In Academy City, the Paradise Project begins.

Page 182

The net was lowered into the water, and a black goldfish with a particularly beautiful tail swam slowly towards it. Just as it was about to swim past the edge of the net, Higashino Yu gave an extremely slight flick and lift of his wrist!

The black goldfish was lifted out of the water without any damage to the paper net.

"Wow!"

Chu Chun Shiri clapped her hands excitedly and jumped up.

"Yu-kun is amazing!"

"Hmph...not bad luck."

Misaki Shokuhou was unconvinced, but she had to admit that Higashino was indeed very good.

The owner smiled and handed over a small plastic bag containing water and the beautiful black goldfish.

Shiori Haru happily took the bag and looked at the goldfish swimming inside: "So cute!"

She suddenly tiptoed and quickly kissed Higashino Yu on the cheek.

"A reward for Yu-kun!"

Higashino Yu was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and patted her head.

Seeing this, Misaki Shokuhou narrowed her eyes slightly, then leaned closer to Higashino Yu and said in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Higashino-kun, you did a really good job..."

As she spoke, with lightning speed, she also planted a soft, sweet-smelling kiss on Higashino Yu's other cheek.

"This is a favor you do me by giving me priority!"

Higashino Yu felt the different temperatures and textures on his cheeks, and looking at Shokuhou's slightly smug smile, he smiled helplessly and indulgently.

"Hey, Yu-kun and Shokuhou are definitely having an affair, they're not even hiding it anymore."

Chu Chun, who had noticed the unusual nature of their relationship last time, muttered something under her breath.

"You agree, right, Hokaze-senpai?"

"Uh...ha, yes, I guess so."

Runzi, standing behind him, broke out in a cold sweat. She felt that although the child seemed completely unconcerned, his tone sounded a little strange.

On the other side, the battle for water balloon fishing was also fierce.

"Ouch! It's torn again!"

Saten Ruiko looked at the third torn paper hook in her hand and stomped her foot in frustration.

"Saten-kun, don't worry..."

Chun Shang Jinyi comforted her softly, but she herself tried very carefully, and the paper hook always broke as soon as it touched the water balloon.

Shirai Kuroko frowned; she had already failed several times.

"This design is completely unreasonable!"

she complained.

Misaka Mikoto was somewhat taken aback. She held her breath, her fingers moving with unusual steadiness as she manipulated the fragile paper hook.

She avoided the most bulging part of the water balloon, and very gently hooked the knot of the thin rope attached to the water balloon with the tip of the hook, then flicked her wrist and lifted it up!

A blue water balloon was successfully fished out!

"Success!"

Mikoto happily held up her spoils and looked triumphantly at the other losers.

"Big sister is amazing!"

The hater immediately gave him an admiring look.

Wow! Misaka-senpai is amazing!

Leizi and Jinyi also gathered around.

With Mikoto's demonstration and guidance, Kuroko finally caught one, while Ruiko and Emi, although they failed more often than not, were having a lot of fun.

Soon, Higashino Yu arrived with Haru, Shokuhou, and Junko, joining them. Haru proudly showed everyone the small bag containing the goldfish, making the other girls quite envious.

"What's next?"

Tears still welled up in her eyes.

"There's a ring toss game over there!"

In early spring, she pointed to a stall not far away, where the ground was covered with all kinds of dolls, trinkets and snacks.

"Okay! Let's go to the ring toss game!"

Tears welled up as Rukawa Junko pulled her along.

"Senior Runzi, let's give it a try together!"

"Eh? Ok, ok."

Junko Hokaze was pulled over.

Higashino Yuya followed with a smile. Ring toss was a game far too easy for him.

He casually picked up a bamboo ring and glanced at the prize area.

"Runzi, is there anything you want?"

He looked at Runzi.

Junko Homikaze's eyes lit up when she saw a small frog-shaped keychain in the prize area, but she didn't say anything.

Higashino Yu understood, and with a slight flick of his wrist, the bamboo ring drew a precise parabola in the air, firmly catching the frog pendant!

"Wow!"

Tears welled up and cheered.

Then, Higashino Yu easily helped everyone win prizes, which made the shopkeepers look at him a little unfriendly. Fortunately, he just didn't want to show favoritism, and after everyone received their gifts, they stopped making things difficult for the shopkeepers and continued walking towards other entertainment options.

After playing the game for a while, everyone's attention was quickly drawn to the aromas from the various food stalls.

“Taiyaki!”

Haru Shiori immediately locked onto her target, grabbed Higashino Yu's sleeve, and headed towards a stall.

"Yu-kun, I want red bean paste! The most authentic kind!"

Higashino Yuu, pulled along by Haru, turned to the others and smiled, "How about we all split up and go buy what we want to eat? We can meet back here in ten minutes?"

The girls scattered at the sound of the call, then quickly gathered again, each carrying their favorite snacks.

Saten Ruiko excitedly returned to Higashino Yu's side, holding up a skewer of grilled chicken that smelled wonderfully charred: "Yu-kun, Yu-kun, try this! It's super delicious!"

As he spoke, he handed a skewer of steaming chicken to Higashino Yu's mouth.

Higashino Yu took a bite from her hand, chewed a few times, and his eyes lit up: "Hmm! The meat is very tender, and the taste... Ruiko has a good eye for it."

Unlike the other chicken skewers in Ruiko's hand, Higashino noticed that the chicken skewers she handed him had extra chili powder on them.

"Hehe~"

Ruiko smiled smugly and took a bite of the chicken skewer in Higashino's hand.

"Right, right! The shopkeeper said this chili powder is made from chilies from Xia Country, I think it's called something like 'facing heaven chili,' but it's so spicy."

Although the dishes Higashino cooked at each gathering weren't very spicy, Ruiko knew he was deliberately catering to everyone's tastes, as he himself had a rather strong palate.

Just then, Mikoto returned, carrying a box of hot takoyaki. She casually handed it to Higashino Yu: "Hey, this is for you. I accidentally bought too much."

Higashino Yu smiled and poked one up, without exposing Mikoto's attempt to cover up her misunderstanding.

"Mikoto's recommendation must be good. Ah, as expected, the octopus pieces are large, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, very delicious."

Mikoto gave a satisfied hum.

"I chose this one after looking at several options!"

Misaki Shokuhou gracefully approached carrying a small box of fried noodles. She picked up a piece of noodles drenched in sauce with a fork and held it to Higashino Yu's lips: "Ah, Higashino-kun, try this. It's just a street food, but it's surprisingly good. And I heard from Saten that you like spicy food, so I asked the vendor to add extra chili peppers."

Higashino Yu obediently opened his mouth to take it, savored it carefully, and then nodded.

"Mmm, thanks... But you really didn't need to buy such spicy fried noodles, you probably couldn't eat it, right?"

"No problem, I can get used to Higashino-kun's taste... unlike someone else."

Misaki raised her chin smugly and glanced at Mikoto, who was eating takoyaki next to her.

Mikoto immediately became annoyed: "What do you mean by that?! Takoyaki with chili peppers is an evil way to eat it!"

"Oh dear, I didn't say anything, why are you so agitated, Misaka-san?"

Misaki blinked innocently.

"You rascal, I could change for Yu, but..."

Higashino Yu quickly smoothed things over: "Actually, any flavor is fine with me, I'm okay with anything!"

“Hmph!” “Hmph!”

Upon seeing Higashino's evasive answer, both of them turned away from him, clearly dissatisfied.

Seeing the two sulking, Kuroko hesitated for a moment, then walked up to Higashino, handed him the candied apples she had bought, and turned her face away: "...Here, take it. The store is having a promotion today, buy one get one free, don't overthink it..."

Higashino Yu took the half of the glistening red apple candy and smiled, "Thank you, Kuroko."

Kuroko was clearly lying. The stall wasn't far from here, and Higashino saw many people buy one and leave; there was no buy-one-get-one-free offer.

However, he's not stupid; he wouldn't expose the haters.

He took a small bite and nodded in satisfaction.

"Hmm! It's sweet and sour, not bad."

Kuroko muttered softly, "If you like it, that's good..."

"what?"

"fine!"

Seeing that Higashino didn't seem to hear her, Kuroko walked towards Mikoto.

Junko Hokaze quietly placed a freshly baked taiyaki into Higashino Yu's hand, saying softly, "It's better to eat it while it's hot..."

After saying that, she lowered her head shyly.

"Thanks, Runzi."

Higashino Yu smiled warmly, took the taiyaki, and took a bite.

"The outer layer is crispy, and the red bean filling is sweet but not greasy. No wonder you and Shili both bought this. It's delicious."

"Right? Senior also thinks it's delicious!"

Haru Shiori walked over, eating her taiyaki. If she hadn't been carrying that bag of goldfish, she would have wanted to get Higashino the taiyaki herself.

"But their candied apples are really good!"

Haruka Koi held the apple candies she had bought with Kuroko, taking small bites as she ate them, her face beaming with a happy smile, oblivious to the sugar stains that clung to her lips.

Higashino Yu felt like a mascot being fed, with various delicacies in his hands and mouth, surrounded by chattering, energetic girls.

He smiled helplessly yet happily, "Are you all trying to fatten me up?"

Saten Ruiko grinned and handed over another chicken skewer: "Yu-kun, eat more so you'll have the energy to play with us!"

"Yes, yes, there are still so many stalls to visit!"

Chu Chun chimed in, her eyes already fixed on the next dessert stall.

Amidst this lively atmosphere, a deafening sound of gongs, drums, and cheers drifted from afar.

"Ah! It's a parade! It's about to begin!"

Saten Ruiko excitedly pointed to the end of the street.

A procession consisting of floats, lanterns, and performers dressed in traditional costumes slowly approached.

The girls' attention was instantly drawn to it, and they all pulled Higashino Yu to squeeze to a place with a better view.

"Yu-kun, hurry up! We're going to miss the beginning!"

Chu Chun anxiously grabbed his left hand.