Chapter 9: Oda Family Dinner 1
Sitting on the swing in the small garden outside, the cool mountain breeze cooled down the heat on my face. I could finally be alone and quiet!
These two guys are really troublesome. Hideki is fine, but why is it that even Senior Shimizu...
"Senior Shimizu obviously doesn't seem to have that kind of personality, um..." I said it out loud as I was thinking about it.
"So what kind of personality do you think I should have?"
When I turned around, I saw Senior Qingshui standing behind me. When did he appear? I was so scared that I almost fell off the swing.
“Senior, you…” I wanted to ask him why he was here, but I hadn’t answered his question yet, so I just shut my mouth and lowered my head.
"It's okay to talk about what Xiao Liu thinks I am like... I'm really sorry about what happened just now."
"No, no!" After saying this in a low voice, I suddenly felt that the feeling between me and Senior Shimizu was as if we had returned to the day when we went to the station together.
"Actually, I just think that Qingshui-senpai is not very suitable..."
"Noisy? That's right!" Senior Shimizu turned his head and looked at me, "It seems that Hideki is more suitable for this."
"Pfft!" I laughed unconsciously, but thinking back, Hideki is indeed the more suitable person. "Senior is more suitable for the quiet feeling." I continued.
"Well, that's right, so I actually did that on purpose."
"Ah?" I didn't dare to look at my senior at first, but because of his words, I stared at him with my eyes wide open.
"It seems that I have caused you a lot of trouble, so I don't think this is a good idea. I'd better tell you the truth." The senior's eyes were reflected in the changing sunset on the top of the mountain. His mood seemed to be changing as well, leaving me lost for words except to listen to him.
"I'm talking about confession. Although A-Ming did tell me that you are the one destined for me, it's just talk . I won't do it."
"Why, then?" Why did you say you were dating me? You don't look like the type to lie.
"It's curiosity, to be precise! In fact, everyone in Fengcheng is always together. There are some people you don't know among them, but in fact, we are all good friends - this includes Hideki and I." Senior Shimizu spoke to me in a slow but soothing tone. Perhaps it was because his voice was so quiet that I was able to continue listening calmly.
"I have never seen Hideki like that before. As you can see, Huanghua College not only has branches all over the world, but also allows students to go directly from kindergarten to high school. So I have known Hideki since I was very young... But I have to admit that I have never seen him look serious in all these years."
"Serious?" Although I don't think Hideki has ever been serious no matter how hard I think about it, Shimizu-senpai's words aroused my curiosity.
"Hasunumuma Shimu must not have told you about Hideki's family! That's because we all know that the situation in his family is actually a 'forbidden zone'." Senior Shimizu 's story made my heart beat faster... Yes, I have never heard about Hideki's family. I know that his family is a famous and historic family, but I have never heard of what kind of family it is.
"The Oda clan was once a powerful family in history, second only to the emperor. At its peak, even the emperor at that time had to obey the Oda clan. So although this clan has now turned to business, it is still unique in training heirs--"
What Shimizu-senpai said next sounded incredible, like something out of an ancient novel, but it was indeed the family of Oda Hideki, a man who always made me feel so upset.
I raised my head and looked at Senior Shimizu, and found that his handsome face had a very serious expression.
"Hideki is the young master of this generation of the Oda family. The Oda family has always adopted an iron-fisted education style for the young masters of all generations, avoiding too much warmth, so Hideki has never felt any warmth. For a period of time, apart from constant study and training every day, Hideki seemed to have been forgotten, and no one paid attention to him at all..."
As I listened, I suddenly felt a bitter feeling around my eyes. No, not only bitter, but also an indescribable pain.
At that age when I would fall down from time to time while playing, no matter whether it was my dad or mom, if they found me falling, they would definitely pull me up immediately to show their concern and care!
But... at that time, Hideki was like an unimportant thing, thrown aside. Just thinking about that scene made me feel uncomfortable.
What Hasunuma Shimu said, that children who seem to have a good family background but actually live a life arranged for them, actually do exist.
"As you can see, Hideki is a charmer in front of everyone, but that's not normal. Since he has friends like us at Huanghua College, he is more able to show his true self in front of us. But that's only in front of a few of us. At other times, he always tries his best to play the role that others want him to play."
I felt a buzzing in my head. I don't know why, but it seemed that I couldn't hear clearly what the senior said. But in fact, every word he said entered my ears very accurately.
"It's probably subconscious! Because I was taught not to have emotions since I was young, I crave warmth even more. So I can only try hard to please others and force myself to become what others like."
"Will that...get attention?" I heard my voice choking a little.
"Yeah! When he does well and completely becomes the image in other people's minds, people will look at him and realize his existence... This later became Hideki's bad habit, acting anytime and anywhere, but forgetting that if no one likes his true appearance, then the liking is also fake..."
Senior Shimizu lowered his head, and I don't know when his fingers pinched my jaw, but the feeling was different from Hideki's touch. Senior Shimizu's touch was full of observation and scrutiny.
"So, you are a very strange girl. We all thought that Hideki could easily conquer you, but unlike what we thought, he did not hide it in front of you like he did in front of other girls. Why... can you make him serious?"
"...So, Senior Shimizu is just curious and confessed to me?" I looked at the senior and said willfully.
"No, I just want to see how serious Hideki can be, and how special you are - I have never seen anyone like you. It seems that there is nothing special about you at first glance, and even your body is so small... But the strange thing is, just like the baby's breath in flower arrangement, the inconspicuous things don't seem to be special, but if you want to make a brilliant bouquet, you often need it..."
There was a puzzled look in Senior Shimizu's eyes, as if he really couldn't figure out what kind of existence I was, but what he said shouldn't be a bad thing.
Just as I was thinking this, Shimizu-senpai was suddenly pulled away from me.
"Didn't I tell you? Yang, don't touch this stupid duck just because you think no one can see you--" As soon as the raging roar entered my ear hole, I felt my whole body rise into the air.
"Wow!" I only had time to yell before I realized the thing in front of me began to sway rapidly and run backwards - no, that's not right, trees and swings don't have long legs, it's me who is moving.
"What a bastard! You attacked me while I was trying to think of a way. Don't you know that guy is very dangerous? He is the Feng Zhi Ya Di who is known for his magical charm. If you listen to him, you will be hypnotized and become a fool. Huhuhu."
Holding me, his warm palms pressed against my sides and knees, his strong arms holding up my small body, the scent of mint warming my nose, it was Hideki...
Holding my...
Hideki is talking nonsense and has lost his composure!
The "thump, thump" sound in my ears is the heartbeat of the black-haired boy, the boy who has been regarded as my brother's shadow since birth...
Everything I heard from Senior Shimizu kept replaying in my mind, like a sheep chewing the cud. I needed to chew it desperately to understand the facts that suddenly became clear.
I don’t know why the boy who was hugging me looked like this. I don’t know why those traits of his that made me dislike him always attracted the enthusiastic gazes of girls, why he always treated everyone so gently, and why his fatal “skin hunger” turned out to be so deep and long-lasting.
Hasunuma Shimu was not wrong. What she said, "Hideki is a person who doesn't understand love," is completely correct. However, if it weren't for Senior Shimizu's narration, it would have just sounded like a strange reminder that was difficult to understand!
However, in fact, beneath the surface that can be described by simple language, there are actually deep reasons hidden that have accumulated year after year and day after day!
I was held by Hideki while running, and unconsciously tightened my hands around his neck during the bumps... This was probably the first time that I didn't feel anxious or shy when Hideki held me, and I also didn't resist at all...
I should say, I couldn't resist.
After I learned that I might be the only girl who could let Hideki see his true face, I felt that rejecting Hideki seemed to be impossible for me.
Ah… Why can you, who have been rejected by me so many times, still hold me and run like this? You were obviously attracted by my body temperature at the beginning! You obviously just wanted to touch my skin! Yes! You even confessed that you don’t understand your feelings for me, and you don’t know anything when asked. You are praised for your intelligence, and you always face the choice of gambling. Why do you choose to hold me tightly?
I couldn't hear the wind around my ears, but I could hear Hideki's heavy breathing. I couldn't see the flowers and grass passing by clearly. All I could see were the shiny beads of sweat dripping from the angular jaw of the black-haired boy.
I like him so much, I like Oda Hideki so much.
I like it so much that my heart is about to explode.
When Hideki stopped, he was smart enough to deal with everyone and became everyone's favorite type. He easily noticed that my behavior was completely different from before.
Hideki held me in his arms and stood on a small platform on the stone path in the mountains. He looked down at me, his dark eyes like twinkling stars, just like the stars in the distant sky that had dimmed.
"You didn't struggle," he said to me. "Does that mean you won't run away if I put you down now?"
"Have you been worried that I would run away?" I don't know where I got the courage from, but I asked him back in a clear and loud voice without hesitation.
"You've been trying to run away since the first time you saw me! It's been the same every time since then, you've been trying to struggle and run away from my arms no matter what. Tsk, I've gotten used to it! So now I'm a little uncomfortable with it."
Putting me down, Hideki stood in front of me and scratched his hair uncomfortably. He looked a little shy... How rare!
Hideki was obviously in good health. After resting for a while, his breathing had become calmer, and there was a large spot of sweat on the chest of his T-shirt.
Was he tired from running so fast just now? Why did he run so fast and make himself so tired? Did he not want me to be with Qingshui-senpai? If so, why did he have such a possessive desire for me?
"Hideki, Hideki..." I mustered up the courage to ask the question I had always wanted to ask: "Why do you want me?"
The wind followed the end of my words and slipped away playfully on the tip of my tongue.
