I'm in a real religion, why are all the people who confess to me girls?

"Look! That's the bus that Gao Yu students are riding on!"

Someone shouted this while the tourists were playing in the park, and then a number of reporters carrying long lenses and microphones immediately appeared from all corners of the park and surrounded the girls who had just gotten off the bus and were still looking confused, for interviews.

Upon seeing this, Tianyin immediately opened the bus window and climbed out without saying a word.

"Hichiya, come quickly."

Amane reached out and made a catching gesture, indicating that Shiina should also jump out of the car window. Shiina glanced at the ground with some worry, then looked back at the girls who were surrounded by them. Finally, she gritted her teeth and jumped out of the car window as well. The moment her body was in the air, Shiina closed her eyes tightly in fear. The reason she didn't scream was because she believed that Amane would definitely catch her.

Just as Shiina had expected, her body was only suspended in the air for less than two seconds before falling into Amane's warm embrace.

Shiina shyly opened her eyes, and before she could even speak to Amane, Amane hurriedly picked her up and disappeared into the crowd. Luckily, they were both dressed casually today, so once they were in the crowd, no one paid any attention to them anymore.

Amane carried Shiina and ran for a long time before stopping, making sure no one would catch up.

"Tianyin! Put me down quickly... this position... is so embarrassing..."

When Tenon heard the soft, sweet voice in her arms, she looked down and saw Shiina curled up in a ball, her hands covering her flushed cheeks. Being carried by Tenon and running wildly in front of everyone gave Shiina the feeling that Tenon was going to elope with her. The thought that their elopement would attract so many onlookers made Shiina's face burn even hotter.

"I did that just now to get you away from those crazy guys, Hiyori, are you alright?"

After putting Shiina down, Amane began to give Shiina a full-body checkup, pinching her cheeks and hugging her slender waist...

After a full body check was completed and it was confirmed that Shiina was not injured, Amane was finally able to relax completely.

Shiina, on the other hand, was already as red-faced as a cooked shrimp and remained motionless. If you looked closely, you could vaguely see wisps of white steam rising from Shiina's head...

Where should we go next?

Amane's question made Shiina's ears twitch slightly.

"How about we go buy some local specialties first? I've heard the chocolate here is really delicious!"

Upon hearing about chocolate, Tianyin became interested. Surely such a large chocolate-themed park wouldn't be without a small bear-shaped chocolate, right?

"Chocolate? I remember there was a special supply of Shiroi Koibito chocolate here, so I can bring back some for Arisu and the others as souvenirs."

With a preliminary plan in mind, Amane intended to first take Shiina to the local shops to buy some Shiroi Koibito chocolates, and then see if they could customize some bear-shaped chocolates. After doing these things, she and Shiina should have a good time playing in the park.

Tianyin glanced at the time; it was 10:50 AM, and there was still plenty of time before she and Teacher Xingzhigong and the others planned to meet at the park entrance at 6:00 PM.

Then Amane reached out her hand to Shiina beside her.

Looking at the hand that Amane reached out, Shiina's face, which had finally returned to normal, began to flush slightly again.

"Tianyin, are you going to hold hands? But there are so many people here..."

"It's okay, we'll have to hold hands sooner or later anyway."

Amane smiled, gently took Shiina's hand, and then led Shiina toward the store.

Chapter 336: The Gift

Amane held Shiina's hand as they strolled along the park's streets. The cedar trees on both sides of the street were adorned with glistening osmanthus blossoms. The doors of various shops opened and closed repeatedly as tourists came and went, alternately sending out the indoor warmth and the outdoor chill, making Amane feel a touch of warmth in the air as she walked along the road.

Besides feeling the warmth from the indoor heating in the air, the sweet aroma of hot cocoa and caramel pudding wafting from the bakery tempted Amane and Shiina to unconsciously deviate from their original direction.

Normally, the observant Shiina would have noticed this and reminded Amane, but at this moment, Shiina was still shy. Her heart was pounding and her mind was blank. She could only lower her head and let Amane lead her by the hand and walk around the streets.

Finally, the road that had been rapidly sliding backward in front of Shiina stopped. Shiina, who had just recovered from her shyness, instinctively looked up at Amane, only to find that Amane had led her to a bakery.

"Are you thirsty, Hiyori?"

Shiina didn't feel thirsty, but seeing that Amane seemed eager to have something to drink, he nodded.

Seeing that Shiina was also a little thirsty, Amane led Shiina directly into the baking hut.

"A glass of hot milk, please. What would you like to drink, Hiyori?"

"Cocoa is fine."

"I'd like a cup of hot milk and a cup of hot cocoa, two servings of crème brûlée, a dark chocolate cup, and a frozen yokan (sweet bean jelly). I'd like the yokan from Gokatsu Teya."

Upon hearing Tianyin's order, the waiter glanced at her in surprise.

"We can make it directly here..."

"I want to do it myself."

"Okay, is one serving of yokan enough?"

One serving is enough.

Listening to the somewhat bewildered conversation between Amane and the shop assistant, Shiina tilted her head curiously.

Although it's unclear what disagreement the two had about the amount of yokan, Shiina thought that only Amane would do something like eating frozen yokan in the dead of winter.

Soon, the staff brought the drinks and desserts that Tianyin had ordered to the two of them.

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. Please enjoy your meal."

After putting down the product, the shop assistant gave Shiina a strange look, then blushed and quickly left.

This strange reaction made Shiina even more curious. Most girls would probably think the clerk was being strange and ignore it, but for Shiina, a girl who likes to deduce things, not getting an answer was like having a little cat tickling her heart, making her restless and itchy.

Amane first took the dark chocolate cup, scooped out a large hole, squeezed the frozen yokan (sweet bean jelly) into it, and then poured her hot milk over it.

The hot milk instantly melts the yokan. Hokkaido Gokachi Teya's yokan uses Kintoki red beans, which are even sweeter after being mixed with milk, but don't feel cloying. This is why Amane emphasizes using Gokachi Teya's yokan. The yokan milk seeps down and melts the dark chocolate at the bottom little by little, releasing the rich aroma of dark chocolate.

Amane gently shook the cup a few times, then pushed it in front of Shiina under her puzzled gaze.

"Try it."

Driven by her curiosity, Shiina picked up a spoon and gently scooped up a spoonful of yokan (sweet bean jelly) and put it in her mouth.

The slightly thawed ice crystals, mixed with the creamy texture of red beans, combined with the rich aroma of dark chocolate and the sweetness of milk, elicited a surprised exclamation from Shiina upon taking a bite.

"Delicious! Is there any special reason behind Tianyin's cooking method?"

"This is Snow Dew, a unique way of eating in Hokkaido, and a limited-edition item only available in Shiroi Koibito Park during winter. It's also a surprise I prepared for you, Hiyori. Do you like it?"

When Amane saw that they were selling frozen yokan (sweet bean jelly), she knew that they could make snow nectar here, but she didn't bother the staff to make it for Shiina in order to give him a little surprise.

"like!!"

Shiina was unusually happy, eating the Snow Dew in front of him with big bites. Seeing Shiina eating so happily, Amane revealed a triumphant smile.

"I'm glad you like it, but wouldn't you like to share such a delicious dessert with me?"

Reminded by Amane, Shiina realized that Amane hadn't tasted anything yet, and quickly pushed the cup in front of her.

"Sorry, it's so delicious I forgot you haven't tried it yet, Tianyin."

Amane gave a meaningful smile as Shiina pushed the cup back to her.

"I want you to feed me, Hiyori."

"Huh? Hello?"

Shiina finally understood why the shop assistant had been looking at her strangely. Was this a couple's set? No wonder the shop assistant had asked if she only wanted one.

However, even though she understood the reason, she still needed to face the question of whether or not to feed Tianyin the Dew of Snow.

Since the shop assistant seemed to have shared the incident with the other shop assistants, now three or four people at the counter are all staring intently at Tianyin's table, seemingly anticipating what will happen next.

Shiina already felt embarrassed enough about having to feed Amane, but now he had to feed her in front of so many people. For a moment, Shiina even had the thought of turning around and running away.

but……

Seeing Amane's expectant gaze, Shiina felt embarrassed to respond to Amane in that way.

"Isn't this a bit inappropriate? With so many people watching us, I feel a little embarrassed..."

"I heard that the reason why Snow Dew is made so sweet is to share the sweetest moments with the person you love. Hiyori, don't you want to share this sweet moment with me?"

Amane smiled and gently rubbed Shiina's hand in her palm. This intimate gesture made Shiina feel her face burning hot, as if it were on fire.

Even though she was so embarrassed that she wanted to cover her face and run away, after hearing that Tianyin was going to share this with the person she liked, she still used her other hand to pick up a spoon, scooped up a spoonful of yokan (sweet bean jelly), and brought it to Tianyin's lips.

Instead of eating, Amane winked at Shiina. Sensing what Amane wanted to do, Shiina's gaze began to wander. After a while, she finally suppressed her shyness and whispered something.

"I'll feed you..."

Shiina spoke in a voice that sounded like a shy wife expressing her love to her husband, or like she was being coquettish, saying words that made Shiina incredibly embarrassed.

Amane smiled happily, then tilted her head forward slightly, and while Shiina was too shy to look her in the eye, she quickly kissed Shiina's lips and then ate the yokan in one bite.

"Heavenly Sound!!!"

"It tastes really good."

Amane's suggestive tone and ambiguous gaze made Shiina, who was about to get angry, feel a huge sense of shame that made her head spin.

So much so that when Amane fed her later, she was ambushed again and kissed for more than ten seconds without realizing it. In the end, she didn't even know how she left the baking hut. By the time Shiina came to her senses, she was already lying in Amane's arms, being held by Amane and swinging back and forth on the ice sculpture swing. Feeling Amane's warm body and the strong, beating heart so close to her, Shiina's body became increasingly restless.

"I... want to be with Tianyin..."

"Hmm? What did you just say, Hiyori?"

As the swing swayed once more, Shiina whispered his feelings to Amane, but Amane probably didn't hear him clearly because the wind was too strong.

Seeing the puzzled look on Amane's face, Shiina felt both disappointed and relieved. She was disappointed because if Amane had heard her confession, Amane might have agreed immediately. After all, if she wanted Amane to confess again... Shiina felt she no longer had the courage she had before. She was relieved because it was fortunate that Amane hadn't heard her confession. Otherwise, she would have lost her bet with Amane, and Arisu and the others might have laughed at her for it.

She had sworn an oath to make Amane confess her love to her, and she, Shiina Hiyori, would conquer Amane with her charm as a woman!

But this road is far too difficult. Are vows really that important compared to happiness?

……

Inside a department store in Sapporo, Horikita and his two companions were wandering aimlessly. Although Mayor Miyako had promised to reimburse the students' expenses and provided substantial financial support, the amount was extremely limited when divided among each individual. It wouldn't be a problem for sightseeing or normal food and drinks.

However, for Horikita and his friends who wanted to prepare a little surprise for Amane for Christmas, they had to be more careful with the money.

"The prices here are really expensive. It's a pity I can't use personal points, otherwise I could have bought that ring, right?"

Hui looked with a hint of regret at the jewelry counter they had just passed. There they had seen a very beautiful heart-shaped platinum diamond ring, but the price was far too high. The three of them couldn't afford it even with their combined money, so they had to give up on buying the ring and instead look for other gifts that could be given as a surprise.

"That ring would be a huge sum of money even if paid for with personal points. Instead of spending money on something like that, let's go look for something else."

Horikita also felt it was a great pity to give up her favorite items because she didn't have enough money, but because of limited time and financial constraints, she had to be very selective and couldn't afford to waste her energy on feelings of regret.

"Lingyin is right. How about we split up and look for something? Everyone has different preferences, so if we go together, we might miss out on the gifts we like!"

Horikita and Megumi both agreed with Ichinose's point, so the three of them began searching for what they thought would be a suitable Christmas gift for Amane.

The search lasted from morning until afternoon. When the three of them finally met again on the first floor of the department store, they looked at the gifts each other had chosen and were speechless with disbelief.

"Um... Hui, you don't actually want to keep knitting scarves, do you?"

Ichinose pointed at the ball of yarn in Megumi's hand and smiled somewhat reluctantly.

"There's nothing I can do about it. I really can't think of any other gift to give Tianyin, so I'll just knit her a little bear scarf."

"So that's how it is..."

Ichinose's smile became even more forced. Actually, what Ichinose wanted to say was not that there was anything wrong with the gift that Megumi wanted to give, but after seeing how well Megumi knitted the scarf, Ichinose really wanted to advise her to choose a different gift if it really didn't work out. Megumi really had absolutely no talent when it came to knitting scarves; even Ichinose, a beginner, knitted much better than her.

However, seeing how persistent Megumi was about knitting the scarf, Ichinose had no choice but to stop trying to persuade her. After all, knitting a scarf by hand was a way for Megumi to express her feelings to Amane, and more importantly, didn't Arisu knit a scarf for Amane every year? So Ichinose felt that it would be better not to undermine Megumi's confidence.

"Fanbo, are these the gifts you chose? They don't look particularly special."

Horikita carefully examined the gift Ichinose had chosen, but no matter how she looked at it, she was certain it was just an ordinary phone case and keychain. Coming here to buy these things as gifts felt like making a mountain out of a molehill. If she were at school, she could use her personal points to buy a better quality phone case and keychain. There was absolutely no need to waste money here.

"This isn't your average phone case! Look, this bear design glows at night!"

"..."

Now it was Emi and Horikita's turn to fall silent.

A phone case is a fairly common gift, but the prerequisite for seeing something like a glow-in-the-dark bear is waiting until night. But who goes to sleep at night and has nothing better to do than stare at a glow-in-the-dark bear? Not to mention someone like Tianyin who prefers looking at big bears at night to little bears, so even at night he probably wouldn't notice such a detail as a glow-in-the-dark bear.

Both Megumi and Ichinose's gifts were rather underwhelming, leaving only Horikita's.

Horikita initially thought her gift was a bit too cliché, but after seeing Megumi and Ichinose's gifts, even Horikita herself felt that her gift was the most reliable among the three. However... why were Megumi and Ichinose looking at her with disdain?

"Was my gift really that bad? I think it was quite nice..."

"It's not about whether it's bad or not... we're just saying that if I remember correctly, Tianyin should have several of these brown bear-style pajamas, right? She always wears this outfit to bully people, and I'm tired of seeing it."

Hui muttered weakly.

She had previously asked Amane why she always wore the same pajamas when she stayed overnight at her place, and Amane told her that Horikita had bought her seven sets and she changed them every day...

But what's with buying seven identical sets of pajamas?!

And this is the eighth set, right? The eighth set!!!

"What Hui said is true. Speaking of which, Rinne, why don't you consider changing to a different animal-themed pajama? If they're all bears, it can really cause visual fatigue."