Bang, Naruse closed the book in his hand, ended the second review, and at the same time gave his final evaluation in his heart.
Part of the plot twists and turns are too deliberate and not entirely logically logical. If the overall atmosphere has always been relaxed and happy, it may be ignored, but the second half suddenly becomes serious, which makes people have to pay attention.
However, one of the supporting characters is very likable, and the curiosity about his final fate is also the motivation for Naruse to read the entire book.
Putting down the book, he raised his eyes and saw that he and Shangzi were the only ones left in the club room.
There was dusk hanging outside the window, and other members of the club had left one after another while he was reading, and went home.
"Go back?" Shangzi asked.
"Let's go." Naruse packed up his things and held the book he just finished reading in his hand, "The library shouldn't be closed yet. I returned the book."
"Well, I'll close the door. Chunhai can return the books first."
So Naruse went downstairs first and went to the library to return the books.
When he came out, he saw Shangzi waiting in front. He walked over quickly, and when he got closer, he realized that someone was talking to her.
"About what happened before..."
Getting closer, Naruse also saw the person talking to Naoko.
Blue tie, second-year student...Ritsuko Sugiyama from the handicraft club?
"Are you okay, Sugiyama-senpai?" He strode over, stood in front of Naoko, and looked at him.
"Chunhai..."
"..."
Ritsuko Sugiyama looked at him, then at Naoko, and sighed, "Let's talk next time."
After that, she left.
Watching Ritsuko Sugiyama disappear into the connecting corridor, Naruse looked at Naoko, "Why is she looking for Naoko?"
Shangzi shook his head blankly.
"Senior Sugiyama just said something to me, and Harumi came over."
It seems to be a chance encounter.
"It's definitely not good."
"Senior is not a bad person..."
"He's not a good person either." Naruse picked up the bag on his shoulder, "Ignore her and let's go."
"Yeah."
After leaving school, Shangzi was a little absent-minded along the way.
Naruse lowered his head and fiddled with his phone, then put it away and asked, "Still thinking about what just happened?"
She followed closer, "I care a little bit..."
"Maybe it's something related to the interview." Naruse said, "Since the news agency is going to do a special report on the split of the Handicraft Club, it will definitely not only interview Naoko."
She thought for a while and nodded quickly.
"I think the minister probably wanted to ask Shangzi if he said anything bad about them during the interview."
Shangzi smiled.
"You can see the latest issue of Tsudaka Monthly next week, and Sugiyama-senpai will know it then."
"So don't worry about it now."
"Yeah."
The two stopped at the intersection and waited for the red light to turn green.
"What's for dinner?"
Shangzi looked at him and remembered what he said last Friday, but he was not sure.
"Curry?"
"So Naoko wants to go back to eat curry?"
Naruse turned and walked towards the other side of the intersection, "Then I can only go to the buffet alone..."
"..."
Shangzi was stunned for a moment, then quickly caught up with him and pinched his arm lightly through his uniform.
"What a bad mind."
"Is it okay to have a buffet?"
"Hmm!"
......
There are fifty-two weeks in a year, which means there are fifty-two Fridays.
After three years of high school, can he and Shangzi eat all the restaurants near Central Station?
If you also have to consider special circumstances such as celebrating the New Year and going out, as well as things like old shops closing down and new restaurants opening...
Naruse shook his head to get rid of this boring thought that suddenly appeared.
"What's wrong?" Shangzi looked at him.
"It's okay."
Naruse took the plate and picked up another piece of raw beef, "I saw online that the beef in this store is very fresh, but there doesn't seem to be too many types."
"There's also seafood over there."
"Well, let's try some."
Returning to the position, there is a strong charcoal fire under the grill in the middle of the table, and occasionally tongues of flame will spit out.
He clamped the raw beef he had just taken onto the wire fence and spread it out. Naruse put down the clamp and tasted the other food he had just brought back.
“The tuna sushi tastes pretty good.”
"You will feel full easily if you eat too much."
"I only took two pieces... give this piece to Shangzi."
"Then Chunhai, try this."
The two of them exchanged the food on their plates.
"Want juice?"
"Well...a little less."
Naruse stood up to pour the juice, and Naoko picked up the tongs and turned the beef on the wire fence one by one.
Not long after, he came back with two glasses of juice of different colors.
"This..."
"It seems to be apple juice."
"It seems?"
"You'll know after you try it."
Shangzi took a sip and frowned, "It's so sour."
Naruse handed over another glass, "Then you drink orange juice."
He sat down and took a sip of the drink that looked like apple juice under Shangzi's gaze.
"..."
Their eyes met, and Naruse endured it for a moment, but finally couldn't hold it back, and his face turned bitter.
"It's really sour."
Shangzi smiled and got up to pour other juice.
Grilled over charcoal fire, the tender beef on the wire mesh quickly changed color. Shangzi turned it over a few times and felt it was almost done, so he picked up a piece and tasted it.
"Well...it's cooked."
When Naruse came back from pouring the juice, he found several pieces of freshly roasted beef on the plate in front of him.
"There seems to be Kagoshima black pork over there."
"Black pork...is it delicious when grilled?"
"Try it."
"Well, let's talk after eating these."
There was plenty of food in the cafeteria. The two of them looked for something to eat, made their own meals, and even lost track of time.
After coming out of the restaurant, Naruse stood on the side of the road, Naoko lowered her head and leaned on his shoulder.
"Are you okay?"
"...eat too much."
"The good news is we don't have to ride the bumpy bus anymore."
She lowered her head and looked at his back, "The bad news is that Chunhai and I can't go back either..."
"Isn't it a bit far to walk back?"
"It probably takes more than an hour to walk."
"Then it's better to spend more money." He stretched his hand behind him and said, "Let's go back."
Shangzi raised his head and saw that a taxi had stopped in front of the two of them.
"From the city to Qingliu..."
She muttered, held his hand, and got into the taxi.
After telling the driver the address, Naruse leaned back and couldn't help but frown.
With his stomach churning, Shangzi kept roasting meat for him, and he ate as much as she did.
The taxi started quickly and moved forward slowly on the street after dark. After turning the corner, the road became smoother and the speed increased.
Following the inertia, Shangzi fell backward and then to the side.
Leaning on Naruse's shoulder, she suddenly sniffed.
"What's wrong?"
"My hair smells like barbecue..."
Naruse turned around, got closer and smelled on Shangzi's head, "It's a little bit."
She hid on the other side, "Don't smell it."
Naruse smiled and said, "I also smell like barbecue."
Shangzi came over again and smelled him.
"I have to change my uniform..."
She raised her head and her voice suddenly became lower—Naruse was also looking at her very close to her.
"..."
Their eyes met, staring at each other, and the two fell into silence at the same time.
The taxi continues to move forward.
Skip past the street lights and dive into the darkness.
In the interweaving of light and dark, Naruse was the first to recover and looked away.
In exactly the same way, Shangzi also had the same reaction.
After a while, she leaned on his shoulder again.
"Don't fall asleep, taxis are very fast."
"If you fall asleep, Chunhai can carry me back."
"I ate so much today, I may not be able to carry it...it hurts."