Chapter 331: 137. Kawashima Miki came over from Tokyo_2
"Ah~~" Mrs. Kasahara let out a melodious sigh like an exotic bird, "I can’t breathe."
Her eyes met his simple, young smiling face, and she covered her cheeks, warmed by the sunset, with both hands, looking as if she was lost in some emotion.
Mrs. Hoshimi shook her head and sighed.
"So annoying! Why smile like that, making my heart go thump thump," Mrs. Kasahara pouted.
Fujiwara Reya looked at Mrs. Hoshimi, puzzled, "What’s wrong with her?"
"She’s being love-struck," Mrs. Hoshimi rolled her eyes at her friend.
"Mr. Fujiwara makes me feel like a schoolgirl in love again," Mrs. Kasahara lowered her eyelids, looking as shy as one could be.
"I didn’t do anything!" Fujiwara Reya smiled easily, as if by habit.
"Well, he is quite handsome..." Mrs. Hoshimi seriously observed his smile, saying, "With a youthful face, his whole demeanor seems to sing and voice to the sun and nature, brimming with something that truly embodies the resilience of life. No wonder Himeko, that lonely old woman, gets love-struck."
"Oh, Yako~" Mrs. Kasahara said coquettishly, shaking her friend’s arm.
"What is it?"
"Join me in being love-struck."
"..."
The sunset had almost disappeared, the evening glow in the sky burning crimson like a furnace on the mountains.
At this moment, Kawashima Miki called.
"I’ll go take the call." Fujiwara Reya turned and walked to the side, and just as he pressed the receiver, Kawashima Miki’s angry voice came through.
"Where are you——"
The lady was angry, the kind that’s hard to placate.
"I’m in Minami-Izu," Fujiwara Reya lowered his voice, saying in a placating manner, "I’ll be back in Tokyo soon, just wait a little longer."
"I asked where you are right now——"
"Uh, on a mountain."
"Doing what?"
"Paying respects."
"And then?"
"And then," Fujiwara Reya hesitated, "watch fireworks."
"With whom?"
Kawashima Miki’s voice suddenly raised a few pitches.
In the background of the call, there was also the sound of a car engine accelerating, making it sound like she was driving over to catch an affair.
"With two board directors..." Fujiwara Reya quickly explained, "Haven’t you seen the news, the big incident at Minami-Izu’s summer festival? Tonight’s fireworks festival surely needs extra strong security. I’m working!"
"Only the two board directors?" Kawashima Miki clearly didn’t believe him.
"Really."
"No other mistresses?"
"And the director’s daughter."
"Any other women?"
"Then there’s the aunt, and that’s it. Trust me."
"Really?"
"100% sure!" Fujiwara Reya said in a swearing tone, then switched to a grumbling tone, "Oh, countryside festivals are so boring, I don’t want to stay here at all. If not for work, I’d fly back to Tokyo tonight and go to the Sumida River Fireworks Festival with you."
The Sumida River Fireworks Festival happened to be these days, Fujiwara Reya guessed from the tone of her voice, she must have seen the ads and felt lonely by herself, hence the temper.
"Do you really want to watch fireworks with me?" Kawashima Miki’s voice suddenly turned a bit gentle.
"Absolutely!" Fujiwara Reya said into the phone, "I wish you could fly over here now to be with me. How about this, contact Dark Crow, and let him find a female tengu* to carry you over, okay?"
"I can’t be bothered to watch with you," Kawashima Miki, as usual, with a tsundere attitude, "It’s too crowded and noisy. It’s much more comfortable to stay at home with the air conditioning."
"I want to be with you."
"So cheesy."
"I can only blame you for being too beautiful."
"I am so annoyed with you."
"How about I return to Tokyo now?"
"No, you should work well."
"You are so considerate."
"Beep beep——"
Kawashima Miki hung up without hesitation, as if she was busy with some big matter.
Luckily, she didn’t insist on coming... Fujiwara Reya breathed a sigh of relief, put the phone back in his pocket.
When he walked back to the mountain gate, Mrs. Kasahara asked with a smile, "Was that your sweetheart on the phone?"
"Look, they’re here." Fujiwara Reya said excitedly, pointing to the foot of the stairs where two young girls appeared listlessly through the stone steps covered in sunlight filtering through the leaves.
On a summer evening, due to the ground releasing its heat, the temperature was still high.
If not for watching the fireworks together at night, Kasahara Asuka would have gone home halfway to enjoy the air conditioning. As for Hoshimi Rinko, her body was covered in sweat, and being a well-behaved daughter, she unwillingly climbed up in her wooden clogs.
Once everyone was together, they walked into the temple, passed the open tour areas, and arrived at the back mountain.
Compared to the noise outside, it was silent here, with only the treetops swaying above the tombstones. The sun finally dipped below the mountains, and somewhere a pile of fallen leaves collected together was being burnt, the sound of burning carried over. The dusk, seemingly smoked by the fire, turned gloomy and the light grew dim and murky.
The monks of the temple had all gathered here, like statues of commemoration, motionless. The new abbot of the temple was a middle-aged man with limbs of bronze-colored muscles that weren’t obviously slackened, giving off the impression of steep, dangerous rocks.
Speaking of the new abbot, he didn’t pay attention to the two board directors but was more focused on Fujiwara Reya. In his eyes, this young man was the only one among the men who had a stronger aura than him, which wounded his pride as the newly appointed abbot. Thus, he inquired with the monks around him about Fujiwara Reya’s name, and once he discovered who the young man was, he immediately put on a different face to greet him.