My girlfriend is Saiki Kusunoki

Wherever it went, almost all the merchants were wiped out.

Naoto, looking at his spoils in his large and small bags, wondered if he and his companions had come to have fun or to buy goods.

However, Nanzi is only here to teach those unscrupulous merchants a lesson; she has no interest in those who are legitimate and don't rip people off.

Besides, we've been harvesting韭菜 (a metaphor for exploiting people) for so many years, so this is just one time and we won't lose much.

Seeing that the amount of stuff in his hand was still increasing, Naoto thought, "Why don't I have Nanko secretly teleport back a bit?"

Otherwise, with so much stuff, how are we supposed to play with it later?

"Sir, your fried noodles are ready!"

Just then, Naoto suddenly thought he heard a familiar voice.

That familiar voice is so unforgettable.

Behind Naoto, at the stall, Sakuta was dressed in festival attire, diligently making yakisoba, which completely stunned Naoto.

I haven't seen this person all summer, so how come I saw him at the festival today?

"Sakuta?! What are you doing here?"

"Hmm? Naoto and Kusuko?"

Upon hearing Naoto's voice, Sakuta instinctively raised his head.

When they saw Naoto, Nanako, and Reika who was with Naoto, they were slightly taken aback.

"What are you doing selling fried noodles here today? Didn't you work at the coffee shop?"

Seeing Sakuta like this, Naoto thought something had happened to him again.

"Oh, you mean this? The coffee shop was closed recently, and I happened to see that the owner here needed help, so I came over."

At that moment, Sakuta glanced at Naoto and Kusunoki with a strange look, and then the corners of his mouth began to turn up wildly.

"I see, I understand now. I didn't expect that Naoto, who looks so honest, is actually like this."

"Hey! What are you thinking?! What's wrong with going to a temple fair with your girlfriend?"

"No, I was just saying you guys are actually at a temple fair, what else did you think it was?"

"Ha, don't think I don't know what you're thinking, you idiot!"

"Oh, my straight brother, it breaks my heart. It turns out that the trust between us was only this much."

"Ha, you actually want to trust someone? I don't even need to look into your head to know what's going on!"

"Huh? You actually knew what I was thinking? That means you've thought about it too?"

"Don't be unreasonable, okay? Let's stick to the facts. Did you misunderstand first?"

"Sister Nanzi, who is this person? He seems to know my brother quite well?"

At this moment, Reika looked at Sakuta, who was arguing with Naoto, with a puzzled expression.

Lingxiang had never seen her older brother so eloquent before; it was as if he had become a completely different person.

"This is your brother's good friend. Ignore them. Their relationship is probably just that of men."

In fact, Nanzi didn't quite understand why Naoto, who was usually like a block of wood and not very talkative, would suddenly become like an iPhone 14 once she was with him.

"Well, fine, I'll patronize your business today. Three servings of fried noodles and hot dogs, one each."

"Okay, one thousand yuan."

"You scoundrel, if it doesn't taste good, you'd better watch out when you get back to school!"

"Haha, then it's none of my business. Anyway, I didn't do it."

After greeting Naoto, Sakuta got busy again. There were quite a lot of people today for the Obon festival, and within just a few minutes, Sakuta was already overwhelmed.

Naoto glanced at Sakuta, and after confirming that there was nothing wrong with him, he left with Nanako and Reika.

Although meeting Sakuta was an accident, Naoto was honestly quite worried about his friend.

It's one thing for him to work during his rest time, but to work during the Obon festival shows that Sakuta's life has indeed been quite difficult lately.

She lives separately from her parents and takes care of her younger sister on her own.

Sakuta always gives the impression of being very strong, and also seems to care about nothing.

But the pressure is very real.

Last semester, Naoto even saw this person fall asleep on the table due to overwork, and didn't get up until school was over.

It's really worrying to see. Of course, Naoto himself isn't having an easy time either. Compared to Naoto, he's got a cheat code that lets him take off, while Sakuta is still crawling.

"What, you don't want to help him?"

Nanko heard Naoto's thoughts and quietly walked over to him to ask.

Naoto simply shook his head and said, "Don't let Sakuta's thick skin and seemingly pig-headed demeanor fool you. In reality, he has a strong sense of pride and won't agree to help without a reason."

Just like in the original work, did Sakuta really have no one to help him?

Mitsuha is an extremely wealthy young lady, not to mention Mai herself is also quite rich.

However, Sakuta never asked them for money, but instead chose to work hard to support himself and his sister.

This shows how strong Sakuta's sense of self-esteem actually is.

Sakuta wouldn't agree to help me for no reason.

"That's true, that guy isn't so easy to take down."

With her mind-reading ability, Nanako knew exactly what Sakuta was thinking.

She knew exactly how foolish these men could be for the sake of their pride.

Just like Naoto, even though he could do whatever she wanted if he just asked, Naoto never asked for help.

To avoid losing face in front of friends or women, they would grit their teeth and persevere even if they were exhausted like a dog.

Even Nanzi's father was like that.

The two children were both incredibly capable, yet they never asked for help.

At first, Nanzi didn't understand why men had this kind of pride, but after she understood it, she found that she didn't dislike it.

Nanzi realized that the reason she liked Naoto so much was precisely because of his personality.

After this little incident, the summer festival is drawing to a close.

Chapter 64: Summer Fireworks (Bonus Chapter)

If we're talking about what else is interesting about the Ghost Festival, it's probably the unique Ghost Festival dance and the releasing of river lanterns.

During the summer festival, to celebrate a year of peace and good fortune, the Japanese hold parades in the streets and grand dances, which are the most joyous moments of the entire festival.

At the ball, a queen and a king are selected, making the people attending the festival quite diverse, and you never know when a few big shots who make fried fish might sneak in.

"Yahoo!!!"

Among the crowd, Lingxiang was probably the happiest one.

Regardless of what others did today, Lingxiang had a great time.

Nanzi helps her cheat in every game she plays, and she's eaten a lot of things she wouldn't normally dare to eat. For this silly little sister, as long as there are fun things to do and delicious food to eat, that's all that matters.

He's one of those characters who's lucky despite being a fool.

Naoto watched from afar as Reika sang and danced with the crowd, feeling quite gratified. And to be honest, the way Reika clapped her hands gently by her ears while wearing a yukata and wooden clogs was really cute. Her long, black hair, snow-white and slender wrists, brightly colored yukata, and her chubby cheeks gave her an aura of pure happiness.

Before this, Naoto had been very worried about Reika's condition. After all, after losing her parents, Naoto often saw Reika sitting alone in the living room, doing nothing, just looking at the photos in the living room, and he felt very lonely.

This festival was the happiest time Reika had ever had in a long time.

Seeing that his younger sister is alright, he is already very happy as an older brother.

"So, Naoto, how are you feeling today?"

At this moment, Nanko held Naoto's hand and asked him how he felt about today.

"It's great! I haven't felt this way in a long time. It's quite lively."

Although Naoto himself did not participate in those activities, he felt it would be nice to experience them.

That unique cultural atmosphere is truly a wonderful experience.

This excitement will continue; these events alone will last for about three days.

As the dance took place, a soul fire was lit in the square, burning fiercely, while a large "T"-shaped light appeared on the distant mountain, looking as if it were floating in mid-air at night. It was a bit spectacular and full of mystery, but it wasn't burned; it was a temporary light installation.

The character “大” represents a pentagram, which has the effect of sealing demons and repelling monsters. In the past, people would light fires directly on the mountain, but now fires are not allowed on the mountain, so electric lights are used instead, which can be considered progress of the times.

This unique culture, which can only be seen in summer, never gets old, even after many years.

It's like the Lunar New Year; even after ten or twenty years, people never tire of the activities associated with it. On the contrary, they are still just as excited every year.

"Let's go, it's time to release the river lanterns."

Naoto checked the time and realized it was almost time, so he took Nanko and his sister to the riverbank to release river lanterns.

To be honest, the Naoto of the previous life never experienced this kind of thing, since apart from some unique regions, there was no such cultural tradition.

However, releasing river lanterns is quite popular in Japan.

When it comes to making river lanterns, Nanzi quickly and skillfully crafted an exquisite one.

Like a white lotus, each petal is so beautiful.

If she weren't afraid of being too conspicuous, Nanzi might even be able to build a Gundam out of paper.

"It's done, here you go."

Nanko then handed the finished boat to Naoto.

However, Naoto was also taken aback when he received it.

This thing was originally meant to be used to pray for the people below, but today I saw the souls of my own parents.

These two are having the most fun right now, and you want him to pray for them... pray for what?

After a brief headache, Naoto glanced at his younger sister and noticed that she had already written down their father's and mother's names.