[She asks you, which one is better, the red plaid yukata on your left hand or the blue morning glory yukata on your right hand.]
[You can see that she likes the one on her left hand more. You said you like the other one.]
[This is a lie. The moment you saw that red plaid bathrobe, you thought of the candy apple two years ago, the softness and fragrance of her leaning on your back, and her shy exclamation when you bit her hand.]
[You prefer the red plaid yukata in your wife's left hand. That dress brings back beautiful memories in your heart, but a hidden shadow also emerges due to the awakening of memories. The memory of the candy apple is a wooden box in the corner. When you pick up the wooden box to look at it, the shadow that was originally hidden behind the wooden box is revealed in your field of vision.]
[Two years ago, my wife's condition worsened after her wish to see the festival came true, but before her wish to see the snow and the lake came true.]
[The unchanged town and festival made you feel uneasy. You suddenly understood the "unlucky" that the old people always talked about. You were afraid that this scene, which was too similar to the one two years ago, was a sinister witchcraft array that would summon the misfortune from two years ago again and befall your wife.]
[So, you let your wife wear a yukata with a blue morning glory pattern, which is completely different from the clothes she wore two years ago. It is your resistance to misfortune and your wishes and prayers for your wife.]
[When you reach the foot of the shrine, the stairs are already full of locals and tourists. You are late.]
[You and Reina walk up the steps hand in hand. Both sides are bright and lively. The sound of laughter and hawking fills the road up the mountain. However, outside the mountain road, it is surrounded by an even more vast and dark forest.]
[You hold Reina's hand tightly, and stay with her in front of the food and entertainment stall. Two years ago, she was on your back, and you carried her forward. Now, she is in front of you, and she pulls you forward.]
Several inconsequential images flashed through Nan Youxi's mind.
Reina fed him candied apples, put a white fox mask on him, and competed with him in catching goldfish...
In these pictures, the girls are smiling sweetly and are in high spirits. They are enjoying the festival to the fullest with their healthy bodies.
[As they approached the top of the mountain, Reina finally calmed down a bit. After stepping onto the last step, she looked back at the bright stone steps in the forest.]
[When climbing Xiaodou Mountain, she rested several times. Now, she reached the top of the mountain in one go like a healthy person. She turned her head to look at you, hugged your arms tightly in her arms, and felt that she was holding happiness. ]
[Before you find a suitable place to watch the fireworks, the clouds in the distant sky reflect bright colors. ]
[You stand still, staring at the bright sky. ]
A short memory scene appears.
The lights of the festival stalls end in front of the stone path at the end of the steps. The torii gate behind the stone path only reveals the outline of a huge shape in the residual light. Behind the torii gate is the sacred realm of the gods, which is hidden in the darkness.
The tail flame of the fireworks rose from behind the nearby trees and spread its beautiful wings high in the sky.
Nan Youxi looked at the fleeting fireworks and thought of something, and couldn't help but become distracted.
Reina looked at the fireworks and also at her husband beside her. Seeing that her husband's eyes were completely fixed on the sky, she pursed her lips, feeling a little jealous.
She gently pulled Nan Youxi's arm, stood on tiptoes when her husband turned his head to look at her, and kissed him on the lips.
"I love you." After their lips parted, she said to Nan Youxi's face.
"You are already an old married couple, yet you still say such disgusting things." Nan Youxi teased her with words and saw the blush and embarrassment on her face.
Reina couldn't help but say that. On the top of the mountain, under the moonlight, in front of the fireworks, she looked at Nan Youxi and recalled that before she met the boy, she just sat on the bed every day, looking blankly at the garden outside the window, recalling the sadness and loneliness that shrouded her first half of life. Comparing it with the joy and happiness in her heart at this moment, she felt that she had gained too much from Nan Youxi.
She wanted to say thank you, but felt that this word was too polite between husband and wife, so she expressed her love instead.
When Nan Youxi teased her true feelings, she felt ashamed and annoyed. She picked up her husband's hand and bit the back of his hand.
"Are you trying to avenge what happened two years ago?" Nan Youxi smiled and touched her face.
She also smiled, and the feeling of happiness diluted her embarrassment, and she let go of Nan Youxi's hand.
"I love you too." Nan Youxi lowered her head, bit her lips, and chased the cute red slug.
The fireworks were just as gorgeous as they were two years ago, but neither Yuuki nor Reina were paying attention to the fireworks. Under the sparkling fireworks, they looked into each other's eyes, which was the fireworks they loved most.
On the way down the mountain, Reina lay on Minami Yuki's back.
"It feels like you're the one taking care of me." Reina rested her chin on her husband's shoulder, feeling a little frustrated.
"You can remove the word 'feeling'." Nan Youxi looked at the steps under her feet. It was getting late and the stalls on both sides were already being packed up.
Nan Lingna sighed. She felt a little frustrated that she had always been in a situation where she was taken care of. She also wanted to take care of her beloved husband.
She asked her husband for advice: "How can I repay you?"
"Want to be a slave in the next life?" Nan Youxi said with a smile.
Reina's cheeks puffed up: "I don't want to be a slave, I want to be your wife in the next life!"
"Repaying kindness with enmity?"
"That's too much! I'm going to bite you!"
"Didn't you bite it just now?"
“More bites!”
"Okay, okay, let's go back to the hotel and chew slowly."
Reina didn't understand Minami Yuki's hint and thought her husband was just trying to please her. This newlywed princess was still pure in every way.
After crossing the last few steps and stepping onto the flat road, Minami Yuki put his wife down. Reina lowered her head, remained silent, staring at the ground with lifeless eyes, and looked very depressed.
"What's the matter?" he asked.
Reina was still worried about what happened just now: "I've already been discharged from the hospital, why are you still taking care of me? I also want to take care of you."
"Don't you take good care of me every day?" Nan Youxi took her right hand, which she usually used.
"That's not the kind of care!" The wife blushed and put her right hand behind her back.
"I think that's enough. If Reina-sama still wants to take care of us, why not take care of our children?"
"Okay, let's go back and start preparing for pregnancy!"
"It's not about preparing for pregnancy, it's about contacting the welfare home."
"Can't have a baby? The doctor said we can try."
"My body shape will get out of shape, my skin will get loose, and I will have to go to the hospital for surgery."
“… Then forget it.”
"Um."
After walking a few steps quietly, Reina suddenly thought of something and asked again:
“Can we adopt again next year?”
"Um?"
"I want to go to Yoshida Town with just you. I've been waiting for two years. If I adopt a child now, won't she be able to enjoy my two years of waiting all at once?"
"What a cheapskate."
"Ah! You said I was a ghost again!"
(End of this chapter)