Tokyo: My Girlfriend

Chapter 107 Something's Wrong with Shinichi Kitagawa

Rena Kitagawa rented a shop near the shrine, partly because it was a place that was always on the way to large-scale events in Kabasaki Town.

Secondly, since the rent for the nearby shops has to be paid to the shrine, Sato Kana, as the next mistress of the shrine, would naturally give her best friend a 35% discount.

At first, Shinichi Kitagawa was not happy when he heard on the phone that there would be such a big discount, as he and his sister actually owed Kana a lot of favors.

He had even secretly drunk some sake from the shrine before, and Kana never said anything about it, so Shinichi Kitagawa wanted to offer to pay for it all.

However, Kana felt that she was being too formal and laughed foolishly on the phone, saying, "No, no, I've already discussed it with my mom. Not only will we not lose money if Rena opens a shop here, we can also make a great profit. Ever since Rena said she wanted to open a shop here, the foot traffic near the shrine has doubled. That's much more valuable than that little bit of rent."

Kitagawa Shin finally relented upon hearing this, but he still felt indebted to Kanata.

If these good friends need anything in the future, Shinichi Kitagawa will not treat them unfairly.

More than a month passed after Kitagawa Shinichi returned to Kabasaki Town.

Summer vacation is over.

The second semester, which is the last semester of high school, officially begins.

Life hasn't changed much in the past month or so.

Mingmei's music video has seen a continuous increase in online popularity since its official release.

Kana's oil paintings were also miraculously upgraded by one level.

Rena's restaurant has become quite stable, and because of her excellent culinary skills, it always has a large customer base.

It's safe to say that everyone in Kabasaki Town knows that Rena is a master at cooking, and they often patronize her restaurant to treat their taste buds.

Shinichi Kitagawa received a lot of rewards from Rena during this period, and watched as her skill level really reached the elite level. He also used these rewards to buy some high-level recipes in the system shop and gave them to Rena.

His excuse was that he got the recipes from his friends in the editorial department or found them online, so that Rena could learn more and make more delicious food.

Rena has a great interest in food. The moment she gets a recipe, she immediately immerses herself in studying it and tries it out herself.

In one month, the amount of cooking I can make has doubled compared to the simple home-style dishes I made a month ago.

It was the weekend.

Rena Kitagawa runs her business in a small shop.

She stood behind the bar, dressed in a white Japanese chef's uniform, kneading sushi with her hands. The opening slogans for the new store on the wall hadn't been torn down yet.

Now that Kana has quit those messy clubs, she has a lot of personal time.

So I spend a lot of time with Rena almost every day.

In return, Kitagawa Rena would prepare a large box of exquisite food for her every day for free, along with wages, and help her out backstage, such as packing and serving drinks.

The two seem to be getting better and better.

During the workday, the curtain of the restaurant was lifted, and Shinichi Kitagawa walked in with a cookbook in his hand.

The shop seemed quite busy, especially the bar area, which was packed with people. Although the shop is only open in the evenings and on weekends because of my student status, it's always packed with people and has a pretty high turnover.

"I'm busy, Reina."

The silver-haired girl with pigtails, seeing her brother so happy, didn't stop what she was doing: "Shin-ichi?!"

Shinichi Kitagawa handed the cookbook he had just obtained from the system to Kana, who was packing food nearby. Kana's hands were clean. "Kana's here too. Here, I used my connections to find this for you online. Rena, take a look and see if you're interested when you're done with your work."

When Kitagawa Rena saw that it was a new recipe, she quickly went over out of curiosity and asked Kana to look it over for her.

Her eyes lit up, and she thought to herself that Xin Yi was indeed amazing. These exquisite high-end recipes should be top secret, so how did Xin Yi manage to find one for her every week?

As expected of the older brother.

Kitagawa Shinichi noticed Kana staring at him and said, "You two go ahead with your work. I'm leaving now. Just call me if you need anything. I'll probably be having dinner at Akemi's place tonight, so don't wait for me to come home."

They came and went in a hurry.

Kitagawa Rena looked up to see her brother off, while Sato Kana blushed and swooned over a handsome guy while holding the book.

The hug a month ago has given Kana many erotic dreams these days. Of course, she can't talk about these things and can only enjoy them secretly in her mind.

She casually asked, "Rena, have you noticed how busy Shinichi has been lately? He only chats with you for a few minutes each day before leaving."

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Rena Kitagawa stared at Shinichi Kitagawa's retreating figure with her cool eyes: "Of course I noticed, and it's not just outside, it's at home too. Shinichi and I have been communicating much less lately."

Kana Sato didn't think much of it and said with a smile, "As expected, once boys fall in love, they focus all their attention on their girlfriends. They're basically spending all their time with Akemi, aren't they?"

Rena Kitagawa didn't reply. She wasn't worried if Shinichi Kitagawa himself was willing to focus his attention on Akemi Aoki.

Given the current situation, if Aoki Akemi wins this match, there's nothing Kitagawa Rena can do.

It's because her brother ultimately chose her.

But the problem is...

My brother hasn't seemed very happy lately; it's like he's being rushed by something.

The sound of a small electric car stopping came from outside. Soon after, Haruhi Hina lifted the curtain and walked into the shop unhurriedly: "Rena, Kana, you're both here."

"Teacher Hina is here!" they exclaimed in unison.

Wearing a white shirt and a light blue long skirt, Haruhi Haruna came to the two of them. As promised, Haruhi Haruna had been visiting Reina's shop many times during this period.

Whether it was due to the sisterly bond or the deliciousness of the dish itself.

In short, she comes over almost every day now to buy dinner, and it tastes much better than what she makes herself.

She had just seen Kitagawa Shinichi leaving when she entered, and her beautiful peach blossom eyes widened in surprise for a moment: "Shinichi-kun just left?"

Kana Sato put the cookbook away and nodded, "Yeah, they just brought over a cookbook, said a few words, and left."

Kitagawa Rena looked at Haruhi Hina, who was always so beautiful. There were some things Kana couldn't understand, but Haruhi Hina would definitely understand what she meant.

She asked coldly, "Has Xin Yi spoken to the teacher recently?"

Haruhi Hina found a seat at the bar. Knowing that her current status prevented her from having much contact with Shinichi Kitagawa, she smiled and shook her head: "No, we've barely spoken a word to each other, and I haven't sent any messages online."

Rena Kitagawa nodded: "I guessed it was. When I was on the phone with the teacher before, I remember asking Shinichi to talk to the teacher a few times, but Shinichi refused every time."

Haruhi Hina sensed a hidden meaning in the other person's words and frowned.

"What do you mean?"

Rena Kitagawa remained silent, only staring meaningfully at Hina Kasuga.

The two women, who both loved Shinichi Kitagawa, immediately understood each other's thoughts. Sure enough, they both noticed that Shinichi Kitagawa had been acting strangely lately.

He seemed to be avoiding all girls a little too much.

All my energy is focused on Akemi's affairs, even though I was already paying close attention to Akemi's situation before, now...

That's actually a bit much.

Rena Kitagawa looked again at the doorway where Shinichi Kitagawa had disappeared, and said abruptly, "Can things go on like this?"

Haruhi Hina lowered her head, seemingly unsure of what had happened either: "Mainly, we don't know the specifics of what happened..."

Rena Kitagawa replied without hesitation, "If this continues, I might have to take back what I said before."

Kasuga Hina was confused.

Rena meant that if Akemi couldn't make her brother happy in love, then she might not keep her promise to give Shinichi to Aoki Akemi. There were other people in the world who loved Kitagawa Shinichi, and Aoki Akemi wasn't the only one. If she couldn't cherish him, then she didn't deserve to be her brother's girlfriend.

Haruhi Hina smiled gently: "Don't rush things. Maybe the two of you are just having a tiff. I think Akemi probably noticed it too."

Rena Kitagawa didn't answer, continuing to knead the sushi in her hands: "Mainly because I've been observing for a long time. Okay, that's all for now. By the way, what would you like to eat for lunch, teacher?"

Haruhi Hinana asked curiously, "What's the restaurant's main dish today?"

"The tuna sushi, the tuna just arrived this morning, it's from the supplier that Xin Yi Xin contacted for me, the quality is better than before."

Haruhi Hina nodded: "This one then, give me a set of all the parts."

"Okay, teacher, please wait a moment while I finish serving the customers ahead of me."

Haruhi Hina said there was no rush, and she stared at Kitagawa Rena's skillful sushi-making movements.

I'm also wondering, Akemi... Have you noticed Shinichi's current state? Whatever has happened between you two recently, please be aware of it quickly, otherwise there will definitely be problems.

"Ah! My little stick!" A sudden exclamation broke Haruhi Hina's thoughts. Under the bar, a small stick engraved with many blessings rolled through the gap below and landed next to Haruhi Hina's high heels.

She bent down to pick it up, looked at Sato Kana who was walking over, and handed it to her: "Kana, is this yours?"

Kana Sato gave an awkward laugh and took it from the other person's hand: "Yes, I made this myself."

Upon close observation, Chunri Yangcai seems to have done a pretty good job; she's quite skillful.

Rena Kitagawa, who was standing nearby, recognized the object: "A small wooden stick? I remember you gave one of these to Akemi before?"

Kana Sato carefully put the small wooden stick back into her pocket: "That's right, I made one for Akemi at the shrine gathering that time, and she even dropped it at Shinichi's house."

Haruhi Hina asked in confusion, "Fell into Shinichi's house? What does that mean?"