Chapter 337

"All right."

After changing her clothes, Nijika left the bedroom and saw Ishikawa Hayato standing in the living room, holding a steaming towel.

He stood upright and ramrod straight like a servant. On the dining table beside him were a mouthwash cup filled with water and a toothbrush with toothpaste, and next to it was an elegant insulated box.

That must have been her breakfast.

Hayato-kun really loves to play...

Nijika then turned her gaze to Ishikawa Hayato.

"Here, have a face wipe," Ishikawa Hayato said, walking over with a towel.

Nijika chuckled and waved her hand, "Hayato-kun, stop fooling around, I can do it myself."

Ishikawa Hayato honestly handed over the towel.

Nijika took the slightly hot towel and wiped her face. The slightly higher temperature made her feel very comfortable, and her mind became a little clearer.

After wiping her face, Nijika glanced back at the situation in the next bedroom and asked Ishikawa Hayato.

Where is everyone?

"They said they wanted to enjoy themselves before the open-air hot spring was cleaned and replaced," Ishikawa Hayato said.

The hotel's outdoor hot spring is open for bathing in the afternoon, and it doesn't reopen for use until 3 PM.

"Is that so?"

Nijika found it novel that everyone was making room for her, but her thoughts gradually deepened.

After all, today is...

Nijika had only thought halfway through her plan when Ishikawa Hayato picked up a toothbrush and came around behind her.

Ishikawa Hayato affectionately reminded her.

Ah~

Nijika looked down at the toothbrush in front of her, feeling completely unable to open her mouth. Embarrassed, she turned her head and screamed.

"I can do it myself!"

She called out and then looked up at Ishikawa Hayato, seeing his mischievous grin, and called out again.

"Don't try to trick me with an apology, honestly!"

After washing up, Nijika ate breakfast under Ishikawa Hayato's gaze, but she wasn't shy about it anymore, since it had happened countless times already.

Only...

Nijika ate her meal in small bites, she said, "I feel a little uncomfortable having Hayato-kun watching me eat."

Ishikawa Hayato rested his chin on his hands, still staring intently at her.

"After all, we don't usually eat together; it's just Nijika watching me eat."

Nijika paused, her hand holding the chopsticks still. "It feels like a long time."

"Um."

After nodding, Ishikawa Hayato abruptly changed the subject.

"It's nine o'clock now. Let's visit five hells first, then have lunch at the Hell Steam Workshop and continue visiting the remaining two. They're all very close by."

He suddenly stopped speaking.

Nijika looked up at him. "What's wrong?"

Ishikawa Hayato smiled.

"Keep the rest a secret for now."

"You haven't thought this through, have you?" Nijika said with a mischievous smile.

"That's possible," Ishikawa Hayato replied.

Nijika chuckled, completely unconvinced.

On the rooftop of the hotel, amidst a hot spring pool surrounded by strangely shaped rocks, three girls huddled in a corner, whispering amongst themselves.

There weren't many people in the hot spring. In this inn where every room has a private hot spring, not many people come here on winter mornings.

This morning, most of the people here were elderly women who were used to soaking in such a large hot spring.

With Ishikawa Hayato and Nijika absent, Ryo became the center of the group, with Hitori and Ikuyo sitting on either side of her.

"Hey, are we really going? Wouldn't that be a bad idea?"

Ikuyo said this, but her face showed an excited look that said, "I really want to go, please convince me quickly."

Ryo had already decided to follow Ishikawa Hayato and Nijika on their date, and on the day of the operation, she brought it up again.

Liang is simply too lazy to try and convince anyone.

Soaking in the hot spring, Ryo only had her head sticking out. She ignored Ikuyo and talked while thinking about her plan to follow him.

"Nijika will definitely drag Hayato down the mountain by bus later, and Hayato should listen to her. In that case, we'll call a taxi and follow them..."

Hitori hearing that they were going to take a taxi, Yili turned her gaze away from the distant scenery, became somewhat interested, and then asked nervously.

"Has Liang Sang decided to go?"

"Um."

He nodded coolly.

Hitori lowered his head, splashed some water, looked at the ripples, quickly made a decision, and then looked up to speak.

"Then... can I go too?"

"Of course, you can pay for the taxi," Liang said nonchalantly.

"Huh?!" Hitori was stunned, then hurriedly asked, "How much will it cost...?"

"I don't know." Liang felt the pressure of the water on her chest and sat up again.

"Didn't Falcon already receive travel funds?"

"Wasn't that money returned by Senior Nijika?!" Ikuyo exclaimed in surprise.

"I went to him again to get it," Liang said matter-of-factly.

"Then... shouldn't you, Liang Sang, pay for it?"

Hitori retorted.

Ryo shut his mouth, his powerful gaze fixed on Hitori, though timid, did not look away.

After a while, it cooled down and softened.

"Okay." She paused, "Just a few more seconds and we'll leave."

"Hmm." Hitori nodded.

After the two quickly made their decision, only Ikuyo was left standing to the side, looking around anxiously.

A few seconds later, as Hitori and Ryo left one after the other, each holding a towel to cover their chests, Ikuyo panicked completely and cried out in tears.

"Hey! You're not going to leave me behind, are you?"

Hitori stopped in surprise, glanced at her, and then looked at Liang.

Liang glanced back.

"Come on if you want to."

Ikuyo then smiled, covered her chest with a towel as she got up from the hot spring, and quickly walked to Ryo's side, linking her arm with hers like a close friend.

Liang looked helpless, but followed her lead.

Yufu City is composed of three towns, and the inn where Seika and the Ishikawa family stayed is in Yufuin Town.

Unlike Nijika, who slept in due to special circumstances, the two teams here got up early today.

Walking through the Yufuin, Ishikawa Jinpei wore a large, flamboyant smile, clearly enjoying himself.

"That brat really knows how to enjoy life! He's willing to spend a little more money and still gets such a comfortable experience."

Hibiki held the chocolate pudding from Yufuin she had just bought from a street vendor, and ate it in small bites with a small spoon.

"I also thought my brother was an ascetic. It seems he was just putting on an act when we asked him to go out and have fun."

"Don't talk about your brother like that," Ishikawa Shizuka advised, but her gaze swept back and forth over the surrounding buildings and people dressed in cosplay-like costumes.

"The atmosphere of the streets here is completely different from that of Tokyo. Is there some kind of festival?"

Unlike Ishikawa Hayato and his group, the three of them set off earlier and arrived earlier, having already explored the area yesterday afternoon.

However, we only visited two attractions: Kinrinko Lake and Fairytale Town. In Fairytale Town, we explored the European and American fairy tale-style rural buildings decorated in the style of Miyazaki Hayao's anime.

The unique houses and various adorable decorations brought Hibiki many pleasant surprises.

They then went to Kinrinko Lake, where they witnessed the shimmering beauty of the Kinrinko Lake under the sunset, and also visited the shrine.

Ishikawa Jinpei checked it on his phone.

"There's no celebration; it's probably just some kind of commercial event, since it's peak tourist season now."

"Really? Then let's hurry up and see if there's anything good to eat... or fun to do!"

The bandit immediately pulled her mother forward, intending to use her mother's high status to coerce the feudal lords.

This trick usually works very well, but it suddenly stopped working today.

Ishikawa Jinpei didn't keep up, while Ishikawa Shizuka, after being pulled a couple of steps, suddenly stopped.

"If Hibiki wants to go, then go by yourself. We can't play with you today," Ishikawa Jinpei said seriously, as if he were busy with important business.

"Huh?" Hibiki thought for a moment, then immediately had an answer in his mind, and a teasing smile quickly appeared on his face.

"You two wanted some alone time, huh? You should have said so earlier. I wouldn't have bothered you then."

As she spoke, still holding the pudding bottle in her hand, she smiled mischievously, like an ancient maidservant, and bowed as she backed away.

Ishikawa Jinpei glanced at Ishikawa Shizuka and said.

"No, that's not true!"

Ishikawa Shizuka's gaze lingered on Hibiki, and noticing that Hibiki was about to bump into someone if she backed up any further, she tugged at her in annoyance.

Only then did Ishikawa Jinpei look at Hibiki, and said with a sinister smile.

Aren't you curious about what kind of chaotic situation your brother is in right now?

Hibiki was pulled to a stop. Looking up at the clear sky, she thought for a moment, "I don't think so..."

She snapped back to reality after speaking, looking at Ishikawa Jinpei in shock and asking, "Dad, you mean...? Did you plan this from the very beginning?"

With a proud smile similar to that of Ishikawa Hayato, Ishikawa Jinpei said, "It's not the right time to see my daughter-in-law, but it's certainly fine for us to go and see her privately. As the saying goes, if the mountain won't come to me, I'll go to see the mountain myself."

Looking at her husband's appearance, Ishikawa Shizuka smiled helplessly, "I don't know who copied whom in this mannerism."

Ishikawa Jinpei immediately objected.

"Of course the brat copied me! How can a father copy his son?"

Ishikawa Shizuka smiled gently and did not argue.

Xiang had no interest in that; she only wanted to see how her brother interacted with his wives in private.

"Oh dear, whether Dad is imitating my brother or my brother is imitating Dad, it's good that you've been smart for a while now, Dad. Hurry up and go over there, it takes more than an hour to get there by high-speed train."

"I've already made plans, no need to rush. It takes less than an hour to get there by bus from Mount Yufu. The earliest bus takes about ten minutes. I can just go to the foot bath next to the station and wait there," said Ishikawa Jinpei.

Yufu City and Beppu City are separated by Mount Yufu and Mount Tsurumi.

The speed of going around a mountain is definitely different from going straight through it.

"Then let's hurry over there."

Xiang said with great interest.