On the second morning after arriving in Chino City, everyone unanimously decided to go hiking.

The Baihua Lake Scenic Area is built among the mountains, surrounded by mountains and rivers, and is a famous local tourist attraction.

After having breakfast at the hotel, the group got ready and then climbed towards the highest hill nearby.

Although it is said to be a hill, the place they are going to can be easily climbed by even high school students, and the height is probably more than a hundred meters.

Considering the strong wind on the mountain, everyone wore very tight clothes.

They started from the hotel and walked about three kilometers along the uphill road before arriving at the observation deck.

This place is a temporary parking lot, facing the entire Shirakaba Lake Resort, with an unobstructed view of the scenery.

In the clear winter sky, there are cotton-like clouds floating.

Looking far into the distance.

The entire scenic spot is like a basin with a gap.

The gray mountain forest is covered with white snow, and a few winter buds appear here and there on the bare branches. There is vitality in the silence, as if to indicate that spring is coming.

Whenever a cold wind blows, the branches will sway rustlingly. Once you get used to the coldness, you will feel comfortable again because of the fresh air.

As March approaches, the winter snow is already quietly melting.

Although there are large pieces of floating ice on the blue-green lake, the melted parts are also filled with the feeling of spring.

The bright sunshine shines on the sparkling lake water. Occasionally, a school of fish will jump out of the water, and the birds will sing loudly and fly across the lake with their wings spread gracefully.

"says……"

Yinglili frowned openly and expressed disgust:

"Except for a little snow, there's nothing else here! Is it necessary to go all the way here?"

Serizawa Yu let out a sigh of relief after hearing this.

"But I think this feeling of looking at the white snow is great. Miss Sawamura, don't you like this?"

Yoshida on the side nodded slightly in agreement, took a deep breath and moved his body.

Ying Lili slightly pulled up the scarf around her neck and shook her head.

"It's not that I don't like it, it's just that my father takes us to Nasu Plateau every year to escape the heat and watch the snow. Although there is no lake there, there are very few people there, so it's very quiet."

"Hey~~Is that so? Brother Yu."

Serizawa Yu nodded as if she understood something, then turned to look somewhere.

Kato Yusuke was helping Shiyu arrange her scarf. Hearing this, he glanced at them and then explained:

"...I don't know the specific situation, but Yinglili's family has their own private villa there, so there are no ordinary tourists. You don't have to worry too much."

"Private, private villa..." Serizawa Yu scratched her cheek in embarrassment, "So, that's what it is... Ahaha."

Others also looked at a certain young lady with indescribable expressions and had nothing to say.

It can only be said that the joys and sorrows between people are not the same.

While everyone is still busy running about life, a certain daughter has long lost her worries and is no longer bothered by these mundane things...

When they thought of this, everyone couldn't help but smile bitterly.

Under such circumstances, Hasumi Kanoko spoke up.

"Well, Sawamura-san, in fact, Lake Shirakaba has not always been like this. Although you can't see it now, it is actually a place with four distinct seasons, right?"

"In spring and summer, this place will turn into a sea of ​​​​green forest, with lush branches and leaves like a canopy, and the hillside behind the hotel will be filled with colorful gardenias."

"In autumn, frost leaves will cover the ground again, dyeing this broad-leaved forest fiery red. Whenever the sun rises and sets, a beautiful Venus belt will appear in the sky here."

"As for winter, some tourists also come here to ski and soak in hot springs. Maybe you don't really like the way Shirakaba Lake looks now, but this is a view that can only be appreciated now~"

With a gentle smile on her face, she explained the seasonal changes of Baihua Lake to everyone in a leisurely manner, as if she had returned to the time when she was teaching in school.

Listening to this vivid explanation, everyone's eyes showed fascination, and in the end they even exclaimed in amazement.

""""...Okay, so awesome!""""

"Ms. Hasumi knows so much, she's so amazing~!"

"Um, has Mr. Hasumi been here before?"

Sagara Mayu and Megumi said one after another, making the person involved slightly stunned.

"Huh...? No, there's nothing like that... These things are all available on the Internet. I just looked at them a little bit. It's not as exaggerated as everyone said."

Looking at Kanoko Hasumi who was suddenly surrounded by everyone and waved her hands shyly, Yusuke Kato couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth with a gentle look on his face.

Then, he looked back again.

Shinjoka was walking slowly holding on to the guardrail, her furry snow boots leaving footprints on the ground where the remaining snow was.

Seeing that she seemed to be struggling, Kato Yusuke went up to help her.

"Give me your hand."

"Huh?"

"Watch your steps, don't fall."

"President...?"

Shinjoka looked at the stretched out hand and was stunned for a second, then happily held it and walked to the flat area with his help.

“Thank you, President~~”

"Won't."

Everyone stayed on the observation deck for a while, and Ying Lili suddenly suggested this:

"I always feel that opportunities are rare... I want to go to the woods to sketch. Can we go down there and take a look?"

Everyone looked at each other and unanimously agreed.

So the group moved from the observation deck to the mountains and forests, and then moved around freely.

While Shiu and Eiri were bickering, Kato Yusuke chased after a certain figure and caught up with him at the pier by the lake.

Ding--

The zippo lighter made a crisp sound, and the cigarette between the man's fingers lit up with an orange-red halo.

"Mr. Yoshida."

"...Huh? What, it's you..."

Yoshida turned around when he heard the sound, and Kato Yusuke nodded lightly.

"Are you smoking here?"

"Oh... my mouth is just a little itchy. What's the matter with you?"

"Nothing, I just came to say sorry to you."

"What?"

"It's about what happened last night."

"last night……"

Yoshida suddenly reacted mid-sentence, his face became extremely speechless, and he scolded with a dark face: "You are outrageous, can't you pay more attention to the occasion!?"

"I'm sorry, what happened yesterday was a little unexpected. I promise I won't disturb you Mr. Yoshida next time."

"Idiot! It's not just this problem, right? You should also pay attention to who you attack, right? Your girlfriend is also in the hotel, aren't you afraid of being discovered for being so unscrupulous?"

"They were taking a shower at the time, so it shouldn't be a big deal."

"Your optimistic thoughts... um——? They——!?!?"

"……Um?"

Kato Yusuke looked at him thoughtfully and smiled vaguely: "...I'm sorry, because Mr. Yoshida said that to me last time, and I thought you knew it."

Yoshida was shocked and subconsciously asked: "What do I know??"

"It's about me, Kano-chan, and Shiyu-senpai."

"Wait a minute! Are you talking about Miss Hasumi!? I remember she is not your old..."

"—Not anymore." Kato Yusuke interrupted him calmly, "She resigned after we confirmed our relationship."

"——!"

Yoshida's eyes widened in astonishment, and the cigarette in his hand fell to the ground with a clatter. He hurriedly bent down to pick it up, tremblingly, put it in his mouth again and took a deep puff.

"Huh-I said...are you kidding me...?"

"Didn't Mr. Yoshida also date an older senior from the baseball club? Isn't this kind of thing common?"

"Ordinary... you ghost! How is this the same!? It's completely different, right? Are you so brave that you dare to flirt with the teacher?"

"If you want to say..."
To be continued...