Do I really have a thing for female voice actors?

This doesn't mean she fell in love with Tazaki Toru at first sight; it's just that a year later, recalling that first meeting always makes her feel a strange sense of destiny.

That's why Yang Gongfei wanted to watch it with him again, to feel that unforgettable thrill once more when the fireworks were in full bloom.

Then, tell him in person what she feels for Yang Gongfei Na.

Overall, the summer festival was quite interesting.

If I had to pinpoint exactly what's interesting about it, it would be the takoyaki, the yakisoba, and the marshmallows.

Some people might ask, aren't these all food?

But food is also an essential part of summer festivals.

Since the fireworks were hopeless and there was no point in dwelling on it, Yang Gongfei Na could only focus on food to fill the emptiness in her heart.

She kept telling herself that there was plenty of time, plenty of time.

But when she thought of Hina Aoki and Rin Tachibana, and even Riko Sasaki who had visited Toru Tazaki's house, she couldn't help but feel discouraged.

Is the future really long?

After strolling through the entire shopping street, Tazaki Toru flipped his wrist to check the time.

"I think Miss Yang Gong's clothes should be almost dry by now. Let's go back to the rental shop."

"Huh? Oh..."

As she walked from one end to the other, Yang Gongfei realized that, apart from eating, she had been lost in thought the entire way.

Even though Toru Tazaki was walking right next to her, she not only didn't interact with him, but instead left him aside.

That's incredibly stupid.

Seeing that Himegami Hinata remained silent, Tazaki Toru gave her a closer look.

"Miss Yang Gong, what's wrong?"

Yang Gongfei twitched the corners of her mouth, making it look extremely crooked: "No, it's nothing."

"Could it be that it's still because you didn't get to see the fireworks..."

Upon hearing this, Yang Gongfei Na forced a helpless smile:

"There's nothing I can do about it. I didn't do my homework. If I had known it would rain today, I wouldn't have gone to all that trouble to get my agent to make time for me."

After saying that, she immediately covered her mouth, afraid that Tazaki Toru would blame her for not doing her job properly.

However, Toru Tazaki remained silent.

The two embarked on their return journey. The long shopping street didn't feel ancient at all; instead, it seemed to pass by inexplicably quickly.

It felt like the end could be reached in the blink of an eye.

If only it were slower.

Ideally, she would accidentally trip and fall, scraping her knee, so that he would have to help her up to sit down and carefully put on a penguin-patterned band-aid for her again.

But, in that case...

I'd become the bad girl who lies, wouldn't I?

Yang Gongfei Na wouldn't do something like that.

They could only quietly follow beside Tazaki Toru, slowly making their way to the yukata rental shop on the street corner.

Upon arriving at the store, Himegami Hinata went inside alone. The clothes had already been dried, but the shoes would take some time. She was about to leave when she spoke to Tazaki Toru.

But when she stepped outside the store, she couldn't see Toru Tazaki anywhere.

At this moment, she noticed that the torrential rain on the outside of the shopping street had dissipated, leaving only broken droplets of water falling to the ground from the eaves, making a dripping sound.

She stood there, hoping that the loudspeakers in the shopping street would start playing again.

If it could announce the reopening of the fireworks festival, I would forgive it.

However, even after waiting in the same spot for Tazaki Toru to appear, the broadcast never sounded again.

In the end, today's summer festival has come to an end.

The determination I made before coming here, the countless times I imagined confessing my feelings, all ended in failure before they even began.

If I told Aoki Hina this, would she laugh at me?

The information about Yang Gongfei Na is unknown.

Ultimately, without these fireworks, I wouldn't have had the courage to confess my feelings.

In that case, it's probably better not to confess.

Emptiness and frustration lingered in my mind.

Suddenly, Tazaki Toru reappeared. Seeing that Himegami Hina was still dressed in that yukata, he walked over slowly and asked, "Aren't your clothes dry yet?"

"The shoes are a bit slow, they'll take a while longer."

"Just right."

"Perfect?"

Yang Gongfei raised a strange expression, not understanding what "just right" meant.

The man in front of me picked up the plastic bag in his hand, took out a handheld firework set he had just bought, and showed a gentle smile:

Let's go set off fireworks together.

575. Summer Festival, Yukata, Himegami Hina. (5)

The girl hunched her shoulders and quietly followed Toru Tazaki beside him.

Because she was still wearing a yukata, she took very small steps each time, accompanied by the "clattering" sound of her wooden clogs hitting the ground.

The torrential rain that had just started seemed like a dream; no raindrops could be seen in the air, and the only way to know that it had actually existed was by looking at the puddles on the roadside.

The air was filled with a faint, refreshing scent after the rain, soothing the summer heat and gradually bringing a comfortable, cool feeling to the girl's heart.

They left the crowd and went to a nearby park side by side.

It was as if we had crossed some invisible dividing line, moving from bustling activity to quiet desolation—how strange!

The streetlights were bright, and the buzzing of flying insects filled the air. The glow they emitted seemed to act as a hallucinogen for the insects, causing them to swarm around and dance, as if trying to taste the delicious treat hidden behind the lights.

The light stretched their shadows long, causing them to sway slightly and occasionally touch, merging together.

She felt that Toru Tazaki was like that street lamp, and that she was perhaps one of those scrambling flying insects.

Tazaki Toru left Hina Yotomiya waiting where she was while he went to borrow a bucket. The girl stared at his receding figure for a long time, lost in thought.

After Tazaki Toru left, Himegami Hina stood there for a while. The park where she was was not as bright as the street she had come from.

The streetlights on the side were dim, their warm yellow light like a candle flickering in the wind.

Yang Gongfei walked to the sandpit beside her, gently smoothed her yukata, and squatted down.

She stretched out her finger and plunged it into the sand pit mixed with rainwater. The cool, damp sensation instantly washed over her, and she carefully traced her finger in the sand.

After writing it, she looked at the two words, her pretty face immediately flushed red, and she took deep breaths, feeling helpless.

As soon as she heard Tazaki Toru's footsteps approaching, she frantically wiped away the words she had just written, completely destroying them.

The girl suddenly stood up, hurriedly hiding her hands behind her back. She instinctively tried to wipe the dirt off her palms, but then remembered that she was still wearing a rented yukata and immediately froze.

"Awaited."

Yang Gongfei shook her head.

Tazaki Toru, with his sharp eyes, noticed Hina Hitomi's dirty hands and couldn't help but smile.

"I knew Miss Yang Gong was a bit childish, but I didn't expect her to like playing in the mud and sand."

Yang Gongfei's face flushed red, and she couldn't utter a word of explanation.

I'm being treated like a child again.

Tazaki Toru placed the bucket on the ground and let her wash the mud off her hands first.

Watching the girl rub the grit off her palms little by little, Tazaki Toru suddenly spoke:

"Miss Yang Gong, it seems you rarely get your nails done."

"Eh?"

"I used to think that young girls were very interested in these kinds of things."

Like Tachibana Rin and Aoki Hina, although they are guitarists and cannot have long nails on their left hands, they do their nails very frequently.

As for the lead vocalist, Hina Hiyomiya, she naturally didn't need to worry about such things. Even so, Toru Tazaki never saw her put any effort into her nails.

Yang Gongfei looked at her hands, which were covered in water droplets, and laughed a little embarrassedly: "I'm not used to doing things on my nails."

“When I was involved in idol activities in the past, I would wear nail polish to match the role, but I would remove it immediately after the activity ended.”

"I see."

The summer evening breeze swept through the deserted park, carrying the damp coolness unique to the riverbank, making the unfolded blue plastic sheeting rustle.

Tazaki Toru handed her the firework, and the girl slowly gripped it tightly, waiting for Tazaki Toru to light it for her.

The scattered sparks clung together tightly, spraying out like a golden waterfall.

The firelight illuminated Tazaki Toru's face, revealing a faint, almost imperceptible smile on his lips, which captivated the girl in the yukata watching him.

It’s weird.

Even though she had finally seen the fireworks she had been longing for, Yang Gongfei's gaze was still unable to focus on them.

The sparks burned extremely fast, and the light threads fell, turning into tiny, scalding, scarlet sparks about a foot off the ground, which silently splashed onto the cool stone steps and soil.

The darkness suddenly closed in, deeper than before, yet so bright that she could hardly open her eyes.

"how?"

"...Huh? It's beautiful."

"That's good."

Tazaki Toru lit another firework, holding it in his hand and making sparse noises, illuminating the small space they were in.