???
A flurry of question marks drifted through Asuka Youyou's mind.
She widened her eyes in disbelief.
A couple? Who and who?
Her and Shusuke?
She instinctively wanted to retort, but the boy beat her to it.
"Thank you, big sister."
After the clerk walked away, Asuka Youyou asked the boy across from her, a bit puzzled.
"Shusuke, why did you answer like that just now?"
Shusuke Fuji tapped a finger against his chin, opened his eyes, and his gaze was filled with mischief.
"If I said we weren't a couple, the clerk might have had other questions. But if I said we were, the matter ends right here."
Asuka Youyou thought about it, and it seemed to make sense. Yet she still felt something was off, though she couldn't quite figure out what.
Little did she know, she had been completely played by the boy. Normally, if someone mistook two people for a couple, upon learning the truth they would simply apologize and leave awkwardly—who would keep asking questions?
"Or does Youyou think being mistaken for a couple with me is something to be ashamed of?"
"Of course not. After all, Shusuke is so good-looking, I'm not losing out by being mistaken for a pair with you."
She wasn't just flattering him; she genuinely thought he was very good-looking. He had that slender, delicate, beautiful boy vibe.
Changing the subject, Asuka Youyou began to complain.
"I just can't understand it. How old are we, and they're already calling us a little couple? Why couldn't they say we're brother and sister? We're clearly still just two kids. Japanese social customs really are quite bold."
Shusuke Fuji was momentarily speechless, clearly not expecting the girl to say that.
Brother and sister, though?
Looking at the girl with a hair color similar to his own, well, having a little sister like this seemed rather nice.
Yet for some reason, he had a premonition.
If he and the girl were brother and sister, something very bad would happen.She silently began to change the subject.
"Let's eat the cake, it looks delicious."
The top of the cake was covered with a layer of fresh, juicy strawberry slices, making it look very pretty and appetizing.
"That's right. It tastes best right when it's made, we have to eat it quickly!"
With that, she picked up a small cake spoon, scooped a small piece from the cake, put it into her mouth, and gently savored its delicious flavor.
The inside of the cake was equally delightful. The sponge was soft and delicate, melting on the tongue as if dancing upon it.
The sweet and tart flavor of the strawberries blended perfectly with the sweetness of the cake, creating a unique textural experience.
Every bite of the cake was filled with the rich aroma of strawberries, making one feel as if they were right in the middle of a strawberry patch.
The sweetness of the cake was also just right, not too cloying, allowing one to fully enjoy the natural deliciousness of the strawberries.
The girl happily squinted her eyes. Truly, strawberry cake was the best!Watching the girl eat with such delight that her eyes narrowed into slits, Shusuke Fuji grew a little curious about what the cake actually tasted like.
So he scooped up a small piece and put it into his mouth.
It was silky on the tongue, rich and sweet, and just the right firmness.
It really was quite good.
However, since he was not normally a big fan of sweets, he stopped after eating only about a third of it.
Instead, resting his chin in his hand, he watched with amused interest as the girl ate her dessert like a little cat.Although it was quiet, the atmosphere was harmonious and cozy.
"Miss Clerk, I'll take two strawberry cakes! One of them to go, please!"
A boy with dark green curly hair pushed the door open and barged in, making quite a commotion. The quiet atmosphere was shattered in an instant.
"Idiot seaweed-head, make that three!"The red-haired youth followed close behind, resting his arm on the shoulder of the curly-haired boy while gesturing with three fingers.
"One for me and one for Asuka Youyou is plenty! Why would you buy three?"
He felt a pang of guilt for dragging Asuka Youyou into a study session today. Remembering her particular fondness for this shop's strawberry cake, he had decided to buy her a slice. He wasn't asking for forgiveness, just hoping that when she eventually beat him up, she might go a little easier on him for the sake of the cake, rather than turning him into a strip of seaweed.
"The third one is for me! Don't you think you should thank me for tutoring you?"
"That’s right, you can’t favor one over the other! Puri!"
The others, arriving a few steps behind, trooped into the shop one after another.
When Asuka Youyou heard Akaya Kirihara’s voice, she doubted her own ears. Her hand, holding a spoonful of cake, faltered. Dealing with the "little seaweed" at school every day was exhausting enough; she hadn't expected to hear him while she was out, too. Surely it couldn't be a hallucination. She quickly shoveled a few more bites of cake into her mouth to recover.
But when she heard the next familiar voice, she knew she hadn't misheard.
"What's wrong?"
Why did she have such a strange… sense of sneakiness about her?
Yes, that was exactly it—a sense of sneakiness. Shusuke Fuji watched as the girl put down her spoon and pricked up her ears, trying to peek toward the counter past his frame, and that was the word that popped into his head.
"Shh! I think I see someone I know. Shusuke, lean to the left—block me completely," Asuka Youyou whispered, pressing a finger to her lips.
This was ridiculous. If she could already see two members of the Tennis Club, could the rest be far behind?
Brother Renji wouldn’t be appearing right now, would he? Before he left, Brother Renji had given her homework, ordering her to write ten pages of the characters she’d been studying and to get a head start on the next lesson. Instead, she had run off to play without writing a single word.
Oh, heavens! Just let the world end now!Now they were caught red-handed.
Hearing this, Shusuke Fuji shifted his position slightly to shield the girl behind him.
Though he did not have a bulky build, he was more than enough to block Asuka Youyou from view.
However, he was dealing with Renji Yanagi, who possessed a built-in radar for his younger sister.
The moment he stepped into the shop, Renji Yanagi had sensed a strange feeling.
It felt somewhat familiar, yet that familiarity had no business being here.
He looked in a certain direction with his eyes closed.
"What is it, Renji?"
Seeing Renji Yanagi stop and turn to face one direction, Genichiro Sanada asked with some confusion.
Renji Yanagi did not speak; instead, he strode over, reached out, and hoisted up a certain disobedient little brat by the scruff.
"Ouch! Brother Renji, let me go!"
The little brat was left dangling in mid-air, her short little legs kicking frantically as she begged for mercy.
Shusuke Fuji tried to intervene, but Renji Yanagi pinned him with an icy glare and a sharp question.
"Shusuke Fuji? The genius of Seishun Academy? Mind telling me why my sister is here with you?"
One of them liked to keep his eyes narrowed, the other kept his eyes closed. But at this very moment, both opened their eyes, flashes of cold light bursting within them.
"Brother Renji, can you put me down first? I need to save face, you know!"
No one paid her any attention.
It was as if a flock of crows was flying in a row across the top of her head.
Sigh, she was just a poor little girl whose life and death nobody cared about.
"You're making Youyou very uncomfortable holding her like that."
Shusuke Fuji did not answer Renji Yanagi's question, choosing instead to focus on the girl's expression.
Renji Yanagi set Asuka Youyou down, then grabbed her wrist instead.
"Brother Renji, this is a new friend I just made. Do you guys know each other too?"