HPDBC Chapter 1248 Him
Chapter 1248 Him
Chapter 1248 Him
When Sana Minatozaki and her friends arrived, the area around the stage was already packed with people. The surroundings were densely packed with people, and those in the back rows were standing on tiptoe, holding up their phones to record.
By this time, the performance was nearing its end. EXO, the final act, had already taken the stage and greeted the audience. Soon after, the song "Osaka Summer" began to play.
Judging from this arrangement, it's clear that "Uchiage Hanabi" is scheduled to be performed last.
According to the usual procedure, the group's song should have been performed last, but unfortunately, "Osaka Summer" wasn't very well-known, while "Uchiage Hanabi" was just too popular, so...
The sound from the speakers crackled and popped. Although the sound quality wasn't great and not many people had heard the song before, the surrounding audience reacted enthusiastically. Cheers and cheers blended perfectly with the singing, making the already hot atmosphere even more exciting.
Although the three of them, including Sana Minatozaki, were quite far apart, they were in good positions and could clearly see the stage.
"This song is pretty boring, not as good as 'Uchiage Hanabi'."
One of the friends with short hair, watching EXO's performance on stage and feeling the intense atmosphere around him, excitedly stood on tiptoe, shouting as he watched. At the same time, he didn't forget to share his comments with the two people next to him: "They are really good-looking, EXO is mostly handsome guys, they are so much better than our local male idols in recent years!! Yuan-kun, ahhh!"
"...No matter how many times I see him, Chi Jingyuan is really handsome."
The short-haired friend was watching with great enthusiasm, but the long-haired friend wasn't interested in the song's performance at all. She was still more interested in gossip. After glancing at Chi Jingyuan on stage a few times, she suddenly thought of something, pulled Minatozaki Sana next to her, and asked curiously in her ear, "By the way, Sana-chan, is Jingyuan dating anyone? People in the industry should have heard something about this, right?"
"Forehead……"
This question stumped Sana Minatozaki.
Of course I've heard about it. I was also a witness to his previous relationship from beginning to end. I can say that no one knows him better than me except for the people involved.
Not just the previous paragraph... I pieced together the previous paragraphs myself from various sources.
Similar thoughts flashed through Sana Minato's mind... but while she could think that way, she couldn't say it out loud.
Even her best friend is hard to say.
Facing her friend's expectant gaze, Minatozaki Sana blinked and said, "Maybe... there is some truth to it. I've heard some things, but I don't know if they're true or not."
Even Sana Minatozaki, who wanted to help cover up for Chi Jingyuan, couldn't bring herself to say something like, "He's never been in a relationship."
Some things and rumors about Chi Jingyuan flashed through her mind, and she felt that if she said that, she would not be helping him, but rather insulting him.
"So you've been in a relationship?"
Upon hearing this, my friend's eyes lit up immediately. Instead of being angry, she looked like she knew it all along: "I knew it! Every girl would like a handsome guy like Jingyuan! I'm so envious of people who can date him... If I were an idol, I would definitely pursue him too!!"
"Haha, is it really as good as you say?"
Seeing her confident and expectant look, Minatozaki Sana chuckled and said, "A gossipy girl like you, he might dump you after a few days of dating."
As she spoke, Mina's face flashed through her mind... Even with Mina-chan's good qualities, she always ended up being dumped.
"So what if they dumped me? I didn't want to get married anyway."
But her friend didn't care at all. Instead, she puffed out her chest and argued, "Dating for a few days is still dating. Even if it's only for a day, it still proves my charm, doesn't it?"
"Besides, he's still Jingyuan-kun! Dating a guy like that for one day is better than dating those boring people for a year! I can brag about it for a lifetime~"
"..."
Sana Minatosaki was speechless at her friend's ideas and arguments. Although she complained and criticized on the surface, she felt a natural sense of agreement deep down.
"Oh, right, Sana-chan."
After exchanging a few words of gossip, my friend peeked at the stage on tiptoe, stared at Chi Jingyuan for a while, and then asked, "You've worked with Jingyuan before and met him several times... What's your impression of him?"
"impression?"
Hearing her ask this suddenly, Minatozaki Sana paused, then murmured and repeated it.
What impression does Chi Jingyuan leave on her?
Having known each other for so long, the impressions seem to have become mixed together and solidified, and the complex image is difficult to describe with a single word... so Sana Minatozaki really hadn't thought about this question.
So, if we were to pinpoint her deepest impression of Chi Jingyuan, what would it be...?
Handsome? Powerful? Talented? Funny? Jerk? Outrageous?
These are all her impressions of Chi Jingyuan, some of which may also be the first impressions of him from the outside world.
However, Sana Minatozaki might be a little different from others. For her, when talking about Chi Jingyuan, the deepest impression he left on her was probably...
Very...reliable.
When this thought came to mind, some long-ago scenes naturally appeared before Sana Minato's eyes.
At their first meeting at the club, although Mina was the one who was rescued by the hero, she was actually one of the people being protected by Ji Kyung-won.
And then there was that time when the rich young master was bullied at a dinner party. Although he stood up for Zhou Ziyu and beat the person up, she was also one of the people who was helped and who felt relieved.
Then came the most memorable stage mishap, when she, who had always been a footnote and background character, finally got to play the lead role.
Although the events were brief, whether it was being caught after falling weightlessly or stepping forward when the TV station covered his mouth... no matter when, it felt like as long as I was behind him, I didn't have to worry about anything.
That experience and the feeling are etched in my memory, and they are incredibly captivating.
Although it wasn't a good thing, and was even extremely dangerous, Minatozaki Sana would occasionally have absurd thoughts like 'Could we do it again?' when the night was quiet.
It was so close to disaster, but it was as if even if she fell again, she subconsciously believed he would still be there to catch her...
Even after seeing many of your true selves, you still have this naive and childish side.
Thinking of this, Sana Minatozaki gave a self-deprecating laugh, but she felt reassured.
...Yes, it is very reliable.
Of course, this excludes matters of the heart!
"In my impression, he's a very nice person."
Although she had her own thoughts, Sana Minatozaki acted completely differently. After thinking for a moment, she playfully winked at her friend, "I don't know about other things, but he's really handsome in person, and has a great presence. Anyway, his reactions are impeccable, hehehe~"
"I'm so envious of Sana-chan for being able to be friends with Keigen-kun~"
Watching the cheerful and lively Sana Minatozaki, her friend murmured to herself with longing. Just then, a familiar melody suddenly rang in their ears, accompanied by a burst of cheers and the excited shouts of their short-haired friend:
"Uchiage Hanabi is here!"
…………
"Ahhhh——!"
Screams erupted like a tidal wave, instantly engulfing the entire riverbank.
Chi Jingyuan strode onto the stage, the hem of his dark bathrobe fluttering slightly with his movements, casting a sharp arc in the lamplight. His appearance was like a flame falling into a sea of oil, causing the already boiling atmosphere to explode. The screams of female fans rose and fell, almost tearing the summer night air apart.
...His stage costume was gone, and he had changed into a men's bathrobe.
Yukata is a traditional attire for fireworks festivals, and audience members wearing various colored yukatas can be seen everywhere around the stage. But at this moment, everyone's attention is focused on him—even though it's the same style, he wears it with a cool and noble air. The dark fabric makes his skin appear even whiter, the belt cinches his waist to accentuate his tall and straight figure, and the faint outline of his collarbone is bathed in a soft glow under the lights.
There is a tension between tradition and modernity, asceticism and sensuality.
The stage was rudimentary, and the sound equipment even occasionally emitted faint electrical noises, but none of this could overcome the raging summer heat. The night breeze carried the dampness of the river, the aroma of grilled squid, and the fragrance of flowers and fruits from the girls' hair, mixed with deafening cheers. As he appeared and the song "Uchiage Hanabi" began, the entire summer night was pushed to its climax.
Amid cheers, Chi Jingyuan didn't interact much with the audience. After smiling and waving, he picked up the microphone, and the familiar melody began to play from the speakers behind him:
"I still think about it now."
"The coastline I looked around on that day."
…………
"Omo looks so cool! That outfit!"
On the far side of the stage, completely opposite to Sana Minatozaki's position, Nayeon couldn't help but exclaim in surprise when she saw the figure on the stage.
She pointed at Ji Kyung-won, who had already started singing on stage, with an eager look on her face as if she knew him and had seen him before, and kept saying to the people next to her, "That's a yukata! I saw him wearing one in Mina's photos... He's wearing a yukata again!"
To be honest, I had seen some photos of Mina and Ji Kyung-won wearing yukatas on Mina's phone, but photos are just frozen images, and just looking at them didn't evoke any particular feeling.
But when you see it in person now, that tall figure seems to have a soft focus under the stage lights. The dark yukata outlines the superior shoulder line, and the waist-cinching design makes the figure look even more upright.
More importantly, this style conveys a completely different temperament and flavor from the usual modern outfits, which truly gives people a strong sense of amazement. Lim Nayeon also understands why Mina likes those photos so much and treasures them every day.
"Kyungwon oppa looks so good in this outfit!"
Yoo Jeong-yeon's eyes lit up, and she picked up her phone and started taking pictures while standing on tiptoe.
"The color is different... but it is indeed quite cool, tsk tsk, a yukata."
Park Jihyo couldn't help but praise him, and then her voice lowered as she murmured something, as if she was thinking of something.
"What a show-off, wearing a yukata."
But Hirai Momo completely ignored them. She crossed her arms, creating a plump, rounded shape, and stood to the side, pouting and staring at the stage, muttering in a sour tone:
"Who are you wearing this for?"
"..."
"Wow……"
However, Yu Jung-yeon and the others couldn't hear her words anymore. As the "Uchiage Hanabi" performance began, the atmosphere around them was completely ignited, and the cheers never stopped. Especially during the chorus, the previously scattered singing voices gathered together, and almost everyone sang along.
This song is so popular that almost everyone can sing it. Coupled with the lively atmosphere and the grand volume in the summer night, even the evening breeze is tinged with the warmth of the melody.
Even face-to-face, some things are still hard to hear clearly.
Nayeon and the others strained themselves to say a few words, so they stopped and just looked at the stage together, singing along and making a supportive gesture with their right hands.
Meanwhile, Yoo Jeongyeon was taking pictures with her phone, sometimes pointing it at the stage, sometimes at Lim Nayeon and the others, all she could hear was the loud singing:
"Just hold your breath, and the almost vanished light..."
…………
While Ji Kyung-won was performing passionately on stage, an open-air grandstand some distance to the east of the stage area was rather quiet.
A gentle night breeze stirred, and the distant stage was bathed in a hazy glow. Mina leaned alone against the railing of the open-air stands, her slender fingers unconsciously tracing the cool metal. She leaned forward slightly, her gaze piercing through the bustling crowd, stubbornly fixed on that distant figure.
The distance from here to the stage is quite far, so it's actually a bit blurry to the naked eye.
The distance blurred the details on the stage, but to her, every movement was so clear that it seemed so close—perhaps not what her eyes saw, but what she had already imagined a thousand times in her mind.
The passionate music stubbornly carried here even from a great distance; the melody of "Uchiage Hanabi" and his voice lingered faintly in my ears as they traveled on the wind.
But the excitement belongs to them.
The atmosphere here, in contrast, seems somewhat desolate.
But Mina didn't seem to feel that way at all. She leaned on the railing, tilted her head, and quietly looked towards the stage in the distance, with a slight smile on her lips. She seemed to be enjoying the music, or perhaps she was thinking about a story from the past.
Compared to the riverbank, this place is a bit out of the way, and it's really not a good place to watch performances, let alone fireworks.
And the reason I came here...
Because this is the place where she and Ji Jingyuan watched fireworks together last year.
The moment Chi Jingyuan stepped onto the stage, Mina's breath hitched slightly. She stared at him, lost in thought.
Memories flooded back—she remembered that on this day last year, he was also wearing a yukata. The dark fabric accentuated his beautiful shoulder line, and she was truly amazed when she saw him in that outfit. Her face flushed, her heart raced, and she even had some lewd thoughts… She wondered if he had noticed her at the time.
...So, that's why you wore this yukata again today?
The thought suddenly popped into her mind, causing Mina to smile slightly. With her eyelashes lowered, the scenes from last year flowed through her eyes, her eyes crinkling, her pupils filled with images from that time.
He was standing right there then, so close you could smell the faint fragrance of his yukata. There were also many tourists scattered around watching the fireworks because they couldn't get seats. Amid the noise, his profile was illuminated by the fireworks.
This year, because the organizers changed the launch location for the fireworks and added more space inside the venue, the area has become much more spacious.
At this moment, she was the only one in front of the small terrace railing, her delicate shadow cast by the moonlight.
The stage over there finally reached its most rousing moment, and the emotions of all the audience members singing along were stirred up.
All the heat reached its peak at this moment.
Chi Jingyuan's forehead was already soaked with sweat, shimmering under the spotlight. His cheeks were flushed with passion, but his demeanor and emotions were at their best.
As the melody intensified, and after a period of build-up, the music suddenly surged, he picked up the microphone and finally sang the final chorus:
"With a snap, the light burst forth."
Fireworks came into view.
"Snapped."
As the song reached its climax, and his voice rang out, before the last note faded, a loud crack was heard, and several streaks of fire suddenly rose from the river surface, leaving dazzling trails as they shot straight into the sky, drawing a straight line in the air before exploding violently.
The roar blended perfectly with the music of "Uchiage Hanabi," and the dazzling light instantly enveloped the sky, overshadowing the moonlight and making it as bright as day.
As the waterfall of light cascaded down, Ji Jingyuan on the stage looked up, sweat streaming down his face.
Moonlight, lamplight, and fireworks intertwined, casting a glow upon Chi Jingyuan, turning the ink-black of his bathrobe into flowing gold, as if incorporating the brilliance of the entire summer night. Everyone gazed upon the figure enveloped in light.
At this moment, how many people are thinking of him?
It was the thousands of excited and cheering crowd surrounding them, singing in unison.
In a corner of the room, someone was ignoring their friends cheering and shouting beside them, silently staring at the stage in a daze.
Or perhaps she's in a quiet bleachers stand, with only this one clear view in her eyes.
I'll update later tomorrow.
(End of this chapter)