Ome Quartet of Snow Country

Chapter 32 The Next Bus

Naruse, who stayed in the classroom to help with coloring, was busy until five o'clock in the evening, with little time to stop to take a breath.

"Let's be here today."

Since props were to be prepared, Koji Tanaka, the cultural festival executive member of class C, naturally stayed, and at this time he greeted and announced the dissolution.

Naruse and Ito, who were squatting on the ground, looked at each other, and they both breathed a sigh of relief.

"That's it. There is more than half of it, and we will continue tomorrow afternoon."

"Hmm. Are these plywood boards going to be put away?"

Yito shook his head, touched the paint on it again, "It seems to be almost dry, but let's put it in the classroom to dry."

Naruse packed up his brushes and paint trays, and picked up the small bucket of muddy water, ready to throw it away.

Before he reached the corner, he saw Shangzi coming from the connecting corridor on the second floor.

"Oops……"

He forgot that she was still waiting for him at the handicraft club.

Naruse quickened his pace to clean the bucket, and when he came out, Naoko had already reached the third floor.

"Shangzi."

Hearing the call, she turned her head subconsciously, with a pensive expression on her face, and it turned into surprise when she saw him.

"Chunhai..."

She also noticed the bucket in his hand.

"So Chunhai stayed to help?"

"Um, sorry."

Shangzi shook his head to express his indifference, and smiled again, "Is it over?"

"It's just over. I'm going to get my schoolbag and go home."

"it is good."

After taking the schoolbag and saying hello to the others, Naruse went downstairs while talking to Naoko about the help he had just done.

"No wonder Chunhai's clothes are stained with paint."

Shangzi stopped at the corner of the stairs, stood in front of him, pulled up his uniform jacket, and picked the hardened blue paint near his chest.

"Yeah, I didn't even notice."

She scratched it twice with her nails, but with little effect, and looked up at him:
"This is the new uniform just changed today."

Naruse pursed his lips, "It should be washable..."

"I haven't washed the paint, let's go back and look at it."

"Ah."

Letting go of the uniform, she patted his chest twice to smooth him down.

"How does Chunhai feel?"

"Does Shangzi mean the feeling of helping?"

"Ah."

"It's not bad." Naruse walked down, "A group of people are working hard for a common goal, not to mention the result, at least the atmosphere feels good."

He turned his head to look at her, "Probably similar to how Shangzi helped prepare works for the cultural festival at the handicraft club."

Shangzi showed a somewhat embarrassed expression.

"There is a problem with that work now."

"what happened?"

There were other students up and down the stairs, and Shangzi signaled with his eyes that he would explain to him later.

"Where's Chunhai? Teacher Zhongyuan is looking for you for the purpose of going to college."

Regarding this matter, Naruse had already gotten rid of the previous emotions, and said calmly: "It has been resolved."

"yes."

"I said that the second and third graders wanted to be in the same class as Shangzi, so Xiaoxue didn't say anything."

Shangzi looked at him, the smile on his face flowed freely.

When the two left the school and passed the Yumino Cafe, Naruse quietly glanced inside, but this time, he didn't see anyone familiar.

Shangzi suddenly said at this moment: "Last week, Chunhai said that he had to deal with some matters, so this is it?"

Naruse was taken aback.

Did Haixing tell her something?

"Now in the Handicraft Club, there are rumors everywhere that Chun Hai has dated more than 60 girls here."

"..."

Why not say six hundred girls?

Naruse soon realized that the girls he invited to the coffee shop had said it themselves, and the intention was nothing more than to show off.

He was somewhat embarrassed, and he didn't intend to tell Shangzi that he was actually investigating.

"There are so many girls...and it's just drinking coffee and chatting."

"'Just for coffee and small talk'?"

Shangzi tilted his body slightly, looked at him with his head tilted, "Chunhai never took me to such a place."

"..."

Naruse stopped and grabbed her again.

"Get on the next bus."

"Good~"

The two walked back, and when they were about to enter the coffee shop, Naruse suddenly looked at Shangzi: "It seems that you are a little happy today."

A normal Shangzi wouldn't say the words just now.

"Like... let go of something?"

Shangzi smiled and did not deny it.

"probably."

There are still vacancies on the first floor, but Naruse has been to the second floor of the coffee shop, and feels that the atmosphere upstairs is better.

The two ordered a cup of coffee each, and a small piece of cake, and sat down on the second floor near the window. Shangzi first talked about the current problems encountered by the handicraft society.

"The 'tree' fell? That should be a design problem."

After staying in the handicraft club for so many days, Naruse knew about the paper apple tree they were going to display at the cultural festival.

"Well, we are discussing how to improve it now, and it is too late to redesign other plans."

"I just want to make the paper tree stable. Actually, there are still many ways, right? For example, use glue."

"No, that would violate the original intention of the design." Shang Zi shook his head.

"Environmental friendly?"

"Ah."

Naruse thought for a while, "Is it connected with something like wire inside?"

"That would be too simple and rude, and it would not reflect the sense of design."

"..."

Naruse pursed his lips and squinted out the window.

Shangzi laughed, "This is where the handicraft club is troublesome."

After laughing, she paused for a few seconds, and then her voice dropped a few minutes when she spoke again.

"When I went to help the club during the summer vacation, I made some suggestions for improvement, and until today, that suggestion was said by a senior sister as the key to their failure to discover design problems early."

Naruse looked over at once.

"Takahashi?"

Shangzi opened his eyes slightly, "Chunhai really knows the people in our club."

"Hmm... I can guess a little bit, it just happened to be right."

Naruse concealed it, but his heart was more surprised: Shangzi would take the initiative to mention to him the matter of being targeted.

"Can you guess it... Then Chunhai should already know that Takahashi-senpai will target me occasionally."

Naruse did not deny it, but asked instead: "Is it just 'occasionally'?"

Shangzi smiled, did not change his statement, and went on:

"I've always felt that this kind of thing is unavoidable in a club with a majority of girls; and the seniors usually don't go too far, so I..."

"Be patient if you can." Naruse looked at her and said.

"Yes, after all, they are not the reason for me to stay in the handicraft club. I haven't told Chunhai all this time, and I don't want you to worry about me. However, Chunhai still noticed it..."

Naruse snorted softly.

Footsteps were heard on the stairs, and the clerk came to the second floor with coffee and desserts.

"Your coffee and cake, please take your time."

The clerk went down quickly, Naruse took a sip of coffee, and Naoko tasted the cake first.

"So sweet..."

Seeing the smile on her face, Naruse also took a bite of the cake.

The tip of his tongue felt the sweetness and smoothness of the cream, but he had a question in his heart: In this case, what makes Shangzi happy?
She quickly told him the answer: "The minister stood up for me today."

"Huh?" Naruse was even more surprised.

That "neutral" minister actually sided with Shangzi?

"When Takahashi-senpai put the blame on me, the minister reprimanded her in front of everyone."

"real or fake……"

"Sister Ogawa also spoke for me." Shangzi smiled.

Looking at the cream on her lips, Naruse wiped it off with his hand, "So you are so happy?"

"and also……"

Shangzi's cheeks turned red, and it took a long time before he continued: "The minister called me out to talk for a while, she seems to have a special plan, can Chunhai guess what it is?"

Naruse picked up the coffee, "Could it be that Shangzi is going to succeed her as the next minister?"

"what……"

She was stunned.

He could only pretend to be surprised: "I guessed it right again?"

"do not know……"

Shangzi shook his head, "Minister seems to have this intention, but it's just my guess."

"I like Shangzi," Naruse said.

"Thank you."

She smiled, then became very serious again.

"So, I don't have to worry about Chunhai here, just stay in Class C to help out for the time being - I want to solve the handicraft club's affairs by myself."

(End of this chapter)