Chapter 327: Beach Under the Setting Sun |
Sasaki Ayane's room was right next door. Hoshino Gen knocked, and a response of "Come in" quickly sounded from within.
Pushing the door open and stepping inside, the first thing Hoshino Gen saw was Sasaki Ayane sitting at the desk, holding her mobile phone and seemingly typing out a reply to a message.
A faint, detached expression rested on the young girl's breathtakingly beautiful face. It seemed she rarely revealed any other emotion.
Noticing that the person who had knocked and entered was Hoshino Gen, she was not surprised. Or rather, the moment the knock sounded, she had already guessed who was at the door. After all, out of the dozen or so people who had come here this time, besides her fiancé, she truly was not familiar with anyone else.
Setting her mobile phone down, she watched Hoshino Gen walk straight over to the single-seater sofa by the window and sit down. Her clear, cold voice carried a subtle trace of confusion. "Is there something you need?"
Hoshino Gen was certainly not the type of person to say something ambiguous like, "Can't I come over if I don't need anything?" In this sort of situation, he would only respond by getting straight to the point.
"I need to talk to you about the upcoming training arrangements."
......
"Whoa! I noticed it when we were coming over earlier, but the seawater here is so blue and clean!"
Bare, snow-white feet splashed into the ocean waves lapping against the shallows. Oguri Aino bent down, cupped a handful of seawater, and let out a loud exclamation of awe. Then, a sly glint flashed in her eyes as she suddenly splashed the water in her hands right into the face of Suzuki Sawami beside her.
"Aino!!" Suzuki Sawami instantly flew into a rage, tackling Oguri Aino down into the ocean waves. Soaked from head to toe in seawater, Oguri Aino laughed and struggled as she shouted, "Yui, Saki, hurry up and save me!"
The shallow waters instantly dissolved into a chaotic mess of splashing and laughter.
Wearing beach shorts and a floral shirt, Asaba Shinichi lounged on a beach chair with his hands resting behind his head. He chuckled as he watched the scene unfolding not far away, unable to hold back a sigh of admiration. "Tsk, tsk. Good thing I had the foresight, otherwise how could a monotonous beach possibly have a view like this?"
After saying that, he turned his head to look at Moriya Tsukiko standing beside him and laughed. "You don't need to follow by my side all the time. When I don't need you, just feel free to do as you please."
"......" Even so, Moriya Tsukiko's personality meant she simply could not laugh and play in the water like those carefree young girls. She turned her head to look a short distance away, where her younger sister, Moriya Hoshiko, was sitting on the ground playing in the sand with a small shovel.
Moriya Tsukiko's gaze softened, and then she gently shook her head at Asaba Shinichi.
Asaba Shinichi did not mind. He chuckled nonchalantly. "Alright then, if you like playing the door guard, no one is going to stop you."
With that said, he suddenly turned his head and waved enthusiastically at Takasugi Yusuke, who was walking over with Amamiya Sashi. "Hey, Yusuke! Come over here! The view is great on this side!"
......
"Two people's souls residing within a single body..."
After listening to Hoshino Gen's training plan, a hint of disbelief mixed into Sasaki Ayane's clear, cold expression. "Is it really possible to do something like that?"
Hoshino Gen gave a faint smile. He had already finished saying everything he needed to say about this matter. He stood up, his gaze casting out toward the girls laughing and playing on the beach outside. "Everyone else is on the beach. Aren't you going over?"
Sasaki Ayane shook her head. "I am not suited for that kind of environment. Besides, I did not bring a swimsuit with me."
"...Then get some good rest. Dinner is in an hour. Training will begin after dinner is over."
"Mhm."
Hoshino Gen left Sasaki Ayane's room. However, the moment he stepped out, he noticed that the door to his own room next door—which should have been closed—was slightly ajar. He walked over and took a look inside. Sure enough, there in his room was Hoshino Rin, lying on his bed and playing on her mobile phone.
Her beautiful, lustrous long hair was spread out across the pristine white bedsheets, and her exquisite skirt hem draped gracefully over the edge. Hoshino Rin had heard the sound of the door opening and closing just now, along with his faint footsteps. She turned her head and saw her older brother standing outside the door, watching her.
"Brother!" Hoshino Rin called out with a beaming smile.
Hoshino Gen walked in and glanced around the room, asking in confusion, "Where is Kyukyu?"
"She is sleeping in my room. Didn't Kyukyu-chan fall asleep in the car earlier? After all, she is just a child, so she gets sleepy really easily." As if recalling the little girl's unfairly cute sleeping face, the smile on her lips could not help but soften a few degrees more.
Hoshino Gen also walked over to the bed and sat down. "What did you come looking for me for?"
Hoshino Rin froze for a moment, failing to react immediately. It took her two seconds to realize that her brother was probably asking if she had come specifically to his room because there was something she needed to talk to him about.
She puffed out her cheeks in slight helplessness. "Honestly, what could it be? I just wanted to spend time with my brother, so I came over!"
"......" Hoshino Gen paused, then said mildly, "I figured you would have gone down to play in the water like everyone else."
This time, Hoshino Rin did not just puff out her cheeks; she also pouted her small lips, looking thoroughly displeased. "Did you forget, Brother? Or did you just not bother to remember at all? It's the time for my menstrual period right now!"
"......" Hoshino Gen said absolutely nothing. He simply got up, went over to sit on the single-seater sofa by the window, and started playing on his mobile phone.
"Hmph. My brother is an idiot!" Hoshino Rin muttered. She shifted her body over to the other side of the bed, closer to where Hoshino Gen was sitting...
The setting sun gradually dipped lower, and the chirping of cicadas began to rise from the large stretch of woods behind the villa. Even the sounds of laughing and playing on the beach outside grew increasingly boisterous now that the initial awkwardness had passed.
The light outside the window had already dimmed, but suddenly, a wash of warm-colored light spilled inside. Hoshino Gen, who had been looking down and playing games for quite a while, subconsciously turned his head to glance out the window.
It turned out that a bonfire had been lit on the beach at some point. And right beside the bonfire, which had been built out of stacked firewood, two long tables had been set up, loaded with grills and all sorts of ingredients.
Hoshino Gen's mobile phone began to vibrate with an incoming call. The moment he answered the telephone, Asaba Shinichi's voice immediately rang out from the other end. "What are you doing? It's time to eat! You're not even enthusiastic about dinner. Honestly..."
The call ended. Hoshino Gen turned off his mobile phone, shoved it into his pocket, and got up. He walked over to the bed and flicked the cheek of a groggy Hoshino Rin, who looked like she was about to fall asleep. "Time to eat."
Hoshino Rin opened her slightly sleep-hazed eyes and smacked her small lips twice. Then, she suddenly reached both arms out toward Hoshino Gen, speaking in a coquettish tone. "I'm so tired, Brother. Will you carry me down?"
Hoshino Gen gave her a prolonged look, then turned around and walked away. "If you don't want to eat, suit yourself."
Hoshino Rin sat up and secretly stuck her tongue out at Hoshino Gen's retreating back. Only then did she get out of bed, slip into her shoes, and chase after him with a giggle. "Brother, wait for me!"