Toyokawa Sakiko didn't know what Hoshino Miru was thinking, but she was also observing him.
Yesterday it had been raining and she was crying hard, so she hadn't carefully observed this boy.
Now meeting again, Toyokawa Sakiko discovered this boy had very high looks - like a youth from Mishima Yukio's writings, with an innocent face carrying a hint of youthfulness, yet his eyes were bright and spirited, the corners of his mouth slightly upturned, inexplicably making people feel flustered. He was the type who could captivate both young girls and mature women alike.
Toyokawa Sakiko suppressed this strange emotion. She recognized Hoshino Miru's school uniform - it should be Toyogasaki High School's uniform.
She could recognize it because the school she would be entering next happened to be right next to Toyogasaki High School.
In other words, she would very likely encounter this boy frequently on her way to school in the future.
"Thank you for yesterday's incident." Toyokawa Sakiko handed Hoshino Miru the bag containing the jacket. "I've already washed it clean, please feel free to take it back."
Hoshino Miru glanced at it. The bag had a self-service laundry shop's logo - she should have taken it directly to the shop for cleaning, since with yesterday's rain, the jacket would have been hard to air dry.
He hadn't planned to have her return the jacket so quickly, but she insisted on returning it immediately.
"You didn't catch a cold yesterday, did you?" Hoshino Miru accepted the bag and took the opportunity to ask.
"Thanks to you, I took a hot bath after going home and didn't catch a cold." Toyokawa Sakiko spoke very politely.
"But you don't look very well." Hoshino Miru pointed to the corner of his eye. "You have dark circles here. Is it because you didn't sleep well last night?"
Toyokawa Sakiko immediately fell silent. Actually, she had been so tired last night that she could have fallen asleep immediately, but the smell of alcohol in the room and her father's snoring kept her awake for a while.
Especially thinking about how she had already left her former home and even chose to give up the band, yet her father still couldn't pull himself together.
In that instant, confusion appeared in her heart - what should she do next?
"Sorry, I asked a question I shouldn't have asked." Seeing her expression, Hoshino Miru immediately understood what the girl was thinking.
Toyokawa Sakiko came back to her senses and wanted to speak but stopped. She wanted to apologize, but she really didn't want to talk about her situation.
Therefore, Toyokawa Sakiko could only remain silent.
This was quite normal though, since this was only their second meeting, and they were just strangers who had met by chance.
Hoshino Miru looked at the table across from him. Toyokawa Sakiko had only ordered the cheapest coffee. After thinking for a moment, he picked up the menu.
"There are quite a lot of desserts here. Is there anything you'd like to eat?"
Toyokawa Sakiko was startled and quickly said: "No, no need. I don't have an appetite right now."
Actually, she had been restraining her gaze all along, trying not to look at the desserts on the menu.
What used to be routine afternoon tea had now become her luxury, and she even had to carefully consider what to eat today.
Not wanting Hoshino Miru to see her predicament, Toyokawa Sakiko could only sip her coffee to suppress her appetite.
But this action made Hoshino Miru even more certain of the girl's financial difficulties.
"Alright, if that's the case, could Toyokawa-san help me with a favor?" Hoshino Miru asked somewhat uncertainly. "I rarely have the chance to eat with a beautiful girl like you. Could you try this strawberry parfait with me?"
This was the first time Toyokawa Sakiko had seen someone invite her like this. Her mouth opened slightly, but she didn't know how to respond.
Because she vaguely guessed that Hoshino Miru had already seen her predicament, she felt somewhat ashamed.
"Don't rush to refuse. I gave you my jacket before, and now you're keeping me company to eat a parfait. We'll call it even - that's fair, right?"
She had originally wanted to refuse Hoshino Miru, but when he put it this way, Toyokawa Sakiko suddenly had no reason to refuse.
It was fine - they were just strangers who had just met anyway. At worst, she could treat him back in the future. Toyokawa Sakiko comforted herself this way.
Soon, the waitress brought over two strawberry parfaits. Looking at the strawberry parfait in front of her, Toyokawa Sakiko suddenly said quietly:
"Thank you," the girl said. "I'll treat you next time too."
Hoshino Miru was stunned, then smiled.
"If Toyokawa-san is treating me, I should be the one saying thank you."
Toyokawa Sakiko quietly began eating the strawberry parfait. She hadn't eaten such desserts in a long time, and for some reason, she felt an urge to cry.
"Is Hoshino-kun a student at Toyogasaki?" Toyokawa Sakiko composed her emotions.
"Yes, I'll be a second-year student next month." Hoshino Miru said. "What about Toyokawa-san?"
"I'm a year younger than you. I'll be entering Hakyuu next, right next to yours." Toyokawa Sakiko smiled slightly. "Maybe we'll run into each other on the road, Hoshino-senpai."
Hoshino Miru had an impression of the Hakyuu she mentioned - it was also a nearby high school, except Hakyuu was a girls' academy.
But why could she say those last lines so naturally?
"Aren't you going to try it?" Toyokawa Sakiko held the spoon in her mouth. "I've already had several bites. It tastes very good."
Hoshino Miru looked at the girl's lips - the cream and strawberry sauce remaining there was quite suggestive.
"You suddenly calling me senpai caught me off guard." Hoshino Miru felt like he had encountered an expert, unsure whether she was naturally gifted or doing it deliberately.
"You've been calling me classmate all along, so of course I should call you senpai." Perhaps because of the strawberry parfait, Toyokawa Sakiko was in a good mood. "By the way, my previous school was also a girls' academy. Today is actually the first time I've called someone senpai."
As if belatedly realizing what she had said, Toyokawa Sakiko quickly turned her head, her ears a bit red.
Hoshino Miru pretended not to notice and took a bite of the parfait - it really did taste good.
At this moment, a phone suddenly rang.
"Excuse me, I need to take this call." Toyokawa Sakiko was startled and somewhat frantically took out her phone. Seeing the caller ID, she cleared her throat and returned to her previous composure.
Hoshino Miru watched her answer the phone. The girl even put on a polite smile.
"Hello, yes, I'm Toyokawa Sakiko who made an appointment with you this morning... Wait, why is tomorrow's job interview being canceled? May I ask what... "
Toyokawa Sakiko didn't finish her last sentence - the other party had already hung up.
In an instant, Toyokawa Sakiko also fell silent.
The originally gradually harmonious atmosphere suddenly became particularly quiet. The girl across from him sat motionless, not even glancing again at the strawberry parfait that had been able to improve her mood.
After a moment, Toyokawa Sakiko put on a smile again and said with difficulty: "Sorry, I may have to take my leave. I'll treat you next time."
Just as Toyokawa Sakiko was about to leave, Hoshino Miru suddenly said: "Can you play piano?"
Toyokawa Sakiko looked at Hoshino Miru, and he looked back at her. After waiting a while, she bit her lip and said quietly:
"A little."
"I have a friend who wants to learn piano and is currently lacking a teacher."
"I might not be suitable."
"It's fine, let's try it out. She's only got a three-minute attention span anyway, so we might as well take advantage and squeeze some money out of her."
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