In the afternoon, Soya continued to study under the guidance of Yoshikawa Anko and caught up with the progress.
The spring rain was pattering outside the house. Although it was not heavy, it did not stop until the evening.
When Yoshikawa was about to go home, Soya looked at the gloomy sky, took an umbrella and went out with her.
"Sogu, do you want to send me off?"
"It's not far anyway."
"Thank you~"
It only takes ten minutes to walk from the Yoshikawa family to Kirino's old house, but Anko usually takes a detour to see Kirino Akane first, and then comes back, so the distance is naturally much longer.
Walking in an alley that he rarely passed, Zonggu looked at both sides, preparing for his solo return trip later.
After a while, they walked out of the alley, and the cherry trees at the corner of the intersection ahead came into view.
The huge cherry tree stretched out its branches and leaves from the yard, and the cement road underneath was covered with petals, making the ground pink and tender.
Fresh raindrops flowed along the branches and gathered together. When I couldn't hold on any longer, I let go and jumped onto the two adjacent umbrellas below.
Snap!
"Is this Yae Sakura?"
"have no idea."
"I heard that the Sekiyama cherry blossoms among the eight cherry blossoms have the best taste when made into salted cherry blossoms."
"…Sotani."
Yoshikawa raised the edge of his umbrella slightly and glanced at Soya next to him.
He smiled and said, "Let's go."
"Hmm...yeah!"
Her whole body trembled, and she took two steps back. If Sogu hadn't caught her in time, she would have fallen on the slippery ground.
On the edge of the wooden fence under the cherry tree, a toad kept jumping around, indifferent to the accident it almost caused.
"It's the countryside after all."
Yoshikawa calmed down quickly, sighed, and then thanked Soya after standing firm.
"Speaking of which, does Souya know what the other girls with me called you when we first met?"
Zonggu shook his head.
"'Handsome guy from the country'."
"Yeah."
He could also understand the reason: when they first met, he was still wearing the rustic clothes left by Kirino Akane's uncle.
"But isn't this the countryside?"
Yoshikawa laughed, "So he is a handsome guy from the countryside."
"I've been to the countryside here too."
"Hey, when?"
"Just a few days ago, I was running errands for the shrine."
"Ah...really?"
Seeing her attitude of respect, understanding, and not wanting to know more, Zonggu didn't say much.
After a few days of stable life, his motivation to introduce the invisible side of the world to her also diminished a lot;
What's more, when facing ordinary people, explaining such things depends on the timing, otherwise no matter how much you say, it will just be empty talk.
Snap, snap.
The toad in the corner was still jumping, and the two people holding the umbrella had already walked away.
...
"The house over there is my home."
After walking with Soya for a while, Yoshikawa suddenly stopped and pointed to the house with a red roof not far away.
"This is Souya's first time here."
"Um."
"At this time, my parents and sister should not have come back yet. Would Souya want to go in and sit for a while?"
Zong Gu shook his head, "Next time."
"My sister brought back some snacks from Mikazuki-do in Tokyo. It is said that they are hard to buy and they are called 'Mikazuki-yaki'."
Yoshikawa smiled slightly, "Have you eaten Sogu?"
"..."
Abduction is nothing more than that.
"excuse me."
A figure quickly emerged from the house, causing Zonggu to stop his movements subconsciously as he just entered the door.
"I'm back."
Yoshikawa bent down and touched the Shiba Inu's head, then looked back at Soya, "This is my family dog, Alpine. Come in."
While changing his shoes, he stared at the dog, "'Alps'?"
"That's the name my dad gave me."
"Yeah."
The lively Shiba Inu followed the two of them to the living room. After Yoshikawa went to make tea, he squatted at Soya's feet.
"..."
He looked down at it. The Shiba Inu tilted its head and wagged its tail.
"Awaited."
Yoshikawa returned to the living room with hot tea and brought over a paper bag with the words "Sanzukido" printed on it.
"Try it."
The Japanese snacks in the gift box have not yet been opened, and the pattern on the surface does not seem to be printed. The texture and style look very high-end.
"It must be very expensive."
"I'm not sure, it's a gift from my sister's client."
"Does Yoshikawa's sister work in Tokyo?"
"That's right. My sister settled there after she got married. She went to Kyoto on a business trip two days ago and came home for a visit."
Zonggu opened the gift box. There were not many snacks inside, but each piece looked exquisite.
"Try it."
The teacup in his mouth was more like a cover-up. Yoshikawa kept staring at him, and his glasses were fogged up.
"Then I won't be polite."
He picked up a piece of Mikazuki Yaki and bit into it.
The wrapper has a soft and waxy texture, and the sweet filling melts in the mouth, seeming to penetrate all the taste buds on the tip of the tongue; take another sip of tea to neutralize the greasy taste of the filling, and the fragrance of the tea and snacks are left between your lips and teeth.
A hint of sweetness.
"How is it?" Yoshikawa asked.
Zong Gu tasted it carefully and nodded after a while.
"Not bad. This is the best tasting snack I have ever tasted."
"That's good."
"You can make some conditions, Miss Kidnapper."
"What, that sounds really ugly..."
Yoshikawa chuckled.
"——Find a way to make Akane fall in love with me."
"..."
Can't do it.
Soya lowered his eyes and said nothing, and decided to eat two more pieces of Mikazuki-yaki before leaving. However, before he could do anything, Yoshikawa dragged the snack box to his side.
"..."
She also picked up a piece of Mikazuki Yaki, took a bite, and then showed a satisfied smile.
“It tastes really good.”
She repackaged the snack box and handed it over, "Let Suzuya try it."
"Thanks……"
Zong Gu accepted it and couldn't just say goodbye like this. After thinking about it for a while, he said:
"Yoshikawa is already Kirino's best friend, isn't he?"
She didn't say anything and took the snack box back from his hand.
Just when Soya thought she had suddenly changed her mind, Yoshikawa reopened the snack box and placed it on the table between the two of them.
"Sogu just said, this is the most delicious snack you have ever eaten, right?"
"..."
"So among these Mikazuki-yaki, which one is Soya's favorite? Is it the one you just ate?"
He was silent for a few seconds, smiling helplessly.
"it's the same."
"So, we don't know when Souya will get tired of these snacks and which piece will be saved for last, right?"
In front of Soya, delicious snacks were not a suitable example to explain the burnout period of friendship, but he could understand what Yoshikawa meant.
Although in his opinion, she was really worrying too much for thinking this way.
It's just that Yoshikawa, who has been treated like a star since he was a child because of his extraordinary appearance and academic ability, has never been able to accept the friend he cares about most, and instead treats him lukewarmly.
"What exactly does Yoshikawa want?"
"I want Akane to care more about me." She sat up straight, "At least, to the same extent as she does towards Soya and Suzu."
"...Is there anything special about how she treats Ling and me?"
"Yes, I have!"
Yoshikawa blurted out, then realized his gaffe and paused for a moment.
"Didn't Soya notice that Akane listens very carefully when you and Suzu are talking?"
"Yeah."
"The key is--"
The girl suddenly came closer, "Between Soya and Akane, there are secrets that belong only to each other."
Is it a secret...
"If Yoshikawa thinks that is a secret, I can tell you everything." Zongya looked at her seriously, "If you want to believe it."
Yoshikawa opened his mouth and immediately shook his head.
"No. Soya doesn't think it's a secret, but Akane doesn't necessarily think so. I can't listen."
"..."
Zonggu took a deep breath.
Yoshikawa: "Do you find it troublesome?"
That would be too much trouble.
"No."
He picked up a piece of Mikazuki Yaki and put it in his mouth, "In that case, why doesn't Yoshikawa create a secret that only you and Kirino know?"
Yoshikawa looked at him, "What secret?"
"Since it's a secret, of course you have to think about it yourself."
Zonggu didn't want to stay any longer, so he got up to go back.
Yoshikawa packed up the snacks and sent them outside the door.
"for you."
"Thanks."
After taking two steps, he turned around again.
"What you said just now is just an immature suggestion. Yoshikawa should not abandon the good and chase the bad."