Chapter 340

During their stroll, Ishikawa Hayato said with a smile, "Looks like we'll have to add a visit to a haunted house to our itinerary today."

"I don't want this kind of deliberate horror!"

Nijika expressed her dissatisfaction with a smile.

Behind them, Liang's team was spying from a distance behind a flower bed.

The three women, all wearing masks and one wearing a hat, were crouching in a corner, startling the passersby who suddenly noticed them.

Luckily it was a teenage girl, otherwise someone probably would have called the police.

Ikuyo leaned against the flower bed and peeked out, surprised to see Nijika actually leaning towards Ishikawa Hayato.

"How rare! Senior Nijika is being so proactive."

"So you're just reserved around us all the time?"

Hitori squatted down behind Ikuyo, her hands wrapped around her knees. Her hair was almost touching the ground, and she looked very small.

Liang was the last one; she remained calm, said nothing, and simply held her phone, ready to take a picture.

Although Japanese mobile phones make a sound when taking photos, there is no problem when taking screenshots from the camera interface.

She had decided to blackmail the two men.

However, if the target is one of those two people, it's uncertain how feasible that would be.

As the two gradually disappeared from sight, Ikuyo smiled and quickly stood up, lowering her voice to say...

"Everyone, keep up!"

"... Wait, we'll be discovered if we do that," Hitori stopped her.

"It's alright, Falcon might have already discovered it. As long as Nijika doesn't find out, it's fine."

As if he had noticed something, Liang leisurely took a step forward.

Not far from where you get off the bus is the ticket booth for Umi Jigoku, a building with what looks like a primitive thatched roof.

It looks very ordinary.

Nijika bought the tickets, and after receiving them, she happily showed the combined ticket she had just bought to Ishikawa Hayato.

"Visiting seven hells in one go"

However, Ishikawa Hayato didn't look at the ticket; his gaze remained fixed on her slender hand holding it.

The bare hands, bathed in sunlight and framed by the ticket, looked so tender that one wanted to open their mouths and take a bite to experience their authenticity.

He paused for two seconds before straightening his posture, striking a villainous, exaggerated smile.

"Then I went back and told everyone, 'I'm back from hell!'"

Nijika chuckled twice, took his hand, leaned against him, and complained.

"This line is so classic, I don't even know how to make a comment."

"Then just shout along with me, like I do."

"No way! If Hayato-kun does that, no one will say anything, but if I do that too, they'll definitely be shocked."

"Wouldn't that be better?"

With that, the two went inside and put the ticket stubs into the recycling bin.

After seeing them enter the park, the three people behind them quickly followed and went to the entrance to buy tickets.

When it was time to pay, he sheepishly pulled out his money, reluctantly handed it to the ticket seller, and said helplessly.

"It's really strange that they can sell tickets just by enclosing this natural landscape in a circle."

If Ishikawa Hayato and Nijika were here, they would definitely say that she was just saying that because she didn't want to spend money; she wouldn't complain about such things if she weren't the one paying.

But at this moment, the two people next to Liang were not paying attention to her.

Recalling what she had just witnessed, Ikuyo said to Hitori with a strange expression, "Nijika- senpai actually took Hayato-kun's hand, and so quickly!"

Hitori gave her a strange look. "Well, isn't that what dating is all about?"

She also followed others' example and took Ishikawa Hayato's hand as soon as they confirmed their relationship.

"That's true, but that's Senior Nijika!" Ikuyo argued.

Hitori at Ikuyo's expression, Ichiri gradually understood what she meant. For a proper girl like Nijika, holding hands on a date was already a great expression of affection, so it was hard to imagine them holding hands in public.

Moreover, when Nijika was holding Ishikawa Hayato's hand just now, the way she only had eyes for Ishikawa Hayato was very beautiful, and also... made Hitori feel threatened.

"This is normal, or rather, too slow. When are they going to start kissing?"

Liang bought the tickets and handed them to the two men.

However, as she spoke, she suddenly realized that she had never actually held hands with Ishikawa Hayato.

"These things need to be done step by step!" Ikuyo hurriedly explained, but then she suddenly realized and exclaimed, "Oh no, they're getting too far away!"

She quickly quickened her pace and ran into the park, with Hitori and Liang following closely behind.

Not far ahead, just a few steps from the entrance to the park, Ishikawa Hayato spotted some local snacks and pulled Nijika over there.

"Gokuraku Manju?" Ishikawa Hayato said, noticing the advertisement picture on the signboard, "They're red bean paste filling."

"Should we buy it?" Nijika looked at the picture and then at Ishikawa Hayato.

"Well, now that we're out here, we can't go back without experiencing anything."

Ishikawa Hayato pulled Nijika to a nearby shop and bought a freshly baked steamed bun.

However, the items were not packaged in plastic bags as Ishikawa Hayato had imagined; they were packaged in boxes that are usually used for cakes.

It feels strange to use a regular cake box to hold red bean paste buns.

He opened the box, took out one, and ate it first.

"Hmm... the steamed buns from the hot spring taste a little different, but the red bean paste is good."

Then he took another one, looked at Nijika with a smile, and said to her, "Ah~"

"I just ate."

Nijika wanted to refuse, but seeing that he didn't put it down, she reluctantly reached out to take it.

Ishikawa Hayato dodged her hand and said with a smile.

"At least let's try it and make the travel memories more complete. If we can't finish our food, we can just eat less for lunch. And if we can't finish it, I'll be there for us."

Nijika was persuaded, but seeing his hand dodge and his mischievous grin, she knew he wanted to feed her, so she reluctantly opened her mouth.

Ishikawa Hayato placed the small steamed bun near her rosy lips, and she gently bit it with her pearly teeth.

Ishikawa Hayato deliberately waited until Nijika's lips touched his hand before withdrawing it, and then very obviously placed his hand to his own lips in front of Nijika, but did not touch them.

"Tasty."

As soon as Nijika finished expressing her feelings, she noticed Ishikawa Hayato's actions, looked at him in surprise for two seconds, and her face suddenly turned red.

She playfully slapped his arm twice.

Ishikawa Hayato chuckled, "It's so sweet."

I don't know if he was referring to red bean paste filling or to Nijika's expression.

After running into the park, Ikuyo looked around and suddenly realized that Ishikawa Hayato and Nijika hadn't gone far. They were buying souvenirs less than ten steps away from her, which terrified her.

Within ten steps, that's a distance where even Nijika could spot them.

She hurriedly stepped back, but accidentally bumped into Hitori.

Then, bounced off the huge cushion, Ikuyo didn't have time to express her feelings. She immediately turned around and, under the strange gazes of the surrounding tourists, pushed the two of them backward.

However, most passersby just thought they were playing some kind of game, and looked at them with envy, thinking how wonderful it was to be young.

Reaching the door, the three secretly watched what was happening over there. By then, Ishikawa Hayato Nijika feeding Nijika red bean buns.

Seeing this, the three of them couldn't help but glance at the shop selling local specialties. When they looked back, they saw Ishikawa Hayato putting his hand to his mouth and being slapped twice by Nijika, who blushed.

Ikuyo was shocked by Nijika's shy expression and hurriedly asked, "What just happened?"

"It seems like... an indirect kiss..."

Hitori was amazed to discover that such a way of tricking someone into kissing you was actually possible.

Because of the distance and angle, she could see that Ishikawa Hayato was already putting his hand on her mouth.

"Even a playboy wouldn't use that kind of trick casually, impressive."

Liang showed a hint of interest.

Ikuyo looked over there in a panic and said, "Eh, won't Nijika- senpai be angry?"

She seemed quite worried about whether their date would go well.

Liang turned to look at her. "You were the same, weren't you? Last time, Falcon made you do it in front of us..."

Ikuyo immediately guessed what had happened from Ryo's expression, her eyes widening in shock, and she quickly covered Ryo's mouth.

"Don't talk about this outside."

Hitori's gaze lingered on Nijika's retreating figure as he pondered.

"I like it... and I'm in a good mood, plus it's not something I particularly dislike... so I think I can accept it."

The three of them hid by the door and watched the two continue forward. When they reached the next checkpoint, they mingled with the crowd and continued on their way.

They didn't forget about their sightseeing; they bought some steamed buns at a local specialty shop and tried them out.

Ikuyo even took photos at the hot spring pavilion where the steamed buns were being made. After quickly finishing all that, they jogged after the two people.

While Ryo's team was relentlessly pursuing them, the Ishikawa family successfully arrived at the platform.

"Umi Jigoku? That sounds like a really ominous place. Is Falcon really here?"

Ishikawa Shizuka got out of the car, looked around, and asked in confusion.

"Is 'hell' just an exaggeration of hot springs?"

As he spoke, Ishikawa Jinpei unzipped his jacket and opened it.

Now that he's here, he no longer cares whether he finds Ishikawa Hayato or not. It's like moving towards a goal; halfway through, he feels it doesn't matter whether he succeeds or not.

However, the two women in the family seem to have become quite persistent.

She kept scrolling through her phone after getting out of the taxi, until a new photo of Ikuyo appeared on Instagram, and she exclaimed.

"I've got it! It's at some kind of hot spring exhibition or something, it must be here, Mom, hurry!"

As she spoke, she took Ishikawa Shizuka's hand and started jogging. Ishikawa Shizuka also quickened her pace and jogged to keep up, showing great interest.

"Um."

"Hey, wait for me!" After paying the bill, Ishikawa Jinpei so happy to see his wife running that he couldn't wait any longer, so he chased after her with all his might.

Ishikawa Hayato was not yet aware of how many groups were following him; he was currently focused on having fun with Nijika.

The two walked along the steaming road, skipping the outer circle and going straight into the area that actually displayed the Umi Jigoku.

Before that, however, the two still lined up to get their commemorative stamps and stamped the booklets that had just been handed out.

While waiting in line, Nijika kept an eye on the people in front of her. She noticed that some people's handbooks were missing parts after they had been stamped, and she said this to Ishikawa Hayato.

"The seal looks a bit old."

Ishikawa Hayato glanced behind him absentmindedly, and, having grown accustomed to Nijika's attentiveness, said absentmindedly.

"It's alright, it'll fade eventually once it's taken home."

Nijika gave him a dissatisfied look, and when it was time to get the stamp, she took the stamp herself.

After dipping her brush in ink, she held the stamp with one hand and pressed it down with all her might.