————? ————?!!
Upon hearing Akira's statement, Rin froze in place, her mind instantly going blank, completely unable to think.
But after Akira made up his mind to say those words, he relaxed slightly and smiled, saying, "Anyway, I hope to use this song to express my feelings to that person."
"So, 'Christmas Song', I hope you like it."
This 'Christmas Song' was a single released by the band back number in November 2015, and it has since almost become the exclusive anthem for couples during Christmas in Japan.
This song subsequently became back number's retirement pension.
But that is not important.
After confirming their mutual feelings, Akira began preparing for this confession plan.
After some thought, he decided to try conveying his feelings to her in a way that Rin was familiar with.
And so, he ultimately decided to choose this song.
Once the decision was made, it wasn't just about writing the song; it also included practicing singing in private, as well as spending money to hire this band—it could be said that it took quite a lot of effort on his part.
But now, still harboring a bit of nervousness, he began to sing over the accompaniment:
"The sound of bells from somewhere rings out, inappropriate words emerge, the cold is also pleasant. Huh? I have actually fallen in love like this. It's all because of this song looping on Christmas Eve, all because of these intentionally dazzling streets."
Logically speaking, he is not the type of person who likes to do these flashy things.
However, reflecting on his time spent with Rin—the accumulation of their feelings did not have particularly grand or dramatic elements.
Instead, it was ordinary and plain, slowly moving from acquaintance to familiarity, step by step drawing closer to each other, confirming each other's feelings, and naturally arriving at this point as if it were destined.
Of course, he actually likes this plain and grounded feeling.
If it were replaced by the kind of love at first sight found in novels, or that kind of overwhelming passion and intensity, he might actually want to run away.
Because in reality, this kind of inexplicable enthusiasm usually doesn't mean the other person really likes you, but rather that they want to harvest your kidneys.
That said, perhaps it is precisely because their relationship has unfolded so naturally that now, at this final push, he hopes to create a slightly different memory for her.
It's just that he wonders what she will think of his self-assertion this time?
But regardless, there is no backing out now.
"If possible, I hope you will always be by my side, I don't want to go anywhere else. I hope your mind is filled with everything about me, but if I convey such feelings to you, it would be too lame. The words I want to say are too long, and in the end, only one sentence remains: I like you."
Honestly, although Akira had practiced diligently, his performance of this song could only be described as average.
Fortunately, as the creator of this song, no matter how he sang it, no one could question it.
And more importantly, at least the emotions contained in his singing were absolutely real.
Rin stared fixedly at Akira, quietly listening to the lyrics he sang, the emotions in her eyes gentle and rich, like a pool of spring water that wouldn't melt.
After experiencing the initial chaos, at this moment, she had regained her calm, and her entire demeanor became increasingly gentle.
Before this, although she believed her observations shouldn't be wrong, she still felt a faint sense of unease in her heart, fearing that everything was just her own wishful thinking.
But at this moment, she was finally able to confirm that their feelings were mutual.
They liked each other.
The moment she confirmed this, she felt an unprecedented sense of relief, followed immediately by surprise, being moved, and happiness.
Various emotions mingled together, even making her feel like crying.
Regardless, they had finally reached this point.
However, as the song gradually drew to a close, and her thoughts returned to reality, she felt a trace of worry: what should she do next?
"The words I want to say are too long, in the end only one sentence remains: I like you. Until you hear it, no matter how many times, I will say it: I like you."
As the song ended, the onlookers seemed to wake from a dream, their applause going from sparse to thunderous, which surprised even Akira himself.
Only then did the audience begin to discuss among themselves, realizing that their impression of this song was very unfamiliar; it seemed to be an original track.
But what was certain was that it was a very pleasant and fitting original song.
Consequently, some audience members even wanted to go up and talk to Akira to ask him about the details of the song.
However, he had no time to deal with these things right now.
After thanking the band members beside him, he squeezed out of the crowd and came to Rin's side, smiling at her, "Let's leave here first."
"?"
Although according to the plots of entertainment novels, one should take advantage of the momentum to confess after singing, he didn't like doing that.
Expressing his feelings to her in public was one thing, but confessing to her in public and begging for a response was another.
Perhaps this was just his personal feeling, but he felt that this approach had a sense of coercing the other person.
Regardless, he did not want to give Rin any possibility of feeling that kind of implication at this moment.
After speaking, he took it upon himself to grab Rin's wrist and led her away.
Rin did not resist, obediently following him away from the scene, and after realizing what happened, her heart could not help but warm.
However, at the same time, she finally made up her mind, so she quickened her pace to his side and said to him, "Mochizuki-kun, can you come with me to a place?"
"? Well, of course I can ————"
Akira was a bit surprised by Rin's sudden request, but he still let go of her hand, preparing to let her lead the way.
However, the moment he let go, she turned around and took his hand instead.
?!!
He looked at her in surprise, but Rin still maintained a calm expression.
It was just that the blush on her face had silently betrayed her.
Seeing this, Akira smiled, said nothing, and obediently followed her all the way to a bench on the side of the street.
Although it was just a common bench on the side of the street, Akira was all too familiar with it.
"This is ————?"
"It's the place where we first met."
As she spoke, she took a small picture frame from the shoulder bag she was carrying and, feeling a bit shy, handed it to him with both hands —
"Actually, I also prepared something I wanted to show you. Please accept it."
"This is ————?"
Akira carefully took it with both hands, and after seeing the contents clearly, he was slightly stunned —
The painting framed in the frame depicted the scene where he and Rin first met.
He was sitting on the bench, drawing the street scene in front of him in his sketchbook, while Rin, for some reason, had appeared beside him, silently watching him draw.
Rin had been his assistant many times, so he could easily recognize through the brushstrokes that this was the result of her own handiwork.
Most importantly, in the corner of the entire painting, these words were written —
"I like you."
At this moment, Akira suddenly looked up at Rin, only to find that she was also gazing at him with affection in her eyes, her lips trembling slightly, as if she wanted to say something.
No, at least letting her say this first would be too lame!
So, almost at the same instant, both of them spoke in unison: "Please go out with me!" × 2