Green plums cannot become lovers.

"I...I didn't..." Her voice was so soft it was almost inaudible.

“Yes,” An and Asuka said gently, but without leaving her any room for maneuver. “I can tell. Everyone else should be able to tell too.”

Komari lowered her head, hiding her face in the shadows of the moonlight.

She didn't know how to refute him. Because he was right. She liked Shintaro Tamaki, the company president who always carried a coffee cup, spoke unreliably, and was constantly getting elbowed by Koto Tsukinoki. She liked his focused profile when reading manuscripts, the way he smiled when giving unreliable advice, and the way he would voluntarily clear the dishes after every meal.

She kept this feeling hidden for a long time, so long that she thought no one would find out.

"Little Ju," Anhe Asuka's voice came from above, "If you like something, you should face it bravely, no matter how difficult the road ahead may be."

Komari Chika raised her head.

Under the moonlight, the boy was looking at her. His expression was gentle, without teasing or pity, only a faint, sincere encouragement. It was as if he knew this path would be difficult, but he believed she could persevere.

"I..." Komari's voice was very soft, almost drowned out by the waves, "I can't do it..."

"why?"

“Because…” She lowered her head, looking at her toes sinking into the sand, “because I’m not good enough. The president is so outstanding, I…”

“You are excellent too,” An and Asuka interrupted her.

Xiaoju Zhihua was stunned for a moment.

“Your writing has its own warmth,” Anhe Feibiao said. “It’s not the kind of fancy, technical writing; it’s simple and sincere. When you read it, you can feel that the person who wrote these words must be a very gentle person.”

Xiaoju Zhihua's eyes reddened again, but this time it wasn't because she felt wronged.

“Besides,” An and Asuka chuckled, “you can even say you’re not good enough, which means you’re more honest than many people. How can an honest person not be good enough?”

Xiaoju Chika didn't know what to say. She just stood there, listening to the sound of the waves, the wind, and her own heartbeat.

The silence lasted for a long time.

"Let's go back." After a while, An and Asuka continued, "The sea breeze is strong, don't catch a cold."

He turned around and walked back the way he came.

Komari Chika stood there, watching his retreating figure. The moonlight stretched his shadow long, all the way to her feet. She looked down at the shadow, then looked up at the moon overhead. The moon was round and bright, hanging in the night sky like a lamp lit in a distant place.

She took a deep breath.

I started walking and followed.

The two walked one after the other in the moonlight. An and Asuka didn't turn around, nor did they slow their pace, but they always maintained a distance that was neither too close nor too far from her. Komari Chika's footsteps were light on the sand, as if she didn't want to disturb the tranquility. The sea breeze blew from behind, pushing her forward, like someone gently patting her shoulder.

As they approached the guesthouse, An and Asuka stopped and glanced back at her.

"Little Ju."

"Um……"

"Don't rush to think about what I just said, take your time."

"..."

An and Asuka pushed open the back door, and warm yellow light shone through, falling on the yard, the steps, and on the two of them. From the living room came the laughter of someone burning salted lemons and the wailing of Shintaro Tamaki; it sounded like someone was fighting over snacks again.

An and Asuka went inside, their figures disappearing at the end of the corridor.

Xiao Juzhi stood at the door, looking at the warm yellow light.

She looked down at her hands. Her fingers were still gripping the hem of her clothes, and they ached a little. She loosened her grip, took a deep breath, and went inside.

The sliding door closed behind her.

The moonlight was shut out, and the sound of the waves became muffled. The living room was still bustling with activity; manuscript papers were scattered all over the table, and pen caps had rolled off somewhere.

Tsukinoki Koto is snatching a bag of potato chips from Tamaki Shintaro, who is gripping the bag tightly with a tragic expression, as if he's guarding some treasure. Roasted Salt Lemon is cheering him on from the side, though it's unclear who he's cheering for.

Komari Chika walked back to her corner, sat down, and picked up her pen.

The words on the manuscript paper remained the same line she had left before. She stared at that line for a long time, then turned the page and wrote a new line on the new page.

It is neither the beginning nor the end of the story.

It was just one sentence.

After she finished writing, she put down her pen and looked at the moonlight outside the window.

The sea breeze slipped in through the cracks in the window, ruffling a corner of the manuscript paper.

She reached out and held it down, preventing the wind from blowing it away.

Volume 1: Chapter 263 The Way Home in the Rain

The next day, a major event occurred that threatened everyone's lives.

"Um... I'm sorry." Shintaro Tamaki stood in front of the dining table, his hands clasped together, his expression so sincere it was as if he were making a serious confession. "The food is gone."

"what?"

Just as Roasted Salt Lemon was about to put a piece of bread into his mouth, he heard this and stopped, his eyes widening in surprise. Komari Chika's hand holding her teacup froze; the tea sloshed around the rim, almost spilling. Hachimi Anzu, who was rummaging through her canvas bag, looked up at the sound, her face filled with disbelief. Himegami Karen put down her book and quietly looked at the president. Nukumizu Kazuhiko remained expressionless, but his hand holding the chopsticks froze in mid-air.

"What do you mean by 'gone'?" Anna asked.

"It's... literally gone." Shintaro Tamaki bent even lower. "I accidentally used too much at the barbecue the other night..."

Tsukinoki Koto stood beside him and bowed slightly, adding, "We originally prepared enough for six days, but we used up more than half of it on the first night. Adding in the three meals yesterday, the refrigerator was almost empty when I woke up this morning."

Everyone was silent for a few seconds.

This guesthouse doesn't provide food. Before we left, the owner assured us that he would take care of the food, so we only brought changes of clothes and personal items. Now, on the third day of our six-day stay, the food is already gone.

"I'm so sorry, everyone." Tsukinoki Koto's tone was much gentler than usual, filled with genuine apology.

Seeing Anja's expression of utter despair, Bana put down the canvas bag in her hand.

"So what do we do now?"

“We’ll have to go buy it.” Shintaro Tamaki straightened up and pulled a notepad from his pocket. It was covered with a shopping list. “I’ve made a list of things we need to buy. Vegetables, meat, seasonings, rice, noodles, snacks and drinks... It’ll probably be enough for four days. One person can’t carry it all. We’ll have to help each other.”

"Then let's go together," said Salted Lemon, his words muffled as he stuffed bread into his mouth.

"Let's decide by drawing lots." Shintaro Tamaki pulled out a few folded strips of paper from somewhere. "To be fair, two people will be paired up and each will be responsible for a different category."

The slips of paper were spread out on the table, and everyone drew one. An and Asuka unfolded their slips, which read "vegetables." He looked up and saw that Komari Chika was also looking at her slip, her face slightly flushed. The two exchanged a glance, and Komari Chika quickly lowered her head, clutching her slip in her hand.

"Vegetable group, Anwa and Komari," Shintaro Tamaki read aloud.

"Meat Group, Me and the Ancient Capital."

"Seasoning and main course group, Hanami-kun and Himemiya-kun."

"Snacks and drinks group, Salt and Warm Water."

He clapped his hands and looked around.

"Everyone, go to the shopping street and do your own shopping. Whoever finishes first can come back first, no need to wait for the others. Be careful on the road."

Everyone responded and picked up their shopping bags to leave.

The summer sun had bathed the entire street, softening the asphalt surface slightly. It took about fifteen minutes to walk from the guesthouse to the shopping street, passing a rice paddy and a few farmhouses along the way.

The rice has already sprouted ears of grain, the green ears swaying gently in the wind. Occasionally, a dragonfly perches on the tip of a leaf, its wings shimmering translucently in the sunlight. In the distance, the chirping of cicadas comes in waves, like someone playing an invisible violin high above.

The shopping street is small, with various shops lining both sides of a straight street. There are vegetable shops, butcher shops, dried goods shops, and general stores, all with old-fashioned signs, some of which have faded.

Since it was morning, there weren't many customers. Occasionally, a few housewives carrying shopping baskets would come out of the shop and exchange a few words with the owner. The air was filled with a mixture of fishy smells, the earthy smell of vegetables, and the aroma of bread fresh from the oven. The various smells blended together, but it didn't feel out of place.

Several groups parted ways at the street corner. Hana saw Anza pulling Himegami Karen towards the supermarket, turning back to call out to An and Asuka, "Come find us when you're done shopping!" Himegami Karen gently tugged at her sleeve, and Hana pouted, turning back away.

Roasted Salt Lemon and Onamizu Kazuhiko headed towards the snack shop. Roasted Salt Lemon walked ahead, her steps light and quick, almost like she was dancing, while Onamizu Kazuhiko followed behind, still as slow and leisurely as ever.

Anhe Asuka led Komari Chika into the vegetable section.

The vegetable shop was small, with several rows of wooden shelves neatly stacked with various vegetables outside. The bok choy leaves were a vibrant green, the tomatoes were a plump red, and the cucumbers still had fine prickles on them—clearly, they had been picked fresh from the field that morning. The owner, a woman in her fifties wearing a dark blue apron, was squatting on the ground arranging a basket of eggplants. Seeing them enter, she greeted them with a smile.

An and Feiniao pulled out their shopping list from their pockets and glanced at it. Potatoes, onions, carrots, leafy greens, tomatoes, eggplants, green peppers, mushrooms—quite a variety. He picked up a shopping basket, walked to the potato stall, squatted down, gently pressed the skin of a potato with his fingers, picked it up to look at it, and then put a few into the basket.

Komari Chika stood next to him, also carrying a basket, but her gaze swept around the stall before finally settling on the pile of green vegetables in the far corner.

"Um...do you want to buy some vegetables?" she asked softly.

"Yes, it's on the list."

Xiaoju Zhihua reached out to take it, hesitated for a moment when her fingers touched the vegetable leaf, then pinched off a small piece of leaf, looked at it in her palm, and put it down again.

"What's wrong?" An and Asuka asked.

"I...I'm not very good at choosing vegetables..." her voice was very soft. "My mom usually does the grocery shopping at home. I only know that green vegetables are green...but I can't tell which ones are fresh and which ones aren't..."

Anhe Feibiao glanced at her, put down the potatoes in his hand, and walked to the vegetable stall.

“Look,” he picked up a bunch of greens, turned them over so the roots were facing up, “fresh greens have moist, whitish cut ends at the roots. If the cut ends are dry and yellow, it means they’ve been sitting for a long time.”

He then pointed to the leaves: "The leaves should be upright, not wilted. The color should be vibrant green, not yellow. Look at this bunch—"

He held up the greens in his hand, letting the sunlight shine on the leaves. "If the leaves are glossy and there are no insect holes, then this is a good one."

Xiaoju Zhihua listened attentively, her eyes fixed on the greens in his hand, as if she were memorizing some important point. Anhe Feibiao put that bunch of greens into her basket, then picked up another bunch, letting her decide for herself. She looked down at it for a long time, touched the leaves, turned over the roots, and hesitated for a while before finally nodding.

"This... should work too, right?"

"Hmm, not bad." An and Asuka smiled.

Xiao Juzhihua blushed slightly and put the bunch of greens into the basket.

Next up were the tomatoes. Anhe and Feiniao told her that good tomatoes have an even color, feel slightly soft to the touch but don't collapse, and have a green stem to indicate freshness. Xiaoju Zhihua tried to pick a few, some correctly, some not so well. Anhe and Feiniao didn't directly tell her they were wrong, but instead let her touch and smell them, to find her own sense of them.

When she picked the fourth one, she suddenly stopped, held a tomato up to the sunlight, looked at it, and turned her head, her eyes lighting up.

"Isn't this great?"

“Yes.” An and Asuka nodded. “This one is very beautiful.”

Xiao Juzhi carefully placed it into the basket, a small smile curving her lips.

Carrots, green peppers, eggplants, mushrooms—An and Feibiao would first demonstrate how to choose each vegetable, and then let her try it herself. She learned slowly, but very seriously. After choosing each item, she would look up at him and wait for his confirmation before putting it in the basket.

Gradually, her movements became less restrained. When her fingers touched the vegetable leaves, she would naturally pinch them, and when she picked up a mushroom, she would lower her head to smell it.

“Anhe,” she suddenly spoke.

"Ok?"

"How...do you know everything?"

"what?"

"Vegetables...how do you choose them?" She lowered her head, her fingers gently stroking a green pepper. "Do you usually buy vegetables often?"

An and Asuka paused for a moment, then laughed.

"It's not very often, but people have to learn to take care of themselves."

Komari didn't reply. She lowered her head, staring at the green pepper in her hand, and after a moment of silence, she softly said, "Amazing."

The sound was very soft, like a sigh.

By the time the two had finished buying all the vegetables, most of the other groups had already left.

An and Asuka came out carrying two bulging shopping bags, with Komari Chika following behind, carrying a lighter bag as well. The sun was even stronger than when they arrived, making their skin feel hot, and the cicadas' chirping sounded even more noisy than in the morning, as if ripened by the high temperature.

"Let's go, go back."

Komari nods and follows beside him.

The two walked back along the way they came. After about five minutes, An and Asuka noticed that the sky looked a little strange.

The once azure sky now appeared as if a layer of gray ink had been splashed on it, slowly spreading from the west. The sunlight became less glaring, the air grew muggy, and the cicadas suddenly fell silent.

Summer rain can come suddenly.

When the first raindrop fell, An and Asuka didn't even realize what was happening. The drop was large, hitting the back of his hand with a crisp sound. Then came the second, the third, and countless more—it was as if someone had spilled a bucket of water from the sky, and the rain curtain swept across the entire street from afar.

"Run!" An and Asuka grabbed Komari's wrist and ran towards the nearest convenience store.

When the two rushed under the eaves of the convenience store, they were already soaked to the bone. The rain, as if it had been holding back for a long time, finally found an outlet, pouring down heavily and rapidly, splashing onto the ground and creating white mist. The puddles on the street quickly formed streams, gurgling along the curb. In the distance, a muffled rumble of thunder sounded, as if something was slowly rolling across the sky.

Komari Chika stood under the eaves, panting, and looked down at her clothes. Her light-colored coat was covered with dark rain stains, and her skirt was soaked, clinging to her legs. Her hair was also dripping wet, with a few strands sticking to her cheeks. She reached out and brushed them away, but they stuck back to her face.

"I'm going to buy an umbrella." Anhe Asuka turned and walked into the convenience store.

The convenience store wasn't big, the shelves were neatly arranged, and the lights were a bit too bright. He looked around in the rain gear section and asked a clerk, but when he came out, he only had a clear plastic umbrella in his hand.

"I wanted to buy two," he said, handing the umbrella to Komari Chika, "but they're sold out."