[The King's Avatar] The Misconstrued Situation With An Overdue Explanation

Chapter 40: Vivacious

1238 words, 6 minutes

"Don't ruin it," ordered Chen Guo, referring to the semi-elegant bun she and Tang Rou fixed up. They both wore dresses as well; Tang Rou's was a light pink, shin-length cheongsam  dress, and Chen Guo's was a short-sleeved, casual red dress that flowed above her knees.

She and Tang Rou went to the door and opened it. Akane smiled and watched from her seat at the piano, swinging her legs over so that the keys were behind her, but the person they let in was not who she was expecting.

Her limbs turned to ice. Her heart skipped 5 beats altogether.

Entering the door was the most handsome man she'd ever laid eyes on dressed in a black blazer, white shirt, black dress pants and black dress shoes.

His wild white hair wasn't gelled but she could tell he smoothed it back often with his hands to show his face more.

While Tang Rou and Chen Guo were chatting with him casually, a feeling in her gut stirred.

They planned to have her come to Chongqing... to celebrate Josaku's birthday?

"Yeah, she's over there," she heard Tang Rou say, motioning to Akane. Josaku turned to her and let himself in, walking towards her.

It all made sense now.

Chen Guo telling her to wear a fancy dress, her and Tang Rou looking eager when she said she practiced, them styling her hair so that her neck showed... they wanted her to wow him.

And now here they were, taking in each other's beauty while saying nothing for fear of casting away the magic. Akane didn't know what to think or say. She was so touched her friends helped bring her back to the man she loved.

Said man knelt on one knee before her. They made wordless eye contact. If he hadn't told her, she never would've guessed that he was sexually assaulted.

A few strands of hair collectively fell in front of his face, and Akane was bold enough to gently tuck it behind his ear. Not stopping there, she tenderly cupped his cheek, rubbing her thumb across his cheekbone and feeling connected once more.

She was so lost in his distinctive eyes that she didn't notice Chen Guo and Tang Rou standing behind him.

Chen Guo cleared her throat, snapping them both out of it. "Sorry to interrupt," she said, laughing a little. Then she looked at Josaku. "When is everyone else coming?"

"In a couple of minutes," he said. "I said 6:30PM, right?"

"Yes, sir," sang Tang Rou.

"Xiao Tang, what did the staff say about the food?" asked Chen Guo.

"They'll bring it up hot and fresh once everyone's here," she reported.