Chapter 29 Section 29

After the summer vacation, Naoko still had to go to school to participate in tennis practice, but it would end in the evening, so it rarely happened that she didn't come back after Heisuke got home.Even occasionally, it was because she forgot to buy some vegetables and went to the nearby supermarket again.In addition, the club is also closed on Saturdays and Sundays, so Heisuke will not be left alone at home. Since Naoko was there when he was at home, Hirasuke had no reason to be dissatisfied.Although he was a little concerned when he saw the tennis clothes piled up in the clothes basket next to the washing machine and Naoko's arms and legs that had turned chocolate-colored from playing tennis, he would not take the initiative to bring up the topic of tennis.Because he knew that when he mentioned the tennis club, he would think of the existence of the male members, so he would feel awkward.And when he felt awkward, he would complain to Naoko if he couldn't get it right.In this way, there will be an indescribably heavy atmosphere between the two.The previous experience made him know that once such a situation was formed, it would take an unknown amount of time for the two of them to resume their normal dialogue.

Naoko is also keeping an eye on this.She will never bring up topics related to the club now.I used to watch the tennis match on TV a lot, but I haven't watched it since the incident with Heping Jie.The club's training schedule is no longer placed on the low-legged dining table, and the racket is no longer in the living room. One more thing was lucky for the two of them.In mid-August, Heisuke's company began to have a long Obon holiday, and during this period the practice of the tennis club also stopped. Hirasuke suggested whether to go back to Nagano after a long absence.Nagano Heisuke refers to Naoko's family.After the accident, the two never went there again.Although I took the Daikoku Transportation bus to the scene of the accident to participate in the mourning activities on the first anniversary of the accident, I didn't stop by Naoko's mother's house at that time.

In Naoko's words, it's time to prepare for the entrance exam.Being too busy studying is only one of the reasons. The most important thing is that Naoko is afraid to meet her biological father.He didn't know that Sami Nami was actually Naoko, so he took her as a matter of course.He is likely to cry when he sees his granddaughter and thinks of his daughter.But even so, she couldn't tell her father that she was right in front of his eyes.If so, it will plunge the elderly father into an irreparable panic.Naoko is not confident that she can keep silent in front of her father all the time.

When Heisuke went to Sapporo for a business trip, Naoko's older sister Yoko used to stay with Naoko in Tokyo, and there was no problem at that time.Naoko even felt a little pleasure in cheating on her sister.However, she didn't know if she would do this calmly when facing her old father. Heisuke told Naoko that it is impossible to continue like this, and she will completely lose contact with her natal family. Naoko thought about it for a long time, and finally said at dinner once: "I've made up my mind. Let's go back to Nagano together for Obon Festival." Naoko has not returned to her natal family for almost 10 years.They encountered a traffic jam on the way back, they stopped and went, and finally arrived at their destination.We left early in the morning, but it was already late at night when we arrived.Even so, the family members still prepared dinner and waited for them.

Naoko's father Saburo's face and body looked thinner than when they met last time, and the wrinkled Adam's apple reminded Heisuke of smoked chicken.A smile appeared on Saburo's face, which made the wrinkles look twice as large as usual.Probably because he thought he was so happy to see Sami Nami again. "Oh, you've grown into a big girl! This boss is already taller than grandpa, right? He's a high school student, right? So he's already in high school..." While looking at his granddaughter, Saburo couldn't stop talking whether he was happy, surprised, or nostalgic.Everyone present knew what the old man thought of through Sami Nami's appearance, but no one said it.

Not knowing how Naoko would react, Heisuke was very worried.He even thought about how he would smooth things over if Naoko suddenly started crying.Fortunately, what he feared did not happen, and Naoko successfully played the role of the granddaughter who reunited with her grandfather.While speaking, she winked at Heisuke while no one was paying attention, which meant to tell him not to worry. However, a smooth start does not mean that it has been smooth all the time. She almost lost her psychological balance many times. Her emotions eventually got out of hand during that very late dinner with everyone.

The food that day was cooked by Saburo's eldest daughter Rongzi and son-in-law Tomioro. Bupo inherited the soba noodle restaurant, and both of them are very skilled.There is a small dining table in front of everyone, which is filled with Japanese food, which is luxurious and exquisite, making people feel that it is not from the hands of ordinary people. In the middle of eating, Saburo got up and went out.Everyone thought he was there for convenience, but he didn't come back for a long time.When everyone was discussing what he was doing, he finally appeared, carrying two bowls of soba noodles.

"What? That's it?" asked the guest. "Oh, I made an appointment with Sami Nami a long time ago." Saburo looked at Naoko with a smile on his face. Naoko didn't know what the agreement was, and her eyes showed anxiety. "Didn't you forget, didn't you say that you wanted to eat soba noodles made by grandpa once?" "Ah..." Naoko opened her mouth wide and breathed a sigh of relief. "What, hasn't Sami Nami eaten soba noodles made by grandpa before?" Tomio asked with an incredulous expression. "I don't seem to have eaten it. Is that so?"

Seeing Saburo asking for his opinion, Naoko hurriedly nodded slightly. "It's nothing surprising. I don't particularly want to eat the things my family sells." Rong Zi said with a smile. "I've always wanted Saka Nami to eat, but Naoko always said that I'm tired of eating soba noodles, can I have something else, so Saka Nami has not been able to eat it." After arriving here, Saburo mentioned Naoko's name for the first time.In this regard, no one has words.However, Heisuke still noticed that a flash of surprise flashed across Naoko's face. "Don't talk about it, let's try it quickly. Grandpa made this specially for Saka Nami. Heisuke is also, so eat it." Saburo said, and put the soba noodles and soup in front of Naoko Heisuke.

"Dad, I saw you tossing around in the store for a long time during the day, so you were doing this?" Rong Zi said. Hirasuke ate without hesitation.After careful calculation, he himself has not eaten the soba noodles made by Saburo himself a few times. The soba noodles are very chewy and taste very good. When you swallow, you can appreciate the aroma of nourishing wheat. "It's so delicious!" Hirasuke blurted out. Saburo smiled, and he kept this expression and turned to Naoko: "What do you think of Sami Nami?" But then, Saburo looked embarrassed.Heisuke hurried to see Naoko.I saw Naoko holding a bowl of noodle soup and chopsticks in her hand, crying with her head bowed, her tears streaming down the straw mat.

Usually, you can joke about whether you have eaten too much mustard, but now is not the occasion for such jokes at all.Everyone didn't know what to say, they just watched her quietly. "What's wrong?" Hiroshi said. While weeping, Naoko forced a smile from the corner of her mouth, took out a handkerchief from the bag next to her, and wiped her tears. "I'm sorry." After she finished speaking, she lowered her head. "Did Grandpa say something that shouldn't be said?" San Lang asked, patting his lax-haired head. "It's not like that, it's my fault." Naoko waved her hands and said, "Because I suddenly remembered that my mother said before she was alive that she likes to eat soba noodles made by grandpa the most, so I thought, if I can let her eat How nice. I can't help crying just thinking about it." Hearing what Naoko said, Rongzi immediately burst into sobs.Although San Lang held back his tears, he still had a bitter look on his face. Heisuke and Naoko were arranged in a room the size of 8 straw mats opposite the room where they had dinner, with a corridor in between.This room was originally used as a storage room, but it has been tidied up now.Rongzi and Fuxiong brought two quilts from nowhere and spread them side by side. After Rongzi and Fuxiong went out, Naoko suddenly said: "I failed." "Are you talking about what you cried just now?" Hirasuke asked. "Yeah." Naoko nodded, "Before I had nothing to do, and I didn't even have the urge to cry. When I heard my father say that he was a grandfather in front of me, I almost wanted to laugh. But, That bowl of soba noodles..." At this point, Naoko clenched her hands on her knees, "That bowl of noodles tastes like my father's, and it's the taste I've been eating since I was a child. When I smell that smell, I All kinds of memories popped up in my mind, and tears overflowed without knowing it. Although I also know that this is not good, and I want to take back the tears, but I just can’t help it.” As she spoke, another tear streak ran across Naoko's face, and a drop of water condensed under her chin. Hirasuke came to her side and hugged her shoulders.It didn't take long for the shirt on his chest to be wet with tears. "Daddy," Naoko said, lying in Heisuke's arms, "let's go back to Tokyo early. It's really painful for me to stay here." "That's right." Hiroshi replied.After speaking, he thought to himself, for Naoko, there are two people who can be called fathers. A lot of relatives came the next day, because there was going to be a ceremony that day.Heisuke and Naoko are so busy just to greet people, most people's first reaction after seeing Naoko is "Wow, she looks so much like Naoko!" An aunt who used to love Naoko said, "It's almost like It’s like Naoko has come back to life.” After she finished speaking, her eyes became moist. After everyone saluted together, a banquet was held in the room last night.However, this time the partition next door was opened, roughly doubling the space. "Does Sami Nami have a boyfriend?" asked one of Naoko's cousins.She is a chubby girl who loves to laugh. "No, go ahead and talk." Naoko replied in the tone of a high school student. "Really? No way, how could those boys let go of a girl as cute as Sami Nami?" "She's still a child." Heisuke interjected from the side. Hearing what Heisuke said, Naoko's uncle laughed. "Only a father will think of her as a child. In fact, her actions are not necessarily as simple as a child's. Take my brother Saburo as an example. At the beginning, he always thought that Naoko was not popular with men, but in the end Well, didn’t you suddenly find a husband in Tokyo and get married? At the wedding, my brother secretly cried in the lounge.” "Hey, what are you talking nonsense, I didn't cry!" Saburo became serious. "How dare you say you didn't cry, and you said you wanted to beat that kid up." "Ah?" Ping Jie blurted out, subconsciously touching his face. "I didn't say it, I didn't say it, you are talking nonsense." "Whether it's nonsense or not, you know it in your heart." The two brothers argued with each other sentence by sentence, and the relatives around listened and laughed. The banquet lasted until about 8 o'clock.The relatives were all driven by wives who did not drink, and went back to their respective homes.Those who were very close walked back directly. Naoko took a shower, lay on the bed and read a novel.It wasn't long before she fell asleep.It seemed that she was indeed tired. Heisuke watched TV at around 9:30 and went into the bathroom.Saburo's bathroom also uses a wooden bathtub.The bathtub is very spacious, and after stretching your legs with your head resting on the edge of the tub, there is a big empty kiss.Hirasuke remembered the situation when he first came to this house. At that time, I was also soaking in the bathtub when I suddenly heard someone knock on the glass window of the bathroom.Heisuke agreed, and saw the window opened slightly, revealing Naoko's face. "How's the water temperature?" she asked. He replied, "Just right." "Really? That's fine. If the water gets cold, just let me know and I'll get you some firewood." "Ah, is firewood still burning here?" "Yeah, this bathroom is like a cultural heritage." She said and closed the window. After Heisuke washed his hair and body, he came into the bathtub again.The water in the tub was a little cold.So, Heisuke called out to Naoko who was supposed to be outside the window, asking her to add some firewood. Waited and waited, no response.He yelled "Hello, hello" several times, but no one paid any attention to him.I had no choice but to give up.Just then, he noticed a heat button on the wall.The talk of burning wood is all a lie, it's just an ordinary gas bathroom.Only then did he suddenly realize that he was being teased by Naoko. After coming out of the bathroom, he didn't say anything to Naoko.Naoko didn't say anything either. As for whether Naoko was hiding outside the window and trying to hold back a laugh when he called "Naoko" at the window, he still doesn't know. After taking a shower and leaving the bathroom, Heisuke walked in the corridor, wanting to go back to the room.At this time, a voice stopped him: "Ping Jie—" The voice came from the living room.Heisuke opened the sliding door and saw Saburo drinking whiskey with water alone inside. "I'm drinking again." Hirasuke said. "No. It's just a habit before going to bed. How about it, do you want to have some together?" "Okay." Heisuke came to sit next to Saburo. "Is it okay to drink with water?" "Row." Saburo began to mix wine for him.Judging from the large bottle of water and the beautiful wine glasses that have been prepared, Saburo should have planned it long ago.There was nothing to eat at the banquet, but Saburo prepared the sardines he burned. "Let's have a drink first." "cheers." After lightly touching the glass, Heisuke took a sip of the whiskey his father-in-law had blended for him.The taste is neither light nor heavy, and it is comfortable for people who have just taken a bath.Heisuke couldn't help admiring that Saburo not only cooks a single dish well, but is also very talented in this respect. "It's great that you can come this time, everyone is very happy. Thank you very much." Saburo bowed his head and saluted after finishing speaking. "Don't say that." Hirasuke waved his hand. Heisuke and Naoko have already decided to return to Tokyo tomorrow.They have already told Saburo about it. "Let's not talk about anything else. It's been a long time since I saw you. Sami Nami has become like this. I feel relieved after seeing it. I was always worried about her losing her mother. I don't know what will happen to her. But now I see Come on, this kind of worry is unnecessary. I didn't expect that you, a big man, can raise her so well. Although it may be a bit inappropriate for me to say this, I still want to say thank you on behalf of Naoko." "Actually, I didn't do anything. All I did were ordinary things." "You can't say that. Ordinary things can't be done just by talking about them. You are so busy with work, it's already amazing to be able to do ordinary things." While chewing the sardines, the old man repeated the phrase "very remarkable" several times.Hearing this, Hirasuke felt a little uncomfortable. "In addition, there will still be a lot of inconvenience for a big man to do such a thing?" "Ah, it's okay, because Nao... Sami Nami is very good at taking care of herself." "However, it will be difficult for Sami Nami in the future. I just chatted with her casually and heard her say that she wants to study medicine. In that case, she won't be able to help you with much housework in the future, right?" "This, maybe that's it." Heisuke stared at the light amber liquid in the cup.He began to gradually understand what the old man wanted to express. "Heisuke," Saburo said in a very gentle tone, "you don't have to keep thinking about being sorry for Naoko." Heisuke stared at his father-in-law's face, he really wanted to say such a thing. "Ping Jie, you are still young, and you will not be as old as me in decades. You don't have to force yourself to live alone. If you have that kind of thought, don't care what others think, just remarry, when the time comes I will support you." "Thank you! But it's not time for me to think about that kind of thing." Hearing what Heisuke said, Saburo shook his head a few times. "Don't look at you thinking like this now, but time flies. Although I just said that you are still young, it doesn't mean that you still have a lot of spare time. I think you should think about it carefully." "Maybe." Hirasuke smiled ambiguously. "Of course, I can't force you." Seeing that Heisuke's cup had bottomed out, Saburo began to pour another cup for him. "Then I'll have one last drink." Hirasuke said respectfully. When he returned to the room, the sweat on Heisuke's body had faded away.He thought to himself, there is no air conditioner, but it is still so cool, it really deserves to be in the Xinzhou area.He changed into pajamas and got into bed. Naoko turned over and turned to Heisuke, with her eyes open. "Did you chat with Dad just now?" "Ah, we talked." "Did he urge you to remarry?" "Did you hear it all?" "It can't be helped, Dad speaks too loudly." The dad she said at this time refers to Sanlang. "I'm really going to be overwhelmed." Hirasuke showed a wry smile. "Have you considered remarrying?" Naoko said seriously. "Is this, I have had fantasies." Hashimoto Takeko's face flashed in his mind, and then disappeared immediately, "However, I didn't think about it in detail." "Did you force yourself not to think about it?" "I just don't want to think about it. I still have Naoko!" Naoko closed her eyes and turned to the other side. "Thank you." She whispered, "But can you really do this?" "Well, it works." Heisuke said to her back. Naoko said nothing after that, and Heisuke closed his eyes. "This should work, right?" He confirmed to himself again.To have a son and a wife whom others can't see but which I can see is happiness enough. His thoughts began to blur, "This is enough." He fell asleep with this belief. The next day, Hirasuke and Naoko started preparing to return to Tokyo early in the morning.Before leaving, they received all kinds of local specialties, the trunk of the car was full, and even the back seat was full of paper bags and carton boxes. "You have to listen to your father's words carefully, and come to play again in the first month." Saburo's voice came from the window of the passenger seat. "Remember, I will come again. Grandpa, take care of yourself!" "Okay. Thank you, thank you!" Saburo nodded, his eyes narrowed as thin as the wrinkles on his face. Heisuke started the car.The sunlight reflected on the asphalt road tells people that today is another scorching hot day. After driving from her mother's house for a while, Naoko suddenly said, "Stop the car." Heisuke parked the car on the side of the road. "What's wrong?" Hiroshi asked. Naoko looked back for a moment, then sighed deeply. "I feel a little sad thinking that I will never come here again in the future." "Why, if you want to come, can you just come again?" Naoko shook her head. "Will not come again. It pains me to see them. To them, I am a dead man. I have no place in their world. I went, like a wandering spirit... "Speaking of this, her eyes were moist.She took out her handkerchief, "I'm sorry, I just want to cry for a while, and I won't cry anymore. Don't worry about me, just drive." Hirasuke silently inserted the car key and started the car. He was thinking in his heart: Only I am her real relative, the two of us live in isolation in this world.