My love index is at its maximum.

The blonde girl, positioned at a higher elevation, wore a short skirt and sheer white stockings. Beneath the pure white silk, her calves were encased in smooth, graceful curves.

After glancing at it, he turned back to Kurisu and said, "Auntie and Yui, let's switch shoes. You wear Yui's tennis shoes and let Yui wear high heels. That way, I can just carry Yui on my back."

Looking down at her, Yui Kawakawa slowly nodded, a "you know what's good for you" expression on her face.

"Auntie, no way!"

Kurisu pouted and shook her head in protest, then turned and ran up the mountain path like a child throwing a tantrum and threatening to run away from home.

The sharp, pointed heels of the high heels poked small holes in the rain-soaked mud.

Chapter 354 Climbing Mountains, Pantyhose...

"Let's go too."

Kikawa Yui greeted him and turned to follow.

The mother walked in front, the daughter in the middle, and Tsukasa Tazaki followed closely behind. The three of them set off together towards the cloud-shrouded mountaintop.

This is an undeveloped mountain forest with almost nothing that can be called a "path," making it very strenuous to walk. Fortunately, the low-hanging dark clouds were blown away by the wind, and the view through the forest was still relatively open.

After traveling for about half an hour, all three of them heard the sound of flowing water.

Kurisu Kawakawa was already panting.

"Would you like to rest for a while?" Tsukasa Tazaki asked.

"Let's find some water first," Kurisu Kawakawa said, wiping her sweat as she walked towards the sound of water. "Wash my face, have a drink, and then I'll make it to the top of the mountain in one go!"

Tsukasa Tazaki and Yui Sugawa had no choice but to follow behind her.

As he climbed the mountain with ease, his gaze followed his aunt's pure white sweater and deerskin high heels. Her earrings swayed and shone in the beam of light, like a pair of fireflies fluttering around her neck.

It's strange, really.

Climbing a mountain in high heels is clearly a torment, but at this moment, Kurisu Kawakawa moved quite nimbly, her steps were fast, and her stamina seemed quite good.

If I wore high heels, I definitely wouldn't be able to do it... Tsukasa Tazaki would bet a month's living expenses that if he wore high heels, he definitely wouldn't be able to climb halfway.

Thinking about these inexplicable things, the three of them walked out of the woods and came to an open valley area more than ten minutes later.

A small river rushes through the large rocks, with tiny waterfalls cascading down here and there. At a bend in the river, there is a pool carved out by the flowing water, its surface reflecting the dull sunlight.

"Ha~" Kurisu Kawakami gasped for breath, "Finally, there's water."

"You didn't even prepare anything for going hiking," Qichuan Wei muttered. "You didn't change your shoes or bring water. If you do this again, don't drag me into this ordeal."

Kurisu, hands on her hips, smirked: "Mom just wanted to have a spontaneous parent-child interaction with Yui!"

Parent-child interaction?

Yui Kirikawa was clearly uninterested in this; she went straight to a relatively flat large rock by the river and sat down to rest. Kurumi Kirikawa squatted down next to her, cupped her hands in water, and drank directly from it.

"Gurgle gurgle~"

"Ouch—, the water's so cold, it's freezing my teeth!"

Seeing her teeth chattering from the cold river water, Tsukasa Tazaki couldn't help but laugh.

"Hey, Xiao Si, come here."

"coming."

Qichuan Yui sat on a rock, watching her mother and the boy she liked squatting by the river, discussing whether there were any fish in the water.

"Auntie heard that you can catch some really plump trout in the rivers deep in the mountains of Yamanashi Prefecture. They're so delicious that you just need to add some herbs and pan-fry them. How about I catch a few and pan-fry them for you this afternoon?"

There are no trout here.

Why are you so sure?

"Trouts are anadromous fish that migrate upstream to spawn. Every year during the spawning season, they swim to the ocean to spawn and then migrate back inland. This place is too high up for the trout to swim up."

"Wow, Xiao Si even knows this! As expected of someone from the Qichuan family!"

Kurisu chuckled and patted Tsukasa Tazaki on the shoulder.

Her skin was flushed and clean, as if she had just washed it, after sweating quite a bit.

"There probably aren't any fish with claws here, are there?" she asked again.

“No,” Tsukasa Tazaki replied. “Don’t worry, even if there were, they wouldn’t appear this season.”

"But Auntie is still scared. What if Auntie puts her foot in the water and a huge fish suddenly pops up from the bottom and bites her foot off?"

"That depends on whether Auntie's smelly feet can scare Yu Yu away."

"You're asking for it! Your aunt's feet smell wonderful, try licking them if you don't believe me!"

"……Clam?"

"Even if there aren't any big fish, what if there are leeches?"

"No way!" Tsukasa Tazaki shook his head helplessly, feeling a bit tired. "You're so old, stop pretending to be a clueless elementary school student. If you want to soak, hurry up and soak, then we'll continue climbing the mountain."

"The water's so cold, Auntie's not going to soak in it." Kurisu patted her bottom and got up, crawling onto the big rock where Kurisu was sitting. The mother and daughter huddled together, "Tsukasa, hurry up and take a picture of us!"

"Hi!"

Tazaki Tsukasa had no choice but to take out his phone and take photos of the mother and daughter from various angles.

Of course, there are also couple photos of him and Xiaowei, and... bickering photos of him and his aunt?

After a short rest, the three climbed upstream along the stream.

A few hundred meters away, there is a small wooden bridge, so small and narrow that it can barely allow two people to walk side by side. The dark wood is submerged in the cold January river water, probably built by the forest management staff to make it easier for people to cross the river.

After crossing the small bridge, we walked onto a sandy path. A large flock of crows in the woods on both sides were looking down at the river, occasionally letting out a harsh and sharp cry, as if they were condemning something.

Kuriichi Kisakawa took the lead and walked ahead.

The higher the altitude, the colder the temperature. She turned up the collar of her thick sweater, and let her hair, which was originally tied back, fall loose to protect her ears, which were red from the wind.

The narrow dirt road stretched out in an endless expanse, its end and destination unknown.

There were no signs of human activity in the surrounding area; all that could be seen was a deep and tranquil cedar forest.

This winter rain, which lasted for half a week, washed away the dead leaves of autumn and winter. After the rain, the cedar trees stood out vividly, each one towering and stretching sharply towards the sky.

"What a quiet place." Kurisu Kawakami walked around, looking at her surroundings. "Walking here makes me feel relaxed, and time seems to flow more easily. It's like a weight has been lifted off my body."

Every time she speaks, a wisp of hot air floats in the air, hard and white.

Tazaki Tsukasa quietly leaned close to Kikawa Yui's ear and whispered, "Your mother looks like a female office worker who's been driven crazy by work and is now on a rural vacation."

Kikawa Yui glanced at him, then continued walking forward without saying a word.

"Xiao Si, hurry up," Qi Chuan Li urged.

"They're here." Tsukasa Tazaki ran up and squeezed between the mother and daughter, glancing at their faces out of the corner of his eye.

"How are you feeling?" Kurisu asked, looking at him.

"That's great."

"What do you mean by 'good'?"

"Of course, it's because I can go for a walk with my aunt and Xiao Wei."

“My aunt thinks it’s great too,” Kurisu Kawakami smiled, wiping her sweat as she said, “The three of us walking side by side like this feels like walking home with classmates after school.”

“Perhaps.” Tsukasa Tazaki smiled.

Are you kidding me?

Don't you even know how old you are?

Kurisu Kawakami stared at him with a smile: "You really think so?"

"Just kidding," Tsukasa Tazaki said casually.

"So what do you think?"

"Of course, it's a family weekend trip."

"Your aunt is your older sister!"

Hello, sister.

"Haha, let me tell you, Tazaki-san," Kurisu chuckled a few times before continuing, "Next month is a very important month, and Kurisu-san is under a lot of pressure, so I'm very grateful that you accompanied her out to relax, okay?"

Tsukasa Tazaki didn't respond to her question, but instead looked at Yui Kichikawa: "What did your mother do?"

"It's about family matters." Qichuan Wei suddenly reached out and held my hand tightly. "You know, she likes to mix the truth into jokes when she speaks."

"I understand." Tsukasa Tazaki nodded. "My grandfather won't live past next month."

For the next few minutes, the three of them remained silent, focusing solely on walking.

Crows are everywhere. When they see humans approaching, they caw a few times as if signaling to their companions, and then extend their sharp, weapon-like beaks and brightly colored claws.

Kurisu Kirikawa can't walk very fast, but her walking posture isn't so tired that it's deformed.

After holding onto Tsukasa Tazaki's hand, Yui Kikawa didn't let go. The path under their feet was muddy, and their shoes were all dirty.

After turning out of the woods, the view suddenly opened up.

The barren mountaintop was already close at hand, only about 100 meters high.

The thin clouds that had shrouded the mountaintops had been blown away by the wind, making the mountain ridges more distinct. They seemed to have been filtered through a diffuser, radiating a unique light. The distant streams, rocks, and trees also reflected a soft, gentle glow.

Kurisu, panting, leaned on her knees and said, "We've finally arrived."

She was tired after walking all that way.

Although she didn't say it, Tsukasa Tazaki thought she was still very tired. Several streams of sweat rolled down her swan-like white neck, and her sweater was damp in many places.

"How about we take a break?" he asked.

“We’re almost at the top,” Kurisu Kawakami said, wiping her sweat as she refused. “Let’s just go for it.”

After walking for a while with her eyes fixed ahead, Yui Kikawa suddenly asked, "Mom, are you going to explain your plans to Tazaki later?"

“Of course,” Kurisu Kawakami replied.

Tsukasa Tazaki didn't know how to respond, so he didn't reply.