Shizuka, having finished teaching Tsuna a lesson, wiped the water from her hands and pulled out her phone from her pocket to call Daisuke.
"What is it?" The call connected, and Daisuke was the first to ask, sounding puzzled.
"Nothing, just reminding you not to get carried away with fishing later. Remember to pick up Grandma for dinner."
"Don't worry, just wait for me to catch a big one to bring back for you all."
"Alright, alright." After confirming he understood, Shizuka casually gave a perfunctory reply and hung up the phone, then turned to tidy up the room.
However, she only changed some quilts and pillows, as the house had been thoroughly cleaned not long ago and there was no dust accumulation. Furthermore, Yaeko and Shouko were in the kitchen, so she felt very relieved. As for a certain person, she chose to ignore him.
When she returned to the kitchen, Tsuna was gone, but Granny Nishimiya had arrived. She nodded to Granny Nishimiya to say hello and joined the kitchen team.
Tsuna, on the other hand, had been 'chased out' by Shouko. He was currently in the living room 'playing' with Yuzuru and Hachiko.
Dusk spread across the horizon, and the afternoon sun at five o'clock quietly faded into indigo.
The scent of sandalwood from leftover incense embers drifted through the streets and alleys. Stone lanterns along the Shrine's approach lit up one after another, their warm yellow halos enveloping the winter mist, wrestling with the last rays of the setting sun in the dry landscape garden.
As people buried their faces in wool scarves, exhaling white smoke, the entire city was steeped in a thin, dark blue ink wash. Only the neon signs on the glass curtain walls blurred into star-like light spots, like the still-wet ultramarine in a ukiyo-e painting.
Daisuke returned carrying a large fish, with Grandma Yu following behind him.
Yu nodded and greeted Yaeko. Then she took out three red envelopes from her pocket and handed them to Tsuna and the others.
She had met the Nishimiya family next door many times over the past few years and was already familiar with them. She also knew their difficulties and how they wouldn't have managed without the help of the Daxiong family.
Later, Yu also joined the kitchen team without hesitation and even chased Shouko out, wanting her to go play with Tsuna.
"Cheers!" x8
After an hour or two of bustling, everyone gathered around the dining table, raising their cups to clink together. Looking at the delicious food on the table, everyone's appetite increased greatly.
The drinks they were having were all Oolong tea. Daisuke didn't like alcohol, so he drank the same as them.
The adults chatted about recent gossip and interesting events, while the remaining three listened with great interest. Tsuna felt this was much more interesting than talking about their college days.
As the clock struck twelve, everyone wished each other a Happy New Year. Tsuna also took out the New Year's gift he had prepared long ago and handed it to Shouko.
This made Yuzuru, who was nearby, extremely envious. But soon, she also took out a New Year's gift and handed it to Tsuna, although the weight of the two New Year's gifts was completely incomparable.
When Yuzuru received the gift, she 'fiercely' showed off to Shouko.
Shouko eventually couldn't stand it anymore and gave her a light tap on the head, which finally calmed her down.
Similarly, Shouko wouldn't forget the gifts either. She first went back home to get the hidden gifts, then returned to the Miyamura house and gave them to the two.
The adults nearby watched silently, not interrupting.
It wasn't until half past twelve that Shizuka and Yaeko tidied up the living room before returning to their respective homes, while Ito and Yu had already gone to sleep.
The elderly couldn't stay up that late and had already given up and gone back to sleep around ten o'clock.
"That feels good."
Shizuka finished tidying the living room and walked out of the bathroom, her hairdryer still warm.
"Sleeping so early?" Returning to the master bedroom, she saw Daisuke already tucked into bed. She couldn't resist giving his butt a light kick to test if he was awake.
Finding that he was indeed asleep, she didn't say anything more and moved quietly.
It wasn't until she lifted the covers that she found a gift box placed in the center of the bed. She was surprised, and before she could say anything, she heard Daisuke's voice:
"How is it? Surprised?"
"We're an old married couple, still doing this? Aren't you being mushy?" The uncontrollable smile on her face created a strong contrast with her words.
Seeing her smile, Daisuke knew he had achieved the desired result. After chatting with her for a few minutes, he genuinely prepared to close his eyes and sleep.
Until he heard the sound of the bedroom door being locked, and opened his eyes to see Shizuka's faint smile...
————————
The five o'clock morning mist wrapped the streets and alleys like semi-solidified fat. The mechanical sound of convenience store automatic doors opening and closing pierced the silence, echoing off the frosted asphalt.
An elderly man in a haori turned the street corner in his geta, his pocket watch chain swaying with his steps, startling a stray cat curled up under a utility pole.
"Tsuna, time to get up. Didn't we agree to go watch the sunrise?"
"Get up!!"
Finally unable to bear it, Shouko decided to take matters into her own hands. And in the middle of winter, she had a brilliant way to wake up this hibernating pig.
She turned and ran to the toilet to wet her hands, shook off the excess water, decisively lifted someone's blanket, aimed, and plunged both hands directly into his stomach.
"Ah..."
Due to the improper operation, Tsuna, who struggled to sit up abruptly, ended up kissing her head directly. She also covered her forehead and screamed.
"Didn't we ban this method of waking people up?" He rubbed his sleepy eyes, yawning as he said speechlessly.
Some lingering sleepiness remained, and he had quite a bit of morning grumpiness, but he didn't dare to have any objections towards Shouko.
After all, they had indeed agreed to wake up at five o'clock today to watch the sunrise together.
"I just couldn't wake you up, could I?" Shouko rubbed her forehead, saying tearfully.
"Does it still hurt?" Tsuna reached out to help her rub it, but she dodged his hand.
"It hurts." Shouko blinked and nodded. "But if you kiss me, I'll forgive you."
As she finished speaking, she raised her finger and pointed to her cheek, her mind involuntarily flashing back to the scene from yesterday morning when she and Takagi went shopping and passed a fortune-telling stall in the mall.
"Shouko-chan, do you want to go and get our fortunes told for next year?" Ajitani raised her finger, pointing to a fortune-telling stall not far away, and asked with a raised eyebrow.
Shouko and Takagi also looked in the direction she was pointing. They did see a small stall, but it was completely incomparable to the fortune-telling classroom they saw at school last time; this one was very simple.
Furthermore, there was a very puzzling question in their minds: why would there be such a stall inside a mall? Did the management really allow it?
"It doesn't feel very reliable." Takagi knew that when it came to fortune-telling, people were just looking for psychological comfort.
But she still politely said she didn't want the two of them to waste money. Of course, if the fortune-telling was cheap, they could still give it a try.
After all, seeking psychological comfort could make one's mood beautiful all day.