside, and Mahiru became serious again, returning to the dark path. A tall man slowly walked over.
The moonlight tonight was not very bright, and with the help of the lights in the pub, Natsume could barely see the face of the visitor.
"He is your friend?"
The man pointed at Natsume, his tone particularly stern.
"Hey, Natsume-kun, we are friends, right?" Mahiru hugged Natsume's arm and asked naively.
There was a fire brewing in the man's eyes, and Natsume couldn't help but smile bitterly when he saw his face clearly.
"are friends."
Shiina-san, there's no need to torment me like this in front of your father, right?
Chapter 62: Pah, too sweet!
"Shiina Chaoyang is Mahiru's father."
Even though he had the urge to kill the boy in front of him, Shiina Chaoyang was still able to maintain his composure. After saying hello, he stared at his daughter's hand.
The subtext is, why don't you let go?
"Natsume Rin, Shiina-san's neighbor."
Natsume didn't expect that he would be dragged by Shiina Mahiru to meet her parents today.
What I didn’t expect was that we met twice!
"Oh." Mahiru reluctantly let go of her hand, but still leaned against Natsume, looking indifferent.