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

But Toka, who came with a learning attitude, didn't have so many concerns and ordered side dishes and snacks such as potato salad, fried food platter, and wasabi squid.

The three of them ate slowly and waited patiently.

They waited until 10:30, when the restaurant finally quieted down, with only four tables of customers left, including them.

The female waitress took off her apron and said goodbye to the young chef who was now free in the kitchen.

Seizing the opportunity, Yuan Qianye and his two companions got up, went to the bar, approached him, handed him their cards, introduced themselves, and succinctly stated their purpose.

"Ah, you are Aunt Yoko's friends. Hello, my name is Yukihira Soma."

The young chef removed the headscarf from his forehead, appearing quite cheerful.

"I haven't seen her in a long time. How has she been lately? Is she feeling well?"

Yuan Qianye replied, "She is fine, but she has been very busy lately. She just returned and is going abroad to organize a concert, so she doesn't have time to visit in person. She asked us to give her her regards."

After speaking, he presented the beautifully packaged fruit gift box that he had prepared beforehand.

"Oh, no need to be so polite. But Aunt Yaozi is as amazing as ever. However, you've come at a bad time. As you can see, my dad, who is also the manager of this store, is not home right now. He went out last week."

Shihua asked, "When will he be back?"

"That's hard to say. He never goes out at any one time, and he often leaves his phone at home so I can't contact him. Sometimes he comes back in a day or two, but occasionally he gets a sudden urge to go on a trip or see friends, and it's common for him to stay away from home for more than half a month. Here's what we'll do: you leave your phone numbers, and I'll tell him to contact you when he gets back."

Yukihira Soma was very enthusiastic and offered his advice.

Just then, a customer finished their meal and went to pay the bill, so he temporarily excused himself and ran to the cashier near the store entrance.

Miyoko said softly, "Since the manager isn't home, we'll just have to do as this young man says."

Yuan Qianye remained silent for the time being.

Shihua looked at him: "What do you think of this young man's cooking skills?"

Gen Chiya said honestly, "Very impressive."

Shihua laughed and said, "Right? I also think he's very capable, at least much more capable than me."

"Welcome back next time!" Soma Yukihira saw off a table of guests and returned to them. "Wait a moment, I'll go get a sticky note. Leave your phone numbers here. Since you're Aunt Yoko's friends, Dad will definitely help you when he gets back."

"Yukihira-kun." Toka called out to him, bowed slightly to him, and said earnestly, "I have a favor to ask."

At 11:50 p.m., Gen Chiya and two others walked out of Yukihira Restaurant.

Soma Yukihira escorted them to the store and waved goodbye from the store entrance.

After walking a distance, Yuan Qianye looked back and saw that the shop's sign light was off.

Although the business card indicates that the business hours are from 10:30 a.m. to 1:00 a.m.

However, if the manager is not in the store and only chef Soma Yukihira is there, the store's operating hours will be much more flexible.

He is, after all, a student, and needs to get enough sleep to conserve energy for tomorrow's studies.

"You guys wait here, I'll go get the car myself."

After giving these instructions, Miyoko jogged into the parking lot.

Gen Chiya and Toka stood side by side on the street.

Unlike the bustling city center, this place is quite late at night, with few pedestrians and vehicles on the streets. You can see several crows pecking at garbage bags next to a pile of trash across the street.

After a short while, Yuan Qianye spoke.

"Are you sure you don't need me to come along?"

The request that Toka made to Soma Yukihira at the store was that he hoped she could come and help in the kitchen after school every day until his father returned.

While she had the idea of ​​relieving the other person's pressure, her main motivation was to improve herself and learn something from the young chef.

Toka frankly explained all of this to Soma Yukihira.

After earnestly pleading with her, Soma Yukihira agreed to her request.

Shihua shook her head: "Really, there's no need. You still have your own things to do."

"It's not very convenient to come here, is it?"

“I just checked. Although I have to transfer to the tram, the one-way time can be controlled to about an hour, which is usually acceptable. Before I met you, I lived with my mother and went through a relatively difficult period. Back then, it took me about the same amount of time to get to and from school. I could accept it then, so there's no reason for me to feel that way now.”

"Um……"

Yuan Qianye still had some concerns.

Seeing this, Toka smiled gently. Seeing that no one was around and Miyoko hadn't yet driven out, she boldly took the initiative to hug him, her voice softening.

“I’m really okay. You’ve already pointed out the direction I need to work hard for in the future. There’s no reason for you to think about dragging me along or carrying me on your back. I’m not a little baby. How about you trust me a little? I want to try to achieve the honors and achievements you’ve made through my own efforts. In the future, I also want to be a pillar that you can trust and rely on, just like you have for me.”

Yuan Qianye put his arm around her shoulder and exhaled.

"If you had said so earlier, I would have understood."

He hugged the other person back, his voice becoming even gentler as he whispered in their ear.

"I look forward to the day you mentioned, when my Shihua grows to a level that surprises me and makes me even prouder. But there's one thing I hope you can promise me: if you encounter any insurmountable difficulties, please don't hesitate to tell me immediately. We are family, now and in the future."

"Okay, I promise you."

A beautiful blush spread across Toka's cheeks; she could clearly feel the tenderness and affection in Gen Chiya's embrace.

She suddenly realized that Rikka wasn't home today, which meant that the two of them would be alone in the house all night. This realization made her heart beat faster and her cheeks flushed even more.

The sound of the car pulling away caused the two to separate.

At home that night, after washing up, the two returned to the bedroom one after the other. Just as Toka had predicted, Chiya moved closer to her.

To her surprise, he did not do anything inappropriate. He simply placed a light, feather-light kiss on her forehead and then gently pulled her into his arms.

"Goodnight, Shihua." His voice was deep and gentle, like the gentlest breeze in the night.

After this night, Toka felt even more deeply the thoughtfulness and gentleness of Chiyo Minamoto. He always put her feelings first and expressed his love in the most respectful way.

Shihua was secretly certain in her heart that this person was the one she was willing to entrust her life to, and that she would probably never be able to leave him for the rest of her life.

On the second day of school, Yuan Qianye arrived at school ten minutes before the class bell rang.

The disciplinary committee member at the school gate, his secret lover Saeko Busujima, faces every student with a serious and earnest attitude, but only when they meet his gaze does she reveal her gentle side.

At the shoe cabinet, several letters fell out the moment he opened his cabinet.

There was no extra information on the envelopes, and they were all light pink without exception, so you could tell what they were about without even opening them.

To show respect, he put it in his schoolbag and planned to dispose of it later in a secluded place.

There was no way he could respond. The various complex and different progresses of his childhood sweethearts were already keeping him busy, and he simply didn't have the mood to expand on anything else.

"The aristocratic culture of the Nara and Heian periods is mainly reflected in..."

"The Last Admonition of Prince Kujō states that, beginning with clothing and carriages, as things became more practical, the pursuit of beauty arose. The Shuntoku-in Temple also recorded various matters within the Forbidden City, noting that the Emperor valued simplicity in his clothing..."

"Substituting this fraction into the equation and performing the following calculations... we can easily arrive at the answer..."

The morning classes were very easy for Yuan Qianye; the prestige of being at the top of the entrance exam was undeniable.

During lunch break, Yuan Qianye declined the invitation from the vice class monitor, who was twirling her hair with her fingers and looking away. Instead, she called over the tsundere piano girl who seemed reluctant but was actually in a good mood, and went to the cafeteria with the others.

Shiyu's absence today seems to be because she stayed up too late last night brainstorming a special chapter for her novel, so she simply took the day off this morning.

It's only the second day of school, so this is actually a bit inappropriate.

However, as a top student, she certainly has the confidence to back it up.

Instead, it was Saeko who was free today.

As a perfect woman embodying the qualities of a Yamato Nadeshiko, her presence today made the overall atmosphere much better than yesterday.

…………

Chapter 007: The Life Philosophy Influenced by You

"Good afternoon, Minister."

"Hello."

"Saeko, come sit here."

"Sorry, I had plans with a friend today."

"So Busujima knows the freshman representative."

"Yes, we used to go to the same school and were very close classmates."

"Saeko, Saeko, come to our window, we'll be done soon."

"Yes, thank you."

Walking into the cafeteria together, in just a few dozen steps, everyone witnessed Saeko's immense popularity.

People would often come up to greet her familiarly, and it didn't seem like they were just being polite; they seemed to genuinely have a good relationship with her or show her respect from the bottom of their hearts.

"Compared to her, a certain second-year student is like air; nobody pays any attention to her at all," Eriri muttered to herself.

Yukino coughed lightly, looked at her friend and shook her head, feeling that no matter how much they didn't get along, it wasn't good to talk about such things behind someone's back.

Eriri shrugged nonchalantly. She didn't care whether Kasumigaoka was there or not. Her indifference towards him was practically written all over her face. She hated him openly and honestly. She had nothing to hide and was completely clear about her conscience.

Saeko smiled and said, "Shiyu's popularity is actually no less than mine, it's just that her performance in this aspect is completely different from mine."

Rikka became interested: "What do you mean by that, Saeko-nee?"

"When she first enrolled last year, she was the student with the highest entrance exam score. Just like Qianye is now, she gave a speech as a representative of the new students. As a result, her shoe cabinet was filled with love letters from boys for the next week. In addition, many people chose to confess to her in person. Some even chose to put romantic flowers and balloons on her seat before she came to the classroom."

"Oh?" Yuan Qianye was somewhat surprised; Shi Yu hadn't told him any of these things.

Yukino stared at him with a deep, unsettling gaze.

Kazusa's aura also quickly turned cold.

Feeling a chill run down his spine, he quickly changed his tune, speaking in a seemingly casual tone: "That sounds quite interesting, so how did she handle it in the end?"

"As you all know, Shiyu usually has to balance her studies and novels. How could she be interested in something like romance when she's so busy? So naturally, she gave it the cold shoulder. After more than a month, those who were going to take action did, but after not getting any feedback, they all settled down."

Saeko took everyone's meal tickets and handed them to the cafeteria lady. While waiting for the food, she continued,

"But now that the new semester has started, another batch of freshmen who don't know the specifics have flooded in. I guess Shiyu will be troubled again for a while. Oh right, and you guys too, Yukino Eriri, Kazusa, and Rikka. You're all so pretty and cute. In my opinion, your charm is no less than Shiyu's. Maybe you'll have a similar experience soon. Maybe we can look forward to it with joy."

This could be considered a witty remark, or a subtle compliment.