Chapter 22
"Kurozuka! We're here to see you!"
A voice broke the silence of the ward. The girl sitting on the bed raised her head from her book and looked towards the door.
Two exquisitely crafted pearl hairpins, gifts from others, neatly parted her bangs on either side of her cheeks, revealing her gentle features.
Fujimine Tsukasa was quick-witted and grabbed the collar of Itami Koji who was about to pounce on him like a dog seeing a meat bun.
Sengoku Sakuya was no longer surprised by this. He had already stepped aside and started unloading the gifts brought by Itami's "human truck".
Halfway through unloading, the vein on his forehead suddenly jumped: "Who bought these white chrysanthemums?!"
"Me, me, me!" Itami Koji proudly put his hands on his hips, not noticing anything unusual. "I even picked a double-petaled one. Isn't it beautiful?"
Then he was punched mercilessly by Fujimine Tsukasa: "Idiot! He is just recuperating in the hospital, why are you giving him chrysanthemums?!"
Heizhong Wushi glanced at the three people playing at the door, then turned his head to check the time, then shook his head slightly, silently turning a page of the book in his hand.
"You three are too noisy!" A dissatisfied female voice sounded at the door.
A girl with curly chestnut hair walked in, biting a lollipop. Her cute face was full of disdain: "You'll disturb other people's rest!"
The three of them looked at the obvious hospital gown on the girl and the bulging shopping bag hanging on her plastered arm, and exchanged glances with inexplicable expressions.
"Tana! You sneaked out again!" Just as Itami Koji shouted, he was hit on the forehead by a flying hard candy.
Tanai Sonoko straightened her hair as if nothing had happened, then walked straight to Kurozuka Kirishi's bedside. She quite naturally took out a few brand new comic books from her shopping bag and placed them next to her pillow.
"Here, I bought a few new volumes. You can exchange the one you have for this one when you finish it."
After hearing Kurozuka Kirishi's soft "thank you", the corners of Tianna Sonoko's mouth couldn't help but want to rise, but she immediately suppressed it and coughed calmly: "Ahem... You're welcome."
In fact, Tana Sonoko and Itami Koji are essentially the same guys. They both get easily stuck when they see a girl they like.
However, compared to Itami Koji's "universal love", the biggest difference between Tana Sonoko is that she is very, very picky about faces.
Fujimine Tsukasa glanced at his childhood friend who was squatting in the corner and had completely lost his temper because of being despised by Tana, and exchanged a look with Sengoku Sakuya.
The two of them worked together and dragged the "grey large garbage" out of the ward without mercy, leaving only the words "have a good rest" floating in the air.
The room suddenly fell silent, with only the sound of Kurozuka Kirishi occasionally turning pages of a book and the rustling of Wada Nasonoko tidying things up. The two would occasionally exchange a few words in low voices.
"Autumn Festival?" Kurozuka Kirishi looked at the girl who had invited her, somewhat bewilderedly. She had no clear concept of these kinds of festivals and celebrations. "Is it the same as the Summer Festival?"
"No, no, no, they're completely different." Tanai Sonoko shook her finger and explained seriously, "The summer festival is mainly about watching the fireworks display and visiting the temple fair stalls, while the autumn festival is more traditional, with mikoshi torreya (parade of shrine sedan chairs) and kagura dance (dance to worship the gods)."
"But—" she changed the subject, her eyes sparkling as she pulled out her phone. "We have to make up for the fireworks! The whole team was training for the last summer festival and missed out, so this time we have to have a full display!"
Her fingers tapped rapidly on the screen. "OK! We've agreed in the group. We'll secretly buy some fireworks tonight and set them off in the open space behind the base!"
Really... isn't that against the rules? Looking at Tianna Sonoko's enthusiastic expression, as if she had already planned everything, Kurozuka Kirishi silently swallowed the question that was on the tip of his tongue.
Forget it, she thought, if it really doesn’t work... then we’ll all be punished together.
Since she had promised Tana Sonoko to go to the Autumn Festival together, she passively followed the other girls in the team and got busy.
The main content is being dragged to choose the kimono to wear that day, the matching hair accessories, and studying the makeup.
Originally, there was no need to make such a big fuss, but a rumor suddenly came out from nowhere that the boys in the team privately felt that they had no charm at all.
This completely ignited the girls' competitive spirit, and they were determined to let those guys open their eyes and take a good look at them on the day of the Autumn Festival!
The source of the "rumor" - the mastermind behind the scene, Fujimine Tsukasa calmly put down his phone and greeted the admiring gazes of a group of boys.
"Great! Fujimine, you're brilliant! This way we can finally go to the festival with the girls!"
Itami Koji rushed over with tears in his eyes, giving Fujimine Tsukasa goose bumps all over his body: "Brother Fujimine! If you don't abandon me, Koji is willing to take you as his godfather!"
Fujimine Tsukasa said with disgust: "...Get down here!"
"Oh, what a shame," another team member sighed. "I was thinking of making an appointment with the vice-captain, but since he's not on leave that day, forget it."
"It's a pity indeed..."
At this moment, Hoshina Soshiro, who was being lamented for not having a vacation, sneezed inexplicably in the office.
Yabai Mina raised her eyes and looked at him. She never expected that the workaholic would come to her to ask for leave one day?
The reason on the leave note was quite honest: to attend the autumn festival... huh?
"I remember you weren't very interested in these festivals before?" She asked casually, but unexpectedly caught a flash of guilt on his face.
Hoshina Soshiro still had his signature smile on his face, but he didn't dare to meet Abai Mina's inquiring gaze. After all, he knew the reason for his leave best.
As a superior, it is normal for him to occasionally want to care about and participate in the group activities of his subordinates, right?
On the day of the Autumn Festival, in the evening,
After saying goodbye to the other friends she met in the public bath, Tana Sonoko couldn't wait to trot back to her dormitory.
She opened the dormitory door and saw that her roommate had already put on the kimono she had strongly recommended.
The ivory white background is like the warm moonlight, and the bright red camellia embroidery is dotted on the bottom edge of the skirt, as if quietly blooming along the fabric. The pure white and the warm red create a strong and stunning visual impact.
The girl was sitting quietly in front of the dressing mirror, her raven-feather-like black hair hanging down softly. She leaned forward slightly, concentrating on putting the finishing touches on her makeup.
Tianna Sonoko took a closer look and was immediately shocked: "No way, Kurozuka! Your makeup skills are too amazing! You are so well hidden!"
Heizhong Wushi glanced at her in the mirror, his hands moving without any error despite her exclamation: "Go change your clothes first, I'll come help you as soon as I'm done."
Tanai Sonoko happily picked up her pink and white gradient kimono with scattered cherry blossoms embroidered on the hem and ran to change.
When she came out after changing, Kurozuka Kirishi had already neatly clipped a set of red and white silk flower hair accessories behind her ears. He was done, and stood up and motioned Tiannai to sit down.
When the two of them helped each other to finish their hairstyles, Tianna Sonoko looked at her sweet and lovely self and her bright and charming roommate in the mirror, and she wanted to turn into a happy monkey on the spot and hug Kurozuka Kirishi and kiss them.
"Let Itami Koji and his gang look down on us again! We'll make them look bad today!"
Kurozuka Kirishi thought about the Itami classmate she had emphasized in her words, and then thought about the way Itami Koji would blush, get angry, and try his best to contradict her every time he saw Tana.
She held a two-second silence in her heart for a fool she had a crush on without realizing it.
When the group of girls arrived at the agreed meeting place, Kurozuka Kirishi was still lowering his head to send a message to his sister, confirming again the location and safety of her and her friends' outing.
After receiving a positive response, she felt relieved.
The next second, she just raised her head, and her vision suddenly went dark. Someone covered her eyes with a warm hand from behind.
"Guess who I am~" A deliberately low voice rang out with a smile, and the surroundings seemed to be mixed with the small sounds of others trying hard to suppress their laughter.
Kurozuka Kirishi immediately understood that everyone was playing a joke on her.
She did not rush to pull down those hands, but slowly raised her hands, and gently placed her fingertips on the back of the other person's hands.
Hoshina Soshiro could feel her fingertips gently tracing down along the lines of his finger bones. He subconsciously wanted to withdraw his hand, but was grabbed by the wrist.
Her movements were natural, but her tone was firm and careful: "Is it the vice-captain?"
"Bingo~ Correct!" The hands moved away quickly, and the owner naturally walked in front of her.
Hoshina Soshiro smiled and bent down slightly, intending to look her in the eye. However, when he saw her makeup clearly, his words and movements paused for a moment.
Her usually pale face was evened out by the perfect amount of foundation. The light brown eyeshadow was faintly smudged at the end of her eyes, making her always calm black eyes look like obsidian immersed in warm water, moist and translucent.
Her eyelashes were not thick, but they were carefully brushed to make them long and curled. When she raised her eyes and looked at me, there was a hint of innocence and tenderness in her eyes.
The lips are painted with a thin peach-colored lip gloss. When you purse your lips, it feels like you are holding half a ripe fruit, revealing a fresh and attractive pink.
The brief pause was barely noticeable. Soon, the familiar smile appeared on the corners of his lips again, and his purple-red eyes opened slightly.
"You look...beautiful today."
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