The next day, early morning.
Kiyomi Liuli got up early, took a bath, and emerged white-skinned and fragrant. Dressed neatly and after having breakfast, she specifically checked the coins in her wallet, then hid behind the door to spy across the street, preparing to have a "chance encounter" with Nanahara Takeshi.
First, the "chance encounter," then they'd naturally take the train to school together and have a casual chat on the way; their relationship would naturally improve over time.
After a few days, they should become friends, and then she could invite him to join the "Deductive Reasoning Research Society" in the name of friendship; he surely would feel embarrassed to decline, and so she could turn him into Nanahara Watson.
Well, if necessary, she could even offer him a position as deputy leader; after all, they would be friends, so she couldn't be too stingy.
The plan was set, perfect!
With her mind made up, Kiyomi Liuli waited at the door for almost ten minutes before she saw the door diagonally across open, and Nanahara Takeshi came out lazily with a backpack and even yawned while covering his mouth.
This guy definitely stayed up last night, with poor self-discipline. He still had the nerve to complain, through Kota's words, about my late nights!
As an expert at staying up late, Kiyomi Liuli could tell at a glance that Nanahara Takeshi must have slept particularly late the previous night. She internally commented and slowly opened the door; by the time she got to the gate, Nanahara Takeshi should just have left his hedge surrounded yard. That would enable them to naturally greet each other and head to school together.
True to the title of "Higashitama Town Intelligence Support," everything happened just as she had expected. She easily met Nanahara Takeshi face-to-face across the street and greeted him as if by chance, "Morning, Nanahara."
Nanahara Takeshi glanced at her, then looked back at the door to the Kiyomi Family house and said with a smile, "What a coincidence, meeting right as I step out? Kiyomi, you weren't hiding behind the door waiting for me to come out, were you?"
Kiyomi Liuli frowned slightly and retorted, "Why would I hide behind the door waiting for you? I'm not sick!"
"Alright, you're healthy. Shall we go together then?"
"Since we've met... sure, let's go together."
The two walked to the train station together. After a few steps, just as Kiyomi Liuli was about to find a topic for small talk, a group of little radish heads wearing yellow hats approached from afar—the Town District Nursery didn't have a school bus because all the children lived nearby. And because the route was lined with familiar neighbors, there were no safety concerns, so the older kids would lead the younger ones from home to home on the way to the nursery.
The bunch of radish heads ranged from under three years old to just five years old. Spotting Kiyomi Liuli, the long-haired and fragrant "beloved sister of Higashitama Town" from a distance, seven or eight little girls cheerfully shouted "Liuli, Liuli" and came running towards her, like a brood of chicks escaping their coop.
Kiyomi Liuli also wore a smile on her face but deliberately called out loudly, "Call me sister!"
The little girls wouldn't listen to her and surrounded her, shouting, "Liuli, Liuli, lift me up, lift me up!"
Kiyomi Liuli didn't find it bothersome; she lifted each little girl high, tickling them till they giggled like hens. Soon, someone noticed Nanahara Takeshi, a new face, and one little girl timidly asked with her finger in her mouth, "Who are you? Are you Liuli's friend? I've never seen you before."
Nanahara Takeshi replied with a smile, "I'm a magician who just moved here."
"A magician?"
"Look." Nanahara Takeshi showed his empty palm, made a fist, opened it, and a 500 yen coin had appeared in his hand.
"Wow, that's amazing!" the little girl was astounded.
Nanahara Takeshi, grinning, extended his hand for the little girl to blow on his fist and then started flipping the coin into the air, catching one, two, three in quick succession into his other hand, which then disappeared as he flipped his hand over.
"Wow~~~~~" All the little girls were captivated and surrounded Nanahara Takeshi, chanting in unison, "Magician, magician!"
Kiyomi Liuli suddenly felt sidelined, watching Nanahara Takeshi laughing joyfully, a wave of sourness flooding her heart—showing off, deceiving kids with tricks, I could learn them too if I wanted!
Originally, she was the most popular person among the children in her neighborhood, and now she felt her status being challenged. Unable to restrain herself, she started shooing them away, "Alright, alright, stop watching, go to nursery, don't linger too long on the road or the teachers will worry."
Nanahara Takeshi needed to get to school as well, so he stopped his performance and cheerfully said, "I'll show you more next time."
Seeing there was no more show, the little girls complied and called out together, "You have to next time, Magician Big Brother!"
"Next time for sure!" Next time for sure was postpone until the mood struck him.
After responding, Nanahara watched the little girls catch up with their group and continue towards the nursery, then he resumed walking with a smile.
Seeing him in a good mood, Kiyomi Liuli couldn't help but ask, "Do you like kids?"
Nanahara was taken aback for a moment and then answered with a laugh, "Someone once said, the more people you know, the more you like dogs. I'm not that extreme, but after meeting more people, you do tend to like the innocence of children more."
Kiyomi didn't quite understand, but eager to foster the "great plan of friendship," she quickly looked for common ground and joyfully said, "I like children too."
She paused and then excitedly remembered something. "Since you like kids too, the next time the nursery has an event and needs volunteers, I'll call you as well, and we can go together!"
Events like Christmas parties or performances, she often volunteered at the nursery, so she was very familiar with the little girls there. Now that she discovered Nanahara Takeshi also liked children, she thought maybe she could pull him in next time to help—she had wanted to rehearse "Red Ogre and Blue Ogre" for the kids to watch but always fell short of actors; perhaps this guy could play the foolish Red Ogre.
"There's no need for that," Nanahara Takeshi flatly refused. Encountering kids on the street and performing a few simple magic tricks when in a good mood was one thing, but going specifically to a nursery to entertain the kids was another matter— he was not that idle.
Kiyomi Liuli's smile faded and she secretly pouted: she had overestimated this guy. He was so money-minded; even if he had a heart, it was probably not enough to fill a tablespoon.
But this casual chat was in line with her plan. She immediately asked, curious, "The magic trick you did just now looked quite good. Did you study it professionally?"
"I used to work as a magician," said Nanahara Takeshi.
"You were a magician?" Kiyomi Liuli was taken aback. "Where?"
"At a small circus." Nanahara Takeshi didn't want to delve into the topic and instead asked with a smile, "Do you want to learn? I can teach you."
"Really?" Kiyomi Liuli was indeed interested; seeing Nanahara Takeshi's technique was straightforward, effortless, and seemed quite skillful.
"Five thousand yen each, and I guarantee you'll learn it," he said.
Figures, I knew you would charge money...
Kiyomi Liuli inwardly pouted, too lazy to say anything more, as they reached the street corner while talking. Turning right and walking straight ahead would lead to the train station, but Nanahara Takeshi turned left instead.
"Where are you going?" Kiyomi Liuli asked curiously.
"To the convenience store."
"What are you doing at the convenience store?"
"Buying milk."
Kiyomi Liuli was even more puzzled. "Why buy milk on the way to school?"
"I'm taking it to drink at school."
"There's milk in the school vending machines..." Kiyomi Liuli said weakly.
"The school's milk doesn't taste good." Nanahara Takeshi had tried it yesterday; that milk was processed with preservatives, which he found uncomfortable to drink. With the "Emperor's Tongue," he had high standards for food and drinks, fresh was just the bare minimum.
Do you have some sort of issue?
Kiyomi Liuli could not comprehend his dilemma and had no choice but to follow him into the convenience store, watching with a stoic face as he picked out fresh milk. Luckily, Hokkaido's animal husbandry was well developed, and the outskirts of Hirarano were filled with pastures, so finding fresh milk was not difficult, and it didn't take much time.
She watched Nanahara Takeshi choose the milk, pour it into his insulated tumbler, and then went with him to the checkout to pay, all the while silently criticizing his fussiness.
"You don't have more?"
"I'm sorry, sir, we're out of ten-yen coins. Is it okay to use other coins?"
"Ugh, I only need the ten-yen coins..."
A conversation drew Kiyomi Liuli's attention. She looked up to see a thin, small man wearing a gray work uniform and carrying a shriveled backpack. He had bought a piece of chewing gum and was at the checkout, but when asking for change, he wanted as many ten-yen coins as possible—the cashier gave him all the ten-yen coins in the register, more than a dozen, but he was still not satisfied.
Kiyomi Liuli, with her warm heart, immediately offered, "Uncle, I have some ten-yen coins. How many do you need?"
The skinny man turned back and said, "As many as possible."
"Let me see…" Kiyomi Liuli had brought a lot of change today to repay Nanahara, counted it, and said, "I have nine."
"Please give them all to me, I'm really grateful, young lady." The man handed her a hundred-yen coin, indicating he wanted to exchange it for her nine coins, and sincerely thanked her.
After the exchange, the man left the convenience store. As he left, he thanked Kiyomi Liuli again, which made her feel very good—helping someone with a simple gesture felt nice.
When she turned her head, she saw Nanahara Takeshi had finished paying and was thoughtfully staring at the man's retreating figure. She couldn't help her curiosity, "What are you zoning out for? Shall we go?"
Touching his chin, Nanahara Takeshi asked, "Aren't you curious? What's that man going to do with so many ten-yen coins?"