I push the kid!

He rested his chin on his hand and thought for a while, then asked, "So, I am half responsible for the success?"

"Of course~" Hoshino Ai smiled even more.

The two chatted for a while, and Maki Teramoto brought them two cups of cappuccino. She also leaned over to Taku Makimura's ear and asked him who the girl was.

Makimura Taku said she was a friend, and she asked if she was not a girlfriend? Makimura Taku replied that it was impossible.

She patted Taku Makimura's shoulder and joked that Youxi would be jealous. Taku Makimura smiled and didn't take it seriously.

After Maki Teramoto left, Hoshino Ai, who was sitting opposite her, took a sip of cappuccino, stuck out her tongue and said it was too bitter.

Takuya Makimura took a sip and found it indeed a bit bitter. He felt it was because of the coffee beans, or maybe not enough milk was added.

At around 5:30, Taku Makimura got up and went back to work. Hoshino Ai said that she would sit in this position and wait for him to get off work, and Taku Makimura nodded.

He returned to the front desk and Maki Teramoto told him to go on the date right away without waiting until six o'clock. Hideki Nishida also agreed. Hanami Koizumi stayed in the room and didn't come out.

Taku Makimura wondered if this was how the word "date" was used, then he said thank you, took off his apron, walked to Hoshino Ai, and the two walked out of Starbucks together.

"Shall we go eat first?" Makimura Taku asked her.

"I want to eat tuna sushi!"

"No problem."

The two walked along the street, and finally Hoshino Ai stopped in front of a noodle shop.

Taku Makimura asked her if she wanted to eat sushi, and she smiled and said she changed her mind and suddenly wanted to eat noodles, but Taku Makimura didn't care.

The decoration of the store is very simple and looks very cheap. When I went in and picked up the menu, I saw that they were all cheap noodles.

The two of them ordered soba noodles and udon noodles respectively, and they both enjoyed their meals.

Before paying the bill, Hoshino Ai's phone rang. She took out her phone, took a look at it, gestured to Makimura Taku, and walked to the side to answer the call.

Chapter 32 Things I Like

Chapter 32. Things I Like

The call lasted about seven minutes, during which time Makimura Taku waited for her while observing the food posters on the wall.

Hoshino Ai made some "eh" and "oh" sounds into the receiver. She didn't know who called her or what they talked about.

After the call was hung up, Hoshino Ai sat back with her phone in her hand.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting," she said.

"It's okay," Makimura Taku asked casually, "What's wrong?"

"It's okay, it's nothing."

After Hoshino Ai finished speaking, Makimura Taku looked up at her.

She lowered her head and glanced at the phone screen, her purple hair hanging on her shoulders, and the two did not look at each other.

Makimura Taku groaned, then asked nonchalantly, "Is it really nothing?"

"Yes, that's right." said Hoshino Ai.

"Okay then." Taku Makimura didn't ask any further questions and called the waiter to pay the bill.

The two left the noodle shop. The wind outside was chilly, which was in stark contrast to the air inside the house. However, the air was so fresh that people couldn't help but marvel at it.

Most of the water on the ground flowed into the sewer, and some of it was dried by the sunlight, so there were not many puddles.

If they were in Karuizawa, they would definitely have to wade through the water or choose a route to go, but this is Tokyo, there is no place with a smoother road than here.

At dusk, the two people walked forward in the direction of the setting sun.

The building blocked the view on both sides. There was a guitar and piano performance on the street, and they blended into the crowd and watched for a while.

It was getting dark around six o'clock, the street lights all came on, the neon billboards on the streets became more and more conspicuous, and the flow of people and cars began to increase at some point.

They walked to the nearby Odakyu Department Store and browsed around for a while, but there was nothing in particular they wanted to buy, so after coming out they went to the station and prepared to go home.

While waiting for the next train to arrive, Hoshino Ai and Makimura Taku sat together. Even though they didn't talk at first, they didn't find the atmosphere strange.

Around 7:20, another call came into Hoshino Ai's cell phone, and she clicked to answer it directly.

"President, what's wrong? ... Yes, I'm on my way back now. Yes, I mentioned it to you before, don't worry. That matter..." She paused and looked up at the lights on the platform, "Well... let's ask other people for their opinions first."

The call continued to be connected, but afterwards Hoshino Ai was just listening, occasionally responding and nodding to the air.

After hanging up the phone, she exhaled and put her phone away.

"About the rehearsal?" Makimura Taku asked her.

"No."

"Is it because you came here and got scolded?"

"How is this possible?" Hoshino Ai laughed.

Makimura Taku thought about it, held his chin and said to himself: "It seems that this is something that cannot be said..."

"There's nothing you can't say." Hoshino Ai waved her hand.

"That means I don't deserve to hear it."

Hoshino Ai was frightened: "That's not the case!"

"Come to think of it, what we said during the meal were also lies." Makimura Taku fell into deep thought.

"Really?" She smiled and tried to fool him. "I forgot about it!"

"I'll remember it for you."

"Don't remember unimportant things so well."

"What you say always makes a lasting impression."

She was stunned for a moment, and at that moment the tram pulled into the station. The light shone on her face, making her skin appear even whiter than usual.

After the train stopped, all the automatic doors opened and Taku Makimura stood up, ready to get on the train with her.

But Hoshino Ai sat on the bench and didn't move, as if her body was stuck to it.

Makimura Taku looked back at her, and Hoshino Ai looked back at her with eyes that were deeper than the night sky and brighter than the starry sky.

She said, "Mucun, I want to talk to you again, is that okay?"

"The train is about to pass, is that okay?"

"It's okay." She said softly.

Makimura Taku nodded and sat down next to her again.

The two watched the tram drive into the darkness. There was no third person on the platform at this time and the surroundings were very quiet.

Hoshino Ai lifted her legs onto the chair, hugged her knees and tightened her body like a kitten that had made a mistake.

Makimura Taku waited quietly for her to speak first.

"Makino," after a long while, Hoshino Ai lowered her head and said, "Is there something you hate?"

"I lost my umbrella on a rainy day."

"Any more?"

"Just missed the next bus."

"anything else?"

"I was eating toast and realized I forgot to buy milk."

"That doesn't count."

"Then we'll part ways."

"respectively?"

"Ah."

"What's the big deal about parting?" Hoshino Ai said, "Parting is for the next meeting."

"What about you? What do you hate? You don't want to tell a secret, do you?"

"What? You have no confidence in me?" She put her face on her knees and smiled at Makimura Taku. "Not this time."

"So what do you hate?"

"I hate it when people expect me to tell everything."

"anything else."

“This is the main thing.”

"I already knew that."

"Liar, you don't know."

"If I didn't know, I would have exposed your lie during dinner and asked more questions."

"You did ask just now, didn't you?"

"Who made you sigh at that time?"

"sigh?"

"Like this." He exhaled, imitating Hoshino Ai.

“Hahaha, what is that?” Hoshino Ai pointed at him and laughed, “You don’t look like him at all, and that’s not a sigh.”

"no?"

"Shouldn't the sigh be heavier?" Hoshino Ai said, "I was like this at that time, huh... just like that, just exhaling casually."

"Maybe I'm overthinking it?"

"Yes."

"I was being stupid." Makimura Taku laughed at himself.

Hoshino Ai asked him, "Hey, Makimura, you know I hate this, why do you still have to do this?"

"What else could it be? I just want you to hate me."