Chapter 301 Confinement

Matsumae Shinharu was wearing a white shrine maiden costume and standing in front of the altar of Matsumae Shrine. Beside her, Chitose Haruki was looking at her intently.

The two stood in the open space in the backyard, surrounded by the empty snowy landscape and the pine forest weighed down by the white snow.

Matsumae Shinharu closed her eyes and started to dance slowly. Her movements were graceful, and her toes tapped lightly on the snow. As she spun, the green bamboo branch in her hand swayed gently, and the snowflakes around her seemed to change with the rhythm of her dance steps.

Yang Kui Chitose stared at her intently and thought that Xinchun was very beautiful in her shrine maiden costume.

Xinchun just said that the Matsumae family's shrine maiden dance is a traditional dance passed down from generation to generation in the Matsumae family. It is divided into three chapters: "Dance of Spiritual Light", "Steps of Divine Inspiration", and "Dance of Homecoming"... This should be the first chapter, right?

After Matsumae Shinharu finished her demonstration, Yang Kui Chitose went up to try it, and the result was obvious. She couldn't dance well at all.

“I’ve been studying this for the whole morning. It’s so difficult.”

Her frustrated look made Matsumae Shinchun chuckle and say, "It's okay, everyone is like this at the beginning."

After comforting Chitose Haruki, Matsumae Shinchun suddenly saw Fujii Itsuki secretly waving at her from the other side of the door outside the yard. So after instructing Chitose Haruki to practice the moves she had just taught her several times, she walked over.

"teacher?"

"Would you like to go for a walk in the back hills together?"

Matsumae Shinharu turned around and glanced at Yang Kui Chitose who was still figuring out her posture inside.

Fujii Itsuki: "It's okay, don't worry about Chitose for now, let her practice on her own first."

Matsumae Shinchun took a look at his face, then nodded, and followed him out wearing her shrine maiden costume.

Matsumae Shinchun took a light step forward, her skirt sweeping across the snow, leaving a trail of light footprints. Fujii Itsuki led the way, occasionally looking back at her, and saw that her white shrine maiden costume seemed to blend in with the surroundings in the snowy scene, looking particularly holy and beautiful.

The two men walked through the backyard of the Matsumae family and followed the path towards the back mountain.

On the way, Fujii Itsuki tilted his head and whispered, "How is Chitose doing?"

"It's not great, but Chitose is trying to learn. Since the training started yesterday, Chitose hasn't had much rest."

"So hard?" Fujii Itsuki raised his chin, "Then why did she tell me last night that she didn't want to continue practicing?"

Matsumae Shinchun smiled and said, "Perhaps Chitose wanted to give the teacher a surprise."

As they talked, the two had already reached the slope of the back mountain. Fujii stopped and looked at the snow-covered mountains and vast pine forests in the distance. The wind blew gently, bringing a hint of chill.

"Xiao Jiuhua told me that you often played around here when you were little?"

"Ah?" Matsumae Shinchun reacted quickly. Seeing the scene in front of him, he nodded as if he was lost in memory, "Indeed."

"Although Xiao Jiuhua promised to stay with everyone during the New Year, she didn't seem to want to come out during the New Year festival." Fujii Itsuki looked at the girl.

Matsumae Shinchun lowered his eyes and looked a little lonely, "After all, it is the Matsumae family's New Year's Festival."

"The relationship between her, me, and the Matsumae family." Matsumae Xinchun paused, his eyes a little lonely, "When we were young, Jiuhuayue and I talked about everything. We even always ran to the pine forest in the back mountain together and did silly things. At that time, the Matsumae family was not as complicated as it is now."

The girl's voice was soft and seemed far away in the snowy forest. "Until family affairs became more and more complicated, a gap gradually developed between her and me because of the distance."

Fujii Itsuki was silent for a moment, then whispered, "She used to say that her favorite thing was playing in the mountains with you, making snowmen, flying kites, and even hiding in an igloo to chat. She seemed to miss that time very much."

".Really? Did Xiaoyue tell the teacher?"

Fujii Itsuki nodded, "Just yesterday."

Matsumae Xinchun sighed softly, "In the past, Xiaoyue and I didn't have too many concerns. But later, I became one of the people she least wanted to touch. She developed disgust and resistance towards everything in the Matsumae family, even towards me. I know she was in pain, but she never told me and I never had a chance to explain or express myself. In the end, because of your matter, Xiaoyue and she..."

“But this contradiction is over, right?”

"Yeah." The girl did not deny it.

".What do you think of the relationship between you two now, Xinchun?"

"Friends. But they are not friends at all. If one day you, teacher, were not there to maintain the relationship between us, I am afraid that Xiaoyue and I would no longer have any contact. Qiansui would not be like this."

Fujii Itsuki stopped and looked at her deeply, "So Xinchun, do you still want to reconcile with Xiaoyue completely?"

"of course."

Fujii Itsuki laughed, "I'll be honest. The reason I asked you out this time was actually partly because of Jiuhuayue's idea. She also wanted to reconcile with you, but she didn't know how to do it. Well, I should say that neither of you knew how to do it."

Matsumae Xinchun also smiled slightly, "Teacher, now that Xinchun and Xiaoyue have said that, they still feel dissatisfied with each other when they meet eyes."

"This is human nature. After all, it's strange that you can let go of the past so easily. The accumulation between you is too deep, and it can't be solved so easily. But I think that since you are both willing to try, there must be a way."

He paused, and his tone softened, "As long as both people have a heart, many things are not as difficult as imagined."

Matsumae Shinchun looked at him with a complicated look in her eyes, as if she was thinking about every word he said.

Fujii Itsuki reached out and patted her shoulder. "You don't need to make up for the past perfectly. It's best to be honest and give her space and a chance."

Matsumae Xinchun nodded silently, her eyes brightened a little: "Teacher, you are right. Xinchun has actually been avoiding her, afraid of hurting her again, so she has never dared to take the initiative to contact her again."

"So, you have an idea?"

“Well, I have a little clue.”

Fujii Itsuki was relieved, "That's good."

"only."

"only?"

Matsumae Shinchun did not answer immediately, but asked: "Teacher, what do you think Xiaoyue cares about and dislikes the most?"

“Most offensive.”

Fujii Itsuki pinched his chin and recalled the conversation he had with Jiuhuayue yesterday. He looked at Matsumae Xinchun, "Do you want me to talk seriously?"

"Ah."

Fujii Itsuki thought for a while and said directly:

"First, there is the gap between your families. You two were equal and close when you were young, but as the Matsumae family severed ties with the Kuka family, you still retained your status and life as the eldest daughter of the Matsumae family, while the Kuka family declined rapidly. She fell from being the eldest daughter of the Kuka family to having nothing. This gap made Kuka Yue feel unfair and frustrated. She was dissatisfied with everything she had lost, and your glamorous life, Xinchun, became a painful contrast to her."

Matsumae Shinchun listened carefully and nodded.

"The second is family pressure. Xinchun, you also know Xiao Jiuhua's background, right?"

"I understand this."

"Besides, it's about your past joke. Xiaoyue said that when you came to Tokyo that time, you said you were interested in Takarazuka, which indirectly destroyed the results of her hard work and forced her to work hard for another year. This is definitely a betrayal to Xiaoyue.

"As for the end, it was her parents' indifference to her that exacerbated her pain. Xinchun, everything about you reminds Jiuhuayue of what she has lost, the fate she cannot control, and the recognition she has not received.

"You two are in a relationship that is being pushed into a state of conflict by these deep-seated pains and unresolved misunderstandings." "Get it?"

Matsumae Shinchun nodded again. She heard it very clearly and seemed to understand it completely. She looked very excited.

"Thank you, teacher! Now I understand! I'll go find my aunt now!"

"Hey! You haven't told me what method you have come up with! Xinchun!"

Fujii Itsuki looked at the girl's back as she walked away in the forest, and shook his head with a smile.

It was afternoon, behind the main hall of Matsumae Shrine.

Matsumae Yoshiko was about to check the ingredients for the Kokoharu Festival when she bumped into Matsumae Kokoharu who was running over in a panic. She immediately frowned and said in a serious tone:

"Why are you running so fast?"

"Ah? Auntie! I was just looking for you."

"What's the matter?" She glanced around and saw that preparations for the festival were in full swing. People were coming and going inside and outside the shrine, and the atmosphere was particularly tense.

Matsumae Shinchun took a breath and tried to adjust her breathing, but her eyes revealed a kind of determination. "Aunt, I have something to discuss with you."

Matsumae Yoshiko nodded calmly: "Go ahead."

"It's about Xiaoyue." Matsumae Xinchun paused, as if thinking about how to start. She looked at Matsumae Yoshiko, with a hint of helplessness in her eyes, "Aunt, you know about her past with the Matsumae family..."

Matsumae Yoshiko's expression remained serious. She looked at Xinchun without commenting, "Go on."

"Actually, I decided to invite her to our festival." Matsumae Shinchun's voice was a little low.

"Invite the girl from the Jiuhua family to participate in the festival?"

Matsumae Yoshiko immediately remembered the blood relationship between the two of them.

"I have no objection."

"But aunt, the problem is that Xiaoyue doesn't like to come because of her past. I want to invite her, but I don't have any good reason."

".What.do.you.want?"

"Aunt, I want to have one more performance at the festival."

Matsumae Yoshiko chuckled after hearing this, "So you have a reason to invite her to the festival?"

"Correct."

“What’s the show about?”

Matsumae Shinharu tried to explain it as simply as possible, and after listening to it, a hint of complex emotions flashed in Matsumae Yoshiko's eyes. She stared at Shinharu, her tone still calm:
"absurd."

"But--!"

"Needless to say, I will not agree. Xinchun, you are already this age, and I thought you were much more stable than before. Don't you know? It was your father's choice to break off relations with the Kuka family. It involves more than just the relationship between your two families. It even affects the image and reputation of the Matsumae family in the outside world."

Matsumae Shinchun's eyes froze, as if her aunt's words had hit the deepest pain in her heart.

She subconsciously lowered her head and said softly: "Aunt, I know the complexity of this, and I also understand the history and reputation of the Matsumae family. But——"

"But you still can't get over this hurdle in your heart, right?"

"Yes! After all, the decision made by father really hurt her."

Matsumae Yoshiko's eyes became more serious. She pulled Matsumae Shinchun into the inner hall and looked at her with a low but firm voice:
"Xinchun, you must understand that family choice is not a simple emotional issue. The reputation and future of the Matsumae family involves more than just your personal emotions. What you need to do is to consider the long-term interests of the family, rather than relying on an impulsive decision driven by emotions.

"In the matter of the Jiuhua family, we took the initiative to break off relations, and we were the first to do something wrong. From the outside, it must be that there was a problem within the Jiuhua family, but your father knows, your mother knows, I know, and you know that it was the Matsumae family that unilaterally chose to break the contract and cut off relations because of the decision of the head of the family. Have you ever thought that your so-called idea will damage the reputation of the Matsumae family?"

The emotions and reason surging in Matsumae Shinharu's heart were intertwined at this moment, and she felt a sense of powerlessness.

"So, Xinchun, what do you think you should do? Do you want to damage the family's reputation for one person, or do you fulfill your responsibilities as the eldest daughter of the Matsumae family?"

"."Matsumae Shinchun lowered her head, not knowing how to respond.

Yoshiko Matsumae didn't say anything else, but just glanced at her indifferently.

After waiting for her for a long time, he finally got no reply and sighed:
"It seems that you are still not mature enough. You should stay in the detention room for a few days."

"."

Matsumae Shinchun lowered his head and said nothing, which was considered as his acceptance of the result.

The time came at night.

In the guest room, Fujii Itsuki served the meal he had cooked to Yang Kui Chitose and Jiu Huayue who had been waiting in the room early.

Although he was a guest of the Matsumae family, Fujii Itsuki was still not used to eating too much food made by outsiders. Since he had been relatively free these days, he just made a few dishes.

Jiuhuayue was definitely the one who liked to eat the most. She didn’t say anything much and just picked up the bowl and started eating.

Chitose Yangkui hurriedly stopped her from eating.

"doing what?"

"Huh! You're asking me what I'm doing? My heart isn't even here yet, why are you eating already?"

"She does her thing, I eat mine, I'm hungry."

"You can't do that even if you're hungry!" Yang Kui Chitose grabbed her with a fierce expression on her little face.

Jiuhuayue was too lazy to argue with her.

Fujii Itsuki glanced at the time on his phone, "Logically speaking, Xinchun should be here by now."

"Maybe he's busy~"

Fujii Itsuki felt something was wrong and recalled, "This afternoon Xinchun said she was going to see her aunt, and I haven't seen her since."

He immediately tried to get up and said, "I'll go out and look for it."

Yang Kui Chitose and Jiu Huayue stayed in the guest room for about ten minutes. Fujii Itsuki finally pushed the door open and came back, but Yang Kui Chitose did not see Matsumae Shinchun from behind him, so he quickly asked:

"Brother Shu, where is that big Xinchun-chan?"

Fujii Itsuki frowned, with a look of uneasiness on his face, "She was put in solitary confinement."

"what?"

While Yang Kui Qiansui was extremely confused, Jiuhuayue also looked over.

(End of this chapter)