A "thud" echoed in the bedroom, plunging it into dead silence.

The two looked at each other.

At some point, maybe three seconds later, they both burst out laughing.

"Look at what you did," Jiutiao Meijie playfully punched Dubian Che on the chest.

"Blame me? Lady Meijie, take a good look yourself." Dubian Che turned around, showing her the shattered Gravity Ball.

The previously pitch-black Gravity Ball turned transparent after shattering.

The blanket that knocked the Gravity Ball to the floor, once full of life, now looked like a fish left on the shore by the tide, half lifelessly hanging off the bed.

"If you had kept a better handle on your stuff, this wouldn't have happened," Jiutiao Meijie stubbornly refused to admit fault.

"Yes, yes, my fault."

Dubian Che gently placed her back on the bed, bending down to collect the glass shards—looking like glass, though he couldn't tell the material for sure.

"There's a piece over there, and another over there." Jiutiao Meijie lay on the edge of the bed, directing Dubian Che like a foreman, "Be careful, don't step on them and hurt your foot."

The Gravity Ball, worth 1000 points, hadn't even lasted one full session before becoming scrap.

After cleaning up the shards, they finished washing up and had a simple breakfast, heading to school together.

"This isn't over, I demand proper compensation," Dubian Che said on the bus.

"Compensation? How about this?" Jiutiao Meijie slipped her leg, clad in black tights, into Dubian Che's pant leg.

"Cut it out." Dubian Che unceremoniously removed her leg.

"Hmm?"

"'Hmm' won't work, do you know how precious that was?" Dubian Che said with a stern face.

"How precious?" Jiutiao Meijie asked.

"You have to wear a bunny girl outfit once."

After thinking it over, Dubian Che felt such compensation was too cheap for the Gravity Ball, so he added:

"I'm not wearing it, only you."

That seemed fair enough.

"Then rub my leg." Jiutiao Meijie rested her leg on Dubian Che's knee.

"The bunny girl thing?" Dubian Che asked while caressing her tights.

"Depends on my mood."

"I guarantee you'll be in a good mood these days, Meijie!"

Jiutiao Meijie sighed exaggeratedly, saying, "Just thinking about you going to Hokkaido with other women makes me unhappy, heartbroken."

Although I really want to see Jiutiao Meijie in a bunny girl outfit...

"Five of us are going together, and it's the first time taking them somewhere outside Tokyo..."

"These days," Jiutiao Meijie cut him off, "stay by my side obediently."

"No problem!" Dubian Che was already planning to do so.

In the two days before November 3rd, Jiutiao Meijie and he watched a documentary on the late October scenery in Hokkaido and ate a variety of seafood specially shipped from Hokkaido.

"I want you to be thinking of me constantly."

"I already am thinking of you all the time."

◇

On November 3rd, the five of them took off from Haneda Airport at 7:50 and landed at Hokkaido Hakodate Airport by 9:30.

"Remember to dress warmly," Xiaoquan Aonai reminded, "It's only 8 or 9 degrees outside."

"How warm is it in Tokyo?" Dubian Che asked curiously.

He was only wearing a baseball jacket without zipping it up—it was still the red and black one, bought by Jiutiao Meijie for them to wear together.

Because Jiutiao Meijie had several stores routinely send seasonal clothes, Dubian Che no longer had the habit of buying clothes for himself—they had too many.

"Nineteen degrees," Akiko casually replied.

In preparation for the three-day, two-night trip to Hakodate, they had done their homework and were indeed deserving teachers.

Hokkaido is very large, but this trip, they were only visiting Hakodate.

One reason was the short trip, only three days;

The other was the abundance of time—a lifetime, with only so many places on the Island Country, there's no need to rush around all at once.

Carefully observe, slowly play, enjoy life.

"Maybe we'll see the first snow," Xiaoquan Aonai said with anticipation.

She wore a black trench coat over a white turtleneck sweater, high-waisted jeans beneath it, and bright white sneakers, looking very attractive.

"It already snowed in Sapporo a few days ago," Miyuki Saeki swapped to winter clothing, which somehow made her chest appear even more impressive.

"I'm talking about Hakodate's first snow!" Xiaoquan Aonai emphasized.

After getting off the plane, the temperature was cold but the skies were bright, with a light blue sky and fluffy white clouds gathering at the distant horizon.

Everything in between was exceptionally bright, resembling a certain midsummer day.

It was a winter day perfect for a stroll.

"Hurry, hurry! The streetcar is coming!" Akiko ran ahead with her suitcase.

"We can catch the next one!" Miyuki Saeki disliked running.

"Dubian, Mayi!" Xiaoquan Aonai turned back with a bright smile, urging them to hurry.

Under the urging of Akiko and Xiaoquan Aonai, the five of them caught the next streetcar.

It was a streetcar running under the sunlight, small, with wooden flooring inside, and more than a hundred years of history.

The five sat in a row, sunlight streaming through the retro windows and shining onto their shoes.

On the streetcar were only two elderly people with white hair, sitting closest to the front of the car.

"Let's take a picture!" Akiko took out her phone.

Dubian Che signaled a peace sign with his right hand.

Mayi Asuka's delicate face leaned on his shoulder, giving the same peace sign with no expression.

Dubian Che switched to posing the peace sign with his left hand.

Xiaoquan Aonai had been leaning against Miyuki Saeki but was pushed away.

"You belong over there," Miyuki Saeki said.

Xiaoquan Aonai gave Miyuki a mock-angry look but was actually smiling, then leaned against Dubian Che.

She signaled a peace sign with her left hand.

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