Tokyo: They say it's just dating, but they're serious about it.

"Huh?" Little Lily turned her head and opened her mouth. "You're giving it to me?"

"Yes, yes, it's a gift for you, so you can be the boss." Sheng Yan nodded hurriedly and continued, "Mi Qin wants to cooperate with you. After the holiday, you and she can go and get a business license together, which means adding your name to the business license. You two can combine your businesses and run the store together, each owning half of the assets. Do you like that?"

"Huh?" Sayuri blinked, seemingly thinking. After a while, she asked uncertainly, "Then, didn't we take advantage of Manager Mikoto a lot? She, she's at a huge disadvantage. She, she agreed?"

“How could she possibly suffer a loss? Her convenience store is about to go out of business and close down. We’re using the game business to drive traffic to her; this is helping her.”

"But can't she cook for herself?" Little Lily still looked thoughtful. "And she doesn't even charge us rent..."

Katsuhiko felt that if he let her think about it any longer, she would start to doubt his relationship with Mikoto again, so he immediately raised his voice and said, "Why are you considering her? We are the closest. If I don't tell her how, how can she make it happen? Besides, she is in debt right now, so she doesn't have the conditions to do it even if she wanted to."

"So, would you say we took advantage of someone in a vulnerable situation?"

Sayuri looked around cautiously, as if it were her first time doing something naughty, before continuing, "After all, even half of the shop would cost several million yen in rent..."

Mikoto's convenience store is indeed in a great location, close to a commercial district, surrounded by office buildings, a university, Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, Central Park... Thinking about it this way, Mikoto's debts are almost insignificant. After all, she has no mortgage on her house, and the store is still her own property. She is a single rich woman with no money on hand. Of course, real estate prices have dropped significantly, so selling it would be a loss.

"Anyway, the lease is already signed, and she's all smiles when I give her 1 yen a month for rent." Katsuhiko said with a sullen face, and before Sayuri could say anything more, he interrupted, "We're so poor we can't even afford to eat. If we want to make big money, how can we not rip off a few people?"

Sayuri lowered her head and whispered, "It's just... I feel really indebted to Manager Mikoto..."

"If you keep thinking about her, then go and live with her!"

"No," Sayuri grabbed Katsuhiko's arm, tears welling in her eyes, "I'll definitely listen to you..."

“That’s alright,” Katsuhiko said, tilting his head with a stern face. “After the shops are merged, you two will each own half. You’ll both be the owners, so there’s no question of owing anything. If you feel indebted, take care of Chika for her and don’t let the child interfere with her work.”

"All right……"

"Let's go," Sheng Yan said, picking up a half-bag of game cards. "Let's go eat."

Sayuri quickly caught up with him, then hugged Katsuhiko's arm and whispered, "I remember today is Mikoto's birthday, and I want to buy her a birthday present."

When Sayuri first entered university, she worked part-time at a convenience store and had already given Mikoto three birthday gifts.

Today is May 1st, the third day of the Golden Week holiday.

"It's her birthday?" Sheng Yan raised an eyebrow and asked, "What birthday present are you going to give her?"

"I want to give her a kimono..."

For the first three times, Sayuri made handmade crafts or postcards herself, since she was a poor student, and Mikoto was very happy.

However, things are different now. I'm in my graduation internship period. Although I don't have a formal job yet, I'm no longer a student girl. Besides, I have a boyfriend now. Yesterday, Mikoto gave me a kimono worth tens of thousands of yen. This time, I need to choose a gift carefully.

Katsuhiko recalled that Mikoto's wardrobe was full of old clothes, so giving her a new outfit would indeed be quite appropriate.

The two had a quick lunch at a sushi restaurant in the shopping street. After leaving, they paid for a custom birthday cake at a shop next door. While the staff was making the cake, they went to the kimono shop next door. After buying the clothes, they waited quietly at the cake shop for an hour.

Sayuri was a little embarrassed because her savings were running out. Katsuhiko directly subsidized two-thirds of her expenses and also bought Mikoto a lucky cat-shaped piggy bank and Chinatsu a calligraphy workbook at a craft shop next door. She should be very happy.

“I used to go directly to Mikoto’s house for her birthday celebrations. Now that she has a boyfriend, should we call her and ask her?”

Around 2:30 p.m., the two arrived at Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden. Sayuri suddenly remembered this matter and looked up to ask Katsuhiko.

"Then let's go get one!"

Katsuhiko casually pointed to a public phone booth by the roadside, took the bag of clothes from Sayuri's hand, placed the birthday cake on a bench by the roadside, and said, "Go make the call, I'll wait for you here."

A little while later, Xiaobaihe came back after finishing her phone call.

When she first walked over, her face was full of anticipation and excitement, but when she came back, she looked completely lost.

"What's wrong?" Katsuhiko asked.

“It seems like Manager Mikoto has broken up with her boyfriend,” Sayuri said, her eyes wide with worry. “I asked her if her boyfriend would celebrate her birthday, and she said he was too busy taking care of so many people and didn’t have time to celebrate her birthday…”

Not even having time for my once-a-year birthday is probably just an excuse.

"Really?" Sheng Yan raised an eyebrow and glanced at her, asking, "What are you worried about?"

"I shouldn't have asked. I hadn't even finished speaking when she hung up, saying she had to hurry up and cook... She must be heartbroken right now,"

"I'll go comfort her now, I'm off."

Mikoto's house and Kenta's house were separated by only one alley. Katsuhiko deliberately walked through the alley in front of Kenta's house. The gate with festive couplets was locked, there was no sound in the courtyard, the windows on the second floor of the house were closed, and there were no clothes hanging on the balcony. It seemed that no one was there at all.

A few minutes later, they arrived at Mikoto's house and Sayuri rang the doorbell.

"Welcome, welcome, come in!"

Mikoto opened the door with a smile, but when her eyes met Sayuri's gaze, she seemed a little uneasy...

She wore a light purple cotton kimono with a white apron tied around her chest, her waist was slender, and her bust swayed.

They should be busy in the kitchen.

Chika was leaning on the kitchen windowsill, holding a golden-brown fried chicken leg in her hand, waving at this side, her little face smeared with oil.

"Manager Mikoto..."

Sayuri bowed to Mikoto first, then followed Mikoto into the room, cautiously glancing at her face and sensing that Mikoto was forcing a smile.

After changing her shoes and walking into the living room, Xiaobaihe saw a table full of dishes and two bottles of vodka on the dining table next door. She became even more certain of her guess: they were probably planning to binge eat and drink to relieve their anxiety.

Because food was being prepared in the kitchen, Mikoto hurriedly went into the kitchen after a brief greeting.

Sayuri leaned close to Katsuhiko, looked at the kitchen, and whispered, "Shall I go help out in the kitchen? Manager Mikoto seems really sad."

Sheng Yan had just sat down on the sofa when he reached for an orange in the fruit bowl on the coffee table. He paused, then turned to ask, "She's practically beaming with joy. How can you tell she's sad?"

"I always felt that she was just putting on a brave face..."

"Really?" Katsuhiko peeled the orange, broke off a slice, and held it to Sayuri's lips. "Then you should go in and comfort her!"

"Ah."

Little Lily bit into an orange segment, quickly swallowed it, and quietly walked towards the kitchen.

Chika dashed out of the kitchen and headed straight for the cake...

Mikoto was facing away from the kitchen door, stirring miso soup with a spoon while humming a nursery rhyme...

"Manager Mikoto, is there anything else I can help you with?" Sayuri asked softly.

When I used to come to Mikoto's house, Sayuri would always help with the cooking, so I could eat there without having to eat at the cafeteria.

"Oh, could you help me cut this radish?" Mikoto's shoulders suddenly trembled, but she said it as if she were trying to sound relaxed.

“Okay,” Sayuri washed her hands at the sink, then picked up the kitchen knife and the clean carrots on the cutting board, glanced at Mikoto again, and asked softly, “Um, did you break up with your boyfriend?”

"No!" Mikoto blinked and continued, "He's busy with work and doesn't have time to celebrate my birthday with me."

"Oh..." Little Lily lowered her head and started cutting carrots.

Mikoto secretly turned her head and stole another glance at Sayuri's face.

When she came in, she seemed hesitant and at a loss, so I thought Shengyan had confessed. Turns out she thought I had broken up with my boyfriend... Well, that's a relief.

It was really scary to be caught off guard by her this morning...

"Don't overthink it. My relationship with my boyfriend is very good, just like my relationship with you and Mr. Takenaka. We're in the honeymoon phase!"

"Oh, that's good..."

Sayuri put the chopped carrots into the steamer, then glanced at Mikoto again.

Mikoto winked at her very "calmly," picked up a piece of fried chicken, and held it to Sayuri's lips.

Sayuri took a bite of the fried chicken, then glanced at Mikoto's face again, realizing she had indeed been overthinking things.

While eating fried chicken, she asked, "When is your boyfriend free? The four of us can have a meal together."

"Hmm—" Mikoto tilted her head, glancing at the ceiling as if deep in thought, and then said, "It probably won't be long, but he's very busy... We'll see!"

Mikoto knew that, given Katsuhiko's personality, he couldn't keep it a secret for long.

She hoped to keep it a secret for as long as possible, and once Sayuri found out, she would immediately "pretend to break off relations" with Katsuhiko. After that, every time she was discovered, she would "pretend to break off relations" again...

As for "boyfriend," just use that as an excuse. After all, she has a boyfriend; how could she possibly be having an affair with him? It's just a misunderstanding...

Let's learn some "Kyokushin Karate" in Chapter 22.

Yesterday morning, Mikoto was quite excited and used up all the ingredients for elaborate dishes in the kitchen to show off her culinary skills to Katsuhiko. Therefore, tonight's meal wasn't very large, but it was still prepared with care and attention.

The staple food is white rice, the soup is miso soup with shellfish, bamboo shoots, tofu, kelp, potatoes and carrots, and the main dishes are bonito sashimi, salt-grilled mackerel, Japanese fried chicken, and braised pork with ginger.

These are all seasonal dishes for May.

Chinatsu had already eaten her fill before the meal began. However, she still wanted to eat her favorite cream cake, so she struggled to take a bite and then stared intently at Katsuhiko and Sayuri. She knew it was her mother's birthday today, and there would be gifts, including for her.

Xiaobaihe originally wanted to buy Chinatsu a Barbie doll, but Shengyan insisted on buying her a calligraphy practice book, making a total of two books, in addition to the one Shengyan bought.

After receiving the workbook, Chinatsu was a little stunned, and Mikoto even asked her to thank her quickly.

Chinatsu didn't thank her. Instead, she glanced at Katsuhiko and Sayuri with a look that said, "I trusted you so much, and you treated me like this." Then, looking like she'd lost her soul, she pouted and went into the children's room, closing the door behind her.

"You can tell what a person will be like at three years old, let alone four. His straightforward nature can't be hidden."

“I like this child’s personality,” Katsuhiko said, leaning on the table and pointing to the children’s room. Then he turned to Mikoto, who was sitting on his right, and asked, “Does she often get into fights at daycare?”

Mikoto spread her hands helplessly and said, "It's alright, we've already been complained about several times and transferred to several different places."

Since she doesn't have a father, she envies children who do, and she hits anyone who tries to provoke her by asking questions about fathers...

"I'll take her to a martial arts training class tomorrow so we can learn how to fight together."

Katsuhiko thought about the convenience store being charged protection money and decided that he should find a fighting training class and take Chinatsu there to practice as well.

Just as Katsuhiko finished speaking, his calf under the table was gently kicked; Mikoto was secretly giving him a wink.

Sayuri across from him seemed somewhat taken aback, probably because of Katsuhiko's unrestrained and impulsive behavior.

Katsuhiko remained expressionless, tilted his chin at Sayuri, and continued, "When we have children in the future, we can let Chika, as our older sister, take care of them. It won't be a loss for us."

"Huh? Oh..." Sayuri's surprised eyes immediately darted around, her face slightly reddened, and a smile appeared on her lips. Then, she lowered her head, took out the kimono she had bought for Mikoto, and presented it with both hands, saying, "Happy birthday, Mikoto, the shop manager."

This is a black kimono embroidered with silver patterns, chosen by Katsuhiko.

Mikoto showed great surprise and thanked Sayuri repeatedly as if she couldn't put it down. Then she held it up in front of her and hugged Sayuri before running into the bedroom to change.

"What do you think?"

Mikoto walked out of the bedroom, opened her arms, and spun around in place.

She certainly has a refined air about her; she is tall and slender, with a wide-open collar draped over her shoulders, revealing her long, fair neck and delicate collarbones. Combined with her updo, she exudes the aura of a charming and alluring lady, almost palpable.