The clean and mellow music was mixed with singing, and Xi Deng couldn't help but tilt his head.

The person who sang was Suzuki, and his singing voice was very distinctive, and with the clear voice of the boy himself, he could be identified almost immediately.

Xi Lan stood up, patted off the cherry blossoms on his body, and looked directly at the person in front of him.

"Why is Morikawa-kun here?"

Morikawa changed his dress at night, and the navy blue kimono made him look extraordinary, his eyes were like stars, and his handsome face was always smiling, which naturally made people feel good about him.

"I have never been here before, but today I met Qiandao-kun, and suddenly became a little interested, so I came. I just heard music in the backyard, so I walked over, but I didn't expect it to be Qiandaojun. ”

Xi Deng smiled faintly, "Don't delay time for me, Morikawa-kun should go back to the front yard, I think someone is waiting for Morikawa-kun now." ”

Morikawa shook his head, "I think the scenery outside here is better than the inside, and Chido-kun's shakuhachi blows very well, can you blow it for a while?" ”

Xi Deng was about to refuse politely, when someone came.

The man was dressed in a red kimono, his posture was swaying, and his steps were light and slow, especially as if he had stepped on the beat of the drum with every step.

"Morikawa-kun, so you're here."

The man who came was Matsudaira, his face was painted snow-white, and only his red lips were the most conspicuous.

Morikawa smiled apologetically at Xi Deng, then turned back to Matsudaira and said, "I'm tired that Matsudaira-kun came out to look for me, let's go back now." ”

Matsudaira smiled charmingly, and it can be said that his smile is not inferior to that of any geisha in Gion. He gently reached out and grabbed Morikawa's sleeve, "Then let's go." ”

The beauty in the red kimono turned her head as she turned the hallway. He glanced at the young man who was standing calmly in place, the corners of his lips hooked slightly, and Matsudaira Kurihara's eyes under the candle flame were full of love.

***

Xi Lamp stood behind Suzuki, helped him remove the hair ornament from his hair, and then took a comb to help him comb his hair. Suzuki was washing his face, and it didn't take long for his sleeves to slip down again, and with a hum, Xi Deng put down the comb and helped him put his sleeves back up.

Finally Suzuki washed his face, he straightened up, and squinted at the little boy kneeling next to him, "Go and pour the water, you can go to sleep tonight." ”

This little boy is serving Suzuki and learning from Suzuki, and he will also become a geisha in the future.

The little boy was naturally very sleepy until now, and as soon as Suzuki let go, he immediately smiled and picked up the basin and walked out.

Suzuki rubbed his neck, "It hurts." He changed his position and simply lay on Xi Deng's lap, "There are too many people today." ”

"Hmm." Xi Lamp slowly combed Suzuki's hair, the other party's hair was long and thick, and it took a long time to comb it each time.

Suzuki said: "But today I met a person who surprised me, Morikawa Jun, he never came here, I saw him today, well, he looks good, no wonder many people like him." He suddenly remembered something, and his face showed a bit of disgust, "Matsudaira has been sticking to Morikawa-kun tonight, it's disgusting." ”

After he finished speaking, he raised his eyes and looked at the lamp, and found that the other party didn't care about it, and suddenly felt bored, but he felt very comfortable lying on the other party's lap, so comfortable that he didn't want to get up, "Qiandao, let's sleep together tonight." ”

Xi Deng was slightly stunned, Suzuki got up from the ground, approached Xi Deng's face, stared at the other party's gray-brown eyes, and said, "Let's sleep together." ”

With a flick of the gray-brown eyes in front of him, Suzuki got the answer he wanted.

"Okay."

***

Edo is always a little chilly at night.

The two teenagers leaned together together, and the bright-looking teenager hugged the waist of the other teenager and pressed his face to the place where the other could hear the heartbeat.

"Bang-bang-"

Listening to the slow and powerful heartbeat of the other party, it seems that there is infinite strength in this night, resisting some confusion about the future.

"Thousand Islands."

"Huh?"

"I was a little scared, and Aoki said that it would be a month before I officially picked up customers." The gorgeous young man's voice was muffled, "It turns out that time goes so fast." ”

Picking up customers means not just following the geisha who brings them to sing, sing, dance, and perform the tea ceremony, but also starting to stand alone on your own, and if you meet a guest who is willing to bid, it is possible to stay overnight.

The handsome young man frowned slightly, "Can you not pick it up?" ”

"If you don't, Aoki will kill me." Suzuki smiled lightly, he looked up, looked at Xi Lamp's face, and reached out to scratch the other man's chin.

Xi Deng moved his neck slightly, grabbed the other party's hand, "Sleep." ”

Suzuki snorted, "Qiandao, I'll make a lot of money, and I'll take you away with me." Get out of here and I'll live with you. ”

Xi Den lowered his eyes, and he did not answer Suzuki Mayu's words.

There is only one month, and how to rewrite the ending of a story destined to be a tragedy, either let Suzuki not fall in love with the protagonist, or let him fall in love with the protagonist, but make sure that the protagonist is also in love with Suzuki.

***

The second day cleared.

Matsudaira knelt in front of the vanity mirror, and without listening carefully, he could hear someone practicing martial arts below.

"Hey-hey-hey-"

He chuckled, and the little boy next to him looked at Matsudaira Kurihara a little puzzled, "What are Matsudaira-kun laughing at?" ”

"Nothing." Matsudaira put down the comb in his hand, "You go and bring something to eat." ”

Xi Deng wiped the sweat from his forehead and turned to look at a window on the second floor. He glanced at it and withdrew his gaze, put away his knife and went to the bathhouse to take a bath.

After taking a bath, Xi Den was called to Aoki's room.

Aoki took a sip of tea, put the teacup down again, he quietly glanced at the young man in front of him, and then said: "Suzuki is about to officially pick up customers, and besides, the selection of the next Oiran will start soon, Matsudaira is a little older after all, and I am going to let Suzuki participate this year." ”

The boy's back was straight, and when he heard Aoki's words, the hand on his thigh clenched violently.

"Is it okay not to let Suzuki pick up customers?"

"Oh?" Aoki glanced at the flowers blooming outside the window, "Then I can't raise you for nothing, when Suzuki begged me, I let you go, and now you beg me to let him go, so who will let me go?" Now that business is sluggish, if we continue like this, our store can be closed. ”

Xi Deng was silent.

Aoki said again: "I called you here in the hope that you will not do anything impulsive, no one can enter the Gion and leave, this is a quagmire, if you step into it, you will not be able to clean it and go out again." Women are better than men, and women may marry back home if they have guests, but men—"

Xi Deng lowered his head, "I can make money." ”

"Three-year-old Suzuki told me this, he protected you, you have to thank him."

After Aoki said this, he saw the young man in front of him kneeling down completely. He was completely snug to the floor, revealing his long, fair neck.

Aoki didn't move, "What do you mean by that?" ”

"I ......"

But the boy vomited.

Aoki suddenly reached out and pinched the young man's chin, forcing the other party to look up, his eyes were not warm, "Qiandao, no one will blame you for being a coward, but again, no one wants you to be a hero." ”

The young man's gray-brown eyes widened slightly, and his usually bright eyes seemed to be covered with a layer of gray.

Outside the window, the flowers bloomed like the sea, pink and white, the branches were like the slender arms of a young girl, and a thin layer of flowers fell at the bottom of the tree, and those flowers covered the mud, but once the flowers were brushed away, there was still mud underneath.

You can't dislike mud, because without mud, there would be no such beautiful scene.

The young man gritted his teeth, his face gradually turned red, and he was trying to control his feelings.

Aoki withdrew his hand, his long eyelashes slightly together, covering the love under his eyes, "Thousand islands." ”

The boy's body trembled slightly, and his fingernails dug into his palms. Aoki noticed, and before he could speak, he heard the boy say, "There must be a way, right?" Aoki-kun. ”

A pleading tone, a humble gesture.

Aoki closed his eyes, "Qiandao, you go out, Suzuki is ready, you should be ready too." ”

***

When Suzuki found him, he had been standing under the cherry blossom tree in the backyard for a long time. The petals fell all over his shoulders, and his back was silent.

"Thousand Islands."

Suzuki called softly.

The man he shouted did not look back.

Suzuki hesitated, walked over slowly, and he walked over to Xi Deng, "How are you-"

His words came to an abrupt end.

Because he saw that the face of the person in front of him was red, but the crystal tears kept flowing down.

He had never seen each other cry, whether it was being punished by a samurai master for winter, standing topless in the snow, or the humiliation of not stopping until he was a teenager.

Qiandao is good, but everyone knows that he is the one who is protected, and Suzuki is the one who sacrifices, so Qiandao becomes a useless guy who can only live by the protection of his friends.

If the people of Gion are already stuck in a swamp, then the Kuril is the one who has mud on the soles of his feet, but the rest of the place is clean.

In addition to envy, everyone will say that Qiandao is the one who can only live cleanly by sacrificing his friends.

When Suzuki was learning to dance with his master as a child, he would hear a sound coming from the window.

"Qiandao, why are your clothes dirty again? Do you know that your clothes are expensive, and there are only two sets of clothes, and your one is not dry yet? ”

"I'm sorry."

"Excuse me? You don't want to have dinner today, you like to get your clothes dirty so much, just wash everyone's clothes. ”

“…… Good. ”

The five-year-old self learned to dance, sing, and tea every day, while the five-year-old Qiandao had to work, running errands for many people, doing laundry, and sometimes even washing until late at night, because he was not a geisha, and his hands were rough and fine. He didn't mean to get his clothes dirty, but every time he ran errands for others, he was bullied by other kids.

The children threw mud and stones at him, calling him useless.

Suzuki sometimes bumps into others bullying him, once or twice Suzuki will help him fight back, and after a long time, Suzuki doesn't care.

"Why are you so useless? Don't you know how to call back? They humiliate you, don't you know how to refute? ”

But the Thousand Islands never said it.

He was just silent.

I don't know when, but the person who was always bullied has grown up and grown into a handsome and tall boy. He was polite to everyone, his eyes were clear, his life never seemed to be gloomy, he didn't look like a Gion.

"I'm sorry, I'm so useless."

The boy who was always silent finally spoke up, and he didn't look good when he cried, but even like a child. He wanted to try to control his tears, but his tears were uncontrollable.

"Crying for what? You're so ugly. ”

Suzuki whispered, tiptoe slightly, and wiped the tears from the other's face with a handkerchief.

"I'm sorry, Suzuki."

"I see, so don't cry."