Maybe it's because Qingteng came to see him too frequently during the day, so the general manager is now very vigilant.

He kept avoiding Qingdeng, and now the dragon was nowhere to be seen. Once he found out that Qingdeng was approaching him, he would immediately run away, running faster than a rabbit and unable to catch him.

Not to mention that he was caught, because his whereabouts were unpredictable, and it was difficult to even locate his location.

Thinking of this, Qingdeng couldn't help but close his eyes in distress.

——Is there no place where I can definitely catch Okita-kun...

Just as Qingdeng closed his eyes and racked his brains to think about this issue——

"Mr. Tachibana! Do you want to take a shower together now?"

The loud shout of Harada, the big-headed guy with little intelligence, came from beside him.

Aoto turned around and saw Kondo, Hijikata, Nagakura, Saito, and Harada each holding a bathtub filled with towels, soap, a change of clothes, and other items, standing on the corner of the corridor beside him.

Hijikata practiced sword practice late at the trial defense hall today, so he simply decided to spend the night at the trial defense hall today.

It was common for Hijikata to spend the night at the Imperial Guard Hall.

Once he stayed in the Trial Guard Hall for too long or too late, he would spend the night directly in the Trial Guard Hall because he was "too lazy to go back to the small rented shabby house".

Because he stayed overnight at the Trial Guard Hall quite frequently, Hijikata was considered half of the patrons of the Trial Guard Hall.

When Aoto turned around and looked over, Harada shouted to Aoto:

"Today's weather is still so hot! Let's take a bath and feel refreshed!"

Aoto didn't immediately respond to Harada's invitation to take a bath.

Because at this moment, his mind flew to another place.

——Bathhouse...bathing...?!

At this moment, Qingdeng felt as if lightning flashed across his mind.

"Take a bath...yes..."

Qingden murmured in a volume that only he could hear clearly.

"Why didn't I think of that..."

After muttering, Qingdeng raised his head vigorously, narrowed his eyes, and looked to the northeast.

In the northeast, somewhere very close to the Trial Guard Hall, wisps of thin steam were floating upward.

This is the bathhouse that is very close to the Shiwei Hall. The group of people from the Shiwei Hall usually go there to take a bath: Chihiroya boils the steam of the bath water.

"...You guys go and wash up first."

Qingden looked deeply at the wisps of steam that evaporated from Qianxun's house and finally merged with the moonlight, while he spoke slowly as if chewing every word.

"I want to take a shower later..."

…

…

About an hour later——

The current time is roughly around 10pm.

At this time... Chihiro House is almost closed.

Logically speaking, at this time, no one should go to Chihiro House to take a bath.

But it just so happens that there is such a weirdo in the Trial Guard House who likes to take a shower only when Chihiro House is about to close.

The Souji held his bathtub and tiptoed out of his room.

At this time, the general manager was already dressed as if he was going to take a shower.

The purple ribbon used to tie her hair was nowhere to be seen, and her long hair was spread casually behind her back. She was wearing an easy-to-move purple and white yukata.

After putting on his special pair of flat-bottomed purple clogs on the earthen floor of the imperial examination hall, the chief general opened the door of the imperial examination hall and headed straight towards Chihiro House, where a faint steam was still rising.

In this era when electric fans and air conditioners, the "supreme inventions of mankind", have not yet been created, summer nights are always difficult to endure.

The temperature was high and the humidity was extremely heavy. The entire Edo seemed to have sunk to the bottom of a swamp. The humid and sticky air made people sweat from their bodies even if they stood still.

Fortunately, the moonlight is beautiful tonight.

The beautiful moonlight dilutes the unpleasantness brought by the heat.

As they were walking along the road leading to Chihiro House, Souji suddenly smelled a faint fragrance of flowers from above his head.

When I looked up, I saw that a branch above my head extending out from the yard on the roadside was full of gorgeous hydrangeas.

"Oh..." Souji blinked in surprise, then showed a happy smile, "It's already blooming..."

Hydrangea...the flower that best represents summer in Japan.

Now is the time when hydrangeas are in full bloom.

The general manager raised his head to admire the hydrangeas above his head. Through the gaps in the branches, he could see the full moon that had almost risen to the highest point in the sky.

The delicate hydrangeas, the night sky studded with stars, and the blue-white full moon embedded in the gaps between the branches. Suddenly a wisp of night wind blows, and the flowers and leaves, the bright colors and the moon shadow sway together under the starry sky...

This is the beautiful scenery that is reflected in the eyes of the General Secretary at this time.

What a magnificent scenery.

Moved by this beautiful scenery, Okita couldn't help but stop his feet, squint his eyes, and intoxicatedly appreciate the colorful picture that was spread out in front of him at this moment, which was rarely seen in ordinary times.

However, suddenly... before he could appreciate the beautiful scenery for long, a sudden shout came from behind him, and the intoxicated expression on his face instantly became as stiff as a stone.

"Huh? Isn't this Okita-kun? What a coincidence!"

Qingto, holding a bathtub in his arms, strode towards the headquarters from the rear.

The general manager turned around in Xun Sheng and stared blankly at Qingdeng who suddenly appeared.

Under the full moon, in front of the hydrangeas, the two stood facing each other.

"Tachibana, Tachibana-kun...!" Souji stammered like a broken wind-up toy, "You, you, you, you, why are you here?"

"I was too obsessed with practicing swordsmanship in the dojo today." Qingden laughed, "I have been practicing until now and then I came back to my senses and realized that I haven't taken a shower yet."

"Fortunately, Chihiro House is still open for business."

"Okita-kun, do you want to take a shower now? That's great. Let's take a shower together!"

"Huh? I...ah!"

Before Souji could say anything, Qingto grabbed his right wrist.

"Let's go!"

Although Qingdeng was smiling... his tone was full of a tough tone that had nothing to do with smiling.

He didn't leave any room for Souji to argue, and dragged Souji towards Chihiro House.

The section of road the two of them were on now was only a few steps away from Chihiro House.

Turning the corner not far away, you can see the huge door curtains with "Men's Soup" and "Women's Soup" written on both sides.

"Orange, orange, orange, orange, Orange! Wait, wait, wait!"

A variety of emotions were written on Souji's face.

Surprise, embarrassment, fear... these emotions blended perfectly on Souji's cheeks.

"I, I, I, I, I suddenly want to relieve myself...!"

Qingdeng turned a deaf ear to the general's shouts.

He only regarded these remarks from the chief executive as an excuse to avoid him again.

He paid no attention to the Souji's struggle and only focused on holding the Souji's wrist tightly to prevent him from escaping.

Qingdeng's hands are very strong. After all, he has the gift of "dexterous hands" that "his fingers are far more flexible and powerful than ordinary people."

Souji was small and light, so he could easily pull him away without much force.

"Wait a minute! Wait a minute!"

Seeing the bathhouse getting closer and closer, Souji struggled more and more fiercely.

He pushed the ground with the heels of his two clogs and leaned back hard, trying to stop Qingdeng's dragging.

The General Secretary's hard work has produced some results.

It's just that this little effect is almost in vain...

Qingteng was determined to "clarify everything to the Souji tonight."

No matter what the commander-in-chief does, Qingdeng will remain unmoved.

Qingdeng could be seen clenching his teeth calmly and tightening his grip on the director's wrist with a "never let go" attitude.

Like a plow, there were two more drag marks on the ground made by the Chief's clogs.

These two drag marks crookedly spread all the way to Chihiro House - Qingto finally succeeded in using brute force and perseverance to drag the general manager into the "male soup".
To be continued...