Leaning against the bottom of the tree, Starfish touched his neck and coughed a few times, trying to eliminate the discomfort in his throat.
One cannot strangle oneself.
Even if she just pressed his hand to vent her anger and kept exerting force, it only prolonged the current discomfort for a while.
Nothing is left but pain.
And he was lying on the snow, motionless for a long time.
Starfish looked at him and crawled over.
"..."
Naruse glanced at her expressionlessly, then looked at the sky.
She lay down next to him.
The towering trees surrounding it blocked the view, and the layers of branches and leaves also made the sky fragmented and mottled.
The forest is quiet, and the voices of people outside can be vaguely heard; the snow is cold, and the dense trees block all the cold wind.
This place is like a house with a very high ceiling. Apart from being a little cold, there is nothing wrong with it, she thought for no reason.
Of course... the most important thing is because he is here.
Starfish turned over and looked at him.
After a while, he turned around to look and spoke at the same time.
"Do you hate Naoko?"
"...Why do you say that."
"What you want to do now will make her heartbroken."
"..."
Starfish frowned deeply, lay down flat, and looked to the other side.
"How could anyone hate Shangzi? I like Shangzi... But for me, this matter is more important than Shangzi's feelings... I will apologize to her."
He sneered.
"What are you apologizing for? I don't like you."
"..."
Haixing turned his head to glare, but all his momentum was used in turning his head, and the gaze he cast had no power at all.
Naruse ignored it and looked at the sky again.
Even if she moved out of Shangzi, it would only make her feel a little guilty, but it would not stop her from continuing to like him.
He no longer knew what else to say.
We can't let her strangle herself to death in the snow like she did just now.
He thought for a while and asked tentatively: "What if Shangzi and I really start dating?"
"..."
Starfish said nothing.
After a while, Naruse turned around and found that she was leaning on the snow on the ground, crying silently.
"Whatever..."
Her tears made him upset and he sat up again.
"Aren't you afraid of crying your eyes out?"
Starfish said nothing, sniffed, turned away, and wiped a handful under his eyes.
Naruse stared at her for a while, but was interrupted by the vibration of the phone in his pocket.
Buzz——
Sitting on the ground, he took out his mobile phone with some effort.
Naoko:Has Harumi found the starfish?
Naruse: Found it.
Shangzi:Okay. We are worshiping at the temple.
Naruse:I'll be right over.
Putting away his phone, he also stood up, "Shangzi is worried about me."
"..."
"Go back."
Haixing slowly sat up, but had no intention of going back with him.
"You go back first."
Naruse looked at her, "What are you going to do?"
"Nothing to do. I just want to be alone for a while, don't worry about me."
He frowned and looked around, "Haven't you cried enough? You are so troublesome."
"...So I ask you to leave me alone!"
She suddenly raised her voice, and after she said the words, she couldn't help but look at his expression.
Naruse has no expression.
"Really? That's up to you."
He looked left and right, his eyes intentionally staying deep in the woods for a few seconds.
"However, when you encounter a bear later, remember to run faster. It is winter and the bear cannot find food, so there is no use pretending to be dead."
"..."
Starfish was startled for a moment, then subconsciously sat up straight and looked at him doubtfully, "Isn't the bear going to hibernate?"
So she knew bears were going to hibernate...
Naruse's expression remained unchanged, he thought for a moment and continued:
"If a bear is not full, it cannot hibernate and can only continue to look for food. It is freezing and snowy now. What kind of food do you think the bear can find in the woods?"
His words seemed to make sense. Haixing quickly believed it and turned to look at the woods behind him.
"But bears don't come to crowded places. This is the shrine..."
There was no response from behind.
She turned around and found that he had turned around and left.
"..."
He walked slowly, and his figure quickly disappeared behind the overlapping trees.
All thoughts were thrown away and she immediately got up.
"Wait! Wait for me!"
Starfish stumbled and quickly caught up.
After hesitating for a moment, she grabbed his arm.
But he raised his hand and broke away again.
"..."
She bit her lower lip and grabbed it again.
Naruse stopped and turned to look at her.
Starfish subconsciously avoided it, but quickly moved his gaze back, shaking as he looked at him.
The two looked at each other for nearly half a minute. He first looked away and stared at her hands, "Don't make me hate you."
"..."
She relaxed a little, and her eyes stopped wavering.
"Do you not want to be touched by me, or do you not want to be seen by Shangzi?"
He didn't answer, but took his arm away from her again and walked straight forward.
Looking at his back, Haixing stood there for a while, then followed him again, this time without making any more movements.
After walking out of the woods, the appearance of the two people attracted the attention of some worshipers on the road, but that was all.
"The number of people coming to worship has increased."
Haixing looked at him and said, "Yeah."
"Why do I feel that the Inari Shrine here is more lively than the worship hall?"
"I don't know."
"Don't talk nonsense to Shangzi later. They are the same."
"..."
She said nothing and nodded when he looked over.
Following the path back to the worship hall, the two of them climbed the steps and quickly found Shangzi and the others.
"Sorry." Haixing took the initiative to apologize to several people, "I walked far away alone."
Morimi looked at her and Naruse respectively, and his eyes stayed on their faces for a while. He said nothing more for the time being, "Just come back."
"Are you in a bad mood?" Hikari Takigawa hugged Haixing's shoulders.
"Well...it's okay now."
"That's good." She smiled and said, "Let's come and pay homage together."
"Yeah."
Watching the two of them queuing up to worship in front of the worship hall, Naoko looked at Naruse and asked, "Where did the starfish go?"
"Over there at Inari Shrine."
She took a step back and patted the snow on his back and trouser legs.
"Falled?"
"Absolutely..." He reached behind his back and held her hand, "Thank you."
"..."
Shangzi squeezed his cold hand.
If she read it correctly, there was some snow on the back of the starfish.
"Haixing's side...is there any problem?"
Naruse turned his head, but Naoko just looked at him.
"It should be fine."
"That's good."
"Shangzi..."
"Yeah."
He looked forward again, loosened his hands a little, and said, "Go over and pay homage."
She held up both hands.
Wrapping his hand tightly in the warm palm, she took it up again, breathed a sigh of relief, and rubbed it gently a few times before letting go.