Chapter 81 Chapter 81 IF Line: Childhood Sweethearts (1)…
Momozawa Airi met the curly-haired boy during a spring outing.
He was wearing the uniform of another school and standing in front of the fast food restaurant, seemingly waiting for someone.
Only her back was left.
A very conspicuous back view.
Momozawa Airi looked at the piece of paper stuck on the schoolbag behind the curly-haired boy from a distance.
There was a line of crooked watercolor pen writing on it.
The murderer's child
Not far away, several little boys stared at the back of the curly-haired boy and laughed softly.
They were wearing the same school uniform as the curly-haired boy.
Momozawa Airi understood.
They probably put it there.
…
"Airi? Airi?"
After buying the ice cream, the classmate gestured to her to go back to the meeting point together.
Momozawa Airi was staring at the curly-haired boy, and only came to her senses after her classmates called his name several times.
"Oh, sorry, I have something to do."
Momozawa Airi clasped her hands together and smiled apologetically.
"You go back first."
The classmate glanced at her, said nothing, curled his lips in dissatisfaction, and shouted in the other direction: "Hey, let's go back together."
…
Momozawa Airi calmly approached the curly-haired boy and reached out stealthily, trying to tear off the paper.
She wanted to quietly destroy the evidence without being discovered by the other party, but the paper seemed to be stuck on with glue and was a bit difficult to tear off.
The curly-haired boy was very alert and turned his head sharply almost the moment she extended her hand.
"…What are you going to do?"
A pair of blue eyes were full of defensiveness.
The moment he opened his mouth, Momozawa Airi subconsciously moved forward, trying to block his sight.
She couldn't think of any excuses at the moment, so she just made up something: "...Look at me! Just look at me!"
Momozawa Airi placed one hand on his shoulder and stared at him with great sincerity.
"?"
The curly-haired boy was caught off guard and didn't anticipate her action, staring at her in a daze.
The movement of moving closer brought up a faint smell of peach ice cream - Momozawa Airi had just finished eating one.
“…Don’t look anywhere else!”
Airi Momozawa took the opportunity to scratch the schoolbag hard with her nails that were already pressed against it.
Hiss.
The sound of tearing paper was just drowned out by the sound of her speaking.
Momozawa Airi tore off the entire piece of paper, quickly hid it behind her back, and took a step back to distance themselves from each other.
"……hey-hey."
Facing the curly-haired boy's gaze that went from dazed to suspicious, Momozawa Airi didn't know what to say and could only smile foolishly.
Very friendly.
The area was crowded with primary school students on their spring outing.
She didn't expect the other party to be so sharp in noticing her, and she wanted to sneakily tear the paper and leave.
Momozawa Airi: "..."
She scratched her head awkwardly.
Anyone would find it strange to suddenly approach someone and ask them to look at you...
Momozawa Airi puffed out her cheeks, feeling that the current situation was a bit awkward.
The curly-haired boy had a Band-Aid on his face and his hair was a little messy, as if he had just gotten off a roller coaster.
He was very handsome, and at this moment he looked like an alert and fierce dog, with his lips pressed into a straight line and the wariness in his eyes still there.
Momozawa Airi blinked, and with her hands behind her back, she slowly rolled the paper into a small ball and clenched it tightly in her palms.
She's probably already made up a whole backstory in her head.
After staring at each other for a while, Momozawa Airi stared at the curly-haired boy and instinctively wanted to make his spring outing to the amusement park a little happier.
It’s better not to let him know about this troublesome matter.
Judging from the way the boys were laughing, this probably wasn't the first time.
Momozawa Airi swallowed the words that were about to come out of her mouth, "I tore off a piece of something not very good for you," and changed the subject.
"...I, I want to get to know you."
Many girls in the class would usually get together to discuss girls' comics and TV dramas, and Momozawa Airi would follow suit and borrow various famous lines from them.
"Make...make friends?" She said, then lowered her eyes and muttered to herself, "...Does this count as a flirt?"
The curly-haired boy's expression gradually became a little complicated.
Momozawa Airi tilted her head and thought for a moment before delivering her final blow: "You look really good in this uniform, and the Band-Aid looks cool too."
To add credibility, she nodded very sincerely and shook her thumbs up.
"Like the hero in the shojo manga I read yesterday."
“…”
The curly-haired boy's expression froze for a moment, then became a little unnatural.
His cheeks were tinged with a light blush.
The defensive atmosphere that had just permeated his surroundings suddenly seemed to be blown away by a strong wind, leaving only a faint trace of awkwardness.
As Momozawa Airi spoke, her tone became more and more natural.
She completely forgot her original purpose and began to make friends skillfully: "I'm Momozawa Airi, from xx Elementary School."
Momozawa Airi held the paper ball in her other hand and extended a hand towards the curly-haired boy.
"...Jinpei Matsuda."
The curly-haired boy's tone sounded a little dry.
He told her the name of the school and, somewhat awkwardly, extended his hand to shake hers.
Even though they haven't fully grown yet, Matsuda Jinpei's fingers are still relatively slender.
Momozawa Airi felt Matsuda Jinpei gently holding her hand.
She shook hands back earnestly, her fingertips just pinching Matsuda Jinpei's warm and soft palm.
"Matsu, field, formation, flat."
Momozawa Airi repeated his name word by word, her tone somewhat meaningful.
Sensing Matsuda Jinpei's inquiring gaze, Momozawa Airi paused, quickly recalling the pleasantries of adults she had seen before, and feigned a profound imitation: "Nice name, nice name."
Matsuda Jinpei: “…”
Momozawa Airi nodded calmly while recalling the past in her mind.
There seemed to be a news report about a "Matsuda" being mistakenly arrested some time ago.
...Should it be his father?
After saying a little bit of nonsense, Momozawa Airi didn't know what to say next.
She let go of her hand, scratched her head, and felt that it was about time for her to return to the meeting point.
"Bye, Matsuda."
Momozawa Airi adjusted the collar of her school uniform and smiled at Matsuda Jinpei.
She held the ball of paper and prepared to find a trash can to throw it away.
The little boys who caused the trouble were still there.
As she passed by them, someone said in a sarcastic tone, "Mind your own business."
Momozawa Airi stopped, turned her head, and said seriously, "How can you consider your friend's affairs as private business?"
"Friends?" They laughed as if they had heard some ridiculous joke. "Besides Hagiwara, who else wants to play with him now?"
“…”
Momozawa Airi originally just wanted to do a good deed.
Hearing this, she suddenly became a little angry.
She had read the news about the wrongful arrest and knew that Matsuda's father was completely wrongly accused.
And these little boys look so annoying.
There happened to be a boxing scorer nearby, and Airi Momozawa threw a punch with an expressionless face.
The little boys looked at the scores above in complete silence.
"And me."
Momozawa Airi turned her head and smiled.
"I'm his friend now too."
——Although I feel like we may never meet again.
Momozawa Airi sighed softly in her heart.
*
"Ahhh, I finally bought it—"
Kenji Hagiwara squeezed out of the fast food restaurant carrying two large bags of food and breathed a sigh of relief.
"I definitely won't lose in the next arm wrestling match. I'm going to make you, Xiao Zhenping, line up as well!"
——"My waiting time is the same as yours, except that my seat at the door is a little emptier."
This was what Hagiwara Kenji originally thought Matsuda Jinpei would say.
However, he waited for a long time, but Jinpei Matsuda did not respond to his suggestion.
Instead, he leaned against the door of the fast food restaurant with his head down, casually tossing coins up and down.
It looks like he is staring at his hands in a daze.
Hagiwara Kenji: "?"
He leaned over suspiciously: "What are you looking at?"
Matsuda Jinpei seemed to come to his senses suddenly. He caught the coin in a panic and stuffed his hand into his pocket: "...No."
He cleared his throat in an apparent attempt to hide his mistake and looked at the big bag in Hagiwara Kenji's hand. "You take half and I take half?"
Hagiwara Kenji nodded with a smile.
So they opened their backpacks and planned to stuff the bag in - each carrying half the weight.
When he took the schoolbag off his shoulder, Matsuda Jinpei's gaze suddenly froze.
There were traces of untorn paper on his schoolbag.
“…”
Kenji Hagiwara suddenly heard Jinpei Matsuda click his tongue.
Then he chuckled again.
Hagiwara Kenji: "?"
*
Momozawa Airi was diligently writing her spring outing diary at the cash register of a small supermarket.
Hungry and sleeping on the side.
Grandma: "Was the spring outing fun?"
Momozawa Airi nodded: "It's fun, fun."
The fun spring outing is over, and the not-so-fun school time has begun again.
Momozawa Airi felt a little regretful for a while about the new friend whom she had only met once.
It would be great if we were from the same school so we could play together.
There was no contact information left at that time.
...After all, she is an elementary school student without a mobile phone qvq
But at least she helped him find some space among those annoying guys, hehe.
I guess that group of people won’t post notes again recently.
Momozawa Airi is still the same as before, studying hard in class and rushing home after school every day to help her grandmother run the store.
After all, she is just a heartless elementary school student =v=.
One day, it was her turn to be on duty after school.
Momozawa Airi didn't run away when the bell rang as usual, but cleaned the classroom diligently.
After cleaning the classroom, it was already a while before school was over.
Momozawa Airi walked out of the school slowly with her schoolbag on her back, ready to go straight home.
Suddenly, she saw a familiar figure at the school gate.
curls.
A cocky expression.
A school uniform that was clearly different from hers.
This time there was no Band-Aid on his face.
"...Matsuda?" Momozawa Airi blinked in surprise. "Why are you here?"
The curly-haired figure paused, as if he had just noticed her, and slowly turned around.
Momozawa Airi walked over curiously and waved at him.
"Do you remember me? I'm Momozawa Airi."
She introduced herself very friendly.
"……Remember."
Jinpei Matsuda put his hands in his pockets, his expression still cool and arrogant.
Momozawa Airi: "What a coincidence! I can see you here. Our schools are so far away."
Matsuda Jinpei, who had been rushing here every day after school lately, nodded and muttered, "...What a coincidence."
Jinpei Matsuda awkwardly suggested exchanging contact information.
Momozawa Airi scratched her head: "I don't have a cell phone."
She thought for a moment and gave a number: "This is my home phone number."
When they were parting, Jinpei Matsuda suddenly took out something and stuffed it into her hand.
A cool touch.
Momozawa Airi took a closer look.
A peach-flavored ice cream.
“……?”
So Jinpei Matsuda has been holding this in his hand behind his back?
Just as Momozawa Airi was about to speak, Matsuda Jinpei quickly spoke up, "Thank you for what happened last time..."
Momozawa Airi: "..."
Oh no.
It was discovered anyway.
She thought about it and was about to pat Matsuda Jinpei's shoulder to comfort him when Matsuda Jinpei suddenly ran away.
He entered the tram station and disappeared in an instant.
Momozawa Airi: "..."
Her new friend is really elusive.
*
Ever since she gave her home phone number to Jinpei Matsuda, Momozawa Airi felt a little excited every time the phone rang.
Could it be a new friend calling her?
After receiving countless calls from her grandmother's friends, Momozawa Airi felt tired after being forced to greet a large number of grandparents many times.
One day, when the phone rang again, Momozawa Airi thought it must be someone looking for her grandmother, so she didn't rush to answer it as usual.
She heard her grandmother's slow voice: "Hmm? Looking for our Ai Li?"
Momozawa Airi: "!"
She happily bounced up to answer the phone.
It's Jinpei Matsuda.
Ask her in an awkward tone if she wants to go out together on the weekend.
Momozawa Airi: "Okay, okay."
Then she saw Jinpei Matsuda, a boy with purple eyes, and a beautiful girl who was older than them.
Hagiwara Kenji and Hagiwara Chisatsu.
Kenji Hagiwara is as good-looking as his sister and is also very handsome.
When she first met Kenji Hagiwara, Momozawa Airi sighed.
"Wow, he looks like the protagonist of a shojo manga."
A compliment for wholesale mass production.
Matsuda Jinpei gnashed his teeth: "..."
It was the season for flower viewing, and the four little kids, both young and old, had a picnic together and quickly became close friends.
"Huh? Lots of peach-flavored pudding." Hagiwara Kenji flipped through the picnic basket. "Why did you buy so much, Jinpei-chan?"
Matsuda Jinpei: “…”
He paused, a hint of awkwardness flashing across his face. Before he could open his mouth, he heard Momozawa Airi say in surprise, "I love this flavor!"
Matsuda Jinpei pursed his lips awkwardly, a little embarrassed to say that this was bought specially for her. When he was about to change the subject, he felt the index finger of his hand resting on the picnic blanket being gently pinched by Momozawa Airi.
Then, his index finger was grasped by a soft hand.
Press your palm against his fingertips.
Jinpei Matsuda was stunned.
It was as if a tiny electric current flowed through that index finger, giving it an indescribable sensation.
He happened to be sitting next to Momozawa Airi, and no one noticed this secret action hidden in the cherry blossom forest.
"Thank you."
Momozawa Airi turned her head and looked at him with a smile on her face.
"Matsuda."
Just then a gust of wind blew, and cherry blossoms flew all over the sky.
The flower-viewing tourists around exclaimed in amazement and took out their cameras to take pictures.
Momozawa Airi looked away, raised her head, and looked at the cherry blossoms in the sky.
“It’s really beautiful.”
A cherry blossom petal fell slowly and landed in her hair behind her ear.
Jinpei Matsuda tilted his head and looked at her in a daze.
After a while, he reached out and gently picked up the fallen flower.
It really looks good.
*
From then on, Momozawa Airi often played with Matsuda Jinpei and others on weekends.
Chisuga Hagiwara, who is older than them, has his own circle of friends most of the time, so it is basically Momozawa Airi, Matsuda Jinpei and Hagiwara Kenji who play together.
After all, we are not classmates, so we can’t stick together and play every day.
Momozawa Airi sometimes has things to do on weekends and can't come and play with us.
They didn't spend much time together - Jinpei Matsuda felt a little unhappy.
Kenji Hagiwara and he have been classmates since childhood, and he will definitely go to the same junior high school as him in the future.
And Jinpei Matsuda hopes to attend the same junior high school as Airi Momozawa.
One day when I was about to go to school.
"Hey, are we just the two of us today?"
Momozawa Airi looked around.
"Hagi and his family went out for a trip."
Jinpei Matsuda yawned lazily.
Momozawa Airi let out an "oh".
Jinpei Matsuda slowly deduced a hint of regret from Momozawa Airi's words.
“…”
Jinpei Matsuda felt inexplicably a little unhappy.
He gritted his teeth, tilted his head back and took a sip of soda.
Before his displeasure could escalate, Momozawa Airi suddenly took his hand and said righteously, "It's just the two of us. It's a bit like a date."
Matsuda Jinpei: “…”
He almost choked, but luckily he recovered in time.
Momozawa Airi just finished watching a new episode of Love Dokidoki yesterday, and her mind was filled with pink bubbles of love between the male and female protagonists.
I really want to simulate this feeling.
Momozawa Airi held Matsuda Jinpei's hand and happily suggested, "Since there are only two of us, why don't we go on a pretend date today... How about pretending to be a couple? Play house!"
“…”
Matsuda Jinpei paused, and his ears turned a little red.
Momozawa Airi was completely unaware and was still thinking to herself, "Then what should I call you..."
She quickly thought about the various girls' comics she had read before and tentatively asked, "...Dear? Baby? Zhen Ping?"
Jinpei Matsuda's face turned red from choking.
Momozawa Airi instantly got into character and patted him on the back very gently: "Oh, you are so careless."
Jinpei Matsuda choked even harder.
…
When he recovered, in order to prevent Momozawa Airi from making any more shocking remarks, Matsuda Jinpei quickly drank the rest of the Coke and threw the empty bottle into the trash can.
The choking caused some natural tears to overflow from the corners of his eyes. Just as Matsuda Jinpei was about to raise his hand to wipe them away, Momozawa Airi suddenly came close to him, took out a tissue and gently wiped them away.
"It's okay, this is our little secret."
She said sincerely.
"I won't tell anyone, Zhenping, you cried out of embarrassment because of the name I called out."
Matsuda Jinpei: “…………”
Matsuda Jinpei was furious: "…………I'm not crying out of embarrassment!!"
“…No!! I wasn’t crying at all!!”
Airi Momozawa said with an "I understand" expression: "It's okay."
Matsuda Jinpei: “…”
He gritted his teeth, paused, and tried to make the heat on his face dissipate faster: "Which junior high school are you planning to attend?"
Jinpei Matsuda decided to take a gradual approach.
He knew that Momozawa Airi was a very serious student, and he instantly listed several junior high schools with high admission rates in his mind.
...If you work hard, maybe we can become classmates.
Momozawa Airi tilted her head and replied mildly, "It's a girls' school!"
Matsuda Jinpei: “…”
Momozawa Airi added: "My grandmother used to go to that girls' school! It was full of cute girls!"
Matsuda Jinpei: “.”
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