Kato Yusuke and his party came to the area to watch the fireworks show.
He wanted to grab a spot casually, but found that he didn't bring a mat that could be laid on the ground.
It would be fine if he was the only one to pay it back, but he couldn't let Shiyu and the others sit directly on the ground, and they would have to clean it up no matter what.
Just when he was at a loss for what to do, Hasumi Kanoko quite naturally took out a family picnic mat and spread it neatly on the ground.
Seeing this, Kato Yusuke frowned for a moment, thinking that such carefulness was really like Kano-chan's style.
Looking around, other tourists also brought their own picnic mats and looked around for a suitable viewing position.
The friends took off their shoes one after another, sat down on the picnic mat, and waited for the fireworks show to start.
Kato Yusuke thought for a while and said: "While there is still some time, I will go buy something to eat and come back. What do you all want to eat?"
Faced with his inquiry, the four women also gave unceremonious answers.
French fries, takoyaki, fried chicken nuggets, chicken cakes, apple candies, marshmallows... all kinds of food came to him like naming the dishes.
"Uh, okay, that's all, right? I understand." Kato Yusuke nodded with a wry smile, but he didn't expect the response to be so enthusiastic.
But he was the only boy there, so he naturally had to do things like running errands.
He was about to go shopping when Ying Lili stood up for some reason.
"Wait a minute, I'll go shopping with you."
"No, no, you sit down and rest. I can go alone."
"Haha? Are you stupid? How can you get so many things by yourself?"
"It's really not necessary. I'll just ask the boss for a few more bags to wrap them up. I'll make sure it doesn't affect everyone's food."
"Hey!" Ying Lili's eyes widened and she put her hands on her waist and said, "I told you to go with you, don't you understand?"
After hearing this, Kato Yusuke, who was waving his hands repeatedly just a second ago, immediately changed his face and said sternly:
"I'm so sorry, you are so right! Please do me this favor!"
"Hmph~" Eri Li raised her chin proudly and said, "That's pretty much it." Then she grabbed Kato Yusuke's sleeve and left.
When Nakano Ryoko saw this, there was a slight flash of weirdness in her eyes, and she asked: "Excuse me, Hasumi-sensei, Kasumigaoka-san, Yu-kun, is he usually like this?"
"Haha." Hasumi Kanoko said with a smile: "Kato-kun, he is like this sometimes, Nakano-kun, don't be surprised~"
"No." Ryoko Nakano shook her head slightly, "I'm just a little curious, nothing else. I'm rude."
Shiyu said casually: "Senior, you don't have to worry about it. Yu-chan is actually quite thick-skinned. What he's best at is deliberately showing weakness to please girls."
"...Is that so~?" Ryoko Nakano said with a smile: "It's really surprising, it turns out Yu-kun also has such a side."
"Well, he wears a lot of masks. No matter who he is, he will always keep at least one of them and hide his true feelings cunningly..."
"Uh, Kasumigaoka-san...?"
"Well, but he is unexpectedly childish in front of senior sister, unlike the rest of us who always pretend to be mature." Shiyu said in an old-fashioned way.
"...?"
Ryoko Nakano blinked her eyelashes, and finally smiled politely without saying anything.
Back to Kato Yusuke.
He and Yinglili ran around looking for various delicacies, but their progress was not smooth.
It was approaching the opening of the fireworks show, and everyone wanted to replenish their food during this period. This resulted in long queues in front of almost every stall, and the level of crowding was prohibitive.
Kato Yusuke looked at this scene with a headache and could only give priority to those stalls with fewer people to queue up.
Although he knew that it would be more efficient for the two of them to shop separately, Yinglili had no intention of doing so at all. She basically followed him step by step, and she followed him wherever he went to queue.
Kato Yusuke couldn't say anything about this, so he could only hold her hand tightly to prevent her from getting separated, and he struggled to move between various stalls.
at last.
He bought a marshmallow, two pieces of fried noodles, three pieces of Osaka ware, two frankfurters and two chocolate bananas.
Compared with the names of dishes submitted fifteen minutes ago, few of the food actually purchased were comparable.
But considering the situation at the scene, there was nothing that could be done about it. Who told him that he didn't have extra time?
While thinking about how to explain it when I get back, I stuffed all the food I bought into plastic bags.
Kato Yusuke nodded with satisfaction, "Okay, buying so much should be enough for everyone, let's go back."
Eirili peered at his expression and said with a hint of trepidation: "... Hey, Yusuke, can you go somewhere with me?"
"What's wrong? Do you want to go to the bathroom? I can go with you, but you have to hurry up. After all, we don't have much time."
"——That's not true!" Eirili glared at him hard and said angrily: "Let's go to the top platform of the shrine."
"What?" Kato Yusuke was stunned and said in surprise: "It's just a little higher there, so it shouldn't be any different for watching fireworks, right?"
"Nonsense! Just follow me." Ying Lili said, reaching out her hand and forcefully dragging him forward.
Kato Yusuke sighed softly. He didn't know what kind of medicine she was selling in the gourd, so he could only follow it.
By the way, both of his hands were covered with plastic bags and he was extremely busy.
And Yinglili, who had previously offered to help, was now holding his sleeve with one hand and holding a marshmallow in the other, with no intention of helping.
'In the end, what are you here for...' Kato Yusuke thought a little depressed, wondering what's the difference between this and coming alone?
The girl ignored his complaints and trotted ahead to lead the way, her golden pony tails swaying in the wind, and even the camellias on her hair ornaments swayed with it, which was very beautiful.
They quickly reached the highest platform of the shrine and found a place to stand together.
The feeling of looking into the distance from here is indeed a bit different from the one below.
Looking down from the high platform, the shrine is decorated with lanterns and colorful lights, shining like a starry city in heaven.
"Then what?" Kato Yusuke said without knowing what was going on: "We came here specially. Is there something wrong?"
Ying Lili squinted her eyes and saw that the azure blue hole was spinning in a circle, as if she was planning something.
"...yukata." She raised her head in a low voice, with a little excitement and shyness in her tone, "You are wearing the yukata I gave you. I think it suits you very well...it is very handsome~"
Kato Yusuke was stunned and became more and more confused. Is this why she went to such trouble to bring him here?
However, the other party's innocent expression at the moment prevented him from asking this question, so he could only smile and nod in greeting.
"Thank you, I think Yinglili is also very cute tonight?"
Ying Lili frowned, as if she heard his perfunctory tone, she stretched out her little hand and pinched his forearm hard.
"Hiss~ It hurts."
"Hmph, who told you to deal with me~"
The girl glared at him sideways, then took his arm naturally and said, "Please take the bag away, it's staining my clothes."
Kato Yusuke obediently followed the instructions, switching the plastic bag from his right hand to his left hand, and Erili came closer.
"Hey, Yusuke, have you apologized to Megumi?"
"……What?"
"So I'm asking you if you apologize to Hui? In fact, I invited her to the festival yesterday, but she refused."
After hearing this, Kato Yusuke was silent for a moment, then slowly shook his head.
Of course he apologized to Hui, more than once, but unfortunately the other party never replied to him once and seemed to be still angry.
"That's it..." Seeing his reaction, Yinglili lowered her head secretly, and began to ponder in great distress.
After a moment, she suddenly raised her head, looked directly into his eyes, and said:
"Cheer up! I like Hui and I like everyone. You have to take responsibility and reconcile with Hui and bring her back. I don't care about the rest. Do you understand?"
"Well..." Kato Yusuke touched his nose, "You said this last time, I always remember it... I'm sorry for making you worry."
Yinglili squinted her eyes, "Do you really remember?"
"I remember, I remember, it's absolutely true, I will deal with Hui's problem as soon as possible, so can we go back?"
"...wait a little longer."
"Huh? But the fireworks show starts in a few minutes..."
"So what?" Ying Lili hugged his arm tightly and said impatiently: "I want to watch the fireworks with you two..."
Kato Yusuke was slightly startled: "I'm sorry, I'm not very familiar with it, but I can't look at it for too long? After all, everyone is waiting for us."
"There will be thousands of fireworks set off here. You don't have to accompany me for all of them, but you can at least watch ten of them with me, right?"
As the voice fell——
"Hugh bang——!"
The first fireworks hit the night sky, blooming into crimson and gorgeous flowers.
Ying Lili raised her head in response and stared at the lit night sky. Sparks were like rain in her beautiful eyes.
"Yusuke! The fireworks are so beautiful~!" the girl shouted excitedly, her exquisite facial features looking particularly beautiful under the reflection of the fireworks.
Kato Yusuke quietly stared at her side face, his expression softened, and then he also raised his head to look at the night sky.
One shot, two shots, three shots.
The unprecedentedly huge moon hangs high in the sky, as if you can reach out and touch its outline.
Four shots, five shots, six shots.
The loud sound shakes the eardrums, and the quiet and lonely shrine is decorated with colorful colors.
"Yusuke." Eiri released his arm and suddenly said: "Open your mouth."
"What?" Kato Yusuke turned his head in confusion, put two slender white fingers against his lips, and stuffed a small piece of marshmallow into his mouth.
The soft sugar strands immediately melt on the tongue, and the sweetness is accompanied by a slightly cool touch from your fingers.
"Ah..." Yinglili retracted her hand like a frightened deer, put the fingertips wrapped with sugar threads into her mouth, and asked with a flickering look: "How is it? Is it delicious?"
Kato Yusuke was startled, his originally calm mood suddenly surged, and he swallowed the marshmallow helplessly and amusedly.
Seven shots, eight shots, nine shots.
Before we knew it, the time for the two-person fireworks was coming to an end.
The next moment, Yinglili suddenly put one hand on his shoulder and stood on tiptoes, bringing her face up——
"——Chirp."
The small lips pressed against his lips, sucked lightly, and then slowly parted.
As if someone had slowed down the hands of the clock, the tenth firework belatedly hit the night sky.
Along with the loud "bang" sound, a soft murmur also reached Kato Yusuke's ears.
"——Dear, I like you~"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Fireworks bloomed, illuminating the surrounding area like daylight.
Kato Yusuke unconsciously pursed his lips and said softly: "...It's so sweet."
"Of course, it's marshmallow after all~"
Yingli looked at him with a crooked smile, her clear and bright eyes full of love, her long and curled eyelashes fluttering under the bright fireworks, as delicate as a porcelain doll.
…
When they returned to everyone, they were interrogated as expected.
Shiyu frowned lightly, looking back and forth between them, and asked: "Why are you two so slow? Where did you secretly go on a date?"
"...!" Eiriri's body suddenly stiffened, she waved her hand guiltily, and ran to sit down next to Hasumi Kanoko.
However, the three women present were all human beings. When they saw her looking so unnatural, they didn't know that something was fishy, and their eyes became subtle.
Kato Yusuke rubbed his nose angrily. His original plan to take Hanhu through the lake failed, so he had to find an excuse to shift the focus.
"Sorry, there were too many people at the stall, so I couldn't buy what everyone wanted, but the food is also delicious."
Shiyu glanced at him up and down, but unexpectedly had no intention of pursuing it. He didn't know whether this was a special treatment for his allies.
Nakano Ryoko smiled and said: "Thank you for your hard work, Yu-kun, what did you buy?"
"For seniors, I recommend chocolate bananas and frankfurters." Kato Yusuke said, passing the food he bought to everyone.
Hasumi Kanoko said: "Ah~ there is Osaka ware, Xiaoshi, let's share it between the two of us?"
Shiyu nodded lazily and replied, "Okay."
At this time, Ying Lili came forward unwillingly.
"Yusuke, I want to eat Osaka ware too, feed me~!"
Shiyu: “——!
"
Kato Yusuke's scalp felt numb and he broke out in a cold sweat.
He pretended not to notice the glare from behind, picked up a small piece of Osaka yaki with his tachyon, and decided to deal with the little thing Eiri-ri first.
By the way, the reason why he did this was not out of partiality, but because he wanted to do it one by one in order.
Facing his food, Yinglili closed her eyes happily and opened her mouth "Ah~" to enjoy, but——
"I'll eat it!" Shiyu appeared from the side and ate the Osaka ware in one bite.
"What! Kasumigaoka Shiyu——!?" Eirili suddenly opened her eyes and screamed.
"Hmm? Sorry, do you want to eat first?"
Shiha took the taiko from Kato Yusuke's hand as if nothing had happened, picked up all the remaining Osaka ware, and brought it to Eiri's mouth.
"Here, Sawamura, I'll feed you this big mouthful."
"I don't want you to feed me anymore——!
!
!" Yinglili shouted loudly.
When everyone saw this, they laughed out loud in unison.
The small interlude heated up the atmosphere and put a smile on everyone's face.
Winter winter winter.
Snap, snap, snap.
Fireworks hit the night sky one after another, celebrating the last carnival of August in a gorgeous and noisy way.
As time goes by, the festival also comes to an end.
──Hugh bang!
The last fireworks shot up into the sky.
Kato Yusuke looked up at the night sky and witnessed the huge golden crown chrysanthemum slowly blooming, and finally turned into golden showers, falling reluctantly.
In the silence that followed, the white smoke disappeared into the dark night like the credits at the end of a movie.
"see you next year."
Nakano Ryoko murmured, her voice as soft as a fairy wand.