The Wind Is Also Gentle

The two girls present were stunned.

Rukia, in particular, felt her mind go completely blank, and the image of the Guild Leader before her wavered for a moment.

Matsumoto Rangiku was the first to react, asking again, "What did you just say?"

Xin picked up his wine glass, a faint smile slowly appearing on his face.

"I said I like you."

Boom!

Hearing those two words again, Rukia felt like a supernova had exploded in her mind.

Even though she had become the eldest daughter of the Kuchiki family, she knew exactly what kind of person she was. the Kuchiki name was merely a beautiful but false facade for her.

But the Guild Leader, the Guild Leader he...

He was like a celestial being, someone Rukia could never reach in her heart.

The Guild Leader she respected immensely, the Guild Leader she admired, the Guild Leader who was excellent in everything he did!

What had he just said?

Was he drunk?

He'd only had two drinks.

Dizzy, Rukia was slung by her shoulders by Matsumoto Rangiku, unable to comprehend or believe it.

Matsumoto Rangiku stared intently at Xin, and after a moment, she suddenly burst into laughter, laughing heartily until her eyes were clear.

"Good, good! I didn't expect to witness such a wonderful confession."

Xin continued to drink his wine at an unhurried pace. His expression was open and calm, as if what he had just said was nothing particularly important.

And it was precisely his current demeanor that made Rukia begin to doubt if she had just misheard.

Did Lieutenant Matsumoto also mishear?

Why could the Guild Leader remain so calm after saying that... Was the Guild Leader joking, playing with them?

Rukia's heart was in turmoil, a thousand thoughts flooding her mind at once, making it impossible for her to calm down and think. Her eyes were wide open, her expression still dazed.

"And you?"

Matsumoto Rangiku then looked at Rukia again, asking.

Me?

Me... about the Guild Leader...

Rukia was a little lost. She had finally sobered up a bit, but then her face felt like it was on fire.

It was her turn to answer, why did she have to answer?

She wasn't prepared at all. Weren't their relationship just ordinary superior and subordinate?

Wasn't it because the Guild Leader was a good person that he was so nice to her?

Perhaps there were some slightly ambiguous interactions between them, but Rukia had always felt that the Guild Leader was just uninhibited. She felt that the Guild Leader definitely didn't think in that direction, and she didn't dare to think in that direction either.

She didn't dare to look up. She felt that the Guild Leader must be looking at her right now, which suddenly made her feel a little scared and terrified. Because if she looked up, she would have to face the weight of the word "like" that the Guild Leader had just said, a weight she found unbearable.

Rukia wanted to escape, and she had never wanted to escape from a place so desperately.

At this moment, Xin suddenly chuckled again.

"Why are you asking her?"

Matsumoto Rangiku asked strangely, "Of course, I have to ask. It's the girl's turn to respond now."

Xin said, "I didn't ask for her response."

"Huh?"

Matsumoto Rangiku was taken aback. She was a little confused by Xin's meaning.

Wasn't that a confession just now?

Did Xin say it wrong, or did she misunderstand?

Or had she spoken out of turn? It was clearly something between the two of them.

She furrowed her delicate brows, thought seriously, and then asked Xin, "You must know whether she rejects or accepts, right?"

Xin smiled faintly and said, "Miss Rangiku, what you're saying is very strange. You asked me the question just now, not the other way around, and I wasn't talking to her. What I said just now was merely an answer."

Matsumoto Rangiku felt his words were a bit convoluted and couldn't help but pat her head. She thought she was too drunk to understand Xin's words.

"Wait a minute."

Xin continued, "What I said just now was neither a question nor a request, nor was it a demand or an obligation. I think Rukia is excellent, a very good girl, so I like her, that's all."

"..."

Matsumoto Rangiku sat stunned for a long time, then suddenly swayed and stood up.

"I'm drunk, I'm really drunk. I'm leaving now. You two can chat."

With that, Matsumoto Rangiku, her steps a little unsteady, walked towards the entrance of the izakaya.

"Farewell, Miss Rangiku."

After Matsumoto Rangiku left, an eerie calm settled between Xin and Rukia.

Seeing the chairman sitting opposite her, drinking and eating by himself, Rukia's previously chaotic heart gradually quieted down with his unhurried movements.

She cautiously, tentatively, raised her head and saw Xin pouring wine.

Rukia pursed her lips, "Chairman, how much have you had to drink?"

"Worried I'll get drunk?" Xin asked back with a light smile.

Rukia didn't understand why he could still smile so calmly at this moment. Such calmness made her feel glaringly uncomfortable, as if she had done something wrong.

She avoided Xin's gaze and spoke in a very low voice, "What did you mean by what you said just now...?"

"Wasn't what I said clear enough?"

"..."

Actually, it was clear enough. Rukia understood the meaning of those words. It wasn't a request, not a demand, and didn't require a response from her; it was simply an expression of a feeling.

This made Rukia feel that the chairman's affection was too pure. Could such pure feelings exist in the world?

And did she deserve such pure affection from the chairman?

Or perhaps, the chairman simply appreciated her and used the word "like" too strongly to express it?

Lieutenant Matsumoto clearly meant that kind of thing just now. If the chairman didn't, he should have at least explained...

"Aren't you eating?"

Xin suddenly asked at this moment.

Rukia was speechless. How could she have any appetite at a time like this? She felt the atmosphere between them was strange.

The supposed ambiguity and romance seemed to exist only at the beginning. After Lieutenant Matsumoto left, it was gone, including the shyness.

It was as if nothing had happened between them, and it was just Rukia's guilty conscience.

"I... I'm not hungry."

"Alright then." Xin called the izakaya owner to settle the bill and then stood up first.

"It's time to go."

"Huh? Oh!"

The two of them walked out of the izakaya just like that. The moment the curtain fell, the warm scent of wood was cut off behind them.

Rukia felt that familiar hand fall on her head again.

She instinctively shrank her neck. She felt she should have avoided it, that she should have avoided it and maintained some distance, but she was afraid of misjudging the situation and messing everything up again.

But these were thoughts she had later. The touch on her head made her inexplicably clingy at this moment.

The chairman's movements seemed lighter and gentler than before, and his voice also seemed gentle.

"Let's go."

The bluestone slabs, infused with silver light, echoed their footsteps in the quiet street, startling the scattered stars curled on the rooftops.

Distant lights still flickered, like square jellyfish stranded in the night. The wind swept past the low tower of empty wine bottles, playing a few hoarse notes, which were then rendered transparent by the moonlight dripping from the eaves.

As Rukia looked up, a flowing cloud passed by. The scattered starlets then became silver sand sifting through a sieve, rustling into the deep blue night sky.

She was in a daze, feeling a faint illusory light floating on the road, like the shimmering water marks left on the tidal flats during high tide. In her daze, she saw her own shadow being kneaded by the evening breeze into slender threads, gently tying it to the brightest star in the sky.