The heat surged and enveloped his body. Naruse leaned his head back in the bathtub and closed his eyes.
The chill caused by the cold rain was gradually dissipated, and he moved down again, enjoying the hot water more fully.
There were some noises outside.
"Shangzi."
"Is the water temperature still suitable?" She came in to deal with the clothes he had changed.
"Well, just right."
Naruse opened his eyes, kept his body still, moved his head, and looked at the only window in the bathroom.
It was dark outside, and the frosted glass reflected the light inside.
The sound of rain keeps falling.
"The rain is still falling."
"Yeah." Taking the clothes he changed, Shangzi turned to look at the bathroom door, "After all, the typhoon is coming."
There was no response inside, so she continued: "I just looked at the weather forecast and it seems that the typhoon is showing signs of deflecting towards the sea."
"It's hard to say."
"Yes. No matter what, the storm tonight will not stop."
Naruse responded.
"Shangzi."
"Huh?"
"You can sleep here at night."
She grabbed the clothes in her hands and agreed as casually as possible, "Okay."
He was soaked through and had to be replaced from inside to outside. Shangzi checked the pockets of his clothes and suddenly picked up something.
When I took it out, I saw it was a pack of tissues.
"..."
Looking at the bathroom door again, she brought it closer and sniffed it twice.
In addition to the aroma of the tissue itself, it seems to have a bit of a girly smell.
What does starfish taste like?
"Spring Sea."
"Yeah."
"Are you done with everything?"
Before school ended in the afternoon, he told her that he still had some things to deal with alone and asked her to go home first.
She didn't ask carefully at the time. Anyway, if he didn't want to say anything, he would be fooled if he asked.
But now, she noticed the part that she must pay attention to.
After a while, the answer came from the bathroom: "Well, it's almost done."
"Is it related to Haixing? Harumi came back with her..."
"What does it have to do with her? We just met while taking shelter from the rain in a cafe, and then we took a car back together - the Umino Cafe near Tsugao."
Even though he couldn't see it, Shangzi nodded, "That's it."
Putting the paper towel on the sink, she added: "I met Yiye when I came back. It seems that Haixing still failed to pass the make-up exam."
Naruse smiled and said, "She doesn't even remember what Oda Nobunaga did. It's strange that she passed."
Shangzi frowned.
Is it really just a chance encounter?
He seemed to hear the voice in her heart and said: "I originally wanted to wait until the rain stopped before going home, so I gave her some tutoring while I was hiding from the rain. Although I didn't really tutor her for anything."
Naoko looked at the tissue and said, "Haixing actually accepts it."
There was another laugh inside, "I'm probably really scared of being tortured by the make-up exam."
She thought for a while and said:
"In this case, Haixing should also be willing to ask Kazuye for help."
"It's possible."
Putting the wet clothes into the washing machine and pressing the start button, Shangzi picked up the clean T-shirt from the clothes basket and took a deep breath with her face buried in it.
"Dinner is almost ready. Chunhai has had enough soaking, so let's go out to eat."
"Okay."
......
The rain pattered outside the window.
In a room on the second floor of Morimi's house, Morimi Kazuyo was sitting at his desk, immersed in organizing notes.
At a certain moment, the mobile phone placed in the corner suddenly vibrated.
She glanced at it and ignored it, and didn't stop writing until she finished writing the current part.
After stretching, she stood up and walked to the window, opening it a little.
The wind rushed in suddenly, carrying fine cold raindrops and ruffling her hair.
Pat.
After closing the window and listening to the faint roar coming from the river not far away, she stood for a while before returning to her desk.
Picking up the phone, it was a message from Haixing.
"..."
Morimi took off his glasses, pinched the corners of his eyes, and put them back on.
It really came from Haixing.
Maki Kaisei: Morimi is free tomorrow?
Morimi: I have time.
Probably because she had been waiting for a long time, it took a while before Haixing sent her message.
Maki Kaisei: I would like to ask Morimi to guide me in my studies.
Maki Haixing: As long as I can pass the make-up exam.
Maki Haixing: Please!
"..."
Morimi leaned back, looked under the lenses, and looked at the notes on the table that he had been sorting for a long time.
Isn’t this busy work in vain?
Morimi:Okay.
The two agreed to meet tomorrow. When Haixing didn't send any more messages, she put down her phone.
After getting up and walking out of the room, Morimi went to another room on the north side of the second floor and stood in front of the window.
The vast stretches of darkness are all farmland. On the other side of the farmland, dots of light are crumbling in the wind and rain.
It had been a long time since she had stood here and looked out, and she had almost forgotten the names represented by those light spots.
"The Naruse family...should be there."
Morimi stared at one of the lights for a while.
Earlier, Shangzi sent her a message, asking her to tutor Haixing.
According to Naoko, Haixing has even received tutoring from Naruse in the afternoon and will probably come to see her later.
Morimi didn't doubt what had happened, but she didn't agree with Naoko's speculation. After all, she had been hanging out in front of Haixing for a week, and the latter didn't even mention a word about studying.
Unexpectedly, Haixing actually came to her.
"What have you done."
Morimi held the window and asked into the distance.
And in that little light, Shangzi had just finished taking a shower and was sitting on the sofa wiping her hair.
Naruse came down from upstairs, holding a book in his hand, sat down on the other side of the sofa, and turned on the TV.
Naoko crossed her legs, more casually than usual, wrapped her black hair in a towel, and wiped it gently, "Are you bored staying in the room, Harumi?"
"No, I think Shangzi will be bored."
Naruse raised the book in his hand and said, "It's so early, it's not time to go to bed yet."
"Well..."
She smiled and said, "I'm also looking for something to do."
"Let me go get your things." Naruse said, referring to her unfinished dolls.
"No need, it's raining so heavily outside." Shangzi shook his head and pointed at the book in his hand, "What is Chunhai reading?"
"A very powerful science fiction novel." He showed her the cover. Under the two Chinese characters of the title, there was a burning planet.
"It seems that all Chunhai has read recently is this type of book."
"Actually, it's the same series. This is the last book in the trilogy."
"Is it recommended by Kazuyo again?"
"No, I heard about it when I was in Tokyo. Morimi Furu Honten happened to have this set of books, so I bought it."
Shangzi nodded and smiled at him again: "Then let me find a book to read too."
"As you wish."
Naruse followed her back to the room upstairs and watched her slowly searching in front of the bookshelf.
"What kind of book does Shangzi want to read?"
"Anything is fine."
"Don't you have any specific requirements?"
"Yeah...it's all OK."
She turned to him and smiled, "It's just to kill time anyway, let me find it slowly by myself."
Naruse said nothing and continued reading.
It wasn't until she took down a book from the bookshelf to read it that he really regained his attention.
Shangzi took the book, pulled a cushion from the side, and sat on the plush carpet with his legs bent.
The pajamas can only cover the top of the ankles, and the bare feet are white and flawless, gently rubbed by the coolness brought by the night and the rain.
Naruse sat at the desk, facing her sideways, "It was fine the past few days, but it started to feel a little cold when it rained."
Naoko smiled slightly, "Chunhai hasn't gotten used to the temperature here yet?"
"I'm almost used to it, but... if I'm in Tokyo, I still feel hot even before and after the cultural festival."
"Will you miss it more?"
"That's not the case." He shook his head and looked at her again, "Isn't it hard to sit on the floor and read a book?"
Shangzi hugged his legs and crossed his feet, "It's okay."
Naruse put down the book, stood up and moved the low table that had been stored aside for her to support.
"Thank you." Shangzi lay on the table, his long hair flowing smoothly, covering half of his face.
Naruse returned to the desk. She lay down and looked at him for a while, then picked up the book and looked through it.
The night is still long and the rain keeps falling.
The typhoon heading north is slow, but its body is heavy, just like a big child trapped in a small room. Every time he stretches his legs and arms, he always knocks over something, but no one can stop him.
By the time Naruse put down the book and turned his attention back to the noise made by the "big kids" outside the window, the night was already deep.
Shangzi lay on the table, covering his hands with a book, breathing evenly.
Unable to wake her up, Naruse carried her downstairs. Matsu Qianqiu's room had been tidied up before.
Putting Naozi on the bed, he exhaled and shook his arms, looking like he had put a lot of effort into it.
She clenched her fist and waved it gently, and he caught it, looking at each other and smiling.