Chapter 219 Jiuhuayue's Initiative
Time came to three days later, when it was time for casting for the stage play.

Fujii Itsuki originally wanted to use the gymnasium as the stage, but there were too many people applying to use it recently, so he had no choice but to arrange the casting in the classroom.

Standing in front of the blackboard, he picked up the chalk and wrote the name of the event on the blackboard. Suddenly, his mind flashed back to the days when Matsumae Shinchun and he had hardly spoken to each other.

After this child realized what he had done, did he suffer from the pain of making an inner choice during this period?
Although she was reluctant to face this situation, she still slowly wrote the words "Casting Conference" on the blackboard.

But compared to before, the chalk strokes began to become much heavier.

The students came back from the toilet one after another. Fujii Itsuki stood on the podium and began his speech facing everyone:

"Don't be nervous, just practice as you normally would. Even if you feel like your acting isn't good, don't worry too much, everyone's level is about the same. It's not your fault that you didn't perform well, it's normal to be nervous."

After briefly calming everyone down, Fujii Itsuki picked up the roster and began to call out the female students who were to be selected for roles one by one. He retreated to the back of the class and observed.

"Akai-sensei!"

"Good afternoon, everyone~"

Hearing the students' voices, Fujii Shu looked up and saw Akai Muzi walking into the classroom with a smile. She went straight to him.

".Why are you here?" Fujii Itsuki asked in a low voice.

"I came to see your class's casting meeting, it seems quite interesting." Akai Muzi responded with a smile.

Fujii Itsuki nodded and said nothing more.

The curtains were drawn and the lights on top of the podium were turned to the brightest setting.

Due to time constraints, Fujii Itsuki directly arranged for the two to go on stage to act opposite each other.

This act is a rivalry between the two characters, the princess and the great astrologer.

Jiuhuayue and Shigaraki walked onto the stage. Fujii Itsuki could see that Shigaraki was a little nervous and his expression was stiff.

"Ashu, Ashu, let me see the script for this section." Akai Muzi said in a low voice.

Fujii Itsuki casually handed her the script.

Akai Muzi read the script carefully.

Scenes:

At dusk, the deep forest was gloomy, the sky was covered by thick dark clouds, thunder rumbled, and occasionally a flash of lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating the twisting and winding ancient trees.

In the dense forest, the shadows of the trees are so thick that it seems as if countless pairs of eyes are watching in secret.

The Twilight Princess was wearing a purple cloak and a long veil, and her face looked solemn and tired.

Raindrops dripped from the leaves, splashing tiny drops of water, and the muddy ground made her steps heavier. The surroundings were so quiet that even the wind seemed to hold its breath, with only the sparse sound of rain and the faint sound of light joy, which was so eerie that it made her hair stand on end.

The Twilight Princess held the sword tightly with both hands, the blade trembled slightly, and she was secretly alert. According to legend, this dense forest is the residence of the great astrologer. Only by finding him or her can the curse of the kingdom be lifted.

But this strange forest made her feel uneasy. She repeatedly confirmed her direction, but she went deeper and deeper and gradually got lost in this foggy world.

Suddenly, a small figure vaguely emerged from the white mist, appearing and disappearing from time to time. The brisk music echoed in the white mist, seeming to be getting closer and closer to her, with an elusive rhythm that made it hard to figure out.

Twilight Princess held her breath, sweat oozing from her palms, and she involuntarily took a step back.

At the moment when she was most nervous and fearful——

"what--!"

A sharp scream suddenly came from the mist, and then a petite figure suddenly jumped out of the white mist and threw herself into the arms of the Twilight Princess. This was a little girl with a white flower in her hair and an innocent smile on her face, but that smile looked particularly strange at this moment.

"Big bad guy! Come to catch you~"

As soon as Akai Muzi read this, Nagasaki on the stage made the same "ah" sound. But her voice was weak, causing the whole class to laugh. In contrast, the performance of Twilight Princess, that is, Jiuhuayue, was particularly outstanding.

The Twilight Princess (Jiuhuayue) was frightened so much that her face turned pale, and she almost dropped her sword. She quickly adjusted her posture and was about to draw her sword to fight back, but she saw the girl in front of her covering her mouth and laughing, with joy flashing in her eyes.

"Who are you?" Twilight Princess' hair was wet and her tone was trembling as she forced herself to remain calm.

The difference in their acting skills is clearly revealed here, especially in how they handle tense emotions.

After the two finished their scene together, Fujii Itsuki took note of it and then asked the next group to perform.

As several groups finished their performances, Fujii Itsuki asked the students to start voting.

"Ashu, is this the script you wrote?" Akai Muzi took the opportunity to ask again in a low voice.

"how?"

"It's nothing, it's just that I don't think it was written by you, Shu. It's a bit... weird."

".I already said it's a fantasy fairy tale, this is the effect we want."

"Then you also set up the character of the Great Astrologer?"

"correct."

"Could it be that you, Shu, just like this kind of older loli?"

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

The casting lasted until half past six.

He took a quick look and found that there was absolutely no problem for Jiuhuayue to play the Twilight Princess, and Matsumae Shinchun was also just right for the Dawn Prince.

After returning home at night and correcting the work, Fujii Itsuki went to bed on time and prepared to sleep.

The night was quiet, but he tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.

Xinchun hasn't said good night to me on her own initiative these past few days. Is it because I feel a little lost and uneasy in my heart?
Could it be that I have really begun to fall in love with this child?
Picking up the phone, he hesitated for a moment, and finally sent a message to Xinchun:
"How was your afternoon?"

After clicking send, he put the phone down again.

He didn't know what emotion he was feeling at the moment.

I just feel that I am expecting Xinchun to reply to me. If she doesn’t reply, I will feel a little worried and lost.

Thinking of this, Fujii Itsuki smiled to himself.

I laughed at myself for being an old man and falling in love with a little girl, and I was a little worried that she would no longer like me.

Three minutes later, Xinchun replied.

[Xinchun thinks it’s great. Xinchun thinks the teacher put a lot of thought into shaping the role of the brother.]
"Xinchun, after reading the script, which part do you like best?" Fujii Itsuki asked tentatively.

As expected, Matsumae Shinchun was silent for a few seconds.

[It was the scene when the brother and his sister, when they were little, disobeyed the ban, broke out of the palace, and saw a sea of ​​flowers they had never seen before.]
Is it?

Fujii Itsuki didn't know whether to be happy or unhappy, he felt mixed emotions.

Because Xinchun's answer is self-evident.

This is probably why Xinchun chose to still participate in the casting today.

[Teacher, what do you think? Even if the brother and sister go their separate ways in the future, or even become enemies and suspicious of each other because of an irreconcilable conflict, if they can reconcile one day, can they really let go of the previous tit-for-tat grudges and accept each other again?]
"Xinchun, this depends on the person involved." Fujii Itsuki replied.

[Can't the teacher make decisions for others? I think if the great astrologer in the story made the decision for the princess, the princess would not be unacceptable]
Is Xinchun hinting at myself?

Implying that he could make the decision for her.

But what is the meaning of this behavior?
Unless she can accept and agree to it, it will only replace Xinchun's "restraint" with a slightly better "restraint".

"Absolutely not." This was the only reply Fujii Itsuki could give.

There was another moment of silence.

[Understood.]
Matsumae Shinharu leaned against the wall and said "good night" to her teacher. After receiving a "good night" in reply, she pulled up the quilt and lay down on the bed.

It started to rain outside.

The girl closed her eyes.

The girl's mind was filled with countless worries and anxieties. She wanted to fall asleep, but this anxiety kept lingering in her mind.
Amid the sound of the drizzling rain, she wrapped the quilt tightly around herself and had a dream about the past.

She dreamed of her first meeting with Jiuhuayue again.

Her smile.

Her lightness.

She held out her hand to me. She ran barefoot with me out of the Matsumae house, and for the first time, we shouted together on the top of a mountain.

Everything seems to be just as written in Mr. Fujii's script.
I can't forget it, I really can't forget it.
Matsumae Shinchun didn't know what to do.

*
"Uncle, it's raining."

"Ah."

"How about I hold an umbrella for you when you go out today?"

"Okay, but you have to put it down when you get to the crossroads."

"Avoid suspicion?"

Jiuhuayue stood under the rain-soaked eaves, raised her head and looked at the dark clouds in the sky.

Fujii Itsuki looked at her profile and was once again amazed by her profile when she looked up. This time, she turned around and smiled at Fujii Itsuki:

"I want to be able to stop being so evasive."

"Is it."

"Uncle, it would be great if I was born ten years earlier. We could go to school and go home together. Then I could tell everyone that I like you!"

The girl's smile and frankness made Fujii Itsuki smile as well.

The raindrops hit the umbrella above my head. It was a rainy day with a cold wind. She held an umbrella for me and walked beside me, which made me feel warm inside.

"Even if you were born ten years earlier, you probably wouldn't have been able to escape the fate of Tokyo." Fujii Itsuki said with a smile.

"Then I will make you fall in love with me! When I am too sad to leave, you will come to the train station to find me and shout at me with my suitcase, 'Xiao Yue! I don't want you to leave! Please stay with me!'"

Fujii Itsuki laughed again, "Would I shout like that?"

"Anyway, if I was born ten years earlier, you would definitely call me that, uncle. I'm the only person you love!"

"I can't say whether you will like me at that time."

"How could that be? I will definitely fall in love with you again, uncle."

"Why are you so sure?"

"Because...I suddenly didn't tell you."

"Well, it's not a big deal."

"No."

Jiuhuayue was standing beside him, holding an umbrella and turning her head away.

While Fujii Itsuki found her adorable, he couldn't help but compare his feelings for her to his feelings for Kokoharu.

It seems that I have some caring attitude towards them, and I also like them a little bit and can't bear to part with them.

He suddenly understood why Jiu Huayue had just said that she didn't want to hide it like this.

If possible, he would also like to have a normal relationship again.

Starting today, preparations for the cultural festival of Grade 2-A Class officially begin.

Rehearsals for the stage play also started simultaneously. Every afternoon, the participating female students would go to the gymnasium to practice the script, while other students were responsible for preparing the props needed for the performance.

The princess's gorgeous dress, the prince's armor and sword, the great astrologer's staff and bell, the moon, sun, trees in the background, etc., all kinds of costumes and props depend on everyone. Cutting fabrics, decorating details, carving accessories.
It was really tiring. I basically couldn't go home after school and had to stay in the classroom to work.

Fujii Itsuki felt sorry for them, so he paid for the McDonald's out of his own pocket and ordered food for each child, including a hamburger, Coke, French fries, etc. Then he borrowed the Dean of Academic Affairs' car and drove out to bring all the things back.

Most little girls like this kind of fast food.

With delicious food to eat, everyone naturally talked and laughed, and worked much more efficiently.

Fujii Itsuki occasionally heard people talking about him, and everyone said that he was a good teacher or something like that.
When I got home in the evening, I had no idea where Mrs. Jiuhua had gone out to. She was nowhere to be seen.

Fujii Itsuki was busy correcting today's homework so that he could rest early, but he didn't expect that Jiuhuayue suddenly ran into his room.

Holding the homework book, her face was still red.

"what happened?"

"Teach me to do my homework."

".Just do your homework, why are you blushing? Come here."

Jiuhuayue quickly pulled a stool and sat down next to Fujii Itsuki. When she spread out her homework book, Fujii Itsuki began to look at the questions carefully, but he couldn't hold it in halfway through.

"Can you please stop touching my legs?"

".Feeling, feeling" Jiuhuayue said in a low voice.

"what?"

"It feels like you have lost interest in me these days."

"."

Fujii Itsuki was speechless, "Why do you say that?"

"Uncle, look for yourself. A few days ago, when you saw me coming home and saw me in my school uniform, you even tried to be naughty by secretly kissing me while I was cooking. Or you even pulled me to sit on your lap. But after that day, you seemed to have no interest in me anymore."

Jiuhuayue behaved particularly shyly.

What does this mean?
Do you mean you want to touch her yourself?
Do something bad to her?

"Ahem, I'm a serious person, and I've been busy with the cultural festival these days."

"You're just talking nonsense!" Jiuhuayue puffed up her face.

"Just do your homework, don't think about these things."

Then I really just did my homework throughout the whole process.

Fujii Itsuki originally planned to take a shower and go to bed, but unexpectedly, Jiuhuayue wanted to drag him to see a movie again.

See a movie?
Then let's see.

It was still raining and thundering outside. Jiuhuayue didn't like thunderstorms, so she pulled a blanket over and leaned on Fujii Itsuki's shoulder to watch the movie.

Just watch, Fujii Itsuki has been very focused, but inexplicably, Jiuhuayue's hands were restless under the blanket.

Fujii Itsuki returned the gesture and placed his hand on her thigh under the blanket.

She was wearing white over-the-knee socks. Sometimes when she was engrossed in watching a movie, her hands would inevitably go into her stockings, which felt very soft.

The two of them watched TV while playing with their hands under the blanket.
Unfortunately, the movie is a European and American blockbuster.

It is inevitable that European and American blockbusters will have some particularly ambiguous scenes between the male and female protagonists in their own rooms.

Fujii Itsuki was used to it and watched with a blank expression, but Jiuhuayue didn't seem to think so.

At the end of this clip, she suddenly withdrew her hand.

When Fujii Itsuki looked at her again, he saw that the girl's face was red. He didn't know whether it was because he kept tickling her or because she had just watched the clip. In short, Jiuhuayue was very shy, her eyes were a little evasive and timid, but she still plucked up the courage to sit on Fujii Itsuki's legs, facing him.

Look at each other for a few seconds.

Fujii Itsuki saw Jiuhuayue suddenly put her hands on both sides of her pleated skirt. Downward.

When they were face to face with a distance of less than 30 centimeters, in a moment, an indescribable fragrance appeared on his face.

"Take a deep breath." said the girl.

"."

"How is it?" the girl asked again.

“I can’t describe it.”

“Just say whether you like it or not.”

"it's OK."

"How about we go take a shower together?"

(End of this chapter)