I won't be a loser.

"It seems a bit rude to go there empty-handed."

While walking on the street, he noticed a Japanese confectionery shop called "Toraya" on the side of the street. After thinking about it, he seemed to have never given Futaba Rio any gifts. The last time they went shopping in the mall, he gave her some clothes.

Almost half of the summer vacation has passed since it began, and I have never seen her wearing the clothes I gave her.

After entering the wagashi shop, Xianren bought some wagashi before continuing on his way.

The time it took was a little longer than Xianren had originally estimated. He walked for nearly forty minutes before finally arriving at the door of Futaba's house. His forehead was covered with sweat and his nose was a little wet. The hot summer heat made him feel a little anxious. Xianren raised his hand and pressed the doorbell.

Rio Futaba, who had just come out of the bathroom, happened to hear the bell at the door. She hurried back to her room, put on her clothes, and hurried to the door.

When the door opened, what appeared before Xianren's eyes was Rio Futaba, with disheveled clothes, beads of sweat on her forehead, wet long hair, and she was panting.

".......What are you doing?"

"I just finished taking a shower and heard your doorbell, so I rushed over. What's wrong?"

Looking at Futaba Rio in silence, Xianren touched his pocket, took out his mobile phone, opened the camera, pointed it at the girl in front of him, and gently pressed the "click" button, leaving the girl's current appearance in his photo album, with a satisfied expression on his face.

"I saw a good picture and I have to treasure it."

"......"

She was aware of how she looked at the moment, and that she might be a little embarrassed, but after seeing Kento's reaction and actions, Futaba Rio couldn't help but feel angry.

bang——

The door was closed, leaving Xianren standing at the door. He looked at the closed door in front of him and blinked silently.

It seemed that the girl was really pissed off.

She raised her hand and pressed the doorbell again. Futaba Rio behind the door was not really prepared to lock Kento out. If she just turned around and went back to her room, wouldn't her shower be in vain?

Feeling a little unhappy, Futaba Rio opened the door and looked at the man in front of her, feeling a little disgusted for a moment.

He turned around and walked into the house, and Xianren followed Futaba Rio into the house. After entering the house, he closed the door gently.

A black car was parked on the side of the road, and its window slowly rolled down. The girl in the car picked up her camera, gently pressed the shutter, and took a picture of the moment when Xianren entered the house. She then slowly raised the window again and sat in the car, quietly looking at the Futaba family.

Xianren, who was unaware that someone was following him, entered Futaba's house and handed the Japanese confectionery he was carrying to the girl walking in front of him.

"Wagashi."

Futaba Rio, who was walking in front and didn't want to pay attention to Kento for the time being, looked back after hearing Kento's words and noticed the wagashi in his hand.

"Superfluous."

She whispered softly, but still reached out and took the wagashi from Xianren's hand, took out one portion, and put the other in the refrigerator. She led Xianren to her room, poured some cold tea, and handed it to Xianren.

And a wet towel.

"So, what brings you here today?"

In her own room, looking at Xianren standing in her room and looking around, Futaba Rio asked him the purpose of his visit.

"Nothing special, just asking, are you free tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow? What's wrong?"

She frowned, thinking that Xianren was coming to her... But now seeing Xianren's serious reaction, Futaba Rio couldn't help but murmur in her heart, could it be that she had guessed the other party's purpose wrong?

"No, he's not a herbivore. How could he just ask? If he wanted to ask, wouldn't he just call him?"

She didn't believe in the innocence of virtuous people, so she looked at the boy in front of her, waiting for the moment when his true intentions would be revealed.

"There's a fireworks display tomorrow, so I'm wondering if you're going?"

"Fireworks display?"

Futaba Rio had heard about it, but when she heard Xianren coming to invite her, she still felt something was a little off.

"why?"

"what why?"

"You didn't invite your girlfriend and came to see me. Are you planning to meet me at the fireworks display?"

Futaba Rio crossed her arms and when she held them in front of her, her already eye-catching plumpness became even more eye-catching. Xianren couldn't help but stare at her for a while, which made Futaba Rio blush and her face gradually became gloomy.

Noticing that the girl's expression was gradually getting worse, Xianren stopped staring at her and a thoughtful expression appeared on his face.

"That seems like a good suggestion. Then, let's meet in person. We can just use the excuse of an accidental encounter. Then, we can call two more people to cover it up."

"are you serious?"

In response to Futaba Rio's somewhat incredulous look, Xianren chuckled and nodded.

"..."

With her brows furrowed, Futaba Rio's eyes gradually dropped, and then she gave her answer.

"Forget it, I have other things to do tomorrow, so I won't go."

"Don't want to meet her?"

"I just don't want you to be embarrassed. By then, you'll be the one caught in the middle, and she'll be your girlfriend. If you can't find a good person, I'll be the only one left. Why bother making things difficult for yourself?"

- - - -

Thanks to Xianling, Shijian Fanhua, and Baihe Xiaoniao for their monthly tickets and blades! Thanks to everyone for their recommendation votes!

Summer Cicadas: 253. Tradition

Futaba Rio had her own ideas, and Kento didn't force her.

"Then let's celebrate Obon Festival together next time?"

"Are you ready to die with me?"

"It's not impossible. Coming to death with you, Futaba, for love might become an ancient legend in the future. A story about two young people in love, willing to do anything for love. Is that the story?"

He walked up to the girl and looked at her. The sage stretched out his hand and placed it on her cheek, gently caressing her face. The hand was soft and smooth, and the touch was fascinating.

So, he raised his left hand and placed it on Futaba Rio's face, gently rubbing the girl's cheek. Looking at the girl's increasingly unfriendly eyes and gaze, Xian put down his arms reluctantly, sighed softly, walked to the window of her room, and looked at the street scenery outside the window.

"When will your parents come back? Will they wait until nightfall like before?"

"Why are you asking this?"

Futaba Rio's gaze fell on Kento, and she noticed that Kento was also looking at her. She couldn't help but put her hands in front of herself. She had originally prepared for this, but she was not in a good mood at the moment.

Facing Futaba Rio who was 'on guard' against him, Xianren walked slowly to the door, put his hand on the door handle, and turned around to look at Futaba Rio who was standing inside the house.

"If you ask me what I want to do, then my answer is——"

Click——

The door was locked. Seeing the flustered Futaba Rio, the smile on Xianren's face widened a little...

After being kicked hard twice, when leaving Futaba's house, Xianren couldn't help but cover his face and nose with his hands. He didn't expect the other party's reaction to be so intense. She was obviously a genius girl in science, but he didn't expect that she also had amazing talent in fighting.

But at least he managed to subdue the naughty little cat. Seeing it finally bite its lips and whimper in surrender, Xianren's hot heart felt as if a large basin of smoothie was poured on it, and it suddenly became refreshed.

When walking on the road, the smile on the corner of his mouth is lingering.

I returned to Mito Yuge's residence. When I entered the house, the girl seemed to be preparing dinner. When she saw the wise man entering her house, she was a little surprised. She had not received any information from the wise man before and thought he would not come today.

"Anything happening tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow? I have a part-time job in the afternoon, but I don't have anything to do in the evening. Do you need me to take a leave?"

"No need to ask for leave, it's an evening event anyway."

"What are you doing tonight?"

Mito Yuge looked down at the stir-fried pork and green peppers in the pot in front of her, stir-fried it twice, then looked back at Xianren with a confused expression, wondering what activities were going on in the evening.

Generally speaking, if you think about it carefully, activities related to the night are only related to... things that are not suitable for children.

Although they were not adults, they were both on the brink of adulthood and still felt like children, and the innocent thought of just looking at the stars at night was probably gone.

"Are you getting ready to go out?"

"Well, are you interested in the Central District fireworks display?"

"Fireworks...fireworks display?"

Mito Yuge was stunned for a moment, looking at the wise man in front of her, seemed a little surprised at what he said.

"Well, the fireworks display. Summer vacation is almost over now, and I don't know what to do with the rest of the time. I just happened to see the news about the fireworks display, so I wanted to ask if you're interested in participating."

"There must be a lot of people, right?"

"It should be quite a lot. I've never been there before, I've only seen the fireworks from afar, so I'm not sure exactly how many people there are."

I recalled the memories related to the fireworks display in my mind. Apart from the time when I was in Itomori, squatting by the river bank with my two younger sisters and lighting those small fireworks, the only memory I had was sitting in Sayuri Sawamura's car and watching the rising fireworks with her.

that time......

Looking at Xianren who suddenly fell into memories, Mito Yuge's face showed an expression of thinking and hesitation.

Deep down, I really want to go to the fireworks display with Xianren, but then I think of other things.

"Forget it this year."

"Ok?"

"If you're with me, Xianren won't have time to spend with your girlfriend. You should spend more time with your girlfriend. She must be looking forward to attending the fireworks display with you, Xianren, right?"

Mito Yuge thought that if he invited her, she would agree, but unexpectedly she also rejected him.

An expression of surprise unconsciously appeared on his face. Looking at the girl in front of him, he slowly frowned and opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but facing the girl's innocent and peaceful smile, the words were choked back by him.

“If you think too much about other people’s feelings, you will lose yourself.”

"But hasn't Xianren always considered my feelings? So, Xianren can just do what he wants. It doesn't matter to me. Before I met Xianren, couldn't I have lived a good life on my own?"

"I'm here to invite you to the fireworks display, not to listen to your breakup-like advice."

He sighed. It was indeed because he considered the girl's feelings that he came to invite the other party, but he didn't expect that Futaba Rio and Mito Yuka also considered his feelings, which made Xianren feel complicated for a while.

He hugged the slender waist of the girl in front of him and buried his face in her hair.

Maybe the reason I fell in love with Sayuri Sawamura is because I like the gentle and caring personality of older girls.

Looking down at the arms wrapped around her waist, a faint smile appeared on Mito Yuge's face. She pursed her lips silently and turned off the fire on the kitchen counter...

When it got dark, Kento returned to his apartment. As soon as he entered his room, he saw Sayu Ogiwara already in the room.

"I almost forgot, I'm not alone at home anymore. Is today's work over?"

"Ah."

Ogiwara Sayu looked at Kento, who had returned home with a somewhat tired look on his face, and she didn't know what was wrong with him.

"Ah well... I'm going to the bathroom first. Have you had dinner yet?"

"Not yet. Not yet."

"I see."

Kento, who looked very tired, walked into the bathroom. Ogiwara Sayu, who stayed in the living room, looked at Kento entering the bathroom and couldn't help showing a confused expression on her face.

Without explaining anything to Ogiwara Sayu, he went into the bathroom. After a quick shower, his spirits were slightly lifted, but there was still some fatigue in his eyes. He sat down in the living room and poured himself a cup of cold tea.

"Tomorrow night, we're going to the fireworks display. Are you going?"

"Fireworks display?"

"Well, the fireworks display is probably the last one this summer. If you're interested, you can go and join us."

"Will Miss Mito participate?"

"Xige isn't planning on participating. It's probably just Setsuna and Shijie. Plus you and me, there are two others. I'm not sure if they'll participate. It's not clear yet."

"Is Miss Saionji going too?"

When she heard the name of Saionji Sekai, Ogiwara Sayu's face was filled with deep surprise.

"I've already contacted her. She should be fine. How about you?"

"I have no idea."

Ogiwara Sayu wanted to go, but she felt that the person invited by Kento was a little strange. She didn't know if it would cause some trouble if she agreed and showed up at the scene. She couldn't help but feel a little hesitant.

"Anyway, there's still a day left, so take your time to think about it. If you're willing to attend the fireworks display, just tell me. I'll also prepare a yukata for you."