"Welcome aboard the final train of this number 108 service. This train will be your last journey."

"Final... Um, the customer service really can't speak properly, huh?"

I felt a bit annoyed by these words, and then I found an empty seat in an empty carriage.

Unconsciously, I started yawning. These past few days have been exhausting... I guess I'm just too tired.

Although I seem to have put Yukari's matter behind me, I can't forget about it in reality!

Since then, she hardly pays any attention to me.

Whether it's coming back home after school or waking up to go to school, there's always warm food on the table. It's like perfect timing, she would have breakfast earlier to go to school and have dinner in her room.

She always uses actions as an excuse to brush me off, just like... just like...

"Half a year ago, we were like this too."

Every time I pass by Yukari's room, I deliberately lower my head and use my bangs to cover my face.

Why, why?

I stomped on the ground with my feet, feeling a heavy and depressed mood.

"Is it because you hate me so much?"

So, with my eyes closed, I fell into a daze...

Ding dong... Ding dong!

Drops of water fell onto the metal plate, making a crisp sound.

Inside the train, from the floor to the seats, there are bloodstains everywhere!

The sky outside the window is also dyed red like it's been painted with blood, it's like a nightmare!

I panicked for a moment because the painful colors were everywhere. In the nearby carriage, there were occasional sounds of metal scraping against the ground, which horrified me.

"Where... Where is this? Why am I here?"

I woke up abruptly from the dream, and the red outside the window instantly turned into dusk.

"Thank you, the children these days are really understanding..."

Just as I left my seat, the old lady in front of me praised me gratefully, and then sat down in the place where I had fallen asleep.

"Huh... Huh?!!"

The train sped forward, and the deafening roar and the noise of the crowd drowned out my hearing. It made me feel frustrated and complained incessantly.

"This is such a terrible day, I wish it would be over soon!"

"We have arrived in Akita... The train doors are closing. Please be careful when alighting!"

"Hey, wait a minute...!"

Under the warm reminder of the train system's voice, I struggled to squeeze out of the crowded train and only then did I notice.

Although the train was crowded, surprisingly few people got off at this station.

There was only one ticket inspector yawning at the ticket gate.

"Is this it... Yu Nai's house?"

After putting my ticket into the ticket box, I left the crowded subway station and followed the note Yu Nai gave me to find a vegetable and fruit garden.

A short-haired boy with a pale face walked alone in the deserted fields, while gagging.

"Gag... My head feels so dizzy. By the way, where is this fruit and vegetable garden...?"

I looked at the map...

On a blank sheet of paper, there was a drawing of a locomotive (which looked like a shark's head), and besides that, there were winding and convoluted lines, drawn with a pencil!

"What the heck, is this map meant for humans to read?!"

Now I finally understand why Yu Nai was so shy that day, it was all because of this hand-drawn map...

I almost tore up the only life-saving straw that served as my sole guide, out of frustration.

After calming down, I once again picked up the devilish hand-drawn map and examined it closely.

"Sigh, none of these roads here look familiar at all."

The section where three paths were indicated on the pencil-drawn map surprisingly only had two!

"Could it be that I took the wrong route or did that Yu Nai guy cut corners?" I sighed.

Helplessly, I realized that I couldn't rely solely on this unreliable map.

I looked into the distance: the left road led to the lakeside, while the right one led to a small grove.

As for the middle road, it led to a large greenhouse at the far end, where an abundance of red and blue fruits grew. If what Yu Nai said was true, then the middle road was the correct one.

I am Tsubaki Juxi, a seventeen-year-old high school student who is still underage.

I came all the way to this unfamiliar wilderness after traveling on a train for an hour, upon the request of the chairman.

Although there was no one around, the air in the wilderness was surprisingly fresh.

I spread my arms, attempting to embrace this green and snow-white intertwined field, and couldn't help but marvel at its beauty.

"Hey! Perhaps living here is more relaxing than in the city...?"

"Hehehe... Relaxing? Young man, you will still be poor if you don't work!"

An ordinary old man dressed in a gray cotton jacket suddenly jumped out of the bushes!

He was holding an empty bag in his hand, filled with mostly cans and plastic bottles.

"Ah, some foreigners came a few days ago, saying they wanted to visit the greenhouse, but... sigh, they just left trash everywhere!"

As he spoke, the old man seemed angry, but there was also a hint of resignation in his expression.

"Well, it's not easy being alone, right?"

"That's right, but my granddaughter is busy with school, and my children are busy with work. I can't just sit idle, you know."

He then attempted to lift the pile of empty drink bottles in his hand...

"Uh... let me help you, grandpa!"

I offered to carry the nearly one-person-sized bag for him, and it was indeed heavy!

Besides plastic bottles, there were also aluminum cans inside, which explained the weight.

"Hehe, young people are really good, unlike this old man... sigh, I'm really not doing well!"

The old man pounded his back, clearly feeling some pain, but he had a smile on his face.

He seemed happy to see me, two people braving the cold weather - one aging each year, the other still young and vigorous.

Throughout our journey, the old man's chatter was like an endless pit, never running out of things to say.

I could only respond with agreement.

"...time really flies, huh?"

"Yes."

"In the blink of an eye, Tsubaki's son has grown so big."

"Yes... eh? What did you say?"

"You don't remember me... well, that's normal!"

"Grandpa, no, what are you actually saying?"

"It's nothing, just destined to be forgotten, felt a bit regretful."

The old man clicked his tongue, looked at me with a tinge of regret, then continued to lead the way ahead, snatching the map from my hand and drawing a new one with his brush.

I can't believe it, this old man even knows calligraphy. He really is a person who loves art and culture, just like my dad!

He just glanced at that map with the dragon and phoenix flying, and then in less than three minutes, he drew a whole exquisite, extra large map!

"Here you go!"

The old man smiled and graciously handed the map to me, instructing, "Young man, follow this street, turn right, cross a wooden bridge, and then walk through an orchard. You'll arrive there."

The old man's instructions were very detailed, and I had no choice but to put the childish hand-drawn map in my pocket.

I felt a sense of shame for some reason, because the map I received from Yu Nai was so different from the one I had now!

But I couldn't bring myself to ask for it, so I politely declined, "How can I accept this...?"

"Haha, how can I not offer some reward to someone who has worked hard? See you tonight."

Unable to express my gratitude to the old man, and seeing that it was already dusk, I would end up spending the night in the wilderness if I couldn't find the place.

The old man waved to me and then disappeared into his greenhouse.

Looking at his figure, all I could do was marvel, "There are so many extraordinary people in this world."

Following the lines the old man had drawn on the map, I indeed found the location of the bridge!

"Huh? How did he know where I was going?"

Quickly, I took out another map from my pocket, which had no markings indicating the destination. But how did he know that I was going there!

Looking at the detailed instructions on the map, I was perplexed.

By the way, Yu Nai's dad is apparently from a very wealthy old family, so their house should be as magnificent as a palace...

"Oh well, it must be here, right?"

After crossing the bridge, I saw the enormous building not far away.

A ten-story loft, plus numerous small courtyards.

The architecture had a style from the late 70s to early 80s, in total, it looked quite elegant.

Not as extravagant as I had imagined, but it had a lot of depth and a massive scale!

In front of the main gate, a middle-aged man in a blue robe was already waiting. Behind him, there were two people dressed like hackers on his left and right.

"I am Yu Nai's father, Xinlan Juyi. You must be Xinwu's son, Tsubaki Jiushi."

"Um...yes, I am Tsubaki Jiushi, son of Tsubaki Xinwu."

"Tsubaki Jiushi, huh...what a good name. I must say, Xinwu is really good at naming."

We had only exchanged a few words, and the chairman started talking about my father.

He even remembered when they got married...

"At that time, I told Xinwu, why don't you give my daughter a name too?"

I almost burst out laughing... wasn't that too childish? Who lets others name their own children?!

All I could do was smile foolishly, trying to find a way to change the subject.

"Wow, there's even such a retro-style courtyard!"

I had to make do with what was at hand, after all, Yu Nai's family's courtyard was really beautiful.

In addition to the intersecting corridors, there was also a shimmering pond in the yard.

Although the flat soil was not adorned, the weeds were neatly cleared, and the only growing plant was the bare cherry blossom tree by the lake, with small grass growing in the crevices of the stones around the lake.

Yu Nai's father seemed to sense my curiosity, so he explained, "These are all symbols of Yu Nai's mother. Since she passed away, no one has dared to touch anything here."

"Passed away...?" I was taken aback by this answer.

Mr. Ju Yi seemed to realize his slip of the tongue and hurriedly added with a slightly pale face, "Ahem, by 'passed away,' I mean she went back to her home country, not anything else."

"Uh, no... I absolutely didn't mean that!"