Page 167

"Okay, teacher, please be careful on your way home." After saying that, Ai Aragaki went to the basement to practice the piano.

A few days later, Chu Hua and I gathered at Xiao Xiang's apartment, which has truly become our usual meeting place.

Ai Aragaki didn't have much luggage, just a small backpack with two sets of clothes to change into.

He opened the door and saw Chu Hua and Xiang Zi.

Both of them were ready and waiting for Ai Aragaki to come over, wearing sunglasses and baseball caps.

This outfit looks neat and stylish on Chu Hua, but it seems a bit awkward on Xiao Xiang.

Ai Aragaki tries to stop herself from laughing and asks.

"Didn't we agree to take the bus back? What are you doing? Planning to take the tram?"

"Really? Is that not allowed?" Chu Hua tilted her head slightly and slung her backpack over her shoulder.

"Well, I don't mind." Ai Aragaki thought for a moment, looking at the three people's bags, "Don't you have any suitcases? There's not much stuff, just pack it in one suitcase, I'll get it."

"Is that okay? That would be wonderful." Chu Hua asked Xiao Xiang with a gentle and cheerful smile.

Where's your suitcase?

“We can carry them ourselves. Packing them into boxes will be too heavy.” Xiangzi glanced at Ai Aragaki.

"It's alright, leave it to me," he said with a smile.

Chu Hua stopped Xiangzi, her tone teasing, "You should also give love a chance to shine, right?"

"Yes, carrying a suitcase is actually less strenuous because you can drag it."

Hearing what Aragaki Aito said, Shoko had no choice but to listen to him, and found a box to put the three packages inside.

On the way back, he carried his suitcase and rode the tram with Chu Hua and Xiang Zi.

It was deserted and quiet, with hardly anyone around.

Ai Aragaki sat in the middle, with Shoko and Hatsuka on either side of him, leaning on his shoulders.

He held hands with Chu Hua and said with a smile, "Do you remember that time we rode the tram together? I said you would become very famous in the future."

"Of course I remember, it wasn't long ago, was it?" Chu Hua and he held hands, looking at the scenery outside the window.

She used her other hand to tuck the stray hairs behind her ear, leaned on Ai Aragaki's shoulder, and whispered.

"Now it seems like things are getting a bit complicated."

"There are some downsides to being popular." Ai Aragaki looked at her sunglasses and baseball cap, not much of a disguise. If she wore a mask on top of that, she would look a bit strange.

The tram soon stopped, and Ai Aragaki, Hatsuka, and Shoko returned to her family's small island.

The air was unusually cold. All three of them were wearing coats, but it was still not very warm inside. Chu Hua even brought out a kotatsu (heated bed chair) to make things a little warmer.

The New Year has passed so simply.

The next day, in the evening, after dinner.

It was very cold, and the three of them huddled under the kotatsu. There were a few oranges on the table.

Ai Aragaki broke it open, popped a piece into her mouth, and the sour taste filled her mouth, but she remained unmoved on the surface and handed it to Hatsuka.

"I'll feed you, this is very sweet."

"Okay." Chu Hua smiled, leaned over, stuffed the orange into the middle of her lips, rolled her tongue and it went in, her tongue and upper teeth pressed together, juice spraying everywhere.

It's so sour.

She frowned, pouted, and simply moved next to Ai Aragaki. She glanced at Xiao Xiang and found that she was asleep.

The blonde girl kissed him and returned the orange juice to him. Ai Aragaki had no choice but to accept it, since he was the one who caused the trouble.

The two kissed for several minutes before separating.

Ai Aragaki looked at the oranges and said, "Don't move around here. I'll go to the next platform and buy you some oranges."

"Huh?" Chu Hua clearly didn't know.

He explained, which made her smile. She snuggled into his arms, rested her head on his lap, and asked.

"You want me to call you that?"

"Cough, no." Ai Aragaki smoothed the stray hairs on her forehead with her hand. Hatsuka's hair was now past her shoulders, making her look less sharp and more gentle.

Chu Hua looked directly into his eyes, reached out to touch his chin, and asked.

"Hey Ai, wanna go stargazing together?"

"Just the two of us?" Ai Aragaki turned her gaze to Xiao Xiang and asked softly.

She nodded, "Yes, I want to show Ai the starry sky she and Xiao Xiang watched together. Let Xiao Xiang rest well."

“That makes sense,” Ai Aragaki said softly. “Go and get ready, I’ll carry her into the bedroom.”

"Okay." Chu Hua climbed out of his arms and went to change her clothes. Ai Aragaki picked up Xiangzi and took her to the bedroom to sleep.

The two people stood at the door, both wrapped in coats, smiled at each other, and pushed the door open.

"Do we need to ride a bike?"

"No need, I just wanted to show you the starry sky that Xiao Xiang and I looked at together."

Chu Hua was wearing a beige coat that reached her calves, followed by white boots, which were quite warm.

She pushed Ai Aragaki's back and said, "We were just two little kids back then, how far could we run?"

As soon as the two opened the door, the cold wind that blew in made them shiver.

Ai Aragaki shrank her neck slightly, regretting not wearing a scarf, but the next second, she felt a scarf being wrapped around her neck.

He turned around and looked at Chu Hua.

"I'll share half with you," she said with a smile, sharing a scarf with Ai Aragaki. "Luckily, I specifically chose a longer style."

"That's really lucky." Ai Aragaki said this, but she knew in her heart that it was Hatsuka who had chosen it on purpose.

"It was a gift from the filming crew."

The two talked about work and walked slowly forward. Unlike the summer Chu Hua remembered, there was no greenery on the trees or the ground.

What I watched with Xiao Xiang was summer.

Love is winter.

Before long, they arrived at the spot where she had lain as a child. Now it looked like nothing more than a piece of wood that had been pieced together. Naturally, the two of them wouldn't lie on it like she had when she was a child.

Seeing that Ai Aragaki sat down without any hesitation, Hatsuka naturally sat down next to her, their fingers intertwined, looking at the night sky.

"what do you think?"

“It’s brighter than Tokyo’s.” Ai Aragaki stared at the night sky, seemingly mentioning the stars often when she was with Hatsuka.

She tugged at his hand and hugged Ai Aragaki.

At that moment, the sky turned gray, as if something was falling from the sky, obscuring the two people's vision.

Snowing.

It was like a star falling.

Being with the person I love.

Winter was still too cold, and as they huddled together, they soon felt the chill.

"Chuhua, can you sing me a song?"

What do you want to hear?

"Hatsuka's singing is all good." Aragaki Ai breathed out a puff of air, releasing a cloud of mist.

"Okay."

It was still too cold. I listened to Chu Hua singing Mujica's songs as we went back together.

That night, the two stayed in the same bedroom, but the next morning, Aragaki returned home late, making it seem like nothing had happened.

With the snowy scenery, the room felt even warmer, and no one noticed Chu Hua's unusual behavior.

She held Aragaki Ai's hand, her smile gentle, her eyes filled with tenderness like water.

Xiangzi felt something was strange, but he didn't know what had happened.

After spring break, the three of them returned to Tokyo together, just like any other day.

In the blink of an eye, it will be March next year.

Further education became a very important matter, and Xiangzi, Chuhua, and Hailing chose Hanasaki River so that they could easily take leave to go to work.

Because the relationship was still maintained, after learning that Deng was going to study at Yuqiu, Lixi continued to stay at Yuqiu.

Mutsu and Sue are still in the Moon Forest, and their relationship has become increasingly close. They often have lunch together at school, and Sue's friends have always welcomed Mutsu.

The news that Ai Aragaki was going to Vienna didn't cause much of a stir. Mutsu, Sho, and Hatsuka already knew about it, and Nyanko and Hailin were very supportive after receiving the news.

However, a restless young girl's decision to go to England caused some problems.

Unfortunately, before Ai Aragaki could leave, she ran away and returned. She only stayed for a week before transferring to Haneoka, where she spent her days as a bickering couple with Ritsuki in class.

Ai Aragaki learned about all of this through Mutsu, who told her about it. Therefore, Mutsu knew Aine quite well, even though they had never met.

At this time, Ai Aragaki was also going to Vienna.

Before he left, Mujica prepared a farewell party for him, but no one told him about it.

After entering the password, the apartment door opened.

The room was pitch black. Ai Aragaki took out her phone to confirm that it was Xiaoxiang who had asked her to come, and that she hadn't gone to the wrong place.

"Xiao Xiang?"

He fumbled for the light switch by the door, and the bedroom door opened the instant he pressed the light switch.

"Whoa!" A short-haired girl ran out, rushing forward with a large bouquet of flowers in her hands.

"My beloved child, have you missed me?"

"No."

"Huh? How heartless." Miao Meng handed him the flowers, one hand on her hip. "At a time like this, you should say you've been thinking about it lately."

"Miaomeng, have you been too idle lately?" Chu Hua pressed her shoulder from behind, smiling.

"I think so." Xiangzi walked at the back with considerable elegance, pushing a cart full of food and cakes.

"You asked for this, dear Meow Dream."

Hailing helped put everything on the table; we've had so many gatherings that we're used to it.

Mu stood to one side, tilting his head.

She went to the refrigerator, took out all the drinks, and handed Ai Aragaki a bottle of mango juice.

"Love, help me open up."

"Okay." Ai Aragaki smiled, first placing the bouquet on the table beside her before taking the drink. She hooked her finger into the pull tab, gently pulled it, and threw the tab into the trash can, then handed the drink to Mutsu.

"Cheers, cheers!" Miao Meng couldn't wait any longer, her face beaming as she raised her beer.

Congratulations on your son's trip to Vienna!

"Yes, congratulations." Hailing chimed in, raising her drink along with Hailing.

The other three might not think the same way; the atmosphere at the farewell party just didn't feel right.

Miao Meng really wanted to liven up the atmosphere, but it always ended up being dull.

Not long after, everyone dispersed.

After they left one by one, only Ai Aragaki and Shoko remained in the apartment.

The room had been cleaned together and was fairly clean.

Ai Aragaki received a message from Shoko beforehand, telling him to stay behind and not leave with the others.

He watched as Xiao Xiang went back to his room, took out a box, and ran out again.

"Is this a gift for me?"

"Hmm." Xiangzi nodded, opened the box, and revealed the watch inside.