Chapter 32
The waist still seemed to retain the burning touch of his arms tightening around it.
The door of the dressing room blocked out all the noise and inquiring gazes from outside, and the cold air, carrying the lingering fragrance of cosmetics, blew towards me.
I slid down, my back against the door, my fingertips trembling as I untied the crimson wedding dress that felt as heavy as a yoke. The silky satin and the cold jewel pendant peeled from my skin, and I put on my familiar cotton clothes, and only then did I feel alive again.
Her cheeks were incredibly hot and her heart was still beating like a drum in her chest, mixed with the trembling brought by the unfinished kiss on the stage, the shock of that abrupt line, and the embarrassment of being carried off the stage in public.
I splashed cold tap water on my face again and again until the temperature of my skin and the moisture in the corners of my eyes dropped. The person in the mirror was left with only paleness and a lingering trace of fatigue.
The applause for the curtain call outside rose and fell like a tide.
I took a deep breath and pushed open the dressing room door. Sure enough, the backstage was mostly empty; the actors were all on stage accepting flowers and praise. Like a wandering soul, I slipped out silently and merged into the corner where the photography club gathered.
"Kiriyama! Where were you? I almost missed the closing photo!" President Sato patted my shoulder, his face filled with pure excitement. "It was such a success! The audience reaction was amazing! Especially that last part, everyone was in tears! The photos the camera took are simply amazing!"
"Yes, yes, thank you for your hard work, senior!" The members echoed in unison, and the atmosphere was warm and relaxed.
Their faces were filled with pure joy, completely unaware of the thrilling "Civet Cat Substitute Prince" drama going on backstage. I forced a smile and vaguely responded, but the tension in my heart remained tense.
After packing up his heavy equipment bag and preparing to quietly leave the bustling scene, President Sato's loud voice rang out again: "Kiyama! Don't go! Celebration party! Celebration party, you know? Everyone has to go, no one can be left behind!"
"President, I'm a little tired..." I tried to decline politely, my voice full of fatigue.
"Why are you so tired? How can a young person rest so early?" A voice with a sweet smile interrupted.
Misaki Yamamoto walked over, surrounded by people from the drama club and tennis club. She had changed out of her stage costume and was wearing an exquisite off-white dress. Her makeup was perfect and her smile was impeccable.
She walked up to me and took my arm affectionately, with quite a bit of strength.
"Kiriyama-san is our hero tonight!" Her voice was clear and sweet, with just the right amount of gratitude and affection. "If it weren't for you backstage... well, you kept calm in the face of danger,"
She paused, her eyes quickly scanning my face with a barely perceptible inquiry, "Our performance is ruined. The celebration party can't be without you, no one else can be without you!"
The smile was still bright, but the fingers holding my arm were a little cold, which made my back feel inexplicably creepy.
Hiroyuki Kitajima also squeezed over immediately, his eyes brightening surprisingly: "Yes, let's go together! Your photos have contributed greatly to the success of this stage play! Everyone wants to thank you!" His tone was warm, with an expectation that could not be refused.
The noises around me grew louder and louder. Members from the drama club, the tennis club, and even other clubs that had come to help gathered around, all chiding me. I was swept up in the enthusiastic crowd, and my attempts to refuse were drowned out.
"Okay." A deep and gorgeous voice penetrated the noise, with its usual control.
At some point, Keigo Atobe was standing outside the crowd. He had changed back into his regular clothes, and his silver-gray hair shone coldly under the light.
He glanced at me, who looked a little bewildered, sandwiched between Yamamoto and Kitajima. His expression was calm and unperturbed, and he simply said, "Celebration party, everyone attend. Kiriyama, you come too."
There was no room for negotiation; it was an order. The last glimmer of hope for escape was extinguished.
I lowered my eyelashes and whispered, "Yes."
The celebration banquet for the Atobe family's business was naturally held at a top-notch Japanese-style restaurant. A large private room, a stream of exquisite dishes, the aroma of sake and juice mingled with lively conversation.
During the dinner, everyone recalled the hardships of rehearsals and talked about the highlights on stage, especially the final scene where Romeo and Juliet committed suicide for love, which was mentioned repeatedly, pushing the atmosphere to one climax after another.
“The desperate voice of President Yamamoto when he woke up at the end was absolutely amazing!”
"That impromptu line from Minister Atobe was a stroke of genius! It broke my heart!"
"Yes, yes, yes! And that unfinished kiss, the one that's about to say something but can't, it's so tense!"
Every compliment was like a tiny thorn, pricking my tense nerves. I huddled in a corner, trying to minimize my presence, concentrating on the barely touched plate of sashimi in front of me, as if it were the most worthwhile thing in the world to study.
"Just eating is so boring! Let's play some games to liven things up!"
I don't know who proposed it, but it immediately received a response.
Alarm bells started ringing in my heart.
Please don't play Truth or Dare...that kind of game is my nightmare.
Fortunately, the lottery game that came out was a relatively mild one.
Yuushi Ozuki pushed his glasses and the fortune he drew was "Take a photo with the person on the left."
To his left was Taketo Mukai, who was absorbed in his meal. Amidst the good-natured laughter of the crowd, the two men were arm in arm, with Mukai still stuffing his mouth with food and making a comical V-sign to the camera, while Obito looked helpless and indulgent, creating a lighthearted atmosphere.
The game rotates.
When the lottery box was passed to Misaki Yamamoto, everyone's eyes were on her. She gracefully drew a lottery stick, and the vice president beside her read aloud the words: "Please confess your love to the person you like in public!"
There was a moment of silence in the box, and then an even more enthusiastic booing broke out.
Yamamoto's cheeks quickly flushed, like a delicate rose. She subconsciously raised her eyes, shyly and accurately casting a look at Atobe Keigo, who was sitting in the main seat. The affection in her eyes was so strong that it could not be dissolved.
Everyone present is a smart person, and everyone knows what Yamamoto Misaki feels for Atobe.
For a while, shouts of "Be together!" and "Confess your feelings quickly!" rang out one after another.
Atobe held his wine glass, his expression calm, his eyes as deep as the sea, revealing no emotion. I secretly breathed a sigh of relief, thankful to have escaped the disaster, my eyes watching my nose and my nose watching my heart, hoping that this gust of wind would blow over quickly.
However, just when Yamamoto was hesitating and seemed to be mustering up the courage to speak, Hiroyuki Kitajima, who was sitting next to her, suddenly reached out and snatched the lottery ticket from her hand.
"Hey, everyone knows who President Yamamoto likes!" Beidao had a bright yet slightly sly smile on his face. He raised the fortune stick and said, "Give me this card! It's perfect. I also want to take this opportunity to confess my feelings to the person I like!"
My heart sank suddenly, and a sense of foreboding swept over me.
The next second, Bei Dao stood up and walked straight to me.
All the eyes in the box, including Atobe's calm gaze, Yamamoto's suddenly complicated eyes, and Oshitari's interested gaze behind his glasses, were all focused on me, as scorching as a spotlight.
Kitajima took a deep breath, his face showing the youthful innocence and seriousness typical of a teenager. His eyes were surprisingly bright as he looked straight at me: "Kiriyama-san! I...I've liked you for a long time!"
His voice trembled slightly with nervousness, but it was remarkably clear. "I know you like to read by the window on the third floor of the library, and you like to drink the limited-edition chocolate milk in the canteen. You don't like fish, but you always pick it out whenever there's fish in the cafeteria..."
"I know you look really good when you're focused in photos, and I know you're used to tucking your hair behind your ears when you edit photos..."
He went on and on listing the details he had silently observed, and every word was like a pebble thrown into the stagnant lake of my heart, stirring up embarrassment rather than ripples.
Everyone's expressions were wonderful. Yamamoto's smile was a little stiff, Atobe's fingers holding the wine glass seemed to tighten a little, and Oshitari had an expression as if he was enjoying a good show.
My brain was working so fast that I just wanted to find a hole to crawl into.
Reject! Must reject immediately!
I almost blurted out: "Um... Beidao-kun, thank you. But..."
"Please let me finish!" Kitajima interrupted me eagerly, his eyes pleading, "I know Kiriyama-san said he doesn't want to consider love before he's eighteen! I'm willing to wait!"
"Really, please give me a chance, just a chance to pursue you!"
He directly blocked the escape route I had planned, his eyes fiery and persistent.
The air seemed to freeze. Every look was filled with anticipation, curiosity, or a sense of watching a show. The pressure was squeezing me like a substance.
In this suffocating silence, an idea flashed through my mind like lightning.
I raised my head, met Bei Dao's eager gaze, and tried to make my voice sound calm and serious: "Bei Dao, I appreciate your kindness. However," I paused, and threw out the "reason" in the midst of everyone's breath.
"What's your zodiac sign?"
Bei Dao was obviously stunned for a moment, totally unprepared for me to ask this, and replied subconsciously: "Ah? I... I'm a Pisces."
I nodded immediately and said in a tone that was a bit helpless but also extremely certain: "That's right. I'm a Gemini."
"We Chinese, especially those who are more traditional, place great importance on fate. Gemini and Pisces, from an astrological point of view, are not very compatible and are not very suitable. So, I am really sorry."
As the words fell, the entire box fell into an eerie silence.
Everyone was stunned, including Hiroyuki Kitajima, whose expression was frozen.
A few seconds later, someone couldn't help but burst out laughing. Then, the laughter spread like ripples, filling the entire box.
"Huh? Constellations?"
"Kiriyama-san, are you serious?"
"Is this possible?"
"Gemini and Pisces...it seems like they're not really a good match, huh?"
The awkward atmosphere was instantly dispelled by this ridiculous reason, and was replaced by an absurd joy.
Bei Dao's face turned red and white. He opened his mouth and looked at his companions who couldn't help laughing. In the end, he could only scratch his head and show a helpless expression.
Yamamoto Misaki covered her mouth, her shoulders hunched slightly, but her eyes drifted to Atobe. Atobe picked up the wine glass and brought it to his lips, as if trying to hide something, but the fleeting, extremely subtle expression of relief and the slight curl of his lips under the rim of the glass could not escape the penetrating eyes of Oshitari Yuushi behind his glasses.
Amidst the laughter and teasing in the room, I quietly breathed a sigh of relief, picked up the juice in front of me, took a big gulp, then stood up and walked to the bathroom.
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