"No, I told my father that I would come to attend Taki-san's birthday. He scolded me for a long time on the way. Because he mentioned it suddenly, he brought strawberries, a specialty of Tochigi Prefecture."

Hitomi held up a gift box that looked very beautifully packaged. The representative specialty of Tochigi Prefecture is strawberry.

It is said that the sunshine there is long and the soil is fertile, making it the best environment for strawberry growth.

When Takiichi first talked with Hitomi, he symbolically mentioned that "I really want to taste strawberries from Tochigi Prefecture."

This was remembered by the other party, which became the reason for Hitomi's sudden visit this time.

"Ah, there are also Utsunomiya dumplings, Sano ramen, Nikko sculptures for uncles and aunts, Masuko pottery, and Tenmei castings."

"You...really prepared a lot of things."

When Hitomi was first selected, she would always add "Thirteen years old as fresh as strawberries" in her self-introduction, and Tochigi Prefecture does have many specialties.

Apart from strawberries, Utsunomiya dumplings are the most famous dumplings in the Sakura Country, and there are many types.

The main thing is pork stuffing with cabbage and leeks. I once heard Takiichi briefly talk about the delicacies of various places in Sakura Country.

When it comes to Utsunomiya dumplings from Tochigi Prefecture, locals like to add special chili oil, soy sauce and vinegar when tasting them.

Sano Ramen, the secret of ramen comes from the water gushing from Ryuhara Benten Pond, one of the most famous waters in Sakura Country.

Then, high-quality wheat suitable for making noodles is used, and the noodle-making technique of beating green bamboo brings out the unique deliciousness and aroma.

Nikko carvings, Mashiko pottery, and Tenmei castings are all nationally renowned traditional crafts of Tochigi Prefecture. Hirai Hiroaki is obsessed with collecting these traditional crafts in private.

"It doesn't matter, because these things are very common in Tochigi Prefecture."

Nako chased after Honda Hitomi's back, who was looking at this place with curious eyes all the way, and the sound of pattering wooden shoes on the cobblestones in the middle of the path.

From the back, you can clearly see the bread-like cheek flesh of the other person, and Nako's body is filled with disgust.

She once deeply envied and admired Honda Hitomi's courage because Sakura had not separated from Takiichi, but now that she appeared here, it brought endless pressure to herself.

"Has uncle been transferred to work in Kyoto City?"

"Yeah, I don't know if he will be transferred back to Tochigi Prefecture in the future. My father has always wanted to leave Tochigi Prefecture, and their company happened to be transferred.

He called me before and told me that this decision is related to his future promotion path. If everything goes well, he may enter the company's headquarters after a period of time."

Hitomi squatted down and teased the kabu and glutinous rice balls that were spinning around her calves, but she concealed the fact that her father worked for Merchant Line Hirai Co., Ltd.

"I can hear that he is very excited, although I think there may be more development opportunities in the Tokyo branch."

Nako echoed uneasily, "Well, then..."

"A long time ago, I hoped that my father would settle down soon. In that case, maybe our family would move to Kyoto from Tochigi Prefecture.

I happened to go to Kyoto to see him today, and his company arranged a nice rental house for him to live in. We were busy until the afternoon and the two of us finished cleaning the entire room."

Hitomi opened the box on the spot, and the aroma of strawberries made Kabu and Motuan very excited, and they both wagged their tails.

"So, are you going to settle in Kyoto in the future?"

What is going on? Nako is puzzled. She has nothing to do with Hitomi's father being transferred.

It is too common for a family to move due to a career promotion, but this way Hitomi will have more opportunities to come into contact with Takiichi.

I had never heard of her moving to Kyoto in the past. This was obviously not a sudden decision made in a short period of time.

"Yeah~ I think so. Although it will be more troublesome to go back and forth between school and home, but I would rather transfer to another school..."

Feeding kabu and glutinous rice balls with strawberries was just a taste. Perhaps Hitomi was more distressed and should leave more portions and give them to Takiichi as a birthday gift.

His empty little hands began to cover the heads of the two little guys and stroke them gently.

"Tochigi Prefecture is too far from Tokyo. We often travel across the country for activities, and it is difficult to take care of our studies at the same time.

But because she was influenced by Taki-san and felt that giving up was something she shouldn’t do, Sakura would often study by herself to prepare for exams even if she didn’t go to school. It’s much more convenient to go to Kyoto.”

She looked at Nako with an expression like "What should I do?", as if she wanted to hear her opinion.

But it seems like it's just pretending, and it's more like wasting time and letting things slowly develop in other expected directions.

"Transfer to another school? Where?"

"Tokyo University Affiliated High School...Taking-san's school, I passed the preliminary exam not long ago..."

"Nani?"

Nako was startled, then put his hand on his cheek and looked at Hitomi below him in shock.

Maybe they would study in the same school in the future. This kind of thing sounded too unbelievable. She thought that this might be fate playing tricks on herself.

But...she thinks Hitomi must have discussed it with her family many times.

And only after the conclusion is quite clear will the result be told to her.

In other words, this is equivalent to the fact that I was discussing my future studies with Takiichi and clearly mentioned that I wanted to report to the University of Tokyo. However, Hitomi passed the interview at the affiliated high school first.

In this way, just as Nako had never thought about transferring to another school, Hitomi's actions also inspired her to want to transfer to the High School Affiliated to the University of Tokyo.

Nako, who is currently a middle school student, has indeed never had the power to think about the present and future plans, and to recognize whether she can do it.

She tried many ideas, such as asking her parents to transfer her from her original school to the Higher School Affiliated to Tokyo University after she returned home.

But for people who have made up their mind from the beginning and do not intend to change it easily, such behavior will not work if there is no suitable reason.

On the contrary, if his parents ask him why he must transfer to which school, being speechless will probably be Nako's first reaction.

Nako thought that she had never told her parents about the bond between her and Takichi, and that it had completely transformed from friendship into love between a man and a woman.

At first, she wanted to hide this bond from everyone and regard it as a treasure, so she didn't want her parents to interfere, and she didn't want to hear even the slightest doubt.

If you could muster up the courage from the beginning and have the courage like Hitomi to explain to your parents the reason for transferring to another school, would the situation change?

So Nako made up her mind and decided to do it once, even though the idea of ​​a girl entering puberty would not be favored.

The results will definitely not change, because during the six years of middle school and high school, no parents will let their children easily choose to transfer schools and fool themselves in their studies.

Nako noticed that there was a hot and high pressure in his brain that was gradually heating up, so much so that he felt as if his head was about to burst.

She never thought that after Sakura left, another person who had existed for a long time would suddenly break in and completely disrupt her plan.

However, it existed in reality, and without telling anyone, it suddenly appeared in front of Nako's eyes.

Nako couldn't control his eyes to focus, and Hitomi's face kept looking closer and further away.
Chapter completed!