Chapter 23 Section 23

In Heisuke's eyes, Naoko's middle school life can basically be described by the word "near danger".It seems that she has been able to control the problem of physical and psychological deviation.Although there is still some unnaturalness in the words used when speaking, but it is worthy of a famous private school, and the girls who are admitted are more or less mature with some adults.Naoko's speech was therefore less distinctive. The only thing that is not suitable to use the word "near danger" is her academic performance in school.This is not to say how bad her grades are, but quite the opposite.In the first mid-term exam, she ranked seventh in the whole grade, and she never fell out of the top ten after that. In the final exam of the third semester, she even came in third.

"Excuse me, what cram school did you enroll your child in?" Heisuke was asked by Naoko's male class teacher at the parent meeting.The male teacher was sincerely amazed by Sugita Sami Nami.This seemingly ordinary girl has such a strong learning ability. When Heisuke said that she didn't go to cram school, the male teacher was even more surprised, and pestered Heisuke to ask endless questions about learning methods and education methods.Finally, he also came to the conclusion that the Heisuke family has a scholarly lineage. "It seems that she is doing well in her studies. I basically didn't interfere, and I didn't even say 'give me a good study' to her. I seldom talk to her about her academic performance at home."

None of the people present seemed to believe Hirasuke's words.Everyone agrees that there must be some secret hidden behind Sugita Sami Nami's superhuman learning ability-a special education method, or a super-class tutor.Every time Ping Jie attends parent-teacher meetings, he has to face questions from mothers who are keen on their children's education. In fact, Naoko did not adopt any special learning methods.She just kept a certain amount of study at ordinary times.She has never been lazy in her studies, and even the gaps between housework have to be interspersed with studies.After a short period of study, she will continue to do the rest of the housework.Although she also watches TV and goes out to play, it is just a nap after studying.Take watching TV as an example. She set a rule for herself: in a day, the time of watching TV should not exceed one and a half hours.No matter how much she wanted to watch, she would never break this rule.

Hirasuke once asked her why she worked so hard.While peeling an apple, she said the following words lightly: "If I break this rule today, then I will break the second and third rules in the future. If this continues, life will lead to failure step by step. My previous life This is a typical way of living. As a result, although I stayed in a place that can be called a school for 14 years from elementary school to junior college, in the end I didn’t master a skill that can be relied on for survival. I don’t want to go back again It’s the old way, and I don’t want to have the same regrets again.”

After finishing speaking, she cut the beautifully peeled apple into four pieces, picked up one piece with a fork and handed it to Heisuke.While eating the apple, Ping Jie murmured in his heart: Could it be that her previous life was really full of regrets? Of course, it can be seen that she does not regard learning as the whole life.She seems to realize the importance of focusing on things other than studies.Compared with the previous one, her scope of reading has expanded a lot.She also cleaned out the dusty miniature stereo and became a music lover. "There are really many wonderful things in the world. There are many things, such as things that can make you happy, things that can change your worldview, etc., and you can get them without spending a lot of money. Didn't you notice it?" She often said this to Heisuke with bright eyes.

Naoko puts a lot of emphasis on making friends.Of course, all the friends she made were friends whose mental age was far younger than hers.She has excellent grades and is willing to help others, so she is very popular among her classmates. She often has a few friends over on Sundays.At this time, she would cook some special dishes to entertain them.When the dishes were served, all of them showed amazed expressions without exception. "That's amazing! Sami Nami! How did you learn this?" "It's not a big deal, it's just to this extent. If you really want to make it, you can definitely make it. There are many convenient kitchen utensils nowadays. In the past, not everyone even had a microwave oven. Back then It’s really inconvenient to use something from a steamer. So, it’s a good time for young mothers to catch up.”

"I can't stand you, Sami Nami, you talk like a granny." "What I mean by that is that I should also be grateful for the improvement of kitchen utensils!" Naoko is now very good at justifying herself when she is about to show her flaws. Those children were also my teachers.After the young friends left, Naoko once said this to Heisuke. "I mean, they are not just specimens of the behavior of middle school students for me to learn. When I am with them, the original old values ​​in my mind will be renewed. Not only that, but I also feel that there are many things in my body that seem to grow in nerve branches. Bud-like things on the stem opened one by one, and I had never been aware of their existence before. There is no doubt that since being with them, the colors of the world have changed in my eyes.

Although her words were understandable from a language point of view, Hirasuke couldn't understand her state of mind. "Yeah, that's really nice." That's all he could say.He had to admit that there was an invisible gap between himself and Naoko. Although her personality is still Naoko, I am afraid that her sensibility is the same as her learning ability, dominated by the young brain of Mojomi. Heisuke explained the gap in front of her in this way. There is no doubt that the current Naoko has seen that there are only more than 10 Things that can only be seen by young children, but these things cannot be seen by old people.

Unfortunately, Naoko herself is not fully aware of this change in sensibility.It can be seen without saying that Hirasuke cannot keep up with this change.For him, although Naoko has the appearance of Sami Nami, he always thinks she is his wife. On this day, Hirasuke came back later than usual.There was a welcome reception for two new employees that night.Although Heisuke got up and quit halfway through drinking in the second tavern, it was almost 11 o'clock when we got home.He drank just right and was in a good mood. When he reached the door, he took off his shoes and shouted "I'm back" to the room.There is no answer in it.So, he walked straight towards the bathroom.The light in the bathroom was on, and the sound of the shower came from inside.

Heisuke opened the bathroom door and saw Naoko's petite back. She was washing her hair in the shower, and when she noticed the door knock, she turned around in surprise, and at the same time the shower head in her hand fell to the ground.Hot water sprayed in no direction and wet the bathroom walls.She hurriedly turned off the switch, "You scared me to death. Don't open the door so suddenly!" Naoko said, her voice a bit shrill. "Ah, I'm sorry." Hirasuke apologized.While apologizing, he thought, it seems that he just knocked on the door first. "I just got back from outside. Bathroom, can I go in?"

"Ah... I'll be right out." "I just want to wash it. I smell like smoke all over my body now." He had already started to take off his clothes. He hadn't showered with Naoko in a long time.When he wanted to take a shower, Naoko was usually busy studying. Hei stepped into the bathroom while Naoko was washing her face.Heisuke first washed his body with the washbasin, and then lay down in the bathtub.He let out a moan characteristic of middle-aged men, the sound seemed to be squeezed out of a small stomach. "I'm really exhausted today!" he said, soaking his entire chest in hot water. "The section chief is having a temper. It seems that we are going to drink at night, but we forgot to invite him, so he doesn't want to invite him." Done, say that we treat him as a thorn in the side. I don't know how much effort I spent to coax him well." "Ah, really, that's really hard enough." Naoko's tone sounded a little absent-minded.She was wringing out a towel to wipe her hair and face.Since her body was turned, Heisuke could only see her back. Then she turned her back to Heisuke and began to wipe the water droplets on her body, which made Heisuke very puzzled. "Why, why don't you take a dip in the bathtub? Didn't you have to soak again after you washed your hair and face?" "No, I don't need it today." She turned her back to Heisuke and replied. Naoko came out of the bathroom and closed the door with a bang. Hirasuke squatted blankly in the bath for a long time, but he still hadn't realized what happened in front of him. What's wrong?What's wrong with this?Because your body is Sami Nami?Don't forget that Sami Nami is my daughter. I even changed her diapers. Will she still be afraid of me seeing it?Didn't we take a bath together when we were young? The anger that he felt that he had been treated unreasonably ran all over his body in an instant, but this anger disappeared quickly.He gradually came to his senses and realized the problem.Although he didn't know how to use words to describe what happened in front of him, he knew that he tripped over a thin thread that was pulling in Naoko's heart. He left the bathroom without washing himself.Only then did he realize that he hadn't prepared a change of underwear and bathrobe in advance.He wanted Naoko to bring it to him, but he didn't call out. He had no choice but to put on the underwear and coat he had just taken off again. Naoko was not in the Japanese-style room on the first floor.Heisuke came to the second floor, changed his underwear, put on his pajamas, and went to the opposite room.He gently pushed open Naoko's door. Naoko was crouching in the middle of the floor with her knees in her red pajamas.She still had the teddy bear in her hand.Her back is turned to him.The door opened, she should have noticed, but she still crouched there motionless. "Well, how should I put it, anyway, it's all my fault." Heisuke scratched his head and said, "I drank a little too much today, and I seem to be getting more and more drunk lately, ha ha." He tried to laugh, But Naoko still didn't respond. Just when he was about to give up trying to go out, her voice came from behind: "Do you find it incomprehensible?" "Huh?" He asked a question. "You don't understand, do you?" she repeated. "Ah, no." Hirasuke immediately interjected, and then there was no further text. Naoko raised her head, but her back was still facing Heisuke, so Heisuke couldn't see her expression. "I'm sorry," she said, "I don't know why, I hate that so much." "Hate being seen?" "No." She nodded. "It turned out to be like this." Heisuke said while sighing. He scraped his temples with his fingers, and looked at the balls of his fingers, which were oily.Although he had just entered the bathroom, he was in good spirits without even washing his face.This is the filth of a middle-aged man—he thought a little masochistically. "I'm sorry," Naoko said again, "I don't know why I did that. I obviously don't hate Dad, but I acted like this." Hirasuke felt that he couldn't say anything.Is the one squatting in front of him his wife or his daughter?He couldn't tell. But no matter what, he was clear about one thing. "I understand. You don't have to take it to heart. We will take a shower separately in the future. I will never open the bathroom door when you take a shower again." Naoko began to sob after hearing this, her petite shoulders trembling slightly. "There's no need to cry about such a trivial matter." Heisuke tried his best to appear relaxed, "Maybe this is also normal." Naoko turned around slowly, her eyes were red. "Will our relationship be ruined a little bit like this?" "Nothing will be destroyed, don't talk nonsense!" Heisuke said in an almost angry tone.