23 Oh, let me check my schedule~

◎Christmas is coming!◎

Chihoko Hanano concentrated her attention and listened to Rei Furuya with a serious face.

Furuya Rei pulled out the tickets from his pocket. "I have two movie tickets here. If I remember correctly, you seemed to have always wanted to see this movie. Do you want to go with me?"

Before he could finish his words, he heard a "whoosh" and a shadow passed by, and there was only one ticket left in Jōgō Rei's hand.

"Hiss..." Hanano Chihoko, who had received the ticket, gasped and stumbled back a step. "This, this is the second season of "Bill's Redemption"!"

Fūya Rei pursed his lips and said, "If it's inconvenient, I can find someone else..."

"No, let me do it!" Hanano Chiheko interrupted Furuya Rei, her eyes revealing a righteous, "If I don't go to hell, who will?" "It's Christmas, and everyone else must have already made an appointment. Let me handle this physical and mental exercise of watching a horror movie!"

Fūya Ling's eyebrows curved, and he asked again with a worried look on his face, "This movie is quite long. You shouldn't have anything else to do that day, right?"

Chihoko Hanano was reminded by Rei Furuya and looked down at the time on the ticket stub.

From six to nine in the evening, a full three hours...

"Um... wait a moment." Hanano Chiheko turned her back and counted on her fingers.

If Matsuda Jinpei is between nine and eleven, then I will have time to have lunch with Morofushi Kagemitsu at noon, and then go out for a walk with Aida Tomoaki in the afternoon. So... I will have just enough time to watch a movie in the evening. Even though the schedule is a bit tight, it feels inexplicably nice to be on time!

Seeing Hanano Chiheko sneaking around, not knowing what she was doing, Rei Furuya moved closer and heard Hanano Chiheko whisper, "It's perfect!"

Is it so fun to watch a movie with myself?

Somewhere deep in his heart, it gradually softened, and he breathed softly unconsciously.

Chihoko Hanano was secretly delighted with her extraordinary time management ability, when she suddenly felt an itch on her ear. When she turned around, her eyes met with Rei Furuya who was already looking at her.

As the two of them got closer, Furuya Rei's voice seemed much softer than usual. "Okay, I've answered my questions. Now it's my turn to ask you. Why do you want to know my Christmas plans?"

Chihoko Hanano looked at the shadow cast by Fūya Rei's eyelashes on his purple-gray pupils, and her brain froze for a moment.

What should I say? Was he worried you'd get jealous? But I was the one who took the initiative to go to the movie with him. "Ah, this, this..."

Fūya Rei realized something, raised his eyebrows, and was about to ask again when Hanano Chiheko lost her grip and the movie ticket in her hand was blown out of the window by the breeze that blew through the hall from north to south.

"Oh, my ticket!" Chihoko Hanano was anxious and chased the ticket out of the window as if escaping.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Fūya Ling ran to the window, but the figure disappeared in a blink of an eye.

Fūya Ling looked at him for a while, then suddenly smiled, "Are you really that guilty?"

At this moment, Hanano Chiheko, who had made an excuse to escape, was hiding in the bushes, lost in thought for a while.

A cold wind blew, and the petals of the winter cherry tree rustled down. Hanano Chiheko raised her head, and the sunlight shone through the gaps between the petals onto her face, bringing her one of the few warmths in this cold winter.

Chihoko Hanano looked at the cherry tree for a long time, and her mind inexplicably recalled the scene of the orange cub hitting someone in the face on the day they first met. Because the scene was too funny, Chihoko Hanano couldn't help laughing out loud.

"Kowako?" Hagiwara Kenji had already walked over, but then realized something was wrong and turned back. "Are you enjoying the flowers in such a cold day?"

"No, no." Hanano Chihoko ran to Hagiwara Kenji and said nonchalantly, "She's acting like an artistic girl, feeling melancholy about the passing of time."

"Oh, really?" Hagiwara Kenji smiled, not seeming to believe it. However, he did not continue to ask. Instead, he looked at the ticket in Hanano Chiheko's hand and asked, "Kowako, are you going to the movies?"

"Um."

"today?"

Hanano Chiheko shook her head. "It's the Christmas show."

Hagiwara Kenji nodded in understanding, "Watching a movie on a winter day is an inexplicably romantic choice."

Romance... Chihoko Hanano thought of the theme of the horror movie, and unconsciously imagined that she and Rei Furuya were both scared pale. She couldn't help but have some doubts about the word romance.

"What about Kenji-kun?" Hanano Chihoko asked casually, "What are your plans for Christmas?"

"It's not really a plan, but my sister will come to see me that day."

Hanano Chihoko inexplicably recalled the two big words "Something's happening" on the text message screen between her and her brother, and a hint of melancholy appeared on her face. "It's great to be able to spend Christmas with my family."

Hagiwara Kenji naturally noticed Hanano Chihoko's expression and said, "If it's not a coincidence this time, there will definitely be opportunities in the future."

"Let's not talk about this anymore." Hanano Chihoko changed the subject and said longingly, "I heard from Matsuda that Chisuga-san is so beautiful, isn't she, Kenji-kun?!"

"Xiao Zhenping..."

Hagiwara Kenji smiled knowingly, then suddenly leaned down and looked into Hanano Chiheko's eyes. Although his movements were filled with some unspeakable strength, his friendly tone perfectly neutralized this. "Actually, my sister and I look a lot like each other. Chiheko can imagine it just by looking at me."

Hanano Chiheko stared at the handsome face that was magnified in front of her and admired it for a while. "You know what, I think I noticed something."

Hagiwara Kenji was very pleased, "In fact, not only my sister, but also Kowako is very beautiful."

Hanano Chihoko didn't know how the topic suddenly turned to herself, and scratched her head shyly, "It's okay, hehe."

Hagiwara Kenji said, "So it's not just you who's curious about my sister. She actually wants to meet you too."

"Yes, is that so!" Hanano Chihoko immediately looked at me in a dog-like manner. Who can not love such a sweet and soft sister!

After making an appointment with Hagiwara Kenji to meet Hagiwara Chisuga at some time, Hanano Chihoko almost jumped back to the school clinic. When she opened the door, she saw that in addition to Aida Tomoaki, there was also Nakajima Hayami, whom she had not seen for several months.

"Teacher Nakajima!" Hanano Chiheko ran over excitedly and gave him a hug. "Why are you back so soon?"

Although Nakajima Linmei looked a little weaker than before, she still had a smile on her face. "Thank you for your hard work these days. I want to be back before Christmas. By then, I can let you young people go out and play for a while."

Hanano Chihezi was inexplicably moved and blinked her eyes, "Teacher, you are so good~"

"As for you, it seems like you've been completely transformed in the past few months." Nakajima Linmei said with relief: "I heard from Xinde that you have been working hard to exercise, right?"

She does exercise, but as to whether she's diligent or not, I'm afraid only Hanano Chiheko herself and her two coaches, Furuya and Matsuda, know...

Hanano Chihezi smiled guiltily, "Well, I guess so."

Tomoaki Shinide handed Hanano Chiheko a mocha and said, "If you come any later, the coffee will get cold."

"Thank you!" Hanano Chiheko took it seamlessly, took another sip, and felt that the whole world was wonderful.

…

Early in the morning on Christmas Day, Chihoko Hanano walked out of the police academy office building yawning.

Jinpei Matsuda and others are standing under the winter cherry tree. They are tall and handsome, and the cherry blossoms make them even more pleasing to the eye. If Jinpei Matsuda's current expression didn't look at everyone as if they owed him money, it would be even more beautiful.

Hanano Chiheko complained in her heart as she walked up to Matsuda Jinpei and waved listlessly, "Good morning."

Matsuda Jinpei looked over and asked, "What time did you go to bed yesterday? Why are you so sleepy?"

Hanano Chiheko stretched lazily and walked towards the school gate with Matsuda Jinpei. "Nine o'clock."

"A full twelve hours." Matsuda Jinpei glanced at Hanano Chiheko. "In a way, that's a skill."

"Hehe..." Hanano Chiheko was already used to Matsuda Jinpei's offensive skills, but then she thought about the important matter, "Just to reiterate, I'm only responsible for the aesthetics today. You agreed to take care of the snacks and the like."

Matsuda Jinpei wasn't surprised at all, "I know."

Soon, Jinpei Matsuda realized the seriousness of the matter, which was far more than that.

"Hmm... this ice cream is so delicious!" Hanano Chiheko had a happy face. Matsuda Jinpei next to her was holding a cup of milk tea and two strings of candied haws in one hand, and a big bucket in the other.

"Everything else is fine, but this!" Matsuda Jinpei thrust the giant popcorn bucket in front of Hanano Chiheko. "Is this really something you can eat while shopping?"

"Tsk, what a fuss!" Hanano Chiheko said, looking at an outsider. "I get hungry easily when I'm shopping, so I have popcorn to satisfy my hunger. I can have a bite when I'm free. It's so efficient!"

Matsuda Jinpei had an expression on his face as if he was listening to your nonsense, but when he saw something, he suddenly stopped and said, "We're here."

Hanano Chiheko looked over and saw it was a well-known jewelry store. Her eyes immediately lit up. "Don't worry, I'll be grateful for what I've done for you. I promise not to let the organization down!"

Looking at Hanano Chiheko's energetic steps, Matsuda Jinpei sighed, "The fights in the past two months were not in vain," and followed Hanano Chiheko in a good mood.

"How about this?"

Hanano Chihoko put on the star necklace and showed it to Matsuda Jinpei, "Isn't it beautiful?!"

Matsuda Jinpei looked at her for a while, which was hard to describe, and most of Hanano Chihoko's enthusiasm for shopping was gone.

"Does it look good, my sponsor?" Hanano Chihoko gave a perfunctory smile.

"It's not bad." Matsuda Jinpei's eyes showed a rare bit of confusion, "It's just that giving her a necklace... feels a bit strange."

"strangeness?"

Hanano Chiheko was a little confused and looked at herself in the mirror again. "There's nothing strange about it. It looks good."

As she spoke, Hanano Chiheko suddenly realized something, "Aren't you giving it to someone you like?"

"Huh?" Matsuda Jinpei's voice involuntarily rose a notch. "What nonsense!"

Hanano Chiheko was shocked by Matsuda Jinpei. She put her hand on her chin as if thinking, "Really? Then who is so important to you?"

Matsuda Jinpei's expression showed a little bit of unnaturalness. "No, just ordinary friends."

"In that case..." Hanano Chiheko glanced at the clothing section of the store again, "A scarf is the surest gift."

"This!" Hanano Chiheko picked out a dark blue plaid scarf, acting as a model, and put it around her neck. "Not bad, right?"

Matsuda Jinpei adjusted the position of Hanano Chiheko's scarf and commented sparingly, "Okay."

"That's it!" Hanano Chihoko, who had originally thought that Matsuda Jinpei was extremely difficult to please and had made a lot of mental preparations, was overjoyed.

I looked at the time and it was just a quarter past ten.

Exceeded target!

Hey! It's clearly a holiday, but why do I still feel like a brick-moving worker working against the clock?

Chihoko Hanano shook her head to get rid of the strange thoughts, but found that Jinpei Matsuda did not follow her. Instead, he stood there, staring blankly at something on the booth.