Bang, a ball of snow suddenly flew over and hit Naruse behind.
He turned around, and another ball of snow flew in and hit him directly in the face.
"..."
He closed his eyes subconsciously, but the pain he expected did not appear.
"Haha, it hit Chunhai!"
He opened his eyes and saw a thin, black "little boy" standing not far away, holding another ball of snow in his hand.
Naruse was stunned for a moment, "Light..."
And she responded by continuing to throw snowballs at him.
Naruse quickly lowered his head, and the snowball flew over while grazing his scalp.
"It hurts..."
He turned around and saw a little girl standing behind him, covering her forehead with some snow on her forehead.
"How can Chunhai avoid it!"
Takigawa Hikaru immediately ran over, "Are you okay, Naoko."
"It's okay..."
Shangzi shook his head and followed him again.
"Naoko, why are you always following Harumi? You are obviously in the same group as me." Hikaru Takigawa came over to pull her.
Shangzi struggled, but failed, and looked at him again, "I want to be with Chunhai..."
Before Naruse could say anything, another girl's voice came from beside him.
"Shangzi, it's better to follow us."
He turned around and looked, and there was a girl standing next to her with her hands on her hips, and behind her was another girl hiding, with a thin body and yellow hair, and it seemed she didn't dare to show her face.
Shangzi shook his head again and refused her invitation.
"Starfish——"
Suddenly a vague call came from not far away.
Naruse looked over and saw only the vast wind and snow.
"Mom!"
Starfish turned back in surprise, turned around and ran over there.
Yiye who was hiding behind her was suddenly left behind, looking a little panicked, and then stumbled to follow her.
"Shangzi, it's time to go home."
Another quiet and majestic voice came from the wind and snow. Shangzi looked over there and then back at him. He hesitated for a long time, and then the voice sounded again.
"Shangzi!"
She looked at him with great reluctance, but she could only walk in that direction, her steps getting faster and faster, and in a blink of an eye she disappeared into the wind and snow together with the starfish and Yiye who had already run away.
"Wait a minute, Shangzi..."
Naruse also chased after them, but after running a few steps, they lost sight of them.
Looking back again, the light disappeared without knowing when.
The wind and snow suddenly intensified, and he was also involved.
Naruse looked left and right, the vast snowy field was endless, and suddenly he was the only one left.
"——Chun Hai."
"..."
He was stunned for a moment.
"Chunhai, we are here."
He turned around and saw two familiar figures standing not far away, smiling at him.
"Dad, mom..."
The young Matsu Qianqiu tilted her head towards him, her smile unchanged, and Naruse Mamoru called out again.
"Come on, it's time for us to go home."
He immediately ran towards them, "Dad!"
The snow under his feet suddenly became soft, and each step would leave a deep footprint, dragging his footsteps like a swamp.
He was moving slower and slower, but the distance between them never seemed to shorten.
"Dad..."
He gritted his teeth and struggled to break free from the restraints under his feet. His body suddenly staggered and he fell to the ground involuntarily.
"Spring Sea."
He fell on the snow, and the figure he had been chasing suddenly appeared in front of him, bent down, and stretched out his hand to him.
"Why were you so careless? Did it hurt if you fell? Come on -"
"Dad..."
Naruse also extended his hand.
Then, I caught a blank.
"..."
The wind and snow dissipated, leaving only the familiar ceiling in front of me.
There is also an arm raised blankly.
"..."
He opened his mouth, put down his arms, and sat up again.
After sitting blankly for a while, Naruse wiped the water stains on his face and looked out the window.
It has been dawn for a long time.
A new year and a new day have begun.
He lay down again, picked up his phone and flipped through it casually. When his mood gradually calmed down, he got out of bed.
He probably won't go out today, and he doesn't bother to change clothes.
Coming downstairs, Song Qianqiu got up early - not too early, it's already past nine o'clock.
She was sitting in front of the Buddhist altar, lighting candles.
"Another year has passed."
After staring at the photos in the Buddhist niche for a while, she looked at her son and smiled, "Good morning. Come and say hello to dad in the new year."
Naruse went over and sat down, looked at his father's photo, picked up an incense stick, lit it on the candle, and inserted it into the incense burner.
"I dreamed of daddy this morning."
"Really?" Song Qianqiu looked at him, "What were you dreaming about?"
Staring at the rising white smoke, he breathed out softly, "I don't remember."
Song Qianqiu just smiled.
Ding——
After sitting for a while, Naruse rang the bronze chime, bowed with his hands together, and got up to wash up.
Breakfast is soba noodles, paired with the Osechi dishes prepared yesterday.
After breakfast, mother and son sat in the living room and watched the New Year's special program on TV.
"Happy New Year~"
After a while, Shangzi's family came over to greet the New Year and sat down too.
Naoko sat next to Naruse, "Have you eaten yet?"
"Yeah." He nodded, looked at Song Qianqiu sitting on the other side, and whispered: "I dreamed about Shangzi this morning."
She looked over and blinked.
"What did you dream about?"
Naruse thought for a moment and opened his mouth, "I really can't remember now..."
Shangzi just smiled.
The two families sat together and watched TV programs. After a while, Song Qianqiu suddenly turned his head and looked out the window.
"Spring Sea."
"Huh?"
"Go outside and see if the postman is here."
Naruse stood up and opened the door. Outside the yard, the postman who had just finished delivering the goods glanced at him, nodded, and then turned the car around and went out.
"The New Year's greeting card has arrived, right?" Song Qianqiu asked.
"Yeah."
Shangzi also came out, "My family should have sent it too..."
The two of them came outside, opened their mailboxes respectively, and took out the New Year's greetings cards that had just been sent inside.
"There are quite a few."
"Yeah."
Back in the room, Naruse and Naoko each occupied one side of the table and distributed New Year greeting cards.
Naturally, the New Year's greetings sent to the Naruse family can only be for him or Matsu Chiaki. There are sixty or seventy in total, and more than fifty of them are for Matsu Chiaki.
"Not many people know that I'm back, so the house in Tokyo should also receive a lot of requests." She said while flipping through the pages.
"Are you showing off?"
Song Qianqiu looked at him with a smile, "Yes."
The dozen or so New Year's greetings that Naruse received were basically from distant relatives and a few old friends in Tokyo.
This flower family also received a lot of New Year's greetings, and the number of New Year's greetings sent to Shangzi was about the same as Matsu Chiaki.
"Do you have so many friends?" Naruse muttered.
Shangzi smiled slightly, "Yes."
The two of them were looking at the New Year's greetings. Not long after, the doorbell suddenly rang.
"I'll go."
Naruse stood up and opened the door, and the Takikawa sisters stood outside, smiling at him.
"Happy New Year."
Behind the two people was Starfish staring straight at him.