Tokyo Knights: The Odd Jobs X Files

Li Xin thought for a moment, then suddenly asked Lai Shenglei, "Little Lei, are you dressed like that to go out?"

"Yes."

Lai Sheng Lei said to Li Xin, "I'm going to check out the coffee shop. I haven't been there since it was sold to someone else, and I plan to take advantage of my free time today."

Rui Kisugi has a special affection for Cat's Eye Cafe. To her, the cafe is even more precious than the tower she lives in, and she is very concerned about its condition.

After selling the shop to Hayato Ijuin, Laisheng Rui went to the Central Plains with Li Xin and only returned two days ago. However, she still had some things to take care of. Now that she finally had some free time, the first thing Laisheng Rui wanted to do was to see how Cat's Eye Cafe was doing.

"I went to the coffee shop a few days ago. You handed it over to a bald uncle to run, right?"

Li Xin asked about the next life, tears welling up in his eyes.

Lai Sheng Lei nodded: "That's right. That uncle used to be a 'cleaner,' but he retired and took over my shop. He wanted to run a coffee shop, and I thought he was a good person, so I handed the shop over to him. Ashin, have you been to the coffee shop? How is the coffee shop doing now?"

Given the importance that Rui Kisaki places on the café, it's impossible that she wouldn't investigate the person who took it over. If it were someone else, they might have considered Ijuin Hayato's "cleaner" identity a red flag and wouldn't want to hand the shop over to such a dangerous person. But Rui Kisaki obviously wouldn't do that. After learning that Ijuin Hayato had a good reputation, she was even more willing to hand the shop over to him. After all, people in this profession have a much higher reputation than ordinary people.

"Nothing else has changed in the coffee shop, except there are far fewer customers, but his coffee is quite good."

Li Xin replied that since they had given him free coffee, he couldn't be ungrateful and say that their coffee was bad. Besides, Ijuin Hayato's coffee was indeed quite good, although Li Xin didn't really appreciate coffee.

"Oh, I'm even more eager to go see it now. How about this, Ashin, you come with me?"

Tears welled up in my eyes as I faced Li Xindao in my next life.

"Okay."

Li Xin agreed without hesitation. He didn't have any work to do right now, and Lai Sheng Lei wanted him to go to the coffee shop with her, so Li Xin naturally had no objection.

Helena then said, "A coffee shop? I quite like coffee. May I try the coffee at this coffee shop?"

Lai Sheng Lei glanced at Helena and smiled, "Of course!"

....................................

Before the official opening of Cat's Eye Cafe, Rachel and Alma, two newcomers, are being mentored by their senior (don't ask where she's senior) Honoka.

Rachel had worked as a server at a burger joint in Queens, New York, so she had some relevant experience. Of course, it might not be very applicable, since Honoka said that you should always smile and be polite when facing customers. But when Rachel was at the burger joint in Queens, the most common things she said were "What are you looking at?", "If you're not a customer here, I'll break your hand", "Get out of here, or I'll throw you out", and "Go outside to drink your powder, don't do it here".

"...That's about it. I've only been working part-time at the coffee shop for a short time, and there's still a lot I don't understand. Let's all work hard together!"

Honoka said to Rachel and Alma.

Alma nodded vigorously, somewhat excitedly saying, "Yes, Honoka-senpai, I will do my best!"

Alma had never worked before because of Rachel's protection, so this was her first job and it was very meaningful to her.

"Just call me Honoka, don't call me senpai or anything like that."

Honoka said shyly that she felt a little embarrassed by Alma's address as "senpai".

After Honoka finished training the newcomers, Hayato Ijuin walked into the café carrying a large pile of ingredients. He greeted Honoka first, and then asked Rachel and Alma, "Rachel, Alma, how's it going on the second floor?"

He doesn't live in the coffee shop. For someone like Hayato Ijuin who is blind, adapting to a new place is a very costly thing, so he still lives in his original apartment. However, the apartment is nearby and he can walk there, making his commute very convenient. He can also buy ingredients for his shop on the way.

"Very satisfied, thank you store manager!"

Rachel quickly replied.

Indeed, the second floor of Cat's Eye Cafe looks like an ordinary home, but the furniture and decorations inside were all carefully selected by Lai Sheng Lei. It is very comfortable to live in. For Rachel, who used to live a life of hardship and later lived in the terrible Queens area, the living environment of Cat's Eye Cafe is no different from paradise. She would never get tired of living here for a lifetime.

"That's good."

Hayato Ijuin nodded slightly. He hadn't been to the second floor much either, since it was originally where the girls lived. As a grown man, he preferred to avoid going up there if possible.

"Honoka, are you ready to open the shop?"

Ijuin Hayato asked Honoka about it.

"Manager, everything is ready!"

Honoka answered with great enthusiasm.

Hayato Ijuin nodded in satisfaction, then said to Honoka, "Let's prepare to open the shop."

Most coffee shops open at 9 a.m., but this Cat's Eye Coffee Shop also serves breakfast to police officers from the Metropolitan Police Department, so it opens half an hour earlier than other coffee shops to make it convenient for the officers to have breakfast on their way to work.

"Yes, store manager!"

Honoka skipped and hopped to the front of the cafe, ready to open the door and change the "Preparing" sign hanging outside to "Open for Business".

No sooner had Honoka stepped out than a petite figure bumped right into her.

"oops!"

Both of them fell backward at the same time, but Honoka's front and rear airbags were quite considerable, especially the front airbag, so she quickly got up from the ground after falling, and even had the strength to reach out to the petite figure who was sitting on the ground and couldn't get up.

Are you alright? I'm so sorry, I wasn't paying attention!

Honoka reached out her hand to the petite figure.

Mary Rose, the blonde twin-tailed maid who had fallen to the ground, was completely bewildered.

It wasn't that I was stunned by the impact, but rather that I was wondering what I had just bumped into. There were two big, soft lumps, what were they?

Chapter 714 Sturdy and Durable...

At the Cat's Eye Cafe, a policeman arrived at the door and scratched his head when he saw the "Preparing" sign hanging on the door.

Wait a minute, shouldn't they already be open by this time? Why are they still preparing? I wanted to enjoy my breakfast coffee while seeing Honoka's smiling face...

But since he didn't know when the coffee shop would open, the policeman had to go to work first, and then sneak out to see if the coffee shop was open when it opened.

Inside the coffee shop, Mary Rose sat in her seat, her eyes constantly glancing at Honoka, who was serving water to Li Xin.

"Is this a monster...?"

Mary Rose muttered to herself, "How can they be so different in height when they're about the same? Can the gap between the rich and poor in this world really be this huge?"

Meanwhile, on the other side, Hayato Ijuin was warmly greeting Rui Kisugi: "It's Miss Kisugi! It's been a long time since I've greeted you. Welcome to 'Cat's Eye'!"

"Welcome to 'Cat's Eye'..."

When Kisugi Rui heard Ijuin Hayato's words, she couldn't help but laugh: "I've said this to countless people before, but I never thought I'd hear someone say it to me now."

"Hahaha, I owe this opportunity to Miss Laisheng!"

Hayato Ijuin stroked his shiny bald head.

People with a shady past like him are rarely willing to rent to. Even the house he lives in now is only rented to him because the landlord used to be involved in the underworld and offered a high rent.

That's why he was so grateful to Laisheng Lei for handing over the shop to him at almost free rent, with only a few insignificant conditions attached.

Lai Sheng Lei smiled and said, "I feel very reassured entrusting the coffee shop to someone as conscientious and responsible as you."

She had just glanced around the coffee shop; it was clean and tidy, and all the decorations were well maintained. You could really see how much care the people in the shop put into it.

"Thank you for the compliment, Miss Laisheng."

Hayato Ijuin said somewhat shyly.

Gaining the approval of the former shop owner is of great significance to Hayato Ijuin!

"By the way, may I sit here with my friends as guests for a while? I'd like to experience what it's like to be a guest."

Lai Sheng Lei smiled slightly.

"Of course, please, please!"

Hayato Ijuin said "please" twice.

Lai Sheng Lei, Li Xin, Helena, and Mary Rose sat at a table. Lai Sheng Lei smiled and said, "Xin, this seat seems to be the one you used to sit in. When others wanted to sit there, Xiao Ai would often go and tell the guests that the seat was already taken."

"Yes."

Li Xin nodded. This seat was by the window, allowing him to observe the outside situation, so Li Xin liked to sit here, and it eventually became his preferred seat.

Helena asked curiously, "Ah-Xin, were you a regular customer here before? Do you really like coffee?"

At the same time, she was thinking that if Li Xin liked coffee, she could also learn how to brew it.

Upon hearing Helena's question, Rui Kisugi couldn't help but laugh: "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."

She was professionally trained and wouldn't laugh no matter how funny something was, but Helena's question... sorry, she just couldn't help it.

Li Xin looked embarrassed: "Uh, I don't really like coffee, I mainly come here to drink hot water."

Helena paused for a moment, then asked, "Why?"

Hot water is free.

Li Xin answered honestly.

Helena: "..."

Mary Rose: "..."

"Don't make that face. Back then, Ashin had just arrived in Japan and didn't have any money. You can't blame him for that."

"Later Life Tears" said with a smile.

I have money!

Helena wanted to say that, but Rui Kisei had already said that was when Li Xin had just arrived in Japan. Now, Li Xin was definitely not short of money, so her greatest advantage seemed to be unable to be utilized. Moreover, the woman in front of her seemed to be very wealthy as well.

So, did she seduce and win over Ashin when he was broke?

Helena thought to herself.

She was neither foolish nor blind, so she could naturally see that Li Xin and Lai Sheng Lei had a close relationship.

There is usually a social distance between people, and the social distance will be different depending on the relationship. However, the social distance between Li Xin and Lai Sheng Lei is almost zero. The two can sit together very easily and do not care about physical contact at all.

Helena was very familiar with this kind of social distance because she had seen it too many times between her father and his seven lovers. It was a social distance that only men and women who had been in close physical contact would maintain!

Helena also subtly observed the same social distancing between Li Xin and Mao Lixia.

Thinking of this, Helena tentatively asked, "Miss Kisugi, do you know Miss Moriarty from Shin's agency?"

Li Xin, who was drinking water, suddenly choked. Lai Sheng Lei handed Li Xin a tissue and then said to Helena, "You mean Li Xia? Of course I know her. During the Spring Festival this year, I went with her to meet A Xin's parents."

Helena was startled. Since she admired Li Xin, she had naturally learned about the various customs and culture of the Central Plains. Otherwise, it would be such a shame if she accidentally offended Li Xin's taboos during her interactions with him.

Therefore, Helena knew that in the Central Plains, when children brought members of the opposite sex home, it was almost a clear indication of a romantic relationship.

What Helena didn't understand was why Li Xin brought back two girls?

Lai Sheng Lei calmly said, "The relationship between the three of us has already been approved by A Xin's parents."

Is this an official announcement?

Helena stared intently at Rui Kisei, and seeing that Rui Kisei remained calm, a sense of defeat welled up within her.

Helena said to Rei, "Okay, I understand. I'll quit."

Although she liked Li Xin, she wasn't the type to cling to him relentlessly. If Li Xin was already in a relationship, and even had two partners, she wouldn't keep pestering him. In the end, although she had feelings for Li Xin, it wasn't to the point of being devoted to him until death. She would let go when necessary.

Lai Sheng Lei suddenly said to Li Xin, "Ah Xin, could you go to the nearby convenience store and buy me a box of chewing gum?"

"Huh? Now?"

Li Xin was taken aback for a moment, but since Lai Sheng Lei wanted it, he could only nod and say, "Okay, I'll go right now."

"No rush, take your time."

Lai Sheng Lei smiled slightly, and after Li Xin left, Lai Sheng Lei looked at Helena and said to her, "I can tell that Miss Helena has feelings for Xin."

Helena frankly admitted, "Yes, I do have feelings for Ashin."

She was French, and for her, love was sacred, and liking someone was nothing to be ashamed of.

"I understand that. After all, I trust my own judgment."

Lai Sheng Lei smiled slightly.

Isn't it normal for the man she likes to be popular? If she doesn't like anyone else besides her, then it means she has bad taste.

Helena had already accepted the fact that Li Xin was already taken, but she was still a little jealous when she heard Laisheng Lei say that. She couldn't help but say, "Miss Laisheng, did you send A Xin away just to show off to me?"

Of course not.

Lai Shenglei shook her head and then said, "I have heard about the relationship between your father and mother. What I want to say is that I am not against it."

Helena paused for a moment, then said to Laisheng Rui, "Miss Laisheng, you mean..."

Lai Sheng Lei said, "I agreed to Ashin and Lixia's relationship. I personally don't have any particular obsession with marriage, so I don't mind if Ashin has a partner other than me."