Several pieces of chicken are skewered into a skewer, with a roll of perilla leaves tightly wrapped around the outside. The meat skewers have been grilled, and the aroma of the chicken is exuded along with the special aroma of perilla. After one bite, it is tender, delicious and not greasy, which is delicious.
I can’t stop.
The cheese chicken skewers are also irresistible. The melted cheese is wrapped on the fried chicken skewers, and special seasonings and spices are sprinkled on it, releasing layers of deliciousness in your mouth.
Pulling out the bamboo stick with a little force, Naruse chewed it a few times, swallowed the delicious food in his mouth, and let out a satisfied sigh.
Eating meat is such a simple and pure joy...
Bamboo sticks were piled on the table, and the large glass of Calpis sparkling water had bottomed out. The two of them took their time and ate for nearly an hour.
After taking another sip of the drink, Haixing put down the cup and stared at the table in a daze.
She has entered a post-feast trance.
Naruse was also a little worried. He raised his hand and called the clerk and ordered two glasses of lemonade to relieve his tiredness.
The lemonade was delivered quickly. He took a sip and looked at the starfish: "Do you want more?"
"No, I can't eat any more." She shook her head, picked up the lemonade and took a sip.
"Then take a short rest and then go back."
"Yeah."
Eating meat is indeed a happy and relaxing thing. Now that the two of them have eaten, their communication has become much more normal.
If this could make their relationship completely normal, he wouldn't mind asking her to eat meat a few more times.
"..."
After thinking for a moment, Naruse shook his head again, getting rid of this naive idea.
Occasionally they will get close, but they will inevitably move away. Their relationship will always be like this before they really touch the bottom line called "the past".
Starfish held lemonade in both hands and looked at him from behind the glass. He was a little puzzled by his sudden shaking of his head, but he didn't ask.
The two sat for more than ten minutes and drank more than half of the lemonade. After almost resting, Naruse got up and went to pay the bill.
He felt that he and Haixing had eaten and drank, and they must have spent a lot. When the bill was calculated, it was less than 5,000 yen, which can be said to be quite cheap.
After paying the money, the two of them walked out. The people waiting on the seats outside made a slight commotion because it was their turn.
"Someone is coming out. It's finally our turn... We're about to starve to death."
"You have to wait here because you can go to Pontocho."
"You said I'm here to treat you, so just listen to me."
It’s delicious and affordable. No wonder it’s so late and there are still many people waiting in line outside.
After passing through the waiting area, they had to go through a narrow aisle to get outside. Halfway through, Naruse and Haixing met another group of people walking in from outside the store, and the smell of alcohol could be smelled from a distance.
"..."
Naruse frowned, held his breath, and turned sideways to the wall, preparing to let these drunkards pass first.
The starfish had the same reaction when it was pressed against the wall.
"Hey, hey, how far is it?"
"This is it."
"The entrance is so narrow. Is this really a serious store?"
"Don't worry—"
The drunkards staggered in, and the man walking at the end spread his arms and touched the wall all the way, as if he was measuring the width of the passage.
Naruse took half a step behind, blocking Haixing.
Sure enough, even if he touched a stranger, the man did not stop his hand. His palm touched Naruse's arm and back, and then reached the next section of wall.
In the dark corridor, the two of them looked at each other.
"Ah, it turns out there is someone. I'm sorry~"
"It's okay." Naruse was too lazy to argue with this drunkard uncle.
He stood still, watching the group of people enter, then looked down at the starfish in front of him, "Let's go."
She looked up at him and then lowered her head.
"...Thank you."
The two of them continued walking out.
Following him, Haixing looked at his back, feeling a little confused.
A long time ago, he was the one who walked in front of everyone;
Later, he was also the one who asked her to never follow her again;
Suddenly he said that the person he liked was him;
He was the one who said that love was false;
After four years of separation, she came back with a mature attitude, as if she had forgotten the past, and he was even the one who was still protecting her now...
Naruse suddenly stopped. Haixing was still distracted and bumped into him, "Ah."
"I thought I heard it wrong just now..."
Naruse turned around. Haixing didn't know why. Just when he was about to ask, a gust of moist air hit his face.
"..."
She was stunned for a moment, and then she heard the patter of rain outside.
"Is it raining?"
"It's raining."
When we came outside, the sound of rain became louder.
The lantern at the entrance of the skewers shop is still bright, illuminating the wet fallen leaves on the ground.
"It looks like the rain is not too light."
Naruse looked at the sky. Perhaps the optimism brought by eating meat was still working. Even if he didn't bring an umbrella, he didn't care too much.
"What should I do..." There was flowing water on the ground, and the starfish looked down at it, a little dazed.
"Have you taken a shower?" Naruse suddenly asked.
"Eh... no."
"Then go back like this. Just take a shower after returning to the hotel."
At this time, there is no place nearby where you can buy an umbrella, and Starfish has no other choice.
"...Okay."
The two looked at the sky again and walked into the rain one after another.
So cold...
A few drops of rain fell into his collar, and Naruse shrank his neck, while the starfish behind him let out a low scream.
He glanced back, and she felt a little embarrassed, and urged him to move forward with her eyes.
Although they had decided to go back in the rain, the two of them moved forward as close to the roadside shelter as possible.
The unfolded awning outside the store, the eaves of ancient buildings in Kyoto, or a tree with less lush branches and leaves are all temporary rain shelters that they keep approaching and abandoning.
Coming out of this path, the situation suddenly improved a lot. The sidewalks on both sides of Shijo-dori are basically covered, so the rain can't get in.
They both stopped at the same time and took a breath.
The street lights are bright, illuminating the rain flowers that are blooming and disappearing on the ground outside. The four streets in the middle of the night are so silent that they are filled with the sound of falling rain.
Naruse glanced at Haixing.
After stopping for a while, the two of them continued walking back, but they no longer had to run as before.
"It feels like it gets a lot colder when it rains."
"Well..."
"But it's still not comparable to the Northeast."
"It's almost snowing over there."
Walking under the cover of the sidewalk, the lanterns above my head emit beige lights, which are not too bright, but one after another, dispersing all the darkness.
Haixing glanced at Naruse.
Wow——
A taxi drove past the waterlogged road. Not far ahead, its brake lights turned on again, and then turned onto Hanami Koji.
Recalling the quick glance the two had at the intersection when they came over, Haixing said: "Geishas seem to travel by taxi."
"Right." Naruse also looked at the fleeting taxi taillights at the intersection ahead, "They look like they are dressed up and it's not convenient to walk." Kanshu La
The two walked forward and stopped at the intersection of Hanami Xiaojie.
There are no cars on the road, only the sidewalk is blocked.
Reflecting the bamboo fence and the red-painted wall, the raindrops were dense, weaving into a crystal net under the street lights.
Naruse looked around and saw that there was no one on the road without a car, "I'm going to run away."
"Well..."
The two of them plunged into the rain again until the cover on the sidewalk appeared overhead again.
This section of the road was unavoidable, and both of them got caught in a lot of rain.
Her blond hair stuck to her face and even got into her mouth when she ran. Starfish made a few noises and wiped the rain off her face.
Shijo-dori is about to come to an end, and the cover above the head is intermittent, sometimes disappearing. A little further ahead, there is their hotel.
Naruse turned to look at the wet starfish, and she also looked over.
"This is probably the price of going out for a late-night snack without shouting out all the people."
"..."
She couldn't help but smile and pursed her lips to hide it.
"Have you gone to bed early?"
"Probably...I don't know either."
During the last section of the journey, there was no obstruction above their heads, and the two of them walked back to the hotel without running.
"There are people on duty at the front desk... Don't look over there, it's quite troublesome to be talked to."
"Oh."
His hair was dripping, and he followed Naruse into the elevator. Haixing looked at his side face, and then his eyes fell on his black earrings.
Ding——
The elevator arrived too quickly...
Naruse walked to the door of the room before looking at her again, "Go back and take a shower. Good night."