Oh no! They all seem a bit off!

Chapter 73 Dream with Dongzi

"Thank you for your help, Akizuki-kun."

Upon hearing Qiu Yuecheng's agreement, Ji Yexue immediately revealed a gentle smile, sweeping away her previous disappointment and gloom.

If anyone else saw her reaction, they would definitely be immediately smitten and start daydreaming, wondering if she was interested in them.

Ji Yexue had exactly this idea in mind.

At this moment, she was secretly pleased with herself, thinking that even if Akizuki Makoto didn't fall in love with her, he would at least think she was beautiful and cute.

"It's nothing, no trouble at all, just a small favor."

Akizuki Makoto smiled and went downstairs with Ji Yexue. Along the way, they encountered many classmates who had also finished their club activities and were preparing to go home.

So, until they reached the first floor of the club building, they responded to the enthusiastic greetings from the others.

To others, this scene looked like that of a happy newlywed couple receiving everyone's blessings and praise.

"This plum rain is really heavy."

Standing at the entrance of the club building, Akizuki Makoto looked up at the endless curtain of rain, sighed, and then opened his umbrella.

His umbrella was a single-person umbrella provided by the school, and it was a bit of a stretch to cover two people.

therefore……

He tilted the umbrella towards himself, leaving half of Ji Yexue's body exposed to the rain.

Ji Yexue felt the dampness on her right shoulder, turned her head to look at Qiuyue Cheng, who had tilted the umbrella towards her, letting her get wet in the rain, and gave a forced smile.

“Autumn Moon Lord”.

She called out softly, trying to get Akizuki Makoto's attention to her situation, and then tilted the umbrella towards her.

Although this behavior is meaningless, that's what she wants to do.

She couldn't help but start to wonder if Akizuki Makoto really liked her.

Throughout the entire day, she didn't see Qiu Yuecheng show any signs of being moved or embarrassed under her aggressive advances.

Even when they shared the so-called "compatible umbrella," they didn't consider her.

If we're walking on the street, should we make her walk on the outside?
"This guy is not gentle at all!"

Ji Yexue gritted her teeth and thought to herself, "I really don't know what those people who call Qiuyue Cheng 'the most gentle person' are thinking!"

Is it a misunderstanding of the word "gentle," or is it simply a lack of love and a lack of experience with gentle people?
This kind of person, who only cares about himself even when sharing an umbrella with someone he likes, is a complete selfish person and has nothing to do with gentleness!
"Ok?"

When Akizuki Makoto heard Himeyasu calling him, he pretended to be confused and turned his head to look at her.

Then he saw that half of Ji Yexue's body was soaked, and her uniform was stained with a dark color.

He opened his eyes wide in surprise and hurriedly said, "I'm so sorry, President. I forgot for a moment that this is a single umbrella and I didn't think of you."

"fine."

Ji Yexue was still smiling, but it was a forced smile.

What else could she say?

Can't we just say it's okay?
"Now that you've noticed, hurry up and move the umbrella towards me, you idiot!"

Then, while laughing, she cursed Akizuki Makoto in her heart, and unconsciously clenched her hands tightly around her schoolbag.

Although Akizuki apologized to her with a look of remorse, he still did not tilt the umbrella towards her.

"Oh, I'm so sorry..."

Akizuki sighed, apologized again, and then changed the subject, saying, "President, I've had a bit of a cold recently, and I even fainted this afternoon, so my mind isn't quite clear and I didn't notice these things."

"Is that so? Then you should be careful not to get wet in the rain."

"Sorry, the president got caught in the rain."

"No need to apologize. There was nothing I could do about it. Besides, it was I who insisted on troubling Akizuki-kun. I'm the one who should apologize."

After Ji Yexue finished speaking, Qiuyue Cheng did not respond. He just lowered his head and walked forward silently, seemingly feeling very guilty.

The station isn't far away; it's about a five-minute walk.

As they walked on the sidewalk, Akizuki Makoto walked on the outside, which made Hime Yuki feel a little better.

Although she could understand that Akizuki Makoto was sick with a cold and didn't want to get wet in the rain, she still felt that something was wrong, as if he was lying.

But she couldn't fathom why Akizuki Makoto would lie to her rather than get wet in the rain.

It's just a little rain, not like hot oil is rolling on your body. Shouldn't he rather be soaked to the bone than let his beloved girl get a little wet?
Even if it wasn't a girl he loved, he would probably do it out of gentlemanly manners, right?

So she only had a brief moment of doubt before dismissing it.

They arrived at the station in silence. Ji Yexue's clothes on the left side were completely soaked, and the rainwater had even seeped into her outer coat, wetting her shirt underneath.

Even her skirt and pantyhose were damp, clinging tightly to her skin, creating a seductive, wet look.

"Just send it here."

Ji Yexue walked into the station, turned around to look at Qiuyue Cheng, and said with a faint smile, "Thank you, Qiuyue-kun."

"It's no trouble at all, it was just a small favor."

Akizuki Makoto returned the smile, then waved goodbye to Himeyasu and turned to walk into the rain.

Ji Yexue watched him leave until his figure completely disappeared from sight before taking out her phone from her bag and contacting the driver who usually picked her up and dropped her off at school.

At this moment, the smile on her face disappeared, replaced by her usual aloofness.

……

night.

As was his custom, Akizuki Makoto contacted his parents once a week.

After exchanging pleasantries, he subtly inquired about Dongzi's recent situation, but his parents were evasive and seemed to be deliberately avoiding the topic.

"Hey……"

To this, Akizuki Makoto could only sigh deeply in his heart and stop talking about the topic, changing the subject to something else.

For example, Shimizu Rei will be in Tokyo this weekend because of a competition, so he needs to treat him well.

But perhaps because he suddenly mentioned Dongzi earlier, which ruined the originally warm and pleasant atmosphere, the parents said they wanted to hang up the phone after only a few minutes of talking about the topic.

Akizuki glanced at the call time and realized it had only lasted ten minutes, whereas in the past, he would have talked for half an hour and still not feel like it was enough.

"...Okay, goodbye. Take care of yourselves and don't have to work so hard. I'll send some money over tomorrow."

After exchanging greetings, the call ended abruptly.

Akizuki Makoto put down his phone, lay back on the sofa, looked up at the white ceiling, squinted at the bright white chandelier, and remained silent for a long time.

Tonight, he tossed and turned, unable to sleep, and dreamed about Dongzi.

That was when he was about to start junior high school and his sister was about to start fourth grade.

At that time, his impression of Dongzi was always that she was "prone to crying", "lacking perseverance", "always spacing out", "friendless", and "a worry that he couldn't just ignore"...

Because Dongzi was frail and sickly since childhood, and often spaced out by herself, and would burst into tears at the slightest fright, he didn't know how to get along with his younger sister, who was three years younger than him and as delicate and fragile as a porcelain doll.

Moreover, Dongzi is closer to her parents, especially her mother, than to him.

The opportunity that made Dongzi cling to him and become close to him was an incident that happened when he was in junior high school and his younger sister was in the fourth grade of elementary school.

It was late August, the end of summer vacation. Dongzi, carrying a large diary, walked timidly into his room and asked him for help.

He still clearly remembers the expression on Dongzi's face when he asked for help.

...It was as if tears would immediately well up in her eyes if she ignored him.

The reason Dongzi asked him for help was because she hadn't finished her drawing diary for her summer homework.

A drawing diary is something that uses drawings to record daily life.

He could understand why Dongzi had come to him for help, since Dongzi had spent the entire summer vacation staying at home and spacing out.

Dongzi's diary only records the events of the first few days of summer vacation, and it is filled with drawings of her mother, with a few words describing what she did each day.

"Mom did XX, Mom did XX..."

They all use the same sentence structure.

And they have absolutely no feelings about these things.

Naturally, on the fourth day, Dongzi finally couldn't continue writing, because even she herself felt that it couldn't be called a diary.

What happened next was quite predictable: he helped Dongzi forge a picture diary that lasted the entire summer.

When school started, Dongzi's drawing diary was praised by the teacher, who said it was very well written.

It was after that that Touko seemed to understand the existence of "older brother" and began to stick to him, always following behind him and calling out "Onii-chan, Onii-chan~".

Because Dongzi was so adorable, he readily accepted her and became close to her.

Then, Dongzi moved out of her separate small room and lived with him.

It wasn't until he was in high school and Dongzi was in junior high that their parents, who harbored resentment, forcefully intervened and separated them.

……

"I had that dream again."

Akizuki Makoto opened his eyes, looked at the white ceiling, and murmured to himself.

He turned his head and looked out the window at the sky, which was already beginning to brighten.

The world was shrouded in rain, as if a blurry filter had been applied.

The pattering rain pounded against the window, its sound as frantic as his own heart.

"call……"

Qiuyue Cheng closed his eyes, took a deep breath, calmed his restless heart, got up, went to the bathroom to wash up, and prepared for school.

The rainy season continues today, and the gloomy sky is a true reflection of his inner state.

He put on his uniform, yawned, opened his umbrella, went out, and stepped onto the street leading to the school.

When I arrived at school and went to the shoe locker to change my shoes, I ran into Ryusuke Kurosaki.

"Good morning, Vice President!"

"Good morning, Kurosaki."

Akizuki responded lazily, opened the shoe cabinet, and took out indoor shoes to change into.

Just as he bent down to put on his shoes, he suddenly heard Kurosaki Ryusuke ask:
"Vice President, are you dating the President?"

"……what?"

He turned his head, looking at Ryusuke Kurosaki with a puzzled expression, and asked, "Why do you think that?"

"Everyone's saying that. Didn't you two share an umbrella and go home together yesterday? The president usually comes by car, right?"

"...No, she didn't bring an umbrella yesterday, so she asked me to take her to the station. We didn't date."

Akizuki Makoto naturally knew that the series of intimate interactions between Ji Yexue and him yesterday were seen by outsiders as signs of a relationship.

However, he couldn't refuse Ji Yexue's overtures because of this, since he had said the wrong thing first.

If he refuses, Ji Yexue will definitely suspect that he is lying.

Logically speaking, since he admires Ji Yexue and regards her as the goal to pursue, how could he possibly resist her advances?

And when Ji Yexue discovers that she is lying, the consequences are self-evident.

"Really? So the student council president likes you?"

Ryusuke Kurosaki said casually, ignoring the fact that everyone around them was now staring at them.

"Freeze said!"

Qiu Yuecheng was startled. He glanced around and whispered, "Don't you know that loose lips sink ships? You even dare to spread rumors about the president!"

"I didn't spread any rumors."

Ryusuke Kurosaki was completely confused. He thought to himself, "Everyone says that, and it's obvious that Himeya Yuki's actions show that she has feelings for Makoto Akizuki."

She practically wore her "like" written all over her face.

She proactively made tea for Akizuki Makoto, sat next to him to help him with his official duties, and even made an excuse to share an umbrella with him on their way home.

Who is Ji Yexue?

The eldest daughter of the prestigious Ji Ye family.

Would she really ask someone to take her to the station just because she didn't bring an umbrella?

And coincidentally, she ended up approaching Akizuki Makoto. Even a fool could see what Ji Yexue meant.

Akizuki Makoto certainly understood this.

He could only lament his predicament inwardly.

Ji Yexue used a blatant, overt scheme; what could he do?

I suspect she deliberately acted intimately in front of others so that they would spread rumors about them.

If he truly harbored feelings for Ji Yexue, as he claimed when she was invisible, and even had a crush on her, then upon hearing these rumors, he would inevitably start to wonder if Ji Yexue genuinely had feelings for him and was beginning to care about him.

"Don't bring this up again. The president and I are completely innocent."

Akizuki Makoto sighed softly, gave Kurosaki Ryusuke a few words of earnest advice, left the shoe locker, and headed to the classroom.

Kurosaki Ryusuke watched his figure disappear around the corner of the corridor, scratched his head, and muttered to himself, "Is the vice president such a slowpoke?"

Akizuki Makoto is certainly not a slow-witted person.

In Japan, there are no slow-witted people, only people who pretend to be stupid.

There's a saying that goes, "You can never wake someone who's pretending to be asleep unless you splash them with water."

How could Qiu Yuecheng possibly accept that Ji Yexue liked him? He could only try his best to pretend to be stupid until Ji Yexue could no longer bear it and woke him up by splashing water on him.

But by then, the roles had probably already reversed, since Ji Yexue had taken the initiative to ask him to express his feelings.

In this way, her evil plan naturally failed, since she was the one who acted hastily first.

She panicked. Didn't that prove that Ji Yexue liked him so much that she couldn't stand it anymore?
"This is... a battle of wits about love. Whoever can't help but say 'I like you' first loses!"

Akizuki Makoto sighed inwardly.

Thank you everyone for your support!

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(End of this chapter)