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I: The Flowers Are Not Sleeping
Chapter 42: Clear River
You big scumbag!

***

The ebony branches slightly opened some green buds.

In the more than a year since she moved here, Yayoi had seen the four seasons in this courtyard, but she was still happy to observe. At the end of winter and the beginning of spring, spring passed and autumn came, the ebony branches were opened with tender green buds, and the emerald green branches were dyed with sparkling golden yellow little by little.

On the last day of the year, Yayoi swept away the snowflakes on the roof. Her mother cleaned the alcove at home, swept away the dust, hung ropes and pine branches at the door, and placed two green kadomatsu bamboo in the courtyard.

On the darkest days, kagami mochi should be offered to Toshigami in front of the alcove. The three jewels should be covered with a white votive offerings paper, and white big fern leaves were hung on the paper. Place two overlapping kagami mochi on the white leaves and cochin wood, and garnish with kombu and orange.

Tangerine, who was napping with squinted eyes in the room, stepped out of the cardboard box, meowed in circles around the kagami mochi placed in front of the alcove, and stared at the oranges placed on the kagami mochi.

Yayoi hugged Tangerine over. Tangerine flicked its tail twice. Yayoi stretched out her hand and rubbed its belly. After two strokes, Tangerine purred and finally diverted its attention away from the orange.

Yayoi took out a bigger orange for Tangerine. Other cats like to play with yarn balls, but her own Tangerine liked to play with oranges. It stretches out its furry paws and poked at the oranges on the ground. The round oranges were rolling around on the ground.

Dinner was soba noodles. After they were cooked, sprinkle a handful of chopped green onions and add a little sesame oil for seasoning. The side dishes were fried fish and delicious kombu soup.

When night fell, a thin layer of frost was silently covered outside the glass window, and the brilliance of the stars was also cold. The bells of the distant temples begin to roar, echoing in the night sky of the small town like sparks of fire. The sound rang a full one hundred and eight times, and after one hundred and eight times it was the new year.

The singing on the TV continues. The beautiful female singer who sang had a sweet voice, and with the melodious and ups and downs accompaniment, the singing was heart-wrenching.

"Happy New Year, Yayoi."

Her mother touched her red-haired daughter's head, and the warm orange light flowed on it. The mother and daughter's heads were closely pressed together, like penguins, one large and one small, huddled together.

Tangerine, who was lying on Yayoi's lap, let out a meowing sound. The orange cat, which was balled up into a ball of orange, shook its head and slightly opened its eyelids, revealing its emerald-like cat eyes.

Mom patted Tangerine's head and said, "Happy New Year, too, Tangerine."

Tangerine purred twice and agreed.

Yayoi remembered that she spent the last New Year in Tokyo. The night view of Tokyo was brilliant, with tall buildings standing among the many buildings, like cranes standing above a flock of chickens. Fireworks bloomed in the dark sky, and her eyes were full of brilliant fireworks.

That year, 'dad' didn't come home. Mom and Yayoi sat in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows, taking in the dazzling scenery through the transparent glass windows.

There were no cranes standing out from the crowd here, nor were there any colorful night scenes.

But Yayoi felt very satisfied and had a very warm feeling. She was happy anywhere with her mother and cat.

Rows of lanterns would be hung on both sides of the street here, emitting warm light through the lampshades, as if they were blooming with warm orange.

"Happy New Year, mom." Yayoi said slowly.

At the end, she added, "Happy New Year, Tangerine."

Tangerine purred again.

After the bell rang, it was customary to leave your seat and go to bed. After a good night's sleep, family members would get together on the next New Year's Day morning to share their good dreams with each other.

After turning off the lights, Yayoi solemnly covered herself with the quilt. Her vision was submerged in the darkness, and she could still vaguely feel the soft halo of the paper lanterns hanging in the shop downstairs.

Yayoi rarely dreamed, and her dream were never good dreams. Most of the better dreams were the few good memories from the past. The dreams were so beautiful, but after waking up from the dream, she was at a loss and felt vaguely sour. The feeling spread silently from a certain organ in the chest.

Some people say that the reason for frequent dreams was because they think too much. Yayoi happened to be the kind of person who didn't think too much. Most of the time, her body moved faster than the brain thinks, and the brain's thinking circuit was also straight. This was probably the reason why she didn't dream much.

Yayoi wanted to have a good dream for the first time in a long time, otherwise she wouldn't be able to share last night's dream with her mother the next day. She didn't dream on New Year's Eve last year.

Yayoi pulled up the quilt, closed her eyes, and prepared to sleep.

Her vision fell into darkness, and the cut light and shadow fell onto the bedroom floor along the slightly open window. The white curtains were blown up by the wind, flying up and down in the wind.

The ebony branches outside the window stretch toward the sky, with a few sparrows lying on them. They chirp from time to time, move their feet, and pick one after another.

The white snow on the branches fell lightly.

The ground sparrows flew out, more snow fell, and the sound of falling flutter became clearer in the empty and silent courtyard.

Yayoi opened her eyes and found that she couldn't sleep.

The white curtains rippled open in the night, the windows were open, and the wind blew in fine snowflakes.

Tuk tuk-

There was a knock on the glass window.

Tuk tuk tuk-

The window was knocked several more times.

Yayoi got up and wanted to open the window, but the person who knocked on the door was obviously not very patient. After knocking for a few times, he simply opened the window by himself. The moonlight was like a school of fish, swaying the shimmering tails of the fish, pouring out of the window and entered the room.

The beautiful pale blue eyes under the moon were as beautiful as the glaciers in the ice field, exuding a refreshing and cold feeling.

This guy was actually wearing a neat white suit. The white shirt under the suit jacket had been ironed to fit perfectly. His hair was meticulously combed, as if it had been waxed. His hair was half-length but not short, parted to the side, and the hair on his forehead was curled inward, revealing a smooth look. The curves of his forehead and jaw were graceful, and his facial features were so delicate that they seem to have been carved out with a carving knife, and they seem to shine in the night.

Yayoi looked confused.

Shouldn't this look befitting a large cocktail party? Why did he come to her house?

"Is there anything to eat? I'm starving to death." The familiar image collapsed as soon as he opened his mouth.

Satoru was holding the window frame with one hand, one foot was on the window sill, and the other foot was still outside. Although he was dressed up, after revealing his true colors, he was like a bohemian cat. Even though this cat was too good-looking, it couldn't change the fact that he had bad personalities.

"Yes." Yayoi said subconsciously.

Having been deceived by Satoru for a long time, Yayoi seriously suspected that this man who dressed so seriously was out to deceive others.

He was like an abominable cat. But if you couldn't stand up to his good look, as long as he didn't open his mouth and go to the street to fight, the girls he wanted to chat with could fill the entire street. But as soon as he opened his mouth, those pretty girls who were eager to strike up a conversation might choose to run away.

This was verified by Suguru himself. As a bad friend, he witnessed Satoru being accosted countless times, and those girls who originally had a glass-like girl's heart had their glass hearts shattered by his bitchy character and then fled. .

There were no girls who were scared away in the normal team. Currently, Suguru only thoughts of a little red-haired girl. Although this little red-haired girl was not a normal person, she was just living a normal life.

Before coming in, Yayoi didn't forget to remind Satoru to take off his shoes. Satoru clicked his tongue, but took off his shoes and walked in.

Yayoi took Satoru all the way to the kitchen of her home. The kitchen was not far from her room. The two of them moved as gently as possible, but they still couldn't escape the senses of cats that like to be active at night. Tangerine in the cardboard box shook its ears, looked up from the carton and saw his old enemy!

A d*mn pussycat!

Another pair came to occupy its owner!

Tangerine's tail flicked angrily, and a suppressed roar escaped from its throat. Satoru, who was passing by the room, could clearly feel the resentment belonging to the Tangerine that overflowed in the room. Looking back, he saw a pair of green eyes shining in the dark night, and the black light was blinding, it seemed a bit scary at first glance.

Of course, Satoru, who had seen many cursed spirits, would not be frightened by an angry orange cat. The corner of his lips turned up into a provocative smile.

Tangerine: !!!

Yayoi's red hair was tied up with a hair tie, Yayoi put on an apron, prepared a pot, and planned to cook noodles for this man.

"Soba noodles?" Satoru curled his lips when he saw the noodles put into the pot, "I don't want to eat this."

"Have you eaten it?" Yayoi tilted her head.

"What?" Satoru sat on the table with his long legs stretched out under the table. He took off his jacket and put it on the back of the chair. His muscles were full and smooth under the white shirt.

To be honest, this look was really not suitable for sitting in the kitchen. He did not look like someone sitting in a civilian kitchen. Instead, he looked like he was attending a large cocktail party or a family banquet.

But combined with this unruly sitting posture, among the many seasoning jars and pots and pans, it was surprisingly a bit harmonious.

"On a special day, you need to eat soba noodles." Yayoi fiddled with the noodles in the pot a few times with chopsticks. "When eating soba noodles, you need to use chopsticks to cut off the noodles. Unhappy things from the previous year will be cut off from the new year. "

Although it was already past the Great Dark Day.

"You actually believe this." Satoru propped up his chin, with a mean and flat smile on his face, "You are so childish."

"I'm not naive, you are." Yayoi retorted subconsciously.

Except when she unconsciously got angry, most of Yayoi's ways of replying have always been very simple, even the sentence structure was relatively simple, so simple that it had almost no lethality, and it was light and airy, like a feather sweeping past.

She was also not likely to get angry because of other people's words. Yayoi's way of feeling the malice of others was never words, but a mysterious intuition.

Satoru had no ill intentions, he just had a terrible personality. Because there was no malice, Yayoi was not likely to be angry, at most she was a little unhappy.

Yayoi brought him the cooked noodles to the table and added a fried egg on top.

People who come to other people's home in the middle of the night to ask for food had no right to say this.

Yayoi had a tigerish face, and her round cheeks were bulging, like a squirrel with bulging cheeks. It looked like it felt good in the hand, and it would look more like a pine nut if it was held in its arms.

Satoru wanted to pinch Yayoi's cheek again, but before this idea could be realized, Yayoi ran to the refrigerator, opened the door of the refrigerator, and rummaged through the refrigerator.

Satoru picked up the chopsticks and began to slurp the noodles in the bowl. The noodles were cooked just right and would not be stale. Soba itself was a soft type of noodles, and it would break if the chopsticks were pressed even slightly.

Satoru suddenly remembered what Yayoi had just said. When eating soba noodles, you should use chopsticks to cut off the noodles. Unhappy things from the previous year would be disconnected from the new year.

Satoru simply broke a few noodles.

Unhappy things from the previous year...

Well, let's just leave it as it was the year before.

Satoru propped up his chin, the noodles in the bowl still steaming.

The kitchen was filled with the sticky smell of red beans. The soup pot on the gas stove made a gurgling sound, and wisps of white steam rose through the gaps in the pot lid.

Satoru stood up, and he touched the edge of the stove. He quietly opened the lid of the pot, and the hot steam hit his face. If he endured it head-on, he would be burned for a while, but it was okay, he had Infinity around him.

The red beans were boiling in the soup pot. After the high heat was boiled, the heat was turned to low. The red beans were cooked a little soft. When the lid was opened, the aroma of the red beans hit his face.

Whoosh—

When Yayoi turned around, Satoru was already sitting upright at the table, blinking and looking at the contents of the pot eagerly.

Yayoi: redhead doubts.jpg

Yayoi poured the rice cake into the pot and stirred it a few times with a spoon. The white soft rice cake was stained with red beans, and the soup was simmering. He never took his eyes away from behind. Yayoi turned around in confusion and found Satoru, while whistling, this naughty cat seemed to be very hungry and had already finished the bowl of soba noodles.

Yayoi turned back, feeling like she was being watched from behind again. When she turned around, she saw Satoru holding Tangerine.

Yes, Tangerine ran into the kitchen.

The orange cat's four fat paws were on him, and Satoru pinched the back of Tangerine's neck with one hand. The cat's tail stood up stiffly, like a flag.

Yayoi blinked, and the relationship between Tangerine and Satoru became better, and they could still hug each other, if Tangerine could retract its bared teeth.

After the red bean rice cake soup was ready, Yayoi turned off the gas stove and ran over to rescue Tangerine from Satoru's clutched.

"Why do you start fighting as soon as you meet?" Yayoi picked up Tangerine.

"Emmm, this fat orange is jealous of me." Satoru didn't know when he had run to the pot. He stood beside the pot eager to eat, looking like a big white cat licking the corners of his mouth.

"What are you jealous of?" Yayoi hugged Tangerine and looked confused.

Tangerine wanted to scream, but Yayoi touched its head and told it, "Don't scream, mom is resting."

Tangerine shook its tail.

"Jealous of my beauty." Satoru said confidently.

Yayoi looked at Tangerine and then at Satoru. On one side was Tangerine, who was about to become a pig, and on the other side was a big and beautiful cat. The cat's pale blue eyes were dazzling, his white hair seemed to be flowing with silver fluorescence, and his skin was fair, with long legs and good looks.

Yayoi: Okay, that makes sense.

Tangerine: Meow?

Satoru sat on the table contentedly, picked up a spoon and started eating rice cakes and drinking red bean soup. He ate slowly and from time to time, he would stick out his tongue to lick the red bean soup from the corner of his mouth.

Yayoi thought of the white furball. The way furball ate looked very similar to the way Satoru ate. It could only be said that they were exactly the same.

"Where have you been at night?" Yayoi suddenly asked.

Satoru's hand holding the spoon paused for a moment before continuing to eat.

"Blind date." Satoru didn't even raise his head, and his voice suddenly lost the joking tone before and became a little colder.

Yayoi: !!!

Yayoi: "...with a girl?"

Satoru didn't even raise his head and just said 'hmm'.

Of course he didn't go willingly.

He just attended for various reasons. Halfway through the year-end reception, he finally couldn't help but run away. Those old men would be so angry, right? But... it's none of his business?

The Big Three Sorcerer Families would have a gathering every time at this time, and the sorcerers of the Big Three Families would gather together at this time. On the surface, it was to communicate and get familiar with each other, but it was just to show off the capital of the family, to show the right to speak and power, and even to suppress one or two at the cocktail party.

In short, the Big Three Families' year-end cocktail party was never just a year-end cocktail party, but a "killing banquet" with various purposes, and a banquet that one had to attend. As for running away halfway, besides him, there were no direct descendant of the Big Three Families would dare to do it.

The old guy from Gojo's family had more beautiful ideas, and seemed to want to set him up with a certain woman.

These old guys, he was only sixteen years old, the legal age for marriage in Japan was still eighteen! A bunch of beasts!

Yayoi: !!!

Didn't you like Geto?! Scumbag!!!

Geto was such a good boy, but you actually ruined Geto!!!

Suguru: ???

Suguru, who was celebrating the New Year with his parents at home, sneezed twice loudly.

Satoru looked up and saw the shocked eyes and incredulous expression of the little red-haired girl, holding the orange cat and looking at him like he was some kind of scumbag.

Satoru: !!!

This expression, this look, could it be that... the redhead liked me?!

Satoru was shocked, blood rushed to his cheeks, and his ears covered by silver-white hair turned a thin red. The red bean rice cake soup in the bowl was still rising with warm white mist. The temperature seemed a bit too hot, and his cheeks were a little hot with steam, as if he was trapped in a cloud, and his whole body felt light and airy.

A handful of snowflakes fell from the cherry blossom tree outside the window, and the white snow in the courtyard was silent and soft.

Yayoi's amber eyes were still staring at Satoru, wide and accusatory. Her eyelashes were clearly visible in the Six Eyes, and her red hair was glowing under the warm orange light.

Satoru frowned, trying to drive away the heat behind his ears, and subconsciously curled his lips, "I won't like you!"

Yayoi tilted her head, and her red hair was lifted up in an arc, "I won't like you either!"

You scumbag, you scumbag, just because Geto was not a girl!

Satoru's eyes widened and he subconsciously retorted, "Huh? You don't want such an outstanding and powerful man like me?!"

"I don't want it!" Yayoi glared.

So the little red-haired girl's face was pinched again, a combination of pinched and kneaded. When she escaped from Satoru's clutches, there were several red fingerprints left on her cheeks.

***

· Genuine translation can be found only in OchatimesBlogspotCom, FanFictionNet, and Wattpad

• Omake •

Brother Suguru: I beg you, don't cue me.



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