Social phobia and lonely rock

Ishikawa Hayabusa's cold words made Yudai pout and sit back.

But he added, "We'll be in Beppu soon, so make sure you don't miss out on the sights."

Yudai's mood recovered very quickly. She smiled and said, "I know! I must see the snowy city with hot spring smoke with my own eyes."

After the long journey, Hong Xia, who was in a much better mood, looked at the two of them with a gentle smile.

They had already changed to the JR high-speed train before eating, and now they were very close to their destination.

Not long after Yudai made the tourist announcement, Hongxia suddenly called out, "Everyone, come here!"

As soon as she reminded them, not only Yu Dai, but also Yi Li from next door came over. Only Liang did not join in the fun.

In the small space between the chairs in the train, the two people standing were squeezed together, and one of Yudai's legs was pressed on Ishikawa Hayabusa's leg.

The four of them put their faces together and looked out through the car window.

It gets dark quickly in winter, and the sky at this moment is filled with the last sunset glow before it gets completely dark.

Ishikawa Hayabusa's vision spread from near to far.

Beppu City is a hundred meters away from the high-speed rail track. Nearby are several quaint Japanese-style tiled houses, covered with white snow.

Not only this kind of old-style building, but also various low-rise bungalows, all wear white hats.

In the meantime, thick white mist rose from the houses and chimneys, which was the steam from the hot springs.

Under the illumination of the red and yellow lights of the city, the steam seemed to be carrying the white snow to the sunset in the sky.

Sunset, white fog, snow, lights, and low buildings.

A warm city that looks peaceful and tranquil is right before their eyes.

...

After stepping out of the high-speed train carriage, Ishikawa Hayabusa first felt a little cold, and then he smelled a faint smell of sulfur in the air.

“It already smells like a hot spring.”

He walked out a few steps dragging his suitcase and said to the girls.

“It seems that there really is.”

Yudai and Hongxia raised their heads and sniffed, but their sense of smell was not as exaggerated as Ishikawa Hayabusa's, and most of it was just psychological.

Liang didn't care about all this. After leaving the warm carriage, she wrapped her scarf tightly, lengthened her sleeves, and said while pulling the suitcase with an expression that looked annoyed.

"I'm so tired, let's go to the hot springs."

Although the seven-hour journey didn't require much movement, it was still quite tiring.

There was a middle-aged man who came out with them and he started twisting his waist to loosen up his muscles as soon as he got off the car.

This journey is a bit tiring for young people, but it is torture for middle-aged people.

Ishikawa Hayabusa looked at Ichiri who was also tired and said.

"Then let's go and enjoy the hot springs and delicious food first."

Coming out of the station and walking to the square in front of the station, the five people passed by a statue that was raising its hands in a strange pose, looking scary.

Yudai looked at the statue in confusion and asked.

"this is?"

Ishikawa Hayabusa did not stop and explained: "Aburaya Kumahachi is a person who has given great support to Beppu hot spring tourism."

"Then why do you have to take such a strange pose...?"

Yili asked doubtfully.

Ishikawa Hayabusa shrugged: "Maybe it will make me seem more friendly and approachable."

As he spoke, he looked around on the side of the road and saw a shuttle bus with the name of their hotel written on the door. He pointed there and spoke.

“That’s the car.”

The four followed him.

After the driver confirmed that they were the people he was picking up, he quickly got off the car to help them load their luggage into the trunk and opened the car door for them.

Ishikawa Hayabusa also lent a hand when moving the luggage.

The girls looked at the shuttle bus which looked very high-end and fell into silence.

This is called a shuttle bus, but in fact it is a high-end business car for picking up and dropping off passengers.

Hongxia pulled Liang's hand.

"Liang, how much does this car cost..."

"I don't know." Liang didn't know much about cars: "But it seems quite expensive."

The coolness was quite expensive, which made several people understand the level of this car.

Hong Xia said in a low voice.

"Hayabusa-kun is wasting money again... This is what happens when he is asked to choose a hotel..."

"Well... since we're already here, please don't be angry, Hong Xia-senpai."

Yu Daipei smiled and waved his hand to comfort her.

"Well...Falcon must also want to stay in a better hotel so that he can live more comfortably..."

Yili also continued.

At this time, Ishikawa Hayabusa came over after helping. He put his arm around Hongxia's shoulders and spoke in a low voice.

"Don't worry about money when you go out to play, or I'll scold you when we get back..."

"What are you scolding... It's not like that..."

Hongxia lowered her head, and Ishikawa Hayabusa took advantage of the situation and pinched her face.

I pinched it once but there was no response, so I pinched it twice more.

Hongxia raised her wooden eyes.

He smiled and pushed a few people into the business car.

The hotel booked by Hayabusa Ishikawa was on the mountain, which meant that the people who had just got off the high-speed train had to continue taking public transportation.

Fortunately, it’s not far away, just over ten minutes away.

They also took the opportunity to admire the city from the car.

When you look at Beppu from the outside, it feels very strange, but once you are inside the city, all that’s left is the novelty that comes with being in a strange city.

The buildings in the city were not drastically different, and the streets were not as steamy as they looked from the outside.

Thick white fog only rose from some people's homes and large buildings.

“People in Beppu all grew up soaking in hot springs, right?”

Ishikawa Hayabusa said as he looked at the white mist rising from the building in front of him.

It was the driver who answered. He glanced in the rearview mirror and spoke enthusiastically.

"But it's not just that. We in Beppu can get everything we eat and drink from the hot springs. There's a saying that goes, 'live by the mountain, eat by the mountain; live by the water, eat by the water.'"

Ishikawa Hayabusa couldn't help but smile: "This is a Chinese proverb, right?"

"Yeah." The middle-aged driver stared straight ahead, but his smile was inexplicably bitter.

"When a Chinese guest came before, he asked if every house in Beppu has hot springs. I said no, unlike in Sichuan where everyone keeps pandas, we just have more hot springs. But..."

Ishikawa Hayabusa was happy.

The driver's sudden pause in speech and Ishikawa Hayabusa's laughter aroused Yudai's curiosity.

"what happened?"

Ishikawa Hayabusa looked at Yudai. How could this person not know? He then looked at Liang who was smiling faintly, Hongxia who looked somewhat helpless, and Ichiri who was full of questions.

He said this using all sorts of impossible assumptions.

"In fact, not everyone in Sichuan raises pandas. If you can learn the kung fu to go up to the sky and down to the ground, kill a bear, and bring the bear paw to the adoption hall to eat, you may be able to adopt a panda."

Yu Dai was stunned and blinked rapidly.

"Bear, is it a real brown bear?"

The driver listened to what Ishikawa Hayabusa said, looked at him, smiled and didn't expose him.

However, there are still people who stand firmly on the path of justice.

"Ikuyo-chan, you've been tricked by Hayabusa again."

"I knew it! What on earth is going on?"

During the conversation, the group soon arrived at a hot spring hotel on the mountain.

After getting off the car, the girls except Liang were stunned when they looked at the hotel.

Their first impression of the hotel was that it was definitely a place where super wealthy people would go on vacation. It was so magnificent that they were a little afraid to move.

The hotel is themed on European architectural style, mixed with a lot of Japanese elegance.

The luxurious atmosphere permeates from the floor tiles at the entrance, to the pebbles decorating the walls, to the pillars at the door, and the transparent windowsills, making people feel afraid to approach.

Behind them, Ishikawa Hayabusa took down his suitcase accompanied by the driver. When the driver bowed and wished them a pleasant stay, he nodded and responded with a smile.

After the driver left, he pulled everyone's suitcases and came over to them and spoke.

"Come on, let's go in."

"How much money did you spend on this... Mr. Hayabusa?" Hongxia looked at the door fearfully.

"It's not too exaggerated. It's just a place that ordinary employees can come to if they grit their teeth."

Hongxia didn't say much after hearing this. She made up her mind to make Ishikawa Hayabusa tell her all his expenses when they got there.

But there was another problem.

"Falcon...Falcon, here, how are we going to get in later?"

"Why don't you just walk in?"

Liang couldn't wait to rest, so he took the suitcase from Ishikawa Hayabusa and walked forward.

Yudai's smile was also a little nervous, and she added with empathy.

"Ichiri-chan, you mean this place doesn't really fit in with us, right?"

Ichiri nodded quickly.

Liang in front stopped and looked back at the people who were about to do something.

Ishikawa Hayabusa touched his chin.

"How about pretending that I'm from a very wealthy family and you're my girlfriends that I brought with me on vacation?"

Liang looked at him with a question mark in his mind.

When Ichiri heard that Ishikawa Hayabusa would stand in front, he nodded hurriedly.

"Uh-huh!"

“Although there are many things that are correct, why does it feel so bad...”

Hongxia can't find any faults.

Yudai looked at this European-style luxury resort hotel again and felt that if he just went in, he would definitely look like a country bumpkin and make a fool of himself, so he agreed.

"Well... let's try this..."

Ten seconds later, such a group of people appeared in the hotel lobby.

A very handsome boy who looked cynical was wearing sunglasses and walking behind several girls, with his arms open and resting on their shoulders.

Some of the girls were either shy or uneasy, and they looked around nervously.

He looked like a second-generation rich man out playing with his girlfriends. Even his movements and expressions were too standard, making people wonder how to complain about him.

But Liang was not among them, and she hid far away in disgust.

"It feels even more embarrassing..." Yudai said in a low voice with a red face.