Crossover Anime: This is not pure love at all

At this moment, the mother and daughter were each holding a large bowl bigger than their faces, filled with steaming pork chop rice.

The two were shoveling rice into their mouths at a speed comparable to starving ghosts being reincarnated, completely unaware that sauce was smeared on their cheeks.

"Mmm...delicious! So delicious! I feel alive again!"

As Ms. Izumi chewed on the golden-brown, crispy pork cutlet, she mumbled her praises, her eyes even welling up with tears of emotion.

"Mom... eat slowly... burp!" Although Sagiri said this, she was eating as fast as "Mom" at the same time, her little face was so full that she looked like a hamster hiding food.

"..."

Why are you all here?!

"Ah, Kuroe-kun, do you know the guests at that table?"

Mrs. Yuihama followed Kuroe Minoru's gaze, a hint of sympathy and helplessness flashing in her eyes.

"They were customers who just came into the store today. Judging from their appearance, they looked like they hadn't eaten for several days. As soon as they came in, that little girl was staring at the fried pork cutlet on someone else's table and drooling. It was so pitiful."

"So I specially served them extra-large bowls."

Hei Jiang was completely speechless.

I've been starving for days... surely not?

Could it be because I haven't received any orders for erotic illustrations lately?

Kuroe walked to the table where Izumi and her daughter were eating, and coughed twice as he watched them wolf down their food.

"Ahem, Izumi-san, Sagiri, what are you doing here?"

"!!!"

Upon hearing the familiar voice, both Izumi-san and Sagiri froze.

The two slowly raised their heads, their cheeks bulging, and looked at each other.

Time seemed to stand still.

Why are you here?! And why at the most embarrassing moment for both of us?!

Although I had been so hungry that I lost my mind, after eating a little something, all the sense of ethics, shame, and other emotions that I had lost returned to my body.

"Um... Kuro-E-kun..."

Ms. Izumi's face turned bright red at a visible speed. She quickly put down her chopsticks and wiped her mouth haphazardly with the back of her hand, but because she was in such a hurry, she ended up smearing even more sauce on her lips.

"Heijiang...brother..."

Sagiri lowered her head in embarrassment, clutching the hem of her skirt tightly with both hands.

The thing she least wanted her brother Hei Jiang to see was actually caught on camera!

Suddenly, she had an idea!

If we just blame it all on being forced, everything will be resolved soon!

Thinking of this, Sagiri quickly wiped her mouth and said coldly in a loud voice:

"Mom made it all! She says it makes food taste better!"

"?!?!"

"Sagiri?!"

Miss Izumi met Sagiri's apologetic eyes in disbelief.

"I'm sorry, Mom, please take the blame for this to save my face!"

What?!

Mrs. Izumi received the meaning in Sagiri's eyes, her pupils dilated instantly, then suddenly calmed down.

"Sagiri, Sagiri, since you're so heartless, then don't blame your mother for being ruthless!"

Miss Izumi took a deep breath, abruptly raised her head, her eyes filled with sorrowful tears, and said in a choked voice:

"No! Kuroe-kun! That's not true!"

"Actually, Sagiri said she recently saw a mukbang blogger online who ate with such relish, and she wanted to try eating like that... I... I couldn't stop her..."

"Mother--?!"

How could you do this!

Sagiri stared wide-eyed at Izumi-san in disbelief.

"Um...actually, I only ate like this to go along with Sagiri..." Izumi added insult to injury, lowering her head with a wronged expression.

"No! It was clearly you, Mom, who started it first... mmm!"

Sagiri panicked and was about to retort when Izumi suddenly reached out and covered her mouth.

"Sagiri, don't say anything! Mommy understands!" Izumi hugged Sagiri tightly, revealing a gentle, motherly smile, but her eyes were frantically trying to signal to Sagiri.

'If you dare utter another word, all your snacks for tonight will be confiscated!'

Sagiri froze, then slumped her head helplessly.

Destroy it, I'm tired.

"..."

What Kuroe really wanted to say was that you don't need to prove these things to me.

After all, they were just neighbors.

Even if you value neighborly relations, you don't need to do this.

Kuroe sighed and turned to look at the cashier.

"Aunt Yuihama, please put their bill on my tab."

"Hey, Kuroe-kun is such a kind person. No need, no need at all. I've already decided to give them their meal for free~"

Mrs. Yui smiled gently.

……

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Izumi and her daughter tactfully got up to say goodbye. Mrs. Yui insisted on not taking their money, and after much refusal, the two women had no choice but to gratefully accept the free meal.

Before leaving, Ms. Izumi pulled Sagiri along and gave Kuroe a standard 90-degree bow. Then, blushing, the two of them quickly left the restaurant with small, graceful steps.

……

After settling Izumi and her daughter in, Mrs. Yuihama smiled and served the steaming hot meal to Minoru Kuroe.

Today's special dishes for the soft opening are steamed egg burger patties and shrimp and egg fried rice, plus a bowl of rich clam miso soup.

The aroma alone is enough to make one's mouth water.

"Kuroe-kun, eat more! Today is the first day of our new store, and this set meal is a new dish I specially researched for you!"

"Kuroe-kun likes salty and savory flavors, right?"

Mrs. Yuihama finished speaking with a smile and returned to the kitchen, occasionally peeking out with an expectant smile on her face.

Kuroe couldn't help but feel a little moved. He never expected that his wife, with whom he had only met a few times, would remember something that even his family in his previous life wouldn't remember.

Yui Yuigahama then took her dinner and sat down on the chair opposite Minoru Kuroe.

However, she didn't eat. Instead, she rested her chin on her hands and looked at Kuroe Minoru with bright eyes.

Hei Jiang picked up his chopsticks, took a piece of steamed egg hamburger steak, and put it in his mouth.

"Um……"

This tastes amazing!

Kuroe Minoru's eyes lit up instantly; this was the taste a hamburger steak should have!

Tender and juicy, with a rich meaty aroma, and perfectly complemented by the sauce... absolutely delicious!

"tasty."

Kuroe Minoru gave a heartfelt exclamation of praise.

"Really? That's great!"

Mrs. Yuihama let out a happy exclamation from the kitchen.

"Oh, right, Kuroe-kun!"

Yui suddenly leaned forward, a playful look on her face. "Although this is Mom's cooking, I actually contributed a little something to this meal today, you know?"

"Yui's contribution?" Kuroe looked at her with some surprise. "Did you help with the grocery shopping?"

"No, that's not true!"

Yui puffed out her cheeks, somewhat disgruntled. "It's the ingredients! I personally went to the market this morning to pick out the shrimp for Mom. It took me ages to find the freshest ones!"

Upon hearing this, Kuroe Minoru's lips curled up slightly, and he said earnestly, "Then I'll have to eat a few more bites of this fried rice. Thank you for your hard work."

"Hmph~ That's more like it."

Yui smiled with satisfaction, then looked away somewhat awkwardly, muttering softly, "Actually... I really want to learn how to cook, but as you know, I'm completely clueless about cooking. I've been learning from my mom for a long time recently, and all I can produce is kitchen waste..."

At this point, Yui's expression turned dejected.

There's no way she can forget that embarrassing incident of being soaked in a bento box.

She's not really stupid; her apparent regret was just an act for Kuroe Minoru's benefit.

Yui knew perfectly well that the charcoal bento box had definitely not fallen into the water by accident.

"Oh, I see. In that case, I can actually teach you."

Just then, a gentle voice rang out beside Kuroe Minoru.