Their restricted abilities are refreshed every week.

"Well... this is my answer." Chihaya Aine sat back after kissing Shirakawa Haru, looking at the lake not far away. She wanted to appreciate the same beautiful scenery with Shirakawa Haru.

Chapter 4.1: Aine's Christmas Offensive Preview (k

Another night is coming.

As dusk dragged on, everything seemed to be sinking, immersing itself in a deep darkness that surged in like a tide, only to melt away in an instant. Long, dry nights alternated with the evening breeze, and the hazy passage of time unfolded in circles like the rings of a tree.

"It may sound a bit narcissistic to say this, but Aine, do you like…" The last bit of dusk light in Tokyo city disappeared in Shirakawa Haru's eyes. The sparkling water of the landscape lake reflected the moonlight, and he woke up as if from a dream.

"Yes, I like you, Chairman." Before Shirakawa Haru could finish her words, Chihaya Aine admitted it without hesitation. She knew what Shirakawa Haru was talking about. "Things like kissing on the cheek and buying couple's meals at a milk tea shop are obviously not something that ordinary men and women can do."

"So you're confessing your love?" Shirakawa Haru stood up from the park bench and looked at Chihaya Aine. "Let me be clear, if you confess your love to me, I will reject you without hesitation."

"Of course not. Who says a girl is confessing her love to a boy just because she tells him she likes him?" Chihaya Aine also stood up from Nagasaki, a sly glint in her eyes. She was as shrewd as a rabbit. "Chairman, don't overthink it. We still have some time. How about we take a walk along the scenic lake?"

"Let's take a walk." Shirakawa Haru agreed.

It is pleasant to take a walk in the park at night.

Shirakawa Haru and Chihaya Aine walk along the cobblestone path beside the scenic lake.

On the side, there is a somewhat old garden, with dense clumps of treetops: palm trees, cedar trees, chestnut trees, redbud trees, beech trees, and a mess of wisteria. The creeping vines are tangled together.

"I didn't notice it when I first entered the park, but after taking a closer look, I realized that there are so many varieties of trees in this park." Chihaya Aine was strolling slowly with her guitar bag on her back.

"But it looks like this park hasn't been taken care of for some time. There are dead branches and rotten leaves under the trees, and the wisteria vines have entangled themselves on the trees from the climbing frames. It really lacks aesthetic appeal and has a 'wild' feel to it."

"Because not many people come to this park recently?" Chihaya Aine ran in front of Shirakawa Haru and turned around. The women's uniform of Hinomori Academy is a plaid skirt, and the hem of the skirt is like the petals of a lotus. "It seems that there are only two of us now."

"Can I ask, Aine, why did you fall in love with me?" Shirakawa Haru pondered Chihaya Aine's thoughts for a while, and finally decided to speak, "I remember that we didn't spend much time together."

"I like you, that's what I like. Things like that just happen so suddenly and without reason." Chihaya Aine kicked a stone on the side of the road and said seriously, "Maybe I fell in love with the chairman when I first transferred to Hinomori Academy... I'm just kidding, it was actually the night you helped me out with my junior high classmates."

"It's incredible, isn't it? That very night, I was sure I had fallen in love with the chairman." Chihaya Aine continued, "Girls really need a sense of security. As long as someone can give them a sense of security, they might fall in love with that person in less than a second. I'm no exception."

At this moment, Shirakawa Haru didn't know what to say.

He opened his mouth, but found that he could not say anything and could only remain silent.

What can he say?

Faced with a "confession" from a girl who clearly stated that she liked him, Shirakawa Haru could not say anything. He could only listen silently.

"When my junior high school classmates greeted me, I felt like my soul was about to float out of my body. It was so terrifying. I boasted about going abroad to study, but I couldn't stick with it until the end and fled back in disgrace. I didn't want them to know about this no matter what." Chihaya Aine's voice fell, as if hot smoke burned her throat. "So at that time, I thought, if someone could help me at that time, I might sincerely accept him as my friend, or even fall in love with him."

"So you accepted me as your friend?" Shirakawa Haru asked, "What about the people in the band? What about Nagasaki-san, Shiina-san, Touma, and Rakuna?"

"Of course they are my friends too. But there are differences between friends. There are good friends, and there are even better friends." Chihaya Aine suddenly looked at Shirakawa Haru with dissatisfaction. "After all, there are so few people like the chairman, who are so gentle to everyone and will lend a hand to anyone who encounters difficulties. But if you say this, isn't it the same as not being gentle to anyone? It's too much!"

"When I see someone injured or sad, my body moves involuntarily." Shirakawa Haru said softly.

"Besides, the chairman doesn't treat everyone the same." Chihaya Aine quickened her pace slightly, the lake view under the streetlights quickly passing in her eyes. Her warm eyes took in the dark outlines of the treetops and the stars shimmering under the dim sky. "Compared to me, you obviously favor Lenai more!"

"Compared to you, Lenai is more like a child. Although she's full of energy, she becomes very sleepy once her energy wears off, unlike a high school student. She needs my care," Shirakawa Haru explained. "She doesn't understand a lot of basic common sense, so I have to teach her."

When Shirakawa Haru mentioned Lenai, he immediately thought of her beautiful heterochromatic eyes and the two soft, cotton candy-like kisses she had given him on both cheeks yesterday. She was a wild, quirky cat, but when she kissed him, her movements were so cautious.

"Hmm... this explanation does make sense." Chihaya Aine blinked.

"Because that's what I think in my heart." Baichuan Qing thought of what Lenai did to him yesterday, feeling a little distressed, "But this child..."

A "chirping" sound came from the sky. Chihaya Aine looked up and found a black object flying over her head. It was a bat.

She was a little scared, so she slowed down and moved closer to Shirakawa Haru.

Neither of them spoke, but just walked around the scenic lake aimlessly over and over again.

Her phone vibrated in her skirt pocket. Chihaya Aine pulled it out and texted, "Almost there, almost there." Just now, Shiina Riki had sent a message to the band group, saying that everyone except you and Shirakawa Haru had arrived. "Where are you guys now?"

"What the hell...it was Rikki who asked to postpone the time, and now she's rushing into the rehearsal room before the agreed time to urge us to hurry up." Chihaya Aine complained.

"It's time to pass." Shirakawa Haru said.

"Chairman, what do you think about the fact that I like you?" Just before walking out of the park, Chihaya Aine grabbed Shirakawa Haru's hand, and her face, which always had a smile on it, trembled a little.

"I don't know how to describe it—but even though I don't mind the fact that a girl likes me, I'm happy because it's Aine. That's called vanity." Shirakawa Haru pondered for a moment, "As for the rest... I can only tell you clearly that if you confess to me now, I will reject you."

"Huh? So, the chairman actually still likes me, right?" Chihaya Aine lowered her eyes, "It's just that she's not yet at the point where she's willing to accept my confession."

"I don't know." On the bustling street, Shirakawa Haru rushed into the crowd with Chihaya Aine.

"I plan to confess my feelings to the chairman on Christmas," Chihaya Aine said. "If I confess now, the chairman will reject me, right? So I plan to confess my feelings to you on Christmas. The time is a bit tight, but it should be enough for me."

"Maybe I will continue to reject you at that time." Baichuan Qing said.

Chihaya Aine raised her chin slightly, her eyes gleaming with a fiery and resolute light. Her smile was filled with the confidence of a man determined to win. "I won't let the chairman reject me. Before Christmas, I will definitely make him fall hopelessly in love with me and accept my confession." At this point, her smile deepened. "During this pursuit, I'm not sure how the chairman will view me, but I know that I will only like him more and more."

Love has always been the mutual nourishment and response of two people's hearts.

When she tries her best to engrave her image deeply in Shirakawa Haru's heart, she will be swallowed up by the whirlpool of emotions without realizing it, and fall deeper and deeper.

Every time they got close, every time their eyes met, it was like gently plucking at her heartstrings, making the melody of emotions more passionate.

This is the foreseeable, certain future.

Chihaya Aine spoke with great ambition, but in her heart she was actually a little unsure whether she had the ability to make the chairman truly fall in love with her.

If she had not truly confirmed yesterday and today the special feelings that the chairman had for her, and if the chairman's slightly shy look in the photo had not been like a shot of adrenaline, giving her endless courage, she would definitely not have dared to say these sweet words so frankly that made her heart beat faster and her face blush.

"Do you feel a heavy pressure, President? Being liked by a girl is such a heavy thing." Chihaya Aine said.

"Such heavy emotions..." Shirakawa Haru said, "It just feels like you, Aine, just fell in love with me casually."

"Girls' feelings are so casual. They might suddenly fall in love with someone with just a glance, a few sweet words, or even a bottle of soda." Chihaya Aine bared her fangs, leaning against Shirakawa Haru, tilting her head to look at Shirakawa Haru's smooth, clean neck, as if wanting to take a bite. "But despite this casualness, our feelings are very sincere. What's more, for me, the chairman is my first love. Girls value their first love very much. After all, it is the most passionate moment in their lives."

"First love...I don't think I have anyone I can call my first love yet."

Baichuan Qing closed his eyes, and he could hear the sound of his dress brushing against his side.

Perhaps someone on the street was looking up at the window, listening to the pop music in the mall. The air in the park was clean, while the air on the street was a little murky. Not far ahead was a statue, facing west, where a towering building reached the sky.

"That's perfect, let me be the chairman's first love!" Chihaya Aine said with a smile.

"That depends on your ability, Aine." Shirakawa Haru joked.

He did not lie to Chihaya Aine. He did not know what it felt like to be in love. If Chihaya Aine could really make him fall in love with her, he would even take the initiative to confess his feelings.

After passing through the crowd, Shirakawa Haru and Chihaya Aine unknowingly arrived at the door of RING.

Shirakawa Haru pushed the door open and entered RING, followed closely by Chihaya Aine.

Then Shirakawa Haru discovered that Takamatsu Deng and Shiina Riki were sitting around the square table looking at herself and Chihaya Aine behind her.

"You're so slow!" Shiina Riki stared at Shirakawa Haru with her purple eyes, and then she hummed, "Give me the milk tea, I'll transfer the money to you later!" She had seen the photos that Chihaya Aine sent in the group before, and now she saw Shirakawa Haru very close to her, and for some reason she felt a little uncomfortable in her heart.

"You're a little late~" Nagasaki Suyo narrowed her eyes and said to Chihaya Aine, "Everyone has been waiting for you here for a long time."

"Sorry, Soyorin, I thought it would be enough to get to RING before the agreed time." Chihaya Aine will change the nickname she uses for her friends as their relationship deepens.

This is consistent with what she said before, that friends can be divided into "good friends" and "better friends".

"Can I ask which milk tea shop you went to?" Nagasaki Suyo covered her mouth with her hands and chuckled softly. Her elegant appearance immediately captivated Chihaya Aine. "I saw that milk tea shop from the photos Aine-chan posted in the group chat. I think the decoration looks very nice. We can go there to have a look when we have time."

"I didn't expect Soyorin to be interested in that milk tea shop?" Chihaya Aine took out her phone and sent the address to Nagasaki Sushikai. "Let's go check it out together next time?"

"Of course~" Nagasaki Suyo nodded.

After Shirakawa Haru distributed milk tea to the girls, they chatted for a while. Then the rehearsal process that had been scheduled for the past few days began.

"Deng, what's wrong with you?" Chihaya Aine sat on a chair, unscrewed a bottle of mineral water and drank it, "Why do you keep staring at me?"

"That's... it's just... I feel like, Aine-chan, you seem to be in a very good state today, and your mood is particularly... pure, like a glass ball." Takamatsu Deng said slowly, using a strange adjective to describe Chihaya Aine's state, "Did something good happen?"

"Oh~ Are you talking about this?" Chihaya Aine put down the mineral water bottle and wiped the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand. She took off her school uniform jacket and tied it around her waist, making her waist look particularly slender. "Because I went to drink milk tea with the chairman today, I was very happy."

"I'll be happy... drinking milk tea with Haru?" Takamatsu Deng repeated what Aine had just said.

Then she walked towards Baichuan Qing, looked at him with longing eyes and said, "Qing, I also want to go to the milk tea shop with you to drink milk tea."

Chihaya Aine and Shiina Ritsuke's faces turned stiff in an instant.

Chapter 120: Toyokawa Shoko Thinks Milk Tea Isn’t Tasty

"Mu, this is the milk tea shop." Shoko Toyokawa had her hair tied into a bun, and the ends of her carefully trimmed long hair hung down, forming tassels that fluttered in the wind. She wore a white baseball cap, looking extremely intellectual and elegant.

Shoko Toyokawa has been very relaxed recently, as Haru Shirakawa has given her a few days off.

If she didn't have to deal with student union affairs after school, she would have plenty of time to rest.

Last night, Toyokawa Shoko went to the convenience store downstairs to buy a bento. The store manager gave her two free coupons from a milk tea shop and told her that she could bring Shirakawa Haru with her to drink milk tea.

Shoko Toyokawa searched online for a milk tea shop where these two coupons could be used, and found one on the commercial street near Hinomori Gakuin. From the decoration, it was clear at a glance that it was a couple's milk tea shop.

At present, she naturally did not have the courage to invite Shirakawa Haru to a couple's milk tea shop for milk tea.

In Toyokawa Shoko's opinion, even if it is not stated explicitly, taking a grown boy to a milk tea shop to drink milk tea is a blatant hint, just like a girl would not invite a man other than her boyfriend to go shopping alone.

So Shoko Toyokawa invited her best friend Mutsu Wakaba.

She thought that she couldn't always let Ruoye Mu invite her out. If there was a chance, she should occasionally make the invitation like before.

Wakaba Mu replied to Toyokawa Shoko on the phone and said okay, the meeting place would be decided by Shoko.

So Wakaba Mutsu and Toyokawa Shoko met at the entrance of the commercial street, and finally found the newly opened milk tea shop through the mobile map.

"It's this one." Wakaba Mu was wearing the school uniform of Tsukinomori Girls' Academy. The standard long skirt perfectly accentuated her leg shape. Under the slightly red sunset, her thighs exposed from the school uniform were faintly pink.

"Mu, what is hanging on your schoolbag?" Toyokawa Shoko noticed that there was a buckle on Wakaba Mu's schoolbag today, with a canvas painting tube at the end. There were many hand-painted drawings of cucumbers on the tube, and a line of words written on it: "Don't make me so sad, please write to me quickly and tell me he is back."

"This is a painting tube." Wakaba Mu reached out and stroked the lid of the canvas painting tube. "It contains paintings that are very important to me. They are more important than five thousand cucumbers."

"Really?" Shoko Toyokawa opened her eyes wide and looked at Wakaba Mutsu's doll-like face gently, "Then these paintings must be of great significance." She knew how much Wakaba Mutsu liked cucumbers. Being able to use the weight of cucumbers for comparison, the importance of these paintings in Wakaba Mutsu's heart was self-evident.

"Yeah." Ruoye Mu nodded and walked into the milk tea shop.

"Manager, please give me a cup of pearl milk tea and mango milk tea. The pearl milk has normal sugar, and the mango milk tea has three-tenths of sugar." Shoko Toyokawa took out her mobile phone to place an order at the counter and handed two coupons to the manager.

"Mango milk tea with 70% sugar." Wakaba Mu shook Toyokawa Shoko's arm.

"Mu, you can drink milk tea with 70% sugar now!" Toyokawa Shoko's tone was very surprised. "Is Uncle Ruoye not so strict with you anymore?"

"No." Ruoye Mu shook his head, quietly placed his left hand on the painting tube, and grabbed his left arm with his right hand. "Someone just told me that I can eat more and don't have to listen to my father all the time."

"A new friend?" Toyokawa Shoko said, "You should like her very much."

"Yeah." Ruoye Mu's fingers gripping the painting tube slightly tightened, "This is my little resistance to my father."

Shoko Toyokawa took Mutsu Wakaba to find a seat by the window in the store.

"There's a nice view here, but..." Toyokawa Shoko's thighs under her uniform skirt were pressed against the floor-to-ceiling window. The moment they touched the glass, she felt a cold touch and her thighs trembled slightly. She looked at the flower bed outside the window and the shallow puddles on the side in confusion, and felt a little uncomfortable.

"Xiangzi hates those gazes falling through the glass window." Ruoye Mu drank mango milk tea, opened the painting tube, and took out a painting to admire. "Xiangzi is very sensitive. He must protect himself and be careful of those gazes."

"No, no," said Toyokawa Shoko, "it's not the sight outside the window. I observed carefully when I was outside. The floor-to-ceiling windows here have been specially treated, a bit like one-way windows. From the outside, the view inside is blurry."

"Mu, can you let me see the paintings in your painting tube?" Toyokawa Shoko seemed very curious, wondering what kind of paintings could make Mu cherish and like them so much that he would put them in a painting tube and carry them on his schoolbag.

"Okay..." Wakaba Mu took out all the paintings from the painting tube and handed them to Toyokawa Shoko. However, the painting by the art student, which showed him and Shirakawa Haru, was still pressed deep inside the painting tube. "Be careful."

"I will." Toyokawa Shoko took the paintings with a smile and looked at them carefully. She found that the styles of these paintings were very bright. "They are paintings that can make people feel warm."

She returned the painting to Wakaba Mutsu, who carefully put the painting back into the painting tube.

Shoko Toyokawa gently picked up the phone with her slender fingers and placed her index finger on the fingerprint recognition area of the phone. With a slight sound, the screen was unlocked.

Then, she tapped the album icon, and the pages slowly unfolded. First, she saw pictures of her and her family enjoying heartwarming moments. The smiles and sunshine in the pictures seemed to carry the warmth of time. Flipping through the pages, she found nothing but photos of Shirakawa Haru, with relatively few of her own.

Most of the photos are full-face shots of Shirakawa Haru's beautiful face, every contour and every expression captured with pinpoint accuracy. A few were shot against the light, the interweaving of light and shadow on him creating a unique, hazy feeling. There are solo shots of him, as well as photos of him and her together.

Toyokawa Shoko's favorite photos are the ones that the clothing store manager's wife took of her and Shirakawa Haru. At the manager's wife's request, Shirakawa Haru was very close to her. They were wearing the same style of clothes and looked like a couple.

Every time she sees this group photo, a smile appears on her face.

Smile. Not only her own smile, but also the faint smile on Shirakawa Haru's face.

That smile was like the warmest spring breeze, gently blowing through Toyokawa Shoko's heart, making her eyes unconsciously filled with deep affection and attachment.

I am indeed a sensitive person, but in fact, my thighs have been seen by others for a long time. Not only that, I also slept in the same bed with him, lived under the same roof, listened to music with a pair of headphones, cuddled with him at night in pajamas, and many more...

He's taken so many of my firsts that I wouldn't even consider anyone else.

"This milk tea shop's couples' combos seem to be selling really well," Wakaba Mutsu pointed at the couples kissing each other. The store manager ran around the couples and said, "I'll hang their photos on the photo wall."

"This shop seems to be famous for taking photos for couples and offering extremely low-priced couple packages." Shoko Toyokawa raised her eyes and turned off her phone.