"So hot, so hot! What time is it, and it's still this hot?!"
Li Shijia was drenched in sweat, hands on her hips, as she dumped the various bags she was carrying onto the ground. "Today, I am a lazy bum who just wants to lie flat. I'm only responsible for eating; I'm not responsible for anything else."
"Come help set up the tent." I chuckled and pinched her. "The little sisters don't have the skill to set up tents, so come help me."
Li Shijia refused, twisting and turning with a long face. "I'm a little sister too!"
The real little sisters were over there. I turned my head to look at the few young girls behind me. They were truly young, youthfully invincible, and their outfits were so unique.
On a sunny weekend, following the plan, Li Shijia and I rented a minivan and agreed to meet Kusanagi and the others at the subway entrance. This time, we had bought all kinds of ingredients at the convenience store in advance—pork belly, beef, chicken, marbled beef, fish, shrimp, eggplant, corn, mushrooms, and potatoes, enough for eight people. The items filled five bags alone, and this time, I absolutely couldn't let Li Shijia pay.
Besides, I didn't have to worry about food and drink for the time being, thanks to Mr. Kuroki.
I didn't have a Japanese driver's license, so Li Shijia was in charge of driving, and we parked on the side of the road to wait.
"When is your little landlord arriving? If we keep parking here, we're going to get points deducted by the traffic police." Fearing a sunburn, Li Shijia wore snow-white driving gloves, looking very much like a professional chauffeur.
"I just asked on LINE. She said she's two stops away."
I put away my phone. We had exchanged numbers when I invited her yesterday. Kusanagi didn't really use text messages, so I had to download LINE to add her as a friend.
"You added each other on LINE? Oh my, it seems your relationship is quite close~"
Li Shijia leaned over, winking. "I've never added a Japanese girl on LINE. Miss Nozawa, you're full of surprises."
"Is adding someone on LINE such a big deal?" I said helplessly. "It's just a contact method."
Li Shijia began to educate me seriously: "You haven't been here long, so it's normal not to know. It's different for Japanese people, especially high school girls. LINE is something only very close friends have; most people just use email and phone calls."
"Is that so?" This was the first time I'd heard that.
"Hey, never mind that for now. There are a few girls standing at Exit A. Are those your little friends?"
I looked in the direction she pointed, and it really was Kusanagi and the others. I didn't know when they had arrived. There were a few slightly wild and rebellious-looking girls standing next to her, giggling and wearing black eye makeup, looking very cool.
Kusanagi stood lazily with her hands in her pockets. The profile of her face was sharp and smooth, and she had an aura of "don't come near me" surrounding her.
"That's them."
Li Shijia received the signal and honked the car horn.
"Over here! Over here!" I rolled down the window and waved at Kusanagi, a little sweat seeping onto the tip of my nose from the heatwave.
Kusanagi spotted me quickly. Her cold aura softened quite a bit. She said something to her friends, and the group walked toward us together.
"Kyoko, Inohara," Kusanagi rested her slender white arm directly on my car window, while her other hand poked the girl with chestnut-colored hair. "And this one, Momozawa."
The girl named Momozawa smiled very sweetly. "Thank you for taking us out to play today, big sisters~"
"Hello, Inohara." The girl wearing sunglasses nodded slightly, not saying much.
"I'm Yamashita Kyoko. You can just call me Kyoko."
This girl, who was only about 1.5 meters tall, was clearly very excited. She couldn't wait to pull the car door open and scramble inside. "This car is so big! I want to sit in the very back!"
"Sorry for the trouble." Kusanagi's cold voice added a touch of coolness under the scorching sun.
It took Li Shijia a while to come back to her senses. "Ah, you're welcome, you're welcome! Fasten your seatbelts, and once you're settled, we'll set off!"
The car started and slowly pulled onto the main road. As she drove, Li Shijia whispered in my ear secretly: "Oh my, oh my, which one of them is your little landlord? The one who was leaning against the window just now… good lord… she could debut right now! She's so fair, beautiful, and cool—even I'm a little shy!"
"She's the one you're talking about."
I rolled my eyes internally. If you knew how mischievous her personality was, you wouldn't say things like that.
"Her temperament is so unique; even I, a woman, am a little moved!"
Kusanagi could indeed achieve the title of "straight girl killer." Even I, when I first met her, hadn't been immune to her beauty.
"In my heart, you are the most beautiful." I turned Li Shijia's head straight, making her look ahead. "Most beautiful person, please drive carefully. Everyone's lives are in your hands."
"Oh ho ho ho~" Li Shijia laughed until her body shook, fluttering her eyelashes.
Seeing Li Shijia and me constantly speaking in Chinese, Momozawa leaned toward the front passenger seat. She looked left and right, probably very interested in this type of minivan, her hands touching the gear shift area.
"It's so amazing that you can drive. I can't tell east from west."
"Driving is very simple. Go learn it yourself after you're an adult." Li Shijia smiled brilliantly at her.
Kyoko swung her feet back and forth. "Momozawa, learn to drive after graduation, and then we can go everywhere!"
"Yeah, we can go wherever we want~" The two hit it off immediately, chattering away like birds. "I want to go to Ikebukuro! I've never been there before…"
The tall girl who had been silent took off her sunglasses and scolded them softly, "Keep it down."
Kusanagi was sitting behind the passenger seat, her eyelashes lowered, already dozing off.
Momozawa rolled her eyes. "You only care about Kusanagi; you don't care about me and Kyoko at all."
"Exactly, you only have eyes for the lead singer; you don't have us in your eyes at all."
"…" Inohara's expression shifted slightly. She put her sunglasses back on, closed her eyes, and ignored them.
I glanced at Kusanagi through the rearview mirror. She was covered with a pure white jacket, so she didn't need the light shirt I had. The weather was hot, and the air conditioning in the car was set very low. It seemed someone else, like me, knew about and was worried about Kusanagi's health.
It seemed her name was Inohara. I took a look at the girl wearing sunglasses.
The car drove smoothly on the highway, the engine humming, rows of green trees in the suburbs retreating in an orderly fashion. The area was sparsely populated, and the greenery in the Japanese countryside was excellent. After a journey of more than three hours, we finally arrived at our destination. This was a place very suitable for a picnic—shaded by green trees, with a large open space, and a thin stream flowing not far away, where a few children were playing.
Being in this environment, my mood seemed to soar along with it. After parking the car steadily in the open space, Li Shijia shouted with full energy: "Little sisters, we're here!"
"This place is so beautiful!" Kyoko took photos with her phone, snapping pictures of the trees and the sky. "Oh my god, there's even a stream!"
"It's hard to find such a spot in the suburbs. Big Sister Shijia, you are so good at picking places, and you're so beautiful too." Momozawa was a little sweetheart; when she smiled, her two round, almond-shaped eyes were very endearing, and with a few words, she made Li Shijia extremely happy.
"Oh ho ho, you have such a sweet mouth!"
"Shijia, we need to set up the tents before the sun goes down."
"Coming, coming~"
I closed the car door and caught a glimpse of Kusanagi returning the jacket to Inohara, yawning as she got out of the car.
"Did you sleep well?" I glanced at her. There was a red pressure mark on her soft, smooth white left cheek.
Kusanagi stretched while yawning, revealing a sliver of her white, slender waistline, and answered nonchalantly: "It was fine, just that the air conditioning was a bit cold."
Cold even after someone covered her with a jacket; she really was a naturally delicate young lady.
"Come over and open the trunk; it's time to take things out." As if remembering something, I added: "Miss Kusanagi, you should move everything down. If you exercise more, you won't be cold; it's good for your health."
"…" Kusanagi's yawn froze.
"I'll move it, I'll move it. Don't underestimate me." The young girl turned her head, looking disdainful.
Cute. Needing a jacket just from air conditioning—this physical condition, let me help you improve it.
The girl moved down a box of fruits and vegetables. A thin layer of sweat broke out on her fair nape, and her breathing became rapid.
I stared at her back. She was just being stubborn; she was clearly struggling, but wouldn't admit defeat.
She lifted it with great effort, but her strength was unstable, and it looked like it was about to fall. I quickly stepped forward to support it, wrapping my arms around her from behind, from bottom to top, almost embracing her in my arms.
"That was close. This box contains all the fruits and drinks; why did you have to pick the heaviest one?" I didn't realize there was anything inappropriate about this position and pushed the box upward, following the force.
"Mind your own business. Didn't you tell me to move it?" Kusanagi stiffened her back and used her elbow to push me away, a suspicious red flush on her ears. "I can move it."
If you can move it, you can move it—why be so fierce all of a sudden?
"Who knew you'd pick the heaviest one? The weight of these boxes is almost as much as you." I leaned closer to her—those thin arms and legs.
The girl turned her head and glared at me. "You're the box."
"Oh my, the box can talk."
"The box says the box can talk."
"The box says the box says the box can talk."
"The box says the box says the box says the box can talk."
"Are you guys done moving?" At this moment, Li Shijia came over, carrying the tents made of several layers of sturdy fabric. "Come help me. We need to set up three tents; I'm exhausted."
"Coming." I ran toward Li Shijia, feeling inexplicably very happy.
The sun was setting faster and faster, its light already weaving across the surface of the stream, forming a sparkling water surface.
Li Shijia's Japanese was much better than mine. She warmly looked after the high school sisters, and the group chatted enthusiastically.
She was incredibly curious about Kusanagi, this silent, cool girl. After all, her appearance looked overly pale and thin, and with her asthma, she truly evoked a sense of pity.
"Kusanagi-san, how old are you this year?"
"16." In this hot summer, the girl's cold voice was like a clear spring, relieving fatigue and heat.
"Oh, oh, you're high school students, I almost forgot! Big sister has a question she's very curious about, can I ask you?" Li Shijia's tone became increasingly mischievous.
"Go ahead."
"You're so pretty, there must be many people chasing you at school, right?"
"I can answer this question! Big Sister Shijia, the people chasing Kusanagi are all wom—"
Kusanagi expressionlessly covered Momozawa's mouth and dragged her away.
"Mmph! Mmph!"
"Huh?" Li Shijia felt she had missed some big news, but as expected! The little landlord definitely had tons of boys chasing her!
I was setting up the tents and the barbecue grill nearby, ignoring their noisy atmosphere, holding a cigarette in my mouth, feeling relaxed.
The cigarette had accidentally fallen out of my pocket. I had quit for a while for Kusanagi's sake, but since I had already bought it, I couldn't just throw it all away, right?
"Nozawa, I couldn't tell you smoked. You have the charm of a mature woman."
"Really?" I was amused by her. "Do you want one?"
"I'll try it out after we finish cleaning up."
Li Shijia borrowed an iron stove, put black charcoal in it, placed the grill on top, and then washed every piece of meat and vegetable, skewering them one by one with bamboo sticks to prepare them for grilling. To set up the tents, we specifically chose an open space closer to the stream so we could conveniently wash tools like spatulas, which was more convenient.
Li Shijia and I were running around busily, while the few girls just watched from the side, seemingly not knowing how to help. Looking at Kusanagi's fair, clean face, I suddenly had a wicked thought.
"Little ones, let's divide the work for what's next."
I exhaled a puff of smoke and pointed sharply at each of them. "Firewood, rice, oil, salt, vegetables—everyone has their own assigned task! Miss Kyoko and Miss Momozawa are responsible for cutting and sorting the vegetables, Miss Inohara is responsible for tidying up the tents, Miss Kusanagi is responsible for the charcoal stove, and Li Shijia and I are responsible for the barbecue. Is everyone okay with that?"
The girls all nodded. Even Inohara, who spoke the least, nodded and walked toward the tents to start tidying up the overnight items. Plan succeeded.
"Hey, how do you do this?" Sure enough, Kusanagi came to find me with a frown, carrying a heavy bag of charcoal in her hand, which looked exceptionally pitch-black against her fair palms.
I began to teach her seriously. "First, I am your senior, so you can call me Big Sister Nozawa, or Senior Nozawa."
"Okay." The girl said lazily. "Hey, so how do I do this?"
Well, of course, how would a young lady who fears neither heaven nor earth listen to me?
"First, you have to use dry grass to light a small flame, then put in some charcoal dust to let it burn fully. After the heat goes up, then you can put in the big pieces of charcoal. Just follow this order."
"Understood." Kusanagi nodded. She walked to the side of the grill, put down the charcoal, and began to seriously pick up dry grass from the ground. Her slender hands searched the ground, and she would put whatever bunch she picked up into the grill; soon, it was full.
"Correct, then put in a little charcoal dust—just crush it gently with your hand—spread it flat, and then light it." I guided her patiently, watching Kusanagi crush the charcoal with her fingers, the curve of my lips becoming more and more obvious.
Kusanagi lit the dust following my sequence. A wave of heat hit, and then she put in the big pieces of coal. The coal gradually burned red; mission accomplished.
"Miss Kusanagi," I said, pretending to touch my own face naturally, "you have something dirty on your face, right by your nose."
She subconsciously touched her face with her hand. "Here?"
"A bit higher, some grass debris got stuck." I smiled, and there were already gray smudges on the girl's face, but she was completely unaware of it.
"Here, or here?" Kusanagi touched a few more times, and there were already dark streaks across her cold, fair face.
"Yes, all over, even on the bridge of your nose."
Following my instructions, Kusanagi successfully turned herself into a black-faced mess. The black streaks across her fair skin, contrasting with her high bridge of the nose, didn't look bad; instead, it looked like an alternative makeup style done on purpose.
…But it was still very comical.
"Pfft." I couldn't hold it in anymore. I turned my face away, curling my lips, shaking as I held back my laughter. Teasing Kusanagi was truly such a fulfilling thing to do; it felt like the pleasure of revenge.
Seeing my body shaking from laughter, Kusanagi looked down at her fingers, her eyes narrowing.
"Miss Nozawa," Kusanagi turned around and also crushed a piece of charcoal, slowly rubbing it in her hands. "You have some dirt on your face too."
"Uh…"
With that, her fingers mercilessly pinched my face, both hands rubbing hard from left to right. My laughter stopped abruptly.
Kusanagi was satisfied as she pinched my face back and forth, her cold voice teasing: "Now it's much cleaner."
Her fingertips had slight calluses, feeling a bit rough when rubbing against my face—not as soft as an average woman's—and her knuckles were a bit larger than most people's.
Is she really this vengeful?