Chapter 31 – October 14th (Part 1)
Novel Title: 跨越千万星辰 (Across Thousands of Stars)
Author：御小凡 (Yu Xiaofan)
Translator: K (@kin0monogatari)
Protagonists: 泽田纲吉 (Sawada Tsunayoshi -MC), 六道骸 (Rokudo Mukuro -ML)
*Please read at Novels Space.space, the original site of translation. TQ*
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During the fireworks show that day, they were not able to see the fireworks in the end. This is because of the sudden heavy rain in the second half of the show. So the crowd quickly dispersed.
Tsuna was led by Mukuro as they ran against the flow of people in the rain. When they finally found shelter in the convenience store, both of them were almost drenched. As soon as they stepped into the store, they were shivered by the air-conditioner inside.
Originally, in order to have something to eat at the evening market, they didn’t eat too much for dinner. There is no need to be picky in this situation now. Tsuna bought instant oden cooked in the store. No matter how low the standard is, it can’t be said that it was not too delicious. Mukuro only poked a fish ball and shut his mouth tightly after that.
Tsuna, who bought two servings, was speechless. So he had to stuff the rest into his stomach alone.
Apart from them, there were other people taking shelter from the rain in the convenience store. The store seemed very lively. The rain which falls heavily outside can be seen through the huge glass walls knocking anxious ripples in puddles on the ground. However, this shower of rain came quickly and went by quickly. It stopped only within ten minutes.
It’s just that both of them were wet so they just wanted to go home and change their clothes. They were no longer in the mood to wait for the fireworks show.
On the way home, there was a bit of embarrassment. There were few pedestrians around. So Tsuna answered a phone call from work, explaining something. He didn’t stop talking until he got to his apartment lobby.
There was another woman who took the elevator with them. She seemed to have been caught off guard by the heavy rain. Her bangs stuck to her forehead wetly and she sneezed during the process.
Tsuna checked his mobile phone a little anxiously. When he received the call just now, he felt that there was something wrong with the sound. Mukuro leaned on the armrest on the other side, thinking about something silently.
The woman got off at the 4th floor. There was only an inaudible sliding sound in the elevator and Tsuna thought that the phone’s speaker was still broken when he heard Mukuro say, “Your birthday is coming soon.”
“Speaking of which, that’s right…” Tsuna held his mobile phone with two fingers and thought to himself for a while. October 14th is still more than a month away.
With a ding-dong sound, the elevator reached their floor.
“That day.” Taking a step forward, Mukuro suddenly turned his head and smiled with his eyes bent, “Remember to go home for dinner.”
“Oh…okay…” As he agreed, Tsuna was a little surprised that Mukuro would specifically mention this. In the past, both of them celebrated their birthdays with each other but there seemed to be no special reminder. It just happened automatically. Birthdays are actually nothing special to them. Tsuna usually buys things for Mukuro and Mukuro also helps him to buy things from time to time. Not to mention the usual food and clothing costs, who buys what does not matter.
Maybe the dinner will be a big one. But now even the cake has been waived. If you want to eat sweets, you will naturally buy them even if it is not your birthday. The word birthday has become a part of daily life without the two of them even realising it.
This time, the kid also specifically mentioned it to himself. He wondered if there was any special arrangement?
‘White Lover Platinum Series’ autumn advertisements replaced the summer part as early as the beginning of autumn. In September, the weather has not completely cooled off and the promotional video with the theme of maple leaves is filled with a strong taste of autumn.
In just over a month, Tsuna’s understanding of the entire sales process has been forced to rise to a new height. But what reassures him is that in terms of the market feedback after the advertisement is launched, people are full of confidence in the official launch of ‘White Lover Platinum Series’. It should not be a big problem to complete the set goal.
But Tsuna’s peace of mind didn’t last long. The director, who usually didn’t talk and didn’t care about things, delivered a task at this time for Tsuna to increase the sales set before by another two percent.
He got anxious all at once.
“Where are you going with the face of facing death?” When Reborn opened the door and came in, he saw Tsuna frowning bitterly. He couldn’t help raising his eyebrows.
Tsuna wiped his face awe-inspiringly, “I’m going to see Director Hibari.”
“For that increased sales?”
Hearing his question, Tsuna raised his head. But no clue could be seen from Reborn’s face. Unsure of what the other party was thinking, after hesitating for a few seconds, he still nodded guiltily, “You know about it?”
“Of course. I was the one who brought it up.”
**!
Tsuna almost couldn’t hold back and was about to cuss out. He testified to Reborn with an incredulous expression, “You…do you know what this means?”
By the way, when did he and Hibari obtain an alliance?!
“Is this supposed to have any ‘meaning’? With such a fuss, do you have to keep adding frustration to me as your tutor?”
“What is such a thing?!” Finally, Tsuna still couldn’t control the volume of his tone. But when he saw Reborn approaching, he couldn’t help but take a step back, “The sales made before have already taken into account the saturation of the market. You now want to increase it by two percent, how is that possible?”
“How could it not be possible, Mr. Deputy Director?” Using honorifics at such a time gave a feeling of being underestimated by the other party. After holding back for a long time, Tsuna still couldn’t utter a single word. In the end, he just grinned bitterly.
If he dared not fight with the other party, he could only make life difficult for himself.
With his higher-ups being so tough on him, Tsuna had to be tough on his subordinates like a rabbit in a hurry. In the past, when encountering excuses from the department, he felt that if it was harmless, he would just let it go. But in the face of such harsh conditions, he had no room to retreat. So he could only bite the bullet and refute them one by one.
“What I need is not an excuse. But a method.”
Tsuna also finds it quite miraculous that he can say such words with a serious face now. But to his surprise, the effect of doing this is much better than putting on a flattering face and saying nice things.
The weather at this time has turned cold unknowingly. On October 14th, Tsuna himself was reminded of his birthday only by a text message from Mukuro.
He was frightened to ask if he needed to work overtime. The other party was sitting behind the mahogany table. He just shot a tungsten steel dart accurately on the red heart of the dart board on the opposite wall with a casual posture.
The dumb Tsuna shifted his gaze to the dart board like a clock face and couldn’t help but wonder if such a dangerous thing could actually be played in the office. Well, at least… How about pulling out the dart needles and replacing them with high-magnetism ones? His personal friendship and sponsorship ………
“Don’t worry. Don’t put on such an uneasy look. There are no other things scheduled for you today.”
Reborn’s words successfully pulled him out of his inner thoughts. Tsuna let out a snort.
“But if you apply to work overtime on your birthday.” He picked up a dart from the neat row on the table again. Slightly squinting one eye to measure the distance and route, “I will be very happy to see that happen.”
The pointed up dart flew out quickly and steadily, hitting the double division beautifully, which represented the end of the round.
“You…you remember…” Tsuna didn’t expect that Reborn actually remembered his birthday. He felt a little bit sweet after his initial surprise. But after going back and forth like this, he suddenly remembered that Reborn’s birthday seemed to be not too far away from his own, “Well, Reborn, your birthday is…”
“It’s already passed.” Reborn interrupted him. He picked up his hat from the table and flicked the brim of the hat.
Tsuna felt ashamed…
It was unknown if it’s because of the guilt, but on the way back, Tsuna didn’t dare to look at Reborn. The other party also just kept silent uncharacteristically. He was not even talking about the routine of the daily summary. Just when Tsuna unbuckled his seat belt and was about to get out of the car, he spoke his first sentence in the car today.
“Buon Compleanno”
Startled by the sudden ‘happy birthday’ spoken in Italian, Tsuna still clings to the doorknob and turns half of his body to look at Reborn. The other party also looked at him. Although the corners of his mouth did not twitch, the peaceful smile in his eyes was unmistakable.
“Thank you.” Feeling relieved, Tsuna returned a smile. He did not rush to close the door after getting out of the car, “Be careful on the road.”
Reborn only nodded as an answer. Tsuna closed the car door and waited for the Mercedes to drive away as usual before turning and entering his apartment.
When he got home, the dishes on the table were ready. This does not coincide with the time when Mukuro gets out of school. Tsuna looks disapprovingly at Mukuro in the kitchen. The kid was simply tidying up the kitchen counter.
“Did you come home early today?”
“Yes. There’s only self-study class in the afternoon.” Mukuro dried his hands with a dry towel and smiled at Tsuna, “I can’t let you come back on your birthday being hungry.”
...Even when you skipped self-study class, your smile is so innocent. The smile was so pure that Tsuna almost swallowed all the words of reproach, “You can’t skip class without authorization. Can you be a little self-conscious? This year you will take the university entrance exam.”
Mukuro just smiled and didn’t answer.
Tsuna was surprised by his gentle reaction. He didn’t even refute a single word? Such a good temper tonight?
“If you don’t eat now, the food will be cold.” Putting the last tableware on the table, Mukuro smiled until his eyes curled up. The corners of his mouth formed a cunning arc.
While unbuttoning the cuffs of his shirt, Tsuna walked to the dining table and sat down. Tsuna looked at Mukuro suspiciously, “I think that something is wrong with you tonight. Is it because today is my birthday?”
How could he be so happy as if he was the one who was going to get some gift?
“Of course.” As he spoke, Mukuro took out a small gift box. He placed it on the table and pushed it in front of Tsuna, “Happy birthday.”
The red and black matching wooden gift box looks very textured. The square front is marked with the Tissot logo.
A watch?
He opened it. The white steel band and the silver-white dial gave an impression of a clean feeling. There were not too many patterns on the surface. It was very simple and elegant.
“Although it’s not expensive, I feel that this one is very suitable for you. So I bought it.” Unexpectedly, Mukuro reached out and grabbed Tsuna’s wrist. The sudden grab surprised Tsuna slightly so he raised his eyes to look at him.
“Look. Your wrist is very thin. So this one will look good on you.”
When he said this, Mukuro’s fingers rubbed back and forth on the skin on the inside of the wrist. It was as if he was determining the thickness. Tsuna felt a little uncomfortable with this action. But at the same time, he felt that it didn’t make sense to stop him. After a few seconds of embarrassment, he took the watch and put it on his wrist. He then withdrew his hand, “Have you used all of your pocket money on this?”
Tissot is indeed not a luxury watch. As far as the Swiss-made brand is concerned, its price can already be said to be close for ordinary people to purchase. But that’s only for working class people. How can this watch that costs 50,000 to 60,000¥ be bought easily by a high school student? It is not something that can be bought casually.
Mukuro didn’t answer. He just looked at him with a smile. Tsuna felt embarrassed when he saw this smile. He put his right hand on the watch of his left wrist, “It’s beautiful. I like this one very much. Thank you.”
“Really?” Mukuro asked in a low voice. But it sounded more like he was asking himself. The last word seemed to roll out of his mouth with a frivolous ending, “I like this one very much, too.”
And Tsuna’s smile froze on his face. The hand that was withdrawn just now was held again. It was then pulled over without room for refusal. The other party’s lips touched his fingertips lightly.
It’s like encountering the first snow. It melts at the touch, leaving only a moist breath.
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*Author’s Note: Everyone can prepare a bowl, there will be ‘soup’ in the next chapter. Regarding the price of Tissot, the price I saw on the official website is about 4000¥. And if converted into Japanese yen, it will be nearly 50K. For high school students, this price is considered extravagant. But Mukuro said that it was not expensive ←←. -YXF
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*Translator’s Note: What the author meant with ‘soup’ is that the next chapter will be a mature chapter. I’m just forewarning you guys. It’s triggering content. It will be non-consensual. Don’t say I didn’t warn ya. *sigh* -K
Next update: Tomorrow. *This novel updates frequency had changed to daily.*
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