How rude, we are pure love!

The first feeling of Hokkaido was the coldness. They rented a car and wandered around the surrounding area.

In fact, Qingye has never been to such a far place. In the past, his material conditions were not rich enough to support his travel. After he became rich, he was busy with various things. When he had time, he just wanted to play games.

Yukinoshita Haruno hasn't been to many places, and most of her life has been spent in Chiba.

After arriving in this snowy kingdom, Yukinoshita Haruno's mood seemed to be much higher. She got out of the car in front of the vast snowfield, then wrapped a scarf around the car window, tied on matching earmuffs, and her two plush balls swayed cutely.

Qingye got out of the car as well. All they saw was white, and the sky was low. They stood on the endless snowy field, exclaiming "It's so white~" like country bumpkins. There was no sign of human habitation nearby, only rows of white birch trees covered in hoarfrost.

The wind blew the snowflakes and made a whistling sound. It was the most primitive ballad. Yukinoshita Haruno was in front of Kiyono, spinning around and smiling at him, like a dancing shrine maiden in a shrine.

She would also use her gloves to scoop up a bunch of snow and scatter it high up, or pull the branches to shake off the accumulated snow. Her fair face turned slightly red due to the cold, but her smile was extremely bright.

Stopping and walking along the way, she no longer touched up her makeup in front of the mirror, nor paid attention to her image. In Hokkaido, one can encounter many wild animals, such as deer, foxes, and squirrels. She heard that there are monkeys bathing in the hot springs. When she sees a deer, she will happily chase it, and when she sees a fox, she will carefully take pictures, and she will also tell him seriously to be careful of brown bears.

The water rushed down from the mountains, the color of the water was a deep sky blue. Yukinoshita Haruno said seriously on the bridge that if someone was thrown down from here, no one would be discovered. Kiyono said that this is not a suspense film set.

The air here is filled with a clean and natural scent, but nature also means backwardness. It gets dark before four in the afternoon. There are no pedestrians on the streets, scattered houses, few convenience stores and grocery stores, the heavy sound of passing trams, the cold and deserted atmosphere, and the falling snow adds to the loneliness.

They returned to the B&B. The cabin stood quietly in the forest, the fire crackled, and outside the window was the snow scene that engulfed the earth. Yukinoshita Haruno sat in front of the window, playing a song of love that had never been seen on the guitar, and looked at the boy through the reflection of the glass.

However, she felt that the song was not very good, so she started to compose her own original piece halfway through.

"How do you like the love I conveyed?"

"Good to hear."

"Stop reading all the time." She paused, her voice dissatisfied. "Look at me too."

This sentence reminded Qingye of an old friend, and he felt a little guilty.

The nights in Hokkaido are very long, and the words of the two are like fireworks blooming quietly in the night.

*

The next day, they went to Otaru, a well-known tourist town, but to be honest, they didn't feel much difference, because there was snow everywhere and Otaru was more ancient and quiet.

They took the bus aimlessly in the city, enjoying the scenery, and went to see the abandoned railway from 1880 to 1985. The vermilion torii gate of Tenguyama Shrine was covered with thick snow. Kiyono took off his scarf because he felt hot while climbing the mountain. The moment Yukinoshita Haruno rang the marriage bell, a strong mountain wind wrapped in snow particles brushed across her hair, blowing the scarf in his hand forward. The boy wanted to chase her, but Haruno just took off her scarf and gave him half.

The two people wearing the same scarf took the cable car to the highest point of the town.

Yukinoshita Haruno swung her feet, a smile on her lips, looking at the pale mountains in the distance, her eyes filled with longing and expectation.

"Next summer, should we go to Onomichi together? Many movies are based there. They say if you take a cable car to the top, you can see trains passing by the sea, the coal-burning roofs of the town lined up like lanterns, the red pagoda of Senkoji Temple, and red sailboats anchored on the other side of the emerald green strait."

It was also good now. Below her feet were small towns scattered along the winding coastline, covered in snow, but she unconsciously began to greedily yearn for the colors of summer.

"It seems that the treatment for the eldest lady's heartache is very effective. She has even thought about next year?" Qingye teased.

——To be precise, next year in another world?

Yukinoshita Haruno narrowed her eyes and smiled, but didn't tell him this.

The cable car ended, and as if guided by fate, the two walked on the snow and came to an open snowfield. Qingye stopped and pointed to the undulating outline of the mountains at the end of the snowfield.

"Does this place look familiar?"

"Um, the one with the love letter?"

Yukinoshita Haruno also remembered it. It was a scene at the end of the film. The heroine Watanabe Hiroko was shouting in the vast snowfield. The voice of loneliness, emotion and memories echoed in the mountains. The mountain she was facing was the "Akagamine" in front of them.

Qingye became interested and tilted his head to look at her: "Since we're already here, why don't you try shouting a few times?"

"What are you going to shout?"

"For example - I really want to become a human - or something like that?" Qingye said seriously.

Yukinoshita Haruno burst out laughing: "I didn't expect that Qingye still has a girlish heart? Or the kind with sparkling eyes? I think you are very suitable to be the eldest daughter of the Yukinoshita family!"

"The correct line here should be—" She took a deep breath, "Kiyono is an idiot—!"

The sound blew the snow away into the distance.

It was late at night when they left this snowy country. Yukinoshita Haruno stretched out a finger and wrote "Goodbye Hokkaido" on the foggy window of the tram. Then she closed her eyes, praying that in the other world she could still laugh with the boy on the snowy field.

*

Then they returned to Tokyo.

Unlike the cold and quiet beauty of the countryside, in Tokyo, the night sky of Shinjuku is always illuminated by neon lights, Ginza is colorful, and Shibuya is bustling and gorgeous. Even if the long railway is covered with falling snow, the train will tear through the snow at lightning speed.

The city was filled with never-ending noise and brilliance, so Kiyono and Yukinoshita Haruno also blended in.

They would explore delicious shops hidden in the streets and alleys, and secretly went to the University of Tokyo. The two of them sat on a bench and imagined the future that would arrive in a few months. They always had an ambiguous distance. When Kiyono was in junior high school, she was in high school. When Kiyono was in high school, she was in college. They finally became college students, but she was in Chiba and could only come to Tokyo when she was free. They would cherish the short time they were together, sitting together like this, discussing which class to take.

Yukinoshita Haruno took him to a second-hand bookstore, looking for the traces left by the literary giant. When they walked out of the bookstore, they happened to meet an art student from the university who wanted to draw a picture for them. She happily agreed and hugged the boy's arm. Afterwards, she took the painting and praised it. Afterwards, when the art student disappeared, Kiyono hummed and said, "I can draw too, and I draw very well." Haruno smiled and touched his head, saying that this is different, and became his model that night.

The two of them would sleep in the hotel's double bed that night. Despite Kiyono's protests, he was ultimately defeated by the older sister. But since they were all adults, it should be... okay, right? Actually, they didn't do anything. After showering, Yukinoshita Haruno simply threw herself on the bed and clasped his hand, as if clutching at proof of her existence in this world.

Yukinoshita Haruno also began to try dressing herself in different styles. She would choose boyish clothes or softer girlish styles.

In the evening, Qingye took her to the beach on his bicycle. They sat side by side on the breakwater, with their legs dangling in the air, watching the huge sunset slowly fall on the sea level, the sparkling sea water slowly rippling, the sound of the tide, and the winter light always gave people a warm feeling.

This is truly a wonderful journey. I left everything else in the world behind and went to the farthest and coldest north with the people around me, and then returned to the bustling city. It was caught in the cracks between fairy tales and reality, like a trip and also like elopement.

Qingye tilted his head to look at Yukinoshita Haruno. The afterglow of the setting sun shone on her face, casting a layer of warm halo on it.

They had to be mature adults before, and perhaps they will have to be in the future too—

But in this small dreamland, he hopes that Yukinoshita Haruno can find her young and naive self.

*

At the end of the story, they went to the hot springs.

Fires were lit in the stone lanterns beside the hot spring pool, which swayed gently in the evening breeze, dyeing the pool of hot springs into flowing amber, and the moonlight gave the distant mountains a silver edge.

There is a brilliant starry sky above your head, and you face the dark green mountain scenery. The entire hot spring pool at your feet is surrounded by rocks, forming an irregular circle with an elegant shape.

Qingye sat alone in the middle of the hot spring, the water reaching his collarbone.

He thought of Yukinoshita Haruno. She was right next door, probably soaking in the pool like him. As a normal boy, he couldn't help but imagine the beauty of the young lady bathing. Her black hair would be wet and stick to her porcelain-white neck, and the steaming heat would make her milky skin slightly red...

I guess what happens next is that the two of them will confide in each other through a thin wall, right?

But he suddenly heard a rustling sound. Someone opened the paper door to the courtyard and then quietly closed it.

Wait...wait! Even if mixed bathing is allowed here, this woman probably wouldn't...

Before he could stop him, he heard the sound of a towel sliding down and the faint sound of water behind him. The man blatantly jumped into the pool, walked towards him, and finally stopped in front of him.

A warm feeling came from my back, which was ten or a hundred times better than warm water.

They were back to back in the middle of the pool.

Qingye felt the water temperature suddenly become boiling hot.

Yukinoshita Haruno's voice sounded happier than usual:

"Kiyono-kun, don't you think it's romantic to soak in a hot spring at the end of your journey?"

"Don't use this excuse to cover up your crime of trespassing into the men's bath."

But, in the end... using this excuse was really too cunning, and even he became sentimental.

Others grow up and become more mature during such a journey, but they are the only ones who have changed from adults into carefree children. After today, they will put their fairy tales into the closet and take out serious suits.

Yukinoshita Haruno looked at the stars in the sky, as if counting the memories of the past few days.

"Thank you, this trip was really enjoyable."

"That's good."

"But it's because you're here with me."

"I see."

"Qingye."

"I am here."

"I just wanted to call your name."

"No matter how many times you call me, I will answer you."

"Want to do something fun?"

"Ms. Yang Nai really likes to make dirty jokes regardless of the occasion."

"Just like Seino-kun likes to joke around."

But I'm not kidding.

On the back that he couldn't see, Yukinoshita Haruno had a complicated smile on her face.

A soft sigh came over, followed by a surge of water, and two slender arms hugged him from behind, a fuller touch that was completely different from the back.

There was a whisper in my ears.

"It's almost over. After all, no matter how willful I am, I can't let the future literary giant continue to waste my life with me."

Qingye fell silent. He didn't dare to move and just looked at the night sky in the distance.

"Ms. Yang No, could you please not test the male high school student's willpower while discussing serious matters?"

"We are adults now, and we all understand what this scene represents."

Yukinoshita Haruno's tone was calm, yet she carried a charming aura.

"Let me tell you something. The devil and angel in my mind have been fighting since a while ago. Just a second ago, the devil was already stepping on the angel's head. I almost recycled you!"

"Hmm, little brother is just good at talking. In reality, he is just a useless man who doesn't even dare to eat the delicious food that is delivered to his door."

Yukinoshita Haruno hummed, bit his shoulder lightly, and then stuck out her tongue.

"If you dare to take another step forward, everything will be turned upside down!" Qingye said sternly.

Unable to bear you, Yukinoshita Haruno withdrew her hand and just rested her head quietly on his back.

After a long silence, she whispered:

"What do you think I should do?"

"You are Yukinoshita Haruno, you should figure this out yourself."

Qingye didn't give her any advice, he knew that Yangno just needed someone to listen.

Yukinoshita Haruno stretched out her hand again, this time she hugged the waist.

"Honestly, I still haven't untied the knot in my heart. That woman has been demanding nothing of me since I was a kid, and I've lived up to her expectations. Now she's telling me it's all unnecessary. How can I let it go?"

Qingye hummed.

He heard the girl behind him continue to mutter:

"Would it be easier if we just cut off contact? Wouldn't we regret it if we just stopped communicating forever? Although it would be satisfying, it's still difficult to achieve. After all, we are family."

"What connects family members? Blood ties? Or interests?"

Yukinoshita Haruno looked at the dark green mountain scenery in the distance.

He wondered if Yukinoshita's mother was also reflecting on this issue. Perhaps the Yukinoshita family could not be described as loving and harmonious, and perhaps they were even autocratic in some aspects, but she must have loved her two daughters deeply.

"I know. That woman shouldn't be as cold and heartless as I imagined, nor does she consider the family's interests the most important thing. That's why I'm annoyed and ambiguous. If she were that kind of person, I could take you away without any psychological burden."

She pressed her face against Qingye's back.

"My mother bows her head and apologizes to me? I bow my head and apologize to my mother? Then we reconcile and I engage in so-called healthy competition with Yukino? Haha... I can't imagine that scene."

Qingye listened quietly. He raised his hand and picked up a strand of black hair that was carried from behind by the gurgling hot spring water. He said seriously:

"Just do what you want to do, don't worry about things at home, I will do everything for you."

That's it.

Yukinoshita Haruno's heart suddenly palpitated. She realized what these words meant and fell back into her arms, enveloping him with the moving fragrance and warm touch.

Through the mist rising from the hot spring, he saw Yang Nai's eyes twinkling with starlight under the inverted starry sky.

"Then go help Yukino. But, this doesn't mean I'll give you to her, okay?"

"Ms. Yang Nai, you are feeling very heavy right now."

"Give me some more time, maybe a week, maybe a month, and I will try to talk to my mother again."

"Ah."

"Come and kiss."