Yukinoshita's Correction Method

"That's how she is," Dong Yunshan smiled. "Let's go, let's go pay our respects."

"Komachi and her younger brother went to the nearest shrine to pray, and Saki Kawasaki came here with her family, so they're not coming with us," Yui Yuigahama explained, glancing around at the stalls lining the path leading to the shrine. "It feels a bit like a festival."

"Yes!" Iroha Isshiki was also excited. "Would you like something to eat?"

"I agree! I agree!" Yui Yuigahama, quite tempted. "Then I'll have candied hawthorns..."

Yukinoshita, quick-witted and agile, grabbed the scarves of the two. "Let's finish our prayers first, then we'll talk."

Iroha Isshiki and Yui Yuigahama down.

"Sister~" Dong Yunxi, in the stroller, stretched out her hands to Yukino Yukinoshita.

"Huh?" Yui Yuigahama turned her head in surprise. "You can already call me 'older sister'?"

"I just learned it yesterday." Yukino Yukinoshita hugged Xixi.

Yui Yuigahama couldn't help but exclaim, "The baby really does grow every day!"

Xixi in Yukino Yukinoshita turned her head, looking left and right, then reached out her hand to Dong Yunshan: "Brother~"

"Brother can do it too?" Yui Yuigahama looked at Dong Yunshan picking up Xixi with a curious Yui Yuigahama. "By the way, is this some kind of fixed routine?"

"No," Yukino Yukinoshita explained, "Her view was blocked, so she wanted to go to a higher place, and that's why she asked me to carry her. After I picked her up, she felt it wasn't high enough, so she asked Dong Yunshan to carry her."

Chapter 688 New Year's Expectations

"A baby only a few months old knows so much?" Iroha Isshiki looked at Xixi in Dong Yunshan's arms. "I thought the baby didn't know anything."

Dong Yunshan lifted her little sister in her arms. "Xixi is already fifteen months old."

"Fifteen months?!" Iroha Isshiki gestured in surprise. "So young! I thought she was less than a year old. Wouldn't she have been even younger when she was a few months old?"

"I have photos here!" Yui Yuigahama took out her phone to show photos taken six months prior. "They're so cute!"

"So small and cute..." Iroha Isshiki compared them back and forth, "It feels like it would cry if you touched it."

Dong Yunshan smiled and said, "A baby's skin is indeed quite delicate, but it shouldn't make them cry immediately."

They folded up the stroller and carried it as they climbed the stone steps, where the crowd thinned out slightly.

Following the flow of people to the shrine, Yui Yuigahama looked curiously at the others. "What wishes do you all want to make?"

"Love!" Iroha Isshiki had already made up her mind. "In the new year, I want to have a sweet romance like my seniors, and then have a cute little baby like Xixi."

"This is my sister..." Dong Yunshan reminded her, "And pregnancy takes ten months. If you want to start dating this year, you only have two months left."

"So... that does seem a bit too fast." Iroha Isshiki immediately adjusted her wish, "Then let's start with romance."

"New Year's shrine visits are not for practical purposes; they are not occasions to make wishes and ask the gods to grant them." Yukino Yukinoshita raised her hand to her temple as if she had a headache. "The first shrine visit is to express gratitude for the protection of the past year and to offer the first greeting to the gods in the new year."

"So the first shrine visit isn't for making a wish?" Yui Yuigahama tilted her head. "Well... anyway, you're supposed to pray, and there's no harm in asking. What if it comes true?"

"The key is in praying, not begging... Well, you have a point." Yukino Yukinoshita sighed. "Although I think making a vow to the gods is more important than praying."

Put the coins into the money box, ring the bell, bow twice, clap your hands twice, and close your eyes.

Wish...

Dong Yunshan looked at her younger sister in her arms.

He had no desires that he wanted the gods to help him fulfill.

But he does have many expectations for the new year.

Many expectations that were previously unthinkable.

The shrine is quite spacious, and you can wander around after your visit.

"Ah, it's a divination slip!" Yui Yuigahama pointed in a direction.

Iroha Isshiki's eyes lit up. "This is definitely essential for the first shrine visit!"

Pick up the hexagonal bamboo tube and shake it; the wooden stick inside will fall out. Tell the shrine maiden the number on the stick, and you will receive the corresponding fortune slip.

"Good fortune." Dong Yunshan glanced at her fortune slip. "It seems like it was good fortune before too."

"Brother~" Yukino Yukinoshita unfolded her fortune slip, revealing a smug smile, "I got a half-blessing before."

"This time it's auspicious." Dong Yunshan looked at the fortune slip in her hand. "There's been progress."

"I'm Daikichi!" Yui Yuigahama happily showed off her fortune slip. "Wait, you just called him 'brother'?"

Yukino Yukinoshita blushed slightly. "Otherwise, why do you think Xixi learned to call him 'brother' so quickly?"

"I drew the bad luck charm..." Iroha Isshiki lamented, "So, love really is something else..."

"This means the gods want you to work hard yourself," Dong Yunshan comforted him.

"I hope so..." Iroha Isshiki remained dejected.

"Ah!" Yui Yuigahama seemed to suddenly remember something, and handed her signature to Iroha Isshiki, "Let's exchange."

"Huh?" Iroha Isshiki looked at her in surprise. "Is it okay?"

"Of course! I drew a lucky number before, and this time I drew a very lucky number, which means my luck is very good." Yui Yuigahama her hand. "So the unlucky number doesn't mean anything to me, but my number can bring you good luck."

"Senior..." Iroha Isshiki solemnly placed Daikichi into her wallet, then hugged Yui Yuigahama emotion, "I love you so much~"

Yui Yuigahama smiled sheepishly, "It's nothing~"

"Hmm..." Dong Yunshan looked thoughtfully at Yukino Yukinoshita.

Yukino Yukinoshita vaguely guessed his thoughts. "Use mine?"

Dong Yunshan shook her head. "Let's use mine."

Yukino Yukinoshita reached out her hand. "Let me hold Xixi."

Dong Yunshan handed Xixi to Yukino Yukinoshita, then held out her lucky charm to Yui Yuigahama: "Give it to me, I'll tie it up."

"Oh right." Yui Yuigahama happily handed the ominous sign to Dong Yunshan, "You're tall, so you can be tied up even higher."

"That's exactly what I mean." Dong Yunshan stacked his lucky fortune slip and the unlucky one he had received together, tied them to a tree branch, and said, "That way, there won't be any problems."

"Huh?" Yui Yuigahama looked at Yukino Yukinoshita with a puzzled expression. "Do we have to tie the lucky charm on too?"

"If you tie the two together and average them, both will be considered auspicious," Yukino Yukinoshita explained. "That way, everyone gets a good fortune."

"You can do that...?" Yui Yuigahama tilted her head. "Yeah, that's even better."

"Next..." Iroha Isshiki cute smile, "Candied hawthorns!"

"Let's go! Let's go!" Yui Yuigahama cheered.

Following the path they had come from, the group returned to the area where the stalls had gathered.

Here you can find all sorts of snacks that you'd find at festivals, like takoyaki and taiyaki, as well as sweet sake stalls to warm you up.

Among the food stalls, there were also some game stalls where you could shoot prizes with a corkscrew.

"Huh?" Yukino Yukinoshita stared at the stall in confusion. "Why is this here?"

"Because many children come to worship as well," Iroha Isshiki said, unsurprised. "Even though it's not a summer festival, we can still make a considerable amount."

"This is so strange..." Yukino Yukinoshita's gaze sharpened further. "To think it would happen in a place like this..."

Iroha Isshiki: "... Huh?"

"She wasn't talking about the stall," Dong Yunshan pointed to the prizes at the stall, "But that."

On the shelf, there is a very eye-catching panda plush toy.

"That's..." Yui Yuigahama looked in the direction Dong Yunshan was pointing, and after a while, she finally spotted it in the distance. "Is that Panda Johnny?"

I can see it even from this far away...

Dong Yunshan narrowed her eyes slightly. "It feels a bit different from what I've seen before."

Yukino Yukinoshita pursed her cherry lips slightly. "I didn't expect there to be a category I didn't know about..."

Yui Yuigahama suggested, "Let's go play!"

"No need," Yukino Yukinoshita gently shook her head. "I have no such intention."

Dong Yunshan tilted her head. "Shall we go and give it a try?"

Yukino Yukinoshita: "... Let's go."

Chapter 689 Happy New Year

"I don't plan on playing, but is it okay to take on a challenge...?" Iroha Isshiki muttered softly.

Yui Yuigahama lowered her voice. "That 'Little Yukino."

The two were talking quietly when Yukino Yukinoshita suddenly stopped in her tracks. "Never mind."

Yui Yuigahama: "Hmm?"

Dong Yunshan also saw the sign under the prize. "Bear Johnny..."

"Huh?" Yui Yuigahama looked at it carefully. "It really is, so this is... a counterfeit?"

"It's an unavoidable part of the festival..." Iroha Isshiki sighed, "Still want to take on the challenge?"

"There's no need to challenge that kind of thing." Yukino Yukinoshita's expression was a mixture of disappointment and sadness.

"This is the first time I've seen you show such a wide range of expressions..." Iroha Isshiki stared blankly at Yukino Yukinoshita, "Do you like it that much?"

"Liking it is one aspect," Dong Yunshan explained, "But mainly it's because I saw a style I didn't already own, and I thought it was a rare limited edition, but..."

"Hopes dashed..." Iroha Isshiki understood instantly.

Yui Yuigahama was about to say something, her phone rang first.

Picking up her phone and answering the Yui Yuigahama explained her location while looking around, "I'm right where I just came down the steps—yes, I see you!"

Following her gaze, Dong Yunshan saw Yumiko Miura was holding a phone, waving as she approached.

"Aren't you cold...?" Dong Yunshan's legs went cold.

Yukino Yukinoshita sighed softly, "Wearing more layers on top will help a little, but only a little."

Yumiko Miura had a fur shawl draped over her shoulders, and her long legs were exposed under her miniskirt. Behind her was Hina Ebina was fully armed.

"Happy New Year everyone—oh?" Hina Ebina greeted them, but halfway through, she noticed the child in Dong Yunshan's arms. "This is...?"

"This is my younger sister Dong Yunxi," Dong Yunshan introduced. "Happy New Year!"

"So it's a little sister..." Yumiko Miura withdrew her gaze from Yukino Yukinoshita's belly and looked at the baby with a soft, almost frighteningly gentle expression. "So cute..."

She frantically rummaged through her clothes, "I remember there should be some candy..."

Yukino Yukinoshita reminded her, "She can't eat candy yet."

"Huh? Ah..." Yumiko Miura stopped, "Then what does she eat... Oh~"

Yumiko Miura asked halfway through her question, then glanced downwards at Yukino Yukinoshita, and knew the answer herself.

"I don't know what you're thinking..." Yukino Yukinoshita said sternly, "But she can eat fruits and vegetables now."

Yumiko Miura paused for a moment. "Because there isn't enough milk?"

Yukino Yukinoshita: "... Because it's necessary to replenish nutrients and promote growth and development."

"I see..." Yumiko Miura looked at Xixi with some concern, "Isn't it a little too cold? Her face is all red."

Yukino Yukinoshita touched Xixi's cheek. "This is normal. Babies have thin stratum corneum and rich capillaries, making them more sensitive to changes in external temperature."

"So that's how it is..." Yumiko Miura moved closer to observe carefully.

Drawn to her golden curls, Dong Yunxi reached out her small hand and grabbed at her hair. "Ahhh..."

Yumiko Miura's expression instantly brightened. "She likes me!"

"I like your hair," Yukino Yukinoshita corrected.

"It's all the same~" Yumiko Miura reached out her hand, "Can I hug you?"

Before Dong Yunshan could speak, Xi Baobao turned her head away, clearly satisfied with her current altitude and unwilling to go anywhere else.

Yumiko Miura pitifully lowered her outstretched hand, her gaze fixed on Shio.

Hina Ebina chuckled, "Yumiko really loves babies."

"No, it's not that I like it," Yumiko Miura muttered. "I just think it's cute."

Yui Yuigahama took her arm. "That's what liking someone is."