After finishing the ramen, Kagura Raku paid for the ramen quite generously.

"It's so generous."

"Of course, don't look down on 2560 yen!"

They left the ramen shop together and started walking towards the subway station along the national highway in front of the school. After walking for a while, they passed a fork in the road and stood together in front of the subway station.

"Shouldn't you turn at that intersection?"

"I want to see you off." Kanbaru said matter-of-factly.

Tianhai Qimingyue turned her face away, not believing what he said, "I'm not a child who doesn't even know how to walk."

"Think about it, you are such a beautiful girl and you are also a rich young lady. It is very dangerous to walk on the street at night. If you meet a drunk office worker, you will be in danger."

"If we were in a country town, I would still believe you...forget it, let's just say goodbye and see you tomorrow."

"Oh, see you tomorrow then."

"Remember to review your music theory knowledge when you go back. I will do a spot check tomorrow."

"Teacher Qi Mingyue is so strict?"

"This is as it should be, Kanbaru-san."

Tianhai Qimingyue withdrew her gaze, turned around, and started walking into the subway passage.

"Actually, Qi Mingyue, you still want a gift, right?"

In less than a moment, this sentence came from behind.

Tianhai Qimingyue's small black leather shoes on the marble steps suddenly stopped.

......

Kanbaru looked at the long, smooth flaxen hair on the back of her head and her tall back carrying a small schoolbag.

Seeing her stop, he continued:

"What happened before... was not pleasant, but since your birthday is coming soon, as an elder brother, I still want to give you a gift."

"What... do you want to give me?" Tianhai Qimingyue took a long time to reply. She seemed to be recalling something.

"I haven't decided yet." Kanhara smiled at her again and said.

"So, is this a blank check from my brother?" Tianhai Qimingyue stroked the hair beside her ears, turned sideways and looked at Kanhara Le above.

"Wouldn't it be more exciting to look forward to a gift without specifying it?"

"Gifts that fail to satisfy expectations are just garbage."

"Don't say it so heartlessly, I still mean it sincerely..."

Before Kanhara Raku finished speaking, Tianhai Qimingyue turned around and left.

The girl's beautiful back gradually faded away in the passage of the subway station. From a distance, her long hair, the small schoolbag on her back, the pleated skirt and the slender legs under the skirt all looked very girlish.

Sense.

She quickly disappeared among the crowds on the platform.

"Does this mean you promised to receive a gift?" Looking away, Kanbaru said softly while holding a shoulder bag.

......

In the bright corridor of a high-end apartment building, Tianhai Qimingyue turned the door lock of her home with her key.

In the kitchen, Tianhai Jiuliuli, who was wearing an apron and adjusting the dishes with a spoon, saw her sister walking in from the entrance.

"You're back, do you want to eat?"

Tianhai Qimingyue looked towards the kitchen, "No, sister, I ate outside."

"Have you eaten?" Tianhai Jiuliuli obviously didn't expect Qi Mingyue to eat outside.

"Hmm."

When Tianhai Jiuliuli curiously wanted to ask for details, he realized that his sister had already walked from the living room to his room.

"Strange, what's going on with Qi Mingyue? Why don't you... say a few more words?"

......

Tianhai Qimingyue closed the door of the room, and the sound of the lock cylinder inserting into the keyhole was so quiet that there was almost no movement.

She leaned against the door and stared at her legs under her skirt for a long time.

......

She was recalling what happened this evening.

Tianhai Qimingyue struggled for a long time in the memory just now before raising her head.

It wasn't until I recalled his last sentence "I will give you a gift" that I managed to break free from my memory.

The room is neat and tidy, the gauze curtains are moving slightly by the window, and the light at night is mixed with the light of the neon lights in Tokyo's Minato District, seeming to diffuse into the house...

The girl raised her head and looked through the glasses. In the distance outside the window was the Tokyo Tower standing in the city. The top of the tower flashed with orange light. Suddenly, the hole in the child's eyes was enlarged in the unconscious gaze, and the top of the tower and the outline of the city were visible.

The spots of light also seem to flicker endlessly.

Watching, watching, it took her a long time to realize that the schoolbag on her back had not been put down.

She doesn't know what she is struggling with or what she cares about...

She always does this, inadvertently dazed.

Putting down her schoolbag, she sat on the desk and lit the desk lamp. In the most conspicuous position next to the desk lamp, there was a shark doll.

Tianhai Qimingyue lay on the desk in despair, tilted her head, and used her hands to squeeze the smiling face of the doll.

She looked at it, and suddenly she saw herself reflected in the eyes of the shark doll.

[At least, don’t hate yourself]

[I like smart people very much]

The girl closed her eyes. These two words seemed to echo in her distant memory, like a dreamlike summer night, the dreamlike cicada chirping in the forest, and the person who was so far away that he looked at her dimly under the streetlight.

Smile.

Tianhai Qimingyue looked at the confident smiling face of the shark doll again, and pinched the doll's cheek with her slender fingers.

"Liar."

......

Kambara returned home at 9 pm.

I was too lazy to make dinner. I put the hot water in the bathroom and immediately started to tidy up the living room, sorting the garbage, cleaning the dust, and put the blanket that A Ling used to lie on the sofa in the laundry basket to be washed.

"Come on."

He always believed that it was more difficult for a person to live alone than for two people.

Because no one cares about how comfortable everything is, I spend most of my time lying on the bed, randomly picking up a bag and throwing it next to the bed to hold all kinds of garbage. I only wash it when I want to take a shower.

If you ask him how he knew, he was so slovenly in his previous life and Ah Ling today.

Snack scraps, torn corners of packaging tapes, data cables from various electronic devices on the bed...

Alas.

I don’t know why I suddenly thought of Ah Ling again.

Kambara glanced at the moon in the distance in the yard. When he returned to his senses and watered the flowers, he realized that the epiphyllum he had brought back had actually bloomed.

The obovate white petals overlap and bloom, and the needle-shaped leaves are in full bloom.

"It's pretty."

Raku Kambara tried to take better-looking photos with his mobile phone, but unfortunately he didn’t know how to use filters, so the photos he took lacked the noble flavor of the epiphyllum in reality.

"It looks good, but it's a pity that only one person can appreciate it today."

Shaking his head, Kanbaru enjoyed it alone for a while, then walked back to the bathroom to take a shower.

Untie the tie, take off your clothes, and step into the bathtub. The hot water spreads all over your body.

The skin was so irritated that he closed his eyes comfortably. While enjoying the bath, Kanbaru picked up his mobile phone in the misty bathroom to check if anyone had contacted him.

Okay, no.

He put down his phone and continued to take a bath.

......

After taking a bath, Kanbaru was shirtless, casually hanging up a towel and walked out.

What a coincidence.

No, it should be said that it is surprising.

Ah Ling actually sneaked in from the side door connecting the living room to the courtyard. Her gentle stepping on the floor probably meant she wanted to surprise herself.
To be continued...