The Wind Was Gentle Too

The two girls present froze at once.

Rukia in particular felt her mind turn to chaos. Even the President's figure before her seemed to blur for an instant.

Matsumoto Rangiku was the first to recover. She asked again, "What did you just say?"

Xin raised his wine cup, a faint smile slowly appearing on his face.

"I said I like her."

Boom!

Hearing those two words again, Rukia felt as if a planet had exploded in her mind.

Even though she was now the young lady of the Kuchiki family, she knew very well what kind of person she was. The Kuchiki name had given her nothing more than a magnificent but false outer shell.

But the President, the President...

To Rukia, he was someone like an immortal she could never hope to reach.

The President she respected beyond measure, the President she admired, the President who excelled at everything he did!

What had he just said?

Had he drunk too much?

He had only had two cups.

Rukia stood there dazed beneath Matsumoto Rangiku's arm around her shoulders, unable to understand it, unable to believe it.

Matsumoto Rangiku stared intently at Xin. A moment later, she suddenly burst out laughing. She laughed heartily, until her eyes had cleared completely.

"Good, good! I never expected to witness such a wonderful confession."

Xin continued drinking at an unhurried pace. His expression was open and calm, as though what he had just said had been nothing particularly important.

And it was precisely because of his current composure that Rukia began to suspect she might have misheard him.

Lieutenant Matsumoto must have misheard too, right?

How could the President be so calm after saying something like that... Was he joking? Was he just messing with us?

Rukia's heart was a complete mess. Countless thoughts surged forth at once, leaving her unable to calm down and think properly. Her eyes were wide open, her face still blank with bewilderment.

"What about you?"

Matsumoto Rangiku turned to Rukia and asked.

Me?

What about me... toward the President...

Rukia was at a loss. She had finally regained a little clarity, only for her face to begin burning.

It was her turn to answer? Why did she have to answer?

She had not prepared herself at all. Her relationship with the President was clearly nothing more than that of an ordinary superior and subordinate, wasn't it?

The President was kind, so he had simply treated her well, hadn't he?

There might have been some slightly ambiguous interactions between them, but Rukia had always believed the President simply did not bother with such details. She thought he definitely had not considered things that way, and she did not dare to think of them that way either.

She did not dare raise her head. She felt that the President had to be looking at her now, and that suddenly frightened her. If she looked up, she would have to face the unbearable weight of those two words he had just spoken—"I like her."

Rukia wanted to flee. Never before had she wanted so desperately to escape a place.

Yet Xin suddenly chuckled again.

"Why are you asking her?"

Matsumoto Rangiku looked puzzled. "Of course I have to ask. It's the girl's turn to respond now."

Xin said, "I wasn't asking her to respond."

"Huh?"

Matsumoto Rangiku paused, unable to make sense of Xin's meaning.

Hadn't that clearly been a confession just now?

Had Xin misspoken, or had she misunderstood?

Or had she simply stuck her nose into something that was between the two of them?

Her beautiful brows drew together slightly. After thinking seriously for a moment, she asked Xin, "You still need to know whether she accepts or rejects you, don't you?"

Xin smiled faintly. "Miss Rangiku, that's a strange thing to say. You were the one who asked me a question just now, not her. And I wasn't saying it to her either. What I said was merely an answer."

Matsumoto Rangiku felt that his words were a little convoluted. She could not help patting her own head, thinking perhaps she had drunk too much to understand Xin.

"Wait a minute."

But Xin continued, "What I said just now was neither a question nor a request, neither taking nor demanding. I think Rukia is outstanding, a very good girl, so I like her. That's all."

"..."

Matsumoto Rangiku sat there dumbly for a long while before suddenly swaying to her feet.

"I've had too much. I really have had too much. I'll be leaving first. You two talk."

With that, Matsumoto Rangiku staggered toward the entrance of the izakaya.

"Take care, Miss Rangiku."

After Matsumoto Rangiku left, an oddly tranquil silence settled between Xin and Rukia.

Rukia watched the President seated across from her, drinking and eating by himself. Her tangled heart gradually quieted along with the unhurried sounds of his meal.

Carefully, she tried raising her head and saw Xin pouring himself another drink.

Rukia pressed her lips together. "President, how much have you had to drink?"

"Are you worried I'll get drunk?" Xin asked with a faint smile.

Rukia did not understand how he could still smile so openly. That composure was almost glaring to her, as though she were the one who had done something wrong.

Avoiding Xin's gaze, she spoke in a very low voice. "What exactly did you mean by what you said earlier, President...?"

"Wasn't I clear enough?"

"..."

Actually, he had been clear enough. Rukia could understand the meaning of those words. It was not a request, not a demand, and did not require her response. It was merely a simple expression of emotion.

That made Rukia feel that the President's affection was far too pure. Could such pure feelings truly exist in this world?

And was she worthy of such pure affection from him?

Or did the President simply admire her, yet use the word "like" too strongly?

Lieutenant Matsumoto had clearly meant it in that sense. If the President had not, shouldn't he at least explain...

"Aren't you eating?"

Xin suddenly asked.

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

The ambiguity and tenderness that should have been there seemed to have existed only at the beginning. After Lieutenant Matsumoto left, it was gone, along with the awkwardness.

It was as though nothing had happened between them at all, and only Rukia herself had a guilty conscience.

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

"All right." Xin called over the izakaya owner to settle the bill, then rose before her.

"It's time to go."

"Ah? Oh!"

The two of them left the izakaya just like that. The moment the curtain fell behind them, the warm scent of wood was cut off at their backs.

Rukia suddenly felt that familiar palm settle on her head again.

She instinctively shrank her neck. She felt that she should avoid it, that she seemed to need to keep some distance, yet she was afraid of misjudging the boundaries and ruining everything again.

But those were thoughts that came afterward. The sensation atop her head made her strangely reluctant to let it go.

The President's movements seemed lighter than before, gentler. Even his voice sounded gentle.

"Let's go."

The bluestone pavement glistened with silver light. Footsteps sent ripples through the quiet street, startling the scattered stars curled up on the rooftops.

Lights still flickered in the distance, like square jellyfish stranded in the night. The wind swept through a short tower of empty wine bottles, playing two or three hoarse notes before the moonlight spilling from the eaves soaked them clear.

When Rukia looked up, drifting clouds were passing overhead. The scattered stars became silver sand falling through a sieve, rustling down into the deep blue night sky.

In her daze, she felt a layer of illusory light floating over the road, like shimmering traces of water left on the flats after high tide. In her daze, she saw her own shadow being kneaded into slender threads by the evening breeze, gently tying itself to the brightest star on the horizon.