Tokugawa Iemo's smile is calm, gentle and contagious.
Qingden unconsciously smiled along with him.
If Qing Deng has gained anything during this visit in private, besides opening his eyes and increasing his knowledge, it must be that he has gained a deeper understanding of the young monarch in front of him.
He somewhat understood why Tenshouin admired and supported Tokugawa Iemoge so unconditionally.
Just because this young man dared to leave the safe and comfortable Edo City in a simple car and witnessed with his own eyes the suffering of the people today, he was already more responsible than most of the feudal rulers in the past and present, both east and west.
To be honest, at first Aoshinobu doubted whether Tokugawa Iemo was actually doing "outing for fun" in the name of "visiting incognito".
It wasn't until he saw that Tokugawa Iemo had indeed visited various areas and facilities related to people's livelihood, such as Kanda and Koishikawa Health Center, that Aonto's doubts were gradually dispelled.
Whether Tokugawa Iemo was a good king or not... This is not known, but what is certain is: he should be a good person... Qingto thought firmly.
…
…
Tokugawa Iemo and Tenshouin were escorted by the two sisters and headed towards Edo Castle.
Qingdeng stood there and watched their figures go away.
Before Tianzhangyuan left, he did not forget to look at Qingdeng with charming eyes and mouthed: You must make me happy~~
Qingdeng had to admit: this great succubus's ability to enchant was indeed extremely strong.
The moment he understood Tianzhangyuan's mouth shape, his heart beat hard several times.
Even Qingdeng, who is considered well-informed, can hardly figure out which of Tianzhangyuan's words and actions are joking and which of his words and actions are sincere.
Maybe there really is a so-called conflict of attributes in this world, where one thing subdues the other.
And Tianzhangyuan happens to be the person who can conquer Qingdeng.
Her behavior, her every frown and every smile could always tug at Qingdeng's heartstrings just right.
In front of Tianzhangyuan, Qingden was really like a little boy who was inexperienced in the world, letting his elder sister, who was 6 years older than him, manipulate him at will.
In a moment, the figures of Tianzhangyuan and others completely disappeared from Qingdeng's field of vision.
Qingdeng turned around and prepared to go home.
As a result, before taking a few steps, his feet suddenly stopped.
He stared blankly at the scenery unfolding in front of him.
The smoke from dinner rises from the rooftops of the row upon row of mansions, drifting into the sky filled with the afterglow of sunset.
Town residents who had finished their day's work flocked to the izakaya in small groups; children ran away laughing and shouting; a young vendor dragged a cart full of goods for sale past Ainoto.
Looking at this scene, Qingdeng couldn't help but recall the scenes and vivid lives he had seen today.
The ronin of Nihonbashi, the farmers of Kanda, the poor and filthy people of Koishikawa Health Center...
——Even in England, the most developed and powerful country at present, there must be many poor people living on the edge of hell...
Thinking of this, Qingdeng felt an unknown heat rising in his chest.
This heat seemed to have a life of its own. In just the blink of an eye, it expanded and spread all over Qingdeng's body.
Qingdeng calmly raised his hand and pressed his chest, and continued to stare at the street scene ahead with a calm expression.
Slowly, the streets became quieter.
The afterglow of the remaining sun gradually recedes.
The surroundings were swallowed up bit by bit by night.
Nearby tea houses and izakayas have hung up lanterns with dim yellow light.
At this moment, Qingdeng took steps to return home again.
The tall body and thoughtful young face immersed themselves in the dim street corner...
…
…
Edo, Koishikawa Kohinata Yanagi Town, Imperial Guard Hall——
When Qingdeng returned to the Trial Guard Hall, the night was already deep.
I don’t know why, but up until now, Aoto had not felt physically tired, but after climbing up the steep slope of Koishikawa Kohinagayanagicho and seeing the shadow of the tall building of the trial defense hall, Aoto suddenly felt tired.
Feelings increase dramatically.
There was only one thought left in Qingdeng's mind: go to bed quickly.
——This is the best thing about winter. Even if you don’t take a shower for a day or two, you won’t have any odor on your body.
Qingdeng thought to himself as he slowly climbed up the stairs.
At this moment, Qingdeng suddenly heard light footsteps coming from above his head.
Then, the light in front of him dimmed.
"ah……"
Familiar neutral voice.
"ah……"
Qingdeng couldn't help but blurt out "Ah".
The owner of Footnote...the person standing on the steps above Aodeng at this time is none other than Souji.
I saw Souji looking like he had just taken a shower.
Wet black hair was hanging down, a warm air lingered around her body, and her pink and white feet flickered in and out of the hem of her kimono.
"Tangerine-kun..."
It was clear that Qingteng had been discovered, but the general manager still didn't look towards Qingteng.
Even if their eyes met for an instant, she immediately looked away timidly.
"Ji Jun, you, are you back?"
"Well, yes, I just came back. Okita-kun, did you just take a shower?"
"Well... yes... I drank too much last night, and I slept until late in the evening before getting up. When I woke up, I was covered in sticky sweat, so I just felt comfortable in Qianxun's house.
I took a shower..."
"That's it..."
"..."
"..."
Silence fell between Qingto and Souji.
——That's right... I almost forgot, there is also Miss Okita's matter that needs to be resolved urgently...
Last night, the young man and woman hugging each other talked about their hearts to each other... Such a romantic scene came to an end because Souji suddenly fell asleep.
The two parties said they liked each other, but did not further discuss what they should do next.
To continue the relationship?
Or... will the friendship between the two parties deteriorate?
Judging from Souji's current shy reaction, not even daring to look at Qingto... she must have remembered the beautiful scenery last night.
This made Qingden secretly breathe a sigh of relief.
After all, Souji was very drunk last night, so we cannot rule out the possibility that her memory would be wiped out when she woke up.
If this is the case, then Qingdeng will really want to cry without tears.
Fortunately, this did not happen.
Qingdeng, who had always disliked gossip and only liked to act decisively, could not stand the fact that his relationship with someone...especially the girl he liked was in an unresolved state.
Therefore, he wanted to have a long talk with the Director-General as soon as possible to have a good chat about each other's... future.
Ever since, Qingdeng cleared his throat:
"Okita-kun, that..."
"Tachibana-kun, that..."
At almost the same time as Qingteng spoke, the director-general also spoke.
The two voices collided together.
The two people were stunned, and after looking at each other awkwardly——
"You say it first."*2
The voices clashed together again.
The embarrassment on their faces became even more intense.
Qingteng laughed a few times and took the lead in making a "you go ahead" gesture to the general manager.
"Tachibana-kun, that..."
Souji slowly lowered his head, looking at his fingertips while feeling coy.
"……between……?"
"Huh? What did you say?"
Qingteng, who couldn't hear clearly what the director was saying, leaned his upper body towards the director.
"……Room……?"
Compared with just now, Souji's voice was slightly louder, but still as thin as a mosquito's moan.
For a moment, Qingto suspected that he was talking to Kinoshita Mai.
He spoke so quietly... not at all like the Souji's usual style.
Qingdeng raised his eyebrows in confusion. Then, he took two steps forward and stood closer to the chief, while continuing to stretch his upper body towards the chief.
"Okita-kun, if you speak louder, I can't hear you clearly."
The Souji gritted his silver teeth, and then looked around restlessly. He once tried to run away from Qingteng, but he changed his mind and raised his head, meeting Qingteng's eyes straightly.
"Tangerine-kun..." She took a deep breath, "Are you... free now? If you are free... can you come to my room?"
Every time the director said a word, his face turned red.
After the last syllable of this sentence fell, her entire face turned red as if it had been burned by fire, as if bright blood would seep and drip from her cheeks at any time.
"..." Qingdeng opened his eyes wide in surprise.
The boy looked at the girl in front of him blankly.
Sometimes the girl looked down at her small toes, sometimes she turned her head and looked at the wall at hand, shyly waiting for the boy's answer.
The crescent moon outside the window seems to be hiding its mouth and snickering. It secretly hides in the dark clouds above the distant peaks, setting a silver-white border on the dark clouds.
…
…
A few minutes later--
Trial Guard Hall, Chief Division's room——
"Tangerine-kun, please sit down."
Souji took out a clean cushion from the closet, patted it softly, and pushed it to Qingden's knees.
"Thanks……"
The general secretary took another cushion and sat down in front of Qingteng.
Two white and tender little feet were buried between the cushion and the plump peach...the neat toes were twisting nervously.
It was obviously the Souji who took the initiative to invite Qingto into her room...but she remained silent at the moment, just lowering her head and playing with the fingers folded on her legs.
The director's silence made Qingto couldn't help but feel a little nervous.
Although this was not the first time he came to Souji's boudoir...but it was the first time he was alone with Souji in this room that exuded the elegant fragrance.
Without any warning, Qingdeng suddenly felt a line of sight that contained some kind of will.
He raised his eyes and saw beautiful eyes looking straight at him.
The general manager raised his head at some point and stopped staring at his fingers.
"Tachibana-kun... I... I'll just tell you the truth... you... you, what you said last night... are you serious?"
A simple sentence, but it seemed to exhaust all the strength of the director.
The further she spoke, the faster her breathing became.
After uttering the last word with all her strength, her chest rose and fell at high speed like a blower.
There was a strong sense of tension in her voice... Judging from her tone, she should be very concerned about the answer to this question.
Looking at the tense-looking Souji in front of him, Qingden grinned unconsciously.
——As expected... Ms. Okita really wants to clarify the relationship between me and her now... and in the future as soon as possible.
When the Souji made the shocking words "Quickly, come to my room!", Qingteng had already vaguely guessed the purpose of the Souji's move.
Qingdeng gradually suppressed the smile on his face and sat upright. As his waist gradually straightened, his face gradually became more solemn and serious:
"Yes, I'm serious. Okita-kun...ah, no, Miss Okita."
Since there were no outsiders around, Aoto changed the title of the general manager from "Okita-kun" to "Miss Okita".
"The words I said last night were all true, and there was not even a hint of falsehood."
"Miss Okita, I like you."
The next moment, Qingdeng heard a strange cry.
"Gu...!"
The person who made this strange cry was naturally the chief executive.
I saw Souji's chest rising and falling rapidly... so fast that Qingteng couldn't help but wonder if she was suffering from hypoxia.
"Uh-huh...!"
There was another strange cry.
The Souji suddenly lowered his head and held up his face, which was getting red and hot at a speed visible to the naked eye, with both hands.
The ripples in his eyes were gentle, like the tranquility of the ancient pond being broken.
"……how about you?"
"Eh?"
The Souji maintained the gesture of holding his face and slowly raised his head - the corners of Qingden's mouth were raised and his eyes were smiling.
"Miss Okita, are you serious about what you said last night?"
"?!"
The Souji's delicate body stiffened.
The next breath, she swept her eyes left and right as if she was suppressing her shyness.
He looked at the tatami in front of his knees, and then looked at the closed window next to him...
After "struggling" like this at a loss for a moment——
Peng!
With a low sound of flesh colliding, something extremely soft and warm hit Qingden's body heavily - Souji threw himself into Qingteng's arms.
Qingteng, who was not expecting this sudden "meat bomb attack" from the General Secretary, subconsciously hugged her with his backhand.
"Miss Okita?"
"me……"
Souji's voice was muffled in Qingto's chest.
"I, I've finished my answer!"
After saying that, the director stretched out his arms and hugged Qingdeng tightly, and buried his pretty face deeper in Qingdeng's arms.
Qingdeng blinked and laughed dumbly.
Because he was too shy to speak directly, did he choose to use "action" instead of "language"... Aonto thought Souji's behavior was so cute.
As if he wanted to pity Souji, Aomori tightened his arms to hug Souji with a firm but gentle force.
But at this moment, Qingdeng was startled as he recalled something.
"...Uh...Director-General, listen to me."
Aomori held Souji's shoulders, pulled Souji away from him like a koala, and forced her to face him.
"I have something very important to say to you. I want to take advantage of this rare opportunity to tell you some...important things that must be told to you without any reservations."
"Huh?" Souji flashed his beautiful eyes a few times and tilted his little head in confusion.
"Besides you, I also like Miss A Wu and Zuo Nazi."
*******
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The author was trapped by trivial matters yesterday, and had no choice but to write a short story... Oh my god, why are there so many trivial matters recently! Why is it so difficult for me to write a novel quietly? (Leopard Fury.jpg)
The author will work hard to update tomorrow to save things! (Leopard Head Crying.jpg)
This chapter has been completed!