Chapter 26
Back at the base, the hustle and bustle began to spread from the kitchen. Everyone worked together to wash and cut vegetables, and boil the soup base. Soon, the appetizing aroma filled the entire cafeteria.
Everyone sat together in a lively atmosphere, enjoying the fruits of their joint efforts, with laughter and joy throughout the meal.
It was even said that several people almost came to blows in order to fight for the last piece of tender tofu, and the friendship between the two teammates was in jeopardy in the face of delicious food.
After the meal, Tiannai Yuanzi secretly winked at Kurozuka Kirishi and silently urged him with her mouth: "Take the deputy captain away quickly!"
Kurozuka Kirishi turned her head silently. Why did everyone have such unrealistic expectations of her?
She looked at Hoshina Soshiro, who was being "forced to drink" by Fujimine Tsukasa and the others. However, after several rounds, his expression remained normal. Instead, it was Sengoku Sakuya who was the most aggressive and was defeated first.
The usually cool and tough guy turned into a completely different person after getting drunk. He looked at everyone with loving eyes and even tied his apron skillfully.
"So Sengoku is actually a male mother?!" Itami Koji looked at the man who said he wanted to cook two more snacks in shock.
Fujimine Tsukasa pressed his aching temple, crying inwardly: "Why isn't the vice-captain drunk yet? They can't hold on any longer!"
"Vice-captain." Kurozuka Kirishi walked up behind Hoshina Soshiro, hesitated for a moment, then gently placed his hand on his shoulder. He leaned over and whispered in his ear, "I'll take you out to sober you up, okay?"
The surroundings were filled with a chaotic cacophony of voices. Just when she thought she hadn't been heard, Hoshina Soshiro put down his wine glass and gave everyone a slightly apologetic smile.
"Sorry everyone, I feel a little dizzy. I need to go out for some fresh air."
Just as they were about to step out the door, they heard the other team members roaring in frustration from behind: "Itami Koji, you idiot!!! You were pouring plain water for the vice-captain the whole time!!!"
Kurozuka Kirishi subconsciously looked at the man whose face was still drunk just now, but his wrist was suddenly grasped by his hand.
"Let's run!" He smiled and tilted his head at her, looking like a bad fox who had succeeded in a prank, and quickly pulled her away from the "crime scene".
The training ground was empty and quiet at night, with only a few lights emitting a soft glow. A gentle breeze blew by, bringing with it the fragrance of distant grass and trees, blowing away the noise and the smell of alcohol in the room.
The two walked side by side on the runway, no one spoke, just walked silently together,
Just then—
“Swish—bang!”
A beam of brilliant golden light suddenly cut through the night sky, bursting into life at high altitude, transforming into countless twinkling meteors, lighting up the entire night sky.
"Fireworks?" Hoshina Soshiro looked up at the dazzling sky. "Is this the big surprise you've been busying yourself with all day, hiding from me?"
Fireworks one after another rushed into the sky, and the brilliant colors continued to outline charming flowers and twinkling stars on the night sky.
After confirming that he was not angry at all, Kurozuka Kirishi nodded slightly.
"Wow! Look at this!"
"Here, here! There are also handheld fireworks sticks!"
Accompanied by excited shouts, others ran out from the shadows with laughter, each waving a sparkling firework stick in their hands.
What was even more surprising was that behind them was Captain Yabai Mina, who looked helpless.
"You guys... actually prepared this secretly." Although Yabaimina said this, there was no blame in her tone.
"Of course! We agreed to make up for it!" Tanai Sonoko smiled and stuffed a handful of fireworks sticks into the stunned Kurozuka Kirishi's hands: "Fireworks for the summer festival, now make up for it!"
In an instant, the training ground turned into a sea of joy.
Itami Koji laughed and ran in circles waving his firework sticks, Sengoku and Fujimine tried to write in the air with firework sticks, and Tanai huddled next to Abai Mina, excitedly pointing at the fireworks that kept blooming in the sky.
Kurozuka Kirishi stood there, looking up at the night sky illuminated by fireworks. The colorful lights kept flickering, blooming, and dissipating in her clear eyes, which was so beautiful that it was almost unreal.
"Want to have some fire?" Hoshina Soshiro, who was beside him, brought the lit firework stick over.
Before she could respond, the firework stick in her hand was ignited, and brilliant sparks crackled and bloomed rapidly, lighting up the darkness before her eyes.
She subconsciously tried to step back to avoid the flying sparks, but her eyes unconsciously drifted to Hoshina Soshiro and Abai Mina beside her.
Under the fireworks, the faces of the two were blurry in her eyes, but because of the synchronized changes in light and shadow, they seemed to match each other very well.
Kurozuka Kirishi has always known that Captain Abai is the most beautiful person in the defense team. Even though she has never seen her appearance, she can sense something from her posture and temperament when she first saw her.
It was so beautiful. Even in the blurred world in her eyes, the figure was very attractive.
Her heart tightened slightly, and just as she was about to step back a few steps to make room for the two of them, she suddenly realized that her wrist was still loosely wrapped by his fingers.
Have she and he...never been apart since they came out?
This discovery made her heart skip a beat, and an inexplicable emotion surged in her chest.
Perhaps it was because of her previous action that the other party noticed something, but Hoshina Soshiro let go of her hand.
But in the next moment after the sparks bloomed, his fingers suddenly slid down her hand, passed through the gaps between her fingers very naturally, and interlocked theirs.
His movements were so smooth that they seemed unconscious. He didn't even glance at her, but continued to talk to Captain Yabai with his head tilted to the side. "Regarding next week's plan, I think we can make some adjustments..."
Kurozuka Kirishi froze completely, her heartbeat so fast it almost jumped out of her chest. Even though she wanted to pull her hand back, he held it even tighter, and she couldn't pull it away at all.
What made her even more bewildered was that Hoshina Soshiro could still calmly continue discussing the training plan with Captain Abai, as if the hand tightly clasped with hers was not his at all.
"So I think adjustments are necessary." Hoshina Soshiro's voice was steady as usual, but his fingertips gently caressed her joints. "After all, the last mission revealed many shortcomings in the new team members."
Kurozuka Kirishi glanced around. Not far away, Tianna and Itami were playing and laughing. Chigoku and Fujimine were trying to write with firework sticks. Anyone who turned their heads could see their hands tightly clasped in the shadows.
She desperately tried to use her eyes to convey the message of "quickly let go" to Bao Ke, but he just didn't look at her, but was discussing seriously with Captain Yabai.
After pulling the other person's hand countless times, Hoshina Soshiro finally turned his head back.
"What's wrong?" he asked in a low voice.
Kurozuka Kirishi quickly gestured to their hands, but found that he didn't even lower his head, and that hand was still clasped with hers as if it were natural, with no intention of loosening.
What's worse, before she could say anything, she saw him quickly turn around and continue talking to Captain Yabai, leaving her alone in the wind.
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