Chapter 291: Iroha and Kotomi Have Become a Hot Couple
Hokkaido.
After attending her relative's wedding, it was already afternoon. Though the cheesy baked lobster at the wedding banquet was delicious, Megumi Kato didn't enjoy it much. Since yesterday, after getting off the plane, her mind had been completely occupied with Kotomi.
Even though she was in Hokkaido right now, her thoughts had already drifted back to Chiba City.
"Ah... Tomorrow morning I can take a flight back, but the rest of today feels so agonizing."
Megumi rolled around on the bed in her hotel room. She had originally planned to play with her phone to pass the time, but once she picked it up, she didn't know what to do with it, making it feel boring.
As for the hot spring, she had already soaked in it yesterday, and since she wasn't the type to truly enjoy the atmosphere of a hot spring, after a few tries, it lost its novelty.
In short, less than two days after leaving Kotomi, Megumi felt completely drained, as though she had lost all her energy. Since returning from the wedding banquet, she had been lying in bed, feeling like a dried-out salted fish.
"Uh, this really sucks..." Megumi groaned, rolling around on the bed.
"I just want to go home and see Kotomi soon. I want to graduate from high school as fast as possible, then figure out a way to live with Kotomi. It'd be great if we could go to the same college. I just want to bury myself in Kotomi's thighs and suck forever."
"I want to make Kotomi wear the wrong panties every day..."
Fortunately, the hotel only had single and double rooms. After Megumi's parents checked into the double room, Megumi was left in a single room, as her parents apparently believed that "real love is for the parents, children are just an accident." But Megumi didn't mind. She was actually relieved to have the room to herself.
After all, if she had to stay with her mom, given her mother's Showa-era, "ideal Japanese housewife" personality, she'd definitely be scolded for rolling around on the bed like this.
Moreover...
Megumi got up from the bed and walked to the bathroom. Looking at herself in the mirror, she couldn't help but give a shy smile. She had some serious dark circles under her eyes.
Normally, she didn't have a habit of staying up late, but after seeing the video Kotomi had sent her, Megumi couldn't resist watching it. She ended up watching Kotomi's video six times, staying up so late that she vaguely remembered falling asleep at around 2 AM.
Her mom had woken her up at 8 AM to do her makeup, change into her dress, and get ready for the wedding banquet.
It was safe to say that she was severely sleep-deprived.
But if she napped now, she'd have trouble falling asleep later tonight.
If she stayed up too late tonight, she might even miss the flight back to Chiba City tomorrow morning.
Megumi splashed her face with cold water, then patted her cheeks. "Alright! The wedding's over. The rest of the afternoon is free time, so I'll go out, buy some delicious food for Kotomi, and get souvenirs for Aimi and the others."
After leaving her room, grabbing the room key and her phone, Megumi quietly left the hot spring hotel.
Although it was still the end of September, the streets of Hokkaido already had a noticeable chill in the air. According to the weather forecast, this year's winter was expected to come earlier than usual.
Still, the bride at the wedding was wearing a strapless wedding dress.
"Looks like when Kotomi and I get married, we'll choose a spring or summer wedding. I don't really mind, but I don't want Kotomi to catch a cold." Megumi muttered to herself, thankful she wore a cotton jacket before leaving.
When she breathed, she could even see the mist of her breath in the air.
"The weather's a bit exaggerated, huh?" Megumi shrugged and quickened her pace toward a department store.
Before leaving, she had asked the hotel owner about the place, and she learned that the department store had a specialty shop for "Shiroi Koibito", a famous Hokkaido treat. Many tourists stop by to buy local souvenirs for their friends and family before they leave.
True to its reputation as a store that features "Shiroi Koibito" as a specialty, as soon as Megumi entered, she didn't even need to ask anyone. She immediately saw a large sign for "Shiroi Koibito" not far from the entrance. Following the directions on the sign, she headed to the second floor of the department store.
"Hello, miss. Can I help you with anything?"
When the staff saw a customer, a young female attendant quickly walked up with a standard professional service smile.
"I'd like to buy a box of Shiroi Koibito chocolate biscuits."
"May I ask which size you'd prefer? Currently, there are 10 different varieties of chocolate biscuits available in the store. The most popular ones are the white chocolate, dark chocolate, and mixed chocolate varieties. There's also a new release this year, the Snowman white chocolate and Snowman milk chocolate."
The sales assistant led Megumi to the counter, introducing each type of chocolate biscuit and its packaging.
Each variety of chocolate biscuit was packaged in an exquisite snow-white box, and the classic color scheme meant that even without the product name, people would immediately recognize it as Shiroi Koibito.
"The most popular flavors of Shiroi Koibito are the two main chocolates: the rich, milky flavor of the white chocolate with its smooth filling, which is silky and delicate, leaving a lingering creamy taste after one bite. Then there's the silky cocoa dark chocolate, which, compared to regular dark chocolate, is much milder and not overwhelming. It melts in your mouth. Many guys like to buy this dark chocolate flavor to give to their girlfriends on Valentine's Day."
After hearing the sales assistant's introduction, Megumi nodded with a spoiled smile at the corner of her mouth, "It's a pity my girlfriend doesn't like dark chocolate."
"In that case, the white chocolate would be a better choice... ah?"
The sales assistant was suddenly caught off guard, looking at Megumi in confusion.
Did I hear that wrong? The sales assistant stood there, turning into a bewildered fruit.
Megumi looked at all the different packaging options again before speaking up, "Excuse me, can I buy one of each type of chocolate? These boxes don't seem to contain many biscuits, and my girlfriend has a big appetite."
"Ah... ah... ah! Yes, yes! Every year, Shiroi Koibito releases a new limited edition box at New Chitose Airport. It contains mixed chocolate-filled biscuits, covering all the flavors that Shiroi Koibito has released so far. There are 70 pieces in total. Your girlfriend should be very satisfied with it," the sales assistant said with a light laugh.
"Do you have the Snowman chocolates? My Kotomi loves cute-shaped sweets like that."
"Of course, we do! Yes, yes!" The sales assistant nodded eagerly.
Just by looking at the indulgent smile on Megumi's face when mentioning her girlfriend, the sales assistant had already mentally created a million-word sweet romance novel in her head. The smile on her face couldn't be contained, and a knowing "auntie smile" emerged.
– The girl Megumi referred to as Kotomi must be the happiest girl in the world.
"Alright, I'll take the 70-piece limited edition box. How much is it?"
"One box costs 8,651 yen."
"I'll take one New Chitose Airport limited edition box, and then four Snowman chocolate biscuit gift boxes."
Megumi didn't just buy for Kotomi; she also bought for Yukino, Yui, Mashiro, and Seiko. After all, these four were good classmates she got along with.
Speaking of Mashiro... Last time, when Kotomi and Megumi kissed in the art club, it seemed like Mashiro accidentally saw them.
"Okay!"
After paying 17,302 yen with her phone, Megumi picked up the packed Shiroi Koibito limited edition box and headed toward the craft store to buy a souvenir for Aimi.
Although Megumi had originally planned to buy Aimi's souvenir at the hat shop...
When Megumi left the department store, she sighed, feeling her phone in her pocket.
It hadn't been 40 minutes since she entered the department store, yet she had already spent 30,000 yen.
"Before I get my allowance next month, I really have to start saving," Megumi said with a bitter smile, then picked up the large and small bags and returned to the hot spring hotel.
Meanwhile, at that moment, Kotomi was...
"Senpai, let's drink from the same cup of milk tea together!"
"I have no objections to drinking milk tea, but why do we have to drink from the same cup? Can't we just buy two cups?"
Also, I don't want to drink bubble tea; I want lemon water. Kotomi didn't say this part out loud.
Iroha shook her head vigorously, "No way! Senpai, don't you know? One of the things that couples in love do is share a cup of milk tea!"
When did we become a couple in love?! Kotomi silently complained in her mind.
"I've never heard of this. Could it be that there's a generation gap between us?"
Hearing Kotomi's words, Iroha paused for a moment, then gave a mischievous smile, poking Kotomi's waist with her arm.
"Ahh~ Senpai, you're so perverted. Could it be that the age gap's sense of 'backwardness' excites you?"
The milk tea shop employee remained professionally silent, but never expected that her well-behaved shift would be interrupted by an unexpected dose of sweet, love-filled "dog food" between two cute girls.
The feeling was like biting into a whole lemon, and mentally she thought, "Not that impressive."
Unable to resist Iroha, Kotomi finally nodded in agreement to drink from the same cup with her, fulfilling one of the "must-do things for couples in love."
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