Having left the pool and seen off Jiutiao Meijie, hungry Dubian Che headed to a barbecue restaurant to indulge himself with a hearty meal.
Then, he stopped by a convenience store to buy a tube of toothpaste and this week’s "Weekly Shonen Jump", spending his time at home until six o’clock in the evening.
That evening, he had arranged to go with Jiutiao Meijie to the Obon Dance Party held at Hibiya Park.
Every year in Island Country, once summer arrives, there are hundreds of lively summer festivals, firework shows, and other festivities that take place one after another.
The size of these festivals varies.
Some are small, such as cooling evening parties held by kindergartens.
Cute children donned in traditional clothing followed the staff from nearby shrines, parading around the streets near their schools, singing and dancing.
The large ones attract tens to hundreds of thousands of participants, famed among them are the Hachioji Festival, Gion Festival, and Sleep Demon Festival.
Island Country isn’t very large, and transportation is convenient—if desired, one could attend any summer festival in the country.
However, Jiutiao Meijie didn’t have much time, so she and Dubian Che could only participate in the summer festivals held within Tokyo.
Tokyo, being the largest city in Island Country, naturally had a countless number of summer festival activities.
Apart from tourist attractions like Asakusa Temple, Meiji Shrine, and Nai Mu Shrine celebrating their own summer festivals, administrative districts like Nakano District, Shinbashi District, and Harbor District also held their own, with a variety of events that could be best described as numerous.
Every year, Hibiya Park hosted a large-scale Obon Dance Party. Although it was a pity that there were no fireworks, the event was grand and conveniently located in Chiyoda District, where Jiutiao Meijie resided.
By six o’clock, to match the festival atmosphere, Dubian Che put on a short sleeve shirt inside and changed into a dark red shirt Mei had bought him on the outside.
"Red is absolutely not okay, I definitely won’t wear it!"
"This shirt is a bit long, just leave the buttons open and wear it like a coat."
This dialogue took place at the time of purchase; Jiutiao Meijie, as always, ignored Dubian Che’s opinion.
Although Dubian Che didn’t like it, the reflection in the mirror showed him clean and neat, yet with a sense of fashionable trend, every movement oozing the charm of a handsome young man.
Uncomfortably, he shrugged his shoulders, put on his watch, and left the house.
The roads had already begun traffic control, with police using megaphones to direct the flow, and stations were crowded everywhere.
The tram ride from "Nishioi," where Dubian Che lived, to "Hibiya Park" took only twenty minutes, and everywhere on the route, men and women dressed in yukatas could be seen.
Inside Hibiya Park, rows of booths were already set up, and the sky above was filled with bright yellow lanterns.
At that time, with still a hint of light in the sky, the lanterns looked rather ordinary, but seeing their endless numbers, it was sure to be spectacular at night.
The outdoor music pavilion in Hibiya Park, built to mimic ancient Greek architectural features, was laid out in a semicircular arrangement with a stage and a scenic wall at the center.
A group of underground idols was dancing on the stage.
To Dubian Che, the middle-aged men in support clothes dancing below the stage seemed to dance better than the idols themselves.
The other spectators seemed to focus only on this aspect.
The girls dancing in the front row on the stage, facing the exotically dancing middle-aged fans, seemed relaxed, continuing their routine at their own pace.
As soon as Dubian Che arrived, upon seeing him, her gaze shifted, and somehow, whenever she looked at the fans in front of her, she turned her face away, her cheeks flushed with shyness, and her movements started to distort.
She occasionally pretended to be angry, puffing her cheeks cutely.
Seeing that he had amused the idol, the middle-aged man became even more motivated, shaking his hips and touching his thighs.
Standing on the outer steps of the music pavilion, Dubian Che watched with interest, thinking that if this middle-aged man were sent to Thailand for a trip, he would definitely be able to debut in a girl group upon return.
"What are you watching so intently?" A familiar faint scent enveloped Dubian Che.
Without turning back, Dubian Che pointed at the dancing support clothes middle-aged man and said, laughing, "Isn’t he fun to watch?"
Jiutiao Mei followed his pointing direction, seemed to think of something, and couldn’t help but laugh, "Not bad."
"Right?" Dubian Che said proudly, as if introducing a new discovery to a friend.
"Next time you make me angry, I’ll punish you to dance this for me."
"Wait, wait, wait! That’s not right! Very strange! Why should I dance something ..."
Dubian Che turned around, saw the smiling Jiutiao Mei, and couldn’t finish his sentence.
Her long hair was put up, revealing her pale neck, dressed in a black yukata embroidered with flowers and butterflies, a crimson belt around her slender waist, her chest full and voluptuous.
Just like the first time he saw her in a luxurious red kimono, Dubian Che once again had the illusion that Jiutiao Meijie was a ’beautiful princess.’
"What’s not right? What’s strange?" asked Jiutiao Mei with a smile.
"Mei, you’re even more beautiful today than the summer in Misezawa Village."
"How beautiful is that exactly?"
"I think about it every day since I left."
Jiutiao Meijie looked pleased, "You’re also very handsome today."
"Mainly because you have good taste," answered Dubian Che, again mentioning the clothes and himself, and he naturally took her delicate hand.
"Your taste isn’t bad either," Jiutiao Meijie let him hold her hand, responding.
Suddenly, Dubian Che felt that both of them constantly complimenting each other was rather silly, and he couldn’t help but laugh, a smile also spontaneously appearing on Jiutiao Meijie’s face.
At this moment, the sun had set completely, all the lights went out, and it was pitch black with shadows of trees swaying.
Under the night, Hibiya Park completely transformed into another world, and strung along the ropes connected to the central high platform in the park, lanterns hung one after another.