Although he was so overwhelmed by the heavy worries that he didn't close his eyes all night. After lying for a while, Zong Gu still fell asleep.
When I woke up again, Chao Wuling was no longer in my arms.
“…”
Awakening also means that peace is broken, and all kinds of thoughts in my heart swept over again like a tide, swallowing him up.
Looking at the ceiling for a while, Zong Gu looked for various reasons and tried to calm himself back.
"Neither sick nor anything strange in your head..."
At least now, he understood the reason for his sudden coma.
The unknown is the most terrible thing, he comforted himself so much.
Compared with before his coma, his body did not change much - the changes from people in this world to people in that world happened two years ago - it just took him to go to the underworld every six months or so.
With Emperor Ju, this matter is no problem at all - this is also the greatest confidence that he can still lie here and stare blankly.
"Are the people of Huangquan Kingdom..."
If you guess correctly, he is probably the only living people in Huangquan Kingdom.
As the only exception, Zong Gu could not feel any sense of honor. After all, he still regarded himself as a person in this world.
After lying for a while, Zong Gu took back his thoughts from the land of nothingness, got up and went to the next room to look for Chao Wuling.
When he walked into her room, he narrowed his eyes first.
The curtains in his room were airtight and dark. Only then did he see that the outdoors were bright and dazzling, and the sun was still fierce.
Chao Wuling stood by the window.
Looking back at him, she pulled up half of the curtain and looked out the window again.
Zong Gu walked over and she moved a little to the side.
Of course, I couldn't see anyone below. Under the scorching sun, there were only grass, trees and walls in the courtyard that could not escape. It was about three or four o'clock in the afternoon, and the dusk had not appeared, and the dusk had already climbed onto her face.
"The sunset is extremely beautiful, but it's almost dusk."
Zong Gu looked at her and for the first time he felt the depth accumulated in her for a thousand two hundred years so obviously.
"bell……"
Looking at Wuling, his eyes softened a lot, "What's the matter?"
"It's still the same thing as before."
"Um."
Zong Gu looked at her, "Is there a way to save the power of the underworld and bring it out?"
She glanced at him, as if she thought such a question was meaningless, but she still spoke: "Find a carrier."
"The carrier...for example?"
"The Daughter of the Yellow Spring."
“…”
"Or it's the Yellow Spring Army."
“…”
Zong Gu pursed his lower lip. These two natural spirits are not so much the carriers of the power of the Yellow Springs, but rather the power of the Yellow Springs, they are themselves formed by the pure power of the Yellow Springs.
The problem is that these two spirit bodies are not easy to deal with... or they cannot be dealt with at all.
“What else?”
Chao Wuling suddenly smiled, but it was very short, and the curve of the corners of his mouth flew in an instant.
"Eight Thunder Gods."
“…”
Zong Gu was helpless, "In other words, is there actually no way to save the power of the underworld?"
"Um."
He sighed and shook his head again, "I can only trouble the teacher once every six months."
Chao Wuling looked outside again, without saying a word.
After staying in her room for a while, Zong Gu went downstairs to take a shower.
Chao Wuling was still standing by the window, looking at the flowing clouds in the sky.
["Teacher, please give him a few more days..."]
【“I will make him thank the bell.”】
"Thank you..."
She closed her eyes.
There was not much time left, and she was still hesitating and unable to make the final choice.
downstairs.
After soaking in the bathtub for more than twenty minutes, the hot water melted heavy distractions, and the pores in my body were soaking, and Zong Gu's mood also relaxed a lot.
Being alone is not a solution to the problem, at least it can make people feel more relaxed.
"Zonggu, are you asleep again?"
"...How could it be, I just woke up."
Akane Kirino's voice came from outside, "You have been soaking for half an hour."
"Is that right? I'll come out now."
"oh."
She went out again.
After coming out of the bathroom, Soguchi's belly was empty and he went to eat something first. Akane Kirino and Hongzi also came to the kitchen and discussed waiting for the sun to walk the dog and let him go with him.
"OK."
Seeing that he liked the food he prepared very much, Akane Kirino was also very happy, "After that, where is Soya going to work tomorrow? Not far away?"
"It's not too far." Sonoya said.
“Where?”
"Home."
“Eh?”
He smiled at the two of them, "This round of duty has no arrangements for me, that is, it means vacation."
"Really? Sonoya can finally take a few days off."
Hongzi was happy for him, but at the same time she had some regrets and complained, "It was only then that time that I had time, and the Ullambana Festival was over."
The Ullambana Festival has ended, which means that her parents and sister are coming back from her grandmother’s house.
After disturbing Kirino's house for many days, her parents would probably let her go home as soon as they came back. Although she wanted to continue living, they would not object, but they had no reason to live here.
"Did Hongzi's family come back today?" Zong Gu asked.
"Tomorrow morning. I was planning to come back this afternoon. My sister wanted to stay there for one more night, so my parents stayed."
He looked at her, "Then Hongzi has to go back to his own home."
"I won't go back." Hongzi said, holding up Akane Kirino's arm next to her, "Akane will be reluctant to leave."
"I'm not particularly reluctant to leave..."
"Akane?!"
"We live very close." Akane Kirino smiled at her with a sweet smile, "It's only a few minutes from here to there, Hongko can come over at any time."
“…”
Akane Kirino rarely says such words to her friends against her will. She thinks that she has sufficient reasons and is very reasonable, but the other two people on the dining table sounded like she was no different from directly driving someone out.
Hongzi subconsciously looked at Zong Gu, and he was stunned for a moment, and was a little nervous.
She specially drove Hongzi home, not to create an environment where she was alone with him and confessed to her love?
"Is there any problem?" Akane Kirino looked at the two people who were suddenly silent, and her eyes remained on Hongzi's face, fearing that she would not go back.
"No...it's okay."
Hongzi came to her senses and looked at Akane Kirino and kicked Soya opposite the table. "After the Ullamban Festival, my sister is almost going back to Tokyo, and I want to go home to accompany her."
"Uh-huh!"
“…”
Do you want to be so happy?
Hongzi was a little sad.
Zong Gu, opposite the dining table, did not respond to her hint, and only stared at the rice balls on the table.
She kicked him again.
"—The legs are about to break."
"Huh?" Akane Kirino was stunned and lowered her head again.
Hongzi glared at him and had already stopped his feet in time.
"What's wrong with Soya's legs?" Akane Kirino asked with her head raised.
"It's okay, it just hurts a little."
"Did you kowtow when you fell into the river last night?" She looked down at his legs again, "It was still when you got ashore, you hit the stone?"
"Maybe."
"Where does it hurt?"
Zong Gu looked at Hongzi, "Where?"
“…”
She glared at him again, without saying a word.
Akane Kirino got up and walked around him, not seeing any bruises or wounds on his legs, and asked again: "Where?"
"here."
Zong Gu pointed to the place where Hongzi kicked several times, "It hurt a little just now, but now I don't feel it anymore."
"Hidden disease!"
“…Don’t just use it randomly after learning a new word.”
Akane Kirino squatted down and poked the place with her finger, "Don't you feel like this?"
"Um."
"Why did it hurt just now?"
He glanced at Hongzi again.
"Because you're nervous."
"That's a neurological disease."
"...I said don't use nouns that you don't actually understand."
"snort."
Finally poked his leg, Akane Kirino stood up and returned to her seat.
"After that's it, Kirino..."
"Um?"
"Did you see Wushan fire last night?"
"Five mountains send fire... I saw it. After all, it was so conspicuous and could be seen everywhere, but I didn't feel the mood to appreciate it." Akane Kirino said, "What's wrong?"
"I was unconscious and saw nothing. I remember Kirino said that there were related photos in your photo album, and I wanted to see it."
"Okay." She was happy and got up and went out, "Wait a minute, I have to find out where the album is."
Only Sonoko and Hongzi were left in the kitchen.
"Only Akane will believe this excuse."
"After all, I'm not very good at making excuses."
"You are so humble." She couldn't help but make a sarcasm.
"Is this all Hongzi wants to say?"
She was silent for a moment, "What did Akane drive me home, what did she want to do?"
"I don't know either."
“…To confess to Soya?”
"I thought so just now, but I think it's unlikely."
Hongzi hoped that he could make an objection, and was eager to hear a reason that would make him feel convinced, "Why?"
Soya looked at her: "If Kirino had this plan, with her personality, whether Hongko was here or not, it would probably not affect her actions."
Hongzi pursed her lower lip and wanted to refute it, but she couldn't find a decisive reason.
"But even if it's not a confession, it's probably related to it..." he guessed.
Akane Kirino's thoughts looked clear and transparent, like a cup of clear water, but no one knew that it was just water or that sugar or fine salt was melted.
After looking at him for a while, Hongzi asked, "What if Akane plans to do, what will Zong Gu do?"
"I can only see what she plans to do first."
She was unstable and could only adapt to the situation.
Hongzi fell into deep thought, and the two sat opposite each other speechlessly until Akane Kirino returned to the kitchen with the album.
"There are only a few photos... Did I remember it wrong? I always feel that there are many photos of Wushan sending fire."
Soyamoto wanted to remind her that she might have been mixed with the album of mobile phones, but he didn't really want to read it, so he didn't say anything, took the album and flipped it out casually.
Akane Kirino stood beside him and pointed to one of the photos, "At this time, I'm only in the third grade of elementary school."
The girl in a bathrobe smiled in front of the camera, and on the Higashiyama of Matsuzaki behind her, a huge "Miao"-shaped flame was burning.
"So cute." Soya said casually.
Akane Kirino's lips curled up and said nothing.
Hongzi saw it, looked at the photos, and looked at him again.
"You are indeed Lolicon."
Soya was too lazy to explain, "Yes."
“…”
After seeing a few photos of Wushan sending fire, it was still early and I was idle. Akane Kirino signaled him to continue to flip forward.
"This album must have been a few years."
"It's only two or three years, but the photos inside have been for many years. The album was left for more than 20 years, and the connection was disconnected, so my mother bought this new one."
Zong Gu flipped forward, and she became more and more immature in the photo, and the old house appeared in the background more and more times.
In the photo, there is also a couple he has never met before. Soya guessed that they were probably the nominal owner of the house, namely Akane Kirino's uncle and aunt.
"Yeah, guess right. Uncle and dad are a bit like each other. I haven't seen him for a long time."
Younger Kirino Hiroyuki and Kirino Keiko also appeared frequently. The former only had a slightly tender face than now, and his quiet expression almost didn't change much. The latter became more sharp as he was when he was younger. Compared with now, he was just two people.
“Miss Qingzi has changed a lot…”
"Yeah, mom used to be cool."
Turning forward, Akane Kirino gradually changed from a primary school student to a young girl crawling on the floor, to a baby held in her arms by Kirino Keiko, and finally frozen on the day she was born.
Zong Gu erected the page of the album and swayed left and right twice: "From now on, this world has become different."
"Hahaha--"
He returned the album to her.
"Don't you look at the front?"
For Soya, Akane Kirino is the protagonist of this album, so there is no need to read the photos before her birth.
"There's nothing to see."
"But it's a little early to go out now... Start with this photo of my birth, and look it back."
"It's OK. Go to the living room."
The three of them came to the living room, and Akane Kirino and Hongko sat next to him one by one.
Soya flipped the album backwards, and watched Akane Kirino grow up little by little from the moments that were frozen in the past. From the staggering moments when she just learned to walk, to running with all her might, he took the lead in the track and field field of the primary school sports meet.
;From the wildness, to the gracefulness when graduating from middle school, my eyes still showed unhidden agility.
"Well, the person next to me looks familiar... Is it your friend?"
"Hahaha. That's right, I'm my best friend!"
The photos in the album only ended up graduating from Akane Kirino High School, and nothing new is available.
"Now, we basically take photos with our mobile phones." Akane Kirino put away the album, "Apart from major events like graduation, we don't usually leave such photos... Although it's very convenient to print."
"Well, unless there is a special commemorative significance."
"Let's take a photo with 'commemorative significance' now." She suddenly suggested, "Memorializes the first coma of the Sonya and has successfully awakened."
“…”
"Okay." Hongzi took Sonoya's arm and picked up his cell phone with his other hand, "I'll take a picture."
Akane Kirino also hugged his arm, leaned against him, looking at the camera.
Kacha.
Before Zong Gu could adjust his expression, the two of them had taken photos and let go of him.
"It's okay."
"Yeah, although Soya's expression is a bit strange..."
"When you walk your dog later, go to the convenience store to print out this photo."
"Ah, then I have to pick a few more photos to print together."
The two of them flipped through their mobile phone albums again.
When the sun was almost about to set and it was not that hot outside, the three of them went out to walk their dogs together.
Passing by the convenience store, Akane Kirino and Hongko used the store's self-service printer to print carefully selected photos. Soya was waiting while biting the popsicle.
"This was taken in Minister Kumamoto's office... This is a volcano on Sakurajima. Unfortunately, only the crater was smoking, and no one could see the moment of the eruption."
"This is this year's Kyoto Qixi Festival, on Yakugawa - by the way, Soya is on Sendai, have you taken photos of the local Qixi Festival?"
"No."
After walking the dog, it was already dark.
My family will come back tomorrow, and Hongzi will still live here tonight.
After nightfall, time passes the fastest and fleeting moments before and after supper.
After dinner, wash the dishes, sit for a while, and it will be eight o'clock;
We went to take a shower, put the photos printed in the evening into the album, and chatted for a while, and it was time to rest.
Asakiri went back to the room first, followed by Soya. Akane Kirino and Akako did not stay downstairs and went upstairs together.
As he walked past Soya's room, Akane Kirino raised his hand and pulled it, and the door was indeed locked.
She yelled at Hongzi, "This is obviously my home."
Hongzi just smiled.
Back in the room, the two of them spread the bedding together.
“Switch off the lights?”
"Um."
"Thank you." Under the light of Hongzi's mobile phone, Akane Kirino returned to her bed and lay down. "When Hongzi returns home, I may not get used to sleeping alone."
Hongzi looked at her sideways, "Then I'll stay."
"For Hongzi's sister, I will overcome this small difficulty." She said immediately.
“…”
Hongzi sighed secretly and lay down again.
"In two days," Akane Kirino said again, "Wait for me... when Sister Aoko goes to Tokyo, Hongzi will come to my house again."
Hongzi turned her head and looked at her for a while, but still couldn't help it: "What are Akane going to do these two days?"
"Hey, what am I doing..."
"Do you do nothing?"
"What are you not doing..."
Hongzi decided to change the way, "Then I want Zong Gu to stay at my house for two days, there is still an empty room anyway. My sister said she wanted to talk to Zong Gu..."
"--no."
She really refused.
Hongzi moved to her, "Why?"
"No," Akane Kirino looked at the other side, "I just think Soya wouldn't agree."
"—He agreed." Hongzi lied, "I told Zong Gu about this in the afternoon, and he agreed."
“…”
Akane Kirino immediately sat up and looked down at her, "Really?"
Hongzi also sat up, "If Akane doesn't believe it, you can ask Sonoya."
There is no special skill to tell such lies, the most important thing is self-confidence.
Her face did not change, and Akane Kirino chose to believe it.
"Why is it at this time..."
"Si really wants to do what, right?"
Akane Kirino was silent for a while and said, "Recently, a question has been bothering me, and I want to know the answer anyway."
Don't ask any more questions, Hongzi said to herself, can't ask any more questions.
But she still asked, "What's the question?"
Akane Kirino looked at her and did not directly answer, "Before this, I have something I want to confirm with Hongzi."
"What……"
"Does Hongzi like Soya?"
“…”
Have you finally reached this point?
"I like." Hongzi took a deep breath and looked at her, "I like Sonoya."