After quite a bit of hassle, the tents and ingredients were finally all prepared.
Perhaps because our dirt-streaked appearances were truly too much to bear, Momozawa asked in surprise, "Did you two fall into a coal pit?"
"Uh, let's have the barbecue first." Being too clever for our own good, I couldn't bring myself to speak of such an embarrassing incident.
Inohara, sitting to the side drinking water, let her gaze fall on me before handing a tissue to Kusanagi beside her: "Did you have fun?"
Kusanagi took it to wipe her face, "Next time, I'm going to smear it all over her face."
Inohara was a bit surprised; a moment later, her eyelashes drooped silently, and the water in her hand rippled.
"Kusanagi, you seem to have changed a bit; you didn't like attending these kinds of gatherings before."
"Maybe." Kusanagi wiped the black soot from her fingers with the paper. "What about you, are you unhappy?"
"If you're happy, I'm happy."
"Be happy for yourself, Inohara." Kusanagi looked at her, pursed her lips. "Don't do it for me."
Tender white tofu and chicken with green onions sizzled on the grill, a rich aroma wafting over. Not being entirely sure of everyone's tastes, I grilled a little of every ingredient. The beef was grilled to a glistening, charred golden-brown, with both mildly spicy and non-spicy options available; it was neither greasy nor gamey, but tender and delicious.
Li Shijia helped out on the side. She took a few folding chairs from the car, handed them to Kyoko and the others, and brought one out for me to sit on. Seeing that I was grilling with ease, she crossed her legs and turned on a small fan.
"Big Sister Nozawa, I want to eat this," Kyoko said, pointing to the most fragrant beef, "Is this beef cooked yet?"
"It's cooked; be careful, it's hot." I took a few skewers for her and also grabbed some vegetables.
"I want some too~" Momozawa came over as well. She linked arms with Kusanagi and said with disdain, "Kusanagi, you really need to eat more; I think you've gotten thinner again."
"Whatever, anything is fine." Kusanagi felt uncomfortable being linked and helplessly tried to pull her arm away. "Momozawa, don't press against me, it's so hot."
"No! You're the coolest one; you don't love me anymore, boo-hoo-hoo!"
"Stop it." Kusanagi's helplessness deepened a little.
What a cold ice cube; she could even bear to reject someone with a baby face like Momozawa's. However, her body being cool in the summer probably had to do with her constitution; I guess she wouldn't be any warmer in the winter.
Inohara stood on the side watching; it seemed like it was her first time eating something freshly grilled like this, and she couldn't quite make up her mind.
"Miss Inohara, the mushrooms and potatoes are also very good; try some." I picked up a few skewers from the grill, carefully wrapped the bottom of the bamboo sticks with paper, and handed them to her.
"Thank you." Inohara nodded in thanks, polite and distant.
"Miss Kusanagi, do you want to eat fish?"
Fish is hard to grill through; it needs to be flipped constantly to heat evenly. The heatwaves from the barbecue grill came in bursts, making sweat stream down my cheeks.
Kusanagi watched from the side for a while, her gaze fixed on me as I wiped my sweat.
"Hold the bamboo skewer and flip it like this, right?" She put on gloves on her own accord. "It's quite simple; you wait on the side."
The young lady who never does any work actually wants to try—the sun must have risen from the west. I gave up my spot at the grill, worried about Kusanagi getting burned, and gestured for her to stand a bit further away. Kusanagi showed an expression of "I'm not as stupid as you" and started flipping and grilling.
Really not cute at all.
"So good, so good~ Eating some barbecue, drinking some beer~" I didn't expect Li Shijia to be so well-prepared; she even brought beer. It looks like she often went on picnics and camping before.
I immediately got excited, "Quick, quick, let's have a little bit secretly."
Li Shijia successfully received the signal. She made an OK gesture, and secretly dragged a pack of Tsingtao beer out from under the passenger seat. Not bad; besides Tsingtao beer, there was also fruit wine. My eyes curved into an arc: "You really are something."
Drinking a little alcohol and eating some barbecue, I shared a cigarette with Li Shijia, solemnly telling her that smoking is harmful, and if she didn't want to smoke, she shouldn't. Li Shijia just shrugged indifferently; everyone has to die eventually—if it's not because of this, it's because of that—it's death either way.
"Does Miss Nozawa also smoke?" Momozawa and Kyoko discovered the cigarettes and beer, and the two of them stared sneakily.
I silently scanned them. They had a prior record of smoking on the street; this time, don't even think about it.
"Can you give me one, beautiful and handsome Miss Nozawa?" When Momozawa said this, she specifically emphasized the word "handsome." As expected, no matter how cute and harmless their appearances were, it couldn't change the fact that they were delinquent girls.
Although I thought being praised as handsome was a bit weird, I didn't think too much about it, and gently extinguished the cigarette. "I'm not smoking either; cigarettes are bad things."
"Right, I'm not smoking either." Li Shijia also extinguished the only cigarette in her hand.
"How could you!" Momozawa shouted in disappointment, her baby face wrinkling up, looking a bit cutely ridiculous. "You already gave Kusanagi alcohol, but won't give us a cigarette?"
"What?" Li Shijia was a bit surprised. "Nozawa, you gave alcohol to an underage girl? What are you trying to do?"
…I didn't react for a moment, my brain flashing through several irrelevant fragments. A balcony, a girl's smile, a guitar, unruly and arrogant—all flashing by.
This girl, she actually told others? I was speechless and had to look at Kusanagi for help, the meaning in my eyes very clear: help me, that didn't happen, and even if it did, it was you who snatched it to drink yourself!
But Kusanagi was unhurriedly grilling the beef, suddenly her red lips pursed slightly. "Miss Nozawa not only gave me alcohol, she even held me in the middle of the night."
…
Momozawa's eyes widened. Li Shijia, on the side, was so shocked her jaw almost dropped.
Inohara's expression didn't change much; she just glanced at me faintly.
I was stunned; I could have strangled Kusanagi. What was this damn kid saying in public!
"No need to explain; explanation is just a cover-up. I believe you." Li Shijia made a heartbroken expression. "I understand everything!"
"That day was an accident! Don't mention it. Take a skewer of squid; I want to eat." I pushed Li Shijia away with a red face, not forgetting to glare at Kusanagi.
She was doing it on purpose—I was 100% sure she was doing it on purpose. She just wanted to see me embarrass myself; so young, yet full of mischief.
Li Shijia was obviously holding back laughter. "Your excuse is really lame."
I gave up explaining and ate the meat in silence. The instigator was humming a tune in a good mood, very happy that the teasing had succeeded. She was only 16; truly extremely mischievous. Was "easy to bully" written all over my face?
"Why did you say that?" I leaned close to her, whispering through gritted teeth.
"Is what I said not correct?"
I choked for a long time before squeezing out: "...But your way of expressing it is wrong."
"Miss Nozawa, denying it so strongly only makes it more suspicious." The girl dropped this sentence and floated away lightly.
Night fell. After eating and drinking our fill, we chatted for a while. Across the creek where the tents were pitched, as night descended, a faint green light emerged. In the midsummer season, sparkling fireflies flew everywhere, blinking like little lanterns.
I can no longer remember how long it has been since I last saw fireflies; that is a unique memory belonging to summer, and also a memory from the deepest part of my childhood. I grew up in the city, rarely exposed to this kind of natural suburban scenery, always chasing and clamoring to catch them.
"There are fireflies!"
"Over by the creek, shall we go take a look?"
Kyoko and Momozawa went to the side of the creek together. They pulled Inohara over, and the three of them crouched down, carefully tiptoeing as they started catching those sparkling fireflies.
Kusanagi seemed to have an interest too; she followed them to the side of the creek, and in a moment, her figure disappeared from view.
I didn't expect her to like fireflies, too. It would be a miracle if she didn't kill them.
I also wanted to try catching fireflies, but being clumsy, I couldn't catch them. I'd better just appreciate them; watching from afar is also very beautiful—one doesn't necessarily have to possess them.
"Nozawa, why are you staying here? Come over to the creek! It's so beautiful!" Li Shijia shouted from over there. She had already caught one in her hand and was shouting excitedly.
"I won't go over; you guys play!" I applied anti-mosquito ointment on myself and sat on the grass not far from the creek. Watching them play was also quite interesting.
"Hey, look here." Kusanagi suddenly appeared behind me. Her slender, fair fingers were tightly closed, and inside was a sparkling firefly.
"What are you doing?" I retreated vigilantly, worried that the girl, full of mischief, had some other trick to use on me.
The firefly fluttered in her hand; a faint, fluorescent glow seeped out from between her slender fingers, blinking. It didn't seem dangerous, so I relaxed slightly and leaned in.
Kusanagi's black, soft, fluffy short hair had a few leaves stuck to it; she must have crawled into the bushes to catch the firefly.
"Do you know how to say this bug in Japanese?" Kusanagi didn't notice the leaves in her hair, keeping her slender fingers tightly closed.
Is this testing my vocabulary? I almost got a perfect score on the Japanese N1; my vocabulary is at least in the tens of thousands—how could this stump me? Firefly... *Himushi*? No. Or *Hotaru*? That doesn't seem quite right.
Hmm... I thought hard for a few seconds, but I really didn't know how to say firefly in Japanese, so I had to give up. "Miss Kusanagi, I don't know."
The embarrassment came too fast.
Kusanagi's long, black eyelashes drooped. "I'll teach you; it's read as *Hotaru*."
"*Hotaru*, *Hotaru*. Firefly." I repeated it a few times, rolled it around in my mouth, and memorized the word.
She was unexpectedly very gentle when teaching Japanese.
Come to think of it, she did promise Mr. and Mrs. Kuroki that she would teach me Japanese, but I always thought it was just an excuse Kusanagi made up on the spot and didn't take it to heart. I didn't expect her to remember.
"Forest, *mori*. Creek, *ogawa*—it means small river." Kusanagi continued to read these words. Her cool, clear voice slowly pronounced them syllable by syllable, creating an illusion as if these words were drifting into my heart, one by one.
"I'll be testing you later," Kusanagi said, tilting her head to look at me. Her long, slender eyelashes cast a dense shadow beneath her eyes. "You need to remember everything."
"I'm very good at taking tests." I raised an eyebrow. Tests were a piece of cake for me, but had this girl already slipped into the role of a teacher?
A firefly seized the opportunity to fly out from between my fingers. Its greenish glow instantly illuminated Kusanagi's face. The tiny insect wobbled as it glowed, then disappeared.
"Ah, it flew away." I gazed in the direction the little bug had flown.
Kusanagi remained expressionless, as cold and indifferent as ever. She didn't seem to regret it, her eyelashes shimmering faintly in the light.
I stared at her for a moment. I had the distinct feeling that she was different from usual.
She was an inscrutable girl, sometimes indifferent, sometimes mischievous. She had inexhaustible energy, and her affluent life had forged a haughty and overbearing personality.
And me? Just an ordinary kid, raised under an exam-oriented education system, exhausting all my strength to get into university and graduate school, all for the sake of a stable job. My future had been mapped out for me. Although the paved path was smooth, it was also burning hot—sometimes so scorching that I had to grit my teeth and keep going.
To be honest, since I met Kusanagi, my feelings for this rebellious girl were more of envy than curiosity. So, being a second-generation wealthy heir didn't mean living in extravagance; on the contrary, she was incredibly talented and gifted. Plus, she possessed a beautiful, refined appearance thanks to her superior genes. Every aspect of her was something to be envied.
Besides envy, there was another emotion, but it flashed by so quickly that before I could even figure it out, it was gone.
I wasn't sure what it was; perhaps it was a sense of pity and being touched. It was as if Heaven thought she was too perfect and had burdened her with a frail, sickly body.
I didn't know why I suddenly thought of that. The atmosphere was wonderful and fulfilling, with the sound of cicadas circling around us and the girls playing by the stream. Everything was perfect.
Kusanagi hugged her knees, gazing at the stream in a daze. I sat on the grass beside her and quietly lit a cigarette. Amidst the swirling smoke, neither of us spoke, yet I didn't feel awkward or uncomfortable.
I would just keep her company.
The scattered light of the night shone on her face. As I watched, I suddenly noticed that Kusanagi's complexion didn't look right, and her breathing became rapid. Was her asthma acting up again?!
"Miss Kusanagi? Miss Kusanagi!"
She frowned and clutched her chest.
Had her condition worsened? Could even cigarette smoke trigger it? Seeing her not responding to me, I hurriedly unzipped my bag. Fortunately, I had brought her medication with me. Otherwise, what would I have done in this wilderness!
I hurriedly brought it to Kusanagi's lips, about to help her breathe, but she suddenly changed her expression, dropping the look of discomfort, and said with a smile, "I was faking it."
"..." Time stood still for a few seconds.
I must have been possessed to be keeping her company here! I must have had a screw loose to think she was any different; she's just a mischievous, stubborn brat!
"Don't talk to me anymore."
I was so angry I was speechless, my heart pounding. I swore I wouldn't pay attention to her again. Was this something you could joke about? She might as well be the death of me; I'm never talking to her again!
The air remained silent for a while—maybe a few minutes, maybe just a few seconds. I didn't know how long it had been, but a soft, light chuckle from the girl reached my ears.
"Are you mad at me?"
I ignored her, pretending I hadn't heard.
"Why do you carry that medicine with you?" Her voice was hoarse. "Don't tell me you were worried I'd suddenly die."
Yes, it was all my own wishful thinking. I shouldn't have carried the medicine. Poor Mr. Kuroki, having to bury his own child, wasting all those years raising a daughter for nothing.
I pressed my lips together tightly, my face tense.
Kusanagi lay down on the grass on her own, her soft, short hair draped over her shoulders. Her tone was indifferent: "Ignoring me is fine, too. Just be a wooden bucket and listen to me."
"You must find it strange why I don't like Mr. Kuroki and the others. They are my parents, yet I treat them that way." Kusanagi's voice was calm, and she tried to lower it so her friends wouldn't hear. "That is not my biological mother; she is the new wife Mr. Kuroki found."
Worried that I hadn't understood, Kusanagi leaned in a little closer and repeated the word "remarriage."
A remarried family? Mrs. Kuroki wasn't Kusanagi's biological mother?
I understood what Kusanagi meant. I instinctively turned to look at her, feeling very surprised. My surprise wasn't just because of this, but because she was willing to tell me.
I could imagine what kind of impact the remarriage had on her and how it had left scars on her heart. No matter how rebellious and unruly Kusanagi was, she couldn't change the fact that she was only sixteen. No wonder she was so resistant to them; there were reasons for it.
Mr. Kuroki must have been trying to please his daughter out of guilt, hoping she would have a harmonious relationship with his wife, right? Then her biological mother...
"My biological mother passed away when I was eight. I lived in Osaka until I was eleven. Mr. Kuroki and his wife brought me to Tokyo; this is the fifth year."
"The high school entrance rate in Tokyo is higher. They also said it was for the sake of my health—all nonsense. It was just to pave the way for me to inherit the family business in the future."
Kusanagi teased the twig in her hand as if that branch were herself, letting others manipulate it. Walking on a pre-paved path, regardless of whether she was willing or not—I envied her, but I hadn't realized that, in a way, she was just like me, trapped in a smooth, gilded cage.
The girl's murmurs when she was ill, the people she could never see again. My heart ached without warning.
"Before I was eleven, I had no memories of them. I rarely went home, maybe once every few months, so I was genuinely happy when they went to Osaka." The girl lowered her eyes and smiled.
"I even hoped they would never come back. I could live perfectly well on my own. After graduation, I can support myself. They are them, and I am me."
"Don't say that, Miss Kusanagi." I couldn't help but speak up. "Mr. Kuroki cares about you a lot. He often says the opposite of what he means, and he really does have your best interests at heart."
"I'm glad you invited me to the picnic." She turned her head, her dark, grape-like pupils shimmering with an amber luster, staring at me without blinking.
"And thank you for inviting my friends as well."
I tucked the hair behind my ear, something in my heart feeling strained. The touch of the grass at night was cold and soft, just like the girl before me.
Heaven saw she was too perfect and deliberately wanted to cause setbacks in her life; even Heaven was jealous of her.
"I've only told you these things. You have to promise me you'll keep it a secret." Kusanagi extended her little finger, a pale and slender digit.
I, who never made promises lightly, couldn't help but reach out and hook my little finger with hers.
"Pinky swear, one hundred years, no backing out."
"What does that mean?"
"It means the promise lasts for one hundred years."
"That's too long; I'd have forgotten it by then."
Keeping a secret is a difficult thing, at least for me. I had been a staunch materialist since I was a child, so I never made decisions lightly and never agreed to promises easily, believing that things were accomplished by human effort and that any action without practical results was meaningless. But now, I could no longer think that way.
It must be very important to her.
So I said very seriously, "Miss Kusanagi, I will keep the promise and guard this secret."
"If you dare to reveal it, you're dead," she narrowed her eyes. "Rule number four of our agreement: you must put me at the center of everything."
"..." The shift came way too fast. In the blink of an eye, I was being threatened and warned; the pity in my heart vanished completely.
Don't pity the detestable brat, Nozawa, remember that.
"One thing at a time, but regarding the asthma, don't scare me like that next time. You know the story of The Boy Who Cried Wolf, right?"
"What is 'The Boy Who Cried Wolf'?" she asked, somewhat confused.
I struggled for a long time but couldn't think of how to say "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" in Japanese, so I had to hold up my hands like claws and imitate a wolf's howl, "Awoooo."
Kusanagi looked at me in surprise. Perhaps I looked too foolish, because she couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"Hahahaha, what? Awoooo?" In the girl's dark, bright eyes, a pitch-black flame flickered through the mist. Her cold voice was unique and incredibly charming, her eyebrows arched in a wild, unbridled way.
"You mean to say 'wolf,' right?"
"I know my Japanese level; as long as you understand what I mean, that's fine." I felt a bit depressed. It wasn't the first or second time I'd made a fool of myself because of my Japanese; I had to hurry up and learn.
"I promised to teach you Japanese. Every day after school, no being late, no leaving early, and you are not allowed to call me Miss Kusanagi."
"...Kusanagi?" It was the first time I had called her by her first name, and both of us were taken aback.
In Japan, using someone's given name directly is a sensitive matter; usually, only the closest people or friends call each other by their first names. I realized it belatedly. The atmosphere, which had finally eased up, became abruptly awkward again.
"Hey, are you an idiot? You're supposed to call me Teacher!" The shy anger on the girl's face surged like soft waves as she slapped me hard.
She was suddenly angry. Hmm... as expected, I still couldn't call her by her first name; the distance was too close.
I said helplessly, in a muffled voice, "Teacher Kuroki Kusanagi. Is this right?"
Upon hearing this, the girl turned her face away abruptly, looking serious.
"Mm, from now on, you must call me that."
My face sank further and further. It took me a long while to mumble, "I'm seven years older than you."
"So what? Do you want me, a Japanese person, to teach you Japanese or not?" The girl was arrogant.
I could only nod, albeit reluctantly. I was so much older than her; how could I address her as "Teacher"?
I felt like I was being taken advantage of. She was wicked, finding roundabout ways to bully people.