Mika turned around and felt a warm feeling in her heart. It was Airi.
"Aren't you afraid of being dragged down by me?" Mika asked worriedly.
"Oh, have you forgotten that I have plenty of backers?" Takumi said. "Besides, Hajime is really too arrogant." Airi agreed, it was Ren who said that.
"Mika-san, I admire your courage." Takumi patted Mika's shoulder, "I just think that life should be balanced in all aspects. Whoever steals the limelight from others will make the pace of life lose harmony." Mika said, "Aphorism, it's really an aphorism." Takumi said loudly, "Mika's Japanese is really good. "
"Thank you, thank you!" Mika bowed solemnly, then said while looking at the road, "You remind me of my friends in Malaysia."
I am your friend from Malaysia! What a pity that I changed my appearance and travelled through time and space. Ren thought half-complainingly in Airi's body.
The weather in early May is cool, the wind is gentle, the sun is bright, the sky is blue, the trees are green, and even the mood is warm.
The three of them walked towards the tram station in the spring breeze. Takumi suddenly became excited. "I'll take you guys to a place! Mika-san has definitely never seen it!"
"What? Where?"
"Come with me! Come with me!" Takumi said while keeping the secret.
Takumi turned right at the wide intersection in front of the tram station and turned into a road along the sea.
"Say it, just say it!" Mika couldn't wait any longer, "Where are you taking me?"
"Yes, tell me quickly! Where are we going?" Even Airi, no, Ren, was also curious.
"Okay! Okay! I'll just tell you for now." Takumi said, "Let me give you a riddle."
"Okay! I like guessing riddles!" Mika happily greeted the warm Pacific Ocean breeze.
"Listen carefully." Takumi cleared his throat, "First, this is a mysterious place..."
"...Secondly, Mika-san may not have been there, but Airi-san lives next door to Okawa City, so she must know." Takumi brushed his bangs that were blown by the sea breeze.
What a pity, Takumi, he didn't know that the current Airi was not Airi, but Ren, who knew nothing about Japan and knew even less about Japan than Mika! So Airi, or to be more precise, Ren, could only nod silently.
"Oh! What kind of riddle is this? The second one is meaningless," Mika protested as she walked, "Keep going, keep going!"
"Third, this place changes with the seasons."
"Hey, is there such a place in Okawa City? Why have I never heard my mother talk about it?" Mika began to talk to herself curiously, "It's May now, what will this place look like?"
"Oh, you don't even know this! No wonder you don't know since you just arrived in Japan." Takumi led everyone up a sloping road. In front of them was a large area of towering cedar trees that shaded the road.
"Airi-san, tell her what flowers you will see in May?"
"Uh...uh..." This stumped Ren inside Airi's body.
"Airi-san, you won't even help me, right? Please give me some hints!" Mika climbed the slope, sighing softly.
"It's just that...that...side of the mountain, that..." Ren tried to make excuses.
"What? What?" Mika had no idea. "What kind of suggestion is this?"
"Yes! Yes! Those are the flowers that bloom under the eaves, on the roadside, and under the trees on the hillside." Fortunately, Takumi didn't notice at all and continued, "They are made up of many small flowers, as big as your face, and they are not colourful, probably pink, blue or purple!"
"I know! I know!" Mika shouted, "It's hydrangea!"
"That's right!" Takumi nodded. "You're really good. I just arrived and found out that May and June are the season for hydrangeas. The hydrangeas at the shrine are really beautiful, aren't they, Airi-san?"
Ren has never seen any hydrangeas, but he has seen quite a few hibiscus and orchids.
"Yes! Yes! That's right!" Ren continued, "They all bloomed very big, bigger than the hibiscus and orchids, but smaller than our Rafflesia!"
"Rafflesia!" Mika suddenly became excited. "Airi-san, have you seen the Rafflesia? Have you been to Malaysia? Why haven't I heard you mention it before?"
"No..." Ren hesitated, "I have heard of it, it is the largest flower in the world."
"One year I participated in a forest exploration activity at school, and I happened to see the Rafflesia flower in the National Forest Park. It is the largest flower in the world!" Mika said happily, "We searched for two days before we found it! It is bigger than my hands, red and beautiful, but it smells really bad, stinky, very stinky!"
"Yes! Yes!" Ren couldn't help but exclaim, "Like rotten rats and garbage!"
"Airi-san, you know that too!" Mika became even more excited.
"Of course I know!" Ren was also excited, "We were together... Uhh, I heard it somewhere."
Ah! Ren originally wanted to say: We participated in the forest adventure together.
Fortunately, he swallowed the last few words in time.
"Alright! Alright!" Takumi led everyone through the towering cedar trees, turned a very steep slope and pointed to the stairs at the end of the road, "See those stairs, right? After climbing those stairs, you will reach the Inari Shrine."
"Wow! We're almost there!" Mika shouted.
"Mika, you are too happy too soon." Takumi said coldly, "Airi-san, tell her how many steps there are."
"Oh, there are far too many, I forgot them all!" Fortunately, Ren heard the strangeness and continued smoothly.
"Let me tell you, there are two hundred and twelve steps!"
"Oh my God!" Not only Mika, but Airi also shouted.
But as soon as they started climbing the stairs, they knew the secret hidden beside the stairs. The hydrangeas in all colours were blooming on the hillsides on both sides of the stairs, welcoming them.
"Wow...!"
"So beautiful!"
This is the only word that comes from Mika.
As the number of steps increased, the light footsteps gradually became heavier, and the slight breathing also gradually became heavier.
After countless breaths, the three finally climbed to the top.
"Wow..." Another round of shouting.
The scenery here is completely different from that at the foot of the mountain.
A solemn shrine in log colour, sitting solemnly among the cedar trees
It looked down at the three high school students with kindness, tolerance and tenderness, and both sides of the shrine were dotted with clusters of hydrangeas.
It is peaceful and tranquil here, making people feel free from worries. Takumi takes everyone for a stroll around the shrine, looking at the various shadows of the cedar trees on the ground, and through the shadows of the cedar trees, looking at the various blue skies and white clouds.
"Come! I'll show you a place!" After walking for a while, Takumi suddenly spoke.
"Okay!" Mika and Airi replied.
Soon, Takumi led the two of them to the side of the shrine, walked up the ladder, and climbed into a pavilion.
The pavilion was built on a cliff, overlooking the height of all the cedar trees, overlooking the entire Okawa City and the blue harbour in front of it.
"Be right back, I'm going to the bathroom," Takumi suddenly said, "Okay"
Only Mika and I were left, Ren couldn't help feeling nervous.
"Airi-san, on the other side of the sea, very far away, is Malaysia." Mika said suddenly.
"I know." Ren certainly knew, "Are you homesick?"
"Yeah!" Mika nodded, "I miss my old friends."
"They miss you too." Ren replied.
"How do you know they miss me?"
"Uh...uh...once you leave, they will definitely miss you, just like you miss them,"
I really miss you, Ren thought.
"You know, I have a good friend named Ren. I miss him so much."
"Really?" Ren really wanted to know, "What do you miss most about him?"
"Hmm..." Mika thought for a moment, "I miss everything about him...everything, but he probably doesn't miss me."
"How do you know he doesn't miss you?" Ren was anxious.
"Because he has a girlfriend, he cares more about that girlfriend."
"No, he misses you too!" Ren was anxious, really anxious.
"How do you know?"
"I just know it!"
"Forget it, you won't know." Mika said dejectedly, "I'm so far away from him now, I should start a new life."
"You promised him that you would work hard and meet him when you grow up."
"Yes, how did you know?" Mika felt strange but continued. "Then I came here and decided."
"Decided what?"
"I want to go back to Malaysia in the future."
"Why didn't I hear you say that when we were in Malaysia?" Ren forgot that he was in Airi's body.
"In Malaysia? Wha-what do you mean? I decided to do it after I came to Japan. The only chance to be with Ren is to go back to Malaysia."
"Oh..." Ren was even surprised, "Have you contacted him recently?"
"Yes, sometimes I send text messages."
Ah, it turns out that the soul here is Ren in his twenties, and another Ren in his teens is also living well on the other side of the sea.
"Do you like this boy named Ren so much?"
"Yeah, I only discovered this after I came to Japan."
Ren was speechless. He didn't know Mika had feelings for him. He began to feel mean and weak. He actually let her down from the beginning and deliberately hurt her again and again.
Ren, Ren, you are a lucky person. You must remember what Mika said, because she may become an important person in your life in the future.
"Anything interesting?" It was Takumi who came back.
"Nothing," Mika looked at the watch, "It's almost five o'clock, let's go back.
The three of them arrived at the station, Mika and Takumi boarded the train to Honjo City, while Airi boarded the train to Haruoka District, and they went their separate ways.
Ren was really exhausted. This was the first time he had controlled Airi's body so much.
It was late, so he had already fallen asleep in the tram.
Airi returned to her body, confused: Why am I on the train? Why is it already dark? Didn't I go to participate in the club activities?
She is really confused.
But what made her even more confused was yet to come.
"Airi-san, thank you for helping me in the audio-visual room today."
"Also, don't tell anyone about Ren's affairs!"
"Shall we go out next weekend?"
It was a series of text messages from Mika.
What happened in the audio-visual room? Who is Ren? Airi had no idea.
"Mika-san, thank you. We can go out together sometime." Airi replied. She knew nothing about the audio-visual room and was too embarrassed to ask, so she avoided the question.
"Okay! Do you want to call me Takumi too?"
"Sure thing, good night!"
"Good night!"
Airi had no idea. She had distanced herself from Mika because she did not stand by her side in the audio-visual room a few days ago. How could there be so many text messages? Something must have happened yesterday. Mika's attitude became kinder, which was a good thing, but also a bad thing. If Mika and I are too close, it would attract all kinds of strange looks. Yuka and the others might distance themselves from me and stop asking me out to play. Oh...It's so annoying! Let's see what happens tomorrow...
After Ren fell asleep from exhaustion, a man visited him.
The ordinary but unforgettable face.
"I didn't expect you to be so capable," he said.
"What do you mean?" Ren asked.
"I never thought you could control Airi's body for so long."
"So far, no one has been able to do what you do. You must have extraordinary perseverance."
"But everything is relative," he said. "If you control for so long, you will be tired for a long time, and your ability to control will gradually be worn away."
"What?"
"If you control her for one hour, you will be tired for a day, which means you will fall asleep." He paused, "I just checked and you controlled Airi's body for a total of two hours and thirty-seven minutes, so to be precise, you will sleep for at least two and a half days."
"Wait..."