"Can you ask Miyamura tonight when he plans to confess?" Takagi-san blinked her big eyes, looking at him.
"Isn't that a bit much…?" Nishikata's ear tips began to redden, feeling hesitant.
"Just casually mention it," Ajitani chimed in, raising her index finger.
"..."
Nishikata hesitated several times before silently nodding in agreement. He was no less concerned about this question than the other two.
Moreover, if Miyamura successfully confessed, he could even ask him for advice.
"Welcome."
The three of them entered the swimsuit shop first. The shop assistant, who had been lying on a rattan chair with a backrest, immediately noticed their entrance, stood up, and walked over to them.
"We have all kinds of styles like this. You can try them on."
"Um…" Ajitani paused. "Can we pick them out ourselves?"
"No problem, just call me if you need anything," the shop assistant smiled before returning to her rattan chair, keeping an eye on them from the corner of her eye.
Tsuna and the other person, who were trailing behind, pushed open the glass door with shell wind chimes, and the cold air mixed with the sweet, cloying scent of sunscreen wafted over them.
The approximately thirty-square-meter shop was packed with iron racks, densely hung with fluorescent swimsuits. Their plastic packaging reflected dazzling light under the fluorescent lamps.
He saw that Nishikata had already found a seat and sat down casually. Tsuna wanted to go over and accompany him, but remembering that he had just promised Shouko to go with her to pick out swimsuits, he stopped himself.
"Tsuna, you go. I've changed my mind. I want to keep the swimsuit a secret for now and give you a surprise this afternoon." Shouko saw what he meant and let go of his hand.
Without giving him a chance to hesitate, Shouko walked over to the two people picking out swimsuits.
Seeing this, Tsuna didn't say anything. He walked over and sat down next to Nishikata. After a few simple words, they started scrolling through content on their phones together.
He and Nishikata, by mutual agreement, had both brought their school swimsuits.
The three girls searched the small thirty-square-meter shop three times. The fitting room curtain opened and closed more than a dozen times, with fluorescent pink ruffled and pure black strap styles being compared several rounds in front of the mirror.
Finally, they managed to choose their respective styles just as the shop assistant urged them on.
"Sorry for the wait. Let's go back." Ajitani shook the logo bags she was holding at the two of them.
It took over thirty minutes to pick out three swimsuits. Tsuna and Nishikata had long been accustomed to this over the past two years, so they simply nodded and got up to leave.
As soon as the glass door was pushed open, a hot wind carrying sand particles hit their nostrils, like being splashed in the face with a basin of sixty-degree seawater.
Three meters away, the convenience store sign distorted into melted gummy candy in the asphalt-scented air.
Shouko's foot, which had just stepped out, retracted as if she had given herself a pep talk before walking out into the sun.
---
"Grandma, I'm home!"
"Your grandma is in the kitchen preparing lunch," a deep voice from inside the house reached the ears of the five people.
Tsuna looked in the direction of the voice. An old man sat on a rattan chair, fanning himself with a small plastic fan. His dark face was crisscrossed with wrinkles, and his lean frame was wrapped in a faded coarse cloth shirt.
"Grandpa!" Ajitani excitedly walked up to the old man.
The old man chuckled, fanning Ajitani with his fan to provide cool air. "How did you get even thinner than before?"
Listening to the old man's distressed words, Ajitani, holding the plastic bag, playfully twirled around in front of him.
"Grandpa, this is called slender. Where am I thin? I'm even considered slightly chubby in my class at school."
The old man didn't understand what she meant by 'slender' and thought about feeding her to make her fatter in the next few days. After a few words of concern, he looked at the others standing nearby.
Ajitani was smarter this time, speaking before the old man could ask: "Grandpa, don't worry. I don't have a boyfriend in high school."
The words the old man was about to say were swallowed. Then Ajitani introduced the others to him.
"Your grandma cut watermelon for you. It's in the fridge. Go get some to cool down. The food will be ready soon." The old man told them not to be polite and to find a seat anywhere.
Ajitani didn't hesitate. She turned and walked to the refrigerator in the dining room, took out the cut watermelon, and distributed it to everyone. "Don't be polite, eat as much as you want. There's plenty of watermelon."
The ceiling fan creaked as it spun, causing the handles of the plastic bags to sway slightly, casting trembling shadows on the corner of the table.
Nishikata took the watermelon and took a bite with anticipation. The moment his teeth sank into the chilled watermelon, his mouth was suddenly filled with the taste of garlic.
Shouko and the others also showed strange expressions. This garlic-flavored watermelon, if not inedible, was certainly very strange…
Tsuna said it was classic; this garlic-flavored watermelon even helped him recall a bit of his past life, which was quite classic.
It wasn't until Ajitani also picked up a slice and took a bite that she immediately winced, unable to accept the taste at all. She directly shouted towards the kitchen:
"Grandma! Did you use the knife that cut garlic to cut the watermelon again?!"
However, because the range hood in the kitchen was rattling, the old lady seemed not to have heard.
"I'll go to the kitchen to help Grandma."
"No, no, it will be ready soon," Grandpa said, waving his hand while fanning.
"It's fine, I don't have anything to do right now." Shouko endured the strange taste in her mouth, quickly finished the slice of chilled watermelon, and then got up and walked toward the kitchen.
Seeing this, Takagi-san also quickly finished and, after telling the old man, got up and followed Shouko.
Ajitani also wanted to go, but the old man held her back, keeping her to chat about her school life.
Nishikata listened to their conversation, feeling a bit restless, while Tsuna quietly surveyed the house.
He had already seen it when he went to the restroom; the kitchen could at most accommodate about three people. If he went in, he would only get in the way…
Soon, the dishes were on the dining table. After washing their hands, they sat around the table, and with a "Let's eat," began to enjoy the seaside flavors.
"When it's not so hot, around four or five in the afternoon, let's go to the beach to play. Let's take a nap first." Ajitani left this message and then pushed Shouko into their room.
Tsuna and Nishikata agreed, and they also walked back to their room, preparing to take a midday nap.
"Nishikata, you go to sleep first. I have some things to deal with."
Saying that, Tsuna took out his laptop from his backpack and began to deal with some matters that Jun had entrusted to him.
"Alright."
Nishikata nodded, spread the bedsheet on the tatami, and lay down, staring at the swaying fan on the ceiling for a while, constantly struggling internally.
"Miyamura…"
"Hmm?" Tsuna asked without turning his head. "What is it?"
"Hmm…" Nishikata paused for a moment, organizing his thoughts before bravely asking: "It's… it's just…"
"It's… it's just when are you going to confess to Shouko…?"
Tsuna stopped what he was doing, turned to look at Nishikata lying on the bed, and raised an eyebrow. "Class president and Takagi-san asked you to ask, didn't they?"