[Net King + Black Basket] Seijuro, your mother calls you to go home for dinner!

At the end of March, when the cherry blossoms were in full bloom, and it happened that the kindergarten was on spring break, Xun Li casually asked Katase if there was any good place to take Seijuro to play.

Katase's eyes lit up immediately, and he excitedly mentioned the annual "Sakura Festival" - to put it bluntly, adults take their children to a park with cherry blossoms in full bloom for a picnic to enjoy the flowers.After hearing this, Xunli nodded repeatedly. She also really wanted to experience this traditional project.She asked Seijuro for advice, and the other party also became energetic because of the rare opportunity to go out, and actually completed the spring break homework assigned by Masashi, who was traveling far away, ahead of time.

"It's a pity that Dad can't go." He curled his lips, and a trace of disappointment flashed in his eyes.

Xun Li's face froze, she prefers to be with Seijuro and leave Masashi behind!

"It's okay, mom will take care of you!"

"Ok!"

So, the mother and son happily made up their minds.Under Katase's suggestion, Xunli, a pseudo-Yamato person, rushed back to the trend and carefully put on the cumbersome spring kimono.According to tradition, married and unmarried women also dress slightly differently.The clothes chosen for cherry blossom viewing are called "hanai".

From choosing the right outfit to putting it on layer by layer, the whole process took more than an hour.Without the help of a maid, she would never be able to dress alone.

Xun Li curiously touched the white pink flower belt and the light red floral sleeves, it really looked like that.

"As expected of our young wife, it's so suitable!" Katase said proudly, holding her face in both hands. "Ala, I really want Master Yashi to see it too!"

"No, there's no need." Xun Li suddenly felt a little stomachache. "By the way, is it really okay to dress like this? Something feels wrong..."

Isn't it subtle to mix in a kimono among a group of business-wearing white-collar workers and passers-by?Xunli still doesn't care about the eyes of strangers.

However, the little doubts that popped up in my heart quickly disappeared the moment I saw Seijuro——

"Mom, I'm ready."

Seijuro tilted his head and smiled gently at his mother.Maybe it was because he was not used to wearing kimono often, or maybe he was shy, he smiled a little and lowered his eyes.

The tailor-made children's twill kimono was ordinary in style, but in Xunli's eyes, he wore it with a different taste.The slightly darker cyan color makes his skin more translucent.

"Too, so cute!"

Xun Li hastily turned his head and pinched his congested nose.The last time this happened was when Seijuro was more than one year old. After forcing a child who didn’t know anything to dress up in an animal costume, his nose bleeds. Katase happened to be watching from the side.

Alas, it's a pity that since Seijuro came to his senses, he was no longer willing to wear animal pajamas, and those cute outfits were thrown to the bottom of the box.

"Mom?" Seijuro frowned slightly, thinking that his mother could not understand his attire.

"No, it's nothing." Xunli coughed a few times to cover up his gaffe, and immediately changed the subject, "Seijuro is so handsome today!"

She deliberately avoided words like "kawaii", and it was obvious that Seijuro didn't like being treated like a kid by others.

He blushed, and his smile became a little shy. "Mom is beautiful too."

"To honor this once-a-year occasion, let's — take a selfie!"

Xunli took out his mobile phone and began to "click, click", and took pictures. Seijuro, who was stunned in place, had a dazed expression, as if he didn't react.

"Young lady!" Katase was dumbfounded by her naive behavior. "It's time for you to go."

"Well, we'll take more pictures when we reach our destination!" She dismissed it as soon as she saw it, and blinked slyly.

"Young Madam is actually a hidden selfie fanatic!" Katase growled in her heart—maybe she should go to Instagram to try her luck, maybe she will be lucky enough to dig out the selfie collection of Madam Akashi.

The two arrived at Ueno Park, the best screening location in downtown Tokyo, with Steward Zhichuan's car.Tablecloths of various colors have been spread out on the large lawn, men, women and children in casual clothes or kimonos are sitting under the cherry blossom trees talking and laughing while drinking tea.

It was the first time Seijuro saw cherry blossoms blooming in groups, couldn't help stretching out his fingers to touch the petals of cherry blossoms that were constantly falling like drizzle, a piece of pink and white intertwined, forming an interesting contrast.

"Do you like cherry blossoms?" Xunli spread out the light blue pastoral style tablecloth, beckoning him to come and sit down.

"Hmm! Does mom like cherry blossoms too?"

"I..." She thought for a while, "I like roses more than the illusory cherry blossoms."

Whether it's budding buds or rose bushes in full bloom, few girls can resist the temptation of roses.

Seijuro nodded half-understanding, and his appearance made Kaoru make a tease——

"Xiao~Zheng~ When you meet a girl you like in the future, remember to give her roses."

"Mom made fun of me again." After finishing speaking, he pouted his lips slightly, pretending to be angry, as if he was responsible for the mother who instilled bad/premature thoughts in the child since childhood.

"What a joke, we will meet sooner or later."

Xun Li gave up with a smile.If given the chance, she would really like to have a peek into the future, what kind of girl will hold her outstanding son firmly.

The two chose a secluded grassland near the lake to enjoy the scenery. The mother and son were surrounded by a variety of cherry blossom trees, including Yae Sakura, Oshima Sakura and some indistinguishable varieties.

She then took out handmade sushi, strawberry Daifuku and other snacks from the basket, and made a whole pot of green tea.Seijuro felt a little drowsy after eating, presumably it was time for a nap on weekdays.Xun Li let him sit side by side with her, resting his head on his shoulder to take a nap.The frequent warm breath sprinkled on her neck, carrying the unique milky fragrance of children.

……

Although Xunli enjoys this peaceful atmosphere, whenever he hears the laughter of the big family from other places, he feels a little lonely in his heart.

Relying on each other, they seem to be isolated from the world and live in their own world forever.

"Isn't this the moment I've longed for? To be alone with Seijurou...just the two of us."

The reason why cherry blossom viewing activities are respected by people is not just for viewing flowers.In the warm April, it is rare for people to stay away from the fast-paced life and travel in groups with family and friends—it can also be called a kind of "happiness".

Xunli jumped to the distance with lax eyes, staring blankly at the scene of three generations gathered together and a big family enjoying themselves.

If conditions permit, she would also like to have the reckless but caring Katase and Shi Chuan, who is gloomy on the surface but actually dotes on the young master in his heart; My worry-free younger sister, Mai...

We have to barely count the child's father, after all, a family without a father can no longer be called a family.

She once wanted to take him far away and return to the pure land of her hometown to start a new life of freedom, but after getting in touch with him for a long time, Xunli found that Seijuro, who is good at observing words and emotions, is destined to grow up to be a qualified heir of the "Akashi" family.The unconcealable light on his body will eventually steal everyone's attention, and he will go to glory under the attention of everyone.

After all, she couldn't be with him for the rest of his life.

The red head on the shoulder moved restlessly, moving to a more comfortable position.

Xun Li withdrew his thoughts, and shifted his gaze to Seijuro again.

Only the nourishment of mother's love cannot make a child thrive. On the contrary, it will make him cowardly and only know how to rely on his mother but forget to be self-reliant.

And it is even more impossible for her to hold his hand for a lifetime.

"There is something wrong with my education method." She smiled wryly.Whether it is still too late to recover now depends entirely on whether her next move will work.

**

After Seijuro woke up, Xunli put away the tablecloth and basket, and fortunately took him to visit the small stalls in the park along the two rows of cherry trees.Before she saw many children buying traditional toys such as temari (balls with painted balls), hanazha (flower cards), and feather boards at the stalls, which are gorgeous and bright in appearance. Turns out he wasn't very interested.

After shopping for more than ten minutes, Xunli covered his wallet with his hand, thinking about what to buy for him.She looked around and saw a very distinctive fox mask among the many booths.

The mask can only cover half of the face, and the interlaced golden and red colors outline the outline of the eyes, which looks luxurious and vaguely provokes a sense of mystery.Two strings of red string hung from one of the ears, and a golden bell was tied at each end.

"How about this?" Kaoru tightened Seijuro's hand, pointing to the mask with his chin.

"Well, yes."

Maybe he didn't want to hit his excited mother, so he agreed.After buying the mask, Xun Li couldn't wait to put it on his head.

"Very cute!" Xun Li couldn't stop himself from getting red-eyed, and finally gave such an evaluation, almost blurting out.

Seijuro turned his head sullenly, and was straightened by her again.Half of the fox's face covered the upper part of his face, and he was not used to holding the mask, feeling that his vision was a bit obstructed.The main color of white, red and gold complemented his red hair and red pupils, as if they were custom-made for him.

Xun Li took out his mobile phone to snap a picture while he was not paying attention.

Why not shoot it aboveboard?

Children usually show extremely stiff and unnatural smiles when taking pictures. Only candid shots can fully preserve the innocence shown on them~

The mother and son walked around the booth again, and Xunli resisted the resentment that he took off his wooden clogs and threw it as far away as possible, and decided to go home after consulting Seijuro.

"Hey..."

A girl's cry came from behind.

"I-I want that too!"

"Little Cai, that's the last one, why don't we take a look? There are many others here~"

"No! I like that!"

Xunli walked for more than a minute, but found that the crying behind him continued, and there were even signs of intensification.She had to look back to see what happened——

The little girl in kimono insisted on chasing after Xunli and the others despite her parents' dissuasion.

"Arnold—"

"Sorry to trouble you!" The little girl's parents were the first to bow and apologize, which made Xunli, who was at a loss, feel embarrassed.

"Is there something wrong?" she asked puzzled.

"It's like this, my little girl has been clamoring for the fox mask you bought earlier, but there is no one of the same style for sale." The middle-aged woman said awkwardly, "We want her to look at other ones, but... "

"Oh, that's how it is." Xun nodded understandingly, and his eyes fell on the little girl whose eyes were red from crying.

She hesitated for a few seconds, then turned to Seijuro and asked, "Son, are you willing to give her the mask?"

"..."

He was silent, and even stared at his mother in shock.

To be honest, it was a gift that his mother insisted on giving him, but he liked it more and more, let alone giving it to a stranger after only staying for a few minutes!

Even if it's just a cheap mask, it has a special meaning in his heart.How would he—

Xun Li sensitively observed the subtle changes in his facial expressions, knowing that he was unwilling to hand over the mask to the little girl.As a mother, she respects the child's wishes, but in some cases he must choose to give up his favorite things in order to gain the favor of others.

"Akashi Seijuro," she put away her smile and called his full name seriously. "It's only natural to be humble to girls. I hope you will be a little gentleman."

He tightened/bited his lower lip, staring at her with moist eyes.She thought that if she was so stalemate and didn't express her opinion, her mother would not care about it any more.

"Look, let's forget about it." The little girl's parents said, but she cried even harder.He grabbed her mother's sleeve and did not let go.

"Mom! I still want that!" cried the spoiled little girl, her tears as her weapon.

"Seijuro, I think you know what to do." Xunli looked at Seijuro with disapproving eyes - this excellent boy who made her extremely proud.

"……I understand."

Seijuro shrugged in disappointment, he compromised in order not to disappoint his mother.

However, the moment he took off the mask and handed it to the little girl, his body trembled violently a few times.I can't wait... I can't wait to just leave Xunli and run to a secluded corner alone.

Grievance and unwillingness occupied the whole brain and drowned his reason, causing him to be silent on the way back, following Xunli surprisingly quietly.His unique way of expressing his dissatisfaction was to put a distance of one meter away from Xun Li.

Xun Li didn't look back at him.

In fact, I was afraid that I would not be able to help comforting him.

A good mother should not indulge and spoil her child too much, let alone he is the one who will support the whole family in the future.

After putting Seijuro down, Xunli did not go home, but asked the driver to drive to a handicraft shop in the city.She wants to make it up to the child - in her own way.

Xun Licao hastily chose a blank mask with the same style as before, and selected raw materials such as acrylic, red string, bells, etc. She planned to DIY a brand new mask for Seijuro as compensation.

Xunri was still wearing the cumbersome and heavy kimono, but she immediately gave the mask to Seijuro when she wanted to go home.She had no choice but to find an open-air coffee shop nearby, and started making regardless of the subtle eyes of the customers.

"Well, it seems like this?" Xunli painted the eye sockets, black nose and mouth with gold and red, and took out the photos on the phone for comparison. "It's so monotonous!"

Although she hasn't touched a paintbrush for a long time and is a little rusty, the difficulty of drawing a fox face is within her ability to hold a paintbrush as a toy since she was a child.

She carefully outlined the long tail of the goldfish on one side of the mask with bright red, mixed with a few strands of imperceptible gold, like delicate and fiery flowers dancing on the paper.On the other side, the word "sign" is scrawled in thick black to declare its owner.

This one is more flamboyant and flamboyant than the one bought at the stall, but the strong imitation calligraphy makes it less exaggerated and more tense.

"Hmm~ not bad." Xunli nodded feeling good about herself, and after the acrylic dried, she punched holes and put on the red string and the bell.

It was already sunset when she finished a mask and returned home. To Xunli's surprise, Seijuro didn't even change his clothes after returning home, and locked himself in the bedroom for an entire afternoon.

Xunli's mother, the source of the evil that caused the young master to be in a bad mood, was shocked, and felt distressed that the child's spirit was really delicate and fragile.

"It's already dinner time, you see—should you persuade the young master to come down?" Katase raised his attention.The young master was in a bad mood, and no one in his family dared to persuade him except his parents.

"Okay, okay, take the food and reheat it."

Xun Li waved his hands helplessly, hid the mask behind his back, and climbed up to the third floor lightly.

……

On the other hand, Seijuro walked into the bedroom quickly and locked the door, then calmly went to the desk and pulled out the chair, sat down, and read the book.Silently, he stared blankly at the same page for 5 minutes, but finally couldn't hold it back—big tears rolled down his eyes and cheeks.A salty and bitter taste filled the entire mouth.

He ignored the knock on the door that he often thought of outside, and covered his mouth to not let the crying attract their attention.

Under normal circumstances, what do children who are hit by their parents' innocent responsibilities do?

It is obviously not his style to yell "Mom is the most annoying!" while crying.The black resentment in his heart exploded, but he couldn't say hurtful words like he didn't like his mother against his will.

Xun Li's education was right, and he couldn't refute it.But it was the first time that she stared at her with such stern eyes, and he was afraid that if he refused to let go, he would be rejected by her.

The most feared thing in this world is to be hated by mother; the last thing I want to hear is her accusation.

... To put it bluntly, this brat was just thinking too much about himself, and got into an awkward situation.

Seijuro buried his head in the crook of his arms, disgusted—the sound of footsteps approaching again!

But the visitor just knocked twice on the door politely and then fell silent.Just when he was wondering, the door lock opened with a "click".

"Oops!"

He kept his head down and closed his eyes tightly, so that no one would notice his red rabbit eyes from crying.

Judging from the sound of footsteps, the person who came was Xunli!That was the last person he wanted to see right now.

Kaoru sighed, she knew Seijuro was pretending to sleep from the moment she stepped into the room.In order to protect his little self-esteem, the considerate she didn't wake him up, but quietly reached out and placed the mask beside his book.

She paused her hand, and her eyes caught sight of the crumpled corner of the page—there were traces left after the water stains had dried.

"Little idiot, come down to eat later."

How could she blame him.

Kaoru loves Seijuro more than anything else.

It wasn't until Xunli closed the door and walked away that this arrogant kid dared to raise his head again.

"!"

What came into view was a fox mask that completely occupied his sight, somewhat similar to the one at noon, but the flamboyant "Zheng" character on the right proved that it was made by Xun Li.

The short, undeveloped fingers carefully rubbed/stroked every inch of the mask, and finally touched the word "sign".The mask seemed to be breathed with new life.

Seijuro felt his nose sore and quickly covered his mouth.The wet eyes are swollen and sore, followed by a new round of tears——

"Giving up for a while is just to usher in a better one."

"Mom, thank you."