Chapter 71 Chapter 71 Coaxing and Careful Planning
When packing up, the very enthusiastic and understanding waiter kindly reminded Momozawa Airi.
"Our signature ramen isn't as delicious when it gets cold. The taste is quite different. It's better for you to dine in."
Momozawa Airi hummed twice perfunctorily and didn't take it seriously.
She felt that this was a marketing tactic used by the store to retain customers by making the store appear more crowded and lively.
After a while, the waiter handed her the packaged ramen.
Momozawa Airi took it politely and thanked her.
She blinked, and her eyes lingered for a moment on Matsuda Jinpei beside her.
“…Take your time eating.”
She held it in for a long time, wanting to imitate the characters in melodramatic dramas and say something harsh to appear domineering, but in the end, she could only manage a polite remark that sounded like the one said by the first person to leave a dinner party.
Matsuda Jinpei: “…”
Momozawa Airi felt that a smile seemed to pass across Jinpei Matsuda's lips.
Momozawa Airi: "..."
She left angrily.
As a result, after wandering back to the hotel room, she opened the bowl of noodles and took a bite -
It’s definitely not as amazing as when dining in.
Become very mediocre.
Momozawa Airi: "..."
She remembered the ambiguous look in Matsuda Jinpei's eyes when they were leaving, and angrily took a mouthful of noodles.
So angry.
I get angry because I "can't figure out what I was angry about before."
I was angry because "after seeing Jinpei Matsuda, I found that I was not as angry as before."
...Anyway, I just feel unhappy, unhappy, unhappy.
After eating and drinking, Momozawa Airi continued to stay in her room watching idol dramas.
In the past, I usually felt complicated when watching this melodrama, but today I felt an inexplicable sense of joy.
She stared at the screen for a while.
My memory has long been stuck on the plot of half an hour ago. I didn't watch the rest of the show carefully. Instead, my mind was full of random thoughts.
Momozawa Airi naturally understood the police's beliefs and responsibilities.
In the past few days, she has been thinking over and over again about the countless possible developments of the incident.
But the moment she saw Matsuda Jinpei today, she instantly understood -
For the safety of the people, Jinpei Matsuda will still make the same choice.
“…He is a really good, very good police officer.”
Momozawa Airi stared at the window, muttering to herself.
After a while.
“…”
Momozawa Airi still couldn't help but have random thoughts in her mind.
As she thought about it, she rolled around on the bed in frustration.
Finally, she buried her head in the quilt and hummed incoherently.
“…Hmm.”
*
In the next few days, Momozawa Airi would run into Matsuda Jinpei almost everywhere she went.
...She even felt like she and Jinpei Matsuda were on vacation at the beach.
Even when you go to a coffee shop one after another to buy coffee, the owner will casually ask you, "Are you a couple? You are a perfect match."
Momozawa Airi: "..."
For example, when you go to the aquarium.
The dark hall was crowded with people.
Momozawa Airi is at the far left end of the exhibition hall.
She was surrounded by a bunch of high school students who were here on a school trip.
At some point, the noisy high school students dispersed and followed their teachers to the next exhibition hall in groups of three or four.
The exhibition hall suddenly became much emptier, as if she was the only one left.
Momozawa Airi breathed a sigh of relief and subconsciously looked up to the right.
As a result, I saw another person standing at the far right end of the exhibition hall.
Jinpei Matsuda.
Matsuda Jinpei looked down at the fish nonchalantly, then as if he noticed her gaze, he looked up at her.
His eyes looked even deeper under the dim blue light in the hall.
Momozawa Airi: "..."
Apart from anything else, this scene has an inexplicable sense of romance...
Empty exhibition hall.
Dim light.
Schools of fish swimming.
Two people looking at each other from afar.
Momozawa Airi pursed her lips, looked away as if nothing had happened, and turned to walk towards other exhibition halls.
Although the aquarium was a bit cold, she could still feel the other person's burning gaze.
——Stick to her impartially.
…
For example, when going fishing.
In the distance, sitting in the seat where Professor Agasa usually sits is Jinpei Matsuda, wearing sunglasses and holding a lollipop.
Momozawa Airi watched him casually lift his fishing rod and put the newly caught fish into the bucket.
One after another.
It wasn't long before his bucket was filled with fish.
Momozawa Airi: "..."
She glanced at her empty bucket, puzzled.
...Could it be that she chose a bad location?
Seeing that Matsuda Jinpei had caught another fish, Momozawa Airi could no longer sit still.
She even felt that the other party glanced at her empty bucket from a distance.
Like a provocation.
“…”
Momozawa Airi doesn't want to lose.
She gritted her teeth and slowly moved to a position a little closer to Matsuda Jinpei.
After a while, some fish slowly swam towards this side.
Momozawa Airi: "!!!"
She was a little excited and instinctively wanted to turn around and share her joy of successfully catching a fish with Jinpei Matsuda.
Just as her head tilted a little, Momozawa Airi realized it belatedly and stopped.
"..." She almost forgot that she was still in a unilateral cold war with Jinpei Matsuda.
Momozawa Airi slammed the brakes and turned her head back, staring at her fishing rod.
Just as she was about to put away her fishing rod, a sudden explosion sounded not far away.
Bang--
Momozawa Airi's face turned pale, and the hand holding the fishing rod trembled involuntarily.
Just when the fishing rod in her hand was about to fall, a strong hand tightly wrapped around her cold hand and held her fishing rod in this position.
Momozawa Airi's mind was in a mess. She couldn't hear the sounds coming from her head. It seemed that the whole world was filled with the sound of bang bang bang.
It was as if a warm coat was put on my shoulders.
"...It was a child's balloon that burst."
Jinpei Matsuda's voice sounded from behind her.
"Don't be afraid."
The warm hand held her cold hand tighter.
Momozawa Airi could almost feel Matsuda Jinpei's lightly calloused fingertips pressing on the corner of her palm.
“…It wasn’t an explosion.”
*
The fish I almost caught was scared away.
In the end, Momozawa Airi still failed to catch a single fish.
Before leaving the fishing pond, Momozawa Airi looked at the figure of an old lady not far away who gave all the fish to passersby. She thought for a moment and finally moved over slowly.
She handed over her neatly folded coat and said in a very cool tone, "...Thanks."
Matsuda Jinpei, who had just finished talking to the old lady, paused, turned around, and looked a little surprised.
He had taken off his sunglasses earlier, and he looked a little softer in the light of the setting sun.
"You'd better put it on." Matsuda Jinpei didn't take the coat. "It'll be cold on the way back."
"..." Momozawa Airi stubbornly stretched out her arms, maintaining her amnesiac persona, "I don't want a stranger's clothes when I lose my memory."
Matsuda Jinpei: “…”
Momozawa Airi looked at Matsuda Jinpei, whose expression did not change significantly, but she inexplicably felt that the other person's temperament had changed slightly in an instant.
She suddenly thought of her grandmother's description - listless.
Momozawa Airi shuddered and thought her thoughts were strange.
“…”
According to the previous Matsuda Jinpei, he would probably raise his eyebrows and make fun of her about amnesia in a cheeky tone.
But at this time, Jinpei Matsuda did not do so.
It seems like there is a little bit of self-blame.
Momozawa Airi blinked, remembering how the other person had suddenly appeared behind her with a pale face, holding a fishing rod, as if by teleportation.
There really wasn't an explosion—Momozawa Airi muttered to herself.
“…”
People always have to look forward.
Apart from anything else, at least Jinpei Matsuda was standing in front of her now, instead of disappearing.
He is still alive.
And the time between them should not be wasted in complaining and regretting the past.
Momozawa Airi pursed her lips and suddenly threw her coat at Matsuda Jinpei with a snap.
"?"
A look of surprise crossed Jinpei Matsuda's face, but his body's instinctive training allowed him to reach out and catch it steadily.
“…I’m going to the beach for a barbecue now.”
A gust of cold wind blew by, and Momozawa Airi forced herself to suppress her shivering instinct, putting her hands on her hips in a pretentious manner.
“I want to try a little of everything, but I can’t finish it all by myself.”
Momozawa Airi's tone revealed a feigned indifference.
After saying that, she pursed her lips, glared at Matsuda Jinpei with a look that said, "I just said it casually and see how you understand it. Anyway, the final right of interpretation is mine, hehe," and walked out.
Matsuda Jinpei paused, stretched out his long legs, and easily caught up with her.
"...Stranger, don't put your arm around my shoulders."
“…”
"Don't put your arms around my waist either!"
"hiss--"
"Heh, the flesh on your face is quite soft. It seems that you have been living well these days."
“…”
*
There are not many people at the beach in autumn and winter. Apart from a large group of customers next to the popular barbecue stall and a group of people playing beach volleyball in the distance at night, other places are basically empty.
After finishing the last skewer, Momozawa Airi squatted on the beach and built a sand castle.
As the piles grew, huge waves could be heard crashing against the shore in the distance, making a splashing sound.
Momozawa Airi supported her chin with her hand and looked at the endless sea not far away.
This period of time... is like a vacation.
She listened silently to the sounds of the sea.
Listening to the customers chatting at the barbecue stall.
Listen to the sound of the volleyball hitting the beach.
Momozawa Airi looked at Jinpei Matsuda, who was squatting beside him and building another sand castle, and remembered that he almost couldn't appear here.
“…”
I got angry just thinking about it.
Momozawa Airi suddenly stretched out her gravel-covered hand and tried to poke Matsuda Jinpei's face.
Jinpei Matsuda keenly sensed the sneak attack from the person beside him and subconsciously dodged.
Momozawa Airi's attempt was in vain, and she was still trying to use some prank to make Matsuda Jinpei go back and wash his face properly, when she suddenly heard an urgent scream from a distance.
She turned her head sharply and saw a volleyball flying towards her.
Momozawa Airi shuddered and instinctively reached out to push Matsuda Jinpei away to avoid the volleyball.
——However, Jinpei Matsuda also thought so.
But what he wanted was to pull her into his arms and protect her.
Pah.
Pah.
Both Momozawa Airi and Matsuda Jinpei were unable to squat steadily.
They fell onto the beach in perfect sync.
Momozawa Airi: "..."
Matsuda Jinpei: “…”
[…A lot of sand.]
The volleyball flew far over them.
Momozawa Airi lay on Matsuda Jinpei's body and felt that he seemed to be covered with a lot of sand.
Momozawa Airi: "..."
It was an accidental success.
Just as she was about to get up as if nothing had happened, she suddenly felt that everything around her had become quiet.
The sounds of the barbecue stalls, the waves, the sounds of playing - all disappeared.
Pressing against Matsuda Jinpei's chest, which rose and fell steadily with his breathing, Momozawa Airi felt as if the only sound in her ears was the strong beating of his heart.
Boom.
Boom.
Boom.
…
Jinpei Matsuda felt that the person lying on top of him seemed to sniffle.
My body is shaking a little.
Matsuda Jinping sat up, but Momozawa Airi still leaned against him, burying her face in his chest.
“…”
Jinpei Matsuda inexplicably thought of the headbutt after pretending to cry.
And Momozawa Airi, who was obviously still angry, looked like she would hit him again at any time.
There was sand on the ends of Momozawa Airi's hair. Matsuda Jinpei paused, raised his hand as if nothing had happened, and was about to help her brush it off when he suddenly heard a faint cry.
At the same time, Momozawa Airi's tears finally completely soaked the fabric on his chest.
"You...are still alive...so good...wuwu...I'm so scared..."
Momozawa Airi's voice was a little intermittent.
"You really...scared me to death before...no...you pissed me off to death..."
She spoke a lot of nonsense without any beginning or end.
Fear, worry, anxiety, anger.
"I was so angry that I almost broke up with you... No, no, no, I was just saying it casually, don't listen..."
He pounded Matsuda Jinpei's body with his hands randomly, then put them down after a while and started to tightly pinch the corner of his clothes.
…
Feeling the trembling in his chest, Matsuda Jinpei was stunned.
After a while, he raised his hand and did what he had wanted to do when he got off the Ferris wheel.
Hugging Momozawa Airi tightly.
He held the back of her head with one hand and put his other arm around her waist, pressing her whole body against him.
"I'm going to wipe all my tears on your clothes." Momozawa Airi's muffled voice came from his chest.
"……good."
Jinpei Matsuda's voice at this moment was no longer as calm and composed as usual, as if he was suppressing some emotion.
He listened to the crying in front of him, and for a moment he felt his heart being pulled.
A huge wave arose not far away.
While crying, Momozawa Airi suddenly thought of a question.
"...So how many people saw me crying like a dog while holding you in front of the hospital last time? I'm just asking casually...how many people were there?"
She pretended to be calm and asked in a nonchalant tone.
Matsuda Jinpei lowered his eyes to look at her, and after a while, he slowly raised his eyebrows.
Momozawa Airi pursed her lips, expecting to hear answers like "Actually, there aren't many people" or "No one saw it."
Then he heard Jinpei Matsuda cruelly announce the truth: "A lot."
Momozawa Airi: "..."
Momozawa Airi wanted to cry even more.
*
The emotions that Airi Momozawa had been suppressing finally erupted tonight.
She cried until she was almost exhausted, and finally she was just sobbing softly, her voice getting weaker and weaker.
“…”
I felt much better after crying.
Momozawa Airi wiped all her tears on Matsuda Jinpei's clothes with a clear conscience.
She remembered that the dress was quite expensive.
Jinpei Matsuda took her back to the hotel.
Momozawa Airi kept her head down silently the entire time.
…It’s so embarrassing to cry like that in front of him.
She remembered how Jinpei Matsuda looked just now——
He used all the gentle words he had learned throughout his life to coax her awkwardly, and told her in a slightly awkward and unnatural tone how much he missed her during this period.
“…”
Anyway, he is completely unlike the usual Jinpei Matsuda.
More than half a month had passed, and Momozawa Airi had reluctantly decided not to continue being angry with her boyfriend.
…But she didn’t plan to tell Jinpei Matsuda =v=, so she let him guess for a while.
Momozawa Airi: ouo
Take this opportunity to let him coax her more, hehe.
It was really interesting to see Officer Matsuda, who usually has a rebellious and evil face, soften his voice unnaturally to comfort people.
“…”
Momozawa Airi pinched her fingers in confusion and glanced at the time.
It's very late.
She and Jinpei Matsuda looked like disheveled underwater people who had just crawled out of the sea.
There was sand and gravel on his body and hair.
Her eyes were red and Jinpei Matsuda's chest was wet.
"..." Momozawa Airi took out the room card from her pocket, paused, and said in a low voice, "...Do you live far from here?"
Although she had stopped crying for a long time, her voice still had a tearful tone and sounded soft.
Matsuda Jinpei blinked slowly and said calmly, "...It's indeed some distance away."
Momozawa Airi let out an "oh" and subconsciously pinched the housing card with her fingers.
It's so late, and I've been feeling the cold sea breeze for so long. If I don't take a shower quickly...
"...Would you like to take a hot bath?" Momozawa Airi said quickly, "I have a first aid kit...Your hand was just cut by a rock on the beach, right?"
She slowly raised her hand, intending to move the room card to the sensing area.
Matsuda Jinpei's eyes moved slightly, and he replied very naturally: "Okay."
He casually raised the hand that was scratched by the stone and straightened his hair that had just been messed up by Momozawa Airi.
“…”
Momozawa Airi pursed her lips and moved the room card to the sensing area.
With a click, the lock opened.
Momozawa Airi put her hand on the door handle and was about to open the door when the store manager, holding a teacup, happened to pass by in the corridor and was about to take the elevator back to the lobby.
Momozawa Airi was completely shrouded in the shadow in front of Matsuda Jinpei, blocking her completely.
The store manager, who was old and had poor eyesight, didn't see her because she was blocked by the window. He could only make out her tall and graceful figure. "Hey, isn't this the new guest? Matsuda-kun!"
He smiled and waved at Jinpei Matsuda, pointing to the room next to Airi Momozawa's room.
"Are you used to living here these days? There are floor-to-ceiling windows with sea views, and you can even see the most beautiful night view of our Iwatobi."
The store manager stroked his beard and nodded with satisfaction. "The room is fully equipped with medical and entertainment equipment. It has everything. Mr. Matsuda really has good taste. He booked the best room we have."
Momozawa Airi silently glanced at the room next to her and snorted with an ambiguous tone.
There is indeed a distance :)
Matsuda Jinpei: “…”
The store manager chatted casually for a few minutes and then took the elevator downstairs.
Only Momozawa Airi and Matsuda Jinpei were left in silence.
And an unlocked door.
Momozawa Airi: "..."
Matsuda Jinpei: “…”
Bang.
Only Jinpei Matsuda was left.
And a locked door.
Matsuda Jinpei: “…”
He gritted his teeth, and before he could find his room card from his pocket, the door that had just closed opened again.
Matsuda Jinpei paused and looked over with a hint of expectation in his eyes.
Click.
Bang.
Only Jinpei Matsuda was left.
And a locked door.
A first aid kit is also provided.
There was a note stuck to it.
[Although you definitely have it in your room, I'll give it to you anyway.]
Matsuda Jinpei: “…”
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