The First Day of Winter Break, Ichinose's Younger Sister / Ichinose Honami's Family
Hashiba Hikaru stopped at the bus stop, gripping the handle of his suitcase with a complicated expression. "This is truly an incredible place."
"It's probably because there's just too much to do. If we just sit still and do nothing, time seems to drag on forever."
The girl had a gentle expression on her face. Although she had only known Hashiba Hikaru for eight months, she was already completely inseparable from him.
Love is amazing, isn't it?
"Indeed, but I can't stop. There are so many things I want to do, and things will go wrong if I stop."
Hashiba Hikaru shook her head and smiled wryly, "Maybe things will be easier once I'm in my Second Year."
"By then, he should have been able to become the Student Council President, right?"
Maybe.
During their conversation, the boy heard the rumble of a bus. He turned around and looked towards the distant campus, wondering what the girls he knew were doing. He wouldn't see them again for another week, and hoped nothing unexpected would happen.
"The car is here, let's get in."
Hashiba Hikaru took the girl on the bus. Ichinose Honami's hometown was not in the city. After taking the bus, they had to transfer to the Shinkansen, which would take more than two hours to get there.
"Honami probably didn't sleep well last night. You can rest for a while after you get on the Shinkansen, since it's still a long time before we arrive."
Hashiba Hikaru turned his head to look at his girlfriend.
"Well, I need to call my family before boarding the Shinkansen, since they don't know I'll be coming back today."
Because Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School prohibits students from communicating with their families, this matter could only be dealt with now, Ichinose Honami decided to make the call before boarding the Shinkansen.
Hashiba Hikaru back in his bus seat. Tomorrow would be January, and he was once again filled with anticipation for new items in the System Store, praying in his heart that it would refresh to include even more useful items.
436
Chapter 436 The First Day of Winter Vacation, Ichinose's Sister.
As the most popular mode of transportation, the Shinkansen is not only inexpensive but also extremely fast, delivering every passenger to their desired destination through a vast transportation network.
Hashiba Hikaru and Ichinose Honami sat in their seats, leaving the window seat for the girl. Hashiba Hikaru sat on the aisle side, shielding her inside, and propped his head up to rest for a while.
"Are you just planning to take a nap?"
Ichinose Honami rested her head on his shoulder and asked in a low voice.
"I just plan to close my eyes and rest. Honami, you can sleep for a while. I'll stay by your side."
Hashiba Hikaru slightly, glanced at the other passengers in the carriage, and then slowly looked away.
"Um."
After giving a soft reply, Ichinose Honami rested her head on Hashiba Hikaru's shoulder and closed her eyes. She hadn't fallen asleep until 3 a. m. the night before.
After the couple finished their exercise, she hugged the boy and talked for a long time. Before leaving school, the girl was extremely excited.
Feeling the girl beside him gradually drift off to sleep, Hashiba Hikaru put her arm around her shoulder, then took out her phone to browse the school forum, which was still quite lively even during winter break.
However, after scrolling for more than ten minutes, Hashiba Hikaru received many text messages. He glanced at the screen and found that most of them were from girls with whom he had complicated entanglements.
After carefully considering how to reply, the boy picked up his phone and began replying to each message one by one. After all, everyone is an independent individual, and one cannot be perfunctory in replying to messages; one must think of the best response.
After he finished his work, he glanced at the time on his phone and realized that more than half an hour had passed. Looking up, Hashiba Hikaru saw that the view outside the window had changed from a steel jungle to relatively shorter detached houses and a lush green forest.
The young man didn't disturb his sleeping girlfriend. Instead, he put on his headphones and started listening to music. Because the carriage was heated, most people closed their eyes and pretended to sleep, waiting for the journey to end.
About an hour later, as the vehicle slowed down, the carriage suddenly became noisy, and Ichinose Honami was also awakened by the commotion.
"Are you awake?"
Hashiba Hikaru handed the girl a bottle of water, saying, "We're almost there."
"Real?"
The girl's eyes lit up. After taking a couple of sips of water, she immediately turned to look at the scenery outside the window. As the familiar surroundings came into view, Ichinose Honami felt a surge of excitement at returning home.
"We're almost there..."
Staring at the scenery rushing past the window, Hashiba Hikaru truly understood his girlfriend's feelings. Although a two-hour drive wasn't very far, being away from home for so long made the journey home truly exciting.
"I hope I didn't buy the wrong gift."
"No, I just called my mom, and she's really looking forward to seeing you."
Ichinose Honami waved her phone, a bright smile on her face.
"... Honami didn't say anything bad about me, did he?"
Hashiba Hikaru smiled.
"Of course not, so please look forward to it."
Ichinose Honami nuzzled the other's shoulder; they were almost home, and she remained in a good mood.
A while later, the Shinkansen arrived at the station and stopped. Hashiba Hikaru, hand in hand with Ichinose Honami, got off the train, and the two then went to the bus stop outside the Shinkansen platform.
We got off at Fuuka Town Street.
Ichinose Honami told the boy the approximate location of her home. The girl felt her heart skip a beat when she heard that familiar name again after so long.
"Yes, I'll remember this place. Maybe I'll come here often in the future."
Hashiba Hikaru and Ichinose Honami boarded the bus. Although Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School and regular high schools are very different, their schedules are similar, so the bus was full of young faces, mostly students going home for vacation.
Interesting things always happen in places frequented by young people, which made Ichinose Honami somewhat unhappy.
Back in school, because Hashiba Hikaru was always ranked number one in the forum's handsome guy poll, almost all the girls knew him. After they found out that the boy had a girlfriend, everyone became much more restrained, and the kind of thing that used to happen—going out of the classroom of Class A of the First Year to peek at him—basically stopped.
After leaving school, he seemed perfectly normal on the Shinkansen, but once he got on the bus, almost every woman's gaze was drawn to him.
Because Ichinose Honami was wearing a rather thick scarf that covered her pretty face, while Hashiba Hikaru showed off her handsome and elegant features without reservation.
This is how the system determines the value of an 8-point Charisma rating!
Ichinose Honami even heard a girl gasp. She hugged her boyfriend's arm tightly, wanting to assert her ownership over those who were spying on him.
"What happened to Honami?"
Hashiba Hikaru naturally felt these gazes, but he didn't care at all, as he was already used to it.
"Nothing."
The girl muttered something under her breath. Although she knew that with Hashiba Hikaru's looks, there would be no shortage of girls who liked him, she didn't feel it very much while she was in school. It was only after she left school that the feeling became stronger.
"We should be there soon, right?"
Hashiba Hikaru glanced at the platform information inside the carriage; she knew she would be getting off in about two stops.
"Um."
Ichinose Honami glanced at the girls on the bus who were secretly eyeing her boyfriend, and her longing to go home seemed to grow even stronger. All she wanted now was to get to her stop quickly and hide Hashiba Hikaru at home so no one could see her.
"We've arrived at Fuuka Town Street."
As the car's notification sounded, Hashiba Hikaru and his girlfriend got out of the car with their suitcases. After his tall figure disappeared from sight, the women in the car all showed expressions of disappointment. This encounter was as beautiful as the first snow of winter, but unfortunately, it also dissipated very quickly.
"Is this where Honami grew up?"
Hashiba Hikaru and Ichinose Honami walked down a quiet street. Although it was cold, he felt quite good.
"Yes, it's just a few more steps to my house."
Ichinose Honami was introducing her boyfriend when she suddenly heard a familiar female voice.
"Sister, you're back!"
"Um?"
Hashiba Hikaru turned her head and saw a pretty girl standing not far away waving in their direction. She had the same hair color as Ichinose Honami, but looked younger, probably only in junior high school.
"Miu?!"
Ichinose Honami was overjoyed; she hadn't expected him to come and pick her up.
"Is this your boyfriend?"
The cute girl, whom Ichinose Honami called Miu, approached and looked up at the boy standing next to her older sister. But the moment she looked over, she froze on the spot.
"So... so handsome!"
"..."
437
Chapter 437 Ichinose Honami's Family.
On a winter street, Hashiba Hikaru dragged her suitcase behind her, while the Ichinose sisters led the way, arm in arm.
"Why did Miu think of picking me up today?"
Ichinose Honami had a sweet smile on her face; she had never expected that he would come to pick her up today.
"My mom asked me to come. I heard my sister's boyfriend is coming home with her too."
Ichinose Miu is a girl who has just started junior high school. She is pretty and, although she lacks some of Ichinose Honami's gentle temperament, she is still very cute.
"Oh, I see. You brought Miu a gift, huh? You'll find out soon enough."
The pink-haired girl glanced at her boyfriend walking behind her, a feeling of satisfaction welling up inside her.
"Yeah?"
Ichinose Miu immediately showed an expectant expression. After recovering from the surprise she felt when she first met Hashiba Hikaru, she was still pleasantly surprised. She hadn't expected her sister's boyfriend to be so handsome.
"Yeah, it took a long time to choose. Miu should like it."
Ichinose Honami, knowing why her boyfriend chose a gift for their first meeting, spared no effort in praising his virtues.
"Uh-huh."
After nodding, Ichinose Miu secretly glanced at the other person's handsome face, then leaned closer to her sister and whispered, "Sister, what should I call him?"
"Well..."
Ichinose Honami and said, "Just call him Hashiba- nii, that's better."
"Shouldn't you call him brother-in-law?"
The slightly smaller pink-haired girl smiled and asked, "Didn't you and my sister do 'that' kind of thing?"
"... What nonsense are you talking about?"
Ichinose Honami blushed immediately upon hearing her sister's question. Although she and her boyfriend had already mastered all the knowledge, she still felt embarrassed by being asked such a question by her family.
"Oh, don't be shy. This kind of thing is normal, isn't it? Don't you want to marry Brother Hashiba in the future?"
Ichinose Miu is precocious for her age; although she's only thirteen, her tone is quite mature.
"You little rascal, you're not allowed to tease your sister!"
Ichinose Honami slapped the girl's head in embarrassment and annoyance, and then heard her cry out, "Ouch!"
"Brother Hashiba, my sister is bullying me."
Ichinose Miu ran up to Hashiba Hikaru and looked up at his face.
"Really? How did she bully you?"
After listening to the conversation, Hashiba Hikaru smiled gently, showing that the two sisters had a very good relationship.
"My sister got angry and hit me because I touched on her secret!"
Feeling the dangerous gaze from her older sister, Ichinose Miu immediately shrank back and hid behind the boy.
"Then I'll call it back for you later, is that okay?"
Hashiba Hikaru smiled, exchanged a glance with Ichinose Honami, and the latter quickly quieted down, a smile returning to her face.
"Uh-huh."
Ichinose Miu gazed at the handsome young man beside her. His eyes, the curve of his lips, and the gentle expression on his face were all perfect. He was the type of man she had never seen before.
"Don't spoil her, she knows a lot."
Ichinose Honami stopped in her tracks, somewhat annoyed. She glanced at her younger sister, who was huddled next to her boyfriend, and said with a hint of helplessness.
"It's okay, I'm an only child, and I've never experienced what it's like to have a younger sister."