After accompanying Kyoko to fax all the information that needed to be answered, Soya sat in the Japanese room next door for a while. Only Minami Noma and Hasegawa were left inside, while Hanai and Kobayashi were outside to receive the worshipers.
After chatting for a while, Noma Minami invited Soya to have a dinner together in the evening.
"Forget it, I can't drink."
"I won't come to you if I want to drink. I am also a teacher after all, so I still know how to behave."
"..."
Zongya had countless personal experience examples to refute, but it was useless to say more, so he didn't bother to speak.
"Are you coming? Kyoko is coming too."
Jingzi looked at the two of them and said, "It's just a dinner party."
"Don't worry. That's a newly opened restaurant near my home. I just want to have a taste. It's boring when there are not many people."
Seeing this, Zonggu already agreed in his heart, but there was still one problem.
"If it's near Ms. Noma's house, will you send us back after the dinner?"
"I'll give it to you if I can... You're really troublesome."
So Soya was not in a hurry to go back. He sent a message to Akane Kirino and Suzu Asagiri that he would not go back to eat in the evening. He stayed until closing time, then got into Noma Minami's car and went down the mountain with the shrine maidens.
When they arrived at Guan Yuan's house, Yuzi reluctantly got out of the car and turned around in three steps.
"Who knows when we can come back, but you can't blame me..."
Noma Minami stepped on the accelerator and the car started to move again, "Speaking of which, Kyoko, is your Miyaji father becoming more and more strict with Tamako now?"
Kyoko didn't say anything, and Noma Minami just took her as her acquiescence.
"Obviously he is still a child."
Of course Soya knew the reason, and added: "Probably because she doesn't want Tamako to be led astray by Miss Noma."
"Hahaha." Noma Minami laughed and glared at him, "But, for a child with that kind of personality, too much control will be counterproductive."
Zong Gu looked back out the car window. Yuzi had already returned to the house, "It's useless to tell me."
Noma Minami said nothing more and concentrated on driving.
After more than ten minutes, the surrounding scenery gradually became unfamiliar. The car stopped at the intersection with a red light. Soya looked outside. Noma Minami looked at him and the few people behind him, "We will finish the dinner later.
Would you like to come and sit at my house?"
"Okay." Hasegawa was the first to respond, and Hanai and Kobayashi also nodded.
Seeing that Jingzi also agreed, Soya said hello.
"It's over there." Noma Minami pointed with her hand. Sogu looked over and saw several apartment buildings scattered in the distance. She didn't know which one she was referring to.
After passing the intersection, Noma Minami drove for a while and then turned into an alley.
"It's hard to turn around inside." Huajing reminded.
"It's okay. You can drive directly out from the front, turn a corner and you'll be at my house."
Continuing forward, she stopped the car in front of a restaurant and said, "We're here."
After getting off the car and entering the store, Minami Noma walked in front and said to the clerk who came up to her: "I am Noma who made a reservation this afternoon."
"Okay, please follow me."
The restaurant has two floors. Noma Minami didn't specify it. The store arranged a private room at the bottom near the courtyard.
"It's just a little bit more comfortable during this period. In a few days, the soul worship ceremony is about to start. I don't know how busy it will be." Noma Minami found a seat at the dining table and sat down, and sighed.
.
The beginning of the soul worship meeting is marked by the activity of spiritual bodies in the world, but it is not easy to detect at the beginning, so the specific date is usually relatively vague.
"Only the devil knows when it will start."
Several people followed and sat down. Soya and Kyoko sat together. Noma Minami looked at them for a while and said: "This is Soya's first time to participate in the soul worship ceremony, so just learn more from Kyoko."
"Yeah." He was happy.
"The soul worship meeting lasted for about ten days. I remember last year..."
When Noma Minami talked about the busyness of the past years, Hanai and Kobayashi continued talking word by sentence. Soya listened for a while, and then took Kyoko to walk around the courtyard.
"——Are you dating?"
Noma Minami was stunned for a moment, then realized that Hasegawa was talking about the two people wandering in the courtyard, and turned to look outside.
As the sun sets, the courtyard gradually becomes dim, leaving long shadows on the wall, covered by branches and leaves, and two figures disappearing and appearing.
"Who knows."
She shrugged, "But since even Kyoko has admitted that she likes Soya, even if they are not dating, they are probably not far away."
Hasegawa nodded, "I think so too."
"The time when the eldest lady had a fight with Mr. Guan Yuan..." Huajing hesitated to speak.
"Both the old and the young have their own ideas." Minami Noma paused, "In the final analysis, this is a family matter that governs the Hara family. All we can do is wait and see what happens."
Hanai turned to look outside, "I watched Jingzi grow up. No matter what, I will stand by Jingzi's side."
"Wow, won't you look older by saying this?"
"It doesn't matter, I am already an old aunt."
"I'm still young."
"You are so not ashamed."
While the chat in the box didn't stop, Soya and Kyoko in the courtyard, separated only by a window, had been staying in a dark corner for a while.
"It's all sweat..." Jingzi whispered.
"It's okay." Zong Gu hugged her from behind, lowered his head, sniffed and kissed her neck, "I like the smell of Kyoko."
She also liked his intimate touch, holding his hand and leaning back.
"Kyoko——"
"..."
The two looked at each other. Kyoko stood up straight and raised her voice, "Miss Noma?"
"Well, are you over there? It's time to eat."
"OK."
She pulled the witch uniform on her body, turned around and said, "Let's go over there."
Zong Gu took her hand again, "Yeah."
Back in the private room, several exquisite dishes have been placed on the table, waiting for the diners sitting around to quickly taste them.
Kyoko sat down next to her, and Soya clasped his hands together.
"I'm starting."
The dishes were delivered to the table one after another, exquisite and delicious. The dinner lasted for more than two hours before it was over.
When I walked out of the restaurant, it was completely dark outside.
"I feel pretty good, especially the last dessert, which is to my liking," Hanai said.
"If I were to tell you, I would give it seven points." Noma Minami got into the car and looked at Soya who was sitting next to him, "What do you think of Soya?"
He put on his seat belt, looked back at Jingzi behind him, and then said: "My feeling is similar to Miss Noma, but I give it an eight."
"Is the extra point because of my treat?"
"Yes."
Noma Minami showed a satisfied smile, and then started the car as he reminded Kyoko and the other three people to fasten their seat belts, walked forward along the slightly narrow alley, turned from the exit at the end, and drove towards his apartment.
.
Except for Soya, several of the shrine maidens in the car have been here more or less several times. Some of them even lived here with Minami Noma for a while, and they talked about it from a distance.
Taking the elevator from the underground garage, Soya said: "Miss Noma's apartment is quite high-end."
"Not bad, I just bought it last year, and most of my life savings have been spent."
Noma Minami looked at the jumping numbers and said, "The location is also very good. During the day, you can also see Lake Biwa from the balcony."
"So you bought it?" Zongya originally thought it was a rented apartment.
"Yes, I bought it." Noma Minami nodded, "I forgot the time I went to an izakaya for a drink, and I had a good chat with a house salesperson. The key is that she is also very beautiful... Well, this is not the point. In short,
She said now is a good time to buy a house, so I happened to have some spare money, so I bought this apartment. I’m not looking for a man either, the house has to be bought.”
"..."
Zong Gu was silent.
"If she is in the space immigration business, then now is a good time to immigrate to Mars." This was not the first time Hanai heard Minami Noma talk about this, and she still couldn't help but complain.
Noma Minami smiled and said, "If I can immigrate to Mars, then I will definitely go."
"The Martians will certainly welcome you."
"I wonder what a female Martian looks like."
bite--
While talking, the elevator arrived.
Before getting out of the elevator, Zonggu glanced at the floor and said, "It's really high enough."
"The wind is quite strong," Noma Minami said.
Kyoko followed up and held his hand.
Opening the door and walking into the apartment, Noma Minami looked back, said to Soya, who had just arrived, to take a look around, and then went to pour tea.
The room was not small, and even seemed a little empty. Souya had a new understanding of Minami Noma's so-called "half-life savings."
Opening the floor-to-ceiling windows and walking onto the balcony, the night wind blew in my face. There was a large area of darkness underneath, dotted with stars, and the night view was pretty good.
Looking around, Zongya stood by the guardrail for a while, and Noma Minami's voice came from behind: "Why don't you go look elsewhere? I'm also very satisfied with the internal layout, especially the bathroom, the bathtub is super big."
He smiled and said, "I'm not here to buy a house."
Noma Minami also smiled, then looked back at Kyoko who was sitting in the living room, and said in a slightly lower voice: "Sooner or later, you will have to buy something. You can't always live in that little girl's house."
Zonggu leaned against the guardrail with the wind blowing behind him, "I quite like it there."
"Who doesn't like a big house? The surrounding environment is good, and you can grow some vegetables in the backyard... But after all, it is someone else's house. Unless Soya enters her house."
"How is that possible?"
"So, but it's still early..." Minami Noma suddenly remembered the actual age of this young colleague, "No, you are still a high school student. You should consider the issue of housing after graduating from college."
Zong Gu nodded and said nothing.
"Come in."
He returned to the living room and sat down. Noma Minami poured a glass of water for each of his colleagues.
The shrine maidens continued to chat, with Soya and Kyoko listening and occasionally participating in the conversation.
In addition to Noma Minami, who works as a physical education teacher at Dangao, Miko Hanai Mayuri and Kobayashi Reiko also have their own part-time jobs. The former works as a psychological counselor at a children's welfare home in Otsu City, and the latter works as a psychological counselor at a children's welfare home near her home.
Working in a convenience store is not to make money, but is another form of rest.
"Children's ideas are both complex and simple. Most of the problems they encounter can be divided into several categories, and family factors are always the first among them...The key is how to guide them to speak out..."
"There was a time when I worked the night shift at a convenience store, and there was a customer who always came over at two or three in the morning, always dressed as a bunny girl... No, no, he was a male high school student."
The respective experiences of the two people also brought rich topics to the chat at this time, which always led to continuous discussion.
Time flows slowly in the night.
During this period, Soya and Kyoko still looked around in Noma Minami's apartment, but they didn't have many ideas.
We continued chatting until about ten o'clock at night, when Xiaolin let out a long yawn, and Hanai said it was time to go back.
"Well, it's already this time... You can stay at my place, there are still two vacant rooms."
"How to distribute?" Huajing asked.
Noma Minami looked at her and said, "Sayaka and I sleep in the master bedroom, Mayuri and Kobayashi sleep in one room, and Kyoko and Soya sleep in the other room. It makes sense."
Hanai looked at Soya and Kyoko, "What do you think?"
Zonggu shook his head, "Stop joking."
The adult jokes end here.
Hanai asked for the car keys so that Noma Minami could see him off. When the others left, Hasegawa did not go downstairs with them, but stayed behind.
"It seems that Anan has chosen Miss Sayaka." Xiaolin said in the elevator.
"It's hard to say."
Huajing shook his head, "Anan just didn't refuse...and she won't refuse. For her, maintaining the status quo is the best choice."
"Wow..."
"Xiao Lin should also be careful about women like Anan in the future."
"Hmm...wait a minute, I like men."
Zonggu watched the beating numbers in silence until the elevator reached the bottom floor.
After coming out of the underground garage and merging into the traffic, Hanai, who was driving, said he would take the nearest Soya back first.
"good."
Kobayashi took the passenger seat, and Soya and Kyoko sat in the middle row. The street scene outside gradually became familiar, and the two held hands, enjoying the last tenderness before parting.
After a while, the commercial vehicle slowed down and turned into a slightly dark alley.
At this point, it's not far from Kirino's old house. The streetlight a few hundred meters away is where Soya will get off the car.
Taking Jingzi's hand, he kissed the back of her hand gently and whispered: "If I don't go to the countryside tomorrow, I will come over again."
"Um."
She nodded, turned her palm over again, and stroked his chin with her palm.
Walking through the alley, passing three or two people, the distance of a few hundred meters was reached in an instant. Hanai stopped the car at the intersection, opened the door, and Soya squeezed Kyoko's hand for the last time.
"Good night."
"Good night."
After getting out of the car and saying goodbye, Zonggu watched the commercial vehicle continue forward until it turned.
Just as he was about to go back, someone called him from behind.
"Soya——"
"..."
He turned around and waited under the streetlight for a while. Kirino Akane, Anko and Asagiri Suzu came from the darkness, all holding bags in their hands.
"Sure enough, it's you." Kirino Akane smiled slightly, "When the car passed by just now, I saw the sign on it. Are they delivered directly to your home now? Civil servants are treated very well."
"Only occasionally."
Sogu also smiled, stepped forward to take the bag from Asagiri Suzu's hand, and found that it contained some ingredients.
"It was given by someone else, and my mother asked me to bring it back," Akane Kirino said.
"You guys went to an izakaya?"
"Yeah. I'll go help, and Hongzi and Ling will go spend some money."
After saying that, Kirino Akane couldn't help but smile.
Hongzi handed her bag over, "We just went there with Qian and stayed there until now."
The two of them were not working hard and could not help much, or in other words, they could help without causing trouble. Soya took the bag, and Kirino Akane also hung her bag on his hand.
"There are quite a few."
"They're all vegetables, and they'll be eaten quickly."
Zonggu held it with both hands, and it didn't feel heavy, so he walked back.
"I don't have to buy food for two or three days."
"It's not necessary in the first place. We are going to Hongzi's grandma's house tomorrow." Kirino Akane followed up and said.
"..."
Zonggu turned to look at Hongzi on the other side, "Have you decided?"
"Um."
"Does Mrs. Yoshikawa know that I will also come?"
She looked at him and said, "Of course I know..."
Zonggu didn't ask any more questions and continued walking forward with the ingredients.
Back at Kirino's old house, Kirino Akane said that the vegetables would spoil if kept for a long time, and some of them had to be taken back by Anko.
"Isn't there anyone in her home?"
"No, Hongzi's parents sent us there and we will be back the same day."
"Yeah."
It was getting late, and Hongzi sat down for a while before going back. Before she could say anything, Sogu got up and went to the kitchen to get the portion of vegetables he wanted her to take back, preparing to send her home.
"See you tomorrow."
Kirino Akane said goodbye to her at the entrance, "Yeah, don't oversleep tomorrow."
"No way."
As soon as they walked out of the yard, Hongzi took Soya's arm.
"Sogu seemed to be relieved just now."
"Is it obvious?"
She shook her head: "It's not obvious, but I can feel it."
Soya pursed his lower lip, "If Mrs. Yoshikawa is here, she will be a little uncomfortable."
"Mom is a very gentle person."
"I know, that's why I can't face her calmly."
"Because you seduced me."
"Because I didn't push you away."
Hongzi leaned closer and said, "Just date me."
There was no point in refusing, Zonggu didn't even bother to say anything.
"Is this the default meaning?"
"No."
"snort."
She held his hand, and after walking for a while, she suddenly asked, "Was Senior Guan Yuan also in that car just now?"
"Um."
"Did Zonggu tell her about going to the countryside with me?" Hongzi looked at him.
Zong Gu nodded, "I said it."
"What's your reaction, senior sister?"
"If I hadn't stopped him, Jingzi would have gotten out of the car and beat you just now."
"..."
Hongzi curled his lips, neither taking it seriously nor asking further.
All the way to the end, it turned another corner.
Even in the narrow alley, one can see the vast night sky, with few moon stars and floating silk clouds, but no trace of last night's violent wind and rain.
"I like summer." Hongzi raised her head and said for no reason.
Zong Gu looked at her and raised his head.
"I like it too."
When they arrived at the door of Yoshikawa's house, it was already dark, and Yoshikawa and his wife had already gone back to their room to rest. Soya didn't go in to disturb them, and handed the big bag of vegetables to Anko at the door.
"See you tomorrow morning. We'll come back after breakfast."
"Well." She looked at him expectantly, "Good night..."
Zong Gu raised his hand to touch her face, his fingertips passing over her lips.
"Good night."
She was a little disappointed, but also a little satisfied, and waved him off.
Back at Kirino's old house, Kirino Akane was taking a bath and Asagiri Suzu was sitting in the living room.
Zong Gu thought for a while and sat down in front of her.