My childhood sweetheart is Nishimiya Glass

Chapter 293 A Little Bit of Love
"How did you know?!" Nishikata suddenly sprang up from the tatami mat.

A-Tsuna glanced at him and then went back to looking at the computer. "I guessed it, because you wouldn't have asked if you cared about this."

"..."

Nishikata wanted to refute, but found that he couldn't really refute it. If Takagi and the other person hadn't asked him, he really wouldn't have dared to ask.

Seeing that he had fallen silent, Gang stopped paying attention to him and focused on his work.

"So...when are you planning to confess to Nishimiya-kun...?"

The sound of keyboard clicking followed his question.

Seeing him deep in thought, Nishikata felt for a moment that there was hope, and that he could get the answer he wanted from him.

"It's a secret." Tsuna snapped out of his thoughts, shrugged, and then chuckled as he asked in return:
"I was about to ask you the same thing, when are you going to confess to Takagi-san? You've had a crush on her for years!"

"What?! What confession?!"

Before the disappointment could even set in, Nishikata waved his hands frantically, denying it vehemently: "When did I ever say I liked Takagi-san!?"

"..."

Gang watched as the tips of his ears turned red faster than his face, turning completely red in an instant. He just smiled and didn't say anything.

"Miyamura, I'm telling the truth!" Nishikata was getting a little anxious when he saw that Nishikata was ignoring him.

Nishikata moved closer to him, "I really don't have a crush on Takagi-san, okay!"

"Okay, okay, I got it."

In the sweltering heat, Miyamura was initially annoyed that the posters were placed too close together.

"I can declare to the heavens—"

"I know whether Takagi-san likes you or not."

With a single, understated remark from Tsuna, the room fell silent once more.

"Okay." After a long silence, Nishikata hesitated before speaking again: "Actually, I do have a tiny bit of a crush on Takagi-san..."

To prove the credibility of his statement, he raised his right hand, making a small slit between his index finger and thumb.

Tsuna forced a smile, looked at him, and shrugged: "Actually, I was just saying it casually, I don't know either."

He knew that almost everyone in the class who got along well with them could tell something, but Nishikata himself was clueless, or perhaps emotionally oblivious.

Is this the legendary case of "those involved are often confused, while bystanders see clearly"?

"..."

"Miyamura, I'll fight you to the death!"

"It's so noisy next door, I'm a little curious about what they're doing." Ayumi Ajitani rolled over like a salted fish.

"Judging from the sounds, it seems like Nishikata is begging for mercy," Takagi guessed, looking at Shoko's profile as she drifted off to sleep.

----------

The sun was still very strong at the end of July, and the beach was tanned white by 4 pm.

As the tide receded, a patch of wet sand was exposed. Several children ran over with plastic buckets to dig for clams. The owner of the popsicle stand tilted her parasol back, and the sea breeze, carrying a fishy smell, made the plastic sheet rustle loudly.

"How is it, Tsuna?" Shoko, wearing a swimsuit, twirled confidently in front of him. "Does it look good?"

"It looks great, conservative yet playful." Tsuna nodded, giving it a careful look.

Underneath, she wore a light blue one-piece swimsuit with a skirt that barely reached mid-thigh, and over it, a loose white t-shirt. The way it was partially visible made Tsuna exclaim how cute it was. Compared to Shoko, he was only wearing dark blue shorts and a white t-shirt, which made him look somewhat shabby.

“It’s definitely beautiful. I spent more than 10 minutes choosing this for Shoko-chan.”

At this moment, Ayumi Ajitani, who had changed into her swimsuit, walked out of the changing room by the beach, and she was quite impressed with her own taste.

Her own style is fresh and cute, featuring a white two-piece bikini with ruffles, bows, and lace to highlight its adorable nature.

"Yours is cute too." Tsuna glanced at it briefly and then looked away, offering a casual comment.

The four of them waited against the wall for a while. When Takagi came out of the locker room, Nishikata was stunned by the ruffled one-piece swimsuit she was wearing.

"H-How is it? Is it pretty?"

Takagi was still a little nervous. She could tell from Nishikata's expression that the swimsuit was a great choice, but she still wanted to hear his personal comments.

Seeing no reaction from the Western film, Tsuna gave him a gentle nudge.

Realizing he had just been a bit out of line, Nishikata awkwardly scratched the back of his head and nodded repeatedly to show he liked it.

"Let's go, let's go! The sun isn't so strong now, we can have some fun!" Ayumi Ajitani ignored the awkward Nishikata and eagerly pulled Shoko and the other girl toward the beach.

"Let's go."

Tsuna gently patted Nishikata's shoulder and took the lead in following the three people ahead. Seeing this, Nishikata hurriedly followed as well.

As soon as her plastic flip-flops touched the sand, the sand beneath her feet was so hot that she had to pull her feet back. Ayumi Ajitani then swung her newly bought fluorescent green water gun and rushed into the sea.

A-Tsuna's shorts, soaked in seawater, clung tightly to his knees, dripping salty water droplets with every step he took.

A few high school students in swimsuits were building a sandcastle nearby. The tide surged in and collapsed the spire of the sandcastle, causing a burst of laughter and curses.

"Look what a treasure I've found!" Ayumi Azuya's shout attracted the attention of those around her.

She brandished a half-finished fishing net she'd picked up from somewhere and laughed loudly, "We can catch some small crabs or seashells to take home for an extra meal tonight!"

Tsuna and his three friends then joined in, bending over and groping blindly in the knee-deep water.

"It would have been better not to catch them at all..." Tsuna looked at his catch after half an hour. Besides seaweed, there were a few small crabs about the size of a thumb dangling at the bottom of the net.

Ayumi Azumi's interest came and went quickly; before long, she organized activities like skipping stones, treasure hunting on the beach, and digging sand pits to bury people.

When they finally got tired of playing, the five of them sat down to rest on the stone steps in front of the popsicle stand, discussing how a few elementary school students nearby were vigorously banging barnacles with plastic shovels.

"I'm already looking forward to the beach fireworks festival in a couple of days," Ayumi Azurani said indistinctly, licking her half-melted popsicle.

"What's the difference between this and a regular fireworks display?" Shoko asked, tilting her head curiously as she leaned close to Tsuna.

"At once--"

"Are you all here for summer vacation?" The popsicle stall owner interrupted Ayumi Ajitani with a hearty laugh.

"Mmm." Shoko nodded.

The popsicle stand owner then enthusiastically explained to the group the differences between their beach fireworks festival and other similar events, until new customers arrived and interrupted him.

"A test of courage?" Nishikata muttered, watching his boss's back as he busied himself again.

Before he could ask any more questions, Ayumi Ajitani explained, "The fireworks festival starts at 8 p.m., and teams of two will work together to complete the challenges. The winning team will receive a mystery reward."

Then Ayumi Azurani shrugged, "I know you're all going to ask what the mystery grand prize is, but it's different every year, so I don't know either."

As she finished speaking, she pointed to a forest in the opposite direction of the beach: "The organizers will use thick ropes to encircle a general area in the forest and hold the event there."

(End of this chapter)