Umbrellas in the Rain, People Under Umbrellas

　　Partner?

　　What partner is Nino looking for? Spouses on committees, or partners who won't study together?

　 Shinichi frowned and fell silent.

　　The payout queue continued to move forward, and the two also maintained a calm atmosphere and moved forward slowly.

　　Arriving at the cashier, Shinichi said to Nino.

　　"You... Do you have a point card?"

　　Nino gritted her teeth and spat out one word.

　　"NO!"

　　"Then I'll pay the bill and return your share to me later."

　　Shinichi took out his money and point cards, completely ignoring Nino beside him, whose breathing was getting heavier, her plump chest heaving, and eyes showing anger.

　　But after all, in public, Nino reluctantly held back, but Shinichi's sleeves fell victim to anger, being squeezed by her as if giving vent to her anger.

　　When the two walked out of the supermarket with their bags, Nino impatiently pushed him into a side alley, and imitating the scene just now, slammed him aggressively.

　　Shinichi didn't fight back, but just rolled his eyes.

　　Because Nino wasn't tall enough, she still had a bag in her hand, so she could only put her hand beside Shinichi. Even so, the distance between the two of them was close enough to smell each other's body scent.

　　Nino glared at Shinichi.

　　"I will ask you one last time, please answer simply, are you my partner!"

　　Her tone was aggressive, but her eyes were distracted. She seemed to want to hide her fragile state of mind.

　　Having been forced to this point, if Shinichi didn't answer, it would be tantamount to agreeing that he didn't answer. His demeanor was calm as if he didn't want to agree with Nino's statement, but didn't have the heart to hurt her.

　　Nino hated this kind of tenderness. If Shinichi really wants to deny it, just say so!

　　It wasn't a confession... At most, it was just returning alone.

　　In the jungle school team, the captain disagrees with her, and her teammates go their separate ways. She was the only one left and never gave up, with no friends by her side… Even so, she still had to move on.

　　If she just gave up, wouldn't that mean she was giving up on the changes of the four people?

　　Grades obviously don't matter, as long as forest school goes well, they can graduate smoothly, even if they don't study well, so what?

　　Nino will never be a weakling who is determined and belittled by just numbers!

　　"...Do you want me to be your partner?"

　　Faced with Nino's very oppressive question, Shinichi's reaction was calm.

　　He couldn't hold back his uneasiness… After the long series of events that happened today, his physical energy had been depleted, and he had entered an energy-saving mode.

　　What's more, a month wasn't that long since the 2nd year of high school officially started. Shinichi is well aware of the truth the more he says, the more he does

　　In the past, Shinichi didn't do things without a reason, but now he acts passively without knowing it or with his previous character, he should just hold Nino's shoulder and talk about the 100 benefits of learning.

　　When asked, Nino was about to answer reflexively suddenly feeling a little embarrassed

　　"When I..."

　　Even though she had already made up her mind in her heart, at this moment Nino blushed and stuttered, unable to speak frankly.

　　Because as soon as she said this, she felt it turn from a question to a request!

　　["Please become my partner!"] ...How can such a thing be said!

　　There is still a hurdle in her heart, as long as the hurdle is still there, Nino will never be able to express her feelings when facing Shinichi. After delaying and asking like this, embarrassment began to emerge, and her whole body gradually became hot, and she couldn't say the next word after a long time.

　　Finally, she turned around, and walked out of the alley.

　　"Pretend I didn't say it! I forgot about today's business, and I will give the money tomorrow. Goodbye!"

　　Shinichi leaned against the aisle without chasing her, and watched her leave.

　　Suddenly, a drop of water fell from the gloomy sky, hitting the ground hard.

　　One drop, two drops...

　　Shinichi took an umbrella out of his school bag, and when he opened it, the rain got heavier, and pea-sized raindrops hit the surface of the umbrella.

　　Shinichi walked out of the alley slowly, just in time to see Nino nervously fumbling for her school bag under the roof of the supermarket, pulling out her cell phone, and clicking her tongue. She put it back angrily.

　　It is estimated that the cellphone ran out of battery and could not call for help without an umbrella, and was caught in heavy rain.

　　"Nino."

　　As Shinichi approached, Nino saw the umbrella in his hand and her eyes lit up, but immediately snorted, looked away, and said sadly.

　　"Is there any problem?"

　　Shinichi scratched his head helplessly, and said meaningfully.

　　"There are very few taxis that pass the entrance of this supermarket."

　　"So what?" Nino looked up at the dark sky where the heavy rain continued to fall, her harsh voice sounding weaker than before, "…None of your business."

　　"..."

　　Shinichi was looking for excuses, but now he finds that in this small matter, he still hasn't changed much.

　　After standing in the pouring rain for a while, he spoke like a scoundrel.

　　"Hey, I'm in a hurry to spend the money, give the money back quickly. Little girl, in order to prevent you from running away with the money, let me take you home."

　　Nino saw Shinichi's clumsy appearance, and after a few seconds, she couldn't help but cover her mouth and burst out laughing: "Pfft... Really... You idiot, your acting skills are so bad!"

　　"You don't take it seriously..." Shinichi felt a little embarrassed... If he did it seriously, he would be even more embarrassed. Luckily, it was difficult for him to do something like this.

　　"If you don't want to renege on your debt, come here quickly. I don't want to stay in this pouring rain for too long." He rubbed his hands together, pretending to be cold.

　　"There's really nothing I can do about you..." Nino walked slowly, then gradually quickened her pace, and immediately ran under Shinichi's umbrella.

　　"Ahhhhhhhh bastard! Are you kidding?! Why are you standing so far away that I'm getting rained on!"

　　Seeing the raindrops on her hair and clothes, Shinichi smiled viciously.

　　"Who told you to make me stand in the pouring rain for so long?"

　　"Absolutely unmanly!" Nino tapped him on the shoulder as if venting her anger, and dodged the wound with a little force.

　　Then suddenly hugged his arm.

　　"Hah!" Shinichi was shocked, an unprecedented gentle touch and warmth surrounded his arms, and the fragrance from Nino's body was transmitted directly, making his heart beat faster involuntarily.

　　"How? Don't underestimate girls' revenge~" Nink looked at her with an evil smile, but her face was as red as an apple.

　　It was clear that she was trying to be brave, she could barely maintain a smile.

　　"You are so vengeful, your embarrassment is about to explode, right? What do you do if you are misunderstood like this? Let me go!"

　　Feeling like insects were crawling all over his body after being touched so close all of a sudden, Shinichi twisted his body uncomfortably, trying to keep a sullen face so as not to lose his composure, and wanted to grab his arm immediately.

　　As he moved, Nino hugged his arm even tighter.

　　"Pervert, don't move! You found something strange!"

　　"Didn't you do it yourself? You pervert!"

　　"Very noisy. Didn't you say it was cold? I'm kind enough to give you warmth. Don't complain, just carry on!"

　　"Are revenge and kindness synonymous in your dictionary?! I can't move when you hug me so tight."

　　"Then you go, this umbrella is too small, I will be rained on."

　　"If I go there again, I'll be caught in the rain."

　　"Then don't complain, I'm the one suffering from maintaining this posture? Why don't you hurry up!"

　　While shouting, the two people under the umbrella started to move, the street lights in the rainy night flickered slightly, but only illuminated a pair of shadows walking side by side.