"Kanzaki~ Could I trouble you for another bowl~"
A vibrant voice rang out through the bustling restaurant. That striking, beautiful cherry-blossom-colored hair was very eye-catching, and paired with her cute face and the astonishing pile of empty bowls on the table, almost everyone's gaze was drawn to the girl named Kanroji Mitsuri.
"Sure! Please wait a moment." Kanzaki Aoi proceeded in an orderly manner. As the future heir of this restaurant, although she was still only a second-year high school student, she had already cultivated impressive culinary skills.
Mitsuri put down the tempura rice bowl she had just finished, looking smilingly at Shinobu, who was still chewing slowly. Her light green eyes were always sparkling, full of vitality.
"Kochou! As expected, Kanzaki's cooking is delicious!"
"Mm." Shinobu, who had been a classmate of Kanzaki Aoi since middle school, nodded in agreement. She tucked the hair that had fallen by her ear behind it and ate her noodle soup in small bites.
While waiting for the tempura rice bowl, Mitsuri cupped her flushed cheeks in her hands and spoke with a shy expression.
"Kochou! Today, Iguro and I went to see the sea of flowers at Moon Lake Park."
"It was so beautiful!"
"Look, look!"
Mitsuri took out her phone, retrieved a photo, and handed it to Shinobu. Shinobu put down her chopsticks and took it. Her purple eyes stared at the beautiful Purple Rose in the photo, and then at Mitsuri's radiant smile in the image. She was unconsciously infected by her vitality, hooked the corners of her lips, and responded quite approvingly.
"Yeah, it's really pretty."
Mitsuri smiled as she held the phone, looking at the photo of herself with Iguro Obanai, her tone filled with a touch of longing.
"I heard that the Purple Rose here has never withered! It's always in full bloom."
"It seems it was planted by someone specifically for a girl..."
"How romantic~"
Shinobu's smile was light, her eyes slightly curved. As she listened to Mitsuri's rambling, the image of the Purple Rose from earlier kept appearing in her mind.
A Purple Rose that never withers, huh...
...
...
"I'm home."
"Ara~ Welcome back~ Kochou." Kanae, who was sitting on the sofa watching a TV program, heard her younger sister's voice and turned her head to look.
"Sister, where are Mom and Dad?" Sitting down beside her sister, she affectionately hooked her arm around her sister's arm, resting her head on Kanae's shoulder, Shinobu asked.
"There was an emergency with an important patient, so they might not be back today." Gently stroking her younger sister's head, Kanae said with a smile.
"I see... That's tough..." Shinobu said while watching the TV drama starring the recently popular actress Xie Huamei.
"Did Kochou go on a date with Mr. Yangquan?"
"Mm?! No way!" Her mind, just captured by the TV, was caught off guard and startled by her sister's sentence, causing her to sit up straight. Seeing her sister's beaming smile, looking as if she thought her little sister was really cute, Shinobu knew she had been teased by her sister again.
"Sister! You're so annoying!"
"Eh? Sister is so sad..." Hearing this, Kanae covered half her face with a look of distress.
Seeing her sister like this, Shinobu tilted her head slightly and muttered in a low voice.
"Doing that again..."
"I... don't... I don't hate you, Sister."
Hearing this, Kanae raised her hand to wrap around Shinobu's shoulder. Her beautiful, gentle face leaned in close, her voice filled with laughter.
"Then does Kochou like Sister?"
Seeing that Shinobu didn't speak, Kanae persistently poked her younger sister's cheek with her finger while speaking.
"Na~ Kochou~"
"Do you like Sister?"
Her face turning redder and redder, Shinobu pursed her lips and whispered.
"I do."
"I like Kochou the most too~"
Kanae gently rested her head against her younger sister's, and said with a smile.
"Hmph... Sister only knows how to bully me!" Shinobu said with shy indignation, and quickly ran back to her room.
"Ara~ Was that a bit too much?" Kanae stared at her younger sister's back, wondering if she should buy Shinobu some dango tomorrow as an apology, but then she thought, there seemed to be a better way...
Taking out her phone, Kanae opened her contacts, her slender fingers tapping on the screen, and finally sent it.
...
...
［Ding!］
On the other side, Yoizumi, who was concentrating on reviewing, stopped his movements, glanced at his phone, and after seeing who the message was from, put down his pen.
Sister?
［Mr. Yangquan, sorry to bother you.］
［Kochou seems to be in a bad mood lately, even her favorite dango can't cheer her up.］
［So I would like to ask you, Mr. Yangquan, could you go out and help Kochou relax?］
Kochou... is in a bad mood?
Yoizumi carefully recalled Kochou's actions throughout the whole week; he didn't seem to have noticed...
No... Kochou was indeed in a bad mood when she handed in her review.
It was his fault.
He should make up for it.
dango didn't work...
In any case, Yoizumi agreed first.
［Understood.］
Putting down his phone, Yoizumi looked up, his sapphire eyes quietly watching the window opposite that was blocked by curtains with light shining through. After a long while, he stood up and left the room.
Passing by Tanjirou's room, his footsteps paused. He thought about it and decided it would be safer to ask his sister; girls' matters should be understood by girls, right?
Raising his hand to knock on the door, Yoizumi said softly.
"Nezuko, do you have time?"
As the room door opened, Nezuko looked at her brother with curiosity. Yoizumi-nii was actually not in his room reviewing, but had come to find her!
"What's wrong? Yoizumi-nii."
"When a girl is in a bad mood, where is a good place to go?"
"..." Nezuko's pink eyes widened slightly, a look of disbelief appearing in them as she looked at Yoizumi in amazement.
Yoizumi-nii would actually ask this kind of question?!
Nezuko was inexplicably...
A bit gratified.
Yoizumi-nii had finally grown up!
"By the way, is this girl Kochou?" Nezuko asked, although she had already guessed it.
"Mm." Yoizumi nodded without thinking.
As expected!
Finally waited for this day!
Thank you for your hard work, Kochou!
"For recently... Oh, right!" Nezuko thought, clenching her hand into a fist and tapping it against her palm, and said with a smile.
"Moon Lake Park is very good. It's newly opened recently and I heard it's very beautiful."
"I see... I understand."
Yoizumi nodded thoughtfully. His shoulder was suddenly patted by his sister. Subconsciously meeting his sister's eyes, Yoizumi read in Nezuko's eyes a gratification he couldn't quite understand.
"Yoizumi-nii, good luck on your date!"
"Date? This is not a date." Yoizumi said seriously, even scientifically explaining the meaning of a date to Nezuko.
"Oh! Brother, you idiot!"
"When a girl and a boy go out together, that's a date!"
"Is that so?" Yoizumi was a bit confused.
"Yes, that's right!"
Nezuko nodded vigorously; her brother had finally started to get a clue, and she couldn't let him close off again.
So that's it...
Then he and Kochou... have been on dates quite a few times.
Bidding farewell to his sister, Yoizumi returned to his room. After searching for Moon Lake Park on his phone, Yoizumi thought... Kochou would like it.
So...
Yoizumi opened the chat box with Kochou, his fingers tapping rapidly, and without any hesitation, he clicked send.
------------------------
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