Chapter 35 Encouragement and Being Encouraged
"Well, teacher, yes, Yue and I have known each other since we were born."

Listening patiently to Matsumae Shinharu's story, Fujii Itsuki sat opposite her and took a sip of hot tea.

"Because of the past relationship between the Jiuhua family and the Matsumae family, Uncle Jiuhua often came to visit my house. When I was a child, I had too many courses and etiquette, and I didn't have much time to rest. I stayed at home most of the time to study. I didn't have any friends or other playmates. After a while, I became good friends with Yue who often came to my house."

Matsumae Shinharu recalled the past with a slight smile on her face.

"My father usually doesn't allow me to make friends casually, but Yue Bu Yue's family and our family are old friends, and both parents are happy to see us playing together. With my parents' consent, I came into contact with people of my age for the first time and felt like I had friends for the first time.

"From that time on, I felt that our meeting was destined. Because Yue and I got along very well from the first time we met. We never had a quarrel or an argument. We took the same classes, went to the same school, were in the same class, and were always good friends holding hands."

Having said this, Matsumae Shinchun paused.

"Until she left when she was nine years old."

Nine years old again
The professor passed away when Matsumae was nine years old.

Good friends left, mother passed away. That year, Matsumae Shinharu had to bear a lot.

"Teacher Fujii, do you know why Yue moved away?"

"It should be that the family has fallen into poverty. Her mother told me about this. Mrs. Jiuhua told me that she and her husband saw many years ago that Otaru's development prospects were not good, and their family needed to find another way out."

"."

Matsumae Shinharu was in mixed feelings.

"No wonder. No wonder after Yue left, my father forbade me to mention anything about the Jiuhua family."

Fujii Itsuki was very curious when he heard this, "Strange, even so, there is no need for the Kuka family and the Matsumae family to completely break off their relationship, right?"

Matsumae Shinchun shook his head, "I'm not sure, maybe something happened between the two families back then. My father doesn't want to hear the word 'Jiuhua' from me. Sakuraboku should know, but he probably won't tell me."

This is a matter between the two families, and Fujii Itsuki has no say in it.

He put down the teacup, "Matsumae thinks that Kuka moved to Tokyo, right?"

"Yes. She left very suddenly. Yue kept in touch with me through letters at first, but then suddenly stopped. I don't know why."

"That's right. After leaving Otaru, Jiuhuayue didn't stay in Tokyo, but went to live in Hyogo Prefecture. Her mother told me. Matsumae, your letters have been sent to Tokyo, or their original address, so naturally they fell into the sea.

"You two families probably have some conflict. After your parents found out that you were still exchanging letters, they probably cut off your connection."

"I see."

After talking for so long, Fujii Itsuki had a general understanding of the relationship between Kuka and Matsumae.

The two grew up together, inseparable, studying and living together.

The relationship between the two of them cannot be considered as ordinary childhood sweethearts, but rather lifelong friends.

As Matsumae herself said, in the past, Yue was her best and only friend.

They are each other's only one.

But this raises another point of doubt.

If the two lost contact because of some conflict between the Kuka family and the Matsumae family, then why didn't Kuka Yue contact Matsumae Shinharu after returning to Otaru?

"I suggest that you ask her in person, I have her contact information."

"."

"Matsumae? What do you think?"

".No thanks, teacher."

Matsumae Shinchun shook her head and whispered, "Teacher, you just said that Yue saw the amulet I gave you and asked for my last name. If Yue still didn't recognize me, there is only one possibility left."

——Jiuhuayue completely forgot about her good friend Matsumae Shinchun.

To be honest, just by listening to Matsumae Shinharu talking about their childhood, Fujii Itsuki could feel the sincere friendship between them.

Many years have passed, but Matsumae Shinchun still misses Kyuukazuki.

My long-time friend has forgotten me
Oh, this scene makes me feel uncomfortable just thinking about it.

The two should have been good friends.

No, I have to think of a way.

Fujii Itsuki frowned and thought, trying to find some breakthrough in the relationship between the two.

A few minutes later, he suddenly remembered the incident.
"By the way, Matsumae, there's one thing I haven't told you yet."

".teacher?"

"I tutored you a few days ago, didn't I come back late?"

"Ah."

"That day I happened to run into Jiu Huayue playing guitar and singing in the courtyard. I overheard her singing unintentionally, and she found out. Then, she was so angry with me that she started to cry."

"Are you crying out of anger?"

"It's weird, right? Actually, I didn't understand it at first. But when I saw her running into the house crying and saying, 'I practiced so hard not for you!', I suddenly understood."

Fujii Itsuki paused when facing Matsumae Shinharu's curious expression.

"It turned out that I somehow became her first audience and occupied an important position in her heart, so she cried. She practiced guitar for so long for a very important person, and her first audience must be that person."

Matsumae Shinchun was puzzled, "But what does this have to do with me, teacher?"

"You don't understand this, Matsumae. The key to the problem is that the song she played and sang was Kasuga Kage."

"Haruhi Kage?" Matsumae Shinchun didn't quite understand. "What's wrong with this song?"

"It doesn't matter what the song is like, what matters is the connotation of the song. This song is for my good friend, it represents the so-called um."

Fujii Itsuki tried hard to recall Chitose's message that day, "A lifelong friend."

“Friends for life”

"That's right. I think the reason why Jiu Huayue didn't come to see you in the past three months must be that she was practicing guitar hard. She wanted to give you this guitar after she finished practicing it, as an apology for not contacting you for so many years."

Matsumae Shinchun took some time to process this information and figured it out. "Is this really the case?"

"Don't believe it? Matsumae, you can check the origin of the song 'Haruhi Kage' on the Internet. Even though I don't quite understand it, the connotation of the song is indeed like this."

"How can it be"

"Nothing is impossible. Jiu Huayue hasn't made many friends in these years. She is lonely and a little shy. She doesn't like strangers. And you, Songqian, are her only friend in the past.

"She knew that it was wrong for her to suddenly return to Otaru without telling you, and she must have felt guilty about not contacting you in all these years. She wanted to reconcile with you and go back to the way they were when they were little, but she didn't know how to start the conversation. It would definitely not be a good idea to meet you suddenly, so she thought of the idea of ​​the guitar. She wanted to find a chance to tell you that she was back, and she also brought you a gift to apologize."

Matsumae Shinchun was a little bit unbelievable.

Lifelong friend Yue, is this what he wanted to tell himself with that song?

Does she still remember herself?

Do you still remember that good friend who used to play with you every day?

That’s right, it must be like this.

How else can I explain why Yue hasn't come to see me in three months?

Yue, she must still remember me, and her good friend.

The haze in the girl's heart disappeared in an instant, and Matsumae Shinchun regained her joy. At the same time, she noticed Fujii Itsuki who had been comforting her in front of her.

"Thank you so much, Mr. Fujii! I know what to do. In a few days, when Yue comes back from Tokyo, I will take the initiative to contact her!"

Seeing that she was about to stand up again, Fujii Itsuki reached out and held her shoulders down, "Stop, Songqian, you are about to bow again, don't do that, sit down first."

"Ah? I'm so sorry, teacher. I forgot again."

"You, it's because you have been influenced by the etiquette of your big family since you were young, which leads you to bow and say thank you whenever you encounter something happy."

"Teacher, you deserve my help. My respect and love for you are from the bottom of my heart!"

"I'd rather hear why you say that."

"Teacher, you were just taking care of my mood, right? You knew that I was very depressed because of Yue's matter. When you saw me like this, you have been helping me think about the relationship between Yue and me. Teacher, you are really considerate and a very gentle man."

"You're exaggerating."

"And in the past few days too, you have always taken care of my feelings, teacher."

"I've said it many times, you are my mentor's daughter, I should take good care of you."

"No! Mr. Fujii, I think apart from this relationship, you still chose to do that after seeing that I was in a bad mood just because you, Mr. Fujii, are a very good person."

"That's ridiculous."

"Absolutely not."

Matsumae Xinchun shook her head. She said this very seriously. She smiled slightly and said, "In fact, since the day I met Mr. Fujii, I felt that the teacher must be a noble person in my life."

"My Lord? Why do you say that?"

"Master Fox God told me himself!"

Fujii Itsuki laughed, "I almost forgot that you are also a shrine maiden of Matsumae Shrine. Matsumae, thank you very much. I am also surprised that you and Jiuhua have such a good relationship. How should I describe the relationship between me and that girl? We should be friends. And you and her are also friends. Since we are all friends, it is only right for me to take care of your feelings."

"Teacher Fujii"

"Alright, alright, there's no point in talking any more. Let's drink some tea. Don't you still want to learn how your mother makes tea? I know you don't have much free time. If you don't learn now, you don't know when you'll be able to learn next time."

"Ok!"

Two hours later, Nagayama Sakura came to pick up Matsumae Shinchun and take her home.

It was snowing lightly outside and the air was relatively cool.

When Matsumae Shinchun left, she kept thanking me, as if she was afraid that I couldn't feel her enthusiasm.

This is a thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Seeing the girl staring at him with grateful eyes, Fujii Itsuki thought that she might just be willing to give herself to him.

It was indeed wonderful to be thanked, but Matsumae Shinchun was so enthusiastic that he felt unworthy.

I just thought of some words for her, but I got such a response.

"Teacher Fujii."

"how."

Fujii Itsuki saw that Matsumae Shinchun suddenly changed her usual behavior and became calm and confident.

"Teacher, you must read the letter I wrote today. Although it is my personal opinion, I think it should be able to help you."

"letter?"

"Yes, teacher, please check it."

After saying that, Matsumae Shinchun was called away by Nagayama Sakura, and she smiled and said goodbye in the car.

Did Matsumae deliver the letter this morning?
After watching the Maybach go away, Fujii Itsuki went outside the door to collect the mailbox. He used the key to open the iron door behind the mailbox and took out the letter given to him by Matsumae Shinharu.

He took a quick glance at it and immediately realized that this was a letter containing an apology and some suggestions.

She has the demeanor of a lady from a noble family.

[
Dear Mr. Fujii
The day has passed, and under the starry sky on a snowy night, I feel ashamed to have disturbed Mr. Fujii's peace and would like to express my sincere gratitude.

I, Shinharu Matsumae, feel deeply honored to be blessed by Mr. Fujii's teaching ethics.

Today, I would like to express my concerns in a few words.

Allow me to thank you first. Life is full of different situations, and everyone has stories from the past hidden in their hearts.

The past sometimes makes us sad and sometimes lingers in our mind.

I hope Mr. Fujii will understand my curiosity about the past. I am deeply sorry for my presumptuous behavior in the past. I feel guilty.

Secondly, I would like to emphasize my respect for Mr. Fujii's educational work.

Although the time is short, the teacher's words and deeds, profound knowledge, and patient teaching have already had a profound impact on my heart.

A teacher is not only an educator, but also a mentor worthy of respect. I feel proud to have the honor of having you as my teacher.

The day before yesterday afternoon, the teacher's expression often made me worried and unable to sleep at night.

I often think about whether I have done anything to offend the teacher, or whether I have unintentionally touched the teacher's unspeakable secrets.

Even though I knew very little about the teacher, in just seven days, I felt deeply his diligence, patience, and good teaching methods. The word "restraint" was especially engraved in my mind.

Later, thinking carefully about what the teacher said, I gradually realized that the teacher might have something in his heart that was difficult to say.

Personal feelings may be insignificant, but in my opinion, what the teacher failed to express fully may be because he has some kind of "constraint" in his heart that makes it difficult to speak out.

As a student, although I am not good at speaking, I am willing to boldly give advice to the teacher.

Teachers do not need external affirmation. If there is something restraining in your heart, why not break free bravely and move forward like before? !

If you want to prove that you are not afraid of failure, you must face failure, just as my father always taught me.

Although my words are poor, I have great respect for my teacher. I hope these words can help the teacher in some small way.

Finally, I hope that teachers can always move forward and be open-minded.

Matsumae Shinharu, I would like to express my apologies.

]
“Why not just do as we did in the past, break free bravely, and move forward.”

Fujii Itsuki murmured this sentence and laughed.

Miss Matsumae's words really woke me up.

It just happened to coincide with my thoughts this morning.

[If you want to prove that you are not afraid of failure, you must face failure, just as my father always taught me]
Instead of struggling internally about whether to care about past failures, it is better to deny them directly through actions.

Instead of wandering in confusion, it is better to move forward in confusion. Perhaps, you can really find your own "real thing" again.

Matsumae Kokoharu, ah Matsumae Kokoharu.
In a sense, she really understands herself.

Yep.

It is better to choose a day than to hit it.

Fujii Itsuki has decided to try to apply for the teaching job again tomorrow.

(End of this chapter)