In the alleyway of Shinjuku District, an izakaya without a signboard is open for business.
The aroma of wine is also due to the deep alley, and the business seems to be a little deserted. During the best time for this kind of izakaya business, the seats in the store are only half full.
In the corner by the window, the table was filled with skewers and wine - Tsukimiya Suzuna ate skewers and Chen Ziang drank. The two of them cooperated very well.
"Senior, do you want to slow down?" Suzuna Tsukimiya finished a bunch of chicken meatballs and suddenly said, "Be careful of getting drunk."
In order to learn the lesson from last time, she did not plan to continue drinking this time, so as not to get drunk before her seniors again.
"It's okay." Chen Ziang waved his hand, "Didn't you say that Uncle Weimen will come back to pick you up later?"
He put down his wine glass, sighed, and looked out the window.
It seemed to be raining outside, there was a pitter-pattering sound in the night, and the water line slowly crawled down along the glass.
"In our industry, we always see some unspeakable things." Chen Ziang said slowly, "A long time ago... I had a colleague."
Tsukimiya Suzuna didn't speak, because she knew that the best way to deal with it now was not to interrupt, but to listen.
But Chen Ziang did not continue talking and just continued drinking.
Until there were more and more empty wine bottles, Tsukimiya Suzuna finally couldn't bear it anymore:
"Then what? Senior had a colleague, what happened next?"
"He died later." Chen Ziang put down his wine glass and looked at Tsukinomiya Suzuna and said.
Tsukimiya Suzuna:………………
"In our line of work, we should be used to seeing life and death, and treat it as a daily routine." Chen Ziang lay down on the table, closed his eyes and continued, "But we are not really emotionless."
"Sometimes, dead memories will suddenly resurrect from the depths of your heart, and then... jump out and attack you..."
His voice gradually became inaudible, and then turned into even breathing, as if he was finally drunk.
"Senior." Tsukimiya Suzuna called out a few times tentatively, probably to confirm that he had lost consciousness.
Looking at the pile of empty wine bottles next to her, she also let out a long sigh.
Dead memories suddenly come back to life and jump out to attack you. I am very familiar with this matter, senior.
Tsukimiya Suzuna ate another lantern, took some tea and rinsed her mouth briefly, and then said softly:
"Senior, come and listen to my story?"
…
"Once upon a time, there was a noble young man who fell in love with a woman from a foreign country."
"It's a pity that the woman is already married, and her husband and the young man are very good friends, so the young man lost completely from the beginning and had no chance at all."
"The woman also noticed the young man's faint love for her, so she always kept a distance from him and maintained the relationship as an ordinary friend."
"The pain of violating ethics and morals, and the resistance from the people he loved, tortured the young man and made him increasingly depressed and haggard. Finally, he decided to confess to his friends and women, withdraw from this unnecessary relationship, and wish them a long life together."
Having said this, Tsukimiya Suzuna picked up Chen Ziang's wine glass and took a sip.
"But he still didn't have time to tell the woman... He was always a step too late."
"The enemy raided the border city. The woman sensed the news, but her husband was not there. She could only try to rush back to the capital alone to report the news. The noble young man took the initiative to accompany her back, but the two of them were intercepted by the enemy on the road. The woman was under the young man's control.
He died in front of me."
"Before she died, the last words she said to the young man were..."
"...Save them."
Suddenly there was a thunder outside the window, and lightning tore apart the night in the distance, like a broken sea.
Tsukimiya Suzuna put down her wine glass and said quietly:
"This sentence will probably be remembered by him for the rest of his life, and it will also haunt him for the rest of his life."
"The young man returned to the capital to report the news, but the corrupt upper-level political circles ignored him. In order to fulfill the last wish of his loved one, he finally returned to his home territory, called on all the people in the territory who were willing to follow him, and left the war-torn principality.
, established a new kingdom on the border of the mainland."
"And he was eventually crowned king and never married. He held the crown on the cold throne and spent his whole life alone."
"...Senior, how about a story like this?"
Chen Ziang did not answer because he was really drunk.
Tsukimiya Suzuna pondered for a moment, picked up the roasted chicken gizzards on the plate, and ate it slowly.
"Actually," she said vaguely, "I hate this story."
"Because I hate heroes."
"Only the dead are heroes."
After eating the chicken gizzards, Tsukimiya Suzuna stretched out her bamboo stick as if she wanted to poke her senior's arm.
But looking at the pointed end of the bamboo stick, she hesitated for a moment, then turned it around, stretched out the other unsharpened end, and hit Chen Ziang on the head.
"Bad senior, bad, bad..."
Singing an unknown ditty she had made up, Tsukimiya Suzuna looked out the window at the increasingly heavy rain and murmured:
"It's raining heavily. I can't go out, senior."
"How about we find a place nearby to spend the night?"
"If you don't tell me, I'll take it as your promise."
————————
In the end, I couldn't stay out overnight because I was afraid that my sister would be worried.
After asking Uncle Emon to send the two of them to the door of their house, Suzuna Tsukimiya helped the drunken Chen Ziang back home, then washed him and put on his pajamas.
Back in the hotel in Qiandao, Chen Ziang might have just taken off her coat for her due to male-female security reasons, but Tsukimiya Suzuna didn't have that many worries.
After taking care of his brother, he went to take care of his sister. Chen Xiaozhu remained silent and allowed Suzuna Tsukimiya to help her to bed.
"Sister-chan." Looking at Chen Xiaozhu who was curled up in the quilt and sleeping soundly, Tsukimiya Suzuna asked softly, "Can I be your sister-in-law?"
Chen Xiaozhu did not answer.
"If you don't tell me, I'll take it as your promise." Tsukimiya Suzuna repeated her old trick, "Lend me a pair of pajamas and I'll buy you new ones when the time comes."
Opening the closet, there were various folded pajamas inside. There were no very expensive name brands among them, and they were completely different from the brands she was used to wearing.
But Tsukimiya Suzuna didn't dislike it, and happily picked out a pair of silk pajamas to change into.
There was no mirror in Chen Xiaozhu's bedroom. The reason was self-evident, so she quietly closed the door and went to Chen Ziang's room next door. She walked quietly in and came to the floor-to-ceiling mirror.
Her long light brown hair was spread over her shoulders, and her curvy body was vaguely visible under the thin cover of silk pajamas. Although all her makeup had been removed, probably because of drinking some wine, her pretty face turned a pure and lovely blush.
It contrasts with the original whiteness of the skin, making it look charming and pleasant.
Of course, Tsukimiya Suzuna is a traditional good girl and will not act like that while her senior is drunk... what she wants is her senior's heart.
The most I can do is sleep with it in my arms~
Turning around to look at the sleeping Chen Ziang, Tsukimiya Suzuna suddenly regretted it again.
By the way...this kind of opportunity is rare, right?
Why should we finish the marathon honestly when we can sneak in and go straight to the finish line?