Ome Quartet of Snow Country

Chapter 23 Cafe

Before you know it, it's Friday.

The sky was gloomy, and the rolling black clouds were getting lower and lower, and it was likely to pour downpours at any moment.

This year's No. 12 typhoon did not go smoothly. Not only did it not dissipate, but after it landed, it went all the way northward, heading towards the northeast.

Affected by the weather, Starfish's mood also became more depressed.

The first week of the new semester is about to pass, and she is still sinking deeper and deeper into the quagmire of making up exams.

"Ah... so annoying—"

Back in the empty classroom, she couldn't help scratching her head as she looked at the make-up exam papers that were still failing.

When it stopped, there were a few golden hairs on the table.

"..."

The sigh escalated into an exhalation, blowing away the hair.

"What should I do."

She had to consider the possibility of this situation continuing for a long time - she was very "confident" about the part of herself that was not confident.

On his own, probably... no, he definitely won't be able to climb out of this quagmire, Hai Xing thought to himself.

It would be nice if someone could help...

She couldn't help but look to a window seat on the other side of the room, which was already empty.

"Yiye has already gone back."

Perhaps because of the bad weather, Morimi Kazuyo, who had been staying in the classroom until late every day since the beginning of school, disappeared early today.

There was a commotion in the corridor.

Happiness belongs to others, Hai Xing lay on the table, feeling bored.

"...Just go to a place farther away, anyway, there will be no classes tomorrow and the day after tomorrow."

"Hey, the typhoon is coming."

"What are you afraid of?"

Haixing's ears moved, and she quickly got up and walked out of the classroom.

"Wow, I was shocked. It's a starfish, I almost don't recognize you."

The people making noise in the corridor were indeed her hot girl friends.

"Where are you going?" Starfish asked.

One of the hot girls replied: "Nanako said that there is a new tanning shop in Aomori City, and within this week, there will be discounts for two or more people. Are starfish coming?"

Like blonde hair and heavy eye shadow, wheaten or even darker skin is one of the standard features of hot girls.

Hai Xing was also looking forward to this, but then he thought that he was in the quagmire of the make-up exam and had no time to travel far, "Do you want to go so far away?"

"It's the weekend anyway."

The hot girls were a little impatient, "Speaking of which, Hai Xing has been a little out of sorts recently. When I ask you to hang out, I always say that I don't have time, which makes me lose face."

"I want to make up the exam." Hai Xing quickly explained, feeling strange again, "How did you Nana pass this time so quickly?"

The hot girls didn't explain, they just looked at each other and smiled, which made Hai Xing feel like being isolated by his friends.

"So this time, will the starfish come or not?"

"..."

Hai Xing wanted to go, but the mountain of make-up exams over her head made her speechless.

Seeing that her face was changing all the time, even if she didn't speak, the hot girls rolled their eyes and didn't bother to care about her anymore.

"Forget it, it's boring. Let's go."

Watching them go downstairs, Hai Xing became more and more bored, and returned to the classroom and lay down on the table for a while.

Seeing that the sky outside was getting gloomy, she didn't plan to stay for long, so she stuffed the test papers back into her bag and prepared to go home.

"Don't let it rain at this hour."

Haixing didn't bring an umbrella, and only hoped that she could reach the bus stop before it rained.

However, she was afraid of what would happen. She had just walked out of the school not far away when she suddenly felt a chill on her face.

"No way..."

She raised her hand to touch her face, looked up at the sky, and a drop of rain fell directly into her eyes.

"I hate it." She quickly closed her eyes, wanted to rub them, but stopped abruptly.

She's still wearing contact lenses.

When I opened my eyes again, the raindrops fell more frequently, and traces of dampness appeared on the ground little by little.

It's not raining yet!
It would be ugly to be wet outside, so Haixing grabbed her schoolbag and ran away.

But before she ran very far, her determination to get to the bus platform before it rained heavily was shaken.

On the way from Jin Gao to the nearest bus stop, you have to pass through a Shinteramachi Bridge, and on the river bank near Jin Gao, there is a Hamino Cafe.

Maybe, she can wait in the coffee shop until the rain stops.

As soon as this idea came up, it quickly became impossible to ignore, and even changed his original intention on his own. Hai Xing even felt that he could already smell the mellow coffee aroma.

She didn't hesitate anymore, and plunged into the coffee shop.

"welcome."

After school time on Friday, although the heavy rain is coming, there are many leisurely people, and most of them are students of Jin Gao, the cafe is almost full.

Hai Xing looked around quickly and found that there was no room on the first floor, so he asked, "Are there any seats on the second floor?"

The clerk nodded and walked in front, "Please follow me."

Following the clerk to the second floor, Hai Xing chose a window seat among the remaining vacancies.

After ordering a cup of coffee and another strawberry cream cake, the clerk went downstairs, and she looked out the window.

woohoo-

Sure enough, the rain came down quickly and hard.

A layer of white water vapor visible to the naked eye diffused towards the surroundings, covering the road, and she couldn't help but feel grateful for her choice.

After looking out the window for a while, Hai Xing looked away, and suddenly found a certain figure from the back a few meters away that looked familiar.

The space on the second floor is not big, and there is no partition between the coffee tables. Hai Xing squinted his eyes and stared at the back figure for a while, feeling both resistance and inexplicable anticipation in his heart.

There are many people with similar backs...

As she was thinking like this, the other party suddenly tilted her head and glanced out of the window, revealing half of her side face.

"..."

Now it was confirmed that it was really him.

Naruse Harumi, her ex-stepbrother.

Hai Xing lowered his head all of a sudden, not wanting to be seen by him.

It's really unlucky to run into this person no matter how much you hide from the rain...

She buried her head, the feeling of disappointment and annoyance only lasted for a very short moment, and then she was occupied by curiosity.

Hai Xing slowly raised her head, Naruse had already turned around, it seemed that she didn't notice her.

What she cared more about now was the person sitting across from him.

It was a girl.

She has short hair, the same red tie as her, and a face that she has never seen or remembered, and she is smiling happily at this moment.

A strange first-year girl.

Who is she, from Class C?
It was an ordinary face, Hai Xing thought for a while, but still didn't have the slightest impression.

Drinking coffee here with a girl of the same grade...is it a date?

Shangzi's face appeared in her mind for no reason.

Shang Zi, who always follows him, is not here today. Could this really be a date?

For a moment, Hai Xing didn't know how to describe his mood.

She pricked up her ears, ready to listen carefully to the conversation over there.

"—guest, your coffee."

Hai Xing was startled suddenly and almost cried out. The clerk who brought the coffee was also startled by her reaction.

"It's okay, it's okay!" She whispered quickly, afraid that the movement on her side would attract Naruse's attention.

The clerk put down the coffee and looked at her a few more times before going down.

"Please enjoy."

Hai Xing took a sip of the coffee, letting his emotions return to a normal state amidst the mellow bitterness, and prepared to continue "tapping".

However, the rain was pattering outside the window, and the voices of the two people talking over there were not loud. She was so absorbed that she could only hear the girl's occasional coquettish smile.

Half a cup of coffee went down, but Haixing didn't hear any useful information.

The clerk went up to the second floor again to deliver her dessert, and the girl over there also got up at this time, her voice raised slightly.

"Then I'll go back first. Goodbye, Naruse-san."

"See you."

Starfish immediately lowered his head.

After the clerk and the girl had both gone downstairs, she carefully looked up.

Naruse still turned his back to this side, apparently still not paying attention to her.

Is the date over?

Why is he still here and not going back?

Hai Xing turned his body to the side and noticed that his shoulders were shaking slightly, as if he was writing something in a notebook.

He might turn around at any time and find her. Hai Xing watched his movements nervously, and suddenly thought of:
Even if he found out, it wouldn't matter, she wasn't following him.

Even if they don't deal with each other, is she going to go out in such a heavy rain?

Thinking of this, Hai Xing relaxed a lot.

She continued to stare at him, took a sip of her coffee, and began to taste the cake that had just been delivered.

Well, it tastes really good...just a little expensive.

Within a few minutes, another first-year girl came to the second floor and looked around.

"Narase-san—"

Spotting Naruse in the corner, she walked over quickly, not even looking at the blond girl who turned her head to look out the window.

"Sorry...it rained so much suddenly, I was late."

"It's okay. I just arrived too."

"Really, great—"

"Please sit down, Yamatori-san. Would you like something to drink?"

The new Yamatori-san is much prettier than the girl just now.

The coffee was finished, Hai Xing stared at the cake on the table, feeling that it was too sweet.

(End of this chapter)