They all have hidden attributes!

After moving cushions and sitting around the fireplace, she pointed to the wooden sliding door next to the living room: "Inside is Dad's smoking room. He has been talking to us through the door since we were little."

"They must have a very good relationship." Makoto Takahashi placed the gift on the hearth table.

"how do you know?"

"That's how good friends are."

As the two were talking, Nekoya's mother opened the other wooden door and walked in with a bright smile on her face: "Oh, Takahashi-kun, come, please have some tea. It should have been Hina who made the tea."

"What? You're making it sound like I can't even do this little thing right," said Hina Nekoya, displeased.

The wooden sliding door to the smoking room opened, and the cat-man's father came out, smiling gently as he said, "Asuka, if you criticize her now, Hina will lose all face."

"I clearly cleaned up the guest room!" Hina Nekoya shouted.

“That guest room is moldy and uninhabitable. Hina, you can sleep in the living room. Give the bedroom to Takahashi-kun.” Nekoya’s mother brought over fruit, making her daughter lose face in front of her friends.

Makoto Takahashi took a sip of hot tea and relaxed, laughing at Hina Nekoya.

Their friendship is strong enough that it won't be cracked by such a small matter.

"I don't want to sleep in the living room. I'll just sleep on the floor." Nekoya Hina peeled an orange in despair.

"Oh, so you two are already sharing a room."

The cat house mother joked, while the cat house father slammed on the brakes: "Alright, Asuka, stop teasing her and make dinner."

The atmosphere at the Nekoya house was relaxed and harmonious. Makoto Takahashi chatted with the two elders without any awkwardness, eating fresh vegetables and various crabs while talking about Nekoya Hina.

For most of the evening, the conversation revolved around her. Nekoya Hina finished her dinner early and went upstairs to her bedroom to prepare a makeshift bed.

After dinner, the cat-house father went into the smoking room again.

The cat-house mother brought a photo album to cheer up Takahashi Makoto, and went to the kitchen to clean up the dishes.

Makoto Takahashi chatted with him through the wooden sliding door while drinking tea. Finally, when the topic of "you need to take better care of Hina" came to an end, he said goodbye and went upstairs.

There was only a shower and no pajamas; Nekoya Hina was indeed a bit oblivious and hadn't thought to prepare anything.

Makoto Takahashi had no choice but to wrap himself in a bath towel and go to the bedroom, where the natural wood color style was clean and bright.

Hina Nekoya was lying on her side on the futon spread on the floor, playing on her phone. When she saw him walk in, she blinked, her greedy gaze undisguised:

"Acheng, we're good friends, right? Can I touch you?"

"No." Takahashi Makoto resolutely refused.

"mean."

At that moment, Nekoya Hina noticed the photo album in his hand and froze.

isn't it?

Hasn't she embarrassed herself enough today?

Why bring out something like this?

Seeing Takahashi Makoto sit down on the edge of the bed, intending to flip through the photo album and admire it carefully, she jumped up from under the covers, knelt on one knee on the bed, and tried to snatch it.

"Don't look!"

His sense of crisis made Makoto Takahashi even more eager to look at the photo album.

He forcibly opened the album, using the photos to cover Hina Nekoya's face: "Hina, we're good friends."

"This alone is absolutely not acceptable!"

Hina Nekoya struggled to grab it; she was only wearing shorts and a T-shirt as pajamas. In the midst of their playful fight, the distance between the two of them became unexpectedly close.

Makoto Takahashi lay on the bed, and Haruna Nekoya propped her hand on the side of his face. Their eyes met, and although their bodies did not touch, their breaths mingled. The close proximity made them both freeze at the same time.

Their noses were almost touching; the close proximity and the scent of the shower gel unconsciously drew Makoto Takahashi's gaze to Hina Nekoya, revealing her undeniable feminine charm.

Her expression seemed to suggest anticipation; her light red lips trembled slightly, and her chestnut eyes held a hint of unease.

After a brief moment of silence, Nekoya Hina was the first to move.

She quickly snatched the photo album, hugged it to her arms, and crawled into the bedding spread on the floor, turning her back to Takahashi Makoto: "Go to sleep. I'll throw this evil thing away tomorrow."

After saying that, Hina Nekoya pulled up the blanket and buried her head.

The photos weren't actually embarrassing; they just showed her cute self from kindergarten and elementary school. But she felt both ashamed and angry, her heart filled with shame and guilt.

I even had the urge to kiss him just now!

Hina Nekoya puffed out her slightly flushed cheeks and closed her eyes to escape her pounding heartbeat.

Chapter 158 The End of the School Trip

October 30th, the last day of the school trip.

I woke up to a pleasant fragrance, opened my eyes, and was greeted by an unfamiliar, light-colored wooden ceiling.

Makoto Takahashi sat up in bed and glanced at the floor beside him. Nekoya Hina was nowhere to be seen, leaving only the unmade bedding.

The rest of the room was very clean, with no dirt in sight.

Pull back the curtains, and you'll see a nimble figure on the muddy ground in the yard.

As dawn broke and a thin layer of white mist drifted through the clear air, Hina Nekoya, dressed in her school's long-sleeved and long-legged tracksuit, was practicing hurdles.

The low red wooden railings, just knee-high, formed a square.

She repeatedly lifted and kicked her legs, her knees driving her lower legs, her ankles straight, cleanly skimming over the hurdle. Upon landing, she felt as if she had been pulled by a spring.

With each step, alternating between left and right, the movements are fluid and rhythmic.

Her chestnut-brown hair, tied in a high ponytail, shone brightly in the morning light. Watching Nekoya Hina's graceful movements, Takahashi Makoto suddenly felt that Uesugi Maya wasn't wrong to scold her.

He is indeed quite lazy.

Nekoya Hina and Uesugi Maya both have the habit of exercising in the morning, Tachimi Yuki also gets up early to practice yoga, and Kashima Reiko gets up even earlier.

The only person who can sleep in with me is Junka Shiraishi.

Lost in thought about trivial matters, Makoto Takahashi got up, washed, dressed, and went downstairs to the yard. The fence had been rearranged.

Hina Nekoya is practicing straight leg presses, her athletic pants highlighting her long, shapely legs.

The ponytail was a little loose, with a few stray hairs sticking to the cheeks. The hair was a bit darker than usual, and there was a thin layer of sheen on the skin.

Makoto Takahashi leaned against the door frame and stood beside her, watching her train, his eyes following her beautiful leg raises.

As dawn broke, beams of light slanted in from the courtyard wall, and each time Hina Nekoya took a step, her body would pass through that beam of light.

As the last set ended, she breathed a soft sigh of relief, her chest rising and falling.

"Good morning," Takahashi Makoto greeted.

Good morning, Acheng.

With a carefree smile, Nekoya Hina said without any politeness, "Come help me move the cage back. Mom and Dad have gone to work. We're going to the city for breakfast."

"I'll move it, you go take a shower." Makoto Takahashi went over to help.

"Be careful, there are splinters."

"Wouldn't it be fine to just put it in the warehouse over there?"

The fences were rough, only painted with a layer of red paint. Thinking of the countless mornings that Nekoya Hina had spent training diligently using these fences, Makoto Takahashi suddenly became very interested in her past.

While Nekoya Haruna was taking a shower on the second floor, he found the photo album from last night on the fireplace table in the living room.

The first thing you see when you open the book is a photo of her at birth. Hina Nekoya is nestled next to her mother, while a much younger Asuka Nekoya gazes at her with affection.

During his kindergarten years, he seemed like a leader among the kids, always getting dirty.

During elementary school, we used slingshots to shoot birds, climbed trees, caught rhinoceros beetles, and played marbles on the muddy ground...

During junior high school, he grew taller and taller, and started using a badminton racket. His dominant hand was his left hand.

She won the regional championship and shared the trophy with another older woman; her coach was from Hokkaido.

On the morning of my departure for Tokyo, I said goodbye to my coach at a bus stop with only a road sign, my eyes filled with unwavering determination.

Then you meet yourself and become friends with yourself...

Footsteps echoed from the wooden staircase outside the living room. Makoto Takahashi closed his photo album and stepped out of the living room. Haruna Nekoya, wrapped in a long down jacket, came down the stairs.

The black down jacket reached down to her calves, and her chestnut-colored long hair was loose.

"How about we go to Takeda Fresh Fish for sea urchin rice? Or would it be better to go to Sankaku Market?"

Occasionally, Hina Nekoya loses her composure and needs help making decisions.

Makoto Takahashi took out his phone and sent a thank-you message to Asuka Nekoya. He then walked out of the courtyard with her and said, "Let's have some noodles, Takeda Fresh Fish. I've been eating too much rice lately."

"Okay, let's stop at the convenience store on the way."

"Hina, don't you think this is unfair? There are so many geniuses in Tokyo."

"No, I failed simply because I didn't try hard enough."

Hina Nekoya turned to look at his profile, her hands in her pockets, and laughed heartily, saying, "Hanaori started building her foundation from a young age. I started playing badminton several years later than her."

“That’s true.” Makoto Takahashi suddenly remembered that Maya Uesugi had told him that there is no clear line between genius and hard work.

"I'm going to play badminton with Hanaori tomorrow. Does Acheng want to come along?"

"Go whenever you have time."

Arriving at the bus stop, seeing him constantly processing messages, Nekoya Hina also took out her phone and saw a text message from her mother.

[Keep going, Hina! Don't be afraid of failure.]

"Acheng, you have to come tomorrow!"

She put her phone back in her pocket and put her hand on Makoto Takahashi's shoulder: "Tomorrow is Halloween, and it's my first time celebrating Halloween."

"Ok."

Seeing him put down his phone and give her a "I can't do anything with you" look, Hina Nekoya's light red lips curved into a smile.

They took a bus to Otaru, had breakfast, and then took the JR rapid train back to Sapporo before taking a taxi back to the hotel.

The diligent supervisor, Chihaya, was still sitting behind the wooden table in the elevator lobby when she saw Takahashi Makoto and Nekoya Hina return together, and she breathed a sigh of relief.