Chapter 276 Past Memories

The sight is shrouded by the starry sky.

What you see with your eyes is the starlight of the city. The starry sky and the starlight are intertwined under the night sky, like a painting scroll.

A gentle breeze blew by, bringing with it the coolness of the mountains. The hustle and bustle of Sapporo was isolated in the distance, leaving only the tranquility of the night and the starry sky.

In the distance, the lights are brilliant, like the reflection of the Milky Way, scattered in every corner of the city.

It was the first time for Fujii Itsuki to see such scenery and the first time to stand on such a hilltop.

He felt extremely comfortable and just wanted to open his arms and feel the freedom in the wind.

"I told you this place is great, I wasn't kidding, right?"

He turned around and saw Akai Muko, still in her school uniform, slowly walking out from the shadow of the tree. The girl's eyes were shining with stars. She was carrying a mountaineering bag similar to his on her back, the shoulder straps were a little loose, and her face showed a trace of fatigue, but she couldn't hide the slightly raised corners of her mouth.

Akai Muzi also raised her head and looked up at the night sky.

"It's amazing."

Fujii Itsuki murmured, his eyes once again cast towards the wonder of the city lights and the stars in the sky shining together, full of wonder, "It's like being surrounded by the Milky Way. I understand why so many people like to travel. Even if the journey is boring, it's worth it to see a scene like this."

"Stop talking so much and come and help."

Fujii Shu turned around and saw Muzi had already put down her backpack and skillfully took out the tent and tools. He was stunned for a moment, then quickly walked over, squatted down, and started working with her.

With the tacit cooperation of the two people, the tent was quickly erected and firmly pitched on the hillside. The night was quiet.

Akai Muzi took out a small hand-grinded coffee machine, a bag of coffee beans, and two enamel cups from her backpack, and then took out a small gas tank and a small beaker. After preparing the beaker and pouring in the mountain spring water she had collected on the road, she turned on the switch of the gas tank.

With a swish, the fire flickered between the two people.

Fujii Itsuki looked at the tool in her hand and laughed in surprise:
"It's really exquisite. They even brought freshly ground equipment."

"Ah."

Akai Muzi simply responded. Fujii Itsuki was suddenly stunned at this moment. He stared at her meticulous movements, then pointed his index finger at himself: "Could it be. For. Me?"

Akai Muzi rolled her eyes at him, then spread her hands and sighed:
"Ah Shu, you, you are prone to being sentimental sometimes. I brought this thing with me because I must need it. Why would I prepare it especially for you?"

"But."

Akai Muzi noticed the embarrassment on Fujii Itsuki's face, a barely perceptible smile appeared on the corner of her mouth, and then she took out another bag of Yirgacheffe.

Fujii Itsuki saw through it immediately, "Great! Muzi, when did you learn to tease me like this?!"

".What an idiot."

Fujii Itsuki sat next to her and watched her start grinding the beans with a hand coffee grinder.

The mountain breeze blew, and the flames of the small gas lamps swayed with it. Her face was also outlined incomparably clearly in the night because of the flames.

"It's very expensive, right?" asked Fujii Itsuki.

Akai Muzi did not answer.

Seeing her like this, Fujii Itsuki couldn't help but move closer to her, then sat beside her and looked up at the sky:
"Muzi, you are so reluctant to even buy me a new school uniform. How can you afford to buy me a bag of Yirgacheffe? This amount is enough for you to buy two sets of clothes."

"I'm happy."

"Didn't you say that spending money is the most uncomfortable thing for you? If you lose even 100 yen when buying something, you will feel uncomfortable for the whole day."

"Yes, that's right." Akai Muzi agreed cheerfully, while still grinding the beans in her hands.

Fujii Itsuki turned his head and looked at her, "Then you still——"

"But I never feel this way when I buy things for you."

"Is it.?"

"It's weird, isn't it? When I go out shopping, I can't even afford to buy myself a bottle of water. I have to drink from the tap on the street, but I'm willing to buy you this 100 grams of Yirgacheffe for 3000 yen."

"."

Fujii Itsuki noticed that Akai Muzi had a smile on her face when she said these words.

"Is it because we are a couple now? I'm not sure, maybe I'm just stupid. I feel more comfortable being nice to others than being nice to myself."

Akai Muzi put down the grinder and looked up at him for a while, as if examining him, and as if with a little teasing. She smiled gently, then poured in boiling water and brewed the coffee with a steady hand, and the rich aroma gradually spread.

Fujii Itsuki looked at her with a relaxed expression, "But you haven't bought anything for anyone else."

“Isn’t my mother a human?”

Amid the aroma of coffee, she handed the enamel cup to Fujii Itsuki.

Fujii Shu reached out and took it: "How can this be counted? Of course! That's not what I meant, Muzi, don't misunderstand!"

Akai Muzi chuckled, "It seems that every time we talk about this kind of thing, your IQ plummets, Shu. How could this be? You are usually a very smart person. Are you nervous?"

"Maybe." Fujii Itsuki stared at the coffee in his hand, "After all, this is the first time I experience this feeling."

"How do you feel? Shu, why don't you explain it more clearly~"

"You won't stop until I explain myself clearly, right?" Fujii Itsuki blushed and felt a little embarrassed, but he quickly recovered, though he still stuttered. "To put it bluntly, it's just my first date with a girl."

"Correction! This is your first date on the mountain! I've accompanied you many times before!"

"I'll accompany you, okay?"

"They are almost the same," Akagi Muzi squatted with her head on the side in front of her knees, staring at Fujii Shu's face. She thought he looked handsome and cute. "I didn't expect you to be so innocent in this regard, Shu! Are you fantasizing about something happening to me~~"

"Hey! Muzi, don't let your imagination run wild. I'm the kind of person who insists on my own opinions. I will never agree to anything that happens before marriage."

"Oh, yeah, me too."

After taking a sip of coffee, the atmosphere suddenly became a little strange.

Fujii Itsuki glanced sideways at Akai Muko and discovered that she was also looking sideways at him.

She smiled with her teeth showing, and Fujii Itsuki felt as if some strange emotion was touched in his heart. He turned his head away passively and took another sip of coffee to hide his embarrassment.

Seeing him turn his head away in panic, Akai Muzi smiled even more. She reached out and patted his shoulder gently, saying jokingly:
"Okay, I won't tease you anymore. But, Shu, it's okay to relax a little sometimes."

Fujii Itsuki's grip on the cup tightened slightly, he sighed softly, and couldn't help but secretly glance at her:
"Muzi, you always make me feel that I am too serious recently. I am not used to you leading the way so easily every time."

Akai Muzi put down the coffee cup, looked up at the starry sky, and said softly: "There's nothing wrong with being serious. Only people like you can be trusted. I like your seriousness, otherwise I probably wouldn't have the chance to be brought here by you to see these things today."

"By me..." Fujii Itsuki was slightly stunned.

"Yes, it was you. Without your seriousness, we wouldn't have the relationship we have now, right?"

Fujii Itsuki was stunned for a moment, as if thinking about her words. He lowered his head and looked at the coffee liquid in the cup, and the strange emotion in his heart became stronger and stronger, but it was difficult to express.

".Speaking of which, Muzi, why do you like me?" he couldn't help but ask softly.

"Ashu! What are you talking about?" Akai Muzi smiled and patted him lightly, "You are a top student in our school, and you are also quite handsome. Others may not say it, but I know that many girls in the class are secretly paying attention to you."

Fujii Itsuki shook his head helplessly: "It's okay to watch, but in Futaba High School, having good grades is considered an oddity. Even if a girl likes me, they will avoid me because of my club affairs."

Akai Muzi looked at him quietly for a moment, and said gently: "Didn't I just say it? I like your seriousness, Shu."

"Is it?"

"And I feel a sense of 'kindness' from you. I always hope that there is someone who is willing to believe in me and trust me, and that person is willing to stand up for me when I am most helpless and in need of help."

Fujii Jitu looked into her eyes.

With Mu Zi's words, he recalled the beginning of how the two of them began to become more familiar with each other.

"Besides! In this world, isn't it suitable for a little lonely person without friends or classmates to keep warm together like this?" Fujii Itsuki smiled and nodded slightly, with a warm feeling in his heart. He lowered his head to look at the coffee in his hand, took a sip, then raised his head with a serious look in his eyes: "Since we are keeping warm together, no matter where we are in the future, I think I will definitely accompany you."

This sentence is ordinary and commonplace.

But to Akai Muzi, it sounded different.

".Really, it's so sensational."

At this time, Fujii Itsuki turned his head to look at her again and found that Muzi reached out to wipe his eyes.

Camping in the mountains became much easier afterwards.

After drinking coffee, we watched the moon together, looked at the night view of Sapporo together, and ate instant noodles together in the cold wind.

Then they lay together on the grass that smelled of earth, with their limbs spread out and looking up at the sky.

During the chat, we talked about the past, gossip, and whether there are aliens among the billions of stars in the universe.

"By the way, what do you want to do in the future, Ashu?"

"Hmm? Don't you know my dreams and goals?"

"That's not what I'm talking about. I want to ask you, what are you going to do after you achieve your dream?"

“After achieving my dream.”

Fujii Itsuki held his head in his hands, his vision becoming blurred between the numerous stars.

".Then I really don't know."

"I want to open a flower shop!" Akai Muzi suddenly said.

"flower shop?"

"Yes, flower shop, don't you think flowers are beautiful? They can convey emotions to people, bring happiness to people, and make life and the world full of color.

“When I was little, I had no money and I often worked illegally, making myself dirty and smelly.

“It’s inevitable that some people will look down on me when they meet me. I don’t pay much attention to these looks, but I still can’t help feeling a little lonely.

“Until I saw a bunch of camellias on the side of the road.

"They are so beautiful, so charming, they just stand quietly by the road, attracting me even though I am grey and gloomy. They never show me disgust, nor do they hate the strange smell on me."

When Akai Muzi said this, she smiled and closed her eyes.

"Of course, I'm not afraid that you will laugh at me for being childish when I tell you the reason why I want to open a flower shop the most. I hope that a prince charming will come to me and give me a bouquet of flowers. He doesn't need to be handsome, capable, or powerful. He just needs to come to me and give me a bouquet of flowers, and I will be willing to give him everything."

"Prince Charming?"

Akai Muzi stared at him and smiled: "Yeah, it's very childish."

"A bouquet of flowers can capture you?"

“It’s simple, isn’t it?”

"Really just for a lifetime?"

"That's right, for a lifetime." Akai Muzi smiled at him beautifully, "Ashu, I won't lie to my prince charming. If I say a lifetime, it means a lifetime!"

A lifetime means a lifetime!
A lifetime means a lifetime!
A lifetime is a lifetime.
Somehow, after hearing these words, Fujii Itsuki suddenly felt a splitting headache.

The smile of Mu Zi in front of him began to twist and disappear in the vortex. Fujii Itsuki wanted to endure the pain and reach out to touch it, but he only felt the world spinning.

uncomfortable.
Extreme discomfort
He indulged in this feeling for a long time, until the pain made his head break out in a cold sweat. He suddenly opened his eyes and woke up.

Tick-tick-tick
The clock ticked in silence. Fujii Itsuki looked around and found himself still lying in bed. The sunlight poured in through the curtains, warm and dazzling.

His heartbeat was still a little accelerated, the dream just now was still lingering in his mind, and Akai Muzi's past smile seemed to still be in his mind.

"Having a nightmare?"

Hearing the voice, Fujii Itsuki realized that Jiuhuayue was rubbing her eyes and lying naked in his arms.

"Ah."

"I noticed that you haven't been sleeping well these past few days, uncle. Is it Xinchun's problem or Qiansui's problem? How about I ask them not to come to see you at night?"

".And then you'll be able to come?"

"What? I really care about you. I'll make you something delicious tonight? To replenish your body?"

"also."

Fujii Itsuki lifted the quilt. Since it was early morning, Jiuhuayue saw him as soon as he lifted the quilt.

The girl looked at him for a moment, then looked back at him.

Fujii Itsuki sat down on the edge of the bed and coughed twice as if to cover up something.

"I know, I know."

Jiuhuayue sighed, but still got out of bed obediently and walked barefoot on the floor.

"Brother Shu! Brother Shu! It's time for breakfast! Eat--!"

Yang Kui Chitose was holding the spatula, and her originally cheerful face suddenly became suppressed, and she even made a disdainful "tsk" sound.

"How long will it take for Brother Shu to get ready for breakfast?"

"It should be soon." Fujii Itsuki touched Jiuhuayue's little head.

Yang Kui Qiansui was a little jealous when she saw this, "How long should it take? Forget it, Brother Shu, get dressed and come to the living room to eat!"

"Ah."

After a while, Fujii Shu let go of Jiuhuayue's little head.

In fact, Jiuhuayue still likes to be touched on the head, but she doesn’t like it now because her face is puffy.

".Are you feeling better now?"

"Thank you."

".Although I feel it's weird that you're so polite now, but I feel bad if you don't say it."

"We treat each other with respect."

"Then you will return the favor to me after breakfast?"

"sure."

".Xinchun and Qiansui are here!"

"What does it matter? Just see it."

"Hmph," Jiu Huayue said with some anticipation, "Then I'll go back to my room to change clothes and have breakfast."

"Well, let's go."

Fujii Itsuki watched Jiuhuayue's slender figure walk out of the bedroom, but when he stood in front of the mirror and saw his own face, he couldn't help but recall the past Muzi.

Recalling those past conversations in the dream
Indeed, this is a pity.

But it's all over, it's all over
He should focus on the present. Fujii Itsuki straightened his tie, closed the closet, and walked out of the bedroom.

(End of this chapter)