He only helped Otsuki Minoru and the others because he wanted to repay Miyagawa Shunzou's kindness, and because he couldn't stand this kind of bullying of men and women in public.

Therefore, he didn't care much about the thanks given by Otsuki Minoru and others.

"..." Otsuki opened his mouth and was about to say something more——

"Qingden!"

A beautiful red figure quickly ran out of the crowd beside him and ran straight towards Qingdeng.

The lines on Qingden's face softened instantly.

In contrast, at the same time, the lines on Otsuki Minoru's face tightened.

——Who is this?!

Otsutsuki looked extremely shocked, staring blankly at Mai Kinoshita who suddenly appeared and was now standing next to Aoto.

——She is... Tachibana's friend?

If 10 passers-by were asked to compare the looks of Otsuki Minoru and Kinoshita Mai, then 10 people would probably say without hesitation: Of course Kinoshita Mai is more beautiful.

In terms of appearance alone, Otsuki Minoru's face can only be considered beautiful, more beautiful than ordinary women.

If we use numerical values ​​to score... a perfect score of 100, Otsuki Minoru's appearance would probably range between 70 and 80 points.

It's a pretty high value.

However, Kinoshita Mai’s appearance is 90+…

What's more, Kinoshita Mai is still wearing makeup. The makeup on her face that Kiryu carefully designed for her has made Kinoshita Mai's appearance improve by several points, approaching the perfect score of 100 points.

Often times they were stunned by the sudden appearance of this little beauty.

Kinoshita Mai's beauty...that's not what shocked Otsuki Minoru the most.

What struck Otsuki Minoru the most was Mai Kinoshita's makeup... to be more precise, the makeup on her face.

Otsuki Minoru has a pair of sharp eyes that are very good at discerning the value of items due to her extensive exposure to all kinds of luxury goods.

She could tell at a glance: all the cosmetics on Mai Kinoshita's face, whether it was lipstick or light powder, eye color or eyebrow ink, they were all treasures among treasures!

Especially Kinoshita Mai's lipstick, Otsuki Minoru has never seen such a beautiful color, a natural "sasa red" color.

Such a beautiful color "Sasa-iro Red"... How much does it cost?

Tachibana... since when has there been such an iconic woman?

"Can you still walk?"

At this time, Qingto's voice woke up Otsuki Minoru from his sluggish state.

"If you can still walk, go to the hospital quickly. Your injuries look quite serious."

"Then, I'll take my leave now."

After finishing speaking, Qingden turned around neatly and prepared to leave.

"Ah, wait a minute!" Changci hurriedly called Qingden, "Mr. Orange, you saved us tonight. Such a great kindness cannot be repaid. Please allow us..."

"No need." Qing Deng said calmly without knowing it, "I'm not here to help you just to get your gratitude."

"Just think of our meeting tonight as a chance encounter."

"If we are destined to meet again in the future, let's meet again."

After saying these words, Qingto didn't make any further stops and led Kinoshita Wu away.

In front of Otsuki Minoru and others, a tall, free and easy back figure was left.

I don’t know how long time has passed...half a minute? 1 minute? The muddy consciousness made Otsuki Minoru’s sense of time confused.

She only knew that when she came back to her senses, the figures of Qingto and Mai Kinoshita had disappeared from her sight.

From the time Shimizu Eiichi and others left until now, Qingdeng didn't even look at her once...

Otsuki bit her lower lip tightly.

The eyes and expressions are complex and difficult to describe.

…

…

Ryogoku Bridge——

"I can finally watch the fireworks with peace of mind..."

Aoto sighed to Mai Kinoshita in a half-joking tone.

After successfully rescuing Otsuki Minoru and others, Aoto and Kinoshita Mai were finally able to enjoy the lively summer festival tonight.

The two of them rushed to Ryogoku Bridge as planned to find a good spot to watch the fireworks.

They were quite lucky - even though they were already late, they were still able to find a space for the two of them to stand on the left side of the Ryogoku Bridge adjacent to the bridge railing.

There are still about 5 minutes until the fireworks are set off... The bridge is already filled with an atmosphere of tension and anticipation.

"It turns out that the young woman just now is your best friend Qingdeng..." Kinoshita Mai said softly.

Just now, Aoden openly confessed to Mai Kinoshita about the young woman they had just rescued... Otsuki Minoru, his childhood sweetheart who had not seen each other for a long time because she was married to Nara.

"Well, yes." Qingdeng wrote lightly, "I was really surprised to be able to meet her twice tonight..."

"..." Kinoshita Wu raised her little head and stared at Qingden's calm face.

Seeing Qingden's appearance of not caring about Otsuki Minoru, Kinoshita Mai's beautiful eyes silently revealed a hint of joy and luck.

At this moment, the Nihonbashi Bridge was already crowded with spectators looking for a good seat to watch the fireworks.

Everyone, you squeeze me and I squeeze you, you push me and I push you...

"Ouch! Don't squeeze! Don't squeeze!"

"Why are you crowded? Didn't you see anyone here?"

"Oops! There are no more vacancies here! Stop pushing in here!"

…

Kinoshita was small and light, and in such a dense crowd, she was like a catkin floating in the storm.

Qingden has seen the "undercurrent" coming from behind hit Kinoshita Mai several times, causing Kinoshita to stumble.

"...A Wu, come here."

Qingdeng raised his hand and grabbed Kinoshita Wu's left wrist, pulled him in front of him, and then used both hands to support the bridge railing in front of him, letting Kinoshita Wu hide between his arms and in his arms.

.

Using her own body as a barrier, she built a safe space for Kinoshita Mai where she would never be hit by anyone again.

However, as a result, she and Qingdeng inevitably had close physical contact.

Aomori only had to lower his head to bury the tip of his nose in Kinoshita Mai's hair.

Kinoshita Mai only needed to lean back slightly to rest her little head on Aomori's strong chest muscles.

"!" The gorgeous red clouds instantly dyed Kinoshita Mai's cheeks.

Although Kinoshita Mai's back was turned to him, Qingto couldn't see Kinoshita Mai's expression at this moment, but he could faintly see thin streams of "steam" floating out from Kinoshita Mai's head and forehead.

It's embarrassing... Mai Kinoshita is not the only shy person - the person who created the current ambiguous situation is also tense up because of shame.

Qingto pulled Kinoshita Wu in front of him purely because he was worried that Kinoshita Wu would be knocked down by the crowd... He didn't think about it at all.

It wasn't until he pulled Kinoshita Mai into his arms that Qingto realized how bold and intimate his move was.

Kinoshita Mai's delicious body fragrance continuously penetrated his nostrils. Looking down from his current angle, he could still see the eye-catching sight of the yukata skirt being held up high by two huge objects...

Qingdeng could not help but become distracted.

In order to cover up his embarrassment, Aomori cleared his throat and pretended to ask Kinoshita Mai:

"Ah Wu, is the space too narrow? Do you want me to spread my arms wider?"

"No..." Kinoshita Mai, who was staring at her tiny toes, shook her head gently, repeatedly pinched the little hands folded in front of her, and said, "I think it's just right..."

The words have not yet fallen——

Woo——!

Fireworks rise.

Under the expectant gaze of everyone, the first fireworks finally rose into the sky.

Scattered red fireworks lit up the entire night sky.

The crowd screamed.

Ayoto and Kinoshita Mai didn't care about their ambiguous behavior at this time, and quickly raised their heads, holding their breath and admiring the fireworks that rose into the sky one after another and exploded.

This is the first time Qingdeng has seen the fireworks of this era since he traveled through time.

Is it because the fireworks production technology of this era is different from that of modern times? Or is it because there is a beautiful woman accompanying him? Qingdeng only felt that this grand fireworks show had a special flavor.
To be continued...