My love index is at its maximum.

"I didn't laugh."

"You're laughing at me, aren't you? Even if you don't laugh now, you definitely will in the future." As Ninomiya Shiori spoke, she stood up and punched Tazaki Tsukasa's chest repeatedly. After about ten punches, she burst out laughing and pressed herself against his broad chest, gently and kindly recounting her childhood memories.

As they talked, under Tsukasa Tazaki's deliberate guidance, she began to discuss several letters she had previously written to Sakura Kuriyama.

It includes her nostalgia for Tokyo's sweltering summers, and details of her crying naked under the moonlight...

"Back then, I was even planning to cut my hair short~" Shiori Ninomiya said, playing with the slightly curled ends of her hair as she spoke of it with great relief.

"Luckily, I didn't cut it." Tsukasa Tazaki kissed her hair.

"Yeah, thank goodness I didn't cut it." Shiori Ninomiya nodded and put her arms around his neck. "Before I decide to cut it, I still want to go to Tokyo to see Kiki. I hope we can meet. I have so much to say to you. I want to see you more than ever."

"I really wanted to see you back then too."

"Nonsense! Tokyoites love to lie!"

"Look at you, repeating that phrase again."

"I'm a fan of Yasunari Kawabata's books!"

When did this happen?

"I've been a fan of his books ever since he said, 'Tokyoites all love to lie!'"

"You weren't even born yet, my little darling!" Tsukasa Tazaki said with a laugh, reaching under the covers to gently tickle her waist.

"Haha~ It itches, stop teasing me."

Shiori Ninomiya was ticklish, so she twisted her body to avoid him for a while, then turned over and faced away from him: "Don't touch me, okay? Go to sleep now."

"I can't sleep." Tsukasa Tazaki hugged her from behind, pressing her back and hips against his.

"Shiori-chan, let me teach you a method."

"what?"

"Take off all your clothes, run around outside a few times, and then wipe your body with snow."

"You can fall asleep like this?" This was the first time Tsukasa Tazaki had ever heard of this.

Shiori Ninomiya rolled over, her big, bright eyes glaring at him with amusement: "You'll freeze to death like that, you idiot!"

"Oh, you tricked me!"

Tsukasa Tazaki cupped her face, squeezed her little lips together until they pouted, and then kissed her.

"Hmm...you can sleep over there~"

"You're talking nonsense."

"Alright, let me sleep. Do whatever you like."

Are you having a tiff?

"Who's being difficult? I'm not being difficult at all..."

Tsukasa Tazaki pulled away from her lips, and the two looked at each other, panting.

"Oh, I'm really nervous."

Shiori Ninomiya's chest heaved violently, a shy smile on her face.

"Oh, it's nothing." Tsukasa Tazaki laughed. "I'm such a law-abiding person, I wouldn't really do anything to you."

"Ugh, I'm going to sleep, I'm ignoring you!"

After making a face and saying that, Shiori Ninomiya quietly buried her head in his chest.

Listening to Tsukasa Tazaki's heartbeat and breathing, she didn't want to think about anything. She simply felt the warmth of the blankets and slowly drifted off to sleep, sinking into a sweet dream.

Tsukasa Tazaki didn't disturb her, but simply put his arm around her waist.

After a long day of travel, her sleeping face showed undeniable fatigue, which was heartbreaking to see.

Cute yet cunning, fragile yet strong...

The girl nestled motionless in his arms, as if in hibernation. Through the open neckline of her nightgown, one could see that her back was flushed red, revealing her delicate and supple body.

Tsukasa Tazaki suddenly remembered an English nursery rhyme.

There's a lyric in it that perfectly describes a girl like Xiao Ke'ai.

What are little girls made of?

(What is a little girl made of?)

Sugar and spice

(Sugar and spices)

And everything is nice.

(And all good things)

Yes, a girl like this must be made up of all the beautiful things... Tsukasa Tazaki took Shiori Ninomiya's small hand, brought his lips to hers, and gently kissed her soft, delicate, and childlike fingers.

Chapter 323 Cleaning, Skiing, and Cable Car Conversation.

The next morning, Shiori Ninomiya still got up very early.

On the small dressing table by the window, the mirror reflects the snow-covered mountains, bright and dazzling.

"I'll clean the house and make rice cakes in the morning, and then go to the ski resort in the afternoon..." she said to Tsukasa Tazaki, who had just opened his eyes, while combing her hair.

"I'll do as you say."

Tsukasa Tazaki looked at her, and the mirror reflected a dazzling display of snowflakes.

The girl's flushed cheeks appeared in the snow reflected in the mirror; it was an indescribable, pure beauty.

"Oh, right, Daddy needs to tow the car out of the field. Kiki, could you clear the snow off the roof?"

"No problem, shall we go now?"

"Have breakfast before you go up, and remember to wear extra layers."

OK!

Tsukasa Tazaki rolled out of bed and walked over from behind.

The sun slowly rose from the other side of the mountain, making the snow even more dazzling, like a burning flame. Shiori Ninomiya's hair, reflected in the mirror, also shimmered with an orange glow, adding to her vitality.

After the family had breakfast together, Tsukasa Tazaki tore the bread into pieces, rolled it up with the Ninomiya family's special marinated beef, and ate it with great relish. He also ate a few pieces of canned peaches.

After breakfast, Ninomiya's father went to rescue his Toyota, while Tazaki Tsukasa climbed onto the roof with a bamboo broom and began clearing the thick snow.

From the rooftop, you can see the entire village.

A group of children were playing and frolicking on the village path, as if they were divided into two camps having a snowball fight. The sparkling snowflakes as the snowballs broke and flew up were very interesting, and Tsukasa Tazaki watched for quite a while.

The path leading from the village down the mountain was buried in snow, which was estimated to be more than 20 centimeters thick.

Villagers wearing thick snow pants and tall snow boots could be seen walking down the mountain every now and then. Tsukasa Tazaki looked over there, and the snow on the mountains behind him glittered in the sunlight, making the weather seem exceptionally clear.

As he admired the snow scene, a woman standing in the neighboring yard looked up at the roof and called out, "Hey, is that Shiori's boyfriend from Tokyo?"

Tsukasa Tazaki nodded and smiled at her: "Yes."

"Then could you please also clear the snow off my roof later?"

"..."

Auntie, you really don't consider yourself an outsider!

Tazaki Tsukasa grabbed a broom and slowly pushed the snow off the roof off the eaves. He dug a temporary ditch in the ground below, and the falling snow gradually filled the ditch.

A large, black Akita dog was squatting in the ditch, catching snow that Tsukasa Tazaki had swept with its mouth, having a great time.

After the snow was cleared away, the dark, grimy surface of the original wooden planks on the roof was revealed.

That wasn't the color of dampness, but rather the marks of long-term erosion by wind and snow, as black as ink.

"Whoo~"

The white breath that Tsukasa Tazaki exhaled into the air was quickly dispersed by the wind.

Rows of low houses lie quietly among the gray and white mountains, a scene of northern landscape, just like a traditional Chinese ink painting.

Coming down from the roof, I saw Shiori Ninomiya sticking out her little bottom, wiping the living room floor back and forth with a rag.

The stove next to us was boiling water, making the room warm.

"How can I help?" Tsukasa Tazaki asked as he went inside.

“No need,” said Ninomiya’s mother, who came in with a towel wrapped around her head and a bucket of water in her hand. “The ski resort is open now, you two should go out and have fun. Don’t waste time at home.”

"Yoho!"

Shiori Ninomiya happily rolled up the towel and threw it, hitting the row of icicles under the eaves with perfect accuracy.

Stepping out of the house, the biting wind made her instinctively pull her coat collar up to her neck and hug her arms. Along the roadside, some people were shoveling snow, some were having snowball fights, and others were building all sorts of strange ice sculptures.

Tsukasa Tazaki observed these things with curiosity the whole way, his eyes occasionally sparkling.

He carried two skis on his back and a bag containing goggles and gloves in one hand.

Shiori Ninomiya is looking at him.

His face was so handsome it could be described as perfect, possessing a captivating charm similar to the snow-capped mountains in the distance.

Her perpetually clear eyes were the most captivating she had ever seen.

Unfortunately, just as Kuriyama Sakura commented in her letter, it was difficult for others to judge from those eyes what he was thinking, what he cared about, or what he didn't care about.

It's not quite accurate to call it a sense of alienation...

To be more precise, he is very good at detaching himself from his current environment. Like Kuriyama Sakura, he always gives people the feeling that oil can only float on the surface of water.

Does that mean all people who like to read are like this?

Thinking about it carefully, when we first met, he was also aloof and indifferent towards me. If I hadn't been charming enough, we really wouldn't have been able to develop into the relationship we have today.

This is a relationship that even the gods cannot break apart.

Just being by his side, walking with him through the snow-covered landscape of Hokkaido, is enough to make me feel incredibly happy.