After completing the transfer procedures, when he was about to walk out of the main building of Tsuga Prefectural University, a gust of wind came in front of him, slowing down Naruse Harumi's steps.
There was also the smell of burning hemp branches that filled the air.
The smell of smoke and paste seemed to be present and absent, mixed in the humid summer air. Naruse seemed to be able to see a stream of white smoke gradually drifting and fading, dissipating between the courtyard wall and the blue sky.
This is a familiar smell, but it is a bit out of place to appear at this time, because the Bon Festival has become a thing of the past. Last night, he personally lit the soul fire.
"Naruse-san!"
Naruse turned around and hurried over, the county teacher who had just left him not long ago.
A few dozen minutes ago, it was the other party who led him into this county high school and completed the transfer-related procedures.
"Teacher Kobayakawa." Naruse turned around and raised his hand and waved in the direction of the school administration office, "The school admission permit has been returned."
With that said, he took a few steps back to save the middle-aged teacher the trouble of changing his shoes.
"I know that, I came from there."
Kobayakawa's breathing was a little heavy and there was sweat on his forehead, "I thought Naruse-san would hang around the school for a while. Don't be cautious, Naruse-san is now a member of Tsugao."
"Before returning to Tianjin, there are still a lot of things to tidy up at home," Naruse explained.
"That's right."
Kobayakawa suddenly understood, and then told the reason why he chased after him: "There was a call from the uniform store just now. The person in charge of Tsugao is out of town for something and will not be back until very late. Naruse-san should go there another day."
Naruse was a little surprised, but didn't say much. He nodded to accept, and then asked: "Is it okay tomorrow?"
To this expected question, Kobayakawa gave an affirmative answer.
After a few words, the two parties said goodbye again in front of the shoe cabinet.
"Ah, by the way... Until you get the new uniform, Naruse-san should come to school wearing the uniform of the high school in Tokyo."
"OK."
...
Not far from the gate of Prefectural Tsugao School, Naruse saw a little boy being dragged forward by his mother. He was crying and holding a small handful of unburned hemp branches in his hand.
Untimely behavior will always be punished to some extent, Naruse thought, such as the child in front of him.
Another example is that when the summer vacation was coming to an end, I suddenly had to transfer from Tokyo to my hometown of Aomori.
Everything is too rushed.
"Can you finish it today?"
After leaving the school, he walked straight along the prefectural road, crossed a shallow river that surrounded the surrounding area, and walked for seven or eight minutes until he sat down on a bench at the bus stop. Naruse was still thinking about the busyness he would face after returning home.
.
The room was filled with unopened moving cardboard boxes.
He just came back here yesterday afternoon.
From distant Tokyo, I return to my hometown, Aomori Tsumae, after four years of absence.
His biological father died young, and his last stepfather also left their lives last fall. The person who took the lead in this matter was his artist mother;
Making such a decision seems to be based on her sudden idea: she wanted to provide him with a relatively stable environment for the next three years of high school life.
Over the past year, mother and son have spent less and less time together for their own reasons.
Naruse didn't know how long she had actually considered it, but she only knew that it was her own nod that finally turned the idea into reality.
"Summer in Aomori..."
The time waiting for the bus became a rare free time in the past two days. Naruse took a deep breath, leaned back, and looked through the platform barrier to the blue sky.
"It's so cool."
Almost twenty minutes later, a bus that was bound for Soma from Tsumae City and passed through the Aoyagi area on the way slowed down and stopped in front of the platform.
Naruse's home is in Aoyagi. In a rural area of a rural city, there are no trams, and the main public transportation is a bus that runs every hour.
After getting on the bus, Naruse once again confirmed that the bus would pass Aoyagi before taking his seat.
Born here, he is now more like a newly arrived guest, carefully confirming his position.
"We will become familiar with it again." Naruse thought silently in his heart. If nothing else happens, this bus will become his main commuting method in the next three years.
After a short circuit in Tsuzen City, the bus left from the northwest and sped towards the Soma area on the other side.
The buildings on both sides of the prefectural road gradually became lower, and the Iwaki Mountain in the distance stood still and green. When he could vaguely see a river filled with rocks and weeds, Naruse stood up and pressed the button to get out of the car.
“Ding dong—stop at the next stop.”
After crossing the river, the bus stopped at an old platform not far from the bridge. Before Naruse could get off the bus, his attention quickly fled from his feet.
Several wooden boards pieced together a small and cramped platform. In the shadow, a short-haired girl was sitting on a bench with her eyes closed.
Naruse felt that he just looked twice more, but the driver's coughing sound came from behind.
He came to his senses, took a step forward and jumped off the bus, looking back with an apologetic smile.
The behemoth of steel and iron bones roared away, and the surrounding area suddenly became quiet.
There was no one else around, except for Naruse in front of the platform and the girl who seemed to be asleep on the bench.
The red tie hung weakly on the shirt, and the apple blossom school emblem on the chest looked familiar. The red and gray tweed plaid skirt underneath also reminded Naruse:
Not long ago, he saw students wearing the same uniform on the campus of Prefectural Tsugao.
The gaze moved upward again. The classmate who was resting with her eyes closed here had a delicate face. Her short, earless hair hung downwards with her tilted head. The slightly curved corners of her mouth made her face very peaceful.
It must have been a good dream.
But sleeping in this position must be very hard on your neck.
Naruse thought to himself, half turned around and prepared to leave.
Since we are students at the same school, if the other person also lives nearby, sooner or later we will have the opportunity to get to know each other.
He glanced at her face one last time, but was met with another look.
"..."
After briefly looking at each other, the short-haired girl on the bench closed her eyes again, sat upright, and then stretched out all of a sudden.
"Uh-"
After stretching long and comfortably, she lowered her arms and then opened her eyes to look at him again.
"I accidentally fell asleep. This kind of weather is really comfortable. Ah, my neck... hurts..."
Is it a familiar character?
Having missed the best opportunity to leave, and the other party took the initiative to talk to him, Naruse could only pause and face the girl who was twisting her neck again.
After sitting up straight, he noticed that the other party had a slender figure, much taller than the average girl, about 1.7 meters tall;
There is also a bit of heroism in her delicate face. According to past experience, such a girl is very popular among both the opposite sex and the same sex.
"I don't think I've seen you before. What's the matter with Qingliu?" The other party spoke again, "I probably know everyone nearby."
This time, Naruse answered quickly: "It's nothing, my family lives here."
"Huh?"
"I moved away four years ago and just left Tokyo yesterday..."
"——Haruhai?"
When Naruse's name was called, he was stunned for a moment and looked at the other person's face again.
He has lived in this area for more than ten years and had many friends when he was a child, but he does not remember anyone with a face like this.
"Don't remember?"
The girl smiled, brushed her short hair behind her ears, then stood up and approached him.
"I am light. Have you remembered?"
...
"...the changes are really big."
Squeezing on the bench and looking at the girl next to him, Naruse didn't know how many times he said similar words.
Hikaru Takigawa, one of his childhood sweethearts with whom he had the best relationship, looks very different now than before.
In other words, compared with the skinny and dark tomboy in the past, the fair and fair girl in front of me is completely different.
"This is growth."
Hikaru Takigawa raised his arm and put it on his shoulder, waving the foxtail grass pulled from the side of the platform with his other hand, his eyes wandering between him and the weeds from time to time.
"As for my skin color, after Harumi went to Tokyo, there was no one to accompany me to play in the wild. I spent more time at home;
When I entered middle school, I joined the school's girls' basketball team, and I usually trained indoors... Slowly, my skin became whiter."
As she said that, she looked over again and looked directly into his eyes at close range.
The only thing that hasn't changed is probably her casual personality and the sense of distance that never existed before.
Finding a trace of familiarity from the unfamiliar, Naruse looked away, but Takigawa Hikaru kept staring, looking even more wantonly.
"If you ask me, Chunhai has changed a lot."
"After all, it's been four years."
During the first quarter of their lives, the two of them were thousands of miles apart. They grew up in places invisible to each other and were influenced by two completely different environments. The reason why she could think of him so quickly was because this place was so small.
.
"What I care about more is this." Hikaru Takigawa suddenly raised his hand and pushed his hair back to fully expose his ears, "Haruhai even wore earrings."
"I still remember Harumi said before that it would be absolutely impossible for him to do such a thing that would harm his body. Is there one on the other ear too?"
Naruse tilted his head slightly, revealing his left ear and the black earrings on his earlobes, "In pairs."
"Hmm...how long have you been wearing it?"
"About two years."
"Overall, I feel pretty good." Hikaru Takigawa said with a smile.
Naruse also smiled and said, "Thank you."
"So, why?"
"Wear it if you want."
"Yeah."
Takigawa Hikaru didn't ask any more questions, looked at her twice more, and changed the subject: "Is Auntie back too?"
"Yes. She has no schedule for the time being and will stay in Qingliu for a while."
"Last winter's new drama was well-received. Our whole family watched it. The new style was very nice. The older I get, the more attractive I am."
"Thank you." Naruse smiled, "But it's best not to mention your age in front of her."
The two chatted for a few more words, but the topic finally came down to leaving Tokyo.
"Harumi left suddenly and came back very suddenly." Hikaru Takigawa said, "Did something happen over there in Tokyo?"
He thought for a while before answering:
"Maybe she doesn't want me to have to move around and change schools with her after I enter high school."
Naruse had to tidy up the room after returning, and Takigawa Hikari had his own matters. The two didn't chat for too long and agreed to meet again later.
"The motorcycle is broken and is being repaired. I have to take the bus to pick up Yue. She is attending a school at the Central Station. Then, we will visit Auntie at home together."
"good."
After leaving the bus stop, Naruse went straight along the familiar road. Six or seven minutes later, Naruse turned at the intersection.
After walking for a while, two adjacent one-family houses appeared on the roadside, and the one on the right was his house.
Looking at the equally deserted yard of his neighbor's house, Naruse kept walking and took out the key to open the door.
Bang, the door opened by itself.
Someone was waiting for him inside.
"Welcome back, Chunhai..."
There was a layer of sweat on the forehead of the girl inside the door, and a few strands of hair stuck to the side of her face, slightly messy, but at this time she only had him in her eyes.
"Also, long time no see."
Naruse held the key and glanced at the neighbor's house again.
They were separated for four years, but he recognized her immediately.