Chapter 199 The truth is revealed in the men's bath

When Qingshui came to his senses, he saw that the person had fallen into the bed.

"Unfamiliar ceiling..."

Trying to recall my memory, if I remember correctly, I came to Kyoto for a school trip.

On the first day, we visited Kiyomizu Temple, and on the second day, we went to Nanzenji Temple.

To put it simply, the second day of the school trip was similar to the first. We basically followed the school's itinerary and visited some attractions and zoos around the city. It was a trip that felt very much like a trip.

However, starting from the third day, the itinerary will become more free and will be decided by the students themselves.

Shimizu continued to recall today's itinerary. After visiting a series of scenic spots, all the groups returned to the hotel for dinner. Next...

Next, why did you fall asleep here?

"Ah, see you, are you up?"

Ishikawa Shin was sitting aside, drinking mineral water in one gulp. He saw Shimizu wake up and look over here.

"Ah."

Although the four-member group was a mixture of students from the entire grade, the rooms for accommodation at night were allocated according to gender based on the serial number of the bus they were riding.

So naturally, Shimizu Mi was assigned to the same room with Ishikawa Shinichi, who was on the same bus.

"Ah, I'm going to lose my pants."

"You are too weak."

Looking towards the source of the sound, several boys in the class were laughing happily.

Qingshui Jian probably figured out what was going on. He had consumed a lot of energy during the day, and the dinner provided by the hotel was particularly large. As a result, after consuming a large amount of carbohydrates, he fell asleep as soon as he entered the room.

"By the way, is it time for a bath?"

“That seems to be the case.”

Shimizu had seen in the brochure distributed by the school that this hotel had a very famous open-air hot spring, which was open at 9pm. It was now exactly 9:03pm.

Qingshuimi couldn’t remember the last time he went to a hot spring, but he sweated a lot today, and since it was a rare opportunity to come here, he decided to go and experience it.

So, Shimizu and Shinichi Ishikawa went to the hotel's hot spring bath together.

……

After arriving at the large bathhouse, Shimizu found that many male students had gathered in the spacious bathhouse, not only from his own class, but also some lower and higher grade students.

"Shinichi! Over here!"

Kento Kiri, who was chatting with some boys from the same class, noticed Shinichi Ishikawa standing at the entrance and waved to him.

"Qingshui, come over here too."

Then, Shimizu Miyabi was also seen by Kiri Kento at a similar time.

Since he came here to take a bath and the atmosphere was not one that required rejection, Qingshui Jian moved closer.

"What's wrong? Is there something you want me to do?"

Shinichi Ishikawa said this to Kento Yoshiri.

"Oh, actually, I was having a lively conversation with them about something a little weird."

"Strange thing?"

"We were talking about who has the biggest one in the class."

"What does that mean?"

"Need I say more? It's right here, right here."

Gilly Kento smiled and pointed to the middle of the waist wrapped in a white towel.

"..."

Qing Shuijian didn't know what to say for a moment and just sighed silently.

However, perhaps for them, this is also part of the school trip experience.

"Oh, I also think this is childish, but it can actually liven up the atmosphere."

Neither Shimizu Miki nor Ishikawa Shinichi had any idea of ​​how to liven up the atmosphere.

The two looked at each other and decided to find a time to leave.

After Kento Yoshiri and others started discussing again, Shinichi Ishikawa left first.

Shimizu planned to leave the scene slowly.

But──
"Who is the provisional king at the moment?"

Shimizu seemed to hear them talking about this topic.

"…Who knows? But there is no doubt that he is the weakest."

As Kento Kiri said this, everyone's eyes followed him and moved to a certain corner.

Shimizu Miyabi looked over and found that in the corner of the hot spring, Kondo Yuichi was huddled there alone.

"Jiri, how did you know that? Could it be that... you are?"

"How is that possible? He just fell down by himself. It has nothing to do with me."

Shimizu had just arrived at the bathhouse, so he didn't know what had happened before. Although Kento Kiri and the others probably had no ill intentions, these words didn't sound like words of comfort, and if they reached Kondo Yuichi's ears, it would probably only hurt him more.

Those boys were still discussing that topic. Although they were no longer talking about Kondo Yuichi, because the bathhouse was very spacious, Kondo Yuichi could not help but hear some of it.

I don’t know if he was done with the bath or just didn’t want to hear about this topic anymore, but Kondo Yuichi wrapped the towel around his waist, got up from the hot spring and left the bathhouse.

Apart from some sad tear-jerking anime, among the experiences of most male protagonists, Kondo Yuichi is definitely the worst one.

Shimizu kept looking at Kondo Yuichi's back as he left, lost in thought, and almost forgot that he came here to take a bath.

So he untied the towel around his waist and entered the hot spring.

As soon as the skin comes into contact with the hot spring water, an indescribable feeling of comfort comes over you. The hot spring water slowly wraps around your body, and the temperature is just right, not too hot to make you anxious, nor too cold to make you shiver.

As my body gradually immersed itself in the sleep, the fatigue from the past two days of traveling was slowly dispelled.

Just then, someone in the hot spring approached Qingshuijian.

"Qing, Qingshui..."

The person coming over here was Kento Kiri, and he spoke to Shimizu with a trembling voice.

"what happened?"

He looked as if he had been frightened by something.

"Gang, did I see it right just now?"

Not only the sound, but even the eyes of Gillian were trembling slightly with shock, as if he had seen something unbelievable.

Not only that, the faces of the boys behind Jiri Kento also showed the same expression of fear as him.

"Qiyi, that was... a sword? No, it's too big to be called a sword."

Kento Kiri gave Shimizu a thumbs-up with a look of awe on his face.

Then, Qingshui heard several other boys mumbling in low voices.

"Did I see it wrong?"

“Is that size real?”

"Someone will definitely die, right?"

Qing Shuijian didn't understand their sentiments, so he left the bathhouse after enjoying the hot spring alone.

……

After leisurely enjoying the large bath for about an hour, Shimizu changed into a clean yukata, took a bottle of free mineral water from the refrigerator in the locker room, then put his hands on his hips and poured the water down his throat, letting the cool water seep into his hot body.

It was already past 10:30 in the evening, but since Qingshui Jian had just had a nap, he didn't feel sleepy for the time being.

So Shimizu decided to walk around the hotel to kill time. Shimizu drank ice mineral water while wandering aimlessly.

Although it is just ordinary tasteless drinking water, it tastes sweeter when you drink it after soaking in the hot spring.

Qing Shuijian drank the remaining half bottle of water and prepared to find a trash can to throw it away. At the same time, a familiar figure appeared in the corner.

It's Kondo Yuichi.

When Shimizu was passing by the corridor of the hall, he inadvertently caught a glimpse of Kondo Yuichi sitting on a bench in the hall in a daze, staring at the open door of the hall. He was motionless and his mind was wandering to who knows where.

Although they were indoors, the weather was really hot recently, and he had just finished soaking in a hot spring. It would probably be very uncomfortable for him to just sit there in a daze without a can of drink in his hand.

Shimizu bought two servings of iced drinks from a nearby vending machine, approached from the side, and put the cold drink can against Kondo Yuichi's cheek.

“Ss ...

“It’s quite loud.”

"……See??!!"

Kondo Yuichi was very surprised when he saw Shimizu Ken. He was so scared that he jumped up from his chair, as if he had seen a ghost.

Because he was looking into the distance and was absent-minded, it was natural that he didn't notice it.

Although they only exchanged a few words and it couldn't even be called a conversation, this was indeed a conversation that Shimizu Mi and Kondo Yuichi hadn't had in a long time.

Qing Shuijian handed over the drink and sat on the bench.

Kondo Yuichi looked a little confused, but still said thank you quietly.

With a puff, the unique sound of carbon dioxide was heard.

"..."

"..."

The two drank their drinks in silence for a while, and Kondo Yuichi hesitated and said:

"Have you heard about my family's affairs?"

"Yeah... well, it's hard, right?"

I guess so - Kondo Yuichi said this and smiled bitterly as if to mock himself.

It felt strange for Shimizu to talk with Kondo Yuichi again. Such scenes were very natural before, but now he no longer had the chance to chat with Kondo Yuichi.

Even if we exchange a few words like we do now, it's still a bit awkward to maintain such a deep gap.

"I didn't expect my position to become like this. However, judging from my mother's previous situation, I had a vague feeling that something must have happened, but I didn't expect it to be an affair..."

"..."

Shimizu Ken did not interrupt, but listened quietly to Kondo Yuichi's description of the details of the matter.

Before the incident of Kondo Aika's cheating, Kondo Yuichi was a little concerned because she looked a little strange.

Just when he felt something was wrong, he suddenly received photos of Kondo Aika having a secret date with a strange man.

At the same time, even her father who was far away somehow found out about Kondo Aika's affair.

Moreover, Kondo Aika had no idea that the matter had been exposed before, and she was the one who was surprised.

"…One more thing, Aoi was almost raped by that guy."

"..."

Upon hearing the news, Qing Shuijian was still a little shocked.

He remembered that Aoi seemed to be Kondo Yuichi's sister, whose name was Kondo Aoi.

Although I had known about Kondo Aika's infidelity before, I didn't expect that she would take advantage of both mother and daughter, and even Kondo Aoi.

Although Shimizu Mi and Kondo Aoi had only met a few times, and there were no pleasant memories of almost every meeting, they really didn't expect that something like this would happen.

For Shimizu, Kondo Aoi and Kondo Aika are people he doesn't want to have any contact with, but hearing such things from Kondo Yuichi still makes Shimizu feel complicated.

"A few days ago, Aoi told me this while crying... This gave me the opportunity to question my mother. Now, see you--"

"what?"

Shimizu was a little confused, and then Kondo Yuichi stood up from the bench and bowed deeply to Shimizu.

"I'm so sorry. I really am... so sorry."

"..."

"I don't know if you know this or not, but mother and Aoi have said some really harsh things to you behind your back... Of course, I am no different."

Kondo Yuichi bowed to Shimizu again and buried his head deeply with a guilty conscience.

"Not long ago, I really hated you... I hated you for taking Iori away from me."

After hearing this, Qing Shuijian did not feel angry, but felt very calm inside.

"You took Iori away from me. My mother and Aoi all thought so, and not only me, but my mother and the others also said bad things about you..."

Shimizu Ken did not interrupt Kondo Yuichi, but let him continue.

"Let's not talk about my mother for now, but Aoi is still young, and she really believes that it is right. Of course, talking about the results is just an excuse. I know that it left you with an indelible wound..."

Kondo Yuichi was about to cry, but he didn't let the tears fall. He tried to hold it back and continued talking.

"Looking at Aoi crying in front of me, as a brother, I wanted to protect her. Because we are blood-related siblings, I must protect her. Even though I know that there are some hopeless parts of my personality, I couldn't turn a blind eye at that time."

Kondo Yuichi clenched his fists and said this.

Shimizu Mi has Shimizu Reina, so it's not that he can't understand this kind of feelings, and he also has a firm belief in protecting his sister.

To be honest, the Shimizu-kai does not sympathize with the plight of Kondo Aika and Kondo Aoi.

Because they were the ones who bound Amamiya Iori in pain, and they took it for granted that Amamiya Iori should be the way they thought she was.

But at the same time, Shimizu would not think that they deserved it.

In fact, Qingshuijian had never thought about such things from the beginning.

"See, you have always been my dream. Not only are you good at studying and sports, you are also handsome but never show off or act arrogant... If I say I am not jealous, I probably won't even believe it myself."

"But then I realized that from the beginning, the person Iori liked was you."

As soon as Kondo Yuichi finished speaking, he immediately shook his head.

"No, in fact, I knew in my heart a long time ago that Iori could never like me. If it weren't for the fact that we were childhood sweethearts, I would probably... be nothing..."

Shimizu seemed to hear Kondo Yuichi laugh at himself.

Then, Kondo Yuichi took a deep breath and continued.

"…I've been thinking a lot lately."

"Ok?"

"I mean…I don't know anything about Iori."

This is Kondo Yuichi's monologue.

"Since I stopped talking to you guys, I started thinking about a lot of things. Eventually, I realized that I was only thinking about myself, and I didn't really pay any attention to you and Iori."

"But now I won't say anything. Although I was hit hard by the meeting, I know that Iori is very happy now. I really can't accept it... However, it's ridiculous to be jealous simply because you are childhood sweethearts."

It seems that Kondo Yuichi did think a lot after that.

But from this angle, Qing Shuijian couldn't see his expression. Maybe he was in pain right now.

But precisely because of the pain and thinking that Kondo Yuichi was able to look at the things around him calmly when he re-examined himself.

"Although it may be a little late to say this now."

Kondo Yuichi paused, looked seriously into Shimizu's eyes, and then lowered his head again.

"See, I want to apologize to you."

Kondo Yuichi bowed deeply, almost burying his head in the ground.

(End of this chapter)