Zongman: Unknowingly trapped in the hatchet

"Eh? Do you want to speak on stage as a representative?"

After hearing Su Qing's words, Shiina was a little surprised.

"What? It's weird."

"No... there really is no one more suitable than you. After all, you are the first this time."

Shiina's words were sour, and Su Qing could hear it immediately.

"Why does your tone sound like something is not right?"

"How could that be? I'm just not happy that someone said something like 'Big Brother, Noob, Take Care of Me' to me before the exam even though he had a score close to full marks."

Shiina pouted again. She obviously felt that she was being teased by Su Qing again. When she thought about how she had said she would teach him, she felt so embarrassed that she wanted to find a hole to crawl into.

"Damn it, you're not an angel, are you some kind of pufferfish that has turned into a spirit?"

Su Qing pretended to be panicked.

"After the founding of the country, you are not allowed to become a spirit!"

But Shiina just stared at her beautiful eyes and said seriously.

"You actually know this?"

Su Qing raised his eyebrows. He was really surprised this time.

"Hehe, I know there are more."

Shiina was very satisfied with Su Qing's current appearance. Otherwise, it would be too much for him to always look so nonchalant.

In short, she wanted to see more different aspects of Su Qing.

“That’s really amazing.”

Su Qing praised sincerely.

"Hmph, it's good to know."

Shiina was very pleased with Su Qing's praise, and then he seemed to have thought of something and said:

"Come to think of it, today Miura-san came to me to apologize for no apparent reason."

Obviously, after a busy day, the little cook Shiina finally remembered the reason why she was waiting for Su Qing today after enjoying the touch of Master Su.

"Really? What did she say?"

Although Miura's apology was within his expectations, Su Qing was still unclear about the specific content of her apology. In the afternoon, Yukinoshita blocked him in the sink without telling him. Now that Shiina brought it up on her own initiative, there would be no harm in asking.

"Well...something like 'I shouldn't ignore your efforts and think that your achievements are simply due to your talent.'"

Because Miura came and left quickly, and he and Su Qing had just experienced a lot of things, Shiina could only remember the general idea for a while.

"That's good, isn't it? It's not a weird thing to say anyway."

Su Qing shrugged and said indifferently.

"I can't really say it's pretty good. After all, my relationship with her is just an acquaintance, so I don't really care what she thinks of me."

"Shiina."

Su Qing suddenly said seriously.

"……What's wrong?"

Shiina was startled by Su Qing's sudden seriousness, and then he saw that Su Qing's eyes were particularly determined.

“Even if you don’t care, there will be [others] who care, and the fact that the person concerned doesn’t care is not a reason for others to gossip about him.”

"Yeah……"

Shiina murmured softly, then his eyes rolled around and his look became cunning in an instant.

"I just don't know who these 'other people' are?"

"me."

Su Qing hit a straight ball. After all, based on what he had known about Shiina over the past few days, there was a high probability that the other party had problems in his family, and there was also a high probability that he did not have any real friends in school, so it was better to admit it openly at this time.

"…Should I admit it so directly at this time?"

Shiina originally wanted to ask Su Qing one more question. It would be a pleasant surprise if he could see that she became shy about it.

But now, the other party answered seriously and without hesitation, what was going on?

"Even if I don't admit it, you should know it's me."

Since Shiina took the initiative to bring up this matter with me, it was obvious that he had set his sights on me. It would be better to say that I, who was in the same class with Miura, was the most suspicious.

"...Indeed, after all, I can't think of anyone else except you, but I feel like something is missing when you admit it so readily."

[Without your shy look]

Shiina added in her heart that of course she didn't dare let Su Qing know, at least not yet.

"Really? Then why don't you ask again? I will definitely cooperate this time."

"I don't want it."

Shiina is not a child, so she would not behave in such a childish way. Besides, how could she ask again?

"I want to answer it again, please!"

"Really?"

Shiina visibly hesitated.

"real!"

Su Qing answered quickly, fearing that if he answered a second later, Shiina would doubt his sincerity.

"Well... if that's the case, then there's nothing we can do."

That’s right, it was Su Qing himself who wanted to answer it again, and I just had no choice but to agree to it.

Shiina thought so in his heart.

"So... do you know who these 'other people' are?"

"I am still here. I am still here."

Su Qing's words were light and warm, like an imperceptible breeze in the night.

The corners of his mouth were slightly raised and his smile was faint, like a faint light coming through the distant horizon, quietly illuminating a corner.

For a moment, time seemed to freeze and all the sounds around quietly faded away.

An indescribable throbbing surged in Shiina's heart, just like the calm lake surface being gently blown by the breeze, rippling layer by layer.

Then, my heart inexplicably skipped a beat.

Then, the familiar rhythm seemed to be pulled away by this sudden tenderness, and could no longer return to its former stability, leaving only a heart full of throbbing, slowly rippling in the chest.

"... No, didn't you say you should answer again?"

Shiina didn't dare to look directly into Su Qing's eyes again. He felt that his heartbeat would only get faster and faster if he continued looking at her, and who knows what strange things might happen in the end.

"Hmm... no re-answer?"

"Of course not. Isn't the answer you gave still you?"

"Yeah, it's still me."

Su Qing repeated Shiina's words, but his tone became softer.

"I just want you to know that in the future, when you talk about 'other people' like now, you will have an answer in your heart. Even if this answer is not reliable, it will allow you to no longer have to blurt out "I don't care" when you think of 'other people'."

“…W-why?”

[Why did you ask this question…]

[No...don't...]

【Will that be the answer? 】

[Don’t say it…]

[Is that really the answer? ]

[What if it’s not…]

【Can……】

“Because, I care.”

Su Qing's words were like thunder, and Shiina no longer had the energy to worry about the strange thoughts in his mind. The fear and entanglement in his heart were instantly drowned by an unknown force and disappeared without a trace.

At this moment, Shiina no longer cared about being shy or afraid.

Now, she just wanted to take a good, good look at Su Qing's current appearance.

So, she saw it, but she couldn't see Su Qing's full appearance clearly. She only saw a pair of eyes. Those eyes just kept looking at her. Shiina just thought they were so good-looking, so beautiful, and so charming...

Just like the pair of eyes in my memory on that rainy day, no, even more attractive than then.

But there should be more appropriate words besides this, right?

What is it?

What exactly is it?

Why can’t I think of it?

"So, don't worry about your efforts being ignored by others. As long as I'm here, at least someone will see it."

"who……"

Shiina's voice couldn't stop trembling. Su Qing had actually made it clear enough, but at this moment, Shiina just didn't want to hear Su Qing say those words in person.

Speaking of which, Tokyo in summer is often accompanied by a peaceful picture of bright moon and sparse stars. The soft moonlight gently touches the window lattices, casting wisps of silver light, bringing a moment of tranquility and serenity.

Unfortunately, this tranquility did not last long and was soon broken by the unpredictability of summer.

There are always many typhoons on the island in summer, so at this moment, the windows of Su Qing's house can only make mournful sounds under the raging wind.

And outside the window?

In the city of lights and wine, a heavily made-up woman was caught in a sudden storm and launched a Victoria's Secret sale, attracting the gazes of surrounding office workers.

A fierce verbal battle ensued.

Some passers-by stood there with smiles on their faces, but just watched quietly, with no intention of dissuading them, and took out their mobile phones from time to time to take pictures of something.

Tokyo is indifferent.

Therefore, more pedestrians choose to walk quickly and have no intention of staying at all.

Among them, there are office workers who have not yet left work, drunkenly rushing to the next social event, just to close one more deal and reduce the family's loan burden;

There are also bartenders who have a reversed day and night schedule and rush to work, enduring physical discomfort and not slacking off at all, just to earn a meager salary to supplement their family income.

What about the others?

Others walked at a leisurely pace, with smiles on their faces, looking energetic and vigorous.

They wear cloaks, chase stars and the moon. They are on a journey. They don't know the direction of the future and have forgotten the way they came.

But they are still smiling and looking vigorous.

Because they know that they are not alone, even if the people around them change again and again, and the scenery around them changes again and again.

The path they have taken will not be forgotten.

The bright moon hanging high in the night sky will protect them, the twinkling stars will encourage them, and even the breeze and gusts of wind are recording everything they have gone through.

So, Su Qing said:

"I, I'll see."

Then he shook his head gently:

“No matter how many times I ask the question again, no matter how many times I answer it, the result will be the same, just like now. So, if you still don’t believe it, then I will keep saying it - until you believe it.”

"Don't say that. Please don't say that!"

Suddenly, there was a strong pulling force on the sleeve of my clothes. It was Shiina.

"I know, if it were you, you would definitely do it well..."

At this moment, Shiina was clutching Su Qing's sleeve tightly, with his cheek pressed tightly against his broad chest.

Because of the hot weather, Su Qing's clothes were very thin, so Shiina could feel Su Qing's unique warmth, smell Su Qing's unique scent, and hear Su Qing's unique, strong, reassuring heartbeat.

Then, Shiina suddenly realized that she knew how to describe it.

It's like the sign of sunshine coming after the storm.

No, to be more precise, the sun has already shined on this land.

So, that's a pair of -

【Warm】Eyes

……

"Cried?"

Su Qing asked with a smile after handing Shiina a glass of water.

"It's not that easy to cry."

Shiina took the water, thanked him, and whispered.

Su Qing just glanced at the girl's face, shook his head and didn't continue the topic. After all, he was just teasing Shiina. He said:

"Do you remember the agreement before the exam?"

"Of course I remember. I don't think I would do something so extreme as to forget an agreement."

Oh my god, why do I feel like I've been picked on?

But looking at Shiina's expression, it doesn't seem like that, and when has he ever forgotten a promise?

This is pure slander! Be careful or I will sue you for defamation!

After Su Qing calmed down the inexplicable guilt in his heart, he smiled and said:

"That's great. Remember to set aside a day this weekend and I'll take you out to play."

"If possible, can you tell me where we are going and what we are going to do? I want to prepare first."

Shiina is the kind of person who likes to make plans in advance so that he can achieve his goals more efficiently.

"No, if you want to go out and play, just follow my instructions. I will make you happy anyway."

"Really? Then I'm looking forward to it."

"What do you mean, you mean you weren't expecting it before?"

Su Qing felt very hurt. Was he the only one who had been expecting this from the very beginning?

"Of course not. What I mean is... I'm looking forward to it more now than before."

Shiina's voice was obviously a little anxious. It would be bad if Su Qing misunderstood her.

"Okay, okay, I understand."

"Really."

When Shiina saw Su Qing like this, he felt that he was playing a trick on him again!

But she soon remembered something and said:

"By the way, have you decided what reward you want?"

Reward, what reward?

Su Qing was stunned for a moment, then recalled his memories before the exam and found that it was true.

"If I remember correctly, the reward was for me to come up with on my own, right?"

"That's right, so it's okay even if you make some unreasonable requests."

"Too much to ask?"

"Yes~"

Shiina narrowed his eyes slightly, and couldn't stop smiling. Su Qing had teased him many times, and today he kept saying things that were bad for his heart.

So, Su Qing is a bad boy!

Bad kids should be punished by the little devil!

"I wouldn't make that kind of request..."

"I mean I can give you a lap pillow or something like that. I wonder what kind of 'thing' you want?"

"No, even a lap pillow is too..."

Seeing that Shiina was about to say something shocking, Su Qing could only admit defeat and said with a wry smile:

"forgive me."

"Do you know how powerful I am?"

"Of course, Shiina is the best in the world."

"You're using the tone of coaxing a child again."

"I never lie."

Shiina looked at Su Qing helplessly and said softly:

"But a knee pillow or something like that is really fine."

"Why do you suddenly want to give me a lap pillow?"

"Because I read in a magazine recently that giving boys a lap pillow can help them regain their vitality..."

"Then you can't just say that to others..."

Su Qing felt it necessary to report these unscrupulous magazines. What have they done to our angels?

“I won’t say that to anyone else…”

"That's good."

Su Qing thought for a moment and said:

"As for the reward, just wait until the day I take you out to play and then satisfy me."

"Why did you wait until that day?"

Shiina blinked, not quite understanding Su Qing's thoughts.

"You'll know when the time comes. How about it? Does your anticipation increase a little?"

"Now that you put it that way... it seems to be true."

After saying this, Shiina and Su Qing suddenly made eye contact, and then couldn't help laughing out loud.

Obviously, the two are very happy now.

At that time, the night sky in Tokyo was still dim, but the moon and stars were also very happy at this moment.

Because, the angel they had protected for so long finally had someone who valued her say to her in person:

【I will care】