Chapter 194: Christmas before the End of the Semester (3)
After dark, during dinner time, Christmas songs are played in the store.
"Jingle Bells" by Children's Christmas Favorites.
The atmosphere in the store was lively with the melody of "Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle bells".
Under the warm lighting, the guests dined happily.
The five people rang the bell, called the waiter, and ordered dinner.
Toru Watanabe had potato curry and grilled chicken skewers.
The rich curry flavor is slightly spicy and goes well with rice.
After chewing hard and swallowing it, he picked up the browned grilled chicken skewers.
Use your teeth to bite a piece of chicken and a piece of mushroom, pull them into your mouth together, and the fat will explode in your mouth.
The joy and satisfaction of eating are felt particularly deeply at this moment.
"Christmas is coming soon." Ikki Aoi held a French fry dipped in ketchup in her hand.
"Christmas trees have been put up in many places, and some shopping malls have started offering sales." Kunii Osamu took a big bite of the hamburger and said while chewing.
"It's on sale. I want to buy clothes for the New Year." said Ikki Aoi.
"My family also ordered Christmas cake in advance," said Keisuke Saito.
Ikki Aoi's eyes slipped to Asuka Mai: "Mai-senpai, do you have a date for Christmas?"
“…No.” Asu Mai concentrated on eating her curry rice.
"Then do you want to go shopping with me? Let's go eat KFC and buy clothes? I've already received a recommendation from the University of Tokyo, so you can have fun as much as you want." Ikki Aoi must have been thinking about this for a long time, and she spoke it very fluently.
"…There's a dinner party at home."
"I see." Ichiki Aoi tried not to look too disappointed, "Kiyano-san, do you have a date for Christmas?"
Kiyono Rin wiped her mouth with a tissue and was about to answer when Watanabe Toru spoke first.
"Ichimu, what do you want to do?" His eyes were filled with suspicion and warning.
"Watanabe-kun, you misunderstood me! I was just asking!" Ikki Aoi explained dissatisfiedly.
"What are you explaining? I'm asking you what you are going to do for Christmas?" Toru Watanabe asked confusedly.
Qingye Rin glanced at him.
"I don't believe you." Ikki Aoi muttered to herself, and then said, "I'm going to go out with my friends in the wind band. What about you, Watanabe-kun?"
"Let's go to Kiyono-san's house."
Ikki Aoi exclaimed “Eh——” in surprise.
Asu Mai stopped eating and looked at Watanabe Toru expressionlessly.
No one doubted him, even Kunii Osamu and Saito Keisuke stared at Watanabe Toru in surprise.
Come to think of it, don’t these two people know the inside story?
Ikki Aoi asked quickly, "What about Kujo-san? She is your real girlfriend, so you won't spend Holy Eve with her? Is this really okay?"
"Break up?" Asu Mai asked calmly.
Watanabe Toru sighed and said nothing.
At the small table for six, the atmosphere began to become silent and awkward.
The store was still playing "Jingle Bells" on loop, the smell of various foods passed through my nose, and the heater blew through my hair.
At the next table, a child who was blowing into the steamed dumplings told his parents in an innocent tone that he hoped Santa Claus would give him a real Gundam this year.
Kiyono Rin rolled her eyes at Watanabe Toru and sighed as if she couldn't do anything about him.
She explained, "There was a party at my house, and he would attend with Kujo-san."
"So that's how it is! I was so scared. I thought I asked something I shouldn't have asked! Watanabe-kun, you're so annoying." Ikki Aoi said angrily.
Asu Mai continued to eat curry with a spoon, taking small bites at a time.
Her lips are pink, tender and attractive, like a flower bud, which makes people want to protect it, but also inspires evil thoughts to destroy it.
"But in that case, Kiyono-san won't be able to come out to play on Christmas Eve, right?" Ikki Aoi said regretfully on behalf of Kiyono Rin.
"Ichiki-san," Qing Ye Lin said without interest, "Two semesters have passed since the first year of high school. Instead of playing around, you should think more about whether to choose the liberal arts or science department in the second year of high school, and whether to prepare for the national public school or private school in the future."
"I haven't thought about this seriously yet. What about you guys? Will you choose liberal arts or science?" Ikki Aoi rolled the French fries in ketchup and looked at the other four first-year students with an inquiring look.
"I choose science." Keisuke Saito, who couldn't fit in with the atmosphere, said his second sentence.
"Then I'll choose science too." Kunii Osamu casually decided on a way out. "Watanabe, you should choose science too. Maybe then, the three of us can continue to be in the same class."
Watanabe Toru thought for a moment and replied, "We'll talk about this later. I don't know."
I don’t know if it’s because he’s been reading literary novels recently, but he prefers liberal arts to science.
But it doesn’t matter whether it’s liberal arts or science.
He had no intention of becoming a scientist or a writer.
He knows very well what he is doing now, and he also has clear goals, such as retaining the top spot in the country, but what will he do after graduating from university?
Thinking of this, Toru Watanabe suddenly felt a little confused.
“Have you ever thought about what you plan to do in the future?”
Kiyono Rin was about to say her choice of arts or science, but after hearing his question, she changed her words and said:
"To carry on the family business."
She frowned slightly, seeming helpless about such a life - she obviously didn't like it, but had to do it out of responsibility and obligation.
Watanabe Toru shifted his gaze away from Kiyono Rin's face and looked at the person opposite her.
"Where is Senior Mingri?" he asked.
Asu Mai took a sip of iced black tea, and only used her clear eyes to show a look of faint thought.
After three or four seconds, she whispered, "Music."
"Are you playing the euphonium?" When talking to Asuka Mai, Ikki Aoi's voice is always more cheerful.
Asu Mai shook her head slightly, her bangs swaying, like rippling lake water under the restaurant lights.
"...oboe."
Kiyono Rin's pupils, like big black pearls, moved to the far right of her eye sockets and stared at Watanabe Toru.
Watanabe Toru looked at her in confusion, then picked up the grilled chicken skewers.
'You want to eat? ' he asked with his eyes .
Qingye Rin withdrew his gaze.
"Why? Senior's euphonium is so good!" Ikki Aoi looked at Asu Mai in confusion.
Asu Mai looked at Watanabe Toru and said, "Watanabe, you are amazing. I want to try it."
"Because of this." Ikki Aoi seemed to understand. "When I heard Watanabe-kun's oboe, I was also shocked. It turns out that there is an instrument that can produce such beautiful sounds."
She suddenly waved her arms:
"I've decided! I want to continue playing and become a professional euphonium player, and join the same orchestra as you! You, wait for me!"
Asu Mai nodded indifferently.
"What about Kunii-san and Saito-san? What do you plan to do in the future?" Among those present, only Ikki Aoi cared about these two people.
"I want to become a star baseball player with an annual income of 500 million yen!" Kunii Osamu said with his face raised.
"I want to work in the gaming industry and make good...games." Compared to the others who were just talking, Saito Keisuke's expression was more serious.
You just want to talk about sister games, right?
Is it true that desire is the greatest motivation for people?
When Watanabe Toru was thinking about what he wanted, Ikki Aoi asked him, "Watanabe-kun, what do you plan to do in the future?"
The curry was finished, Watanabe Toru put down the spoon and wiped his hands with a wet towel.
"That's why I ask you because I don't know what to do," he said.
Qing Ye Lin also finished dinner and gave Watanabe a contemptuous smile:
"Watanabe-san, if you can't find a job, you can come to me."
"Will you support me?"
"…Can't you be more capable? I think you are still capable of cleaning the toilet."
"If I'm only responsible for your toilet, Mr. R, I think I can still take it..."
"Shut up."
"The faces of capitalists change at any time." The countryman Toru Watanabe said with a look of hatred for the rich.
When Qing Ye Lin sighed with a headache, Ikki Aoi changed the subject: "Watanabe-kun, what was your dream when you were a child?"
"What was your childhood dream?"
"Yeah." Ikki Aoi nodded.
She said:
"Childhood dreams are usually unrealistic, right? But with Watanabe-kun's excellence, even if it's unrealistic, you can still try to do it. Before you can't find your goal, how about trying your childhood dream?"
"What Ikki-san said makes sense... Oh, right!" Kunihisa shouted as if he remembered something, "I remember that you wanted to be the prime minister since you were a kid, didn't you?"
His voice was so loud that a family at the next table looked over.
Except for Toru Watanabe, Rin Kiyono, and Mai Asuka, the remaining two people present seemed very embarrassed.
"Keep your voice down!" Saito Keisuke cursed in a low voice.
Kunii Osamu lowered his head embarrassedly and continued eating his hamburger.
Toru Watanabe did not correct the statement "set his goal since childhood", nor did he say that his childhood dream was to become a civil servant who lived a life of idleness and waiting for death.
"Ikki-san, what was your dream when you were a child?" Toru Watanabe asked back.
"Me? My childhood dream, before kindergarten, was to open a cake shop so I could eat whatever I wanted. After elementary school, I wanted to marry Xiang Xiang from Ueno Zoo. I haven't given up on this dream yet!"
Xiangxiang, panda, female.
When it comes to pandas, Ikki Aoi looks excited.
She continued:
"I go to Ueno Zoo to see pandas every year. When I take a bath, I watch their videos on YouTube. I heard that every family in Sichuan, China has a panda. I'm so envious. I want to raise one, too."
“……” Toru Watanabe didn’t know what to say for a moment.
He said helplessly: "Yimu-san, that's fake, how can there be one in each house?"
"I saw a lot of Chinese people commenting on Twitter and YouTube. There are even photos!"
“…Then let’s make it real.”
After dinner, everyone continued to study.
With the idea of giving it a try, Aoi Ikki asked Mai Asuka to stay and teach her, but she didn't expect that it would be successful.
She almost jumped for joy.
On the dining table, the only sound was the rustling of pen on paper.
"Senior, how do I do this question?" Ikki Aoi moved the textbook between the two of them.
While moving, I accidentally touched the pen.
The pen fell along the smooth table surface to the ground, then rolled on the ground for a while and finally stopped at Qingye Rin's feet.
Qingye Rin put down her pen, tucked her hair behind her ears, and leaned over to pick it up.
"Thank you, Kiyono-san!"
After Kiyono Rin returned the pen to Ikki Aoi, she picked up her own pen and was about to continue working on the questions when she suddenly asked:
"Mingri-senpai, do you have the habit of taking off your shoes?"
Don’t answer, don’t answer, don’t answer—this is Toru Watanabe’s mental activity as he does math problems.
“…I’m sorry.” Asu Mai put her sore feet into her shoes.
"Don't apologize, it's okay. Many people in Japan have the habit of taking off their shoes. I was just asking casually."
"Senior took off her shoes?" Aoi Ikki's face was full of regret as if she had picked them up myself.
After the little episode of picking up the pen, I returned to doing the questions.
"…This question is very simple, think about it yourself." After taking a look at the question, Asu Mai continued to play with her phone.
"Okay." Ikki Aoi weakly moved back to the textbook.
The study session lasted until nine o'clock, and everyone separated in front of the store.
"Thank you for your hard work today, everyone. Good luck on the exam tomorrow!" Ikki Aoi waved goodbye.
"I'll take you home." Watanabe Toru said to Kiyono Rin.
"Yeah." Qingye Rin nodded slightly.
Just as the system said, Tokyo at Christmas was decorated like a dream, the lights on the trees were lit, and the streets were filled with romance.
At the entrances of many shops, employees who are trying to attract customers have already put on Christmas costumes.
The two walked along the brightly lit street, looking at the windows decorated with Christmas decorations.
"Haven't you thought carefully about what you want to do in the future?" asked Qingye Rin.
Watanabe Toru withdrew his gaze from studying the reindeer horns on a shop window, looked at the winter street in front of him, and said:
"There's no need to rush for this kind of thing. Some people go to university after they've decided what they want to do, but more people only figure out what they want to do after they go to university."
"Most people who think this way don't want to do anything in the end."
Watanabe Toru turned his head.
Kiyono Rin's pretty little face looks even cuter against the white scarf.
Amid the sound of wheels rolling on the road, he smiled and said:
“People who don’t want to do anything, after four years, realize the fact that they don’t want to do anything.”
"Sophistry." Qingye Rin rolled his eyes at him.
There was singing coming from a shop nearby.
"After the rain passes late into the night, it will turn into snow."
" Silent night, Holy night"
"You will never come to spend Christmas alone"
"What song is this?" Toru Watanabe stopped and asked Kiyono Rin.
"'Silent Night', written by Tatsuro Yamashita." Rin Kiyono answered.
"'After the rain passes deep into the night, it will turn into snow', the lyrics are good." Toru Watanabe hummed the song and danced to the rhythm.
It's called dancing, but in fact it's just the body swaying slightly left and right.
Looking at his funny actions, Qingye Rin felt helpless and amused, and couldn't do anything about him.
She laughed, and Watanabe Toru became even more proud.
"Ms. Kiyono, would you like to come with me to admire the moment when rain turns into snowflakes on Christmas Eve?"
"Okay." Qingye Rin nodded.
Watanabe Toru's movements suddenly stopped.
"…What did you say just now?" he asked.
"Anyway, the party is private. I can't leave alone, but if you and Kujo come along, our families will allow us to come out."
“…”
What is going on?
I'm just in a good mood and just asked casually following the lyrics.
Do I have to kiss Kujo Miki in front of Kiyono Rin?
Qing Ye Lin noticed his expression: "What's wrong with you?"
"Kiyono-san," Toru Watanabe put on his backpack which had fallen down due to dancing, "Do you know the movie 'White Album'?"
"What is it again?"
"It's a long story, let's talk while we walk."
Amid the singing of "Silent Night" in the store, the voice of Toru Watanabe could be faintly heard as he walked away.
"One night, I turned on the TV and saw Tokyo MX was playing..."
