Eating the sandwich that Naruse bought, Naoko and the others sat in the lobby of the hotel and waited for a while, and he came over soon.
"The people at the hotel said that their private buses have already taken guests to the city."
"When will you come back?" Takigawa Hikaru asked.
"I don't know."
Naruse shook his head, "They just set off for more than ten minutes. And when they get there, they will probably pick up a few guests who came here today before they come back. It's better not to wait."
"Okay."
Taking the sandwich handed over by Naoko, Naruse stuffed it into his mouth and looked at the listless Haixing.
Although she got up, she was obviously not in the right state of mind. She was either in a daze or distracted, and she looked like she hadn't slept enough.
Morimi was sitting aside, not much better than her.
What time did these two people go to bed last night?
Sensing his gaze, Morimi also looked over.
Putting the last bit of sandwich into his mouth, Naruse looked at the others and said, "The city bus is almost here. Let's go there first."
Morimi helped Haixing stand up, while Takigawa Hikari supported both of them from behind, "It's okay, you two are swaying in your steps."
"I'm fine." Morimi said, looking at Haixing, "I'll get in the car later and have a lot of time to sleep."
Starfish nodded, opened his mouth to say something, and yawned first.
After leaving the hotel and following Naruse, early-rising tourists were already arriving one after another.
After finding the platform and waiting for a while, a bus full of tourists stopped in front of them.
After getting in the car, Naoko sat with Haixing and looked after her. Naruse sat next to Morimi.
As soon as the car started, she leaned over without saying a word.
Shangzi glanced back, his eyes lingering on her sleepy face for a while, but he didn't say anything.
The city bus is no better than the hotel's private minibus. It stops and stops along the way and takes a longer detour. It takes more than forty minutes to arrive at Oishida Station.
"Morimi." Naruse lowered his head and looked at the girl on his shoulder, "We have arrived at Oishida."
"Well..."
In the row of seats in front, Haixing was also struggling on Shangzi's chest.
"So soft...what is this..."
After getting off the bus, a few people transferred to the Shinkansen heading for Yamagata City.
Compared to the bus, the sleeping environment on the train is much better, and the people looking after them are the Takikawa sisters.
"I'm sleeping very deeply." Looking at Morimi leaning against him, Takigawa Hikari whispered.
Naruse shook his head, his eyes turning on the face of Haixing who closed his eyes tightly and frowned.
"Anyway, most of today's time will be spent on the road, so let them sleep."
More than half an hour later, the Shinkansen arrived in Yamagata City.
After waking them up and leaving the station, they waited in the cold wind for more than ten minutes before the bus to Zao Onsen finally arrived.
After getting in the car and taking a seat, Morimi followed Naruse and sat down directly next to him.
While she was still awake at this time, Naruse asked: "What time did you go to bed last night?"
She glanced at him, took off her glasses, and stuffed them into his hands.
"Three or four o'clock in the morning, maybe five o'clock."
Naoko took Haixing and sat down on the other side of the aisle, while Hikaru Takigawa and her sister sat behind them.
"It's a little too late."
"Naruse also drank coffee, and I was even more surprised that he fell asleep so early." Morimi squinted at him, "Or is it easier to fall asleep holding Naoko's hand?"
"..."
Did you see it?
Naruse pursed his lower lip, "Maybe."
"Then let me try sleeping next to Shangzi tonight."
"Whatever you want."
Across him, Morimi glanced at Naoko on the other side of the aisle. She was also talking to Haixing.
"伱 and Shangzi..."
She paused and did not continue.
And he stared at the car window in front of him, pretending he didn't hear anything, until his shoulders suddenly felt heavy.
"Don't you feel panicked?"
"Then you and Naoko change places. I also want to use her breasts as pillows."
"...You'd better sleep."
Morimi closed his eyes.
After a while, her body slid down a little, and her leaning force became a little heavier.
She fell asleep.
Naruse looked at the black-rimmed glasses in his hand and then looked out the window.
The wind and snow are filling the air.
From JR Yamagata Station to Zao Onsen, we passed through many stations along the way, and it was already thirty or forty minutes before we arrived at our destination.
Waking up from Naruse's shoulder, Morimi was stunned for a while, then touched his face inexplicably, took the glasses from his hand and put them on.
"It's time to get off the car."
"Yeah."
The starfish leaning on her was sleeping too deeply. Shangzi didn't move all the way, and she was also a little sleepy. She was in a daze when she parked the car.
Just as soon as I got off the car, the wind and snow hit my face, and this sleepiness disappeared instantly.
"It's so cold... It seems to be much colder here than over at Oishida."
"Yeah." Naruse shrank his neck, "It will be even colder when we get to the mountain."
Starfish also woke up a lot from the cold, and was shaking while holding on to Morimi.
Zao Mountain not only has hot springs, but also has several large ski resorts. The mysterious tree ice wonders are also very attractive. It is a much more popular tourist destination than Ginzan Hot Spring, so there are only a lot more tourists here.
When leaving the platform, there is no need to find a way, just follow the crowd and keep walking forward.
Without walking too far, you can see the misty ditch on the roadside, and the hot spring flowing in it.
Accompanying it is a strong smell of sulfur that lingers all the way.
"The hot springs here are different from Ginzan Hot Springs." Naoko said.
Naruse nodded. Ginzan Hot Spring was neutral, with almost no smell of sulfur.
As they walked, the tourists in front gradually dispersed. Naruse glanced at the signs on the roadside. They were almost at the cable car station at the foot of the mountain.
There are several cable car entrances up the mountain, but only one leads to the top of the mountain.
When we arrived at the cable car station, there were many tourists queuing up, and most of them were skiers wearing ski equipment in groups.
Morimi and Haixing were not in good condition today, otherwise they would have planned to rent a set of ski equipment here and try it out.
"But there is a ski trip coming in the third semester."
"It seems like this is happening. Where are you going?"
"Hakkoda Ski Resort, or Spring Ski Resort. I went to Hakkoda when I was in first grade. It's not far anyway."
Several people lined up, crowded together due to the cold, getting closer and closer to each other.
The cable car station here runs a large cable car, which can accommodate more than a dozen passengers at a time. After several rounds of transportation, it was finally their turn.
After squeezing into the cable car, several girls sat by the window. Naruse stood in the middle holding the handrail, surrounded by skiers braving the cold.
After closing the door, the cable car began to climb upward with a creaking sound.
After leaving the station, the light in the cable car suddenly became a little brighter, but outside the window it was a blur.
The sea of snow and trees blend into each other and are boundless. There are occasionally large open areas in the distance, which are ski resorts.
"Ha..."
Starfish exhaled, and the glass immediately fogged up. She wiped it again and looked outside through the window.
The cable car climbed for a while, getting higher and higher, and it was almost to the transfer platform.
"It's so cold." She whispered, "It's getting colder and colder."
Shangzi nodded, rubbed his hands again, and blew out a ball of warm air into his palms.
Soon, the cable car arrived at Shubing Plateau Station.
Several people followed the skier down the cable car, climbed up a flight of stairs, and went to the platform above to take another cable car to the top of the mountain.
Halfway up the mountain, the temperature dropped even lower, and there was even frost inside the cable car.
They were the only ones left on this cable car ride.
Several people huddled together with their heads hunched, resisting the all-pervasive cold while feeling the slight sway of the cable car beneath them in the wind and snow.
Morimi looked out the window and squeezed closer to Naruse.
"It seems that the view will not be very good when we reach the top of the mountain..."