Chapter 192: Christmas Towards the End of the Semester (1)
The train pulled onto the platform and Toru Watanabe followed the crowd and got on board.
You don't have to look specifically to know that there are no seats left in the carriage.
All around me were office workers in uniform, and students looking at vocabulary flashcards in preparation for their final exams.
There are advertisements posted on the carriage tags.
" Santa Claus on reindeer is left far behind by the BMW "
"KFC Christmas Party Bucket! Three combinations are available to meet different needs from private dining for two people to group dining! "
"Oregairu" co-branded Christmas strawberry cake! To make an order, call: XXXXXX! "
Toru Watanabe's gaze wandered over Yukinoshita Yukino, who was wearing revealing Christmas clothes.
"Why are you selling yourself out again, Miss Second?"
As the train rumbled forward and the carriages shook, Toru Watanabe couldn't help but yawn.
He grabbed the ring, stood in front of the seats filled with passengers, and looked out the window at the scenery.
It was already late December, and through the foggy car windows, I could feel the chill of winter.
In less than a week, the second semester of Watanabe Toru's first year of high school will come to an end.
I got off the train at Yotsuya Station and walked along the slope leading to school.
Most of the classmates I met on the road, both boys and girls, were wearing scarves and thick coats over their school uniforms.
Compared to them with their necks tightened and wearing winter clothes, Watanabe Toru's casual posture and open school uniform make people wonder if the temperature is not that cold after all.
"Good morning, Kiyono-san."
The two of them go to school at the same time, and they will meet early on this uphill road three days out of five.
The remaining two days were in the shoe cabinet.
Qingye Rin nodded and didn't intend to say anything, but when she saw his exposed neck and the open school uniform, she couldn't help herself.
"Watanabe-san, are you really not cold?"
"Of course I'm not cold. There's nothing wrong with my brain. If it were really cold, there's no way I would put on more clothes."
Qingye Rin nodded and said nothing more.
After returning from winter camping, the relationship between the three people has not changed much.
With Kujo Miki away, the two continued to waste time reading in the Human Observation Department;
When Kujo Miki is around, the way of wasting time turns into quarrels, and then the one who gets hurt is always Watanabe Toru.
Later he learned his lesson, bought a chess set, and finally freed himself from the battlefield.
As I was walking, a group of boys with buzz cuts came running towards me.
On a cold winter morning, they were wearing their summer sportswear - short-sleeved shirts and shorts, and they were shouting slogans desperately, with white mist puffing out of their mouths.
"Kamikawa!"
“Fight!”
"Kamikawa!"
"Fi ght!"
It's the baseball club.
According to Kunii Osamu, the new second-year captain made a vow: if the baseball club fails to advance to the Koshien finals next year, the club will have to sit down at the school gate to apologize to all the teachers and students of Kamikawa.
To be honest, Toru Watanabe didn't pay any attention to the baseball team at all, and it didn't matter whether they entered Koshien or not.
But it would be quite interesting to see a bunch of people kneeling at the school gate, so he decided to sit in front of the TV next summer vacation and boo them.
At the back of the team, Kunii Osamu was also shouting at the top of his lungs.
Watanabe Toru saluted him.
"What are you doing?" Qingye Rin looked at him with a puzzled look.
Watanabe Toru put down his hand and said:
"Bullmaster, why don't you reflect on this? This is the rosy high school life. Our Human Observation Department is about to become the same as the Light Music Department that drinks tea every day."
"How do you know about the light music club?" Kiyono Rin's eyes conveyed this meaning.
"It's a long story. Let's talk while we walk. I'll tell you in detail."
The two of them saluted the teacher on duty at the school gate and walked into the campus.
All the leaves of the huge oak tree have fallen, and sparrows are lingering on the bare branches.
"One night, I turned on the TV and saw TBS was broadcasting an animation called "K-on!", in which..."
The moment Toru Watanabe started the story with "On a certain night", Kiyono Rin stopped listening.
I put on my indoor shoes and walked into the classroom. The warm air made my body relax.
There is still some time before the morning meeting. Some people in the class are chatting, while others are studying hard for the exam.
"Good morning, Watanabe-kun," Ikeda Kazumi greeted.
"Good morning." Toru Watanabe hung his schoolbag on the corridor side of the desk, unzipped it, and took out his textbooks and "Remembrance of Things Past".
"Christmas is coming soon, what are your plans, Watanabe-kun?"
"I just want to prepare seriously for the final exams, continue to dominate the island nation, and retain the top spot in the country."
"If it's Watanabe-kun, I'm sure it can be done easily!"
"Thank you for your good wishes." Watanabe Toru put his homework aside neatly and opened "Remembrance of Things Past".
This book is too heavy. I have to finish it before returning home.
"But you have to have a good Christmas, too."
"Why?"
"In SKE48's single "1! 2! 3! 4! Please advise me!", there is a line in the lyrics: "Christmas, Valentine's Day, birthday, it is said that these are the three decisive days of love."
"I have a girlfriend."
"Watanabe-kun!" Ikeda Kazumi took away the copy of Remembrance of Things Past that Toru Watanabe had opened. "You don't think that love is over after we start dating, do you? Relationships need to be managed well!"
"Yeah?"
"Of course! Girls are big believers in romance. Even someone like Kujo would want to have a romantic Christmas!"
Miki Kujo is not here today. It's the end of the year and the beginning of the new year, and the company seems unusually busy.
After school, Toru Watanabe talked about this with Rin Kiyono.
The two were sitting by the window, playing chess.
Through the non-soundproof glass, you can hear the wind band's exercises in the winter evening and the cheers of the sports club on the playground.
From time to time, flocks of sparrows flew up from the oak tree and then landed again on the branches in unison.
"R-san, are you also pursuing romance?" After Toru Watanabe killed an opponent's knight with his chariot, he played with the king chess piece in his hand.
He spent quite a bit of money on this chess set, which is quite high-end. In addition to being heavy enough, the chess pieces also feel very comfortable to the touch.
Qing Ye Lin put his hand on his chin and said while thinking:
"I haven't thought about this kind of thing deliberately, but I am still a girl after all, and I can't reject romantic things."
She pinched the queen and moved a long distance.
Watanabe Toru took a look and realized that if he insisted on using the chariot to capture the knight, he would lose a bishop and then be in danger of being checked.
"Even the god Qingye can't resist the temptation of romance." He moved one of his knights. "Do you celebrate Christmas at home?"
"Dinner." Qingye Rin stared at the knight's position for a long time.
"Big families also have dinner together?"
"It's just a reason to keep in touch. It has nothing to do with Christmas or any other festival." Qingno Rin began to move the chess pieces.
After she moved, Toru Watanabe immediately followed, and Kiyono fell into thought again.
While she was thinking, Toru Watanabe supported his chin with his left hand, spun the king chess piece like a pen with his right hand, and looked out the window.
The days are short in winter. Just after five o'clock, the sun has already drawn an arc, ready to disappear over the horizon.
Nothing happened that day, it was just an ordinary day, the daily life that Watanabe Toru had always dreamed of.
By the way, let me tell you about the outcome of that game.
After the king was defeated, Toru Watanabe said admiringly: "That's amazing! I lost again."
"You're pretty good too." Qing Ye Lin praised with a victorious attitude, "You used the knight very skillfully."
Winning the intense game where anyone could win greatly satisfied Qingye Rin's competitive spirit.
However, Toru Watanabe could have won that game - he was unexpectedly talented in chess.
In addition, at night at Chiyoda's villa, he would deliberately lose to Kujo Miki.
Therefore, the two young ladies never bring him along when playing chess.
"Who is this 16-year-old high school boy who deliberately loses to a beautiful girl, doesn't compete, and doesn't try to show off himself? That's right, it's me, Watanabe, an amazing Tokyo handsome guy..."
"What are you thinking about? Those who lose please place the chess pieces consciously."
"Yes, yes." Watanabe Toru put the black and white chess pieces back in place, "I'll play white this time."
"The loser has the right to choose." Qingye Rin was as proud as ever.
The two of them played until the end of the club activity, and in the middle, Watanabe Toru won a game with difficulty.
A few days passed like this, and it was Monday, December 20th, the first day of the final exam week.
The Christmas atmosphere on the streets is becoming more and more intense, and shopping malls are posting festive red flyers.
Lights are decorated on the trunks of the trees along the road. At night, when the lights are turned on, the streets are magnificent, as if you have really come to a fairy tale world.
After finishing the biology and English exams in the morning, during lunch, Watanabe Tetsu was discussing the answers with Kunii Osamu, Saito Keisuke and others when Kujo Miki suddenly came to him.
Although she was a student in Class 2, she walked into Class 4 as if it were her own territory.
In the classroom, the previously lively discussions subconsciously became quieter.
"Why are you here? Did you miss me?" Toru Watanabe said with a smile.
At this moment, all the girls in Class 4 who were peeking over here were mesmerized.
If this were a girl's comic, then in their eyes, the background of Toru Watanabe at this moment should be full of roses, and even his lips and eyes would look sexy.
Toru Watanabe hardly ever smiles, except to Kiyono Rin, Kujo Miki, and now Asuka Mai.
Kujo Miki turned a blind eye to his smile - it didn't matter whether he charmed anyone or not, as long as the person he was smiling at was her.
She walked straight over, and the people who had originally gathered around Watanabe Toru quickly dispersed. They gathered together again, and Saito Keisuke even pretended to ask the class monitor a simple history question.
Toru Watanabe stood up and gave up his seat. After Kujo Miki sat down, he faced Kujo Miki, leaned his waist on the desk, and played with a mechanical pencil in his hand.
"Go to the Human Observation Department after the holiday on the 24th." said Kujo Miki.
The final exams will end on the afternoon of the 24th, and there will be a winter vacation of about two weeks.
"Don't you want to celebrate Christmas?" Toru Watanabe held up the pencil, causing the lead that was about to fall out to fall back.
He asked Kujo Miki about Christmas, but she said she was not interested in the holiday.
Regardless of whether this was true or false, Watanabe Toru planned to act secretly. He planned to dress up as Santa Claus, sneak into her villa in the middle of the night and give her a surprise.
By the way, he dressed up as Santa Claus, and according to the agreement, Kujo Miki also had to wear Christmas clothes - for this purpose, in addition to his own men's Christmas clothes, he also bought women's clothes with off-shoulder and very short lower body.
This will be an exciting and memorable Christmas Eve with milestone significance.
"The Kiyono family is planning to hold a Christmas party. My mother and I have been invited. You should come with me."
"Another boring big family gathering." Watanabe Toru pressed the pen refill again, "I won't go this time."
"Do you think I'm here to discuss this with you?" Miki Kujo flipped through Toru Watanabe's thick notebook.
In the notebook, there was first a small amount of English, then Spanish, then French, and in the most recent pages, there were chess pieces drawn in pencil.
The painting skills are very average, and it looks barely passable.
"What can I do there? It's useless except for eating." Watanabe Toru said in self-abandonment.
Seeing his expression, Kujo Miki couldn't help wanting to laugh, but when it reached her lips, it turned into a sarcastic laugh: "You also know that you are useless except for eating?"
"So can we not go?" Toru Watanabe put down his pen and held both of Kujo Miki's hands.
"cannot."
Watanabe Toru lowered his head and sighed: "Okay."
"Can you be more ambitious?" Kujo Miki said coldly, and then she taunted him as if she had found someone to share her pain with, "There will be many more such things in the next few decades."
"Is this the price of marrying Meiji?"
Miki Kujo grabbed Toru Watanabe's tie. Although she was sitting, she looked down at Toru Watanabe with a threatening look.
She said coldly with murderous intent:
"Is marrying me wronging you? Why do I feel like you've become more and more arrogant recently?"
"Meiji, there are so many people here, please give me some face." Watanabe Toru poked her slender waist with his finger.
Miki Kujo glanced at the people in Class 4, and almost everyone was looking at this side.
She let go of her hand that was pulling at his tie, slowly helped Watanabe Toru fix it, then stood up and left her seat.
With her arms folded, she took two steps toward the door, then suddenly turned her upper body back:
"Watanabe, I'll wait for you on the 24th."
After saying that, she put her right hand on her soft lips and blew a kiss to Watanabe Toru as a reward.
"If you don't come, you're dead." Watanabe Toru finished the rest of the sentence for her in his mind.
After Kujo Miki left, the area around Watanabe Toru suddenly exploded.
"Ah - I'm so envious! I'm so envious! A lady like Kujo Miki actually fixes your tie!"
"And blow kisses!"
"You touched her hands just now, didn't you?! You could actually touch those delicate and noble hands that belonged to a young lady whenever you wanted! Tell me! How far have you gotten?"
"You're attending Miss Kiyono's Christmas party with Miss Kujo. Are you really an ordinary person from Iwate Prefecture? Are you the protagonist of a light novel? Kadokawa Bunko? GanGan? MF? Or Dengeki?"
"You guessed all this?" Watanabe Toru said in surprise.
"Are you really the male protagonist of a certain library?!"
"Yes, from Houbunsha."
"Nonsense! Houbunsha doesn't have a male protagonist at all! Also, Houbunsha is not a bunko at all! You must be from GanGan bunko! Hikigaya Hachiman, who also married a young lady, came from that bunko!" Saito Keisuke looked certain.
"Since you've seen through me, I have no choice but to admit that I'm from Dengeki Bunko." Then, Toru Watanabe roared in a low voice, "Star Burst Stre..."
"Shut up! That's Kirito's two-sword style!"
Everyone was joking and making noise to pass the time between exams.
However, Toru Watanabe could see that these guys who only saw the surface were really envious, but he didn't know what they were envious of.
Only someone like him, who is amazing, brave, studious, hard-working, handsome, honest—and from now on hard-working, resourceful, humble, kind, gentle, and extremely self-sacrificing—can be in a relationship with Kujo Miki.
Do you think Kujo Miki is Yukinoshita Yukino? Can she be conquered by self-exposure and gentleness?
He was envious of such a good thing!
"Wait, how come you're learning Kiyono Rin's narcissism? No, no, be more modest and just use the adjective "amazing." Watanabe Toru, who is good at self-reflection, reflected.
