Chapter 79

To Shi Yu's surprise, after arriving at the tent with Xiao, the staff led them inside. What appeared before them was a boy with a childish face who looked definitely no older than fourteen. He was being guarded by two or three staff members wearing dark blue uniforms with work badges. When he heard footsteps, he raised his head with a flushed face.

…Well, the word “oversee” is definitely appropriate.

He seemed a little agitated. The moment he saw Shi Yu, he clenched his fists in anger, ready to rush over. If the gentleman next to him hadn't held his shoulders, he would have already stood in front of Shi Yu...

The other party's obvious malice made Shi Yu feel a little pressured. Her eyes wandered for a moment, and she stopped and did not move forward.

"This is his nanny."

Xiao held the child and whispered something in Shigure's ear, then took two steps forward and used his body to block the boy's gaze towards Shigure.

"Excuse me, may I speak to him for a moment?" Xiao asked the staff member. After receiving a positive response, he looked at the boy calmly and asked, "You are this child's caregiver, right?"

"Yes," the boy admitted bluntly, but he didn't look at Akatsuki. He still tried to look around him to look at Shigure standing behind him. "This matter has nothing to do with you. Let me talk to the Omega behind you first."

"Hey, how about you adopt him?"

Without waiting for Xiao's response, he raised his voice. Shigure, who was silently hanging his head and pretending to be mute, pointed at himself in confusion, as if he didn't realize that the boy was talking to him.

"You're an Omega, right? Your conditions are similar. Even if you don't have money, you can still find an Alpha who will pay for you. Since you found him, let him follow you."

The boy nonchalantly pointed at the child in Xiao's arms in a salesman's tone.

Shigure: “Huh…?”

No, what does this have to do with her? She is still burdening Mr. Rain with her food, clothing, housing and transportation. If she brings back a baby, it will definitely not work!

—And Mr. Rain is still unmarried. If she adopts the child, Mr. Rain will be displaced by two generations...

"Okay," Xiao stopped him at the right moment, "From this point on, neither she nor I have any obligation to take responsibility for children in public institutions."

"Now that the child has been found, I hope you can take this opportunity to think carefully about how you will explain your abandonment of the child today once your teacher arrives here."

"I didn't abandon him. York can find a new one..." The boy tried to refute with an unconvinced look on his face.

"Also, I remember that undifferentiated children who broke into the Omega bathroom without permission would not be questioned or detained according to federal law like adult Alphas and Betas, but they would still be subject to some punishment."

Xiao smiled, interrupting the boy's words and nodding slightly: "Similarly, I will convey this matter truthfully to your teacher."

“…”

The boy's face darkened, he stared at Xiao and stopped talking.

When Xiao handed the child to the staff nearby and returned to Shi Yu, she asked in a low voice with some doubt: "Xiao, do they have a teacher?"

"Well, teachers in public welfare institutions are usually volunteers, responsible for teaching them basic cultural knowledge. However, due to a perennial shortage of staff, it's impossible to take care of everyone, so there's usually a childcare system within the institution."

Xiao concluded, "The so-called childcare workers, or teachers, will select older and more attentive children to look after the younger, more vulnerable children. This will also save some money."

Shi Yu suddenly realized: "...I see."

Then she turned her head and quietly glanced at the boy who was being closely guarded by a group of men in uniform. She didn't think he was old and attentive at all...

Now that the "culprit" and the child's origin had been identified, all that remained was to wait for the public institution to send someone to pick them up. After calling and reconfirming several times, the staff member finally came running over, relieved. "Okay, thank you. Leave the rest to us. We're truly sorry that we couldn't give you two a perfect time at the park. This incident was also due to our negligence."

"No, please don't worry about it."

Xiao responded politely.

"In fact, the reason this child was able to come this time was because we have a volunteer here who is from a welfare agency. He said he wanted to let those children experience the fun of visiting the park, so we contacted the people there and were willing to open it to them for free."

"After all, the children in the institution are different from ordinary children. They..."

"Ah, saying so much is just adding to your troubles," the staff member said with a wry smile, shaking his head and turning around. "I'm so sorry, I'll take you away. Please follow me."

"Well, thank you for your help."

"thank you!"

Shi Yu followed obediently for two steps, and then suddenly looked up at Xiao as if he felt something. The boy's narrow eyes drooped slightly, and there was no trace of a smile on his usually smiling eyebrows. He looked elegant and distant.

Shi Yu didn't think too much about it. She bit her lip and squeezed her hand into the boy's warm and rough palm, causing him to laugh: "...What's wrong?"

Shi Yu shook his head and said nothing.

So Xiao obediently took her hand, and when they reached the door of the tent, the boy's hoarse voice came from behind them again.

"Hey! Think about it again, Yorta..."

"That's enough, Ivan!"

Shi Yu happened to look back at this moment. The person who scolded the boy was a staff member who had been standing beside him and watching him closely from beginning to end. She inexplicably guessed that this person must be the volunteer from the welfare institution...

"Then why don't you pay for Joel's treatment?" The boy called "Ivan" seemed unable to bear it any longer and shouted at the other party with a trembling breath. "It's okay that he doesn't have enough food and clothes on a regular basis, but there are so many of us who have to save even more for his illness. Is it wrong to want to change Joel's living conditions to a better one?"

"...That's enough," the gentleman said, "You're only doing this for yourself."

"Yes, that's right. I don't want to give any of my limited resources to this little monkey. If I could be like her—"

Shi Yu stopped at the door as if he had realized something, opened his eyes a little dazedly, and looked into the boy's eyes that were filled with anger and gloom.

"If she's an Omega like her—"

The young man looked at her deeply, took a breath, and then laughed with a hint of sarcasm, "I won't be tied up with you and suffer like this anymore."

"The clothes she's wearing are worth a lot of money. Since you have the ability, why not help..."

Following a crisp sound of flesh being hit, the boy's voice came to an abrupt end.

Xiao put his arm around her shoulders, patting her back gently as if to soothe her panic and guilt. Shi Yu's face turned pale as she tightly grasped Xiao's hand. She couldn't utter a word as she stepped out of the tent.

"Want to take a break, Shigure?"

Shigure nodded, then shook his head.

Xiao brought her to the bench outside. From a distance, Shi Yu blankly saw many teenagers hurriedly running into the tent, some of whom were holding or holding hands with younger children.

Shi Yu suddenly thought, was it because of this incident... that all of them were gathered here and could no longer enjoy this rare opportunity to visit the garden.

She stared blankly at the tent not far away, her mind wandering, unable to divert her attention from it.

"Shigure, that's enough."

The smell of beer pressed down gently, and the boy's breath was so close. Shigure buried his head in the Alpha's chest, blinked lightly, and then his heart felt empty. He hugged the other's firm waist with both hands as if seeking comfort.

After a moment of silence, Shi Yu said softly, "Xiao, I have no choice..."

She couldn't say anything more, and Akatsuki, as if understanding all her anxieties, gently stroked her hair and replied, "Don't worry about it, Shigure. This has nothing to do with you."

"I'm sorry, I didn't anticipate this kind of thing in advance." Xiao said.

…It was supposed to be a good date, how could it turn out like this?

The more Shi Yu thought about it, the sadder she felt. She hugged Xiao as if she wanted to bury herself, like a wronged cat.

The matter of the baby came to an end, but the sun had already set. After ending the hug, Shi Yu glanced at the time. There were only forty-five minutes left before Mr. Rain came to pick her up.

Just walking to the park entrance takes half an hour, which means she and Xiao no longer have time to spend together...

"By the way, Xiao." Thinking of something, Shi Yu tugged at the corner of his clothes and said in a muffled voice, "Let's go return the clothes."

This rented authentic kimono was very expensive. She had checked the price on Star.com before. She had to return it properly, otherwise she couldn't afford the compensation.

Unexpectedly, Xiao smiled helplessly and looked down at her, "Shi Yu, actually..."

"Um?"

The boy's fingertips unconsciously stroked the back of her hand, and he looked at her gently, as if he wanted to remember her appearance at the moment in his heart.

"I wanted to give you this dress as a gift."

Shigure: "...? Oh, no, it's too expensive!"

Shi Yu's face was filled with panic as she quickly waved her hands to refuse. Xiao seemed to have anticipated her reaction and showed a distressed look at the right moment: "What should I do? I've already bought it."

Although he said so, the young man still had a smile on his lips, and his tone was slow and gentle. Shi Yu stared at him silently for a long time, gritted his teeth and asked, "How much is this suit? I'll return it to you later..."

"Hmm? You've already paid."

“No way!”

"I made you wait for so long during my previous match," Xiao said matter-of-factly, "so I have to make some compensation, right?"

Huh, is that so?

In fact, she didn't wait for Xiaola on purpose. She felt lonely and made an appointment with Xia Feng... But at this time, she absolutely couldn't say that!

"No, if I win a prize in a competition wearing an outfit like this, I'll probably spend all the prize money."

Shi Yu felt bad, implying that she had to pay the money back! Mr. Rein gave her a lot of pocket money, so she still had some savings.

"Um……"

Xiao pondered for a moment before saying, "Actually, I did get a bonus."

"Rather, I originally entered the competition just for the prize money... Ever since the day I learned we would meet, I've been wanting to give you something, Shigure."

Shi Yu was stunned for a moment, then raised his head slightly and looked into the boy's smiling eyes.

When she learned that the other party had won the competition, she wanted to praise him and express her determination to pay him back - but after he said that, she was speechless.

And at this moment, she couldn't even look away.

The unignorable warmth was transmitted from the clasped palms to the nerves bit by bit. A smile appeared between Xiao's eyebrows and he looked at her quietly. At this moment, Shi Yu felt that Xiao seemed to have entrusted something to her.

"So, take it."

The boy said so.

X.

When leaving, Shi Yu got into the car while looking back. Even after Lei Yin helped her close the car door, she still reluctantly opened the car window and looked at Xiao's figure in the distance.

It was already dark. The young man put one hand in his pocket and waved the other arm towards her in the night breeze, his posture cheerful and handsome.

…Even though the date was regrettable, Shigure was very happy at the moment, so she waved happily to the other party, ignoring the frequent glances Mr. Rain sent her.

The hovercar was moving, Shi Yu leaned his head against the glass, staring at the night outside the window in a daze.

Suddenly, with a "bang", fireworks rose into the air, exploded, and then drifted down with long, brilliant golden tails. Shi Yu was startled, then became excited and quickly called out, "Mr. Rain! It's fireworks!"

"Yeah, I see."

The young man responded, observing the girl's expression in the rearview mirror. Her hands were pressed against the car window, and her expression changed from excitement to trance, and finally to loss - there was not much time in between.

There was no one on the empty mountain road. She didn't need to imagine how busy the park's hilltop, observation deck, and streets were at that moment. Xiao was alone...

He was alone... there.

"Mr. Rain."

Shigure made up his mind, lowered his hands from the car window, folded them together nervously, and said hesitantly: "There is something... I want to -"

Rain did not refuse her request.

About half an hour later, Shi Yu returned to the park entrance. She was not sure whether Xiao had returned by then and whether the fireworks would end immediately, but since she had made the decision, she had to give it a try!

She staggered up the hill she had come from in her wooden clogs. Nearly forty minutes later, she actually saw Xiao's back from a distance. He was standing not far from where he had just seen her off, and it looked like he was just about to go back.

Brilliant fireworks exploded wave after wave above her head. Shi Yu was sweating profusely, but she couldn't help laughing. The next step was a downward slope. She finally stopped caring and ran down with the night wind, holding up the hem of her skirt.

Just like when she came, she ran down the slope, past the blooming night cherry blossoms and the bustling vendors on the roadside. The wooden clogs and kimono were no longer a cumbersome constraint, but a source of endless physical strength for her.

"dawn--!"

The grand fireworks drowned out her voice.

But the young man from the East Country stiffened his back slightly. He turned around at that critical moment and caught Shi Yu who fell head-on into his arms.

Her face flushed and she was panting, but she hugged the boy in front of her and laughed heartily.

The author has something to say:

Woohoo, there’s only half a month left until the last holiday!

Wait for me! I will be back in half a month!!

Akatsuki's date is over! Simon-chan is next!