Mid-Autumn Festival special: wishing everyone a happy Mid-Autumn Festival!

As evening fell, the sunset's lingering glow was gradually swallowed by night, and a bright, full moon rose early above the branches.

Walking along the tree-lined path back to the dormitory, Ken Kaneki suddenly felt the terminal in his pocket vibrate twice in succession. He took out his phone and saw two new messages pop up on the screen.

The first came from Shiina Hiyori, and the second from his homeroom teacher, Sae Chabashira.

[Ken, I'm coming over to your dorm in a little while. I want to celebrate the festival with you.]

[Whatever you do, don't come to my dorm tonight.]

Reading the two messages, Ken Kaneki couldn't help chuckling. The former was a gentle expression of genuine affection, while the latter was an utterly awkward, tsundere hint.

Given Sae Chabashira's insecurity and stubborn pride, "Whatever you do, don't come" actually translated to "Hurry up and come see me."

Ken Kaneki tapped the screen with his slender fingers. Rather than going along with her words, he took the initiative and replied.

[Then come to my dorm today, sensei.]

Once sent, the message vanished like a stone sinking into the sea. Sae Chabashira neither replied nor refused, but Ken Kaneki knew that this was already her signal of tacit agreement.

Just as he put away his terminal and prepared to continue back, a familiar figure turned out of a nearby path.

Kiyotaka Ayanokoji carried a paper bag printed with an intricate pattern, filled with mooncakes of various flavors.

"Hey, Ken." Ayanokoji greeted him. Ken Kaneki glanced at the bag in his hand and raised his eyebrows.

"What did you buy so many mooncakes for?"

"To mooch dinner at your dorm. Koenji already bought some top-quality ingredients and had them delivered to your room ahead of time," Ayanokoji replied as though it were only natural.

The corner of Ken Kaneki's mouth twitched slightly. He was somewhat speechless at these two bandits' habit of acting first and asking permission afterward.

"Just so you know, though, I have people coming over to my dorm later," Ken Kaneki casually reminded him.

"Is it Hiyori? Koenji and I don't mind. Just do your thing."

Seeing Ayanokoji looking fully prepared to play third wheel, Ken Kaneki couldn't really say much more. The two walked side by side toward the First-Year Dormitory Building.

As they pushed open the door to Room 402, a faint scent of incense and a festive atmosphere greeted them.

Rokusuke Koenji was busy in the living room, humming an elegant little tune of unknown origin.

Not only had he found some lanterns with a classical Chinese feel and hung them by the window, but he had also spread a lavish tablecloth over the dining table, going all out on the Mid-Autumn festivities.

"Oh, what a beautiful evening. Kaneki-boy, Ayanokoji-boy, you're finally back. The moonlight is so enchanting tonight-just perfect for a magnificent dinner." Koenji elegantly flicked his blond hair.

Ken Kaneki shook his head helplessly, took off his jacket, and turned to enter the kitchen.

The ingredients Koenji had prepared were certainly plentiful: top-grade wagyu, fresh seafood, and some seasonal vegetables.

Ken Kaneki deftly picked up the kitchen utensils and began preparing the ingredients.

The knife thudded as he chopped, and delicious dishes, each a feast for the eyes, nose, and palate, were brought out of the kitchen one after another and arranged neatly on the dining table.

Before long, the doorbell rang.

Ayanokoji, who was closest to the door, went over and opened it. Outside stood Shiina Hiyori in a soft, light-colored dress, carrying some fruit.

"Good evening, Ayanokoji," Hiyori greeted him with a smile.

"Good evening, Shiina." Ayanokoji stepped aside to let her in.

The three were long accustomed to Hiyori's presence. After all, this was hardly their first gathering in Ken Kaneki's dorm, and no one was surprised.

Hiyori entered the living room and heard the sound of chopping from the kitchen. She set down the fruit and quietly slipped inside.

At the sight of Ken Kaneki's back as he worked in the kitchen wearing an apron, a trace of tenderness flickered in her eyes. She approached and took the initiative to pick up the vegetables beside him and help.

The two worked together seamlessly in the kitchen, occasionally exchanging a few quiet words, with pink bubbles filling the air.

Soon, all the dishes were on the table, making for an incredibly lavish spread.

Ken Kaneki took chopsticks from the kitchen's sterilizing cabinet and walked over to the dining table to hand them out.

Yet after distributing utensils for himself, Hiyori, Ayanokoji, and Koenji, he somehow had an extra pair of chopsticks in his hand, which he gently placed at an empty seat.

Ayanokoji glanced at the extra pair of chopsticks, his eyes shifting slightly, but said nothing. Koenji, meanwhile, lifted his wineglass and sipped his red wine with an utterly unconcerned expression.

Just as the full moon hung high outside the window and everyone was about to eat, the dorm's doorbell suddenly rang.

Ken Kaneki went over and opened the door. A figure in a fitted black trench coat that hugged her full, graceful curves appeared in the doorway. It was none other than Class D's homeroom teacher, Sae Chabashira.

Seeing Ayanokoji, Koenji, and Hiyori seated inside, Sae Chabashira visibly froze. The explanation she had prepared instantly caught in her throat, and a flicker of panic crossed her eyes.

"Chabashira-sensei?" Ayanokoji looked somewhat surprised, clearly not having expected their homeroom teacher to appear here so late at night.

Under the students' gazes, Sae Chabashira forced down her inner panic, put on a stern expression, and adopted a businesslike manner.

"Don't misunderstand. I'm only here for a routine dorm inspection, to see whether you've broken any rules during the holiday."

At that point, her gaze strayed uncontrollably toward the table full of steaming, fragrant dishes, and her stomach most unhelpfully voiced a protest.

Watching her stubbornly try to save face, Ken Kaneki smiled slightly and went along with her. "Since you haven't eaten yet, sensei, why not sit down and join us? I happened to bring out an extra pair of chopsticks."

Sae Chabashira's ears reddened slightly, but with everyone watching, she finally took the offered way out without making a fuss.

With somewhat stiff steps, she walked over to the empty seat and sat down, beginning to mooch dinner with a perfectly legitimate excuse.

The meal ended in this harmonious atmosphere.

After dinner, they carried freshly brewed tea and the mooncakes Ayanokoji had brought out onto the spacious balcony.

The early autumn night breeze carried a slight chill. Not a single cloud marked the night sky, and the full moon was astonishingly large, casting a clear, cool radiance.

Looking up at the full moon, Ken Kaneki held his teacup as a faint ripple stirred in his eyes. His lips parted, and in a resonant voice that seemed to come from far away, he slowly recited a lyric poem:

"When did the bright moon first appear? Wine in hand, I ask the azure sky."

"In the palaces of heaven, I wonder what year it is tonight."

"I long to ride the wind back there, yet fear those jade towers and marble halls, where the heights are too cold to bear. I rise and dance with my clear shadow-how could it compare to being in the human world..."

As this "Prelude to Water Melody," steeped in classical Eastern philosophy and romanticism, rang out, everyone on the balcony froze, their faces revealing surprise and awe.

"People have sorrow and joy, partings and reunions; the moon has dimness and brightness, fullness and waning. Such things have never known perfection."

Ken Kaneki turned to look at Hiyori beside him, then glanced at Sae Chabashira, who was forcing a calm expression not far away, and softly recited the final two lines.

"May we live long, and share this lovely moon though a thousand miles apart."

Hiyori was somewhat entranced as she listened. She gently leaned against Ken Kaneki's shoulder, her eyes shimmering with emotion.

Though Sae Chabashira still wore a stern expression, her hand tightened slightly around her teacup as she watched the boy who seemed like light beneath the moon, a complicated look in her eyes.

Even Koenji, who usually cared only about himself, stopped playing with his hair for once and gazed quietly at the moon.

Meanwhile, Ayanokoji bit into a red bean paste mooncake, turning the poem's imagery over and over in his mind. He, too, seemed to feel a trace of an ordinary person's emotions. He was becoming more and more like a normal person.

They ate the sweet, fragrant mooncakes and admired the full moon overhead.

In this island school cut off from the world, a faint sense of longing flowed quietly through each of their hearts.

(Wishing everyone a wonderful Mid-Autumn Festival, with family by your side and all your wishes coming true. Here's a Mid-Autumn special chapter for you all.)