I save a pathological girl with a twisted love story.

"Is that so? The child has chosen a difficult path." The old woman sighed, "Back in the Second New Tokyo, that old man had the same temperament. He made enemies everywhere, and no customers came. That's why he ran back here."

"But it was only when I got older that my personality became more stable."

The mother-in-law sighed.

Seeing that her mother-in-law was a little sad, Asahi Aoi changed the subject: "Grandma, are there many people coming to buy pastries every day?"

"It's mostly neighbors who come to buy, and sometimes tourists come to buy some too," the old woman said. "But we still have to rely on our neighbors and friends."

Do they buy them every day?

I come to buy some every few days.

"Grandma, these pastries must be delicious."

"Oh, these are just ordinary pastries. The reason they come to eat them is simply because they got used to them when they were young, and they've continued that habit as they've grown old."

The old woman laughed, "When we were young, we used to roam the streets and alleys, having so much fun. We'd go to arcades, dance in nightclubs, and kill time in pool halls. Now that we're old, all we can do is eat this kind of stuff and reminisce about the past."

"I'm incredibly happy when I occasionally kill time while shopping."

Aoi asked with some doubt, "Are they all really good people? How come their friendship from their youth has lasted?"

"No way," the old woman laughed and denied. "Young lady, let me tell you. No matter how dashing or wonderful a person is when they're young, some of them can turn into scoundrels when they get old."

"Even if we become bastards, so what? At our age, being able to see each other every day and reminisce about our youth is something to be grateful for."

"If I really cut off all ties with them, and even stop being friends, where will I find someone like them when I'm so young?"

The mother-in-law was resting in a chair.

Before long, an old man with a cane came over to buy pastries, and Asahi was about to serve him.

But the old man refused, and said to his wife, "Hey, you old woman, you finally have someone to rely on today. You're going to enjoy your life."

"You old man, you're so old and you still come to buy pastries. Be careful you don't fall and get stuck. By then I won't have to sell these things every day."

"You're dreaming! If you're not selling, where are we going to buy from? Nothing else tastes as good as yours," the old man said. "Besides, every restaurant has its regular customers. If I went somewhere else and couldn't even find a secret menu item, who could stand that?"

"Your strange taste is something that no shop can stand," the old woman complained, but her hands moved quickly, packing several pastries into a paper bag and handing it to the old man: "It's the kind of pastries you're used to eating."

The old man picked up the bag, but didn't leave.

Instead, he looked at Aoi and asked, "Where did you find this apprentice?"

"He's Xia Wu's friend."

"Girlfriend?" The old man looked at Aoi Asahi.

"What nonsense are you talking about, old man?" The old woman picked up a rolling pin and tapped the old man on the head. "They're just ordinary friends."

"Hey, it's surprising that they're just ordinary friends," the old man said. "I'm going to have a good talk with that kid Xia Wu later. This is the first time he's made a friend, and he didn't even tell us."

"Go away, go away, look how you've made her blush." ​​The mother-in-law waved her hand: "You're being as gossipy as an old woman."

"What are you saying?" the old man muttered in dissatisfaction before leaving.

Asahi looked at the old man and said, "Grandma, is this also your friend?"

"It's been a friend for decades," the mother-in-law said. "Because I abused my health when I was young, isn't this how it is at this age?"

"I can barely walk anymore, and I keep forgetting things."

"But you two have such a good relationship."

Aoi looked on with a hint of envy.

The mother-in-law smiled and said, "What's there to envy? You're still young, and you'll have a lot of friends sooner or later."

"Can I really?"

Aoi murmured enviously.

The streets were bustling with people, and Asahi was making pastries under the guidance of an old woman.

From the outside, they would probably look like a family, a grandmother and her granddaughter.

You can tell at a glance that the family is happy.

When Asahima looked out the door again, it was already dusk.

The entire street was burned to a crimson yellow, and the flow of people became increasingly sparse.

"Alright, alright. Asahi."

The old woman stopped Asahi from working and told her to stop.

"Today's revenue is not bad." The old woman said, taking out five thousand yen from the cash register and handing it to Aoi Asahi: "Here you go, this is your salary."

Aoi gratefully accepted it.

The old woman pointed to the remaining pastries and said, "Take some of these leftover pastries back with Xia Wu."

"Hmm." Aoi nodded, hesitated for a moment, and then put a few rather ugly pastries from the wooden plate into a bag.

After thanking the old lady again, Aoi Asahi left the store.

It was already six o'clock in the afternoon, and she was walking down the street carrying a bag.

He felt the money in his pocket.

Although nothing has changed today, she feels full of energy.

There was even an irrepressible joy in their hearts.

"Perhaps it's because I can finally support myself."

Aoi remembered what Keiko had said to her, but then forgot it.

She simply clutched the bag tightly and walked home.

Chapter 77 The Flower That Could Never Bloom [4/5]

Xia Wuzhao sat on the sofa reading a book and chatting with Xiao Ai.

Because of the sunflower, Ai can only come out from Xia Wuzhao's bedroom now.

It made her feel somewhat aggrieved.

Now that she could finally come out, she floated freely in the air, flying back and forth.

It was so much fun!

She was still a little uneasy, glancing at Xia Wuzhao from time to time.

"What's wrong?" Xia Wuzhao asked, looking at Xiao Ai.

"It's nothing," Xiao Ai said. "I was just thinking about sunflowers."

As dusk fell, she heard Asahima's footsteps returning.

Then he quickly slipped into Xia Wuzhao's pocket, thinking to himself, "Asahi Aoi seems to have brought a lot of things."

Just then, the door was opened.

"I am back."

Asahi Aoi pushed open the door and said this, then casually put the key in the bowl.

She placed the bags she was carrying on the floor next to the entryway, sat down on the floor, took off her shoes, and put them on the shoe cabinet.

She rolled up her sleeves, revealing her slender, fair arms.

Pick up the bag again.

He placed the paper bag containing the pastries in front of Xia Wuzhao: "This is what my mother-in-law asked me to give you."

"Hmm." Xia Wuzhao put down her book, opened the paper bag, and pinched out a round pastry.

He looked around and said, "It seems a little different from the previous ones."

The girl smoothed her hair: "Really? It's probably because Grandma changed the preparation method today."

As if to cover it up, she changed the subject.

He said to Xia Wuzhao, "Thank you for today."

"What are you thanking me for?" Xia Wuzhao ate the pastry, noticing that it seemed sweeter than before.

"You helped me find a job."

"So that's what it was about," Xia Wuzhao said. "It's because Grandma needed an apprentice. She's quite old, and strenuous work like kneading dough would be a huge burden for her."

"You are exactly the kind of person who can lighten her burden."

"I see?" Aoi said. "Anyway, thank you. I've received my salary, so let me cook dinner tonight."

"As a token of my gratitude."

"Do whatever you want," Xia Wuzhao replied indifferently.

"I just didn't want to cause any misunderstandings, so I made sure to clarify things."

Asahi carried the bag to the open kitchen at the back and began to carefully wash the flour off her fingernails.

"This is just to thank you for helping me find a job; there's nothing else to it."

She said, as if complaining, "Just because I cooked a meal and delivered lunch once, I feel like it's common for people to like me."

"I told you this in advance so that you wouldn't have that thought."

Tear off the plastic wrap, take the meat patties out of the box, fill a bowl with water, and let the meat soak in it.

The other vegetables were all placed in baskets and rinsed under the tap.

Aoi asked, "Do you think that way too?"

"No," Xia Wuzhao answered crisply.

"Really?" Asahi Aoi reached out and squeezed the meat hard, kneaded it for a while, poured out the water, and then started pouring cooking wine and other things into the bowl.

"Isn't that what all high school boys think? They just say one sentence and they start to think the other person likes them."

She didn't look at Xia Wuzhao, but simply said, "It seems like a lot of high school students have this kind of thinking. Even if you have this kind of thinking, it's nothing."

"What do the other people have to do with me?" Xia Wuzhao flipped through the book in her hands.

"You're really scary," Aoi Asahi said. "It's normal for high school students to have these kinds of thoughts."

“It’s the thought that’s scary,” Xia Wuzhao said. “To have expectations on your own and then to be sad on your own.”

"Oh, I thought you would have that thought." Aoi finally finished preparing the meat and started peeling the radish.

“After all, we weren’t even talking to each other a few days ago. Now we’re living in the same house, and I’m even cooking for you.”

The girl said, "I think it's normal for you to have those kinds of thoughts."

"A few days ago, what time was it?" Xia Wuzhao asked.

"That was the day I was ordered to go home and reflect on my actions."

After peeling the radish, Asahima washed it clean and placed it on a cutting board, then finely chopped it into small pieces.

"That was a very, very long time ago."

"It'll only take three or four days," Aoi Asahi said.

“Half a week, half a quarter of a month,” Xia Wuzhao replied. “Isn’t that still quite a long time?”

"What a sophistry!"

Asahi Aoi said this.

She was simmering miso soup on a stove. She needed to cook bonito broth first, and then add tofu and tender seaweed after the broth was ready.

While the soup was simmering, she was also pan-frying pork chops.

The oil sizzled in the pan, and the soup pot bubbled and steamed.

The range hood made a low, mournful sound.

The two chatted idly, without any particular purpose.

The once empty room was now filled with fragrance.

“I’ve started saving money. If I keep working, plus scholarships and other income, I should be able to live in Tokyo Second for a while. I just need to rent a cheap apartment a little further from the city center.”

"Do you want me to congratulate you?" Xia Wuzhao looked at the gradually dimming sunlight outside the window, where rows of lampposts had already lit up.