sbdcsierra Chapter 8 The Dilemma of the Lover's Chapter
Chapter 8 The Dilemma of the Lover's Chapter
Current timeline: February 14, 1990
Time flies, and half a semester has passed in the blink of an eye. Ming and Shahe have also moved from the first year of junior high school to the second semester of the second year.
Over the past six months, Kurumi has gradually integrated into the small circle of Sawa and Mei.
Normally, Sawa and Kurumi would always be playing and joking around in front of Ming, while Ming would stand quietly to the side, arms crossed, watching their interaction with a blank expression.
As time marches on, the day has finally arrived—Valentine's Day, a holiday that so many single people loathe and grit their teeth at!
Anzakura Girls' Academy was unusually lively this morning, with female students from each class excitedly discussing the wonderful festival.
She meticulously planned how to give the chocolates she had carefully made that evening to one of the few male students at her school.
Early in the morning, while the students in Class 4 of Grade 8 at Xingying Girls' Academy were chatting enthusiastically, three extremely unsociable people were discussing the latest cat food that Saya and her cat wanted to buy next to the last row on the far right.
"Sawa, I actually think we could buy some expensive cat food for Kuriko to change things up," Kurumi suggested to Sawa, who was standing next to her.
"But wouldn't that be a bit too expensive...?" Sawa looked a little worried.
"It's okay, it's fine to eat something a little more expensive once in a while~ Besides, chestnuts are so cute, they definitely deserve the best cat food!"
As Kurumi spoke, she proudly patted her chest, which was neither too big nor too small.
Hearing her best friend's suggestion, Sawa looked somewhat troubled, and could only look to Ming, who was sitting in front of her, for help.
"Whatever you want. If you need money, I can help you with that." Noticing the pleading look in Sawa's eyes, Ming said this.
"Yay! Chestnut has new cat food!" Kurumi jumped up excitedly, announcing the success of her suggestion.
After easily resolving the issue of buying cat food for Chestnut, Ming began to look around, observing the surrounding environment and the people around him. He noticed that the place was very quiet, and no other girls were approaching him to chat, which made him feel a little strange.
"Speaking of which, Tokisaki-san, is today a holiday, Sawa? People have been running around with chocolates since early this morning?"
Ming looked at the two women in front of him with a puzzled expression and asked. Hearing Ming's words, Kurumi, who was standing in front of him, also began to think:
"Oh right! Speaking of which, is today some kind of holiday? A classmate from the next class even came over and specifically told me not to come to their class looking for people..."
Ming and Kurumi both lowered their heads, starting to think about what was special about today.
"Hey, it's Valentine's Day today! It's understandable that Ming doesn't know, but why don't you even know Kurumi?!"
Just as Ming and Kurumi were deep in thought, Sawa spoke up with a hint of helplessness.
"Oh."
"Oh, I see!"
Ming spoke emotionlessly, while Kurumi gave a look of sudden realization. Sawa, seeing this, held her head in her hand, speechless at the two's indifferent expressions.
"Uh... Can't you two be a little more dramatic? This is Valentine's Day, a day for lovers to exchange chocolates to express their love!"
Sawa, somewhat excited, patted her chest and said with great enthusiasm, her meaning to Ming being self-evident.
"But... Sawa, I really don't have anyone I like! And just a few days ago, didn't Ming and Sawa help me reject the boy from the next class's confession? At least for now, I don't have any boys I like!"
"This……"
Sawa's face showed a hint of embarrassment after hearing this, then she immediately turned to look at Ming, who was sitting in his seat and hadn't spoken for a long time, and asked with a smile:
"And what about Ming?"
"I have absolutely no interest in it. I don't usually celebrate Western holidays. If I had to choose a specific holiday for lovers, I would celebrate Qixi Festival."
Ming rested his hand on his chin, speaking casually to Sawa, whose expression seemed to be hinting at something. Sawa's lips twitched.
“Is that so…” Sawa’s eyes darkened. “But that Tanabata Festival is also nice. Let’s celebrate together on Tanabata Festival then, so we don’t have to spend money.” Sawa forced a smile.
"No, I can't find anyone to celebrate with on Qixi Festival. At least on Valentine's Day, there's chocolate to eat. As for Qixi Festival, I'm sorry, I can't think of any representative food. I'd rather stay home and study than spend that time on Qixi Festival."
"Yeah, Ming is absolutely right! But wouldn't it be better to replace studying with petting cats?" Kurumi chimed in.
“That seems like a good idea.” Ming nodded in agreement.
The person who raised this question, Sawa, saw her best friend and the person she admired teaming up against her. Even the usually gentle Sawa felt a little jealous, her cheeks puffed out slightly, and she was a little angry.
Just last night, when Sawa was alone in her room, she overheard her mother telling her a beautiful love story—the romantic confession her parents made on Valentine's Day.
Back then, my mother was a young girl. She brought a box of homemade chocolates to my father, who was then a top student at school, and shyly confessed her feelings to him.
Although her father didn't immediately reciprocate her feelings, they eventually got together and became a happy couple.
After hearing this beautiful story, Sawa was deeply moved and suddenly thought of using the same fierce feature on her father and Ming's face. She spent half a night devising this meticulously planned confession, but she never expected that the plan would fail before it could even be implemented.
The girl looked somewhat disappointed as she thought about this, and Kurumi, who was standing next to her, noticed this and was about to ask her about it.
Just then, the school bell rang, interrupting the three of them from their conversation.
Ming and Kurumi returned to their seats, and Sawa had no choice but to reluctantly compose herself and prepare for class.
After the first class ended, Ming was surrounded by a group of girls who wanted to give him chocolates before he even left the classroom.
The girls, each with an excited expression, held carefully wrapped chocolates in their hands, trying to catch the eye of the expressionless man in front of them.
"Here you go, Gangfeng!" a student standing at the front called out.
"No! It's not sweet enough, have mine!" Another student immediately squeezed past the first one and shouted.
"What are you saying? None of yours are as sweet as mine. This is chocolate filled with all my feelings for Okamine-kun!"
Another classmate opened the first two, and also started actively getting them into Ming's hands.
Seeing the girls who had just been chatting amicably start plotting against each other over something as trivial as giving him chocolates, Ming grew impatient. He frowned, then coldly said:
"Sorry, I don't like sweets."
As soon as Ming finished speaking, the girls around him showed expressions of disappointment and had no choice but to leave dejectedly, some even starting to sob quietly.
Even when he saw the crying, Ming remained unmoved. He disliked scheming and backstabbing, so he wouldn't like classmates who plotted against each other for his own sake. If he hadn't been touched by Sawa's kindness in elementary school, he would have undoubtedly made them leave immediately.
However, at that moment, when she heard Ming say that he didn't like sweets, Sawa, who was standing behind the crowd quietly observing everything, also felt a sense of loss.
She was holding a box of chocolates that she had secretly taken out of her schoolbag. She threw it on the ground, lowered her head, and rushed out of the classroom.
Just then, Ming and Kurumi simultaneously saw Sawa rush out of the classroom, looking dejected. Their eyes were filled with confusion, wondering what had happened to make Sawa so distraught. However, Kurumi didn't hesitate to chase after her, her figure quickly disappearing at the end of the corridor.
Ming, puzzled, walked to the chocolates lying on the ground, squatted down, picked them up, wiped the fallen gift box with a handkerchief, put it in his pocket, and then chased after them.
During the chase, Ming felt a pain in his heart for some reason. It wasn't physical pain, but a kind of mental pain. The boy didn't know why he was in pain, but he knew he couldn't let Shahe be sad, so he searched for her figure in the corridors of several floors of the school.
Sawa ran into a restroom on campus, leaned against the door, and lowered her head, feeling incredibly disappointed.
She thought to herself, 'Why, as his childhood friend, do I not understand Ming's taste...? I finally decided to take the initiative...why...?'
Sawa lowered her head, her fists clenched tightly, her once bright amber eyes lost their light, and her eyes became moist, as if she could cry at any moment.
Just as she was immersed in grief, Kurumi's voice came from the bathroom doorway:
"Is Sawa there?" Kurumi called out anxiously from the bathroom.
"I am here……"
Hearing her best friend's call, Sawa replied with a sob in her voice, opened the door, and walked out with a lifeless look in her eyes.
"Kurumi... what brings you here?" Sawa asked, looking somewhat disappointed, as soon as she came out.
"I saw you run out and was worried something had happened to you, so I followed to check on you." Kurumi looked at Sawa with concern. "What's wrong? Why are you crying so sadly?"
"Because...because, I spent half the night making chocolates, intending to give them to Ming today, but...before I even delivered them, I overheard him telling other people that he doesn't like sweets, and I'm afraid...he won't accept my chocolates!"
Sawa bit her lip tightly, her voice trembling slightly, and her eyes reddening slightly.
She recalled the hard work she had put in the previous night, each step filled with anticipation and love. She had carefully selected the best ingredients and meticulously blended the flavors, hoping to create the perfect chocolate for Ming. However, now everything had become uncertain.
Sawa lowered her head, tears welling in her eyes, her heart filled with disappointment and worry. She was afraid of being rejected, afraid of seeing Ming's indifferent expression. This small chocolate carried so many of her emotions, and now, those emotions seemed to have nowhere to go.
She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down, but her emotions only grew stronger. Finally, she could no longer hold back the tears in her eyes; they slid down her cheeks and dripped to the ground.
Tears fell drop by drop onto the bathroom floor. Sawa was already heartbroken. Just then, a slender, snow-white hand grasped Sawa's trembling hand tightly.
"Huh? Ah!" Sawa looked at Kurumi holding her hand in surprise, her face showing a bit of bewilderment.
"It's okay, Sawa. No matter what happens between you and Ming, you'll always be my best friend. And just like you said before when I was at a loss after being confessed to, I would fully support your relationship. So whatever you do, go for it!"
At this point, Kurumi opened her arms and hugged Sawa, patting her back to help her relax.
After a while of hugging, Sawa, nestled in Kurumi's arms, had stopped crying. Moved, she said to Kurumi, who was comforting her:
"Thank you, Kurumi! For supporting my relationship, I'll do my best!"
And so, the two girls happily walked out of the restroom together.
As soon as Sawa came out, she saw Ming running towards her, searching for her all over the corridor. He rushed to her side in a hurry, and at this moment, Ming's expression was no longer indifferent, but rather full of concern.