Ome Quartet of Snow Country

Chapter 39 Cultural Festival

Prefectural Tsuga, Gymnasium.

From the moment the third graders first poured in, the humming and whispering sound continued, filling every corner of the hall.

Following the team to the position of Class C, Naruse stopped and looked at the Tsugao students who were already sitting on the floor.

"Don't just stand there stupidly."

The girls in the other row behind kicked his indoor shoes, and Naruse came back to his senses and sat down.

"It's so random."

"Cultural festival, take it easy." Hikaru Takikawa smiled.

Shangzi also squeezed in from the front, hugged his knees, and sat beside him.

As an important stage during the cultural festival, the windows around the gymnasium have been covered, impervious to light.

The second-year students were still entering the venue, and the first-year students who had just arrived were also taking roll calls, and the lights in the room were turned on brightly.

The frontmost stage was always empty, and occasionally half of the body could be seen accidentally exposed on the right edge, which seemed to be behind the scenes.

Sen Jian stared at it for a while, then suddenly heard a burst of unrestrained laughter from behind, and turned his head again.

"Hahaha, is it true?"

"I'm not lying to you!"

The hot girls sat in a pile, and Hai Xing was sitting with them as expected, but at the edge of the seat, and there was obvious hesitation on his face, it seemed that they didn't get along very well.

This is a matter of course, Mori Jian thought, otherwise what she did like a stalker this week would be meaningless.

Before Haixing noticed, she turned her head, and then looked at Class C, which was a class away, and quickly found Naruse who was in it.

Morimi stared at it for a while, but Naruse hadn't reacted when Naoko who was beside him suddenly looked over.

"..."

Looking at each other, she smiled from a distance, Mori Jian also nodded, and then looked away.

"What's wrong?" Naruse finally realized.

Shangzi hugged his knees, looked at him with his head on his pillow for a while, "Recently, did Chunhai do anything to upset Yiye?"

"Mori?" Naruse was startled, and forced a smile, "No."

"yes……"

Shangzi wanted to say something more, but the surroundings suddenly became dark.

In the dark venue, there was a tidy exclamation, and then all eyes were focused on the only stage that was still lit.

A petite second-grade girl appeared in the middle of the stage and raised the microphone.

"Everyone—have you felt the atmosphere of the cultural festival—"

"Oh—"

The people around cheered inexplicably, and Naruse looked around and smiled inexplicably.

"Cultural Festival - it's started!"

"Oh—"

The opening ceremony was so brief, but it greatly mobilized the emotions of all the students in the audience.

The performance on the stage followed the opening ceremony. Almost in the blink of an eye, a whole set of rock band equipment was brought up, and several boys dressed in heavy metal styles rushed onto the stage from both sides. Played.

The lead singer tore at the guitar for a while, then suddenly raised his head and roared into the microphone:

"You, you, you, you—are you ready to die!"

Is the death heavy metal genre?

Naruse glanced at the stage, but couldn't appreciate this style, pulled Shangzi, and left the gymnasium with other students who left the stage one after another.

"During lunch break, I'll come over to look for Chunhai again."

"Ah."

The two parted before the connecting corridor, Naoko went to the handicraft club, Naruse went upstairs and returned to Class C classroom.

There were two desks at the door, spliced ​​together, and Hikari Takikawa was already sitting there.

"Yo, Chunhai."

"Light." He sat down beside her.

Using their excellent image and popularity, attracting guests at the door of the classroom, and doing some statistics by the way, this is what the two of them were entrusted with during the cultural festival.

"I have called many friends."

Hikaru Takikawa looked around, "Why haven't you come here yet?"

"Not long after the show, I should be here soon." Naruse said.

He looked at her and said, "If you can't sit still, it doesn't matter if I stay here alone."

"No problem." Hikaru Takikawa said with a smile, "I didn't help much in the preparations before, and it's time to play a role now."

Naruse didn't say anything, but nodded, then turned around and looked into the classroom.

Several "scholars" were standing outside the soundproof room, chatting together because they had nothing to do for the time being.

Although the project of Class C is novel, it is difficult to say how many people it can attract when it comes to the degree of interest.

After all, what is to be read are books that are healthy and sound, and even if someone keeps them private - this is inevitable - they cannot publicize them.

"—Light, I'm coming."

Naruse turned his head and looked at the girl in front of him who might be the first guest of Class C today. Although she was facing Hikari Takikawa, she also looked this way frequently.

"You are here, welcome~"

Takikawa Hikaru looked very happy, not only got up to greet her, but also took the initiative to pull her into the classroom.

"Ah, the outside is temporarily handed over to Chunhai."

"Do not worry."

Naruse waved his hand, and the two entered the classroom.

"That boy outside..."

"Haruhi? He is my childhood sweetheart who came back from Tokyo."

"Eh, that's it."

Naruse listened attentively to the movement inside, and after a while, he suddenly noticed the "guest" in front of him.

"..."

He looked at her, thought of what Shangzi said just now, and quickly lowered his gaze, "Welcome. Please make a noise when you come."

Mori ignored his complaints and glanced into the classroom, "It seems that I am the second guest of Class C."

"Ah."

Naruse took out a blank sheet of paper from the desk, and picked up a pen to draw the first two strokes of the word "正".

"What bibliography can I choose from?" Mori asked.

He looked down again, and took out another piece of paper, on which was the reading list that had been reviewed by the Cultural Festival Executive Committee.

She took a quick glance, "Even the Myriad Leaves Collection has been moved out, so there are too few choices."

"It should be said that there are only these left."

Naruse looked around and said in a low voice, "There is also a secret book list, go in and ask the girl on the far right."

Mori saw a smile, "Are there any prohibited works?"

"That depends on whether the unit that gave the prohibited evaluation is the relevant department, or the cultural festival executive committee of our school."

She pushed her glasses and walked into the classroom.

Naruse turned his head to take a look, and Morimi really went to find the girl who was in charge of "prohibited works".

He picked up a pen and drew a stroke on the back of the "New Manyoshu" on the book list - those who chose prohibited works would all be written on the so-called "New Manyoshu".

Not long after, Takigawa Hikari returned outside.

""Snow Country"."

"OK."

Naruse recorded that two more girls came together and stopped at the door of Class C.

"Light!"

Looks like Takikawa Hikaru's friend again.

But it seems that only the first guest can enjoy her getting up to greet them. Takigawa Guangan sat behind the desk and greeted them with a smile.

"You are here, welcome. First choose the book you want others to read to you here, and then choose the 'reader' after entering."

"I want Light to read it to us."

"Well, I'd love to. But there are two of you, who should I read to?"

Naruse sat next to him, pretending to have nothing to do with him, but one of the girls suddenly looked over.

"Just let Guang's childhood sweetheart..."

"—Narase."

Suddenly someone leaned out in the classroom.

"Mori?" Naruse turned around, "What's wrong?"

She looked at him, "You seem to be able to pick your own readers here, and I've picked you."

"..."

Hikaru Takikawa watched from the side, with a smile on his face, "Oh, it's a good choice, I also recommend Harumi."

"Hey……"

"Just leave it to me outside."

"Don't give me such unnecessary trouble." Naruse said.

Mori Jian pushed his glasses, and a cold light came out from behind the lenses: "Are you causing me less trouble?"

Naruse was dumbfounded, so he got up and walked into the classroom.

When he came to the soundproof room at the back, the girl who was in charge of prohibited books sneakily slipped him a book and pushed him in hastily.

With the last bit of light before closing the door, he could clearly see the words on the cover.

""Norwegian Forest"... Is this book actually marked as a prohibited work by the executive committee?"

Another voice came from the darkness: "Probably because there are direct descriptions of sex in it. However, as long as Murakami can win the Nobel Prize for Literature, even if there are only such descriptions left in it, no one will stop him. "

The soundproof room was pitch black, and Naruse couldn't see anything, so he could only grope around.

"Isn't the Tanizaki Award enough?"

"After all, the moon in foreign countries is relatively round - the more people who don't understand it, the more they think so."

After fumbling for a long time, he finally turned on the desk lamp brought by an unknown classmate, and the light instantly filled one side of this small space.

Across a twenty-centimeter-square hole, Morimi looked at him from the other side of the board.

"Didn't Naruse help build these soundproof rooms? Why are they still so clumsy?"

"When I helped build it, I didn't intend to come in myself."

Adjusting the light direction of the desk lamp, Naruse adjusted to the narrow environment inside a little bit, and looked at Morimi again.

"Which passage should I read? Each guest has a maximum of 15 minutes, and now almost 2 minutes have passed."

"Whatever you want." She said in a nonchalant tone.

He breathed a sigh of relief, "Then let's start from the beginning."

[I am 37 years old.Right now, I'm sitting in the cabin of a Boeing [-].The gigantic plane was swooping down through thick clouds, preparing to land at Hamburg Airport.Cold rain in November...]

"Are you sure people outside can't hear the voice inside?" Senjian suddenly interrupted his reading.

Naruse glanced at her, "Can Morimi hear the voices outside?"

"No."

"It's the same outside."

She pricked up her ears and listened for a few more seconds, then moved to the entrance of the cave, "Come here."

"what?"

"Come closer."

Naruse moved a little closer.

"As for the starfish, how long is Naruse going to pretend to be stupid?"

"..."

Mori Jian stared at him from the other side of the cave, "It's almost time for you to take care of that naive little sister by yourself."

Naruse was silent for a while, and squeezed out a smile: "I don't understand..."

"Really? Naruse recently chose to come to the bookstore when I was not around. I thought you already knew it very well."

"..."

been seen through.

Her face became a little colder again, "Isn't Naruse so ashamed to face me that he avoided it on purpose?"

"I……"

"—You'd better think carefully before answering, it's related to whether you can come to my house to buy books again in the future."

"..."

Naruse sighed deeply, then he could only lower his head: "I'm very sorry."

Through the glass lens, Mori looked at him expressionlessly.

"So……"

Naruse closed the book that probably was no longer needed, "Has Starfish bothered you recently?"

"It's a big nuisance. My own life has been affected by having to keep an eye on her."

Sen Jian raised his gaze and stared at him coldly: "And the person who threw this trouble to me has a very comfortable life—you are worried that Hai Xing will go astray and fool around with people of unknown origin, so you can discipline her yourself ah!"

Once she started complaining, it became endless.When Hai Xing was about to leave school with the hot girls, he stopped her in the name of a teacher and was stared at by the hot girls; She was treated as a suspicious person by the karaoke staff and reported to the police; Hai Xing seems to be getting farther away from her recently because of her frequent weird behavior, and she herself has spent too much time and energy on these things, and can no longer concentrate on her studies...

"If... I mean, if Morimi just plays with Hai Xing like a normal friend and lets her stay away from those hot girls naturally, can she avoid these troubles..."

Naruse couldn't continue, because Morimi's gaze was so cold that it was about to extinguish the only light in the darkness.

"What are you talking about? You obviously can't even communicate normally with Starfish."

Naruse lowered his humble head again: "I'm extremely sorry——"

Sen Jian stared at him for a while, then suddenly sighed.

"It's because I can't be like ordinary friends, I have been reluctant, I have almost reached the limit. Yes, I am very concerned about the starfish, and this is the fundamental reason why you will use it. But now, I have to rethink my own affairs—if Naruse is really worried about Haesung's interpersonal problems, he can figure it out by himself."

Naruse pursed his lips, and it took half a minute before he spoke: "Have those hot girls been hanging out with those college students recently?"

"No. At least they didn't show up when Starfish was there."

"That's right, I heard that they are students from Qingda University, so they probably wouldn't just come to Jinqian."

Sen Jian looked at him and said nothing.

Naruse also fell silent for a moment, the door behind him suddenly opened, and light came in.

"It's time."

"it is good."

Leaving the darkness suddenly, he squinted his eyes and got out of the soundproof room, as did Morimi who came out from the other side.

The two looked at each other, and just as Naruse was about to say something, she suddenly lowered her head.

"I've said it all, I don't want to hear about the plot on the bed anymore, why do I keep..."

After that, Morimi hurriedly ran out of Class C classroom with his head down.

"..."

All eyes focused on the "prohibited books" in his hand, and Naruse couldn't argue for a while.

This guy……

After returning "Norwegian Forest" to his classmate, Naruse went outside, only to find that there were already many people waiting at the door.

Hikaru Takikawa is maintaining order: "You have to line up carefully."

He goes and sits down.

"Why are there so many people here all of a sudden? Are all the people in line now Guang's friends?"

"Basically, I know them all."

Hikaru Takikawa turned his head and smiled at him, "However, not everyone was called by me."

"It's amazing to know so many people."

Watching her greet the men and women in the team, Naruse suddenly thought of something.

"Has Guang communicated with Starfish recently?"

"Starfish?" Takikawa Hikaru thought for a moment, "It's the same as usual. What's wrong?"

"Just a little curious."

Looking at the people in line, Naruse leaned back and lowered his voice, "Didn't Hikaru usually play with Haixing much?"

The two grew up together, and they both have fun-loving personalities. Now they should be able to play together, but the actual situation is not the case.

"Starfish..."

Takikawa Hikaru also leaned back, leaning against his shoulder quite naturally, "I don't know why, Hai Xing doesn't seem to like to play with me... Well, no, it should be said..."

She pondered for a long time.

"Stressed? Sometimes it feels like that."

"Is it because the light is too bright?"

"Hahaha, is that so? Anyway, after going to high school, Hai Xing got to know those hot girl friends, and interacted with us even less."

"Just with those hot girls, do you usually hang out together?"

When it comes to making friends, Hikaru Takikawa seems to be open to anyone, especially girls.

"Occasionally." She said, "Sometimes we meet at places like karaoke. If we know each other, we will get together."

Naruse turned her head, she seemed to be staring at his earrings, and raised her eyes to meet him again, her eyes were clear.

"Haixing doesn't seem to be very happy with those hot girls recently, she looks a bit lonely by herself. If you have free time, take her to play with you."

Takikawa Hikaru didn't think much, "Okay."

"Even if she doesn't look happy, it's just to cover up her shyness, so don't worry about it." Naruse Nobuyuki said.

"Hey~ Is Starfish this kind of personality?" Hikaru Takikawa smiled, "Okay, I get it. I will take Starfish with me."

Naruse breathed a sigh of relief.

The attention returned to the front, and the people in line seemed to have not changed.

"Only six soundproof rooms have been set up, and it seems that there are still few."

What's more, each person has to experience for 15 minutes, which means that only 24 guests can be received in an hour.

He glanced to his left, and there were more people waiting outside Class D's cheesy maid café.

"It's so lively."

"This is the Tsudaka Cultural Festival, which is very famous in Tsumae City."

Takikawa Hikaru also looked over there, "On the third Saturday, there will be a large number of students from other schools coming to participate, and that will be the busiest time."

While talking, she suddenly turned her head and smiled.

"During the lunch break, let's go shopping together."

(End of this chapter)