My daily life in love is too contrary to my character.

Once you enter Chiyo, you don't even mention it.

"Now that I'm getting old, all I want to do is document my life. Shiraishi, move closer to Chiyo, I'll take your picture."

"Auntie, Chiyo and I are divorced." Shiraishi Sawa said as he moved closer, knowing that if he didn't move, he would feel the extremely dangerous look in her eyes.

What a terrible elder.

"The word 'remarriage' was tailor-made for the two of you. Shiraishi, put your arm around her waist. Chiyo, lean your head against her, just like last time."

......

"Why aren't you saying anything?" As Ichinori Nao guided the two of them through their movements, Shiraishi Sawa Hide was surprised to find that Ichinori Chiyo barely spoke during the process.

“It’s just the same scene as last time. I’ve already said everything I needed to say last time,” said Chiyo Ichiriki, resting her head on Hideaki Shiraishi’s shoulder.

"Too."

......

“Most of the time, I’m very confident,” Chiyo Ichiyori said while posing for a photo of herself drinking tea together.

"Ok?"

"I think I'm perfect in every way except for my studies. Even with my studies, I just feel that I haven't put my heart into them."

Chiyo gazed calmly at the teacup, even though it was long empty.

“It’s all true, so what?” Shiraishi Zexiu asked, somewhat puzzled.

"So I won't lose. This isn't arrogance; it's my self-awareness. Sometimes, to maintain my pride, I might even give my opponent some advantages, just like when I play chess, I might give them a lot of pieces."

"...Next time we play chess, I'll have mastered it."

"I've never lost before, and I don't want to lose this time either."

"What exactly did we lose?"

“Baby Dog, you won’t help her defeat me, right?” Chiyo asked when there was no answer.

"So you made a bet with Kuramochi-san?"

"Will it?" Chiyo still didn't answer.

"You're asking so seriously? Of course not." Shiraishi Sawah twirled the teacup in his hand—even though it was empty—and smiled confidently at Ichiyo.

"You'll stay with me until I win, right?"

"Correct."

"But it doesn't matter. If I really lose, I'll just mess up the board and break the rules." Chiyo's face was filled with confidence at this moment.

......

"I've become the riddle master. Look at the way you're frowning now. So this really works on you." The confusion in Chiyo's eyes melted away, and her familiar spirituality returned. She said with a smile.

"You still know that!" Shiraishi Zexiu breathed a sigh of relief and put the teacup he had been holding on the table. "I was wondering if your family was having some kind of trouble."

"Difficulties? What difficulties could we possibly encounter?"

"It's nothing, Auntie."

"The photos are great, I'm very satisfied." Nao Ichiri across from her looked at the photos on her phone and nodded in satisfaction. "It would be even better if they got back together soon."

"Mom, take another picture." Chiyo grabbed Shiraishi Sawa's hand, their fingers intertwined. "Give us a close-up."

"Okay, Chiyo."

Click.

Chapter 215 Danger Lies in the Unexpected

In reality, Shiraishi Sawa Hide didn't believe the story about acting; Chiyo wouldn't do something so pointless.

...I guess so.

However, since the other party clearly did not want to talk about it, she did not press the matter. Although there was the precedent of Takanashi Yuko, she could not possibly encounter the same situation as Takanashi Yuko. As she said, she was indeed perfect.

Moreover, once you enter Chiyo's world, you can't get the information out of her by asking her.

What bet did the fox make with Kuramochi-san?

No, we need to be wary of Kuramochi Sakura from now on.

I promised to help the fox win, and I definitely will.

Feeling the lingering warmth on his hands, Shiraishi Sawa thought to himself.

--

When lunchtime arrived, Nao asked Shiraishi Sawa Hide whether he wanted to eat with his class or with them. Shiraishi Sawa Hide decisively abandoned his class.

After all, beautiful girls and delicious food are not to be missed.

In the afternoon, we visited the Osaka Municipal Museum of Natural History—a building shaped like a European castle—and the Upper Ukiyo-e Museum—a small place with only three floors, which we finished visiting in a few minutes.

To paraphrase Nao Ichiriki, looking at these ukiyo-e prints is not as enjoyable as looking at Hideaki Shiraishi.

Shiraishi Sawah agreed, but Ichiyo Ichiryu disagreed.

That's how school trips are; the attractions the school organizes visits to are mostly cultural, and there's not much in terms of fun.

These two attractions left virtually no impression on Shiraishizawa Hide. He neither cared about natural history nor understood ukiyo-e at all. The only thing that left an impression on him was a kimono at the Upper Ukiyo-e Museum—fully embroidered with gold thread repeatedly depicting the wings of cranes, which was quite beautiful.

The last stop of the day was a temple or shrine, a must-see for any Japanese tourist. We chose Hozenji Temple, which is just a few minutes' walk from the Upper Ukiyo-e Museum.

It was quiet and secluded, isolated from the noise of the outside world.

This was Shiraishizawa Hide's first impression of the temple area. It was a rare quiet place in the bustling metropolis of Osaka, and the alleys still retained the nostalgic atmosphere of Kyoto's Pontocho.

The mother and daughter, who were already quite superstitious, changed their relaxed demeanor and adopted a solemn and devout expression.

"Chiyo, Chiri-ji Temple, Mom will pray for your marriage later. It's said that this place is the most accurate for praying for marriage and career success."

However, no matter how devout her expression was, Nao's words immediately sounded rather unserious.

"Mother, please pray for your own marriage."

"This will make Buddha and your father angry."

“Wait a minute,” Shiraishi Sawa, who didn’t know much about Buddhism, asked, “Isn’t this Hozenji Temple? Why is it called Sennichiji Temple?”

"Because it is said that sutras were chanted here continuously for a thousand days," Nao Ichinori explained.

"That doesn't sound as good as Chiyoji Temple."

"Thank you so much, baby dog."

Inside, everything was neatly arranged in a row. Even those who don't believe in Buddhism, with the mindset of "since I'm already here," would consider giving it a try.

The three of them also lined up at the back of the queue. Looking ahead, what appeared to be the end of the queue was not a Buddha statue, but a strange thing covered in green.

"What are we supposed to worship?" Seeing that Chiyo Ichiriki was looking up information about the place, Hideaki Shiraishi curiously leaned closer to look.

With his face very close, the boy was intently staring at the introduction to Hozenji Temple on the screen, reading it carefully. His handsome profile, illuminated by the white light of the screen, was captivating and smelled wonderful. Once you enter Chiyo's world, you start to wonder if boys can also have a natural body odor.

Shiraishi Sawa Hide scrolled down Ichiryu Chiyo's phone screen, while Ichiryu Chiyo loosened her thumb to make it easier for him to swipe.

"At Hozenji Temple, instead of burning incense, people scoop water and sprinkle it on the Buddha statues. The most famous one is the Water-Swept Fudo-on. It is called Water-Swept Fudo-on because the Buddha statue is actually made of natural wood, and because of the tradition of scooping water and sprinkling it, the Buddha's body is covered with moss."

Finally, they found the information that Shiraishi Sawah wanted to know, and read it aloud.

“This is interesting! No wonder I didn’t see anyone holding incense. Fox, fox?” Shiraishi Sawa Hide reached out and waved his hand in front of Ichiyo, whose eyes were unfocused.

He placed one hand on her forehead and said, "Are you sick today? I feel like something's not right about you."

"So what do you think now?" Chiyo turned her head slightly and looked at Shiraishi Sawa.

"All I can say is that her temperature is normal." Shiraishizawa Hide looked at Ichiri Nao. "Auntie, is Chiyo sick?"

"It's not appropriate to talk about this in a temple. Besides, you can tell if someone is sick just by touching them all over, Shiraishi."

"I'd like to too, but Chiyo won't allow it."

"Heh," Chiyo scoffed dismissively, staring directly at Shiraishi Sawa, "I'll let you touch me, do you dare?"

The slightly burning gaze made Shiraishi Sawa move his hand from his forehead down to cover Ichiyo's eyes, but his gaze still peeked through his fingers.

"Who wouldn't dare!?"

Shiraishizawa's hand continued to move down over the delicate bridge of her nose, then to her rosy lips. Then, with a pinch of her thumb and middle finger, the soft, fair cheeks on both sides were squeezed to the middle, causing Chiyo's lips to pout uncontrollably.

“That’s right! I just don’t dare.” Shiraishi Sawa said cowardly yet confidently. Then, looking at the pouting Chiyo Ichiriki, Shiraishi Sawa, who had never seen her like this before, took out her phone from her pocket and prepared to take a picture.

Before he could even take out his phone, his hand was shoved open. "Baby dog, do you want to die?"

Because of his leg injury, Shiraishi Sawa Hide, who couldn't run far, hid behind Ichini Nao. Although he couldn't block her at all due to his height, Ichini Nao looked at the aggressive Ichini Chiyo with a smile and showed no intention of moving aside.

"Chiyo, there will be plenty of time to take care of Shiraishi at the temple later."

"It's...no, it won't work in the future either." Shiraishi Sawah, who was about to agree, realized his mistake and awkwardly shut his mouth.

"Just you wait, baby dog."

"Yuko, you're such a devout Buddhist. You were so serious just now, it startled me."

"Because believing in Buddhism brings me good luck."

"What did you pray for? Love?"

"No, I pray for the success of other people's careers."

At the front of the procession, Takanashi Yuuko and Kuramochi Sakura, having finished their prayers, chatted as they walked toward the entrance.

"Good afternoon, Takanashi and Kuramochi-san." Shiraishi Sawah turned his head out from the line and waved his long, slender hands in front of the two.

"Good afternoon, Shiraishi-kun."

"Good afternoon, Shiraishi-kun. Good afternoon, Ichijin-neechan. The girl in the front, please feel free to do as you please."

The 'casual' girl wasn't annoyed and asked with a smile:

"Kuramochi-san, it's not very effective to try to grow taller or bigger here."

“You…” As if Chiyo had directly exposed the truth, Kuramochi Sakura’s finger pointing at Chiyo was trembling slightly, and her whole face turned red.

Shiraishi Sawa Hideki really wanted to laugh while watching.