Surviving in a Collapsed World, Is Something Wrong?

"From the fact that he appeared next to the child in the middle of the night, this is the only thing I can think of. The bag must be filled with kidnapped children!!"

“Is that so…?!”

“How terrible…”

"It really is a monster..."

"......"

Hearing their speculations, Jiang Ming couldn't help but sweat on his face. If Santa Claus really knew about this, he would probably write a poem "Christmas Injustice" on the spot, right?

Although they seemed to be chatting enthusiastically, it might not be good if they continued like this. Jiang Ming glanced at Ji Zi who was still preparing to continue watching the show, and he couldn't help but say.

"I say you have completely misunderstood. Santa Claus is not such a bad guy."

"Eh? Is that so?"

"Yes, Santa Claus is actually an old man who brings gifts to children. The bag is actually filled with gifts."

"Gift?"

"Well, legend has it that if you hang a sock next to your bed, the gift you want will appear inside the sock the next morning."

"Is that so? But...why did he go to all that trouble? I heard he even had to crawl down the chimney."

"Even if you ask me why, I would..."

Just when Jiang Ming didn't know how to explain to Kiana, Lin slapped his palm as if he realized something.

"Rin knows! Santa's true identity!"

"what?"

"Really?! What on earth is this, Rin?"

"Rin found out that this is actually a very simple thing. For example, why does it only come in the middle of the night? Why does it mainly target children?"

"To put it simply, it's a warning from parents to their children who stay up late. If you don't go to bed this late, Santa Claus will come to find you~~ Like this."

"That's totally wrong... That's actually..."

They still hadn't corrected their idea that Santa Claus was a scary being, so Jiang Ming spoke up to correct their misunderstanding.

However, Yuexia took the lead and raised her hand timidly.

"But...then why did he give a child a gift..."

"That's right, and you have to put it in the socks. Why do you have to go through all the trouble?"

"It's very simple. From my previous sentence, why would parents want to persuade their children to go to bed early? Just think about this and the answer will come naturally."

"Huh? I don't understand, why is that?"

After Kiana tilted her head, Rin lowered her voice, raised a finger, and explained softly.

"It's simple because it's hard to do the things that couples do when the kids are awake in the middle of the night."

"Hey!"

Hearing Lin's hypothesis, Jiang Ming couldn't help but shout, but Lin completely ignored him and continued talking to himself.

"So, in order to get children to go to bed early, they invented the existence of Santa Claus. The gift mentioned here should refer to a younger brother or sister. The gift in the socks is probably a metaphor for pregnancy..."

"Ok?"

"What does this... mean?"

"Rin, what are you talking about?! Stop it!"

Although Kiana, Yuexia and the others did not understand what Lin meant, Jiang Ming could not help but shouting as he felt that the plot was going to take a bad turn.

On the other hand, Mei, Sakura, Himeko and Hitamamaru all had some blush on their faces.

"What's wrong, Brother Jiang Ming?"

"What do you usually watch? How do you know these things?"

"That is......."

"I do not want to hear!"

"Listen to me, Santa Claus is not what you say he is."

Jiang Ming interrupted Lin and handed her over to Ying to discipline her, while he explained to them about Santa Claus and the Christmas holiday.

What a happy festival it is, and how much children all over the world look forward to the arrival of Santa Claus.

Mei and the others were listening attentively on the side.

So, Kiana and others, who were half-believing and half-doubting at first, listened to Jiang Ming's explanation more and more excited, and when he finished, almost everyone's cheeks flushed and their eyes sparkled.

"Is it such a happy thing?!"

"look forward to!"

"Then... can Yuexia and everyone else also get gifts from Santa Claus?"

“Eh? This…this…”

Hearing the question raised by Yuexia, Kiana, Rin, and Feiyumaru all looked at Jiang Ming with serious expressions.

Under their sparkling eyes, Jiang Ming was completely unable to say that Santa Claus did not exist.

"Yes...Yes, if you behave well, Santa Claus might come..."

Hearing this, Kiana and the others looked at each other instantly - and then nodded vigorously as if they had made some kind of decision.

..................................

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Christmas Fun (Act 2)

Then, time comes to the present.

Jiang Ming sat on the sofa and sighed softly.

Now he had finished his dinner and was resting in the living room. But...even though his body was relaxed, his mind was not at peace at all.

Sakura was washing dishes in the kitchen, while Rin and Hiyamaru were wiping the washed dishes, and Kiana and Theresa were working together to tidy up the room.

It always felt like he was being treated like an aristocrat. Whenever Jiang Ming stood up and wanted to do something, someone would immediately rush over and say to him, "I'll do it. Jiang Ming, go and have a rest."

Then she immediately pushed him back onto the sofa, and did the same to Mei who was sitting next to him.

By the way, even Himeko and Bronya, who obviously should have known about Santa Claus, joined in to help.

"It looks like we'll be busy next."

"Eh? Has Ming figured out a solution?"

"Ah."

In response to Mei's doubts, Jiang Ming nodded slightly, then leaned his head on Mei's shoulder, smelling the faint fragrance of the hair on her neck while speaking.

"There's nothing I can do. I have to be Santa Claus. After all, I can't spoil their fun, right?"

"But...how can we know what Kiana and the others want?"

"This is easy. It's almost time to get ready now."

"Prepare?"

"Yes, since we said we would give them gifts, we can't just give them randomly. Although I can roughly guess what they like, it's safer to do some research beforehand."

Then, Jiang Ming stood up from the sofa with a "Hey!" and shouted loudly to everyone.

"Alright, everyone! Come over here and gather!"

After Jiang Ming clapped his hands and called everyone, everyone gathered in the living room, and Kiana was the first to ask.

"Hmm? What's wrong, Jiang Ming?"

"Well, everyone will receive gifts from Santa Claus on Christmas Eve, right?"

After Jiang Ming asked, everyone nodded together.

"So, can you tell me what kind of gifts you would like to receive?"

"Eh?"

Hearing what Jiang Ming said, Kiana showed a puzzled expression.

"Why do you ask this, Jiang Ming? Won't Santa Claus give it to us?"

"I will give it to you, but Santa Claus can't read minds, so normally a good child will leave a note by the bed and write down what he wants on the note, and then Santa Claus can take it from his pocket, right?"

After Jiang Ming finished explaining, he looked at Ji Zi, but it was Theresa who answered him.

"That's right, that's what I do every year, and Santa Claus gives me presents every year!"

"Oh! So that's it..."

With her aunt as a witness, Kiana would naturally believe it, and Jiang Ming continued talking.

"That's right, so as a good child, you must remember to write a note and put it next to your pillow, okay?"

"understood--!"

After Jiang Ming finished speaking, everyone nodded at the same time.

"Okay, let's disband now! Everyone can go back to their work."

At Jiang Ming's command, Kiana and others went back to wash the half-washed dishes or continue to clean the room.

"Yes, that's it."

"As expected of Ming...but..."

"only?"

Looking at Mei's confused expression, Jiang Ming tilted his head.

"But Ming, when you saw the note from Kiana and the others, were you busy looking for gifts somewhere else?"

"I have my own way of dealing with this. Meiyi, don't worry. Meiyi, why don't you think about it carefully and think about what gift you want?"

"Eh? Me...me?"

Meiyi really didn't expect that she was also one of the good kids who received gifts, and she couldn't help but open her beautiful eyes wide. Seeing her like this, Jiang Ming simply lay down and put his head on Meiyi's legs.

Seeing this, Mei subconsciously stroked Jiang Ming's head.

"Of course, Mei is a good kid after all, isn't she?"

Ever since the two expressed their inner feelings to each other last time, Jiang Ming no longer chooses to get up at 4 a.m., and Mei no longer chooses to get up early. She always asks for help when she needs it, and sometimes does housework with Jiang Ming.

"Even if Ming said so, Meiyi wouldn't be very happy."

Obviously, I'm very happy...

Jiang Ming couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"Then Meiyi should look forward to it."

..................

Then, it was December 24th, Christmas Eve.

Since it was Sunday, everyone went out shopping and decorated the house during the day, and held a grand Christmas party in the evening.

There were pasta and salad on a large plate, large slices of ham, Christmas pudding, fried chicken, bread, and red wine for Jizi.

Although the main course was not turkey, a large roast chicken was prepared. Kiana's eyes widened with astonishment and joy, and the others felt the same way as they watched this sumptuous dinner.

The last thing to appear was a special Christmas cake. By the way, this was a Christmas-style cake bought from a nearby cake shop, with Santa Claus and snowman-shaped sugar cookies on top.

Of course, although there is only one Santa Claus-shaped cookie, the sugar cookies are bought according to the number of people to ensure that everyone can have one.

And the only Santa Claus was naturally defeated by Kiana through rock-paper-scissors.

After enjoying the meal, it was time for the long-awaited game. Although it was a game, it was not the usual life-and-death TV game with Bronya, but a party game that everyone could participate in.

Games like Monopoly, Werewolf, Truth or Dare, etc. In short, everyone looked tired, and after ten o'clock everyone yawned and returned to their rooms.

The original idea of ​​wanting to see Santa Claus was naturally quickly thrown out of the window.

By the way, although Sakura could roughly guess Jiang Ming's thoughts and wondered if she could stay and help him, she was gently persuaded by Jiang Ming to go back. Of course, the same went for Mei.