Tokyo: To reiterate, this is not a dating system.

When the midday sun shines directly down, the shadows of things are compressed to their shortest length.

Under the blazing sun, with his own shadow beneath his feet, Genji Aoyama arrived at the glass window of the Trevo café.

Yuko Asahi was standing there—wearing casual clothes, light blue slightly faded jeans, and a thin, pure white long-sleeved shirt.

Although she has a slender figure and a flat chest, the jeans accentuate her beautiful hip curves and make her legs appear even longer.

Her attire was completely clear; she was both beautiful and cute, undoubtedly a lovely girl.

Genji Aoyama walked up to her with a smile, their shadows obscured by the large parasol at the entrance.

"Good afternoon," he greeted the beautiful girl who was waiting for him.

"...Good afternoon." Asahi Yuko seemed a little timid.

Her thin shoulders were tense, and on her pretty face, the smile on her lips was somewhat forced, her long eyelashes trembled slightly.

The two went into a coffee shop.

During lunchtime, the restaurant wasn't too crowded, and the staff warmly invited the two to sit down.

Genji Aoyama noticed that Yuko Asahi's gaze was intentionally or unintentionally glancing towards a certain spot by the window—the place where Haruka Minatsuki and Genji Aoyama had sat before.

Finally, the staff led the two to a relatively secluded corner to sit down, and then waited quietly for them to order.

"What would you like to eat?"

Genji Aoyama handed the menu to Yuko Asahi, who didn't dare look him in the eye but simply reached out to take it.

A slightly cool hand made contact with Genji Aoyama's palm, then withdrew as if startled.

"I was definitely forcing myself."

Genji Aoyama smiled inwardly, then placed the menu in front of Yuko Asahi.

The scene was extremely quiet, even a little awkward.

Yuko Asahi adjusted her breathing, as if to ease her tension; her gaze shifted slightly before returning to its original direction.

Then she started looking at the menu, and after about a minute, she gave Aoyama Genji the answer he already knew: "Strawberry cake, please."

At least she can speak normally when talking to the shop assistants.

"Then I'll have the same one too," Genji Aoyama said with a smile. "And for drinks, I'll have two orange sodas."

After speaking, perhaps remembering something, he glanced at Asahi Yuko, who was looking down but occasionally glancing at him, and asked:

"Asahi...can I drink it iced?"

"...?"

Yuko Asahi didn't seem to grasp the meaning at first; her slightly raised face showed a hint of confusion.

Then, as if realizing what had happened, a blush appeared on her delicate face.

She nodded shyly.

"I'm so gentle."

While thinking, Genji Aoyama instructed the shop assistant to make orange soda into regular ice.

"Thank you." The two nodded politely to the shop assistant in thanks.

While waiting for their food, this secluded corner fell into an even deeper silence.

"It makes me a little sad that Asahi can have a normal conversation with the shop assistant," Genji Aoyama teased her on purpose.

"...No, that's not it. Actually, I really want to talk to Aoyama-kun," Asahi Yuko explained.

After a while, she managed to squeeze out a sentence in a low voice: "Also... Aoyama-kun is really mean-spirited, he deliberately teased me."

"Really? Even though it was Asahi who asked me to talk, they're deliberately ignoring me." Genji Aoyama blinked, his voice low. "They said they really wanted to talk to me, but they haven't said a single word to me."

"..."

Yuko Asahi's breath hitched for a moment. She adjusted her breathing and tried to raise her voice: "There are some things about myself and some trivial matters in my life that I want to share with Aoyama-kun."

The voice was still not loud, but it sounded like it was spoken with a certain determination.

"I see."

Genji Aoyama looked at her with a smile.

"breathe--"

Yuko Asahi took another deep breath and began to recount her daily life over the past week.

The training in the archery club, the progress in studies, and the constant self-examination of one's inner self and the results achieved...

The staff served the food and then quietly left; only occasional hushed conversations could be heard from this secluded corner.

Asahi Yuko's expression was halting, pausing after each sentence, and her spoon would occasionally tap against the bottom of the cake plate, making a crisp clinking sound. Aoyama Genji listened patiently.

"And this... I chat with it every day."

She took a small sip of orange soda, and after swallowing, her gaze drifted to the spot by the window before she took a small cat keychain from her keychain.

It was given to her by Genji Aoyama last week.

"Isn't it cute?"

Genji Aoyama's gaze fell on the snow-white kitten, and he smiled as he glanced at Yuko Asahi: "Back at the bow shop, it was a pity I couldn't see the kitten in person, but seeing Asahi today, I think Asahi is even cuter than it."

"Aoyama-kun seems to be very good at making girls happy."

Asahi Yuko seemed to be talking to a cat keychain, and her voice sounded somewhat unhappy.

"?" Aoyama Genji asked incredulously, "Have I turned into a kitten again?"

"again?"

Yuko Asahi frowned at the cat keychain. "Was Aoyama-kun described as some other small animal by other girls?"

"When I'm running along the Sumida River, I sometimes feel like I'm part of the river myself," Genji Aoyama said with a smile.

He recalled his feelings while running that morning.

He was determined to tell Yuko Asahi if she asked—but he didn't.

"Also, I can always smell other girls on Aoyama-kun." Asahi Yuko continued her conversation with the cat keychain.

"..."

Aoyama Genji's hand holding the glass tightened almost imperceptibly; the question in his mind had finally been answered.

However, this answer did not bring him the relief of "solving a difficult problem," but instead made him feel even heavier.

The orange soda, still cool but no longer bubbly, calmed Aoyama Genji down a little.

Before I knew it, I had drunk more than half of the orange soda with ice, and the ice had almost melted. The water droplets that had condensed on the outside of the glass slid down silently, leaving a small wet stain on the tablecloth.

Less than a quarter of the cake remained, and the clinking of cutlery and plates became more frequent, like a band playing music, but the atmosphere was not as light and cheerful.

"We recently joined a band, mostly girls, and I'm in it as their manager and mentor," said Genji Aoyama.

Yuko Asahi did not speak to the pendant again.

She suddenly seemed to find courage and slightly raised her eyelids, which had been drooping.

Those clear, beautiful eyes looked straight at Genji Aoyama, filled with unease and a hint of sadness.

After that, she seemed to fall into a state of 'avoidance', simply keeping her head down silently.

The last moments in the café passed in silence. The sunlight outside the window had shifted, casting new, elongated shadows in corners that were not normally illuminated.

"Hmm... Shall we go to karaoke next?"

After leaving the coffee shop, Genji Aoyama looked at Yuko Asahi, who was about a step away from him, and said in a light tone, as if asking a question, "Actually, I have another idea."

Yuko Asahi slightly raised her head, but did not look at him.

"Sometimes when I pass by a clothing store, I can't help but think, would Asahi be even cuter if she wore those clothes... Hmm, I think she would be very cute," Genji Aoyama said with a smile.

A strong premonition resurfaced, and although it was only the worst possible outcome, he would try his best to avoid it.

"But I want to go to karaoke, with Aoyama-kun," Asahi Yuko said, looking down at the cat keychain she was holding.