I push the kid!

She said softly: "It was so quiet here when you left just now."

Makimura Taku looked at her. She loosened the bottle cap in her hand and then tightened it subconsciously.

"There is no sound at all," she continued, "no people, no cats, no crows. There are no cars, and I can't hear the wind. How can it be?" She seemed to be asking herself, "Anything is fine, any random sound is fine, there must be something."

Having said this, she shook the sunflower in her hand twice, and the petals moved back and forth between light and darkness.

"Hey, Makimura," she asked, "tell me, is this feeling unpleasant?"

“No one likes it.”

"Well...it's like it was thrown away."

“That’s probably what it feels like.”

"It's so annoying."

"Ah."

“But when I think about it, it’s nothing,” she said. “It’s just dark and quiet.”

The moon was once again obscured by the fog, and the street lights lengthened their shadows on the ground.

"But..." Hoshino Ai turned her head away.

She still looked calm, as if she was standing on the ruins watching the sunrise just one second before the end of the world.

She was supposed to smile next—she was ready to smile.

But when he saw Taku Makimura, when he saw someone sitting next to him and looking at him with such gentle eyes, the toughness on his face could no longer be maintained.

Her pupils began to tremble violently, as if a big earthquake had occurred inside, and as if they were clearly reflecting the frequency of her heartbeat.

A crystal clear tear slid down from the corner of her eye that she had just wiped, but it did not fall to the ground. It just stayed on her face, as if imprisoned by time, leaving a long tear mark.

"But...but..." She repeated in a trembling voice, but only stopped at these two words.

It seemed that if she continued speaking, even half a syllable more, her tears would burst out like a flood.

"But...but..."

Makimura Taku was still looking at her. She didn't bother to put the flowers down, but directly used her palms to wipe away the second and third tear marks that had slid down without her knowing when.

"But, but."

"Why are you crying?" said Makimura Taku.

It seemed as if even the darkness around them had disappeared, leaving only Makimura Taku sitting there.

Hoshino Ai looked at him, as if a crack suddenly appeared in her chest.

She felt her throat was unusually sore and had a lot to say, but she couldn't get the words out.

The voice was so gentle, as gentle as the sun shining on the body, but the voice was also very sharp, which could break through a person's strongest psychological defenses in an instant.

She hurriedly tried to wipe away all her tears, but she could not. The tears fell drop by drop like the beginning of a summer rain.

"I didn't, no."

"What's wrong?"

"No, really."

"lie."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I really don't want to be so sad." She cried and said anxiously, "It's such a trivial matter."

"Then laugh."

"But, Makimura..."

"what happened?"

"But……"

"It's okay. It's okay."

"Makimura..."

"I'm here."

"..."

She stood there in a daze, wanting to burst into tears, but she held it back.

That night, the petals were soaked with tears and became as hard as paper.

The next morning, Taku Makimura got up early as usual and went to exercise in the birch forest. When he came back, Hoshino Ai had already washed and dried her hair and was sitting in her seat waiting for him.

"I am back."

"Welcome back~" Hoshino Ai said with a smile.

That morning, the weather was good and the wind was light. There were two sunflowers in the sun, which were romantic. They hadn't bought a glass bottle yet, but were just placed on the table. It was a good morning to go out, but they didn't do anything.

Hoshino Ai said she wanted to make a plan list and write down all the things she needed to do next. Makimura Taku smiled and agreed, so he stayed in the room with her.

"At six in the morning, wake up Taku Makimura. At seven in the morning, have lunch with Taku Makimura. At eight in the morning, go out with Taku Makimura." She wrote on the paper with a pencil.

"Wait," Makimura Taku corrected her, "I woke up earlier than you, so I should be the one waking you up."

"Whoever wakes up first calls the other person."

"no problem."

She continued:

At half past eight, I go out for a walk.

At nine o'clock, I went to the pet store to play with the cats.

At half past nine, to...

I kept writing like this until 10 o'clock in the evening:

At ten o'clock in the evening, I go home and go to bed.

"Done!"

“Isn’t it too full?”

Hoshino Ai smiled mischievously at him.

At noon, the two of them found a random store to have lunch and quickly came out of the store.

According to the plan list, they first took the bus to Shiraito Falls.

There was an old man selling grilled fish in the commercial street near the waterfall. They bought two and after returning to the waterfall, they sat on the smooth rocks together, eating the grilled fish while looking at the scenery.

There was the sound of a constant stream of water, occasionally accompanied by the call of a bird, like a lark.

They felt as if they could fall asleep at any moment, as if the air was filled with something like a sleeping pill, but the wind was fresh and they stared eagerly at the waterfall.

At around two o'clock, the two left Shiraito Falls and went to the Karuizawa Senju Hiroshi Museum.

They encountered a traffic light halfway and waited at the intersection, but the red light never turned green.

More than a dozen cars passed by, someone guided a group of ducklings onto the sidewalk, squirrels blinked their eyes and went into the pine forest, the roar of a large lawn mower came from nearby, and the clouds floating in the sky were like puffs. If you could taste one, you would find it absolutely sweet.

When they arrived at the vicinity of the art museum, they walked around the Lishanfang Coffee Shop and saw several silver-gray buildings coming into view.

The two of them walked in through the main gate together. As soon as they entered, it was as if they had walked into a pure forest. There were fresh green and white everywhere, and the view in front of them was bright and open.

They looked at the paintings one by one. There were waterfalls, freshwater lakes, black mountains, and small towns at night. Each one was very unique. They stayed in the museum for about an hour.

After coming out, Hoshino Ai stretched and her moans sounded like she was talking in her sleep.

"tired?"

“I really want to take a photo,” she said.

"Photograph?"

"Shoot both of us."

"That's fine anytime, right?"

"Go use the sticker machine."

"also."

The photo-sharing machine was hidden in an inconspicuous little house. Fortunately, there was a sign at the door, so they went in and took pictures.

"Your expression is too dull, isn't it?"

"I always do that."

"Just smile."

"As much as possible."

With a click, the photo was taken. They wanted to print two copies, but there was only one sheet of film left in the machine, so they had to take that one.

In the photo, Hoshino Ai showed a cute smile and made a "V" sign to the camera. Her body was very close to Makimura Taku, almost touching them, but that was all.

Makimura Taku had a faint smile on his face, as if he saw something he liked and suddenly smiled knowingly.

"It's okay~" Hoshino Ai looked at the photo again and again, and it was hard to tell from her tone whether she was satisfied or not.

"Just put your face in it." Makimura Taku comforted her.

After coming out of the photo-taking area, they did a lot of things according to the planned list.

Rent a fishing rod to go fishing, throw stones and enjoy the breeze by the clear and transparent river, try a new dessert from a store, watch the wonderful performances of street performers, and go to a bookstore to read together.

"What kind of books do you like?" In the bookstore, Hoshino Ai asked him in a low voice.

"secret."

"I know... The Great Gatsby?"

"That's my favorite."

"Anything else?"

"Have."

"Say it."