My childhood sweetheart is Nishimiya Glass

Chapter 295 Ayumi Ajitani's Good Intentions
"Miyamura, will you be holding a signing event next Thursday on the first day of release?" Nishikata raised his hand and asked curiously.

"I haven't even considered it, whether it's a pre-signing or a signing on the spot." Tsuna shook his head without hesitation and refused.

"I need to sign over a thousand books in the pre-signing stage, but signing them on the spot is still uncertain. I'm afraid my hands will get damaged and it will be troublesome."

Moreover, I've never even considered showing my face for a short period of time.

With the second volume of Anohana and several other 'healing' novels to be released, he has no intention of showing his face, fearing he might be attacked by enthusiastic fans on the street...

"In that case, wouldn't the autographs on our books be limited editions?"

Ayumi Azurani stroked her chin, feigning deep thought, and said, "Wouldn't that allow us to resell it for a good price? Earn the difference from the autograph?"

Tsuna looked speechlessly at Ayumi Ajitani, who was daydreaming late at night: "Class monitor, don't even think about it. You don't even know if anyone will believe you if you put it up for sale online."

"..."

"Gentlemen, thank you for waiting. Shall we depart now?"

At that moment, Shoko, who had changed into a yukata, came downstairs. She was about to join the conversation when Ayumi Ajitani suddenly stood up and grabbed her hand.

"Let's go, let's get out of here!" Ayumi Ajitani turned back to Tsuna with a smile. "Miyamura, can I borrow the glass for now?"

"..." Tsuna didn't say anything.

Ayumi took it as tacit agreement, and pulled the bewildered Shoko out, shouting, "Grandpa and Grandma, I'm going out!"

Takagi and Nishikata hurriedly got up and followed, while Tsuna, who lagged behind the others, made sure to close the door behind him before leaving.

The salty sea breeze on the beach mingled with the aroma of grilled squid, and the vendors had already set up red lanterns, their plastic stools scraping against the concrete.

A little girl in a yukata chased after her playmates, holding a candied apple, sand clinging to the soles of her slippers and falling off in a flurry.

"Isn't it lively?" Ayumi Ajitani led the group to the entrance of the temporary stall street and stopped.

Nishikata looked at the sweaty necks crowding in front of the takoyaki stall, and saw the proprietress's movements on the hot plate so fast they were almost blurry, and nodded unconsciously.

“Then let’s pair up,” Ayumi Ajitani suggested loudly. “Miyamura, you’ll team up with me and Shoko-chan, and Nishikata, you’ll team up with Takagi-chan, how about that?”

"Huh...?" Nishikata looked at her in surprise, wondering if this was too deliberate.

"no problem!"

But before he could say anything in rebuttal, Takagi playfully raised his hand in agreement.

"Huh?" Nishikata's surprised gaze shifted to Takagi's face.

Takagi noticed his gaze, turned her head and winked playfully at him, and he immediately blushed and looked away.

“Okay! Then it’s decided.” Ayumi Ajitani clapped her hands, drawing the two’s attention back. “Let’s meet at this entrance at 9 o’clock.”

After receiving nods of agreement from Nishikata and the other, Ayumi Ajitani took Shoko's hand and plunged into the crowd, not forgetting to turn back and remind Tsuna, "Miyamura, remember to keep up."

"..." Tsuna gave Nishikata a "good luck" wink and hurriedly followed the two in front of him.

He still understood Ayame Azuchi's good intentions.

"Nishikata-kun, what did Miyamura-kun mean by that look in his eyes just now?" Taking advantage of Nishikata's brief moment of distraction, Takagi leaned close to him and asked 'curiously'.

"Ah!?" Nishikata suddenly pulled away from her, only then realizing that the tips of his ears were turning red.

"N-nothing...it's nothing." Nishikata hurriedly waved his hand. "It's just that Miyamura's eyes are uncomfortable." "Oh, I see." Takagi put his hands behind his back, the corners of his mouth slightly upturned, and didn't ask any more questions, which meant he believed what he said.

Takagi smiled and extended her right hand to him: "Then please take good care of me for the next hour, Nishikata-kun."

As she finished speaking, she winked her left eye at him.

Nishikata's Adam's apple bobbed heavily, the gurgling sound particularly jarring in the lively fireworks display. He felt as if the whole world had fallen silent, along with the rapidly rising temperature of his face.

Just as he hesitated whether to reach out and shake hands, Takagi waved his right hand at him again, as if waiting for his answer.

He finally mustered the courage to reach out, accompanied by the repeated warnings from the patrolling police loudspeakers not far away: "The viewing area mats have limited weight capacity; please do not run or push."

As he was about to touch it, he felt his throat tighten even more.

Takagi suddenly changed his gesture and excitedly pointed to the stalls across the street: "Look, there aren't many people grilling squid over there, let's start by browsing over there!"

He then hopped and skipped two steps, leaving his hand hanging in mid-air facing the pancake vendor's round face, which was trying not to laugh.

"..." Nishikata blushed and withdrew his hand, gave the uncle a couple of sheepish smiles, and then turned to follow Takagi's steps.

Just moments before they brushed past each other, he caught a glimpse of Takagi's sly smile, but then quickly dismissed it as a figment of his imagination.

----------

"You two are ten minutes late, you have to be punished!" Ayumi Ajitani raised her hand and pointed at the two people who squeezed out of the crowd.

"I'm so sorry." Takagi clasped her hands together and apologized sincerely. "As compensation for being late, Ayumi-chan, I'll treat you to takoyaki."

After saying that, Takagi took a bag from Nishikata and handed three portions to Tsuna and the other two.

Ayumi Azurani accepted it without hesitation: "Then I'll reluctantly forgive you."

Unlike the three girls who started playing around again, Tsuna quietly retreated to Nishikata's side. "Has anything significant progress been made in the past hour and a half?"

Nishikata shook his head repeatedly in denial: "No...no, I just browsed around and tried out the little games at those stalls."

"..." Tsuna noticed out of the corner of his eye that his ears were so red they looked like they could bleed, and he felt that what he said didn't have much credibility...

"Miyamura, Nishikata, hurry up! We're heading to the test of courage now!"

Tsuna heard Ayumi Ajitani's shouts, but without asking any questions, he patted her on the shoulder and followed the three people who had already walked some distance ahead.

"Miyamura, believe me, nothing really happened!"

A soft voice came from behind him, and he just nodded perfunctorily.

The group arrived at the registration point for the test of courage competition. The entrance was marked off with faded red cloth strips, and two pale paper lanterns hung on a crooked wooden pole.

Pine branches, meant to repel mosquitoes, burned in a tin bucket, the smoke mingling with the sweetness of popcorn, while a faint, piercing scream drifted from afar.

Faded talismans fluttered in the night wind, fake spider webs clung to the edges of lanterns, glistening with dew made of sequins, and the entrance archway was a dilapidated temporary torii gate, with peeling red lacquer revealing gray-white wood stubble.

"We've arrived! Go register now. I'll wait for you at the exit and see which group comes out first."

After saying that, Ayumi Ajitani waved to Shoko and the other three, then turned and left decisively, giving Shoko and the others no chance to stop her.

(End of this chapter)