Chapter 334 Christmas Eve, Maki’s return
Although the plan to buy a house has been put on the agenda, the actual purchase is not as fast as expected.
Haruno Sawayama himself was not particularly anxious, so he focused all his energy on writing in the next few days.
In this way, time flew by and it was Christmas Eve.
As one of the many holidays in the island country, Christmas is far more popular than other festivals.
Two days before Christmas Eve, the streets were already filled with LED light tubes to celebrate the holiday, and small Christmas trees were moved outside the doors of various shops. Even the weather cooperated with the continuous rain. Two light snowfalls that did not affect traffic further pushed the festive atmosphere here to a climax.
Walking on the street with crowds of people, Esaki Suguha couldn't help but cover her mouth with her hand and let out a soft breath.
The condensed white mist continued to escape mischievously from the gaps between her fingertips. She stared at the white mist dissipating in the air in a daze, and she couldn't help but slightly raise the corners of her mouth in a nice arc.
"Is it cold?"
Sawayama Haruno walked out of the convenience store and subconsciously expressed concern when he saw her appearance.
"No, I'm wearing a warm sweater underneath. It won't be very cold."
Esaki Suguha touched her collar, then looked at Haruno Sawayama, who was obviously wearing thinner clothes, and couldn't help but said: "Haruno is the one. You are just wearing a thin coat, won't you be cold?"
"I feel nothing."
Haruno Sawayama took out a bottle of hot coffee from the plastic bag and handed it to the other party, smiling: "If it's cold, just drink something. We have to walk for a while to get to Maki's house."
The hot coffee in his hand is one of the drinks sold on special sale in convenience stores in the island country in winter. Considering that he would take Suguha to pick up Maki today, and the three of them would go out to eat together, so when they were halfway there, Sawayama Haruno was very considerate and went to the convenience store to buy some hot drinks.
"Thank you."
Esaki Suguha carefully took the coffee from the other party.
The warm feeling continued to spread from the tin can, and the temperature in Esaki Suguha's palm also began to rise. She took off the glove on one hand, opened the ring, and kept holding it in her hand. While walking up behind Haruno Sawayama, he would occasionally take a sip or two.
If it were in the past, Esaki Suguha might have felt that such behavior was a bit unladylike. After all, there were very few people drinking while walking here.
But after living with Haruno Sawayama and Maki Miyazawa for a long time, she gradually got used to it. After all, Maki Miyazawa is the kind of person who will immediately stuff it into his mouth every time he buys snacks on the street outside. After a long time, even Esaki Suguha, who had a strict upbringing, became the free-spirited person she is now.
Although she was a bit unladylike, but being able to drink hot coffee on such a cold street, she felt that it didn't matter whether she was a lady or not.
“There are a lot of people today.”
Haruno Sawayama looked at the number of people on the opposite street and couldn't help but exclaimed: "It feels like there are more people than last year, and there seem to be many foreign tourists."
"There were almost the same number of people last year. To be precise, the number has suddenly increased in the past two years."
Esaki Suguha smiled slightly and said: "Maybe there will be more people tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow"
Sawayama Haruno touched his chin and said with a smile: "I won't come out tomorrow, just eat sukiyaki at home."
The streets are full of tourists on Christmas Eve, not to mention Christmas. The restaurants outside are probably already booked in advance.
You must know that Haruno Sawayama made a reservation at the restaurant almost a week in advance.
Of course, there are other reasons for not going out tomorrow, that is, Maki Miyazawa hates crowded environments. If she sees people everywhere, she may have an uncomfortable reaction.
Even now, Haruno Sawayama is still a little worried about whether the other party will become uncomfortable after coming out of the house later.
"It seems we're almost there."
Suguha Esaki, who was walking beside her, suddenly spoke.
She looked at the residential area not far away and said thoughtfully: "Haruno, come up. I'll wait for you on the street below."
"Well, I'll be back soon."
Sawayama Haruno did not reject the other party's proposal, but handed the bag containing the hot milk drink to Ezaki Suguha and asked the other party to take it for him.
He continued walking towards the residential area.
Although the purpose of tonight was to take Maki out for dinner and take him home to live in, but since he was already here, he must have said hello to Maki's parents.
The pleasantries would probably last for a while, and it was obviously not appropriate for Esaki Suguha to stand aside and wait, so he had no choice but to go up alone.
Continuing upward along the wet asphalt road, there are small snowdrifts at both ends of the road that have been cleared by nearby residents in advance. There are residual frost and snow that melt from time to time on the withered branches along the way, which will fall to the ground, accompanying those who accidentally pass by. The people turned into black snow tracks on the road in an instant, which made people feel a little regretful.
What were you doing at this time last year?
For some reason, this idea suddenly appeared in Sawayama Haruno's mind.
This time last year, he had not yet entered college, but he had already broken up with Mana.
If I remember correctly, I seemed to be still studying hard in December and December, but I should still give myself a chance to take a break for a day or two during the holidays.
In the impression, he seemed to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas alone. Even when other classmates in the school invited him to go out to parties, he was politely declined.
"You don't fit in with others"
Haruno Sawayama patted the snow stains that accidentally got on his coat and smiled helplessly.
The third grader spent Christmas alone, as did the second grader. Although he was already dating Mana at the time, they seemed to have gone on a trip during Christmas, and in the first grade, he and Mana had not yet developed into lovers. Relationship, naturally it is impossible for two people to spend the holidays together.
I spent two Christmases with Ayano Yui when I was in junior high school, but they felt no different from normal life. This kind of holiday gradually lost its original "weight" in Haruno Sawayama's mind.
But maybe things will change now, he thought.
——The Miyazawa family has arrived.
The two-story duplex is brightly lit on the outside, and the snow from the night before is still on the sloping roof. Its stubborn and stubborn look can't help but reveal a knowing smile on the face, just like It seemed like he was reminded of a girl with the same personality.
Just when Haruno Sawayama was about to press the doorbell, the door was opened from the inside.
Warmth flow instantly blew out of the room. Haruno Sawayama couldn't help but squint his eyes slightly, but after using his hazy vision to clearly see the girl jumping towards him, he widened his eyes again and hurriedly reached out to catch her.
"Hey!"
Maki Miyazawa jumped firmly into his arms.
With a proud look on her face, she immediately turned around and shouted: "I'll just tell you, he must be here."
"Yes." Miyazawa Mana also stood at the door, looking at her sister helplessly.
Her slightly frowned eyebrows seemed to be telling her worries about her sister's dangerous behavior, and she seemed to be suppressing her envy for her sister being firmly caught by Haruno. She was so sad that I felt pity for her, which made it difficult to accept her. She looked away from her expression.
There is simply a more noisy guy who will forcefully break your head and move it to her face.
"Do you miss me?" Maki Miyazawa asked with a smile.
She put her arms around her boyfriend's neck, and her legs were tightly wrapped around her waist. She was hugging him tightly like an octopus.
"Think about it."
Haruno Sawayama subconsciously supported Maki Miyazawa and showed a doting smile.
Although he was shocked by the bold behavior of the other party who just opened the door and jumped out, fortunately, there was no danger, and seeing Maki Miyazawa's energetic appearance also made Haruno Sawayama, who was originally a little worried about the actual situation of the other party, completely He breathed a sigh of relief.
What, isn’t this a great time? he thought to himself.
She used to complain on the phone from time to time, but actually she looked happy and proud. Hey, could it be because she could show off her intimate relationship with him in front of Mana?
Haruno Sawayama smiled apologetically at Miyazawa Mana, who waved his hand slightly at an angle that his sister could not see.
"Haruno."
Miyazawa's father also appeared behind the door.
The future father-in-law is as rigid as ever with a hint of humor.
For the first time, he put on a pair of red-framed glasses. I don’t know whether it was Maki’s masterpiece or her mother’s. In short, the father-in-law looked at Haruno Sawayama and said, wearing glasses that were extremely inconsistent with his temperament. : "Would you like to come in and sit for a while?"
"Where should I sit? I'm in a hurry to eat."
Maki Miyazawa jumped out to object immediately. She rolled her eyes and protested vehemently.
After all, she also knew that Esaki Suguha was waiting not far away. If Haruno Sawayama really went in and sat for a while, wouldn't it mean that Esaki Suguha was left alone to wait for the two of them on the cold street?
Compared to Maki Miyazawa's delicate and arrogant character, Haruno Sawayama seemed much gentler. He looked at his future father-in-law and explained in a neither humble nor arrogant manner: "There may not be much time left. The time to make a restaurant reservation tonight is almost up." , I will invite my uncle and aunt to Osaka to entertain me after Christmas.”
"Yes, that's right"
Miyazawa's father pushed up his red-rimmed glasses and said seriously: "We're not in a hurry for this moment anyway. Since that's the case, you and Maki can just enjoy it. We'll see you later."
"Be safe on the road."
Miyazawa Mana spoke from the side with a smile, as if the slight frown just now had never appeared before.
I don't know what kind of mood she is having, but Haruno Sawayama is holding his real girlfriend now, and he doesn't have the extra energy to pay attention to it, so he can only put the matter of making up for her later.
He smiled and nodded at the two people at the door, and then walked the entire way Maki Miyazawa had walked.
The brightly lit villa faded away behind him. Maki Miyazawa hugged Haruno Sawayama tightly and looked at him with a smile.
"What?"
Haruno Sawayama held her thigh to prevent it from slipping. Seeing her staring at him, he couldn't help but smile.
"Have you missed me during this time?"
Maki Miyazawa shook his neck and chattered: "I have been thinking about it these past few days, and I want to come back early, but I feel that it would not be good to come back so soon. After all, I have to be with them later. Let’s go to Osaka.”
"Anyway, we will live together when we return to Osaka."
Sawayama Haruno comforted her.
Although the time is not very long, I haven't seen each other for more than a week, and now I really have the urge to get tired of it.
As if aware of Sawayama Haruno's little thoughts, Miyazawa Maki blinked and suddenly took the initiative to kiss him.
"Wait a minute. Suguha is still down there."
"Just a kiss, it won't take too long."
Maki Miyazawa struggled to climb off Sawayama Haruno's body. Seeing the helpless expression on his face, she smiled and went up to kiss him twice.
Seeing this, Haruno Sawayama had no choice but to let her do whatever she wanted.
After gently hugging the other person into his arms, Sawayama Haruno also lowered his head and asked for each other for a while.
After they were all close to each other, Maki Miyazawa reluctantly separated from each other.
"Okay, let's go!" She said with a smile.
Although it didn't alleviate the longing she felt these days, the sneaky kiss helped her quickly regain her strength.
In addition, she was going to have a big dinner together, which made her feel a little uncontrollable.
"Slow down."
Seeing Maki Miyazawa walking so fast, Haruno Sawayama had no choice but to step forward. After holding each other's hand, the two slowly walked down the stone road that they came up from.
Suguha Esaki had been waiting at the intersection for a long time.
When she saw her familiar figure appearing not far away, she quickly showed a knowing smile.
"Maki."
She was the first to say hello to the other party, and Maki Miyazawa came up and gave him a hug enthusiastically.
"Suguha, I miss you so much. I'm telling you, it's been super boring these days. Although there are video games to play, it doesn't feel as interesting as being at home, and I don't really want to invite Mana to play games with me. As expected, I'd rather find you. OK.”
Maki Miyazawa began to express his bitterness.
But I'm afraid she is the only one who knows that the reason why she doesn't play with Mana is because the opponent's game level is also very good. Only novices like Ezaki Suguha can be bullied a little bit by her.
Ezaki Suguha, who still doesn't understand that she represents a newbie in the game in the other person's mind, is still trying her best to comfort the other person at this moment.
Haruno Sawayama appeared behind the two of them in time and started to smooth things over.
"It's almost time to go."
Haruno Sawayama said helplessly: "Let's go to the restaurant early to eat. After eating, we can go shopping all the way from the commercial street to our house."
(End of chapter)