I endured the humiliation and humiliation while being besieged by the ghost story elder sister.

"..."

As for Ami, who was driving in front, she was enjoying watching the fun. Even through the reflection in the rearview mirror, Nozomi could see the slight upturn of her lips.

It wasn't until their car entered the city that the people in the back seat finally quieted down. Thanks to the two of them making such a fuss, Xi Ling's motion sickness symptoms had actually improved quite a bit.

But if I want to take a nap, I'll probably have to ask Honoka and Arisa if they agree.

In a themed cafe in the city, there were tourists who came to take photos and check out the cafe, including Nozomi and her group.

It was Nozomi's first time visiting a themed cafe, and she looked around curiously, muttering to herself.

"They just changed to a nicer decor, and it's not even in a tourist area, yet a regular cup of coffee costs twice as much in Xi'an?"

Looking at the menu in her hand, Nozomi, who didn't have much money to begin with and always had Fanxia and the others treat her, really didn't want to waste her money on such a strange place.

However, the others didn't think so. After they found a seat, they quickly ordered what they wanted to eat.

"Mio, you need to understand, this cafe uses these flashy decorations as its selling point to make money. Anyway, they look pretty good~"

"...Okay, whatever makes you happy."

Ximiao rubbed her head. It seemed she had overlooked the fact that girls liked this kind of thing.

Not long after, the shop assistants, dressed in equally flamboyant clothes, brought the food they had ordered to the table.

A huge array of desserts, plus some bitter coffee, made it the perfect tea party. Xi Ling, who was just recovering from a serious illness, was completely mesmerized.

"Don't be shy. After all, we might be doing some physically demanding things later, so try to eat your fill."

"Eh?"

Upon hearing what Ami said, Nozomi was taken aback for a moment, then looked at the two people beside her with some confusion, as if asking them what was going on.

However, it was observed that both Fanxia and Arisa shook their heads, indicating that they did not know about Arisa's plans for their upcoming schedule.

a long time.

A light snow began to fall on the streets outside, and the fine snowflakes landed on Ximiao's light golden hair, making her look even more delicate and lovely.

At least, in the eyes of the people around her, Nozomi's appearance would attract an overwhelming number of admiring glances from passing girls.

Those light blue eyes and fair face made Arisa want to drag him into the mall's restroom right now and give him a good beating.

But he himself doesn't seem to have any self-awareness about his appearance.

"So, where exactly are we going?"

Seeing that Aunt Ashi refused to reveal their destination, Nozomi asked this question every few minutes.

however……

It wasn't until they saw a towering Ferris wheel that Mio understood why Aunt Ami had made them get up so early for breakfast.

It turns out they had prepared this surprise for them here.

"Now you should know where we're going, right?"

Asumi said without turning her head, trying to look cool, but before she could take a few steps, she was hit in the waist by an elbow strike from Arisa, instantly breaking her defense.

Immediately afterward, a quarrel between the mother and daughter rang out ahead. Unbeknownst to them, Hiyo, who had fallen behind by a distance, and Honoka, who was wearing a felt hat, were walking slowly behind.

One of them, with her fair and soft little hand, tried to hook the other's finger, as if testing something.

"Fanxia-jie, would you like to hold hands?"

"...Is that okay?"

She turned her head to look at Xi Ling walking beside her and asked cautiously.

"Of course~"

Chapter Twenty-One: Ferris Wheel

"So hot!"

"Let it cool down a bit before drinking it~ This is freshly made hot cocoa~"

Seeing Ximiao stick out her little tongue after being burned by the hot cocoa in his hand was incredibly cute.

After shifting her gaze away from Nozomi's face, Honoka opened the hot cocoa in her hand. The steam rising from it looked like it would take a while before it reached the perfect drinking temperature.

However, this is no problem for Fanxia. She doesn't have to worry about being discovered by Ximio beside her if she uses her ability slightly.

Suddenly, a glint flashed in her beautiful eyes; her deep blue eyes sent chills down one's spine.

Subsequently, under Fanxia's precise control, the hot cocoa was quickly cooled to a temperature that was just right to drink.

"Here, you can have this cup, Mio."

"Aren't they all the same? I just went to buy them with you, Fanxia-nee." Ximiao looked at Fanxia-nee beside her with some confusion, not quite understanding what the difference was.

But unable to resist Fanxia's insistence, Ximiao took the hot cocoa from her hands.

Strangely, he found the thin paper cup to be somewhat cool, which was rather odd.

"How about it? Why don't you take a sip and try it? It's already cooled down."

"how come……"

Somewhat skeptical, Nozomi actually followed Fanxia's suggestion and took a sip of the hot cocoa in her hand. Then, she widened her eyes and stared at Fanxia beside her in disbelief.

Seeing his expression, Fanxia simply smiled slightly and took the other cup of cocoa from Ximiao's hand.

I wasn't lying to you, was I?

Before she could continue showing off to Mio, her previously hidden abilities were interrupted by two graceful figures returning from the ticket office not far away.

"What are you chatting about? You seem so happy, I feel a little embarrassed to dampen your spirits."

As she approached the bench where they were sitting, Arisa looked at the two leisurely people with annoyance and said this.

"pour cold water on?"

Upon hearing what Arisa said, Honoka also abandoned her intention to continue teasing Mio, straightened her back, and seriously asked about what had just happened.

Before Arisa could explain, Ami, who was behind her, calmly said.

"Because of the snow, staff are clearing the snow in the amusement park. The rides won't be able to reopen until 1 or 2 p.m. at the earliest."

"Then let's..."

"We can only wait and see."

Ashi shrugged, indicating that she had no other choice. She took out her phone, opened the map app, and wanted to see if there was anywhere nearby where they could kill time and go play for a while.

Arisa, quite naturally, sat down in the empty seat next to Nozomi, reached out and put her arm around Nozomi's shoulder, letting him rest his head on her shoulder.

"Could I have some hot cocoa?"

"Ugh..." He subconsciously glanced at Honoka's expression and found that she seemed unhappy, as she had rejected Arisa's request.

"No, thank you. I'll go buy you another drink, Arisa..." With that, Nozomi got up and prepared to go to the shop again.

But the next moment, Arisa grabbed his wrist.

"Then forget it~ Since Mio doesn't want to drink the same hot cocoa as me."

As she spoke, she put on a somewhat sad expression, leaving Himo speechless.

Just when Arisa thought she could take advantage of the situation and win over Nozomi, Honoka, who had been silently watching the two of them, finally couldn't take it anymore.

She abruptly removed Arisa's restless hand from Nozomi's body and then spoke.

"Why don't you drink mine? We're all girls, what's there to be afraid of?"

"..."

"Or do you just want the hot cocoa that Mio is holding? But I'm sorry, I paid for it, and I only let Mio drink it."

Not to be outdone, Fanxia pulled Ximiao into her arms and looked at Arisa defiantly.

Meanwhile, Nozomi, who was sandwiched between the two, was already drenched in sweat.

He just couldn't understand it. It was just a cup of hot cocoa, why did it turn out like this?

then.

Nozomi couldn't help but look at Aunt Ami, who was not far away and had maintained a safe distance to avoid getting involved, and wanted to ask her for help.

But she gave him a helpless look.

Fortunately, not long after, the two of them got a little hoarse from arguing and tacitly took Ximiao to a nearby coffee shop.

Looking out the window at the still-falling snowflakes, and listening to Honoka and Arisa chattering incessantly beside her, Nozomi sighed helplessly.

He couldn't even imagine what terrible things would happen if he confronted Arisa about his relationship with Fanxia.

Thinking about this, Ximiao felt a wave of fear.

The group sat in the coffee shop until the amusement park opened. As she looked at the scene before her, Ami's "fun-loving devil" genes made her smile even harder to suppress than AK's.

Both of Hiyo's hands were being held by Honoka and Arisa, but because of their earlier argument, the two of them refused to get too close.

As a result, Himiko was like a rag doll, her arms outstretched, feeling very uncomfortable, but she dared not say anything.

Even the amusement park staff couldn't help but smile when they saw this, and they speculated with their colleagues about the relationship between the group.

Before long, they arrived near the iconic Ferris wheel, where couples were also walking towards it.

"Do you remember what we did in the Ferris wheel last time, Mio?"

"..."

It was intentional. Arisa definitely spoke so loudly on purpose so that Honoka could hear what she was saying.

As expected, Fanxia, ​​whose curiosity had been successfully piqued, picked up the conversation and replied.

"Oh, you two have ridden a Ferris wheel? How come I didn't know that?"

Although she didn't say who she was asking, Mio intuitively guessed that she was questioning her about what was going on.

He could only say it in a low voice.

"Of course I remember... why bring that up, the small Ferris wheel on the rooftop of the mall?"