58 Frankness and Disguise
◎Is Hanano still in pain?◎
"What... is this?" Matsuda Jinpei raised his eyebrows, trying to connect with Hanano Chihoko's train of thought.
"Didn't you see it?"
Hanano Chiheko's enthusiasm remained undimmed. She paused at a page and said, "Take a look at this."
Matsuda Jinpei followed his instructions and looked over. The handwriting wasn't clear under the moonlight, but fortunately, Matsuda Jinpei had good eyesight. "As good friends, we often think of each other, gradually becoming more and more dependent on each other in life, even..."
Matsuda Jinpei paused, looking at Hanano Chihoko, who was inexplicably concentrating on picking at her hands. "Is this a serious book?"
"Hiss, your question seems familiar to me..."
Chihoko Hanano thought for a moment in her already unclear mind, but unfortunately she couldn't remember anything.
Matsuda Jinpei's mouth twitched. "Does this... have any direction?"
"Furiya-kun...and you guys." Hanano Chihoko said casually.
"Yeah?"
Jinpei Matsuda narrowed his eyes.
Under Matsuda Jinpei's almost scrutinizing gaze, Hanano Chiheko forced herself to calm down, her pupils gradually focusing. Suddenly, she reached out her hand towards Matsuda Jinpei's face, "You..."
His heart inexplicably moved in rhythm with Hanano Chihoko's movements, and Matsuda Jinpei's Adam's apple rolled. "Me?"
Hanano Chihoko pointed her finger upwards and brushed a handful of cat hair from Matsuda Jinpei's curly hair. "Orange has been losing a lot of hair lately. Do you think fish oil would help?"
Hanano Chiheko said in annoyance.
Jinpei Matsuda glanced at the tuft of cat hair, took a deep breath, and suddenly felt the urge to not care about anything.
"I don't like your differential treatment." Matsuda Jinpei knew that this was the first time that his tone had such obvious exclusivity.
"Ah?" Hanano Chiheko was surprised for a moment. Although she was shocked, she still hesitated to speak.
"If you really want... then I'll bring you some fish oil later. Don't be angry. After all, treating people and cats equally is still a bit ahead of my time."
Hanano Chihoko thought her words were very considerate, but when they came to Matsuda Jinpei's ears, they sounded inexplicably confusing.
Matsuda Jinpei tried not to raise his voice: "I'm talking about Zero and me!"
Hanano Chihoko: “…Huh?”
Matsuda Jinpei noticed Hanano Chihoko's surprise and couldn't help but show some helpless self-deprecation on his face, "What a confused person."
Hanano Chiheko was suddenly scolded by Matsuda Jinpei. It took her a while to react and realize something. She glanced at Matsuda Jinpei and asked cautiously, "Are you... angry?"
"Who's angry?" Matsuda Jinpei realized he'd slipped up. He rubbed his brow with his fingertips and stood up. "Anyway, I'm glad you're okay. I'll go back first... and calm down."
But as soon as she stood up, someone grabbed the hem of her school uniform tightly.
Matsuda Jinpei had an idea and gave the hem of his clothes a symbolic tug, but it didn't budge at all.
"What to do?" Jinpei Matsuda's tone couldn't help but slow down.
"I... didn't ignore you." Hanano Chiheko frowned. It was the first time she realized that she had a discriminatory attitude among her friends.
Obviously, Hanano Chiheko could have followed Matsuda Jinpei's words and avoided the topic or ended the conversation, and continued to train in the boxing gym tomorrow as if nothing had happened.
but……
Chihoko Hanano had an inexplicable feeling that if the rift in friendship was allowed to grow wider, one day it would never be healed again.
"Really, I cherish the friendship between us, these days..."
Hanano Chihoko bit her lower lip. "This is also the time when I gained the most friendships in all these years. I cherish it more than anyone else!"
After hearing what Hanano Chiheko said, Matsuda Jinpei's originally tense mind gradually relaxed.
The problems that had been bothering him all day seemed not so important at this moment.
Seeing that Matsuda Jinpei remained silent for a long time, Hanano Chiheko grabbed Matsuda Jinpei's hand and tightened it, trying to explain: "What I mean is..."
Before he finished speaking, Matsuda Jinpei suddenly leaned over and hugged Hanano Chiheko tightly.
Hanano Chihoko's tone paused and she almost bit her tongue.
Seeing that Hanano Chiheko didn't push him away, Matsuda Jinpei closed his eyes and hugged her tighter, "Okay, I admit that I lied before. I've actually been jealous of Hiro for a long time with this hug."
"What? It's not even a day yet." Hanano Chiheko patted Matsuda Jinpei's back as if she was comforting a dog.
Perhaps it was the dim environment that made Matsuda Jinpei let down his guard a little, and even his words had a bit of a straightforward tone.
"If you continue to indulge like this, something big will happen one day."
Jinpei Matsuda buried his head in Chihoko Hanano's hair and sighed softly.
Maybe it was because she couldn't concentrate during her period, but Hanano Chiheko felt that Matsuda Jinpei's words were becoming increasingly difficult for her to understand. "Didn't you just protest? Besides, what could possibly happen? You guys aren't going to hurt me."
Jinpei Matsuda's eyes dimmed slightly, and he didn't say anything more, just concentrated on hugging.
Outside the house, a man who had been standing there for a while leaned against the wall. His gray-blue pupils reflected the short-circuited street lights outside the window, which flickered on and off, sometimes close and sometimes far away. It was confusing yet one could not help but sink into it and could not extricate oneself.
It seems that his idea of coming back specifically to ask Matsuda Jinpei to go back was unnecessary.
After a moment, Fūya Rei turned around and disappeared into the night in the corridor.
Inside the house, the hugging continued.
Seeing that Matsuda Jinpei did not deny it, Hanano Chihoko took it as Matsuda Jinpei's consent. In short, she was finally appeased. It seems that having many friends brings a lot of sweet troubles.
Hanano Chiheko felt a little proud when she thought about it, but then she suddenly felt that Matsuda Jinpei relaxed his strength.
Matsuda Jin stood up straight and brushed off the wrinkles on his clothes. "Okay, you get some rest. I'm going back now. Remember to come on time tomorrow. The training volume will be reduced significantly."
"Can you reduce it to almost zero?" Hanano Chiheko clutched her stomach and looked at Matsuda Jinpei eagerly. "It feels like the pain is really severe this time."
Matsuda Jinpei looked at Hanano Chiheko and paused for a moment before finally compromising and saying, "Let's talk about it when you come."
"Great!" Hanano Chiheko achieved her goal and sent Matsuda Jinpei off (mentally).
"Huh..." Hanano Chiheko breathed a sigh of relief, and in the blink of an eye she saw the book that she had opened for a long time but still hadn't touched.
No, why did he leave without asking any questions? ! !
Chihoko Hanano collapsed and covered her head. Perhaps it was because of the magnetic field of Chihoko Hanano's resentment, the door that had been closed by Jinpei Matsuda opened again.
Hanano Chiheko was shocked. She had just been stood up, and she couldn't help but speak with some resentment, "You still remember to come back!"
Tomoaki Arai, who had just returned and was not aware of the situation, was stunned for a moment, then turned on the light. The sudden light in the room recorded the entire process of Chihoko Hanano from anger to confusion.
"I'm sorry, Senior Sister..."
Shinide Tomoaki took the food he brought back to the table in front of Hanano Chiheko's bed and apologized first: "I spent too much time on the road."
"Ah, no, no, no, it has nothing to do with you." Hanano Chihoko scratched her head awkwardly, but in the blink of an eye she saw the rice that Aida Tomoaki took out, and her originally dull look immediately became energetic.
"Oh, isn't this the meal my good junior brought me~"
Shinide Tomoaki smiled and handed the wrapped sushi roll to Hanano Chihoko, "It's still hot."
Chihoko Hanano took a big bite, determined to fill her stomach that had been emptied by the rice porridge at noon.
Shinide Tomoaki went to get a cup of warm water. Seeing Hanano Chiheko eating with a happy face, he thought of what he had just thought about and couldn't help but ask, "By the way, Senior Sister, have you noticed that your pain sensation is recovering?"
Hanano Chihoko chewed and thought, "Hmm... a little bit. I don't remember it being this painful even during my period before. Otherwise, I wouldn't have even discussed reducing my exercise with Matsuda."
"Then..." Arata Tomoaki made a bold assumption and carefully sought confirmation, "Is there anything unusual in Senior Sister's life recently?"
"Abnormal?"
Chihoko Hanano thought for a moment and suddenly remembered that she had not given the injection several times when she saw that the medicine at home was gone.
Seeing Hanano Chihezi's eyes flash, Shinide Tomoaki took Hanano Chihezi's hand and continued to guide her, "Senior sister may not have noticed it too much, but in fact, the frequency of your hand tremors has decreased significantly in recent days."
Chihoko Hanano swallowed the food in her mouth and turned her hands.
It seems... it's indeed much better.
Is it because of stopping the medication?
Chihoko Hanano's eyes were complicated for a moment.
Shinde Tomoaki gradually understood the answer. "It seems that Senior Sister already knows the answer. In any case, this is a good thing, isn't it?"
Hanano Chihoko slowly clenched her hands, and after a moment she spoke: "Maybe."
Although she said that, for some reason, Chihoko Hanano always felt empty in her heart, as if something was missing.
The spring cherry blossoms bloomed one after another, and compared to the winter cherry blossoms, they gave Hanano Chiheko a completely different feeling.
How should I put it...it's very lively, and it doesn't quite match the color tone that Hanano Chiheko thinks she has, but that doesn't stop her from liking it.
When Chihoko Hanano was not on duty, she would often go downstairs and lean against a tree, staring blankly.
On a cloudless day, Hanano Chiheko's eyes felt sore from looking at the cherry blossoms. She was about to rub her eyes when someone got there first.
"Guess who I am?"
"Hmm..." Hanano Chiheko thought for a moment, "Furiya-kun."
"wrong."
"Where's Jingguang?"
"wrong."
"Ah, that must be Matsuda!"
Hagiwara Kenji walked around to Hanano Chiheko with a look of reproach on his face, "I'm so sad. I'm actually so far behind in Chiheko's heart..."
"Oh, I was just kidding." Hanano Chiheko looked at Hagiwara Kenji with amusement, "And why are you all starting to care about the order? They're all the same in my heart!"
"Really?" Hagiwara Kenji looked at Hanano Chihoko with suspicion.
Hanano Chihezi patted her chest and said, "Don't question my ability as a master of water balance. I treat everyone equally!"
However, Chihoko Hanano's hand on her chest was suddenly grabbed by Kenji Hagiwara and moved slightly to the left.
Hanano Chihoko belatedly realized that Hagiwara Kenji was looking for the heart. "What's this for?"
"You see, the heart is biased, so how can you guarantee that you won't be biased?" When Hagiwara Kenji spoke, the look he gave Hanano Chihoko was like a sharp sword without its sheath, which could pierce through all disguises in an instant.
The words Hanano Chihoko was about to say were stuck in her throat.
It was not until then that Hanano Chiheko suddenly realized that the communication skills that the person in front of her had always been good at were actually also a kind of ability to judge people.
At the same time, Hanano Chihoko seemed to see that under Hagiwara Kenji's handsome appearance that was gentle to everyone, there was a soft shell that protected himself very well. Although it was soft, it was extremely strong.
"You're right." Hanano Chiheko said with a more serious expression, "Just like you and Matsuda, you both regard each other as the most important existence. Even if you start dating other people later, you will still be different to each other."
Kenji Hagiwara smiled, walked next to Chihoko Hanano, and leaned back against the cherry tree.
"Yeah, just like you and Zero."
【Author’s words】
Open no-prize guessing game [come on]:
What color tone does Hanano Chihoko think she is?
A gold (orange) color
B red
C colorful white
D Colorful black
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