With Naoko in the back seat, Hikaru Takigawa deliberately controlled the speed of the motorcycle and did not drive too fast.
"is that OK?"
With her long hair flying in the wind, Shangzi clung to the rear armrest, holding the motorcycle helmet on the armrest with her other hand.
"Yeah, no problem."
After leaving school, Hikaru Takigawa chose the nearest route home because he did not need to pick up his sister from the school at Central Station.
The sun was warm and the wind blowing against her face was refreshing. She restrained herself and increased her speed slightly.
"It's so comfortable - Harumi actually wants to have a party at home."
"It seems to be Auntie's decision."
The scenery on both sides continued to recede, and Naoko did not notice the slight increase in speed. She held on to the handrail, and at the same time held down her skirt that was fluttering in the wind.
"She will return to Tokyo tomorrow."
"Yeah……"
Takigawa Hikari felt a little emotional, loosened his hands, and the car slowed down again.
"Artists are so busy, especially those at the level of Harumi's mother."
"Um."
Shangzi understood Matsu Qianqiu's busy schedule more thoroughly, but he didn't mean to say more.
"Ah, we have to park." Hikari Takigawa reminded.
Shangzi held on to the handrail, and the motorcycle gradually slowed down and stopped at a red light intersection.
After staring at the traffic light for a few seconds, Hikaru Takigawa suddenly asked: "Besides us, did Harumi invite anyone else?"
"He didn't say." Shangzi pursed his lower lip, "But there should be one more leaf."
She has been helping out at school these days, and she only has a rough idea of Naruse's movements. The only thing she knows clearly is that he seems to be having a good chat with Kazuyo Morimi.
"Yiye..."
Thinking of Kazuyo Morimi, Hikaru Takigawa naturally thought of another girl who lived opposite her bookstore.
"So, the starfish should come too."
"Won't."
Shangzi first gave the result of his intuitive guess, then shook his head, "No, I don't know either."
He hasn't mentioned this name in the past few days.
With only the last few seconds left at the red light, Hikaru Takigawa glanced at her in the rearview mirror and smiled: "You'll know when we get back."
"Um."
Take the shortcut out of the city, and the road after that is basically the same as the bus route.
There were very few cars on the road, and you could barely see a few people for one kilometer. When riding to a field, Takigawa Hikari suddenly started laughing.
"Having said that, when I asked Harumi what his impression of Tokyo was the other day, he said, 'It's just that there are so many people.'"
Against the sunshine, Shangzi also smiled.
The journey was fast and steady, and it didn't take long for the two of them to return to Qingliu.
When they arrived at the intersection where Naruse's house was, they both saw Naruse and Morimi standing on the roadside.
"Hi, you two. Are you coming to pick us up?"
Hikaru Takigawa stopped at the intersection, took off his helmet, and shook his head from side to side.
Naruse was a little surprised that Naoko came back with her, "Naoko..."
"There are only a few days left in the summer vacation. Yue feels a little tired. I'm resting at home today and didn't go to school."
Takigawa Hikaru explained, and at the same time he raised his arms and let Naoko behind him help him get out of the car.
"Thanks."
Naoko smiled at her and then said hello to Morimi who was standing aside.
"So, what are you two doing here?" Hikari Takigawa asked.
"Waiting for takeout."
Naruse was a little helpless, "The delivery guy called and said he couldn't find the way. I'll wait for him here."
Next to him, Morimi pushed up his glasses and said, "I'm here to help."
"I see."
Hikaru Takigawa turned the accelerator and turned the car skillfully, "When does the party start?"
"Six o'clock." Naruse thought for a while and said.
"Okay. Then I'll go back and park the car first, and come over with Yue later."
"Um."
"By the way." Before leaving, she thought of one more thing, "Will Starfish come over?"
Naruse shook his head.
"Is something wrong?"
"She said she didn't want to come."
Shangzi looked at him calmly.
"All right."
Hikaru Takigawa felt a little regretful, but didn't say much, turned the accelerator and went back.
"How long have you been waiting?" Shangzi asked.
"A few minutes."
Naruse took out his cell phone and took a look, then looked around, "I just mentioned that we were nearby, but I couldn't find the exact intersection..."
As he spoke, his voice became lower and his eyes became straight.
Shangzi turned around and saw a slow-moving motorcycle coming towards them, and the rider on it was also looking at them.
He stopped in front of the three people, "Is it Mr. Naruse?"
"it's me."
Both sides breathed a sigh of relief.
"I'm extremely sorry, I'm not very familiar with this place..."
"fine."
For the sake of convenience, Naruse ordered a lot of things in this store, and Naoko and Morimi helped to get them all.
"What's there?" Shangzi asked.
"Everything here is pizza, fried chicken, egg tarts and the like. I ordered some baked goods from another restaurant, but they haven't been delivered yet."
She looked at him, and although she didn't say anything, Naruse could understand what she meant.
"I don't know what to order either."
Shangzi smiled and said, "I'll prepare some more vegetable salad."
"Um."
After carrying the food back to Naruse's house, the three of them tidied up for a while before another call came in.
"The baked goods have arrived...and I can't find the intersection."
Naruse had no choice but to pick him up one more time, and Naoko went out with him.
After waiting at the intersection for a while, he found that she seemed to be worried.
"Any questions."
"No...I was just wondering if we could also see the starfish that said to Harumi, 'I don't want to come'."
Naruse was startled for a moment, and then became confused about whether to laugh or cry.
"I actually went to her house and asked, and she personally rejected it."
Then, he briefly explained how he met Haixing for the first time today, and how he and Morimi went to Maki's house to invite her to the party.
"So that's it..."
Shangzi was thoughtful, then smiled slightly.
"I don't doubt Harumi's intentions."
"Who are you lying to?"
...
At around six o'clock in the evening, with the arrival of the Takigawa sisters, the Naruse family's small party and Matsu Chiaki's farewell party finally officially began.
Apart from the two of them, the only people participating were Naruse and her son, plus Naoko and Morimi.
"So--"
In the living room, Matsu Qianqiu looked at the children sitting on the left and right, raised his glass, "Cheers!"
"cheers--"
The high school students drank juice, but Song Qianqiu, who was allowed to drink alcohol, drank drinks because he was going on a long trip tomorrow.
She looked at them, smiling at every glance she met, "I'm really happy that everyone can come to the party. You're welcome. Please enjoy it."
"good--"
Naruse just raised the cup in his hand, and the one who responded most enthusiastically was Hikaru Takigawa, who was sitting across from him.
He put down the cup and looked at the food on the table, feeling really hungry.
A table full of various foods and drinks, including pizza, fried chicken, potato chips, and various skewers, and a large plate in the middle was a vegetable salad prepared by Shangzi.
He picked up a piece of pizza, and Morimi and Yue Takikawa started chatting next to him. The topic was the night classes at the school.
"...At ten o'clock in the evening, it's really too late, and it's not convenient to come back."
"I think so too, but in the last period before the joint entrance examination, I might give it a try... I just said she would come to pick me up."
"Would it be dangerous to ride a motorcycle in snowy weather?"
Matsu Chiaki was chatting with Takigawa Hikaru. She was somewhat interested in her motorcycle, but it was a pity that she did not ride it over at night.
"It's Honda's super cub, with a displacement of 110. I'll go back and ride over now..."
"No, no, no need to bother."
Naruse listened absently, ate a piece of pizza, picked up the cup, and found that it was empty.
Just as he was about to look for it, Shangzi waved the large bottle of juice in his hand at him.
"this?"
"Um."
While eating, drinking and chatting, Song Qianqiu looked at the children in front of him with a smile and felt sorry for Haixing's absence.
A phone call suddenly came in.
She stood up and left to answer the phone. Naruse vaguely heard her saying "tomorrow morning", but couldn't hear the rest clearly.
Are you leaving early tomorrow morning?
"——Chunhai."
When he came to his senses, Takigawa Hikaru raised a glass to him and said, "Cheers."
"It's not like I'm drinking."
"bring it on."
Naruse shook his head, raised the juice and touched it to her.