Miss Heir wasn't very kind to me.

Chapter 104. "Prelude to Midsummer Fireworks"

Since she was 10 years old, Kamishiro Rin has been living in an orphanage.

"Dean, I leave this child in your care."

Her father said this on the day he sent her to the orphanage.

Rinyin lowered her eyes quietly, intending to accept all this with a look of despair, just like an adult. But...

"Dad, don't you want me anymore?"

The young Rinyin reached out her hand into the shadows, but could only touch the fluttering hem of the figure's clothes as he left.

"...You must grow up well."

In a trance, she seemed to hear her father leave these words.

"..."

Because of this sentence, Rinyin always thinks that she is different from other children.

She was not an orphan. Although her mother had passed away, at least she still had her father. He was very busy, so he spent money to put her in an orphanage.

Grandma Sato also comforted herself like this:
"Your father has to go to work far away. Life is very hard. He doesn't want Rin to be burdened by his side, so he put you here."

That's right, she was not abandoned. One day, her father would take her away from the orphanage and live with her, even if it wasn't at Kamishiro Shrine.

Because of this, Rin doesn't like playing with other children.

——If we squatted in the yard of the orphanage and played together, I would be treated as a child like them.

On special days, she doesn't have to please strangers like others do and always have a cold face.

Day after day, Linyin waits for the day when the oath her father never made will come true.

She hated everyone in the orphanage except her mother-in-law.

They will laugh at their own thoughts and think that their waiting is in vain, but they are clearly expecting the same thing to happen to them.

Rinyin thinks all this is out of jealousy, jealous of her father's love.

So when the child said, "Your father definitely doesn't want you anymore," Rin's rationality seemed to be burned away by the flames.

When I came to my senses, I found that my mother-in-law and a part-time caregiver had kept a safe distance between me and the child.

I don’t know what expression I made at that time, I just remember my courage, which made the child couldn’t help but step back.

He hunched his shoulders in his mother-in-law's arms, his voice fragmented, his lips still trembling as he spoke:

"Ben, it is."

"Everyone here has thought so, but as time goes by, they face the reality, so it's the same for you, Kamishiro."

"Your father hasn't come to see you in a year since he brought you here!"

Every word he said pierced the softest part of Rinyin's heart. Rinyin endured it word by word, and then shouted at him in dissatisfaction.

"So what! Your parents have never come to see you in their lives!"

"..."

That’s right, the child with whom he quarreled was sent to an orphanage as soon as he was born.

The heart-pounding silence clung to me.

The nurse gently dispersed the children who were gathered around to watch the fun and left the scene with Rinyin.

She didn't show any accusation in her eyes, but looked at her with sympathy that Rinne feared even more.

Why are you looking at me with such sympathy? I'm not wrong, Dad won't abandon me.

After this incident, Linyin was still full of confidence and waited without complaint.

But it was delayed again and again, and when her confidence was almost exhausted, she finally received news from her father on the day before the Ullambana Festival when she was 11 years old.

My father contacted my mother-in-law and said he wanted to visit her on his birthday, which was also the day of Obon, and take her to the festival to watch the fireworks display.

"That's great, Rinne."

On the day of the fireworks festival, the nurse enthusiastically helped her put on the rented yukata. However, when she was about to go out, something stopped her in her tracks.

My heart was beating so fast I couldn't tell if it was out of anticipation or panic.

"I don't want to go."

"Why?" She was puzzled. "Isn't this what Rin has always wanted? And being able to celebrate your birthday with your dad, that's very happy, right?"

Linyin just stubbornly repeated the words "I don't want to go".

The elder sister did not lose her patience, but gently persuaded her again and again.

Until the grandmother walked into the room with a complicated expression, shook her head silently at the elder sister, bent down in front of Rin, and whispered to her:
"I'm sorry, Rinyin, your father just contacted your mother-in-law. He suddenly fell ill with a fever and can't keep the appointment."

"Eh?"

Her heart felt like it had been hit by a heavy punch, trembling violently, and then, Rinyin could no longer feel its existence.

"..."

"Today is Obon Festival. I bought some fireworks sticks. Let's play together."

Looking at the silent girl tenderly, the elder sister gently stroked her head.

"……Um."

Walking into the yard, curls of white smoke twisted and swirled in the night sky. Everyone was happily playing with fireworks sticks, and there were scattered lights everywhere.

She also received her own, put on her yukata neatly, and lit the fireworks lonely.

Someone noticed her and came over, and then like a light source attracting summer insects, the children gathered in front of her, and Rin heard their puzzled voices.

"Kamiyo? Aren't you going to the fireworks show with your dad today?"

"I do not want to go."

The burning tip of the firework stick was dazzling. She buried her face between her knees and answered coldly.

"Eh? Why?"

"Dad finally came to see you, why don't you go? What a pity."

"That's it."

There was genuine envy and regret in their words.

"And when I heard the news yesterday, Kamishiro didn't seem happy at all. What a strange person."

"Yeah, I've never seen Kamishiro smile before, it's so strange."

The children talked at once, saying so.

The big eyes blinked, illuminated by the fireworks.

There was definitely no malice in the casual words, only curiosity as if observing an unusual phenomenon.

Isn't a smile just a natural expression of happiness? When did it become so superficial?
Why on earth can't I laugh?
Probably from the day of my mother's funeral, from the day my father left me in the orphanage, happiness left my world.

The stiff muscles, like vines rooted deep within her body, bound her.

Whenever I try to curl the corners of my lips as if nothing happened, I feel a sense of blockage.

"It's so noisy, stay away from me."

Linyin raised her head again, thinking of herself as a real alien who didn't fit in. She had the same indifferent expression as always on her face, trying to dispel the noisy voices in front of her.

The children left in silence.

“…It went out.”

She lowered her eyelashes quietly, looked at the burnt end of the cigarette, muttered to herself, then slowly walked to the bucket and threw the firework stick. Grandma Sato was standing there.

"Grandma, am I really that weird?"

Her ten fingers dug into her skin, and Rin asked in a weak voice that seemed to be squeezed out of her throat.

Is it because of this reason that my father abandoned me?

"Not surprising at all."

My mother-in-law shook her head gently, and her voice, always soft and gentle, melted into the warm air of the summer night.

"Because Rin is special."

She smiled softly and gently reached out and placed a hand on Rin's shoulder.

Hearing these words, Linyin curled up into a small ball with the starry sky above her head, curled up in a corner of the summer night.

The air filled with the smell of fireworks tickled her nose, causing her to cough slightly.

My mood is like the calm Seto Inland Sea at night, slightly wrinkled and rippling.

"A special... person."

If I am strong enough, reliable enough, and good enough, then even if I am weird or special, I can still be someone who is needed.

I want to be a confident and strong person who doesn't try to please anyone and lives honestly.

……

Since then, Linyin has been walking alone in her own world.

Dressed in his junior high and high school uniforms, his skirt pleats were sharp and neat, his jacket and shirt were pressed, his bow tie was meticulously tied, his back was straight, his rosy lips were pressed into a straight line, and he would not be easily tamed no matter what.

I am very grateful to Mr. Jing Jian and "Fanxing Coffee Shop" for taking me in, so I want to repay them with double the effort.

After making everything a habit, she did it instinctively without having to think about it. However, when questions occasionally popped up, Rin couldn't help but think -

If I had left home in time that day, if my father had not broken his promise that day, would I be happy from now on?

Linyin opened her eyes and woke up from her dream.

In a room where no light can enter, it is the same whether you open your eyes or close them.

She fell asleep slumped over the table.

In front of him was an open laptop. Before the screen went dark, it should have contained the accounts of "Starry Coffee Shop" for this summer, with his diary next to it.

It's midsummer, the heat is at its peak, and the temperature inside is scorching. Maintaining one position for so long, I feel a bit hot, and a thin layer of sweat forms on my skin beneath my home clothes.

Linyin closed her laptop and groped for the rows of book spines on the bookshelf in the dim light. After finding a gap, she put the diary in carefully and put it away.

Then she stood up, walked to the bed and opened the curtains with a "swish". She narrowed her eyes slightly for a moment, and the morning light shone in, casting a soft halo on the outline of her body.

August 8 (Saturday) was supposed to be a normal business day for the coffee shop.

We should take advantage of the momentum of Haizhijia and strike while the iron is hot to take the store's business to a higher level.

But today's schedule was suddenly changed to a short trip to Keihan.

And the culprit of all this, it seems a bit too much to call her the culprit... the instigator was herself.

It's said that humans become more emotional than usual at night, making them more likely to make impulsive decisions.

Linyin believes in this point of view that when people are emotional, they have no language logic.

Maintaining restraint when expressing emotions is an important quality and has always been her strong point.

That’s why——

◇

"Maybe it's not that I hate fireworks, it's that I hate summer itself."

"It's just because when I pick it up, it reminds me of the reality that I can only have memories of the past and can't create new memories."

◇

"Because fireworks have a season, I worry about losing them. I like things that last forever, but no one or anything will last forever."

◇

"Today on the beach, for some reason, I suddenly had this inexplicable thought: I want to be able to spend moments like this with these five people all the time in the future."

◇

"I'm not good at hiding my feelings, so I want to try to follow this feeling and find the answer."

"..."

I don't know what happened, but I got so excited that I blurted out a bunch of incomprehensible and embarrassing truths, and they were directed at him.

So, impulse is a terrible thing.

"New memories" or something...

It's just terrible.

Linyin sighed deeply, holding the bath towel, and walked out of the room.

The corridor in the early morning was filled with tiny silences like dust. She gently inhaled both and slowly exhaled calmness.

After taking off her underwear in the bathroom and putting it in a plastic basket, Rinyin walked barefoot to the shower and turned the shower head to the maximum.

Compared to the warmth of a bath in winter, a shower in summer can make people feel the coolness and comfort of washing away the sweat from their body.

"Wow~"

Linyin scooped up a handful of hot water from the bathtub with both hands and gently poured it over her body.

Her delicate body was soaked in hot water, and her fair skin turned pink, looking particularly gorgeous.

She tied her black hair, which she usually let down, into a bun with a hairband. Her chest felt slightly floating. She dipped her chin into the water and fell into deep thought.

I'm dreaming about that time again.

Maybe it’s because only memories remain, but whenever doubts and weaknesses take advantage of me, and my mood trembles with anxiety, I dream of myself at that time.

That weak, naive, childish, and immature self.

However, having such a dream means that she is still weak and immature.

"..."

Rinyin stood up from the bathtub and dried her skin with a towel. The pure white towel wrapped around her beautiful body curves.

"Hoo~"

"Good morning."

Masumi came up from behind her, yawning and greeting her.

He just woke up and rubbed his sleepy eyes. His hair was messy. He had trimmed it just last month, but the ends of his hair had grown a little longer. Does a boy's hair grow so fast?

"Well, good morning."

Linyin's expression was calm. She picked up the hair dryer and moved it to the side of the sink to make room for him to wash his face and brush his teeth.

"Ah, sorry."

He suddenly said a little at a loss.

"Ok?"

Rin made a slightly puzzled sound while drying the ends of her hair with a hair dryer. When she raised her arms, her snow-white and smooth armpits were exposed.

"Nothing, just your clothes," he said.

"Oh."

Linyin nodded lightly.

"What a bland reaction."

"I know that girls coming out of the bath will attract boys' attention, but you should have seen me dressed in a cooler way, right?" Linyin retorted.

"Uh...I really didn't mean it at that time."

"..."

Linyin's lips trembled slightly: "I'm talking about yesterday's swimsuit."

"That's it." He smiled awkwardly.

"Have you not forgotten what happened that day?"

"How could I forget?"

"The first impression is usually very profound," he said as a matter of course.

"That was a rather ignominious first meeting."

"..."

"I don't mean to blame you, after all... Never mind."

Sighing, Linyin calmly lifted the edge of the bath towel and walked back into the bathroom.

The moment she pushed the door open, she heard Masumi sighing in relief, and the corners of her lips twitched slightly.

After changing naked into her home clothes, she returned to the sink and continued to blow-dry her hair.

"I've refilled the hot water, just go take a bath later."

"Thank you."

"But, there's no need to refill the water."

"Ok?"

"Ah, no, I mean I'm not going for a morning run today," he explained hurriedly, "After all, we're leaving for Osaka soon."

Linyin nodded: "That's it."

"Uh-huh."

Masumi nodded rapidly. Was he still asleep? He felt particularly slow to react this morning, and made countless mistakes.

After thinking for a moment, he changed the subject and said, "I'm really looking forward to the trip to Keihan."

"Have you been to Osaka and Kyoto before?"

"No." Lin Yin shook her head slightly.

"We went on a high school trip to Tokyo."

It is also the memory of Rin's only trip.

"Is that so? Then let's create new memories together, with everyone in the cafe."

He said this to himself with a warm smile on his face.

"..."

"Ah."

This man can say things that make me feel embarrassed without any shame, even in the daytime.

(End of this chapter)