This is not the date I wanted.

"Someone is waiting for me. Could it be that..."

Shidou widened his eyes slightly and headed towards the center of the maze without hesitation.

"Meng Yue?"

"Ah, you're here. Itsuka-san."

Seeing Gokawa Shido appear, Hayato Natsutake waved to her.

"You are..." Shidou looked at Xia Zhu and asked hesitantly, "Are you... the Bamboo Princess from Meng Yue's class?"

"Zaodao Xiazhu, the monitor of Mengyue's class." Xia Zhu explained helplessly.

"Ah, sorry. Meng Yue... isn't she here?"

Taking a deep breath and exhaling, Shidao gradually calmed down. After looking around, he did not find Meng Yue.

"...I see. Indeed, the broadcast said 'my classmate' instead of 'acquaintance' or 'companion'...very much like Meng Yue. Hayado-san, did Meng Yue ask you to tell me something?"

"Ah... yeah." Xia Zhu nodded in surprise and replied, "She said, I'll wait for you at the last stamping place."

"The final stamp..."

Hearing this, Shidou quickly took out the flyer from his bag, and after observing it carefully, he seemed to understand something.

"I know where it is? Thank you, Bamboo Princess!"

"So don't call me that! There are a lot of kids here, if they take it seriously—"

"Princess Bamboo, my father hasn't come yet?"

"Princess Bamboo, can you read a story to me?"

"Princess Bamboo, are there really rabbits on the moon?"

"Princess Bamboo, I heard that five noblemen proposed to you before. Who did you choose in the end?"

"what…………"

The Early Rice and Summer Bamboo was sunk by the children's bombardment.

——————————————I am the dividing line of time——————————————

In the evening, the scarlet sunset slowly faded away, and the dark blue night gradually covered the sky.

Then, spots of light gradually lit up in the amusement park. Red, pink, yellow - colorful spots of light flickered and gathered on the dark earth, forming a gorgeous river of light.

"Wow, so beautiful."

"There's a nighttime parade going on over there in the square. Let's go take a look."

"Okay."

Shidao ran in the opposite direction of the tourists who were preparing to participate in the night parade. The amusement park is very large, and even if Meng Yue's information locked the range to an area, it is still not easy to find each other.

[There's really no other way. There's only one place left to stamp. Let you choose it, Shidou? 】

(My choice?)

During the chat, Mengyue wanted to give the final stamping option to Shidao, but Shidao did not respond to it at that time.

In other words, rather than Mengyue testing Shidou to guess "where is she?", it is more like testing Mengyue to "have you guessed where Shidou wants to go?"

(If it becomes “I guess Mengyue will guess that I want to go to that place?”, it will only become a troublesome nesting doll. So——)

I can only trust Yumezuki. Having made this decision, Shidou rushed towards the spinning and shining Ferris wheel without hesitation.

Hmm? Why a Ferris wheel?

I don't know when it started, but no matter which amusement park it is, there is an urban legend like "riding the Ferris wheel together will bring happiness."

(Besides - riding a Ferris wheel with the person you love! It's a man's romance!!)

……

Attracted by the lights of the parade, tourists on the road gradually gathered in the direction of the square like moths attracted to the lights.

The originally long queue now only had a few familiar faces left, making it seem a little deserted.

Mengyue stood quietly there, watching the tourists attracted by the parade approach the River of Light and become part of the carnival Christmas.

"Ha, it's starting to get cold."

Blowing a breath of hot air onto her hands, Meng Yue whispered to herself.

At night, the surrounding temperature dropped compared to the daytime, and the feeling of waiting became more torturous.

(Shidou...should come here, right?)

Meng Yue couldn't help but think in her heart. Although I asked Xia Zhu to convey the message to Shidao, there are many attractions that can be stamped with the last badge, and it is also difficult for Shidao to find it.

"Ah, I found you."

Hearing this, Meng Yue subconsciously turned her head and saw that the source of the sound was another couple she didn't know at all, so she touched her nose awkwardly.

"It's obviously not Shidou's voice...ah, this really doesn't sound like me..."

Mengyue sighed helplessly, and an indescribable feeling of loneliness surged in her heart.

To be honest, she herself felt a little strange now. On the one hand, she was enjoying playing hide-and-seek with Shidou and letting Shidou run around for her. On the other hand, she was looking forward to Shidou finding her quickly so that they could continue to enjoy their date.

She has been like this today, controlled by this strange emotion and doing many things that even she herself finds incredible.

“Ah… here it comes.”

Finally, seeing Shidao gradually approaching in the distance, Mengyue couldn't help but raise her eyebrows.

"Hey, you're finally here. Shi--"

However, without saying a word, Shidou came in front of Mengyue and hugged Mengyue in his arms without saying a word.

Meng Yue was caught off guard. She thought Shidao would stop to catch his breath and then just complain to her or lose his temper. She obviously didn't expect Shidao to be so direct.

"...Shidou. If you pick me up without saying anything like that, it will be embarrassing if you mistake me for someone else with similar clothes."

"Ha ha……"

Perhaps it was because he was running too fast, Shidou just kept breathing heavily and slightly increased the strength of his hold on Mengyue's body in response.

The intense heartbeat could be felt through the chest, and the hot breath brushed past the ears, making Meng Yue's cheeks, which were originally a little numb from the cold, turn hot.

This unfamiliar experience made Mengyue feel a little overwhelmed.

"Ah... who told you to run so fast? Let's talk after you catch your breath... I may need to slow down a bit too."

After muttering softly, Mengyue did not resist. She just lowered her head and snuggled in Shidao's arms.

(It’s so warm…)

Although the heat on her face did not fade, Shidao's body temperature was clearly transmitted into Mengyue's body, helping her to dispel the coldness and loneliness that had accumulated during the wait.

Meng Yue blushed and asked helplessly.

“…Have you calmed down?”

"Hmm... that's great."

After a while, Shidao's breathing gradually calmed down, but he did not let go of Mengyue just like that, as if he was worried that Mengyue would escape if he let go.

"I'm sorry I didn't see your message... I kept you waiting for so long..."

"…Why should I apologize? It was my fault. I deliberately chose all kinds of screaming series to make you suffer. I also left suddenly in the middle of the date and played hide-and-seek with you to make you feel uneasy…"

"That's not true." Shidou shook his head and said softly, "Today is Mengyue's birthday, right? Although I like Mengyue who is usually calm and reliable, I also like Mengyue who is unpredictable today. I am also very cute. Besides, I am also happy that you can act like a spoiled child to me."

"... Act like a spoiled child?" Shidou's words seemed to touch a chord in Mengyue's heart, "Yeah... maybe that's it? Maybe... I just want to put aside the usual impression, become a slightly different person, and act like a spoiled child to someone. But... I haven't acted like a spoiled child for a long time, so I don't know to what extent it is appropriate. As a result, I became neither good nor bad, and even I don't understand what I am doing?"

"Just do as Mengyue likes. I would be happier if you can just act coquettishly without worrying about me."

Meng Yue did not respond to Shidao's words, but just hugged her tighter silently.

"...It's so slow. It's taking so long. I've been waiting for so long."

"Well... sorry to have kept you waiting."

"Bring your charger and power bank with you. Low temperatures will drain the batteries faster. Don't get separated over such a trivial matter!"

"Haha... Sorry, I'll pay attention..."

"I dressed up especially for you. If you think I'm pretty, compliment me more. Otherwise, I'll feel like an idiot."

"Mengyue is so beautiful today! You look like a fairy descending from the moon. I can't take my eyes off you. If possible, I would like to propose to you directly!"

"We're actually having a Christmas date. Is it Shiori who's going to accompany me like last year?! I've been looking forward to it for a long time!!"

"I can refuse this - it hurts!"

"Tsk. As expected, this level is not good enough." Meng Yue kicked Shidao's calf in dissatisfaction and turned her head away. "Forget it, I'm not good at being a spoiled child. Let's continue the date, Shidao. We've reached the entrance. It's embarrassing to hug like this."

"Haha... that's right." Shidao laughed dryly twice, reluctantly letting go of Mengyue, and asked curiously, "But Mengyue, how did you know that the last place I wanted to go was the Ferris wheel?"

Hearing this, Meng Yue tilted her head and answered as a matter of course.

"Hmm? The Ferris wheel in the amusement park scene is an indispensable classic event in galgames. As a galgame player, you will definitely choose this, right?"

"Ah... that's true... Yeah, it's true."

Hearing Mengyue's answer, Shidao was stunned at first, then touched his nose with a wry smile and did not comment.

Suddenly, a cool touch touched the tip of my nose.

Looking up curiously, Shidou couldn't help but smile in surprise.

"Mengyue, look."

"Ok?"

Following Shidao's gaze towards the sky, white snowflakes were slowly falling from the night sky.

"Today is a white Christmas."

PS: I would like to recommend his novel to a book friend - "My Tenant is a Beautiful Soul Soldier Messenger". If you are interested, you can go and read it.

Mengyue IF——Reconciliation with Christmas (End)

==============================

Thick dark clouds, gloomy afternoon, cold snowflakes falling to the earth.

In the silent cemetery, a young man named "Guan Meng" slowly walked to a pair of tombstones, squatted down, and put down a bouquet of white flowers.

"Dad, Mom. Long time no see. I'm Guan Meng... Are you guys doing well on the other side? I've been... "

The young man had an easygoing and cheerful expression, but his voice was filled with a hint of sadness and helplessness. He recounted the interesting things that had happened around him recently, and at the same time he comforted himself by imagining the happy scene of the non-existent phantom laughing heartily about them.

"Huh... next..."

After a long sigh, the young man woke up from his memories and stood up. Holding another bouquet of flowers, he walked towards another tombstone not far away with a bitter look on his face.

"...Hello, auntie. I'm sorry...my dad has caused you so much trouble..."

……

In the evening, the young man took the subway and returned to the city where he usually lived.

Looking at the streets decorated with lights and colorful decorations, the cheerful atmosphere made the young man, whose emotions were still not yet calm, feel a little out of place.

(People’s joys and sorrows really cannot be understood. I wonder how Jesus would feel if he knew that his birthday was used by couples to show affection and love as the day of creation.)

Looking at the pairs of loving couples, the young man couldn't help but think helplessly.

Buzz—the phone in my pocket vibrated slightly.

[Guan Meng. Will you come to the Christmas party held by the company this year? ]

When he opened his phone, he saw a text message from a colleague. The young man exhaled a puff of white mist and moved his stiff fingers to type a reply.

[No, I have something to do today. Just have fun.]

[What's going on again? You were like this last year too. You... won't get a girlfriend, will you?]

Seeing his colleague's suspicion, the young man, who is still single, couldn't help but laugh and cry. But if he explained that today was his birthday and the anniversary of his family's death, he was afraid that his colleague would have strange concerns when facing him in the future, so he replied in a half-joking tone.

【Let your imagination run wild~】

……