Chapter 345: A Stillborn Love
The grocery store that Fujii Miyuki mentioned was indeed quite a distance away from their homes, almost around half the town.
Along the way, the two chatted casually about "going to Tokyo to study".
Sawayama Haruno didn't know whether the other party was serious or just curious and wanted to learn about schools in big cities, but considering that they were neighbors and their families knew each other well, he still patiently explained everything to the other party.
After walking for about twenty minutes, the grocery store finally appeared in a market street not far away under Fujii Miyuki's reluctant gaze.
"We're here." She said glumly.
“Great, it’s still open for business.”
Sawayama Haruno did not notice the disappointment in the girl's tone. After seeing that the grocery store was still open, he breathed a sigh of relief.
If he had walked for a long time and found that the grocery store was closed, he would definitely be depressed. Fortunately, the result of this trip was good and the twenty minutes of walking were not in vain.
As he was in a hurry to buy soy sauce to go home and make dinner for his mother, Sawayama Haruno quickly entered the grocery store. It was an old shop, and the shelves where the goods were displayed looked dull and gray, with a lot of rust all over the iron shelves.
Even the floor was plain grey cement, a standard country grocery store look.
Fortunately, no matter how shabby it looks, it has everything that a general grocery store should have. After Sawayama Haruno told the middle-aged man who was watching the store the purpose of his visit, the other party came back shortly after with two bottles of soy sauce.
"How much together?"
Sawayama Haruno asked very politely.
A bottle of soy sauce is not valuable. After all, Fujii Miyuki accompanied him to go out and buy things in the middle of winter, so it is understandable that he should pay for it. What's more, they are close neighbors and their families know each other. As the older cousin, it is naturally impossible for him to let the other party pay.
"No, no need."
After noticing that Sawayama Haruno wanted to buy soy sauce for her, Fujii Miyuki blurted out, "I can do it myself."
“Just a bottle of soy sauce”
Sawayama Haruno wanted to say something, but after seeing Fujii Miyuki's slightly stubborn eyes, he swallowed his words back in disappointment.
So this is what girls’ modesty and self-esteem are like?
It’s better not to do anything unnecessary. At most, I can buy some fruits and express my gratitude to my family when I visit them.
Considering the sensitive heart of the junior high school girl, Sawayama Haruno thought for a moment and asked the boss to pay for the two bottles of soy sauce separately. However, after he took out the cash to pay for what he wanted to buy, he turned around and saw Fujii Miyuki's embarrassed face.
"It's over," Fujii Miyuki thought in despair.
Just now she was thinking that she shouldn't let Sawayama Haruno pay for her, but when she touched her pockets she realized that she didn't even take her wallet out of the house. After all, when she promised Sawayama Haruno to lead the way to the grocery store, she didn't even bother to change her clothes before rushing out.
What should I do now? Wouldn't it make me look even more stupid if I regretted asking the other party to help me pay the bill?
Fujii Miyuki was so embarrassed that she wished she could find a crack to crawl into.
"That, that."
She hesitated and looked at the shop owner.
".This store doesn't have a credit card machine, only cash is accepted."
The shop owner said this while turning his gaze to Sawayama Haruno again.
After a moment's silence, the latter took out his wallet without saying a word.
"Thank you, thank you."
Holding the soy sauce in her hand, Fujii Miyuki felt so aggrieved that she almost cried.
The middle school girl had never felt so ashamed. She wanted to leave a good impression on the other person, but ended up making things worse and making herself look like a fool.
"It's okay. It's normal to forget your wallet occasionally." Zeshan Haruno walked out, and did not forget to comfort her, "It's just a bottle of soy sauce anyway, don't worry about it."
"I will return it to you," Fujii Miyuki said in a low voice.
"You."
Sawayama Haruno paused, turned around and looked at Fujii Miyuki whose face was flushed, and fell into deep thought.
"It's okay."
Zeshan Haruno showed a gentle smile and said leisurely: "You asked me so many questions just now. You also want to go to Tokyo to study. If you plan to pay back the money, come to Tokyo to find me then."
"."
Feeling the other person's gentleness, Fujii Miyuki's originally tense body slowly relaxed.
She vaguely realized why so many elders and peers were obsessed with the name "Sawayama Haruno". The other party was indeed a person who was easy to leave a deep impression on.
Such considerate words made the heart of this inexperienced and ignorant middle school girl start beating wildly.
"I, I will try my best"
She responded to the other party's expectations with a little shyness, completely unaware that her secret love that had no beginning or end would die in the next second, because in the next second, two girls who made her pay attention came from a distance.
"Hey, brother, you came here."
Ayano Yui, who was not far away, noticed Sawayama Haruno, who had just walked out of the grocery store, and a young girl beside him.
She immediately became curious and asked, "What's going on? I thought you were lost."
"Yui, and Suguha?"
Hearing the voice, Sawayama Haruno looked up subconsciously. After noticing the two people, he showed a somewhat surprised expression.
"Why did you two come out?"
"We're out of soy sauce at home, and Auntie Yazi saw that you haven't been home for so long, so she asked Xiaowei to come out and help buy soy sauce."
Ezaki Suguha patiently explained, "I just came out to hang out. I was thinking about calling you later to ask where you are."
This time, Sawayama Haruno took too long. Sawayama Ayako thought, it was just a matter of borrowing a bottle of soy sauce, why did it take so long?
She was afraid that Maki and the others would be hungry after their journey, and the dinner prepared at home could not be delayed too long, so she simply asked Ayano Yui, who was familiar with the situation in the town, to help run errands and buy soy sauce. Unexpectedly, they would meet here.
"I've already bought the soy sauce."
Sawayama Haruno raised the bag in his hand and gestured to the two of them, then he reacted and introduced Fujii Miyuki next to him to them.
"This is Fujii Miyuki, the one who lives next door. You should know her, right?"
"Yes, I do know him."
Ayano Yui looked a little uninterested. She knew who the other person was, of course. After all, Fujii Miyuki's mother had come to her house and joked about arranging a marriage for her children. She was also present at the time, so she had a special impression of Fujii Miyuki.
On the side, Ezaki Naoha didn't feel much. Looking at the somewhat confused Fujii Miyuki, she smiled and said, "Hello, my name is Ezaki Naoha."
"Hello." Fujii Miyuki responded softly.
It was the first time she had seen such a tall and beautiful girl. And next to her, Ayano Yui, she seemed to have changed a lot in just over half a year. By the way, she seemed to be going to university in Tokyo after the New Year.
"Now that you've bought it, let's go back."
Suguha Ezaki took a few steps forward and took the bag from Haruno Sawayama without thinking.
She noticed that there seemed to be traces of dust on the other person's collar, so she reached out to wipe it off and helped to tidy it up. Her actions seemed particularly intimate, and Fujii Miyuki next to her was stunned for a moment.
"Auntie Ako is in a hurry to make dinner, and Maki seems a little hungry."
"Really? Then let's go back. It will probably snow if we wait any longer."
Sawayama Haruno subconsciously grabbed Ezaki Suguha's hand, and did not forget to turn around and greet Fujii Miyuki with a smile.
The latter seemed to have lost his soul, following behind a few people and walking back the way he came.
She had no intention of continuing to listen to what the others were saying. Even when Ayano Yui spoke to her, she just responded perfunctorily. Ayano Yui saw her absent-minded state and naturally understood what was happening.
Although she found it somewhat funny, she also felt a little sympathetic for no reason, so she stopped talking for the rest of the walk, and the group walked towards home in silence.
It was not until she came back that Fujii Miyuki came to her senses a little.
"Thank you for today, Fujii."
Sawayama Haruno turned his head to look over and wanted to say thank you, but was brushed off by Fujii Miyuki's hasty "It's okay". The other party hurriedly went into the house first, leaving Sawayama Haruno standing outside with the other two girls with a confused look on his face.
"Did I say something I shouldn't have said?"
Sawayama Haruno looked at the few people with some confusion.
Jiang Qizhiye remained silent, and Ayano Yui at the side spoke up first: "This is where your problem lies, brother!"
".What's the problem?"
Sawayama Haruno thought back to his behavior along the way and felt that he didn't say anything very rude, and didn't he answer all the questions the other party asked him properly?
It's unlikely that I accidentally made Fujii Miyuki unhappy.
"Haruno, there's nothing wrong. Come home and eat."
Ezaki Suguha said calmly: "I feel a little hungry too."
"Really? Then go back."
Zeshan Haruno didn't think any more about it and took a few people back.
It is indeed like what Ezaki Suguha said, it is not his problem, it is just another small misunderstanding. Who can explain such a thing as secret love? No wonder he blames Sawayama Haruno for being too nice. Does he have to put on a bad attitude?
No one knew the answer, not even Fujii Miyuki, who ran back home first.
The aunts and uncles in the living room had already left. Fujii Eina was busy in the kitchen. When she heard her daughter coming back, she poked her head out of the kitchen and asked in surprise, "Where did you go? Why did you disappear all of a sudden?"
"nothing!"
Miyuki Fujii hurried upstairs and went straight to her room.
It was not until she fell into the warm and comfortable bed that she realized that the bottle of soy sauce was still in her hand.
"what the hell"
Miyuki Fujii bit her lips tightly.
The room was quite quiet, with only the sound of cooking coming from the kitchen downstairs, just like any other ordinary sound.
The sound of cooking and Ako Sawayama's complaints could be heard from the kitchen.
"I asked you to borrow some soy sauce, but it took you a long time to come back. Now we are just starting to cook the shrimps, and we don't even know when they will be ready."
"The neighbor next door is out of soy sauce too, what can we do?"
Sawayama Haruno stood at the door of the kitchen, shrugged and said, "Do you need my help?"
"No, go upstairs and check on Maki." Sawayama Ako turned around and rolled her eyes at him, then said leisurely, "I can handle the kitchen matters by myself, you might as well go upstairs and check on little Maki, she seems to be on the phone with her family."
"Her."
Sawayama Haruno stroked his chin and said nonchalantly, "Should you be talking about going to Osaka tomorrow?"
Miyazawa Maki's parents will arrive a day later than them, and are probably discussing the exact time of their arrival. The hotel and other things have been booked in advance, but the restaurant where the two families will dine together has not been booked yet. Sawayama Haruno will have to find time to call and arrange it later.
"tomorrow"
Ayako Sawayama didn't stop her hands, but suddenly she sighed.
"I don't know why, but I suddenly feel a little nervous."
"I'm not nervous, why are you nervous?" Sawayama Haruno said with a twitch of his lips.
"I feel angry because I saw that you are not nervous but I am extremely nervous." Ayako Sawayama turned around and glared at him.
"Forget it, let's talk about Mingting's matter tomorrow. However, you still have to make some preparations for your marriage with Maki. The house you live in now is still rented, right?" asked Ako Sawayama.
"Yeah, but I'm planning to buy a house."
"Do you have enough money? If not, your family can still support you partially." Zeshan Ako paused and said calmly, "Don't look at me and your father like this, but in fact, the family still has some money reserved for your future life."
She had been saving money for this with Sawayama Haruno's father for a long time.
Ordinary islanders rarely do this because even if parents want to transfer the house or give it to their children, they have to pay a huge transfer tax. But not being able to transfer it does not mean that they cannot provide some financial assistance. At least it is no problem to give some money privately to their children to buy a house or a car.
Compared to ordinary families, Zeshan's family is actually quite wealthy. After all, their ancestors have lived here for generations, and she and her husband don't have much to spend money on a daily basis.
Haruno was a very worry-free child. When he was studying in Tokyo, he seldom asked for living expenses. Therefore, when he had saved up a lot of money, he thought of taking this opportunity to give it all to the other party.
But it is obvious that Sawayama Haruno has no such idea.
He was silent for a moment, then he said casually, "Don't worry, you can keep the money for traveling with your father in the future. I have started working after all, so I should use the money to support you in your old age."
"Just take good care of Maki. Your father and I don't need this."
Ayako Sawayama looked at him with some disdain, which made Sawayama Haruno very helpless. He thought that he should find an opportunity to tell his parents about his current income so that they would not always worry about him.
(End of this chapter)
