To Watanabe Yu's surprise, Hayakawa Naoko's cooking skills were quite good.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the six dishes placed on the table were perfect in color, aroma, and taste; if one had to find fault, perhaps only the flavor of these six dishes was slightly bland.
After the three were seated in order, Hayakawa Naoko filled a cup with sake, then gave Hayakawa Yuki a look, who understood implicitly and poured Watanabe Yu a glass of beverage.
"Watanabe-san, I won't waste your time with pleasantries. Thank you for everything regarding Yuki."
Hayakawa Naoko stood up, raising her wine glass.
In a normal family, this role should have been played by the 'husband,' but in their household, there were only her and Yuki, so she had to play both father and mother.
"Aunt Hayakawa, you are too kind. We are Classmates; it was just a small effort."
Watanabe Yu raised his beverage, stood up, and lowered his cup slightly below Hayakawa Naoko's, intending to lightly clink glasses.
"Eh!"
Hayakawa Naoko stopped Watanabe Yu's action, lowered her own cup even further than his, and proactively clinked hers against his, saying, "Everything I need to say is in this glass.
"If there is anything I can do for you in the future, just ask."
With that, she bravely downed the sake in her cup in one gulp.
Watanabe Yu also finished the beverage in his cup in one go.
After this small episode, the atmosphere at the table gradually relaxed.
Hayakawa Naoko did not bring up thanking him again, only urging Watanabe Yu to make himself at home and take whatever he liked, while Hayakawa Yuki naturally chatted with him as usual.
"Speaking of which, Watanabe-san, has anything interesting happened in your class recently?"
Seeing that the atmosphere was suitably set, Hayakawa Naoko seized the moment while Hayakawa Yuki was focused on eating and opened the topic of conversation.
"Something interesting? Does the teacher announcing a Monthly Exam next week count?"
Watanabe Yu thought about it; that was the only thing he could recall.
"You call that interesting? It's more like a death sentence!"
Hayakawa Yuki swallowed the food in her mouth, raised an eyebrow, and retorted.
Not everyone was like the study-demon sitting next to her, who was endlessly eager and always held a yearning for studies and exams.
"If that doesn't count, then I really don't know."
Watanabe Yu did not elaborate as he usually did; he just shrugged, then picked up a chopstick-full of Fried pork cutlet and placed it in his bowl.
To be fair, fried food is truly unhealthy, but it is also truly delicious.
"Watanabe, your life can't just be about studying and waiting for exams, right?"
Hayakawa Yuki propped her chin up with her left hand, a hint of curiosity appearing in her eyes.
She was very interested in what he did on his days off.
"Of course, there's also Precipitate and waiting for the Saintess to Explode gold coins."
Watanabe Yu nodded naturally and took a bite of the Fried pork cutlet.
Although Hayakawa Naoko's Fried pork cutlet skills were slightly inferior to the Old Granny next door, it was only slightly inferior; both were above the passing mark.
In short, it was really quite tasty.
"...Are you taking a jab at me?"
Hayakawa Yuki pouted, put down her chopsticks, and looked pleadingly at Watanabe Yu.
She truly did not want to lose her little treasury.
But the problem was, she had indeed said back then that if he wanted it, she was willing to give it all to him.
"Not at all."
Watanabe Yu swallowed the piece of Pork cutlet in his mouth and took a sip of his beverage.
"Oh."
Hearing this, Hayakawa Yuki breathed a sigh of relief internally.
Her little treasury was safe!
"So, Watanabe-san, you don't know what everyone in your class was discussing yesterday?"
Hayakawa Naoko joined the conversation at the opportune moment.
"No, I don't."
Watanabe Yu shook his head without changing his expression.
"I thought you knew." Hayakawa Naoko sighed with slight regret. "After all, it's been a long time since I saw Yuki so happily participating in a Class Group discussion on her Mobile phone."
She genuinely wanted to know what her daughter was chatting about that made her so happy.
"..."
Hayakawa Yuki suddenly felt the urge to bury her head in the ground.
Discussing the photo in front of the Person Involved was no joke!
She wasn't Takakura Maki, who could say to the Person Involved, 'Watanabe-san, that photo of yours is really handsome!'
"Oh right, I heard Miss Hayakawa say that when you were younger, you were a very famous all-around Diva."
Watanabe Yu did not dwell on that topic but threw out a new Topic of conversation.
"I suppose so, but that's all in the past."
Hayakawa Naoko nodded, then looked at Watanabe Yu with confusion, not understanding why he suddenly brought that up.
"Then could you teach me singing and basic Musical Instruments?"
Watanabe Yu stated his intention directly.
"Why the sudden interest in learning that?" Hayakawa Naoko's confusion vanished, replaced by curiosity. "I heard Yuki say you have a great talent for studies; focusing on your Schoolwork is good, isn't it?"
Clubs, are they Youth? They certainly are Youth.
But everyone knew clearly that to get into a good school, 'being youthful' alone was far from enough. If they couldn't win gold and silver at the national competition through clubs, they needed to show solid results in their studies.
If they purely followed their whims, then all that would be left would be Youth being over.
"I still have Free time in the First Year, so I wanted to use this time to learn something I'm interested in."
Watanabe Yu offered this statement, half true and half fabricated.
At times like this, one needed to Modify things slightly.
He couldn't exactly say that he had songs in his head that could definitely make a fortune in this world, so he needed a way to cash in hard.
"If that's the case, then that's fine." Hayakawa Naoko nodded. "But for Musical Instruments... you might have to wait until I close the Flower Shop each day."
She opened a Flower Shop herself, not for profit, but just to pass the time.
However, as the saying goes, an unintentional effort yields unexpected results; she didn't aim to earn much, but the Flower Shop's Business actually improved, even beyond her expectations.
"Do you have Musical Instruments here?"
Watanabe Yu asked thoughtfully.
"Of course we do." Hayakawa Yuki puffed out her cheeks, turned around, and pointed to a small door next to the Living Room. "It has everything inside, even a standard Recording Studio."
This was why Hayakawa Naoko had gone to the trouble of hiring that very famous Designer—to fit the Recording Studio in with the most rational design without affecting its normal function.
"Ah?"
Watanabe Yu's expression suddenly became wonderful.
He suddenly felt the exhilaration of someone delivering a Pillow just as he was getting sleepy.
"If there's nothing else, I just like to look at it sometimes, as a form of reminiscence for the past,"
Hayakawa Naoko misunderstood Watanabe Yu's expression and offered an explanation.
She knew well that she missed the Stage dearly, but she also knew clearly that she could never go back.
"I can understand that." Watanabe Yu paused. "Life is like a train that only moves forward; once a choice is made at a certain juncture, the direction of travel might gradually diverge from the original goal.
"Even though I can't go back, it's fine to reminisce occasionally."
On this matter, he had deep feelings.
Things he couldn't afford at seventeen, he obtained easily at twenty-five, but the state of mind he had back then could never be recovered.
Hearing this, Hayakawa Naoko fell silent.
Watanabe Yu's words resonated deeply with her.
"Regarding the time, well..."
Watanabe Yu's expression became uncharacteristically awkward.
The earliest he could free up time to learn would be next Saturday, or perhaps the following Weekend, but the problem was that he was making this request now, and Hayakawa Naoko had agreed too readily, making it awkward for him to say what he needed to say next.
"Everything depends on what's convenient for you." Hayakawa Naoko raised her Line of sight and gave Watanabe Yu an understanding look. "I have quite a bit of flexible time."
"Then I'll trouble you."
Watanabe Yu took the Topic of conversation and smoothly followed up.
"It's no trouble at all." Hayakawa Naoko smiled slightly. "Didn't I just say it? If you need my help with anything, just ask."
2/2
First, happy May Day to everyone!
Also, today's update is a bit late, sorry!
Furthermore, a friend from out of town is visiting, so the update times for the next few days might unavoidably be pushed back, but I will definitely be on time if I can!
Thank you to Super Electromagnetic Fireworks K-On! and Zongshi Yanbuyouzong for their generous Rewards, and thank you to Banzi Qianmei Du Jiuli, Mo Xiaojun You, Super Electromagnetic Fireworks K-On!, Aggressive Salted Fish, Get Salary to Read Genuine, Northern Incarnation, Corn Jelly Wa for your generous Monthly Tickets. Your support is the driving force behind my writing.
See you tomorrow.