Bright lights illuminated the Motoyama family's house.
The atmosphere in the room, which was similar in layout to the Kato family but smaller, was as cheerful as if it was a festival.
A young and a mature woman was busy in the kitchen, and a young boy was sitting comfortably on the sofa in the living room, staring at the TV intermittently. The whole person was in a completely relaxed state, which was very comfortable.
Clang, clang.
Dong-dong, knock-knock, gurgling.
The Warring States Period dramas on TV are intertwined with the dinner melody coming from the kitchen, creating a harmonious and warm atmosphere.
"I see, you have gone to see Mr. Uchiyama."
"Yes. But...that old man doesn't seem to be easy to get along with."
Motoyama Mina smiled and said: "That's right. It's true that that person's character is hard to like, but he's not a bad person. He's just a bit tough-talking, just like a child."
"Is...is that so?" After hearing this, Sayu turned his head slightly, but in his mind, he remembered Uchiyama Ko's suspicion of Kato Yusuke at that time, and his slender willow eyebrows could not help but frown slightly, and he said silently, "
perhaps".
There was a brief silence.
"Sayu-chan, could you please try this?"
"Huh? Ah, um, okay!"
The tasting spoon with a little dark brown sauce on the top was put into the mouth.
"How about it?"
"Yeah! The saltiness is just right and it's delicious."
"Really? That's good." Motoyama Mina smiled slightly, put the bowl with the prepared sauce aside, and began to cut the cabbage.
"Although Xiaoyou may not have told you."
She continued the previous topic: "But when his parents squandered all the family property, it was Mr. Uchiyama who took the initiative to find Mr. Kato and buy the remaining land.
Although this was also good for him, judging from the situation at the time, he could still buy those lands even if he deliberately lowered the price. In the end, he gave a very fair offer, and he proposed it himself.
"
Motoyama Mina paused for a moment when she said this, then turned to look at the girl and continued: "Including the matter of Xiaoyu's tuition fee later, so I feel that Mr. Uchiyama must not be a bad person."
"Eh……?"
Sayu's eyes wandered, involuntarily looking in the direction of the living room connected to the kitchen, and fell on the young man. He saw that the other man's eyes were half-open and half-closed, looking like he was about to sleep, and the expression on his face showed that
Softer than usual.
"That's it." She nodded and looked away, then put her index finger against her chin as if remembering something, and asked: "Speaking of the boy we met at the old man's house, was he Yusuke's friend?
?Auntie Mina."
"Boy? Ah, are you talking about Kenta?" Motoyama Mina showed a smile that understood everything, "What's wrong? Is he angry with Xiaoyu again?"
Although it is a question, the tone is as firm as a declarative sentence.
"Afraid...?" Sayu tilted her head, confusion revealed in her eyes.
"Yes, I'm just angry." The other person shook his shoulders as if he was amused, "That's Mr. Uchiyama's grandson, Kenta Uchiyama. He's one year younger than Xiao Yu, and he's currently studying in the third grade of junior high school in Saitama City."
"Ah, so you are a junior high school student?"
Thinking of the meeting during the day, the girl asked: "It feels like his attitude towards Yusuke is very strange. It feels like he is very familiar but also very disgusted."
"Of course, well... even though Kenta was still following Yuu when he was a child, it became like this later."
"Does that mean the two were once friends?"
"Hmm...how should I put it?" Motoyama Mina dragged her chin with one hand, thought for a while and said, "At least Kenta thinks so."
"Huh?" Sayu couldn't help but exclaimed, "Um, what does this mean?"
"——Because." The other party recalled: "Xiaoyou has been a maverick child since he was a child. Although there are many children who are daunted by his indifference, there are also people who think he is so cool and want to get close to him.
Quite a few.”
"I see~ Then Kenta is the part that likes Yusuke, right?"
"That's right, and he's the type who still wants to follow Xiaoyu no matter how bored he appears."
"Pfft... I always feel that it's completely different from what I saw." The girl couldn't help laughing, and then changed her words, "But why did that person become like this later?"
Mina Motoyama chuckled and nodded, "What I want to say should be related to that matter, right?"
This time, she took the initiative to explain without waiting for Sayu to ask questions.
"That probably happened in elementary school. At that time, besides Kenta, there was another girl who also clung to Xiaoyu every day."
As the memories gradually came to mind, the voice became a little softer.
"He is also a very cute child. Even in such a small place, he still wears a beautiful dress and meets Xiao Yu every day. He keeps calling "Brother Yu" and so on. He is very popular in the village... Well,
Can you pass me the dashi powder over there? Sayu-chan."
"Ah, okay."
"Thank you~"
Under the "urging" from the girl's eyes, Motoyama Mina continued speaking.
"But that child later left the village and moved his family to Kansai. After that, Kenta stopped looking for Xiao Yu, and his whole person seemed to have changed. He always compared himself with Xiao Yu. That's probably it."
"Hey...do you mean this is the jealousy of a child?" Sayu said this and glanced at Kato Yusuke, then quickly looked away.
"But I haven't heard Yusuke talk about these things at all... Could it be that the girl didn't leave her contact information at that time?"
Hearing this, Motoyama Mina sighed with a wry smile.
"Although I did, I was thrown away by "It's just an immature statement from a child, do I need to take it seriously?"... Xiaoyu said this."
"Uh...? You actually said you threw it away..."
Sayu suddenly showed an expression that didn't know what to say. He just lowered his head and murmured: "It turns out Yusuke has been so strict since he was a child."
Then he raised his head and said, "Then Kenta should be like this with Yusuke because of that girl?"
Motoyama Mina nodded "Yeah--" "Although Xiaoyu and the others didn't say it explicitly, that's probably it. Doesn't it feel very cliche?"
The girl shook her head slightly at this, with a smile on her face, "——No, I think it's fine~ That's fine!"
Motoyama Mina: "...?"
◇
"...Yusuke, it's time to eat."
When Yusuke Kato was shaken awake from his drowsy state, the room was already filled with the aroma of food, and the dining table was filled with sumptuous dishes.
I opened my eyes drowsily, and that familiar soft little face came into my eyes.
The dark gray short sleeves of the same style are paired with a light gray slim skirt, which has a citrus smell.
Because the opponent's body leaned forward, Kato Yusuke could clearly feel the existence of something in front of him, and he couldn't help but feel dizzy.
She wanted to just take the other person into her arms, but the girl quickly jumped back a small step as if she had a premonition of something.
"Ahem..."
Sayu cleared his throat and directed his gaze to the kitchen, where Motoyama Mina, who was smiling but not smiling, was standing with a gentle reproach in her eyes.
"Come and eat quickly, you two."
The heavy eyelids that were still fighting immediately opened, and his consciousness quickly returned to clarity.
Looking alternately at the faces of the two members of the opposite sex, Kato Yusuke grinned and said, "Here you go, Aunt Mina."
After saying that, he got up from the sofa and walked to the dining table with Sayu.
Dinner included fried chicken nuggets, ginger-roasted pork chops, salt-grilled saury, and a stir-fried side dish of eagle claw pepper and squid. Although I can’t name it, Kato Yusuke has always made this dish stir-fried with sesame oil.
Side dishes with bonito flowers sprinkled on top are called side dishes.
As for the staple food, it is freshly made and eaten okonomiyaki, and it also comes with miso soup that is not missing from every household.
Looking at the dishes on the table, Kato Yusuke felt hungry and wanted to eat a piece of fried chicken first, but he was slapped on the back of the hand by Motoyama Mina.
"Have you washed your hands? Xiaoyou."
With a helpless shrug, Yusuke did not argue pointlessly, but silently turned around and walked towards the bathroom.
After a while.
When Kato Yusuke returned to the dining table, he saw that the first portion of okonomiyaki in the multifunctional electric pot was also cooked.
Squeeze the okonomiyaki sauce and mayonnaise on the surface, then sprinkle with bonito flakes and seaweed powder.
Sayu, who held two small shovels in his hands, shoveled it onto the plate and handed it to Kato Yusuke.
"Thank you, did you make this?" Yusuke asked after taking the plate.
The girl laughed a little embarrassedly, "Actually, Aunt Mina taught me most of it. This is my first time making this kind of cooking. I don't know if it will suit your taste."
"No problem, you did a good job, Sayu-chan." Motoyama Mina on the side raised her hand to hold her shoulders and said warmly: "Although this is the first time, you mastered the movements and timing very well.
, even if I come, I won’t be able to do better.”
Then he turned his attention to Kato Yusuke and said, "And Xiao Yu too, let's try it quickly."
"Yeah, okay." Yusuke nodded, then picked up a small piece of okonomiyaki with his chopsticks and put it into his mouth.
The crispy skin has a slight burnt aroma, but the batter inside is very soft. It is also mixed with shredded cabbage, which makes it taste soft and crispy.
Served with the salty and rich sauce and the umami-rich seaweed powder and bonito flakes, the multi-layered flavors blend seamlessly in the mouth, achieving a perfect fusion.
"It's delicious as always." Kato Yusuke put down his chopsticks and said, "But the sauce must have been prepared by Aunt Mina, the taste is very familiar."
"Well, that's it!" Sayu breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, "Is it really still edible?"
"After all, I used to be able to eat it often, and I will always remember it..."
Having said this, Kato Yusuke looked at Motoyama Mina and asked tentatively: "Speaking of which, is Aunt Mina still making plum wine?"
"Well - how should I answer here?" the other party said in a long voice, looking a little troubled.
"Ahem, since it's a celebration, one drink shouldn't be too much, right?"
"That's it." Motoyama Mina smiled and nodded, then turned and walked towards the refrigerator.
After a while.
A glass filled with orange liquid was placed in front of Kato Yusuke, followed by a warning.
"Underage people are not allowed to drink alcohol, so just use juice instead."
"..."
The result was that until the end of the dinner, a certain person finally failed to drink the plum wine he wanted to drink.
…
After bidding farewell to Motoyama Mina's house, the two embarked on the road back to their old home together.
Before I knew it, the surroundings were completely enveloped in darkness.
A few scattered lights illuminated the path, and the place was filled with rural tranquility. There were neither cars nor pedestrians on the road, only two figures, one high and one low.
"I said Yusuke."
"What?"
The girl turned around and asked, "Is it really okay for us to just take things away secretly?"
"It doesn't matter, I've done this kind of thing before, Auntie Minai won't find out."
"Um...is that really the case?"
"Is there something wrong?"
"I always feel that Auntie Mina should know what you did."
"Why do you say that?" Kato Yusuke couldn't help but look back.
"Because, generally no one would go to someone else's house to eat with a schoolbag on their back."
"Is there anything wrong with using it to store money?"
"Well... although you may not realize it, your schoolbag is actually much more bulging than when you came here, and it makes a lot of noise when you walk, which is obvious."
Gudong, gudong, gudong, gudong.
Kato Yusuke's steps couldn't help but pause, and there was obvious movement from the backpack behind him.
"Look, it's like this." Sayu said with a wry smile: "Is it really necessary to go to this level in order to drink that plum wine?"
"That's why I said that if it were today." Someone thought for a moment and said, "As a celebration of selling out the book and paying off the debt, I would want to drink a little."
The girl didn't speak, she just looked at him thoughtfully.
There was silence for ten seconds.
"You said it was a celebration, right?"
"Well, celebrate."
"Are you alone?"
"No, let's go together."
"Then can I have some too? Aunt Mina's plum wine." Sayu said softly, and then held his hand.
Kato Yusuke looked back at her, "Although it's not impossible, plum wine is made with soju above 20 degrees. Are you used to it?"
"I think it doesn't matter." The girl responded with a pair of autumn eyes shining with a little light: "I think the worst case scenario can't be worse than Asami's time, right?"
The voice was as light as a feather, slowly falling into someone's heart.
Kato Yusuke was silent, but there were waves in his eyes.
Then he carefully considered his words and asked: "In that case... do you want to go to the convenience store to buy some snacks such as squid tentacles? And you can also buy some drinks to avoid getting used to it."
"puff……"
Sayu suddenly laughed when he heard this: "Really, you actually said squid tentacles, and you're not an uncle. What are you talking about, Yusuke? Haha."
After laughing like this for a while, she stopped.
Pressing the still heaving chest, the girl poked his chest with a motion that felt like caressing, then leaned her forehead against him and murmured in a low voice.
"However, there must be things that must be prepared, right? So I can do it, Yusuke..."