×××
…
Outside Dormitory 1-A.
Explode was like a god descending from the heavens.
After he had finished styling the two girls, Boom, who had agreed to pick up Prunus from the dormitory, arrived at the dance venue.
Explode appeared holding An Qiu's hand.
Boom was not surprised to see Prunus following behind Explode and his wife. She was wearing a cute white dress, and her fluffy short hair was usually casually let down.
Today, her hair was braided into cute and elegant braids. Explode had put a flower-shaped hair clip beside her ear.
Just like that, her entire image was improved.
"… Little Bombardment Scorch, you're here!"
On the other side, Bai Jian met Hong's gaze. She, who had been styled by Hong Hao's skillful hands, was now in a good mood.
She skipped to Boom's side and said with a smile, "Do you think I look good?
Explode did it for me just now. An Qiu's hairstyle was also done by Explode! "
"Stop it.
You're so disgusting, white hair trash! "
Boastful Tyrant roared back from the side. When Bai Jian heard this, he didn't care at all. He just giggled foolishly — probably because he was very happy that he had a new image.
Boom, who felt that he had missed something, looked at the murderous Explode and put his hand on her shoulder.
Then, he reached out and gently put his arm around Bai Jian's shoulder, indicating that she should stop quarreling with the hot-tempered tyrant. Then, he looked down at her.
Then, he gave her the reply he owed her, "Very beautiful."
Prunus, who was still looking at Explode and his wife, felt her heart skip a beat. She blushed and looked in Boom's direction. She showed him a happy and playful smile, "It's good that you think it's beautiful.
After all, I'm going to be your dance partner today! "
"Okay." Boom was embarrassed by her words.
Then, he nodded in embarrassment and looked away. "… Let's go."
After all, today was an important day.
…
The Xiong Ying Winter Ball officially began.
The venue was also the largest hall in the school building. Exquisite party snacks prepared by the professional gourmet hero of the Xiong Ying Canteen had already been placed neatly on the table. Lights of different colors were projected on the dance floor, and the hall was playing a specially arranged Christmas song. The students looked at Teacher Mike, who was tied up and muted, and leisurely began their Christmas reward dance.
"Wow, there are so many people here. Did Little Bombardment Scorch attend a gathering like this last year?"
"… No, because it's held once every two years."
Boom! He raised his head and looked at the five-meter-tall Christmas tree in the corner of the hall. There were colorful Christmas lights flashing on it. From afar, it was simply beautiful.
Li Ri was right. Today was indeed a day with a good atmosphere.
Boom let Prunus hold his arm. He put down the champagne in his hand and looked out of the window at the cotton-like snow fluttering in the breeze. He unconsciously calmed down.
Today, he must confess to Prunus successfully.
…
"Hey, Little Bombardment Scorch, it's said that the principal is going to lead everyone for the first dance. Let's go and watch!"
While Boom was thinking about the best time to confess, Prunus, who was attending the dance for the first time, was also affected by the lively atmosphere. Her small face was flushed with excitement, and she invited Boom to walk to the dance floor with her.
"Okay."
Boom smiled and nodded. His thin lips were tightly pressed into a beautiful arc. His pair of greenish-gray eyes reflected Prunus's honest and cute little face, and he followed her to the dance floor.
As the first dance song played, the teachers danced, and the students who knew how to dance also danced. Pairs of students in formal clothes danced in the beautiful environment, and the atmosphere was unbelievably good.
"Hey, if it's just simple dance steps, Uchikai taught me yesterday. Little Bombardment Scorch, do you want to dance with us?"
Perhaps affected by the surrounding atmosphere, even Prunus, who was not confident in her dance steps, pulled Boom's sleeve and asked carefully.
"I'm not very good at dance steps …" Boom looked at Prunus and said guiltily, "If you don't mind, I'm going to stay with you on the dance floor."
Prunus was stunned. Hearing Boom's slightly guilty tone, she slightly clenched her hands behind her back. She carefully lowered her head and said in a low voice, "Well, if Little Bombardment Scorch is okay with it, of course, I'm okay with it."
"Is it okay?" Boom looked at her. After all, this was her first dance.
"Yes!
I'm not good at dancing at all. I especially learned how to dance so that I can dance with you. "Prunus's answer was very straightforward. She was happy not to dance.
"… So, let's go dance?"
Hearing Prunus's answer, Boom was a little anxious. Without saying anything, he grabbed Prunus's wrist. His eyes were full of nervousness. He could not let her efforts go to waste.
"No, no, no. Let's just talk. It's more relaxing that way!" Prunus shook her head quickly.
"… Well, okay."
Boom glanced at Prunus and forced himself to calm down. After all, he also felt that he was a little nervous. If he did not calm down, he might say something wrong later.
Thinking of this, he reached out and slightly lifted the bangs in front of his eyes. His pair of greenish-gray eyes stared at Prunus next to him. Seeing that she was still obediently staying by his side, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
When was he going to tell her about it?
According to the girls in his class, there would be a ceremony to turn off the lights in the hall and light up the Christmas tree in the middle of the Holy Night Festival. At that time, the environment here would be the most beautiful. He would wait until then to tell Prunus.
Thinking of this, Boom chatted casually with Prunus again. After all, the time they spent together had decreased recently. Prunus went to his father's office whenever she was free. She liked to participate in those heroic activities, so he did not want to disturb her.
And for her to be recognized by her father, Hong was also very happy about this.
…
"… Then, Mr. Secretary said that with Mr. Andwa's temper, he should go to the Philippines to be a hero. After all, he is too impatient."
Prunus said with a smile. She pretended to be serious when Andwa scolded people. After a while, she came up with a personal conclusion. "But in fact, in my eyes, Mr. Andwa is very gentle."
"… That's because you are always able to find his gentleness."
Boom leaned against the wall of the banquet hall and half-closed his eyes, thinking about his father who had been ruthlessly training him since he was a child. He did not comment on Prunus's words. "That's just your gentleness. Just like me and my brother and sister, we always don't understand dad."
"Really?
But I have a feeling that Little Bombardment Scorch has gradually found a way to get along with Mr. Andwa. "
Prunus tilted her head and smiled. She could not help but think of the smile on Andwa's face when he mentioned to her last time. "As long as family members cherish each other, there will be a day when their hearts will be together again."
"… Yes."
Hong agreed with this and nodded with a smile. "Hearing you say so, I feel that it can be done."
"No, no, I'm not that good."
Prunus widened her eyes and hurriedly shook her head and waved her hands to deny it. But Boom just looked at her with a smile and patted her head. "You have always been good."
"Hmm …" Prunus looked at Boom with a pair of red eyes, and the latter stared at her and could not help laughing. Boom rarely laughed like this, but tonight, perhaps due to the joyous atmosphere of the banquet hall, he was more relaxed with everyone. He was even more unscrupulous in front of Prunus.
"… Hmm."
Prunus was stunned by Boom's smile. She blushed awkwardly and muttered in a low voice, "This kind of smile is against the rules."
"Is it?" Boom did not intend to restrain himself.
…
The party was still going on.
After more than an hour, when it was close to nightfall, Mr. Mike was finally untied. He took the stage and announced the progress of the party with his signature noise.
[Long time no see. Students, do you know what the next segment is?
Yes, the lights are finally going to be turned off!
After a minute of countdown, the Christmas tree will be fully lit!
Mr. Mike wishes everyone a Merry Christmas … Hmm!]
Before he finished his sentence, his noise was extinguished by Kota Aizawa, who was tired of noisy scenes.
[… Aizawa, where are you? Come out!]
"You're so annoying," Aizawa said fiercely in the distance.
On the other side, the students who were having fun gradually quieted down after hearing Mr. Mike's words. They moved closer to the Christmas tree, hoping to witness the lighting ceremony of the giant Christmas tree.
On this point, Lian Hong was no exception.
He, who had some plans, gradually stopped smiling and motioned Prunus to follow him to a direction near the Christmas tree.
"… Hmm?
Are we going to see the Christmas tree over there? "Prunus asked curiously when she found that the lights in the hall were gradually dimming.
"Yes."
Boom saw that more and more people were moving closer to the Christmas tree, and he felt a little nervous. In a hurry, he reached out and grabbed Prunus's hand and pulled her toward the Christmas tree while the lights were off.
"Wait, Little Bombardment Scorch!" Prunus blushed.
[The countdown is starting!
Although I can't use the noise, I can still make this level of sound —!]
Mike stood on the stage with an arrogant face and began to count down with Mike's wind:
"Let's move closer."
Boom whispered to Prunus and pulled her closer to protect her from being hit by other people in the dark environment.
"… Why do we have to go under the Christmas tree?"
Prunus, who was wearing high heels, couldn't walk easily. She felt the warmth from Boom's left hand and became nervous again.
Why does it feel like Little Bombardment Scorch is also nervous?
— What is he nervous about?
[40 … 39 … 38 …]
Sensing that Prunus was a little reluctant to move closer to the crowd, Boom was nervous and had to say, "My classmate said that the promise made under the Christmas tree can last forever."
"Promise?"
Prunus tilted her head and carefully followed, "Little Bombardment Scorch wants to make a promise with me?"
[29 … 28 … 27 …]
"… Oh, Mr. Mike is too noisy."
Boom frowned. The closer he walked to the Christmas tree, the more he couldn't think with Mike's naturally loud voice. So in this situation, he was straightforward with Prunus, "Well, I have something to tell you."
"Huh?"
As if noticing that Hong was different from usual, Bai Jian blinked her eyes and looked at Hong's eyes carefully. She maintained the state of holding his hand and blushed so shyly that it seemed like blood was about to drip out, "Tell me?"
[6 … 5 … 4 …]
"Yes."
Hong nodded lightly and finally brought Bai Jian to the bottom of the Christmas tree. Hong, who was tall and slender, looked up at the five-meter-tall giant Christmas tree and reached out to touch his hair to hide the nervousness in his heart.
"Little Bombardment Scorch?" Prunus called out softly.
[3 … 2 … 1 … 0 … The lights are on!]
Boom turned around and faced Prunus. The Christmas tree lights behind him were all lit up in an instant. The colorful Christmas lights on the Christmas tree flickered and covered Boom with a layer of dazzling light.
Prunus couldn't help but squint when the light appeared. It took a while for her to adjust to the beautiful scenery.
When Prunus came back to her senses, she carefully looked at Boom. She felt that the cheers of the students around her couldn't reach her ears at this moment. Prunus was now focused on Bombardment Scorch.
The two of them stared at each other attentively. They could feel their nervous heartbeats and even breaths, which were exceptionally clear in this noisy and lively atmosphere.
"… Little Bombardment Scorch, what do you want to say?"
"I'll just say it." Facing Prunus's frank gaze, Boom, who had already decided to confess, felt a great deal of nervousness at this moment. His voice trembled slightly. It was only when the Christmas music around them started to play that he gradually eased his nervousness.
With his eyes half-closed, he used a deep voice to express the feelings that had been hidden in his heart for a long time. "I like you, Bai Jian."
"Can you be with me?"
Prunus's heart suddenly stopped. Her cheeks suddenly flushed. The redness spread from her cheeks to the corners of her eyes and eyebrows — it made her feel as if she was about to burst into flames.
— Little Bombardment Scorch … Did he like her?
That was something that made her so happy.
…
"Little Bombardment Scorch, I …" Prunus stared at Boom without blinking. The joy in her heart condensed in her throat, making it difficult for her to say her answer. Just as she was about to take a step forward to express her feelings to Boom, a dozen people suddenly shouted from behind Prunus —
"Prunus/Almond -chan, Happy Birthday —!!!"
Prunus was stunned. Just as she was about to turn around, she saw her classmates from 1-A suddenly appear behind her with cakes in their hands. Before Prunus could react, some of them set off fireworks. After the deafening bang sounded around Prunus, colorful paper ribbons slowly fell from Prunus's head.
Prunus was stunned. She opened her mouth, but before she could answer Boom's question, her classmates in front of her began to sing the birthday song for her:
“Happy
Birthday
to
you~
Happy
Birthday
to
you~
Happy
Birthday
to
Prunus/Almond -chan
Happy
Birthday
to
you！”
At the end of the song, Chiku, who was holding a cake, smiled and hugged Prunus. She rubbed her cheeks, "… Are you happy?
Are you touched?
When everyone knew that your birthday was on the second day of the ball, and that there would be a Christmas tree countdown ceremony at the ball, everyone prepared a surprise for you! "
Prunus was stunned. She didn't know how to deal with this situation. She could only use her remaining IQ to answer: "Surprise … happy …"
"Senior Boom, I'm sorry, but we temporarily borrowed Almond!"
Chiku winked at Boom playfully. She looked at Boom, who was petrified under the Christmas tree for some reason, and happily pulled Prunus away from Boom, "We made the cake. We were shocked when we knew it was your birthday, but we didn't expect it to be today!"
"…" Boom looked at Prunus, who was also in a daze and was gradually being pulled away from him. His heart, which had been hard to muster up the courage to confess to her, was petrified at this moment, dry and broken into pieces — drifting away with the wind.
She actually had her birthday today, and he didn't know.
Was this a prank?
…
After being dragged away by the children in the class, Bai Jian had no choice but to celebrate her birthday with everyone. Speaking of which, it was impossible to say that she was not happy. After all, she had never met so many people who wanted to celebrate her birthday with her. In the past, she did not have that kind of friends, so when she saw that everyone in the class had secretly prepared a birthday surprise for her, she was so moved that she almost cried.
It was just that … she didn't know what to do with Boom.
Bai Jian quietly looked back and was not surprised to see that it was Hong Jiao Bing who had frozen himself into an ice sculpture in the corner. A trace of heartache arose in her heart. Just as she was about to go over and invite him, she was pulled back by the children in the class. "Let me tell you, Apricot Tree, this cake is actually made with starling wood. Isn't it scary?"
"Ah, no, I like everything that everyone makes for me."
Prunus smiled shyly, and then, listening to Uchikai's interesting story of making the cake, she laughed heartily again.
…
On the other side of the room, next to the railing on the second floor of the banquet hall.
Where Explode and his wife were sitting.
Standing next to Explode, An Qiu rested her chin on her hand and looked condescendingly at Explode, who was gradually freezing into an ice sculpture, and then calmly glanced at Explode next door, who was laughing so hard that he was about to explode on the spot, and sighed helplessly: "I thought that Senior Boom would not be able to confess successfully."
"Hahahaha, look at Half Bastard's expression!!
Hahahahaha! "
Explode laughed and pounded the wall, while An Qiu stared at her boyfriend and shook her head in disdain: "You have a bad personality."
"… Oh, really?
Who was it that dragged me to this special seat before Half Scoundrel confessed? "Bao Hao was unconvinced.
"It's not me, I didn't." An Qiu turned her head away.
"…" Explode looked at the girl next door, seeing that she was ignoring him, and instead maintained her worried and helpless gaze at the useless Bombardment Scorch, a trace of jealousy rose in his heart: "Hey, don't you …"
"Sure enough, I still have to help Senior Boom."
Just as An Qiu finished speaking, she didn't wait for Blaster to catch her. Without saying a word, she used her teleportation ability to teleport herself to the vicinity of the explosion.
Explode instantly turned into a chili pepper – Half Bastard Trash!
Did he need his girlfriend to save him when he failed to hit on the girl himself?!
…
Back to the corner of the banquet hall.
An Qiu, who had just teleported herself to Explode, calmly looked at Bombardment Scorch, who was about to grow into a mushroom in the corner. Ignoring his objection, she reached out and grabbed his arm: "Senior Boom, I can only help you to this extent."
"Oh."
Only then did Boom notice An Qiu's appearance, and before he could react, he felt the world spinning around him – when he came to his senses, Boom had directly barged into the circle of 1-A's classmates celebrating her birthday, and arrived next door to Prunus in a simple and crude manner.
"Oh!"
"Uh!"
Boom and Prunus were caught off guard, and both of them exclaimed in unison.
"… Senior Boom, you don't need my help after this, do you?"
An Qiu crossed her arms, sat on the table with the cake on it, and casually took a bite of the cake for herself, the corner of her mouth slowly curved into a teasing smile.
Boom reacted, understanding An Qiu's intention, and the irritation and depression in his heart instantly disappeared in an instant. Boom glanced at the 1-A classmate who was looking at him with a confused expression, and under everyone's gaze, he held Prunus' hand: "It's time to return her to me."
"Huh?"
Prunus was startled, and only felt her body being pulled by Boom, she subconsciously ran and directly left 1-A's circle.
…
Prunus, who was originally wearing high heels, did not know how long she had run under Boom's pull, but she was beginning to feel exhausted and called out to Boom: "Little Bombardment Scorch!"
"… That's about it."
Boom was also panting, and in order not to let anyone disturb the two of them, he deliberately brought Prunus out of the banquet hall.
The two of them stood outside the banquet hall, looking at the goose down snow falling with the wind, and worried that Prunus would catch a cold, Boom hurriedly took off his suit jacket and put it on Prunus' shoulders.
"Don't catch a cold."
He looked at Prunus and saw that her cheeks were red. He wanted to reach out and warm her cheeks, but before he could touch her, Prunus spoke first: "Wait a minute, Little Bombardment Scorch."
Boom's hand froze in the air, and he looked at the petite girl again.
"… I've been thinking about how to reply to you just now."
Prunus was still panting because of the running. She reached out and stroked her heaving chest, trying to organize her thoughts.
Seeing that Prunus had entered the main topic, Boom could not help but feel nervous again. He thought that he would have to at least repeat the old topic before the natural Prunus would be willing to give him a reply.
What kind of reply would she give him?
Boom's whole body froze, and he subconsciously held his breath, waiting for Prunus' answer.
After a long while, Bai Jian was finally done with her preparations. She turned around slightly and gave him a smile as brilliant as a flower.
"After we start dating, I'll call you Bombardment Scorch -kun, okay?"
Her smile was like a flower, shining brightly in the winter night.
Hong was so surprised by her reply that his eyes widened slightly. After a long time, his handsome face turned red again. He turned his head slightly and reached out to cover his face to hide his nervousness. He murmured in a muffled voice,
"… Just remove the word 'kun'."
…