Miss Heir wasn't very kind to me.

Chapter 65:31. "Hot Spring Trip - Unexpected Situation"

When we returned to Jiuyuan's hot spring hotel, the sky had already darkened completely. Only above the distant mountain peaks, the faint afterglow of the sunset still lingered.

"Everyone, dinner is ready—"

Light footsteps sounded in the corridor, the sound of the distant future.

"Okay, here we come."

Masumi responded.

Soon, two footsteps were heard in succession. The creaking sound of walking on the wooden corridor was quite obvious. Then Seno said, "Haiyue, come downstairs for dinner quickly," and then the footsteps slowly moved away.

He opened the paper door and saw the backs of Kamishiro and Seno disappear at the end of the stairs. In his peripheral vision, Hanekawa Kaizuki walked out of the room rubbing his eyes.

Seeing her lazy and sleepy appearance, he asked, "Have you been sleeping since noon?"

"Ah."

Haiyue nodded slightly, reached out to touch her curled hair, and walked downstairs in a daze.

She seemed to make no sound when she walked.

Masumi's eyes fell on Haiyue's feet and found that she always walked on tiptoe when she was barefoot without socks, touching the floor with her toes first, very carefully, moving like a cat.

Because she only used her toes to support her weight, she walked unsteadily.

"Isn't it awkward to walk like this?" Masumi couldn't help but ask.

"awkward."

"So... usually we don't go this way..."

"To reduce the noise..."

Haiyue answered softly.

She is indeed a strange girl.

The stairs in the hotel are quite gentle, probably because many of the regular guests are elderly people.

Masumi and Kaizuki came to the spacious Japanese-style room that served as a restaurant. The others had already been waiting there, including Rin, Asami, and Kuon's family of three.

One night and two meals, dinner is a hot spring kaiseki meal that looks quite sumptuous.

Shrimp sauce tofu, red ginger oysters, sashimi platter, oyster seafood hotpot, tuna rice balls, fried tempura, miso soup, pickled vegetables.

Masumi originally thought that since this place is located deep in the mountains, the ingredients would mostly be mountain products, but he didn't expect that there would be a lot of fresh seafood as well.

After putting their hands together to express gratitude for the food, everyone began to eat.

The creamy tofu is soaked in shrimp juice; the fishy smell of oysters is removed by red ginger, leaving only a sweet taste; the sliced ​​fish, shellfish and octopus tentacles on the plate are slow-cooked at low temperature, and he dips them in wasabi and soy sauce and eats them, which tastes soft and tender.

The dish that Masumi praised the most tonight was the oyster seafood hotpot in front of her.

The dish is cooked in a casserole. The main ingredients are oysters, shrimps, cabbage and tofu. No water is added, but it relies entirely on the moisture of the cabbage and the original juice of the seafood. The cabbage is cooked in the pot until it is soft and absorbs the delicious soup, which is very appetizing.

"Mmm~ so delicious."

Asami pressed her cheek.

"These were all made by my father," Wei Lai introduced.

"We're not the only hot spring hotel in Kochi Town, but Kyuonso's business is the best, all thanks to Dad's hot spring cuisine."

The girl said this with a slightly proud tone.

Masumi quietly opened her phone and found that she could find this store on Tabelog. A rating of 3.7 was already a very high score for the conservative Japanese people.

If the score is above 4, it is usually either a Michelin-starred restaurant or a restaurant awarded by Tabelog itself. The score is very valuable, unlike Google Maps, which is seriously inflated. A score of 4 or above is the entry threshold.

He also checked the reviews of Fanxing, which was 3.3 points, which was above passing but below excellent. However, many high-scoring reviews had been added in the past month, and it was very close to the watershed of 3.4 points.

"Wow, that's amazing, Mr. Kuon." Asami exclaimed sincerely.

Lin Yin also nodded in greeting: "Thank you very much for your hospitality."

Faced with everyone's praise, Kuon Yusuke just said "thank you" stiffly, and seemed to be a man who was not good at speaking.

Compared to her, Kuon Ryoko is very versatile and enthusiastic in dealing with people. She poured wine for Mami quietly and gently.

"Thank you, aunt."

Asami smiled and picked up the wine glass, taking a sip.

"Masumi, do you want to drink?" asked Kuon Ryoko.

"Thank you, I'll just do it myself."

"You're welcome. It's a rare opportunity for future friends to visit my home, and as a guest, please relax in our shop."

Ryoko Kuon smiled and poured him wine. The bottle was printed with the trademark "Kiku Masamune", a well-known wine merchant in Kobe City.

More than 12% of the island nation's sake is produced in the coastal area between Kobe and Umeda, Osaka, stretching kilometers from east to west and known as the "Nada Gogo." The second largest area is Fushimi, Kyoto.

Masumi had heard about these anecdotes from Asami and him. Although he was a citizen of Kobe, he knew nothing about them.

"I'd love to go to Niigata if I get the chance. The rice there is delicious, the sake is famous, and you can ski there."

Asami sipped sake and chatted with Kuon Ryoko with a smile. The two of them got along surprisingly well and were now talking about travel and local customs.

The others ate in silence. Masumi glanced at Kuon Mirai who was enjoying chawanmushi. She wondered if she had spoken to her parents yet, but judging by her reaction, she probably hadn't.

"Did Mirai also attend junior high school in Xiangchi Town?"

"Yes, it's the only junior high school in the town."

At some point, the topic between the two people turned to the future.

"Because there are so few children in this town, when she goes to school in the future, there will only be two children in her class, including her."

Kuon Ryoko sighed, "So when she was about to go to high school in another city, I was worried about whether she could take care of herself and whether she could make friends."

"Fortunately, everything went smoothly at school, and there were seniors like you at the cafe who were willing to take care of her. I'm really grateful."

She said it sincerely.

"It's not like I'm taking care of her," Mami said modestly. "Mirai is very mature. Sometimes, I feel like she's taking care of me."

Kuon Ryoko smiled faintly.

"That child has always been very sensible. Her father and I are very busy running the hotel, so she never gives us any worries. She is also very hardworking in her studies."

"We originally wanted to send her to Yangfu City for high school, but it was actually her own idea to go to Kobe."

"Eh—so that's how it is. It takes a lot of courage for a 15-year-old girl to go to high school in another city alone."

"That's right."

Kuon Ryoko's words naturally revealed pride: "Her father and I carefully considered it and finally decided to support her."

"She is smart and talented. We also hope that this child can leave a rural place like Xiangchi Town and go to a bigger city to develop and make a name for herself."

She said with the hope that her children would become successful, "How pitiful are the parents in the world."

"They are very open-minded parents." Mami listened carefully and spoke the truth to please the elders.

Because she had been chatting and hadn't drunk too much, her disheveled side was hidden well for the time being.

"It's not as good as Asami-chan said."

Kuon Ryoko chuckled and explained, "We didn't choose to support her right away. We talked for a long time, considered many possible situations, and made our choice only after fully understanding her feelings."

"She didn't disappoint us at all. Her father and I are very happy."

"However, I also hope that she won't put too much burden on herself."

"Perhaps this is the reason why we stick to this hotel."

"Yeah, that's right," Asami murmured in agreement.

After listening quietly at the side, Masumi showed a thoughtful expression.

He then realized that it seemed that every family had a different way of getting along, and that parents who gave their children subtle freedoms were not necessarily letting them go.

At the same time, the image of his father, Ken Miyazawa, unconsciously emerged in his mind.

Masumi subconsciously glanced at Kuon Mirai and found that she had lowered her head for a long time, staring at the lid of the chawanmushi. Her long brown hair fell down, making it difficult to see her expression.

"I'm full, everyone, enjoy your meal."

Jiuyuan Weilai quietly closed the lid of the bowl and suddenly stood up. Her movements were so fast that people couldn't see her expression.

"Eh? Are you so full? It seems like Little Mirai didn't eat much."

Mami opened her eyes wide, and after Mirai left, she began to savor sake glass after glass.

"Ami, you're going to take a hot spring bath later, right? It's better for you to drink less," Kuon Ryoko advised.

"After drinking alcohol, blood circulation speeds up. If you soak in a hot spring, your blood supply to your body will be insufficient, making you easily dizzy or even blackout."

"We've had alcoholic customers in our store before, and this has happened before."

"Don't worry, Auntie. I'm different from them." Mami said nonchalantly, "I digest alcohol pretty quickly, so it won't be a problem."

This is a lie.

Masumi drank the miso soup silently without exposing her to her face.

"Really? Even so, you still have to be careful." A gentle smile appeared on Kuon Ryoko's lips.

After enjoying the sumptuous and delicious hot spring meal, Masumi returned to the room, took the prepared towel and yukata, and prepared to soak in the open-air hot spring.

As soon as he reached the corridor, he heard the rustling of several girls in the next room, seemingly planning to go to the hot springs as well. He was about to go ahead, but was a little too slow when Asami called him from behind.

"Masumi-kun, why are you walking so fast? Since we're going to the hot springs, let's go together."

"It's not a mixed bath, is there any need for us to go the same way?"

"Hey, are you looking forward to the mixed bath? What a pity, this isn't the mixed bath you were dreaming of."

Asami teased Masumi, but her own cheeks were flushed.

"Are you drunk again?"

"No, I'm just a little tipsy, just a little tipsy."

While the two were chatting, Rin and Haiyue had already packed up and walked out of the room holding towels and yukatas.

In order to make it easier to take a bath, several girls tied their hair into buns.

Masumi finally went to the open-air hot spring with the three girls.

I changed my shoes at the entrance, walked along the small path for two minutes, turned behind the hotel, and arrived at my destination.

The four of them separated at the dividing line marked "Men's Bath" and "Women's Bath."

They were the only guests in the hotel today. Masumi changed his clothes in the locker room and walked into the bath alone holding a towel.

Being alone in such a large and spacious space, Masumi suddenly felt as if he had the entire place to himself.

At this moment, a familiar voice rang in my ears:
"Hey—there are only three of us here. It feels like we have the whole place to ourselves."

The hot spring uses a tall, airtight bamboo fence as a partition to separate the "men's hot spring" and the "women's hot spring". There is no possibility of peeking through the gaps between the bamboo fences, and the safety level is qualified.

However, the sound of the "female bath" on the other side could be clearly transmitted through the echo of the hot spring.

"Masumi-kun, can you hear me—"

"can not hear."

"Oh? So that's how it is." Mami's voice came from the other side of the bamboo fence, trying to suppress her laughter.

"Masumi-kun——"

She was up to her old tricks.

This time Masumi decided to remain silent and didn't respond.

He leaned against the smooth rock and soaked his body in the warm bath. Every pore on his skin was relaxed, as if he was in a spring paradise, sweeping away the fatigue of climbing during the day.

But Mami didn't give up. She kept calling "Masumi-kun" several times without getting tired of it. Masumi had no choice but to lazily respond, "What?"

The sound of rushing water came from behind the bamboo fence.

"Little Rin'in and Little Haiyue are showering right now."

"Oh."

"Your reaction was so bland. I thought you could eat three bowls of white rice just by hearing the sound."

"Am I some kind of sex-hungry ghost in your eyes?"

"Eh—if I remember correctly, on your first day at Fanxing, you almost saw little Rin'in naked, right?"

"...Metoo incident..."

This is Hanekawa Kaigetsu's voice.

After a long sigh, Kamishiro Rin's voice could be heard, her voice a little hoarse than usual:
"Ms. Mami...I really shouldn't have let you drink so much."

"I'm not drunk, just a little tipsy."

Although he was still trying to argue, his increasingly lewd voice and obscene topics showed that he was definitely drunk.

"Xiao Linyin, you should say a few words to him too."

"I have nothing to say..."

The flushing sound ended, and the sound of bodies being immersed in water came from behind the bamboo fence.

"And don't you think... it's weird to be talking to a boy in this state?"

"Strange? What's strange?"

"Neither of us was wearing any clothes, there was just a bamboo fence between us..."

There seemed to be shyness, timidity and uneasiness in the trembling voice. It was rare to see Kamishiro like this.

"Eh? Rin-chan, you're really concerned about this, huh..."

The teasing words stopped abruptly.

Masumi guessed that he was forced to stop by Rin'ine's cold gaze.

However, the effect of Mami's words just now was delayed, and he couldn't help but think of the night when he first returned to Fanxing. In the room, Kamishiro Rin'in had an alert and uneasy expression, like a female beast whose territory had been invaded.

Then the imagination cannot be restrained, outlining the convex and concave curves in the mind.

Snow-white and slender.

The picture gradually became more concrete.

The silence Masumi had been waiting for just now now trapped him. With no one to distract him, his thoughts strayed further and further.

Not only Kamiyo Rin, but also Seno Asami who usually wears cool and revealing clothes in her room, and Hanekawa Kaigetsu who is soaked all over on a rainy day.

For the first time, Masumi realized that his memory and imagination were actually quite good.

"Seno? Jindai? Hanekawa?"

He took the initiative to greet the three girls, but no one on the other side of the bamboo fence responded to him. Only the occasional sound of bodies swimming in the water could be heard.

Masumi had no choice but to immerse his chin in the hot spring and force himself to concentrate on enjoying it.

——The heart is like still water, the heart is like still water.

However, the hot spring water is hot and constantly flowing due to the design of the bath.

After a long while, he heard Rin's clear voice again in the open-air bath:

"I'm going out first. You two, do you want to continue soaking?"

"Well, let's go first, Rinne-chan," Asami said lazily.

"Be careful not to get dizzy."

"I got it……"

The voice sounded weak, as if he was dozing off.

"I'm leaving."

After he finished speaking, the sound of water splashing made Masumi imagine the scene of a snow-white body rising from the rippling water.

He once again fought with the lustful thoughts in his mind. After an unknown amount of time, Haiyue's voice came floating over.

"Masumi..."

"what happened?"

"Come here for a moment."

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Masumi sighed.

"Asami...she fainted."

"Huh?" Masumi said in surprise.

"besides……"

The end of Haiyue's words was weak, as if it was about to dissipate in the steaming water vapor.

"What else?"

"I... am also going to faint..."

"I can't swim... cough cough..."

A painful sound of choking water came from the other side of the bamboo fence.

Is it possible to choke on water in such a shallow hot spring pool?
"help me……"

The sound of bubbling water.

The situation seems really serious.

"Wait a minute! I'll be right there—"

Masumi suddenly stood up from the water and shouted frantically towards the bamboo fence. Clutching her towel tightly, she rushed into the men's bath changing room.

　Still two in one, thank you for your subscription, monthly ticket, recommendation ticket and comment
　　Kachi Town is fictional. If we talk about the prototype, it should be the abandoned hot spring town of Tajima, which seems to have merged with other municipalities now.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)