Oh no! They all seem a bit off!

Chapter 212 Ji Yexue's Beautiful Dream
The next day.

Eight in the morning.

Qiu Yuecheng woke up from his sleep to find himself alone, with only the familiar warmth remaining in the blankets.

The warm, bright morning light streamed in through the window, which was being swirled by the wind, illuminating half of the room, and the shimmering dust particles in the air were faintly visible.

"...Where's Fuyuko?"

After a moment of confusion, Akizuki Makoto gradually regained his senses and subconsciously searched for Fuyuko's figure.

But no matter how he looked, Dongzi was no longer in the house. So he looked up at the clock on the wall and realized that it was already past eight o'clock.

At this time, Dongzi should have already gone to school, but strangely, she left quietly without his knowledge.

It seems he was really tired last night; he overslept and slept so soundly.

After figuring out the situation, Akizuki Makoto lay in bed for a few more minutes until he was fully conscious before getting out of bed and going to the bathroom to wash up.

After washing up, he went to the living room and found a breakfast wrapped in plastic wrap and a sticky note on the table.

This sticky note was left by Maki Shiina, wishing him a safe journey and a pleasant trip.

"Hey……"

Akizuki Makoto sighed softly, put away the note, and put breakfast in the microwave to heat it up.

After quickly finishing his meal, he began packing his luggage. Since he was going to be gone for a week, he pulled out a suitcase and took out several sets of clothes to change into.

He didn't bring any toiletries, thinking he could buy a set when he got there.

So, after packing my luggage and getting ready to leave, it was already close to 10 a.m.

He and Ji Yexue had arranged to meet at Chiyoda Station at 11:00 AM.

Hakone is about 200 kilometers from Tokyo, and it only takes an hour and a half to get there by Shinkansen.

"What a beautiful day..."

When Akizuki Makoto pulled his suitcase out of the apartment, he looked up at the clear blue sky.

The warm sunshine fell on him, making him feel cozy and content.

He was full of anticipation for this trip, feeling that he could repair his broken relationship with Ji Yexue during this week.

Ji Yexue must also be reluctant to part with him, otherwise she wouldn't have invited him to travel together.

He even suspected that Ji Yexue was deliberately making him look bad in public so that he would be suspended from school and then conveniently invite him on a trip.

Even if he didn't do that, he would have agreed to go without hesitation as long as Ji Yexue asked.

Let alone a week, he would be willing to take a year or two off from school.

With a mix of anticipation and excitement, Akizuki Makoto hummed a song as he hailed a taxi on the roadside and headed towards Chiyoda Station.

On the way, he sent Ji Yexue a LINE message, saying that he was currently taking a bus to the station.

Ji Yexue seemed to have arrived long ago. She replied succinctly that she knew, and then told him that they would meet in the waiting room.

The two chatted on Line until the taxi that Akizuki Makoto was in arrived at the entrance of Chiyoda Station.

After paying the fare, he eagerly dragged his suitcase into the station's waiting hall and found Ji Yexue amidst the bustling crowd.

Ji Yexue was so outstanding that her presence was immediately noticeable.

She sat on a chair in the corner, wearing a plain-colored t-shirt underneath a baseball jacket, and jeans that accentuated her leg lines.

Beside her was a large suitcase, coincidentally the same color as Akizuki Makoto's—a brown, retro-style suitcase.

"Snow!"

Qiu Yuecheng shouted excitedly, dragging his suitcase as he ran to Ji Yexue, and said with a smile, "Sorry to keep you waiting."

"It doesn't matter, as long as we get there before the bus departs."

Ji Yexue spoke calmly, stood up from her seat, and walked ahead, dragging her suitcase.

"Now that we've all met up, let's go into the station and wait for the train on the platform."

"it is good!"

Qiu Yuecheng immediately nodded in response, followed beside Ji Yexue, carefully examining her outfit today, and exclaimed, "Xue, your casual clothes are so cute, they suit you very well, you look beautiful."

"Ah."

Upon hearing this, Ji Yexue laughed coldly and said sarcastically, "You've become quite glib since you got together with Shiina, huh? You would never have said these things before."

"No... I wouldn't have said it directly before, but that's what I thought in my heart, you know? After all, it would be very embarrassing to say it out loud."

"Come on, now that things have come to this, stop flattering me. It won't make me happy."

Ji Yexue said this, but what did she actually do?
Qiuyue Cheng stared intently at her face and noticed something unusual.

Although Ji Yexue's expression was not very obvious, her stern and aloof demeanor softened slightly after hearing the praise.

When they first met, Ji Yexue had a stern face, but now she is expressionless.

Akizuki Makoto could probably guess why Hime Yuki had such a stern face—because he arrived at the station right on time.

Logically, he should have arrived half an hour early; that's basic common sense for dating.

Even though they're not dating right now, but rather going on a road trip, this approach still applies.

Therefore, he immediately apologized for being late when they met.

"I was really looking forward to today's trip last night, so I went to bed quite late, which resulted in me waking up around 8 a.m."

During the time spent waiting on the platform, Akizuki Makoto actively sought out topics to talk about, chattering on and on like a chatterbox.

Ji Yexue simply responded with "uh-huh," her reaction appearing rather indifferent.

However, her tense expression gradually eased as he spoke, like an iceberg melting.

Afterwards, the Shinkansen train arrived at the station, and the two of them, carrying their suitcases, followed the directions on their tickets to sit down in a double seat at the back of a carriage.

"Let me help you put your luggage upstairs."

Akizuki Makoto naturally picked up Hime Yuki's suitcase and put it on the shelf above their heads.

Ji Yexue was taken aback for a moment, then muttered with some dissatisfaction, "Why are you meddling in other people's business?"

Qiuyue Cheng ignored her words, put down the suitcase, and then let Ji Yexue sit in the inner window seat.

The window seat had a better view, so he wanted to give it to Ji Yexue.

"You told Shiina you wanted to go on a week-long trip with me, what was her reaction?"

After they were all seated, Ji Yexue took the initiative to start a conversation, asking with great interest, "Didn't she cry or say anything capricious, like she didn't want you to come?"

"Well..."

After hesitating for a moment, Akizuki Makoto said honestly, "She did not want me to come, but she only complained and did not really stop me from coming."

"How generous."

Ji Yexue snorted and turned to look at the scenery outside the window. At this moment, the train had slowly started moving and was speeding along the tracks.

The vast, empty mountains and fields outside the window sped past at an incredible speed, leaving trails of afterimages.

"Xue, let's not talk about other people anymore. We're on vacation now, let's enjoy ourselves and not think about so much."

"And now you're lecturing me?"

"I'm sorry, I just thought it was better this way. I'm really looking forward to traveling with you, so I don't want to think about anything else."

"..."

Ji Yexue didn't say anything more, seemingly too lazy to pay attention to Qiu Yuecheng, and quietly looked at the scenery outside the window.

While she was admiring the scenery, Akizuki Makoto was looking at her profile.

It's clear that Ji Yexue dressed up nicely today. Her exquisitely beautiful face was adorned with light makeup, highlighting her complexion and facial features, making her breathtakingly beautiful.

"Xue, did you not sleep well last night?"

After looking at him carefully for a while, Akizuki Makoto suddenly said, "He looks a bit tired, and there are bloodshot eyes."

Dark circles and a dull complexion can be concealed with makeup, but the bloodshot eyes and fatigue under the eyes cannot be hidden.

"None of your business."

Ji Yexue answered coldly, refusing to accept Qiuyue Cheng's concern.

Now, she's becoming more and more conflicted. Even though Akizuki Makoto noticed that she wasn't feeling well and cared about her, she actually felt a little smug.

However, due to her current relationship with Akizuki Makoto and their respective positions, she was unable to show happiness.

She became increasingly conflicted, only occasionally becoming frank, and even then, it was only occasionally.

Just like last night when they held hands, that was a moment when their true feelings were revealed.

"I'll call you when we arrive. Take a rest for a while."

As Akizuki Makoto spoke softly, he reached out and placed his hand on Ji Yexue's shoulder.

"what?"

Ji Yexue glanced at him, frowned unhappily, but did not brush his hand away.

"Sleep on my shoulder for a while."

As Qiuyue Cheng spoke, he took the initiative to put his arm around her shoulder and pressed his body against hers without blushing or skipping a beat.

"You really have no shame, do you? You can do this kind of thing so casually now?"

Ji Yexue snorted coldly, looking at him with obvious disdain, making no attempt to hide her disgust.

but……

She's all talk and no action.

He spoke ruthlessly, but in reality, he allowed himself to be manipulated by Akizuki Makoto.

That's just how she is; she won't take the initiative, but she won't refuse to take the initiative either.

"Okay, close your eyes and rest. I'll wake you up when we get to our destination."

Ignoring Ji Yexue's sarcasm and ridicule, Qiu Yuecheng moved his hand from her shoulder to embrace her head, letting her lean on his shoulder.

He gently stroked Ji Yexue's head, his fingers running through her cascading black hair, the cool, smooth touch coming from his palm.

"Ugh, I can't stand you..."

Ji Yexue sighed helplessly, closed her eyes, and stopped complaining.

After that, the two stopped talking. Akizuki gently stroked Himeyasu's head, coaxing her to sleep.

Ji Yexue fell asleep quickly, and soon drifted off to sleep.

Perhaps, she was finally feeling a sense of peace, something she hadn't experienced in a long time. As she leaned on Akizuki Makoto's shoulder, she felt an unusual calmness in her heart.

In the past, when she tried to sleep, she would always be restless and have all sorts of wild thoughts, which made it difficult for her to fall asleep and resulted in very poor sleep.

"Take a picture of it..."

When Akizuki Makoto realized that Ji Yexue had fallen asleep, he suddenly had the idea to record this moment. So he took out his phone from his pocket, opened the camera, selected selfie mode, and took a picture of Ji Yexue sleeping with her head on his shoulder.

In the picture, Ji Yexue is sleeping peacefully, like a sleeping beauty.

He happily set the photo as his screensaver, intending to keep it as a keepsake.

Previously, his phone's screen saver was a photo of him and Dongzi, which he changed a long time ago.

After taking one photo, he was still not satisfied and continued to take pictures, while constantly making hand gestures.

Ji Yexue, fast asleep, was completely unaware of this and was having a sweet dream.

She dreamt of that night on the yacht, where Dongzi didn't appear to interrupt them, and they successfully became intimate, confirming their relationship.

Then, the future changed drastically. Akizuki Makoto did not make the decision to shoulder the future of two people at the same time, and firmly chose her, rejecting Shiina Maki.

With his companionship, although she was still very busy every day and overwhelmed by family affairs, he would call her every night to lull her to sleep, play the guitar for her, and sing to her.

Akizuki Makoto's singing was terrible, but he put his heart into it, and the gentle guitar music accompanied her to sleep every night.

Occasionally, Akizuki Makoto would come over and sleep with her. Of course, it wasn't just about sleeping; it was also about filling each other's loneliness with a kind of intimate connection.

Each time they interacted, their feelings grew even stronger.

Half a year later, family affairs gradually stabilized, the Ji Ye family overcame the crisis, and they successfully graduated from Ming Sheng High School, ushering in a new spring.

They went to the same university together and lived together after graduation. Every day, the first person she saw when she woke up was the other person. This indescribable sense of happiness made her feel like she was living in a dream every day.

They were recognized as the best couple in school, and everyone envied them. They even got engaged while in college.

In their sophomore year, they reached the legal marriage age.

On a snowy Christmas night, Akizuki Makoto took out the ring he had prepared and proposed to her. They got married the next day.

The wedding was a grand affair, and everyone we knew was invited.

She wore a traditional white kimono, and Akizuki Makoto also wore a kimono. In front of a group of relatives and friends, they were happily married at Meiji Shrine.

After graduating from university, they had a child, a very lovely girl.

Her name was given by Akizuki Makoto, but since she married into the family, she was called Himeya Saeha.

After having children, their lives became happier and more fulfilling. Akizuki helped her with her affairs and also took care of the children.

This resulted in Sawa being closer to her father than her mother.

Therefore, she would occasionally complain that Akizuki Makoto spoiled Saya too much.

Akizuki Makoto noticed her awkwardness and knew that she was blaming herself for neglecting Saya because he was paying too much attention to her, which made her feel lonely.

At these times, Akizuki Makoto would gently kiss her, repeatedly expressing his love for her.

(End of this chapter)