In crossover anime, who isn't a childhood friend?

Kazusa inherited her musical talent, and even surpassed her teacher. She has worked very hard since childhood, and it is believed that in time, her achievements in classical piano music will surpass her own.

As for the person whose importance ranks right after Kazusa... perhaps there wasn't one before, but now there is.

It was that young man, Gen Chiya.

He gave her suggestions twice, some subtly and some overtly.

She listened with some skepticism the first time, but soon after, she was diagnosed with early-stage stomach cancer.

The second time, she didn't take it seriously, and as a result, she was soon trapped in a hotel in a foreign country and spent half a month in jail.

Fortunately, she didn't contract that severe flu. Otherwise, if it were like what's being reported on TV now, where some patients lose their sense of taste after recovery and can't taste sweetness, then half of her life would be ruined.

These two incidents made Touma Yoko feel grateful to the boy.

I've always been thinking about how to repay him.

Although it was ten million yen, it was nothing to Touma Yoko.

She had previously tried to help her mother expand her shop, but was rejected.

There's a famous saying in the world of thugs: the louder you yell, the more excited I get.

When it came to Touma Yoko, the more decisive and principled his refusal was, the more she admired the boy.

After returning to China, she discovered an even more astonishing talent in that young man!

If we say that her and her daughter's talent in piano is like being fed by God, then...

Even if Yuan Qianye was being chased around by God, who fed him and packed him up with delicacies, and even gave him antacids in between, just in case he had indigestion.

This discovery stirred up a long-lost, fervent feeling in Touma Yoko.

He'd stumbled into her territory, and this time she knew all too well how to repay him.

"Qianye...is he really as amazing as you say?"

"Runzi, please rest assured, I am not joking. As long as you let him study according to my plan and proceed normally, he will not even have to suffer much. I guarantee that his future achievements will be much greater than mine."

It was past nine o'clock at night, and the lights in Dongma's house were still on.

Here, Touma Yoko and Takanashi Junko, who had been invited, were holding hands and talking.

On the other hand, Touma Kazusa, who usually chooses to stay home and avoid guests whose mothers come over, is a different story.

This time, however, she stayed very reservedly in the kitchen, and it took her a while to find the cabinet where Aunt Shibata had placed the tea.

After carefully brewing the tea, she carried it even more carefully to the coffee table in the living room and said timidly and politely, "Auntie, please have some tea."

…………

091: Keeping the appointment after many days

Actually, the reason why Takanashi Junko came to disturb Touma's house today was not entirely because she was invited by Touma Yoko.

If I had to pinpoint a reason, her invitation probably only accounted for a small part of it.

Most importantly, Junko's mother originally wanted to make a trip to the Touma family's house.

After all, her own son had only been bothering her here for two weeks.

Although it was due to force majeure, the disturbance is still a disturbance. My son has been eating and staying here during this time, so I still want to express my gratitude.

I never expected that after bringing the thank-you gift, I would hear such high praise for Chiya from Touma Yoko.

This is still within the realm of piano, where Yoko Touma has already achieved extraordinary success.

They even said things like "a genius that only appears once in a century".

Junko, the bird, was stunned.

The problem is that she had never heard her husband mention that Qianye had ever studied piano as a child.

Chiya only developed an interest in the piano around Christmas last year.

She had also heard him play, but they were all relatively simple pieces, which probably didn't reach the amazing level that Yoko had described.

What exactly happened during the two weeks that Chiya was quarantined at Dongma's house?

"Auntie, please have some tea."

At that moment, Touma Kazusa also brought over the tea.

She stood very straight, her smooth black hair falling to her waist. Her steps were small and light. After serving the tea, she lowered her head slightly and stood to the side with her hands resting on the middle of her thighs. She was really very well-behaved.

"Ah, thank you, Kazusa."

Runzi quickly expressed her gratitude.

"You're welcome, Aunt Runzi... This is a black tea that my mom and I often enjoy drinking. It tastes very good, you can try it."

"Oh, really?"

Runzi smiled, picked up her teacup. The freshly poured water was too hot to drink immediately, but she could clearly smell a refreshing aroma of tea.

"The aroma of the tea is wonderful."

Kazusa smiled, pleased to see Chiya's mother's satisfaction.

Junko looked at the pretty girl with great interest; it wasn't the first time she had met Kazusa.

On New Year's Eve, Qianye brought her home; they had met once before.

But was Kazusa's personality like this back then?

At that time, she clearly seemed rather shy around strangers.

At the dinner table, she appears awkward and uneasy when her husband or she speaks warmly to her, and usually responds with very brief words.

This contrasts sharply with another girl, Saeko Busujima, whom her son invited back.

And now...

Although the child still gave her that feeling, it was clear that she was intentionally trying to suppress her introverted personality.

It seems a bit... or should I say it's deliberate flattery?

Junko Takanashi once again became concerned about what had happened in the past two weeks.

After chatting with Touma Yoko for a while, it got late.

Runzi ended the conversation by saying, "I'll go back and ask my husband and son what they think," and then politely took her leave.

It was already 11 p.m. when I got home.

If I hadn't refused Yoko's insistence on calling a taxi for me, I might have gotten home earlier.

But she really wasn't used to taking advantage of others for no reason, and always felt uneasy about it.

Taking the tram is a good option; it's economical and affordable, and it's okay if it's a little late.

Things are different now. There are other family members I can rely on, and I don't have to worry about those two sisters anymore.

"I am back."

Runzi deliberately kept her voice very soft.

The lights were still on in the living room. She thought her husband was waiting for her to come home, but she didn't expect that her son was still awake too.

"Qianye, it's so late, aren't you going to rest?"

"Dad told me that you were invited to the Touma family, Mom. I'm a little curious. What did you two talk about?"

"We did talk a lot, mostly about you..."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Um……"

Kotori Touka sat with her legs together in the armchair, her arms crossed over her chest, making a thoughtful sound. Her eyes were fixed on Gen Chiya, who was leaning against the headboard and yawning, seemingly deep in thought.

After a moment's thought, she came to a conclusion.

"So, in other words, during the time you were trapped in the Dongma family, you focused wholeheartedly on learning from that pianist's daughter. Under the guidance of a professional teacher, you unintentionally discovered your extraordinary talent in this field. You could say that your potential was unlocked, and you made remarkable progress in just two weeks. This even surprised the well-traveled pianist, who even invited my mother over last night, wanting to take you as her student."

"Yes, that's right."

It was already the next morning.

Shihua had no intention of disturbing her sworn brother's sweet dream, but after overhearing her parents' brief conversation in the entryway before leaving, she decided to leave.

Driven by her boundless curiosity, she used the excuse of waking up for breakfast, but in reality, it was to satisfy her own curiosity that led to the current situation.

Shihua let out a long "Mmm—" sound, crossing her left leg over her right, her white cotton slippers bobbing up and down on her toes.

If anyone else said something like that, Shika would definitely think that person was exaggerating.

But when it was Qianye, she surprisingly accepted it very easily, without having any other thoughts besides what he said.

Is this considered a form of trust?

Toka didn't know, but that didn't stop her from asking the next question.

"That's someone who won a championship in an international competition and is currently a very popular figure in the domestic piano world. What do you think about that?"

What I'm thinking... I want to sleep a little longer now.

Last night, I chatted with Runzi's mother until after midnight when she came back. I had just gone back to my room to sleep when Shiyu caught me again.

She said she wanted to hear her general thoughts on the new plot she had conceived, and she was considering whether to add it to the content of the upcoming new volume of her novel.

The rest of the conversation turned into a completely random chat about other trivial things.

They talked on the phone until after 1 a.m.

After a tiring day of sparring with Saeko, I finally managed to fall asleep, only to be woken up by Toka early this morning.

really...

Yuan Qianye began to miss the simple yet fulfilling time she spent in isolation, a time that was unchanging yet fulfilling.

"What thoughts could I possibly have? Since I promised Saeko I would participate in the Tamatsubune tournament, I will definitely have to focus on kendo during this time."

The implication is that, regarding the piano, he might temporarily decline the offer from Touma Yoko because he can't find the time right now.