My childhood sweetheart is Nishimiya Glass

Chapter 355: Eating alone?
"..."

"Snapped……!"

Ignoring the gossip gleaming in Junko's eyes not far away, Tsuna raised his hand and slapped Nishikata's arm to calm him down.

And while you're at it, swat away the hand that's grabbing your wrist.

He was afraid that if he kept going like this, some gossip would reach Shoko's ears...

Are you still nervous?

"Hiss..." Nishikata rubbed his slightly reddened arm: "It seems like I'm not so nervous anymore."

Hmm... only his arm still felt burning hot, and he was afraid that if he nodded and said he was nervous, he'd get another slap...

"There are two more dishes here, come and take them away quickly."

Junko Mito's slightly regretful voice interrupted the chaotic barrage of thoughts in Nishikata's mind.

"Okay!" Tsuna readily agreed.

Nishikata snapped back to reality and nodded almost simultaneously with Tsuna. The two immediately turned and walked towards Junko.

"Tsuna, wait a minute."

Shoko's voice rang out behind the two of them. Tsuna stopped what he was doing and turned around to see her exchanging glances with Takagi beside her.

Finally, Takagi nodded and walked to Nishikata's side: "Let's go, Nishikata-kun, let's take the two dishes that Junko-nee mentioned outside first."

After Nishikata was distracted by Takagi, Shoko suddenly grabbed Tsuna's wrist.

Without saying a word, she pulled him into the small passageway leading to the backyard.

Outside the door is the hotel's terrace courtyard where guests can relax.

In the cool night breeze, the faint sulfurous scent unique to hot springs wafted through the air.

The path, paved with gravel, meanders, and a few low stone lanterns are scattered along the dry landscape, reflecting the lingering snow.

The lights were dim at this time, and there was no one on the terrace. Only a few guests wrapped in thick towels and wearing wooden clogs strolled slowly along the stone path leading to the open-air hot spring in the distance.

The crisp "tap-tap" sound of wooden clogs striking the stone slabs came and went intermittently in the quiet night.

A-Tsuna was abruptly pulled into this chilly silence. Looking at the desolate scene before him, so different from the dining room just moments before, he was somewhat puzzled:
"What's wrong? Aren't we about to eat?"

Shoko didn't respond to the question in his eyes, and instead looked down and rummaged through her school uniform pocket.

The faint, flickering light from the stone lantern cast long shadows of the two people onto the dry landscape.

After waiting a while, Shoko opened her small, warm palm, where a necklace lay quietly.

The delicate silver chain flowed with a warm luster under the dim light of the stone lanterns in the courtyard, and the ice-blue crystal at the center of the pendant swayed slightly, refracting a startlingly fine starlight.

Tsuna didn't even have time to take a second look.

"Snap!" A slightly cool touch accompanied by a very soft, crisp sound, and that excessively ornate little thing was placed into his slightly open palm by the glass:

“This is… a gift that my grandmother insisted on giving me this evening… It’s too precious! I can’t accept it!” Shoko’s voice was low with urgency.

"A gift?" Tsuna picked up the necklace and examined it; the pendant gleamed faintly in the moonlight.

He could tell that the necklace was expensive, but since his grandmother had already given him the glass, it meant she approved of her granddaughter-in-law.

But if he takes it back to her, he'll probably get a lecture from the two old folks.

As for buying it...

This was outside his consideration; he could vaguely sense that even with his royalties plus the cost of the glass, he might not be able to afford it.

Tsuna pulled himself together and shifted his gaze from the ornate necklace to Shoko's face: "When Grandma gave it to you this evening, did she do it in front of everyone?"

Just as she finished speaking, a cool breeze swept by, ruffling the stray hairs on her forehead. The slight tremor seemed to betray a subtle, almost imperceptible emotion.

"Mmm." Shoko didn't quite understand why he asked that, but she nodded honestly anyway.
"Everyone was chatting in the living room when my grandmother suddenly put the necklace in my hand and said it was a gift for me."

"..."

Tsuna deftly snapped a photo of the necklace with his phone, then took Shoko's hand and gently slipped the necklace back into her palm without a word.
“Since Grandma gave it to you, just accept it.” He said firmly, even with a hint of a smile. “This is Grandma’s approval of you.”

Without giving her a chance to hesitate, Tsuna took her hand and led her towards the restaurant:
"Let's go eat. If we dawdle any longer, everyone will think we're hiding away and eating alone."

"Eh eh eh..."

-

"Hey, you two have been gone for a while now. Did you go off somewhere to eat alone?"

Mitsuba's voice instantly drew everyone's attention to Tsuna and Shoko.

To be precise, it was on their necks.

Although everyone tacitly acknowledged the subtle hints of their intimacy, seeing them return together now, with the faint smiles on their lips, it was as if they were practically saying, "We were just doing something good."

"You wouldn't be—"

"Alright, alright! Grandpa and Grandma, everyone's here, can we start eating now? The food'll get cold if we wait any longer!"

Ayumi Ajitani seemed not to have heard the first half of Mifune Eihara's sentence, and cheerfully raised her voice to suggest, successfully drawing everyone's attention back to the important matter of "eating".

Shoko silently breathed a sigh of relief and cast a grateful glance in Ayumi Ajitani's direction. Their eyes met, revealing an unspoken understanding between them.

Why are you talking so much today?

After the two sat down, they shouted in unison, "I'm starting to eat!" Then, Junko Mito slapped the back of the chair with a nonchalant slap.

"I……"

Seeing that he still wanted to argue, she gave him a look that made him obediently shut his mouth.

The atmosphere at the dinner table gradually warmed up. The lively and energetic Azumi Tani, without hesitation, enthusiastically shared anecdotes and interesting stories that had happened among the group over the past few years.

Junko Mito was very enthusiastic and kept asking questions about the details. Her grandparents listened with smiles and gentle gazes.

Mitsuba tried to interject a few times, but Ayumi Ajitani always continued to expand on the topic with great interest while subtly avoiding the lead he had thrown out.

Seeing this, he had no choice but to swallow his words and quietly become a listener.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"despair."

Under the dim light of the stone lamp, the bamboo tube filled with spring water drooped heavily at the end as if it could no longer bear the weight, and the bamboo joints flipped over neatly.

The crisp sound then gently fell into the deep night of the courtyard.

The unique misty steam of the hot spring permeates the air like a thin veil.

Ayumi Ajitani's gaze involuntarily focused on the round, full breasts of Junko Mito, which were rising above the water and gently swaying in the warm spring water.

Unable to contain his curiosity any longer, he leaned closer and whispered:

"Junko-nee...do you have some secret recipe? Could you share it? I'm willing to pay for it!"

Ayumi Azurani spoke boldly, but her gaze lingered enviously on Junko's ample and full breasts that peeked out from under the water.

Unconsciously, she drifted towards the area on her chest that was also soaked in the hot spring, yet so flat it seemed like "peace and tranquility."

She was suddenly struck by reality, her shoulders slumped, and she let out a mournful cry with a furrowed brow: "Waaah... I guess I just didn't want to spend money on the growth pack!"

(End of this chapter)