Dating sim loading: My girlfriend is a cunning young lady
Chapter 443 - 209. New Year in Iwate Prefecture: Collective Action (6)

Chapter 443: 209. New Year in Iwate Prefecture: Collective Action (6)

Dubian Zhi had already gone out; the house was empty and no one could be seen.

"You rest a while, I’ll light the stove."

"Okay." Kiyono Lin nodded, placed the tomato on the table, and slipped under the covers into bed.

Dubian Che put the Blessing God Pickles in the kitchen, took some firewood, and started to light the stove.

This stove, made of cast iron, was situated in the living room, connected to the chimney. It was usually used for warming up, baking sweet potatoes, toasting bread, and keeping water hot.

Dubian Che, holding a piece of wood, stirred the firewood in the stove to ensure there was enough oxygen.

Watching the sparks, Dubian Che said nostalgically,

"When it snows, I could sit around this stove all day. Sometimes, I would even roast sweet potatoes, taro, or potatoes until their skins charred and the outer flesh turned crispy. Biting into them was just pure bliss."

"Listening to you makes me want to try it." Kiyono Lin looked at his face, reddened by the glow of the fire, "When will it snow?"

"It’s still early, at least until the end of January."

"Iwate Prefecture is just separated from Hokkaido by Aomori Prefecture. Even if it’s not as cold as Hokkaido, it should still snow early."

"It is like that in other parts of Iwate Prefecture," Dubian Che placed another piece of firewood into the stove and grabbed another, "but Misezawa Village is a very special place."

"Special?"

In front of the stove, holding the firewood, Dubian Che said with a reminiscent tone,

"That was sixteen years ago, during a season when hydrangeas were blooming..."

"You must be lying again." Kiyono Lin stated with certainty.

"Could you at least let me finish?"

"It’s just another one of your narcissistic tales. Is Misezawa Village so special because it’s in a basin?"

"Maybe, it could also have something to do with being close to the sea. Who knows?" Dubian Che didn’t care much about such matters; the fire in front of him that was about to go out was much more important than geography.

There was silence in the living room for a while.

"Did it go out?" Kiyono Lin asked.

"Wait a second." Dubian Che raised his hand, looking serious, "It’s not time to give up yet."

"Then I’ll give you one more minute."

What one minute? Of course, it was just a taunting countdown!

Dubian Che knelt on the tatami, blowing into the stove.

Under his powerful lung capacity, the dark firewood barely sparked, but as soon as he stopped blowing, the sparks went out.

"Is that it?"

"...Yes, go ahead and laugh."

Kiyono Lin, with her index finger against her chin, pondered, "I’ll give you another chance."

"Please, do tell." Dubian Che posed as if ready to listen.

"Regarding failure, I once said something. If you can repeat it, I won’t laugh at you."

"Pushkin’s ’Before failure, no one is a master; in the face of failure, everyone is mortal’?"

"That’s just an excuse you made up for yourself."

"’Many runners fail because they falter in the last few steps’?"

"I’m not interested in Socrates."

"What was it then... Ah! I remember!" Dubian Che clapped his hands.

"Huh?"

"Tagore once said, mistakes cannot withstand failure, but truth isn’t afraid of failure!"

"Don’t think quoting Tagore will save you. Or is he all you know?" Kiyono Lin’s icy gaze shot towards Dubian Che, "Have you already forgotten what I said?"

"How could I? I remember it clearly."

"You..."

"I told you, I didn’t forget."

"So you were pretending to be dumb just now?"

"Yes." Dubian Che quickly admitted his mistake.

"Let’s hear it."

"’It’s quite pleasant to overcome difficulties,’ right?"

Dubian Che looked at her proudly, only to see Kiyono Lin’s cold expression.

"No?"

"It was the sentence before that one." Kiyono Lin’s voice was icy.

"Ah, right, right! I remember, it was ’I’m not the kind of person who has to succeed at everything right away...’"

"Mr. Dubian, as someone from the countryside, you can’t even light a simple fire..."

"Miss R, Miss R! Please, stop talking, really! I already know I’m wrong. If there was a hole, I would crawl into it right now!"

Having lost the dignity of a countryman and the memory power challenge, Dubian Che commenced his second attack on the stove.

By the time the fire in the stove began to burn, Jiutiao Meijie just happened to come down from upstairs.

She wore a red baseball uniform and bright blue jeans, youthful and beautiful, perfect for being active.

"Tomatoes?" Jiutiao Meijie noticed the tempting tomatoes on the table and reached out to take a bite.

"That’s mine." Kiyono Lin, sitting by the internal heating stove, looked at her coldly.

"Can’t I have any?"

"You could at least say thank you."

"Thank you?" Jiutiao Meijie repeated the word, "You should be grateful to hear my beautiful voice this early in the morning."

"I’ll return that comment to you exactly as it was."

The two of them started being narcissistic early in the morning.

Dubian Che, having finished lighting the stove, came back from washing his hands in the kitchen.

"We’re going to dig for winter bamboo shoots on the mountain later, are you two coming?" he asked.

"I’ll check it out." Jiutiao Meijie walked to the side of the stove.

Supporting her right elbow with her left hand, she held the fresh tomato in her right hand, taking a bite now and then.

Her eyes studied the stove in front of her, trying to figure out what made it different from a fireplace.

"Miss Kiyono?" Dubian Che’s gaze turned to Kiyono Lin.

Kiyono Lin hesitated, "Climbing the mountain?"

"Climbing." Dubian Che replied, "But the mountain path is quite gentle. Consider it a stroll in the spring; we can take our time."

Kiyono Lin was a bit tempted.

"Besides, it’s not every day you get this chance. It’s worth trying as an experience to enrich your life."

Finally, Kiyono Lin nodded decisively, her pretty face resolute, "Fine, let’s go climbing."

"...Actually, it’s digging for bamboo shoots." Dubian Che corrected.

Jiutiao Meijie laughed out loud from the side, mocking Kiyono Lin’s frail stamina.