After being empty for a night, the Kato family's apartment became crowded again.
"How are you? Are you feeling well?" After get off work, Asami asked the girl on the bed with a concerned look on her face.
Facing this problem, Sayu suddenly showed a troubled expression.
First he glanced at the busy figure in the kitchen, and then said with a wry smile: "Well - according to this situation, even I don't know what's going on."
"Hey, does that mean you still feel uncomfortable somewhere?"
"No, rather than being asked to lie here, I would rather do some housework. I feel like my body is getting rusty."
It was obvious that the girl's lips pursed slightly in unhappiness.
After hearing this answer, Asami couldn't help but glance at the kitchen, and then looked away.
He said to Sayu in a normal tone: "Anyway, you usually do these things. Occasionally, it is fair to let Katozai experience the hardships of a man living alone."
"The hardships of a man living alone...?"
Repeating what the other person said, the girl couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"What do you mean by that? It's so funny."
Sayu, who couldn't help but laugh, said: "Besides, Yusuke - he has lived alone for a long time before he met me, so these things cannot be difficult for him."
After thinking for a moment, he added: "Well...except for cooking."
At the same time, Kato Yusuke's response came from the kitchen.
"You know I can hear you here, Asami."
While handling the ingredients in his hands, the young man said without looking back: "By the way, I am also responsible for today's dinner, so even if you don't think it tastes good, I won't care."
The tone of his speech was the same as usual, even with a bit of joking, which made people feel relaxed subconsciously.
But looking at the side face with a faint smile, Asami couldn't match it with the expression from last night.
Even though it was the same person and the same face, they gave her completely different feelings.
It's as if one is a living person and the other is some kind of cold machine, completely different from each other.
"Asami...?"
Seeing that she suddenly stopped talking, Sayu asked aloud: "What's wrong? You look like you're distracted."
"...Uh-no."
Asami shook her head vigorously, forcing herself not to think about what happened last night, and then she spoke.
"I was just thinking that Kato-san is quite funny. Even though toiletries are available in the hospital, he insists on going outside to buy them, causing people to search for them for a long time."
In response, Sayu chuckled, took Asami's hand and said thank you.
In fact, Kato Yusuke did return to the hospital by himself last night, and even prepared a change of clothes for her. As the message on Line said, it seemed that the other party really just went out to buy some things.
This made the girl feel happy and at the same time she couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
As for the fact that Asami came back behind Kato Yusuke, she didn't think much about it and just assumed that the two of them had not met outside.
While thinking about this, Kato Yusuke also happened to prepare dinner.
When the pile of unprocessed rich ingredients and the Tai Chi-shaped metal pot were brought to the table.
Not only Asami, but also Sayu couldn't help but ask: "Hey, this is... hot pot?"
Looking at the bottom of the pot with half red soup and half clear soup, the girl subconsciously denied this statement.
"It seems, doesn't it?"
Kato Yusuke shook his head, "To be precise, it's Chinese hot pot."
“Chinese hot pot?” x2
After hearing this answer, the two women couldn't help but look at each other, and then Asami spoke first.
"Does Chinese mean Chinese cuisine? For example, Mapo tofu and fried rice?"
Suddenly, a sigh was heard in the room.
I saw Kato Yusuke complaining to Asami with a country look on his face: "Although what you said is quite delicious, if your knowledge of Chinese food only stops at this level, it makes me feel...
It’s a bit pitiful.”
"What, you are so annoying—!"
Asami, who was aroused by these words, blushed for a moment, then hit Yusuke on the shoulder hard, and then cried to the girl who got out of the bed: "Sayu, your boyfriend is bullying me! It's so cruel.
It’s so bad!”
Sayu, who said "Okay, okay," patted his back gently to show comfort, but looked at Kato Yusuke with the same curiosity.
I saw that the other party calmly lit the gas stove, put the pot on it, and then brought three pairs of small bowls and placed them in front of several people.
Looking closely, one contained raw eggs and the other contained tawny sauce.
Not only that, the young man took out two small plates filled with chopped green onions and coriander.
Facing the confused looks of the two people, Kato Yusuke explained: "One part is sesame paste and one part is egg liquid. Choose the flavor you like. You can add green onion and coriander according to your personal preference."
Then he turned his attention to Asami, "Including the pot base and dipping sauce, most of the ingredients tonight are bought from China Street. They can basically guarantee the original flavor. I'll see if it suits your taste later."
."
Inexplicably, Asami felt a sense of superiority from the other person's words, and smacked her tongue rudely: "I will eat it even if you don't tell me, but if it doesn't taste good, I will tell you rudely."
Come out!"
"Ah, no problem." Kato Yusuke replied with a chuckle.
About five minutes passed.
"Gulu gulu gulu——"
Seeing the soup base in the pot beginning to boil, he immediately lifted the lid.
As a stream of white mist emerged from the pot, an extremely strong fragrance also filled the air and quickly spread throughout the room.
It was like a bomb detonating in a pot.
"Gudu..."
When the aroma jumped into her nose, Yuuki Asami immediately swallowed a mouthful of saliva.
"Ah~~it smells delicious."
Sayu was also surprised and said: "But... wouldn't this be spicy?"
"This one is slightly spicy."
Kato Yusuke shook his head: "But because you have just been discharged from the hospital, you can only eat clear soup."
Hearing this, his little face couldn't help but wrinkle up.
Asami on the side stared at the pot for a moment, feeling that a monster named appetite quietly awakened in her stomach.
In fact, this is indeed the case.
…
"It's delicious! What the hell is this? It's so delicious! Katozai, is there such a thing in the world? And the combination of sesame paste and hot pot is a perfect match! This is not good, hiss, hiss...
…”
Not to mention Asami who was devouring the food, even Sayu who was eating the bottom of the clear soup pot had a happy expression on her face.
"Hmm! It's so delicious!"
The girl let out a satisfied sigh.
Kato Yusuke kept adding meat and vegetables to his bowl without using his chopsticks.
Out of the desire to recuperate Sayu's health and thank Mami, the ingredients he bought today were the best on the market.
Therefore, even a clear soup pot with a bland taste tastes extremely delicious after being coated in egg liquid.
As a result, Asami, who seemed dismissive before, unsurprisingly ate too much tonight, which fully demonstrated that the essence of human beings is true fragrance.
Sayu didn't eat too much because he was taking care of her. After all, everything should be done in moderation.
Based on this reason, Kato Yusuke gently but firmly rejected the girl's wish to eat.
Although the other party was a little resentful about this at first, these small emotions disappeared after seeing Asami's uncomfortable look after the meal.
Overall, this meal was a complete pleasure for both host and guest.
The three of them just chatted while eating, and time passed quickly.
When Sayu felt a little sleepy, Asami rushed to the gate to say goodbye to them.
It was already ten o'clock in the evening.
After taking a bath, Sayu quickly went to bed first.
By the time Kato Yusuke walked out of the bathroom, the girl had already fallen asleep.
After staring quietly at the sleeping eyes for a long time, Kato Yusuke quietly began to put on his clothes.
finally.
With an inaudible sound of the door closing, the boy's figure disappeared from the room.
Wandering on the deserted street, what was illuminated by the hazy moonlight was a slender figure wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, and looming under the brim of the hat - a ferocious Tengu mask.