Chapter 25 Little Snow Fox

[Dean! My dream is to become a teacher who can lead everyone forward!]
Click.
The violent shaking of the car body woke Fujii Itsuki from his sleep.

He slowly opened his eyes, and through the misty car window, he saw the same snowy scene as in his childhood.

"Ah, I'm very sorry, Mr. Fujii, for disturbing your rest. There is too much snow on the road, and I think you hit a stone on the road just now, causing the pressure of the right front tire to drop a little."

Fujii Itsuki put down his right hand that was supporting his face and looked over. "Is everything okay?"

"It's okay, it's okay," Nagayama Sakura held the steering wheel with her hands, smiling easily, "It's just that the tire pressure is low. We're not far from the young lady's house, so we can definitely make it there."

"Thanks a lot."

"Where."

Fujii Itsuki took out his cell phone and checked the time, only to find that only half an hour had passed.

I must have been dreaming just now.

Why did I dream about what I said to the dean at that time?

Is it my past self who has come to the present to mock my failure?

Come to think of it, why did I say those words at that time?

The Songqian family home in the heavy snow seemed even more beautiful than yesterday.

With a slight interruption and continuous collisions, Fujii Itsuki heard the lingering sound of the ancient Buddhist bell from the Matsumae Shrine. The moment he stepped into the shrine, the snow scene, the cherry tree trunks and the distinctive Shinto architecture reminded him of the quaint charm of the past.

After arriving at the shrine, Fujii Itsuki followed Nagayama Sakura to the shrine's tea room.

On the way, passing the stone stairs outside the courtyard, he suddenly caught a glimpse of Matsumae Shinharu, who was sitting on the high platform behind the main hall of the shrine, from the upper side.

She was wearing a white robe, a jacket, a red hakama, a white feather robe called "Chihaya", a bright crown on her head, and was looking up at the beautiful sky.

Her face was slightly red, perhaps it was the coldness of the snowy day that made the girl's beautiful face look even more vivid.

Fujii Itsuki lowered his voice and asked Nagayama Sakura:
"It's morning now, and Ms. Matsumae is in this position, which means she is practicing for the New Year's Festival?"

"Yes, it's almost New Year's Day, and there will be a New Year's worship ceremony at Matsumae Shrine. The lady is probably resting now."

rest?

Fujii Jyuu took a closer look at the right side of Matsumae Shinharu's face, which was enough to set off the beauty of the sky.

No. Not just rest.

It wasn't the first time he had seen those eyes.

"The festival dance must be very tiring."

Nagayama Sakura nodded in approval, "Indeed, it is a dance that has been passed down for hundreds of years, and the most important thing in the past was the ritual inheritance of the festival."

Matsumae Shinharu seemed to have sensed something, and soon she also discovered Fujii Itsuki resting on the stone steps of the shrine below.

As Matsumae Shinchun turned around, she lowered her eyebrows, closed her seductive eyes, and smiled at him below.

This is a polite greeting.

Fujii Itsuki did not move, but Nagayama Sakura naturally bent down to return the greeting.

Butler Yongshan then turned around with a smile and said to Fujii Itsuki, "I'm really sorry to bother you these past few days, Mr. Fujii. The young lady has always said that she enjoys getting along with you."

"It's not a big deal. I just did my job well."

"It's not difficult to get along well with the young lady, but there are very few people who can get the young lady's approval. Not to mention that the young lady still has those things in her heart. The young lady has to rely on you, Mr. Fujii, for the next few days."

Nagayama Sakura smiled and shook her head, making a gesture of invitation, "Mr. Fujii, please go this way. We will go to the tea room first. Miss should still need some time. Sorry to have kept you waiting."

"It doesn't matter."

The tea room at Matsumae Shrine is smaller in comparison, but also more ancient in style.

Turning your head, you can overlook the entire relatively low Songqian family residence from this high place, covered in silver and filled with a chill.

Fujii Itsuki drank hot tea, and about half an hour later, the door of the tea room was pushed open.

Matsumae Shinchun, wearing a dress with puff sleeves and a western-style hem, pushed the door open and walked in with an apologetic look on her face.

Compared to Kokoharu who looks like a "goddess" in her shrine maiden costume, she looks slimmer in her everyday clothes.

Matsumae Shinchun pushed open the door and laughed the moment she saw Fujii Itsuki sitting inside:

"I'm very sorry to have kept Mr. Fujii waiting for so long."

Miss Matsumae's smile, embellished by the teardrop mole at the right corner of her eye, is indescribably charming.

"It's okay, but are you tired of practicing the ritual dance every day, Matsumae?"

"It's nothing. Of course, if you use the teacher's heartfelt words, it is indeed a bit tiring."

Fujii Itsuki smiled and slowly pushed a cup of Gyokuro green tea across the table. "Thank you for your hard work. It was just brewed not long ago. Would you like to try it?"

"Teacher Fujii!"

"You don't have to look like that."

"How did Mr. Fujii find this in Hokkaido?"

"If you pay a little more for express delivery, it can be mailed from Kyoto very quickly. This is the remaining tea leaves, please accept it."

"Then Mr. Fujii, the cost, I——"

"You don't need to pay this little money. I can give you a small gift."

I felt relieved when I saw Matsumae Shinchun accept the Gyokuro tea I bought online from Kyoto.

I have been taken care of by her these days and had the lunch she made. It can be considered as a return of favor for me to give her some tea that her mother likes.

“Great tea.”

"It should be sweet and fresh, with a hint of seaweed?"

"Yeah." Matsumae Shinchun put down the teacup in her hands and nodded.

Fujii Itsuki smiled slightly, and suddenly became curious, "Does Matsumae know why I like Gyokuro?"

Matsumae Shinchun answered without much thought: "Teacher Fujii, it should be because of Amane."

"That's right. Can you tell me how you came to that conclusion?"

"Because you said that you like your mother's works very much and are greatly influenced by them. And the protagonist of your favorite work happened to be the first person to drink Gyokuro tea when he went to Kyoto."

"That's right. It seems that you have read a lot of the professor's works."

"Well, after all, the only things I know about my mother are from those cold published texts."

Fujii Itsuki observed Matsumae Shinharu's demeanor from the information he had received in the past few days.

In fact, the professor told her that she had lost all attachment to this home long before the car accident.

This caused Matsumae Shinchun to lose half of her love at an early age. To her, her mother had always been a distant existence.

He was embarrassed to ask about the Matsumae family affairs, but from the fragmentary information revealed when chatting with Nagayama Sakura, Matsumae Shinharu's parents had never quarreled, and their relationship was harmonious from his point of view.

But one day, she suddenly cut off contact, left the family quietly, and almost abandoned her daughter.

This is abandoning one's family and daughter.

Teach her, why do this?
Matsumae Shinharu should know that her mother gave up on her on her own initiative.

As a daughter, what kind of thoughts does she have on wanting to get to know her mother better?
It's not a good idea to ask directly, as it will reveal the scars in Matsumae Shinchun's heart.

But she had no choice but to ask. If she didn't solve this problem, it would only hinder Matsumae Shinchun's life.

"Matsumae."

"teacher?"

"Could you tell me how long ago the professor left home?"

Matsumae Shinchun's tone was indeed much lower when he heard this, ".Probably when I was six years old."

"Do you know the reason?"

"I'm not sure. My father doesn't want to say anything."

"You're sure there wasn't a fight, right?"

"No, mother and father never quarreled."

It was not appropriate to continue asking, because Matsumae Shinchun didn't know the key information at all.

Asking further would only be exposing her scars again and again.

".But Mr. Fujii."

"Ok?"

"I don't hate my mother."

"why."

"There must be a reason why my mother is like this. Many details revealed by the teacher in the past and in the past few days can prove this. My mother is a very good person."

Even if she had been abandoned for four years and I hadn't seen my mother for almost ten years?

Fujii Itsuki thought that he was not a particularly soft-hearted person, but if the person sitting opposite him was Chitose, or rather someone as close to him as Chitose, he might still give her a hug to give her some comfort.

Fujii Itsuki took the almost empty teacup in front of Matsumae Shinharu and filled it up, then pushed it into her sight.

The green tea exudes fragrance and emits hot steam.

Seeing the hand pushing the teacup towards her, Matsumae Shinchun regained her composure and looked at him with gratitude, "Thank you, teacher."

Fujii Itsuki smiled and said, "As I should."

Matsumae Shinchun calmed down and said, "Teacher, we have wasted too much time. Let's start today's study task as soon as possible."

"Don't you need to rest?"

"Need not."

"Well."

Fujii Itsuki turned around, picked up his briefcase, and handed the test paper that Nagayama Sakura had just printed out to her. "I took a look at it while you were away. The test paper your school issued is quite good. Based on the knowledge you have acquired in the past few days, I have removed some unnecessary questions and simplified some of them. You can try it later."

Matsumae Shinchun took the paper and examined it, nodded, and replied in a light voice, "No problem, Mr. Fujii has worked hard these past few days."

"It's just a job for money, it's not that hard."

"Teacher Fujii, how do you solve this problem?"

"Which question? Let me see. Okay, I see, Matsumae. Actually, this is the question. What matters in this question is——"

Fujii Itsuki saw that she was sitting opposite him and didn't want to listen to him talk about the topic. "How about you come over here and listen to me finish?"

"of course."

Matsumae Shinharu had no intention of refusing and naturally came to sit next to Fujii Itsuki. She tucked her hair behind her ears, revealing her snow-white neck.

The distance was neither close nor far, about three punches away.

The study session didn't end until 1pm. Matsumae Shinchun was a quick learner and Fujii Itsuki was enjoying the teaching, so much so that they forgot about the time.

Perhaps because there was heating in the tea room, beads of sweat appeared on the girl's forehead.

After the class, Matsumae Shinchun couldn't help but smile, "Every time I study with Mr. Fujii, I feel very relaxed and comfortable."

It was only when Fujii Itsuki looked at the time that he realized it was already past noon.

"Oh, sorry, Mr. Fujii, it's already past lunch time. I should go make lunch now."

"I'll help you."

"No, no!" Matsumae Shinchun quickly refused, "How can I trouble you to cook? I'll do it myself."

Matsumae Shinchun didn't give him a chance to pull him back, she got up and went out to make lunch.

About forty minutes later, she returned to the tea room with several delicious side dishes and served Fujii Itsuki rice herself.

Although she is the eldest daughter of the Matsumae family, she doesn't look like she is pampered at all.

It would be disrespectful to refuse it. It would be disrespectful to refuse it.

Today's homework load was a bit heavy, and Matsumae Shinchun started studying at nine in the morning and continued until seven in the evening.

Apart from eating, there was no rest.
After the study, we started talking about the professor as usual.

Fujii Itsuki has also figured out in the past few days that for Matsumae Shinharu, her mother is not a symbol of negative emotions.

On the contrary, she was very happy to understand her mother and tried to construct her image from fragments of words and details.

"Thank you."

Fujii Itsuki took the Gyokuro green tea brewed by Matsumae Shinharu himself.

"Although it's not even the seventh day yet, you've already learned almost everything, Matsumae."

Matsumae Shinchun, who was sitting next to him, was stunned for a second, "Teacher, am I learning too fast?"

"Is it not good to be soon?"

"."

Fujii Itsuki put down his teacup. "Even if we no longer have a contractual relationship, we can still be friends and keep in touch, right? Of course, the premise is that you are willing, Matsumae."

"Of course I do! But if that happens, will the teacher not come here every day?"

"Do you prefer communicating in real life rather than online?"

"Well, it's also because there's basically no one at home."

[Does Matsumae have many classmates and friends?]
——Just as he was about to say this, Fujii Itsuki suddenly remembered that Butler Nagayama said that all of the young lady’s friends died in that car accident.

"teacher"

Fujii Itsuki thought for a moment and said, "Actually, it's not a long-term solution for you to stay at home like this. People are social animals, and communication is necessary. You don't look like someone who likes to use the Internet, do you have any thoughts about studying?"

"Study? I'm a little afraid to go to school."

It sounds like Matsumae Shinchun's tone is normal, and she seems to know that she has this problem.

"Are you scared?"

"Ah."

"Could you please tell me how you felt about daily life and school in the past?"

"The school is great. I get along well with the teachers in the wind band and my classmates."

"It sounds like you still like campus life, don't you?"

"But. Teacher Fujii, they are all gone. My friends are gone, and my teacher has disappeared too."

"Are you blaming yourself?"

"Well if I could finish practicing with everyone earlier that day."

Fujii Itsuki smiled: "I understand your worries and fears. Losing friends, classmates and teachers is undoubtedly a profound sense of loss and loneliness. This experience makes people feel more vulnerable and uneasy. Under such circumstances, it is certainly difficult for you to rebuild trust in social interaction, but it is also a process of gradually overcoming loneliness. What does Matsumae want most at the moment?"

"Most wanted.?"

"There's no rush. We still have plenty of time today. Matsumae can think about it carefully before replying to me."

As a high school teacher, he also studied some psychology.

Just as he said just now, Matsumae Shinchun currently has a psychological state of self-blame and fear. She blames herself for her mistakes and is afraid of facing the loss of the beauty.

It can be seen that Matsumae Shinharu's mentality is much stronger than that of ordinary female high school students. Even in this situation, she did not show any panic or emotional excitement.

But, she wouldn’t be in this emotional state on the day of the car accident, right?

This is much more terrifying.

But it also explains why many therapists were unable to address the root cause of her problems.

"teacher."

"Have you thought about it?"

"No."

"It's okay. You can tell me tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. There's no rush." ​​Fujii Itsuki looked at the time. "It's getting late. I'll go back first. If Matsumae wants to talk to someone in the middle of the night, or if you suddenly figure it out and want to tell me the answer directly, you can call me directly and I'll answer."

".Is the teacher leaving now?"

"Then I'll sit with you for a while."

"No! No, that's not necessary. Don't bother the teacher anymore. I'll take you to Sakurabo's place."

Miss Matsumae was still so polite and didn't want to trouble others.

After hearing this, Fujii Itsuki did not bother him any further.

"Excuse me."

"It should."

The Maybach had to be towed to a nearby repair shop for inspection because of low tire pressure, so the departure time tonight for home would be later than usual.

Fujii Itsuki originally told Matsumae Shinharu to take him to the usual location, but he didn't expect that when Nagayama Sakura drove the car over on the snowy night, Matsumae seemed to suddenly remember something and asked him to wait here for a while, she would be back soon, and then ran towards the shrine.

I probably waited less than ten minutes.

Fujii Itsuki saw Matsumae Shinchun running up to him, panting.

"Teacher Fujii, this is for you."

The girl spread out her slender white palm, revealing an amulet in the shape of a white fox with a jade bracelet in its mouth.

"What is this? Don't be so hasty to speak, take your time."

"well"

Matsumae Shinchun calmed down a little, and then explained in a pleasant voice:
"I'm sorry for making you worry about me today. You obviously have a lot of things on your mind."

".?"

It's a bit unbelievable how Matsumae Shinchun could see that.

He didn't remember showing any confusion to outsiders.

"I made this amulet for you yesterday, Mr. Fujii. It's a personal gift to you. You can hang it in your car or on your keychain. It can protect your safety. Although the time is short these few days, you have always been dedicated to me and have always accommodated my willfulness and unreasonable demands. You have done a lot of extra work outside of your job, so please accept this gift."

"."

Snowy nights are always cold, and the cold can also take away part of one’s sense of smell.

But even so, Fujii Itsuki could still smell the fragrance of the amulet in the girl's hand.

This fragrance is basically the same as the subtle girlish scent on Matsumae Shinharu's body, and the smell is even stronger.

This thing should contain some paper with prayers written on it and some spices.

It is still hand-sewn, and you can see the traces of knitting.

"Thank you."

Fujii Itsuki accepted the amulet handed to him by the girl.

"Is the pattern on it your favorite?"

Matsumae Shinchun smiled, "Not exactly, but according to the tradition of Matsumae Shrine, the fox on the amulet currently symbolizes me. It means the snow fox that protects the shrine."

"Our family has passed down from generation to generation that in the tragic war between Hu Shema Yin, the Twelve Halls of Daonan suffered heavy losses. People were once forced into a desperate situation on a snowy night and lost their way. It was then that the sky sent down an oracle, allowing a white fox holding the ancestor's jade bracelet to appear in the ancestor's sight. At first, the ancestor was furious when he learned that the jade bracelet was lost, and he chased it in the middle of the night, crossing the woods and across the mountain streams. It took a whole night to catch up with its trail. Just when the ancestor took back the jade bracelet and was about to take out a dagger to kill the white fox, he found that he had escaped from the place where the beast was trapped. Later, the ancestor understood everything, put away the knife, and picked up the fox that he had injured. After the ancestor experienced the foreshadowing of this incident, he got the opportunity to develop and accumulate strength in secret, and finally got the opportunity to end the war."

Fujii Itsuki laughed, "It just sounds like a myth."

Matsumae Shinchun also smiled, "But this does not prevent the snow fox from being the guardian deity of Matsumae Shrine today. However, the woven snow fox given to the teacher is more lovely, which is my personal preference."

"I love so much."

"It's good that the teacher can accept it. The teacher always tells me about my mother, but tomorrow, not only my mother, I also want to hear the teacher talk about my own story. I always think it will be very interesting."

This time, Matsumae Shinchun didn't give Fujii Itsuki a chance to speak and ran away.

She stood under the eaves not far away and waved goodbye to him.

Fujii Itsuki laughed. This was the first time he felt the liveliness that a girl of her age should have from Matsumae Shinchun.

Pretty cute
*
At nine o'clock in the evening, Fujii Itsuki opened the door of Kuka's house.

"Nine- no, Chitose? Why are you here?"

"Brother Tree"

Yang Kui Chitose lowered her head, her hands hanging down, and she was holding something in her hands. She was staggering, as if a little exhausted, and her voice was almost hoarse.

Moreover, the light in the room was clearly bright, but why couldn't he see Qiansui's face clearly?

　Friendly recommendation of a book.

　　"Love After Discharge" - Overlooking the Panda

　　After a car accident, he traveled through time and space, and found himself waking up in a mental hospital.

　　Bad news: The doctor said I finally got rid of the illusion of being in another world, but I was left with some partial amnesia.

　　Good news: the person who came to pick me up from the hospital was a beautiful girl with long black hair.

　　Maybe even better news: she said we were a couple before we lost our memories.

　　But...what about the girl who lives in the ward upstairs and looks exactly like her companion from the other world?
　　While recovering memories, gradually uncover the truth——

　　Then, fall into a complicated and passionate love.

　　This is a joyful love story that focuses on daily life, with a small but insignificant amount of fantasy elements.

(End of this chapter)