Chapter 334: Treasure Hunt |
Ultimately, Hoshino Gen took no action against the "perpetrator" in Tokyo from the island hundreds of kilometers away.
According to Hoshino Rin's wishes, it would be better to wait until they returned to have a face-to-face discussion. Besides, Daihaku and Shiro had already been picked up the moment the incident occurred, so it was highly unlikely anything would go wrong.
Hoshino Gen respected his sister's opinion and promptly shooed out the group that had barged in to interrupt his movie. As for their return trip to Tokyo, they decided to head back the following afternoon.
The next morning.
Radiant sunlight shimmered across the azure waters and the golden beach. Massive, fluffy clouds resembling cotton candy drifted across the sky, adding a few strokes of lazy and relaxed vibes to this beautiful drawing of the summer coast.
Dressed in a simple shirt and shorts, Hoshino Gen stood by the coast, gazing out at the distant scenery. Suddenly, a crisp voice asked right next to his ear, "What are you looking at?"
Hoshino Gen turned his head for a glance. Shimizu Yu, wearing a sky-blue swimsuit layered under a thin piece of sun-protective clothing, stood gracefully beside him with her hands behind her back. He had not even noticed when she arrived.
At that moment, her friends were laughing and playing wildly on the other side of the shore. Everyone else had gathered over there, meaning Shimizu Yu definitely had not just strolled over here by coincidence.
Instead of answering her question, Hoshino Gen simply asked, "Do you need something?"
Hoshino Gen's mouth twitched. He let out a sigh and said, "I will give you one last chance. Say whatever it is you want to say. If you do not spit it out now, do not bother bringing it up to me ever again."
"Urgh...!" Shimizu Yu's eyes widened slightly, genuinely surprised that this guy could tell at a mere glance that she actually did have something to discuss!
However, she also knew that this guy had always been inhumanly cold. If he said there would be no other chance if she stayed silent now, he absolutely meant it. Feeling a little embarrassed, she scratched her cheek. "I... I suppose I do have a little something to tell you. It is no big deal, really, just... next week, August 29th, is my birthday. Do you want to come to my birthday party...?"
As she spoke, she shot a quick glance at Hoshino Gen's expression before instantly darting her eyes away. Keeping her hands clasped behind her back, she pouted her lips and looked down, lightly kicking the sand as if she did not care in the slightest whether he showed up or not.
"..."
After a long silence, Hoshino Gen suddenly chuckled and asked, "Did you not ask what I was looking at earlier?"
Shimizu Yu looked up, her face full of confusion. 'I was just asking! The direction you were staring in was either the sea or the sky, what else could you possibly be looking at? We are talking about my birthday party right now! Even if you do not want to go, you do not have to change the subject so stiffly!'
A wave of stifling frustration welled up in her chest. Pouting, she turned around and angrily prepared to storm off. However, she had only taken two steps before she realized with astonishment that she was floating!
Her feet were hovering several centimeters off the ground, lifting her into the air like a balloon. She looked back at Hoshino Gen in sheer disbelief, knowing full well that this had to be his doing. But before she could say a word, he spoke first with a wide smile, "If your brain is lacking, do not just blindly speculate about someone else's implied meaning. I am used to adapting to speak according to the audience. I am certainly not going to beat around the bush when talking to an idiot."
Even though her body was completely out of her control and suspended in the air, hearing those words still instantly ignited Shimizu Yu's rage. "You are the idiot!"
After snapping at him, her eyes reddened slightly. Looking incredibly aggrieved, she muttered, "The direction you were just looking at only has the seawater and the sky. You treat me like an idiot and do not care if I celebrate my birthday or not. Even your attempt to change the subject was so perfunctory..."
Hoshino Gen kept smiling. In fact, watching Shimizu Yu's reaction only seemed to amuse him even more.
"You are still laughing!" Shimizu Yu was thoroughly enraged, so angry she was on the verge of tears. 'I knew I should never have held out any fantasy about this guy! I already knew he was completely black-hearted, I never should have come over here to invite humiliation upon myself!'
Hoshino Gen did not actually want to tease her to the point of crying. Deciding he had pushed it enough, he said, "Your guess was spot on, I really was just looking at the sea. But are you not full of curiosity about why I was looking at the sea, and what I was thinking about?"
"..." Shimizu Yu's cheeks puffed out angrily. She desperately wanted to snap back, 'Who cares about you?', but right as the words reached her lips, she caught sight of the inexplicable amusement in Hoshino Gen's eyes. She immediately began to suspect that this guy was just digging another trap for her to jump into, all so he could ruthlessly mock her again...
Summoning an immense amount of willpower to suppress her rage, Shimizu Yu remained expressionless and kept her mouth firmly shut. 'Do not think I am still that same naive little girl who knew nothing of society's sinister nature, who got tricked by a black-hearted boss into signing an unfair contract! I have grown a lot since then! No matter what kind of trap you are digging, I will not utter a single peep!'
Her rage dissipated silently, no longer even needing to be suppressed. Looking at Hoshino Gen's smiling face, the corners of Shimizu Yu's mouth could not help but curl up as she grew incredibly complacent in her heart. 'I will respond to all changes by remaining unchanged! I would love to see what kind of explanation you can possibly come up with!'
Witnessing the rapid shifts in Shimizu Yu's expression, Hoshino Gen's gaze turned incredibly strange. This idiot was truly a fascinating creature. Sometimes, her thoughts were written as plain as day across her face, allowing him to decipher exactly what she was thinking with a single glance. Yet, at other times, her mind was practically a bottomless abyss. Even if he exhausted every ounce of his brainpower, he would still have no way to comprehend what kind of random things she was thinking about...
Regardless, that was not important right now. Since Shimizu Yu refused to take the bait, he simply continued on his own, "I was actually just wondering when exactly this sea in front of us was formed. I was wondering how many ships have sunk in these waters over the course of history, and in the depths of the unexplored seabed, how many resentful souls lie submerged, and how much treasure has been lost to the tides."
The complacent look on Shimizu Yu's face instantly vanished. Hoshino Gen's words had thoroughly bewildered her, leaving her utterly clueless as to what point he was trying to make.
That was, until Hoshino Gen chuckled lightly and asked, "I am consumed by curiosity right now, so I want to go down and take a look. Do you want to tag along? We can go on a treasure hunt together."
Shimizu Yu froze for a moment, then fell deep into thought, before sudden realization dawned on her. A look of sheer disdain crossed her face. "You just want to go scuba diving, do not try to play it off as a treasure hunt..."
Her words came to an abrupt stop. In that split second, her vision suddenly blurred. By the time her sight returned to focus, she realized that she was already completely underwater.
There was no difficulty breathing, nor was there any crushing water pressure bearing down as physical pressure on her body. Beneath her feet lay the sandy beach submerged by the sea, and when she looked up, she could still clearly see the blue sky, fluffy white clouds, and radiant sunlight filtering through the waves above.
This was no deep-sea trench; it appeared to just be the shallows near the coast. Yet, unfolding right before her very eyes were the sprawling waters, schools of swimming fish, and swaying seaweed... It was a genuine underwater world.
Her mouth fell open in awe as she turned to look at Hoshino Gen, who was floating right beside her. That same faint smile still tugged at the corners of his lips. Surrounding both of them was a massive, transparent air bubble that completely isolated them from the crushing seawater outside.
"Now, what was it that you were trying to say a moment ago?" Hoshino Gen asked, shooting Shimizu Yu a highly amused glance.