The seaweed is long and thin, hanging straight in the sea water, rippling back and forth with the waves.
The sunlight simulated by the electric light shines through the sea water and falls on the fine sand at the bottom of the tank. Fish swim around, and a few unknown shellfish are half-hidden in the light and shadow.
In the corner, a huge purple starfish is attached to the reef, almost motionless.
"..."
Outside the transparent glass tank, Naruse stared motionless for a while.
"Naruse-san."
When he turned around, two girls from Class C walked towards him, "Are you alone?"
Naruse glanced around and saw no sign of Naoko.
"I'm looking for Shangzi."
The two girls looked at each other and shrugged one after another.
"We haven't seen this tweed either. By the way, Naruse-san, come and take a photo for us." One of the girls said, handing over the phone.
Naruse did not refuse and took the phone. The background they chose was the aquarium he had just stopped to stare at.
"Yeah~"
The two squatted down, tilting their heads left and right, gesturing in front of the rocks and starfish.
Click!
"Okay."
"Thank you ~ Naruse-san is such a good person. It would be better if he could be more enthusiastic about girls other than this flower - wow, the photo was not bad."
The two of them looked down at their phones, extremely satisfied with the results of the photos.
"I didn't expect Naruse-san to be very good at taking pictures... Hey, where are the people?"
When I looked up again, Naruse was gone.
As if to imitate the underwater environment, the overall lighting in the aquarium is on the dark side, especially in front of several connected deep-sea aquariums.
Tall glass replaced the wall, enclosing a corner of the deep sea on land, and the light, which was not bright at all, fell to the bottom, reflecting a faint blue.
Compared with other areas, it seems quieter here.
Naruse slowed down his pace and relaxed his consciousness. He stared at the hole in a certain rock and stood there in trance for a while.
A brief sound of electricity brought him back to his senses.
Lifting his gaze, the broadcast in the corner was faintly visible.
"Dear guests, the dolphin show in the dolphin pool on the second floor is about to begin. Please come and watch."
After repeating it twice more, the broadcast became quiet again.
There are only three dolphin shows a day. If you miss it, you will have to wait another hour and a half, and it is already time to move around freely.
"Finally it begins——"
"Let's go and have a look."
“After watching the dolphin show, it’s almost time to leave.”
Visitors on the first floor of the aquarium gathered towards the stairs on both sides, and Naruse was no exception.
If you want to hide yourself in a moving crowd, then move with the crowd - in other words, a motionless person will be particularly conspicuous at this time.
He stared at the girl standing alone in front of the aquarium for a second time. As he got closer, Naruse temporarily separated from the crowd.
"A person?"
"..."
Morimi turned to look at him, pushed up his glasses, and said nothing.
Once he stopped, Naruse soon felt the chaotic gazes from his classmates.
"Is that Morimi?"
"Who else could it be? The former and current top graders are all there."
"Eh? The boy next to me is... so handsome."
"Wow, don't you think she's a little pitiful?"
"Poor? Have you forgotten how proud she was before?"
"Are you proud? I think it's okay."
"Hmph, what do boys know? They only look at faces."
The messy footsteps could not completely cover up the constant whispers, and this situation only lasted for a short while - most of the students went to the second floor to watch the dolphin show that was about to begin.
The lobby on the first floor, with few people left, seemed much empty.
Naruse glanced at Morimi again, and was about to turn around and leave when she suddenly sighed.
"Did Naruse hear it?"
Although Naruse felt that he had done nothing wrong, he was still a little embarrassed.
"I heard it."
Through the lenses, Mori stared at him wordlessly for a few seconds, then turned away and took a step forward, almost touching the glass of the aquarium.
"Being spoken to by you at this time is no different than being stripped naked and thrown into an aquarium for others to see."
"..."
Naruse pursed his lower lip.
As a loser who was kicked out of the top spot in her grade and was about to fall out of the top ten, her current situation is indeed not good.
And she cared more about this failure than he thought.
In the aquarium, an unnamed translucent little fish hovered in front of Mori Mi, swaying leisurely and looking very cute.
Lying on the glass, her gaze also focused.
"I really want to die."
"..."
"I really want to die."
Naruse glanced at the sign next to him.
"What do you say to a rare freshwater fish that is about to become extinct?"
Staring at the cherished little fish in front of him, Morijian remained silent for a few seconds, then moved his lips, but in the end he didn't say anything outrageous.
In the silence, shamisen string music suddenly came from upstairs, accompanied by the sound of flutes and drums.
Naruse read the aquarium brochure and knew that it was the characteristic theme music of the Asamushi Aquarium dolphin show.
"The show has begun."
Morimi also listened for a while, but when he spoke again, he was talking about an unrelated topic.
"Is Naruse good at studying? He obviously spends his time reading some idle books."
"That's too much to say."
"Isn't it?"
"I have put in a lot of effort into my studies."
"When?"
"At school and at home."
Morimi turned to stare at him.
Naruse couldn't bear it and half turned around, "Aren't you going to watch the dolphin show?"
"Is it the difference in talent?" she suddenly asked again.
"What?"
Naruse was stunned for a moment, and the clips about the talent and intelligence of dolphins he had read in "Xianshu" flashed through his mind, and then he realized: she was still talking about studying.
"Maybe."
Compared with her who has been attending a private school since the first grade, he really doesn’t put in much effort in studying.
Morimi sighed quietly.
"It's so unfair."
Naruse is silent.
Isn’t it fair?
If a person's talents and life experiences are given by God, then what they both get now can be said to be very fair - at least she has a happy family.
Naruse just thought this and didn't say it out loud. Morimi just complained a little and didn't say anything else, but his mood seemed to get better.
"We need to work harder..." She stared at the small fish in the aquarium and whispered softly, and her hands pressed against the glass turned white from the exertion.
"Come on."
Listening to the faint cheers coming from upstairs, Naruse estimated that the dolphin show had officially begun.
"Here we go again, this condescending tone."
"Now, I am indeed 'high above'."
"..."
Morimi immediately glared over.
Naruse smiled and said, "Just kidding..."
"——Chun Hai."
He turned around and saw that Shangzi was walking this way.
Her eyes were fixed on the smile that had not completely faded from the corner of his mouth. When she came forward, she looked at him.
"I've been looking for you for a long time...The dolphin show has already begun."
"Sorry."
"Let's go up." Shangzi said, pulling him out for two steps before turning back.
"Isn't a leaf coming up?"
"I'm not interested in dolphin shows."
Morimi shook his head, "I just want to be alone now."
Naoko didn't say anything, smiled slightly, and pulled Naruse away.
Looking at the fish in the aquarium in front of him, Morimi didn't look over there until the two figures disappeared from the corner of his eye.
"Start so closely..."
She muttered, turned around and walked towards the uninhabited deep sea area, continuing her journey alone.