Chapter 183 Late at night, Muzi met a close friend

Muko Akai stood on the balcony of her hotel room, overlooking the Kitara Concert Hall inside Nakajima Park.

The wind band clubs of Sapporo's junior high and high schools perform here regularly, and this year's county competition was also held here.

The night breeze blew on her face. Akai Muzi leaned her arms on the balcony and watched the night view idly for a while. She subconsciously wanted to take out a lady's cigarette, but then she remembered that Ashu said he wanted to quit smoking.

The reason, of course, is that his girlfriend who lives with him has been supervising him smoking. He said that he would be scolded every time he was seen smoking.

Akai Muzi really thinks that Ashu is quite cute.

After all, he is a grown-up, but he still listens to a young girl.

She put the cigarette down immediately.

buzzing
The phone rang at this moment.

Akai Muzi took out her cell phone, glanced at the contact's name, and chose to answer the call.

"Moxi moxi."

[Muzi.]
"Yeah, mom." Akai Muzi had a smile on her face.

[It's so late, why haven't you slept yet?]
"Mom, you aren't either?"

The person on the other end of the phone seemed to smile as well.

[I just went to experience a Thai massage with some aunties from your community. Now my back and waist ache and I can’t sleep. This is not a massage at all. It feels like torture.]
“That’s what massage is.”

[Muzi, I called you because I couldn't sleep and was bored, so I wanted to chat with you. I also wanted to ask you how your school club is going to participate in a competition. Also.]
Akai Muzi closed her eyes, and the hair beside her face was slightly blown by the evening breeze.

She understood.

"You want to ask about Ashu?"

[Yes. Muzi, it’s not that your mother demands too much of you. It’s that Muzi, you will be thirty in a few years. For women, age is really important.]
My mother spoke very tactfully.

The meaning of what can be revealed is self-evident.

At this point, Akai Muzi suddenly felt that some things were difficult to explain to her mother.

Can you explain your thoughts to your mother?
Even though Ashu hasn't established a relationship yet, his mother will let him strive for it.

Now that she has experienced what has happened, Akai Muzi can really understand that Ashu is worried about the little girls around him.

Each of them is a little girl who can only feel at home by staying with Ah Shu.

Although Akai Muzi spoke to Fujii Itsuki in a casual manner, she was quite conflicted in her heart.

She was too embarrassed to tell her mother everything, so she could only smile and explain to her mother on the phone that she was still trying hard.

[Then Muzi, you better hurry up! Ah Shu is such an excellent kid, he is a clear-headed person, and he is also a high school teacher. The aunties with daughters in your community are very interested in him when they know that there is a new young male teacher in Jubei, who graduated from Kyoto University!]
"understood."

[Don’t take it lightly! You are close to the water and have the advantage of being the first to get the moon. It’s unacceptable for him to be taken away by others!]
"Uh-huh."

Akai Muzi could only answer her mother's questions as best she could, chat with her mother for a few words about work, and then hung up the phone.

The first to get the moon near the water tower?
In fact, shouldn’t the one who is closer to me be Xiaoyue?

Akai Muzi closed her eyes again.

She kept thinking about how to make choices in the future.

How can I really redeem the lost love?
After really getting the relationship back together, how should I handle the relationship with those little girls?

After all, in their eyes, they are always outsiders, aren't they?

Akai Muzi didn't like this very much.

Really don't like it.

It is now and it was in the past.

I was pushed to the edge and watched from afar the female classmates chatting and laughing during class.

Even the fact that I was dating Ashu seemed incredible to them.

"Huh?! Muzi can also date an excellent student like Fujii?"

"It seems Fujii is also hungry and will eat anything."

At that time, I didn’t dare to fight back against these classmates.

But Shu was different. In high school, Shu could stand up to the seniors. When Shu stood beside him, those gossipy classmates couldn't say a word when they saw him.
Akai Muzi knows it.

I just envy people like this Ashu.

Later, I kept thinking about relying on myself and wanted to become a strong, independent and outstanding person, so I went to the United States. But in the end, I escaped back from the United States in disgrace.

When I recall these things from the past, I feel so overwhelmed and depressed.

Akai Muzi picked up her cell phone, found Fujii Itsuki's contact information, and put her hand on the "Dial" button, but she couldn't press it.

Will it disturb Ashu at this late hour?

If I call Ah Shu whenever I have something on my mind, will it seem that I am still as weak as I was in the past?
Ashu is currently under a heavy psychological burden, and he still needs someone like me to relieve his stress. Will calling him like this add to his burden?

When you stay alone at night for too long, your heart will eventually feel lonely.

Akai Muzi put away her phone, walked out of the room, and prepared to go to Nakajima Park below the hotel to take a walk and relieve her boredom.

While walking in the corridor, she seemed to see a girl in the Jubei school uniform flash by at the corner, but when she walked in and looked over there, there was no trace of her.

She looks like the kid named Matsumae Shinharu.

But it’s probably just my own illusion, right?
Akai Muzi walked into the elevator and went downstairs.

Sapporo is worthy of being the largest city in Hokkaido. It is almost dawn now, and the city center looks no different from Tokyo, with bright lights and night life.

Akai Muzi walked on the street with her hands in her pockets. Seeing a relatively calm bar, she thought about whether to go there to drink alone to relieve her boredom, but suddenly remembered that she had to take care of her classmates in the wind band competition tomorrow, so she gave up.

Stroll all the way to Nakajima Park near Kitara Concert Hall.

There are basically few people in Japanese parks at night.

Either they were some drunk middle-aged office workers, or they were some young couples who came to the park to seek excitement.

Just then, she saw a pair of figures in the beech forest where pedestrians were prohibited.

Akai Muzi continued to move forward, and suddenly heard something.
This is the sound of dispute.

When I looked up, I saw a drunk middle-aged man harassing a young girl. He was holding a briefcase in one hand and holding her in place with the other hand, not letting her leave.

The girl didn't seem too panicked, but her face showed extreme disgust.

The key point is that the girl is wearing the school uniform of their Jubei school.

Akai Muzi was angry. Who ran out in the middle of the night regardless of school rules? !

Then I looked at those purple eyes. Isn't this Xiaoyue?!

She quickly walked over and slapped the bastard in the face without saying a word.

The drunken middle-aged man staggered and was forced to take two steps back. His face was burning with pain. He shook his head and glared at Akai Muzi who appeared in front of the girl, angrily saying:

"Who are you? Come and ruin my good thing!"

"This child's teacher."

Akai Muzi stretched out her hands to protect Jiuhuayue behind her, while Jiuhuayue looked at the figure that suddenly appeared from behind.

"Teacher? Stop joking. He must be someone who is meddling in other people's business..." As he spoke, he burped.

"Are you going?"

"What, what are you going to do or not?"

"If you don't leave, I'll call the police."

Akai Muzi's tone and expression were extremely serious, and her usual dignity as a teacher was revealed, which really made the other party stunned.

The man was drunk but not confused. When he saw this situation and that Akai Muzi picked up her phone and called the police without saying a word, he turned around and left cursing, protecting his slapped face.

Akai Muzi protected Jiuhuayue and did not put down the phone to her ear until the other party completely disappeared from her sight.

She first turned around angrily and looked back at Jiuhuayue.

"Tell me, what happened? Why did you come to the park in the middle of the night?"

In fact, as soon as the question was asked, Akai Muzi saw the musical instrument box in her hands, and she understood the situation in an instant.

This kid.
Jiuhuayue held the instrument box on the edge of her skirt. She raised her head and looked at Akai Muzi with purple eyes:
"I was planning to go back after practice, but I didn't expect to run into someone like this on the way."

"Don't you know that the park is full of people like this at night?"

Jiuhuayue shook her head.

"It's a little dangerous at night, but I think there are so many people in downtown Sapporo at night, the public security should be good, and there shouldn't be any problems."

Akai Muzi's mouth was only half open.

Doesn't this kid have much common sense? !

How did her parents teach her?
However, this child has been studying at the Takarazuka Music School since he was a child. Apart from eating and sleeping, he has been engaged in various intensive training. He is indeed very different from ordinary children.

"I'm not that scared if I encounter one. The worst that can happen is I can just run away and call the police."

Akai Muzi put her hand on her forehead and shook her head. "It will take time for the police to come, and those guys will most likely not give you a chance to call the police."

Although the two knew each other privately, they still had a teacher-student relationship.

Akai Muzi seized this opportunity to repeat the safety lesson to Jiuhuayue.

It is forbidden to go out at night and go to places like parks and places where entertainment shops are concentrated.

It's dangerous at night!
After spending a lot of time talking, Akai Muzi saw that Jiuhuayue was listening the whole time and didn't argue with her. She thought that she must have listened to him, so she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Just be careful next time."

However, after the lecture, Akai Muzi vaguely noticed that Jiuhuayue seemed to lack a sense of reality about this kind of thing, so she asked her:

"Did you often go out at night before?"

Jiuhuayue looked confused, as if asking, "How do you know?"

"It's just a blind guess. Never mind, I've told you everything I need to say. It's time to get off work again, and I don't have the time to act like a teacher during my break. I came to the park to take a walk and get some fresh air. Since you're here, Xiaoyue, why don't you chat with me?"

".So are you Muzi or Akai-sensei now?"

Akai Muzi reached out and patted Jiuhuayue's petite back, "Just now it was Akai teacher, now it's Muzi! Also, don't treat me as a love rival and don't want to get close to me. I was the one who saved you just now!"

"I can get rid of that guy just now by myself."

The girl whispered unconvinced.

The two of them sat down on a bench in Nakajima Park.

The lake here reflects the city office buildings in front, and under the illumination of neon lights and the clamor of vehicle horns outside at night, it has a unique flavor.

Akai Muzi glanced again at the trumpet instrument case on her lap.

"For tomorrow's game?"

"Yeah!" Jiu Huayue agreed readily, with her hands still clasped on the instrument case.

"Xiaoyue, you were kicked out of the team at the beginning, why are you still thinking of coming back?" Jiu Huayue was a little angry, "What are you talking about! I'm not the kind of person who will give in after being defeated once!"

Akai Muzi supported her face with her left hand and looked at her: "Why do you care so much?"

"what?"

"About the game."

Jiu Huayue now looked at the musical instrument box in her hand, "Don't you know? I want to help my uncle fulfill his dream."

"Generally speaking, people who help others realize their dreams also want to seek something they can get from this dream. Xiaoyue, what do you think you can get?"

Jiuhuayue frowned with a serious expression, and faced Akai Muzi's face with a little surprise in her heart.

Because the uncle had said the same thing to him and asked the same question before.

"My own growth. And care."

"In my opinion, Xiaoyue, you just want to be cared for." said Akai Muzi.

Jiuhuayue cast a questioning look at her, but Akai Muzi stopped looking at her pretty face and smiled with her eyes closed:
"Isn't it?"

"Muzi, how did you come to this conclusion?"

"Xiao Yue, aren't you envious of my past relationship with Shu? You also want to be Shu's friend and share the same hobbies with him. To put it bluntly, you work so hard just to make up for the regrets in Shu's heart, become more dazzling in front of him, and make him pay more attention to your existence."

"."

When Jiu Huayue heard this, she felt as if her heart was pierced through.

She didn't like this feeling very much.
Just when he was about to leave, Akai Muzi tried to stop him with words.

"What else do you want to talk about?"

"Xiao Yue, don't worry. I want to ask you something. You have been practicing the trumpet for a while, and you have a certain understanding of Ashu's skills. What do you think of him in this regard?"

Jiuhuayue fell into memories.

I think of all the images related to Fujii Itsuki.

“Out of reach.”

"Is it."

"Isn't it? You's sister is the leader of the brass group at Saintess College. My skills are far inferior to hers now, but she is still a fan of Uncle. The more you know, the more you can understand how great Uncle was in the past!"

When Akai Muzi heard this, she suddenly laughed.

But this smile did not express any happiness; it was just a feeling of being a kindred spirit.

This proved that her guess was correct.

"Then what do you think when you, Xiaoyue, hold the instrument in front of Shu?"

Jiu Huayue didn't want to say anything more, so she turned around and left, "I won't tell you!"

"You feel quite inferior, right? You feel like you'll never be able to catch up with him."

Jiuhuayue turned around and stared at Akai Muzi: "."

"Don't be surprised, I was like this before. You heard me say how happy I was to practice with Shu every day after school. It was indeed happy, but I needed to practice in other extra time to make up for the huge gap between us."

"."

Jiu Huayue stared at her for a while, then sat down beside her.

Akai Muzi suddenly looked at the musical instrument box in Jiuhuayue's hand.

"I am just like you, feeling unhappy with your poor skills and needing to sneak out in the middle of the night to practice."

"."

Jiuhuayue remained silent.

Akai Muzi looked at the lake where the moon was reflected and fallen leaves were floating, and said:
"I can't catch up with him, he is so good, he is too talented, why can't I do it, sooner or later he will surpass me. This is how I kept asking myself in my heart.

“Even after I confirmed my relationship with Ashu, I still felt uneasy.

"I feel like I'm not good enough for him. He's always been giving in to me. He's the one who brought me out of this desperate situation. Will he meet someone better? Does he deserve someone better?

“I know that low self-esteem will hardly bring me any positive benefits, but after seeing my useless hands, I still can’t help but think so.”

Akai Muzi looked at Jiuhuayue again and smiled.

"I don't know if you've ever had this feeling, Xiaoyue, that he's so great in your heart, that you really want him to look at you more, and really want him to love you a little more. Even when you occasionally leave his side, you feel a sense of loss and discomfort."

"."

Jiuhuayue remained silent.

"It seems that I guessed right. You can't bear to see him leave you, right? You can't bear to let him see that you are useless, right? You are afraid that he will fall in love with another woman and leave you, right?"

"Sister Muzi, how long have you been in this mood?" Jiu Huayue couldn't help but ask.

"ten years."

"now what?"

“Now, we are in deep trouble.”

"Do you regret it?"

"I don't regret it, because I can only get some relief when the other person cares about me. I am very happy when he comes to me for a drink, and I am very happy when he comes to me to relieve stress and chat.

"Many times I know that I am hopeless. Why does it have to be him? But the reality is that it really has to be him."

This long conversation made Jiu Huayue ponder for a very long time.

Want to talk about inferiority complex?

Indeed, there is a little bit.

What if the uncle doesn’t really like me?
What if the uncle still refuses to accept me in the end?
Where should I go?

Just thinking about the time I spent with him, the night he spent in Tokyo just to be with me, the night he bought me a dress and I showed off myself beautifully in front of him, I felt sad because the warmth in it was about to disappear.

I hate it when he's with other girls.

I hate that he doesn't care about himself anymore.

But what Jiuhuayue hates even more is that she can't do anything to change herself.

Since you like someone, why not be more courageous and bold in showing your love? Show the extent of your love?

Since you are reluctant to let him go, you should let the uncle see how much you like him!

Jiuhuayue hugged the instrument box in her hand, and suddenly understood the purpose of Akai Muzi's words to her just now.
"Sister Muzi, you..."

"Hmm? Call me sister?"

Akai Muzi smiled again, as if she had seen the past, "Are you starting to feel motivated?"

"Yes! Of course!"

Jiuhuayue emphasized, and glanced at Akai Muzi, "Although I am very grateful to Sister Muzi for telling me this, and I understand your feelings, but you are still my enemy!
"Not tomorrow, but from now on, I will try my best to win in the competition!"

"You may win the game, but you may not be able to beat me."

Jiu Huayue's mind flashed with the scene of the uncle massaging her legs that day. Her face turned red, but she maintained her composure and snorted:
"Humph, in my opinion, Sister Muzi, you are the loser!"

Akai Muzi was very interested. She noticed the girl's blushing face. "Ashu didn't do anything to you. How can you be so sure?"

"First of all, he has kissed me, and secondly...wait, why did I say so much to you? Thank you for what you said tonight, but I think it's time to go back! It's too late!"

"Leaving now?"

"Of course!"

Jiuhuayue was about to leave, so Akai Muzi naturally followed her back to the hotel.

As she followed behind, she kept thinking back to what the girl had just said and her little expression.

This child has probably already considered herself as Ashu's potential girlfriend in her heart, right?
If you mention anything about your intimate past with Ashu, she will get jealous and feel uncomfortable, so don't mention it yourself.

So cute.

After sending Jiuhuayue back to her own room, the child bowed to him politely to express her gratitude.

Such a sensible and beautiful girl can like Ashu.

While Akai Muzi was happy for him, she also felt a little sad about herself.

Jiu Huayue has not established a relationship with Ashu, but she is still jealous because she thinks he is her potential boyfriend.

I didn't even dare to have this thought at this moment.
I just hope that Ashu doesn't forget me.

Akai Muzi was still feeling a little disappointed, and she was about to turn around and leave, but she didn't expect that Jiuhuayue's door would open again at this time.

A head with half-closed eyes poked out from the crack in the door.

"Xiaoyue, what are you doing——"

"nothing."

Jiuhuayue avoided her gaze at first, then looked directly at Akai Muzi, "I used to only regard you as a teacher and a love rival. But now it's different. I find that you and I are very similar."

"Really?" When Akai Muzi saw her face, the annoyance in her heart instantly dissipated.

"I can understand you! So if you are still willing after I and the uncle become one, I will treat you as a good friend!"

"Xiao Yue, is this a friendly declaration or a hostile declaration?"

"I don't know either, but I think I won't hate you so much now! Goodbye, good night, I wish you a pleasant dream tonight!"

"OK, good night."

With a click, Jiu Huayue closed the door of the hotel bedroom.

"at last!"

The door opened again.

"Ok?"

"I will try my best in tomorrow's game, Muzi, just watch!"

Click, the door closed again.

This time it was a complete shut down.

Akai Muzi stood at the door, and indeed she no longer felt the annoyance she had before.

what is this?
Because the distance between him and the child Jiuhuayue has shortened?
Are you happy that you are no longer "marginalized"?
Akai Muzi shook her head, feeling both funny and somewhat pathetic about herself!
Muzi, ah, Muzi!
After all these years, you haven't grown at all!
Are you still trapped in your old self?
but
She really liked something Xiao Jiuhua said just now.

[I will definitely try my best to get it!]
Do you try your best to express yourself so that the person you like can see your bold declaration of love?

this.
Isn’t this the feeling that you most longed for and yearned for in the past?
I didn't expect that by counseling Xiaoyue, I would actually be counseling myself.

Akai Muko smiled and shook her head, starting to walk back to her room.

Today, I can finally have a good sleep alone.

(End of this chapter)