"Just stand here and wait. Don't sneak in after me!" At the entrance to Suzumiya Haruhi's house, after being carried on Jiu Ming's back the whole way, even her numb legs had recovered. No—rather, they had recovered long ago. She just seemed to have gotten addicted to being carried and had no intention of getting down!
Only once they reached her front door did Jiu Ming feel like he had been ruthlessly cast aside. Hey, hey, no matter what, shouldn't she at least invite him in for a sit-down and a cup of tea or something?
At the very least, she ought to let him meet her family—those mysterious parents of hers... Just what sort of mighty beings had managed to produce a daughter like her...? Terrifying. Simply terrifying!
"If you come in, it's the death penalty!" Apparently still not entirely reassured, Suzumiya Haruhi, one foot already through the door, turned back to warn Jiu Ming again.
"Fine, fine. Just hurry up." Jiu Ming waved her off and leaned against the wall to wait. He had expected to be waiting half an hour, maybe even an hour. After all, girls changing clothes and getting dressed up...
Yet, to his surprise, she came back out in a mere five minutes, dressed in a fresh and simple summer outfit. Huh?
Well, even if she had not wasted time dressing up, Jiu Ming still figured she should not have come out that quickly.
After all, her dad and mom had seen their daughter come home "disheveled." No matter what, they should have asked what had happened, right? And yet?
She was out already?
"Your... parents aren't home?"
"Of course they are. But I sneaked back into my bedroom. They didn't notice."
"..." That was more like it!
And so another new day began.