My love index is at its maximum.

“Let’s not talk about that guy anymore,” Yui Kichikawa shrugged, resting her chin on her hands and looking at Sakura Kuriyama across the dining table. “Good luck, get back to school soon. Some things in this world can only be done alone, and some things can only be done with two people. Just like you can’t stay in the sanatorium alone, for me, the Kichikawa family can’t be without Tsukasa Tazaki.”

Following up on this topic, Kuriyama Sakura countered, "You wouldn't say something like that to him, would you?"

Kikawa Yui nodded.

She scratched a strand of hair behind her ear with her little finger and said irritably, "You know how awful he is. If I said something like that in front of him, wouldn't that be like surrendering? Who knows how he'd bully me then..."

“Hey, Kuriyama-san.” Kuriyama Sakura called out to her in a serious voice.

"Ok?"

"You're so bad at this."

"My food?"

"Not only are they good at cooking, but they're also addicted to it. They deserve to be completely devoured!"

"You talk as if you're so capable, why don't you teach him a lesson?"

"Why can't I control him?"

"Who was it that was carried up the stairs last night, so obediently, like a child bride?"

"How dare you criticize me? Who was it that stayed up all night, cosplaying as a saint and meowing like a cat on Instagram?"

"..."

"Look at you, you're so lame!"

"...And what about you? At your own birthday party, in your own home, you were being held on his body and dancing with your feet barely touching the ground. Aren't you ashamed!"

"..."

"Minister, my foot! Is there any minister in all of Japan as shameful as you? You're constantly being taken advantage of by your subordinates. If you're so capable, why don't you fire him?"

"I can drive him away anytime I want! But you, do you have a way to kick him out of the Qichuan family?"

"..."

"Heh, as the heir, you're completely controlled by a kid from another family. You're probably the worst heir in the history of the Kichikawa family!"

"Hmph! Even if he's being manipulated, at least he has half the blood of the Kuriyama family flowing through his veins. But what about your Kuriyama Minister's family? Kuriyama Minister's only daughter is the one who's truly being 'completely controlled by a boy from another family,' and will have to give away her vast family fortune for nothing in the future!"

The two argued fiercely, revealing each other's secrets, and their back-and-forth banter was quite lively.

Tsukasa Tazaki held the plate behind them, trying hard to suppress her laughter.

When the two most beautiful girls discovered his return, they turned their guns on him, attacking him from head to toe, turning him into a cancer on the earth, with not a single part of his body benefiting.

Listening to their varied and creative insults, Tsukasa Tazaki remained silent and focused on eating. What was originally an ordinary lunch suddenly tasted delicious.

Chapter 346 Big Brother's Ice Cream, Hehe~

In the afternoon, Sakura Kuriyama had a group rehabilitation activity to attend.

After leaving the restaurant, the three of them strolled slowly along the path leading to the farm behind the mountain.

The sky remained overcast, with only occasional glimpses of blue visible, like a few strokes of paint applied by a lacquerer testing their work.

“If Xiaowei is interested, you can stay here a little longer,” Tsukasa Tazaki said, gazing at the misty mountains and pointing to the horizon. “Behind that mountain, there’s a big farm where they grow tomatoes, cucumbers, watermelons, strawberries, and other things. Sakura is going to plant strawberries later, and I’ll take you to visit other places.”

"What's so fun about growing this stuff?" Yui Kikawa shrugged, clearly uninterested.

"At first, I also thought it was boring, but after I put my heart into it, I found it interesting." Tsukasa Tazaki met her gaze and smiled slightly. "You need to put in the effort to understand which fertilizer is good, what the science of soil is, how much water to use, and many other issues. And watching the fruits and vegetables you grow little by little is quite pleasant, like a little animal slowly growing up."

“I just want to get back to Tokyo as soon as possible…” Yui Kikawa shook her head and slowly exhaled white breath into the air. “The student council still has a lot of things to deal with. Right now, the most urgent thing is to apply for the budget for club activities next academic year.”

Upon hearing this, Kuriyama Sakura couldn't help but glare at Tazaki Tsukasa.

"Our club's funding for next year depends on you!"

'Minister, isn't it a bit inappropriate to use back channels like this...'

'Um? '

"Leave it to me..."

Kuriyama Sakura smiled contentedly as she walked along the narrow mountain path, occasionally wiping away her sweat.

“Yui, look,” Tsukasa Tazaki said, tugging quietly at Yui Kikawa’s sleeve, “our ATF club…”

"reject!"

Kikawa Yui interrupted him directly, proudly tossing her blond hair.

In the dim light, that brilliant golden hue shone even brighter.

"I'll have time to wear you down later..." Tsukasa Tazaki muttered to himself, casually picking a foxtail grass from the roadside and waving it around as he walked.

After walking for about ten minutes, we turned onto a downhill road.

The slope became gentler, with tall pine trees on both sides. The foxtail grass under the trees had already sprouted, growing tall and dense in a dark mass.

Halfway down the mountain, the outlines of buildings began to appear faintly on the hillside.

Kikawa covered his brow with his hand and gazed into the distance.

The sky was overcast, houses were sparse, farmland was dense, and a large fenced pasture was where 200 sheep were leisurely strolling.

A small river meanders through the middle of the pasture.

Because of several days of continuous rain, the river water turned a murky tea color, and from a distance it looked like flowing milk coffee.

The mountain breeze blew in through her slender fingers and kissed her clear blue eyes.

Kikawa Yui turned her gaze away from the distance.

Beside her, Kuriyama Sakura was quietly talking about things at the ranch.

If summer comes, you can catch a lot of delicious fish in the river, and the rice in the paddy fields next to it will grow to knee height, turning the place into a green ocean. Snails and crabs also hide under the rice seedlings.

"Why don't we stay here until summer?" Tsukasa Tazaki suggested excitedly.

Nobody paid any attention to him...

Walking down to the mountainside, we came to a basin nestled in the mountains.

Half of the land is used as a farm and the other half as a pasture. The grass has turned yellow and withered. Underfoot is a solid dirt road. Along the road, white wooden fences enclose individual courtyards with green grass and Japanese-style buildings with black tiles and white walls.

There were guards at the entrance gate. As the three of them walked in, the old guard exclaimed "Oh!" and raised his hand to greet them, "Oh, it's you, Tazaki-kun."

Tazaki Tsukasa replied with a "Hello".

After going inside, he tilted his head and said to Kichikawa Yui with a smile, "Even though I was just accompanying Kuriyama, after more than half a month, almost all the staff at the sanatorium know me."

Kuriyama Sakura said with a straight face, "Are you trying to say that you're very popular?"

"No, what I meant was that the Minister is too unapproachable; even the staff are afraid to get to know you."

"Don't you dare?"

"That's right, who would dare to come up and speak after being glared at by you?"

"You make it sound like I'm going to eat people..."

“You won’t eat people, but you can curse, cough cough…” Tsukasa Tazaki cleared his throat, mimicking her tone, “Foolish, you’re such a complete idiot!”

Hearing his incredibly lifelike imitation, Kuriyama Sakura didn't initially think anything of it, but Kichikawa Yui next to her burst out laughing, making her laugh out loud for no reason.

“My two young ladies,” Tsukasa Tazaki laughed, “Let’s go, let’s change our clothes and go down to the fields.”

Entering the warehouse with white-painted walls, the three changed into blue work clothes and shoes, and came to the edge of a fruit and vegetable field, where there were rehabilitation patients teaching everyone how to grow strawberries.

When Tsukasa Tazaki came in, a thinning-haired man dressed like a doctor came up, exchanged a few pleasantries with him, and then asked someone to bring a hoe and two small shovels about the size of spatulas, which were given to the three of them. He also brought a plastic basket of strawberry seedlings for them to play with.

"Everyone, let's start planting. Remember to prepare the ridges first, and then plant the seedlings in the ridges."

"Hi--"

After giving his instructions, the male doctor sat down by the field with his legs crossed to rest.

"Ladies, please choose your tools." Tsukasa Tazaki picked up a hoe and two small shovels.

Without hesitation, Kuriyama Sakura chose the small shovel.

Looking at the remaining hoe and shovel in Tsukasa Tazaki's hand, Yui Kisaki thought for a moment and reached out to take the hoe.

Compared to a small shovel, a hoe seems more efficient.

Planting strawberries is such a simple thing, how could it be difficult for a perfect girl? All you have to do is dig a hole with a hoe and plant the strawberry seedling in the hole, right?

“Yui,” Tsukasa Tazaki reminded her, “the hoe is for building ridges, which is more laborious; the shovel is for planting strawberries…”

"Of course I know!"

Kikawa Yui raised her voice slightly.

bluff!

After saying that, she gave Tazaki Tsukasa a fierce glare, conveying the message, "If you make fun of me again, believe me, I'll dig a hole and bury you right here!"

The stubborn older brother is just so adorable!

Tsukasa Tazaki carried a hoe to the field and began to build ridges.

Because of the recent rain, the soil is quite wet and sticky when you step on it. My rubber-soled shoes quickly get covered in mud, making them feel clumsy and heavy.

They built up raised ridges in the field, and the two girls, one on each side, used small shovels to dig small holes in the middle for planting strawberry seedlings.

A huge German Shepherd suddenly appeared out of nowhere, running around in the fields. Finally, it barked and ran to Kuriyama Sakura's side, its muddy nose rubbing against her clothes affectionately.

"Jiro, be good, be quiet..." Kuriyama Sakura stroked the German Shepherd's head with one hand and held a shovel in the other, taking a few strawberry seedlings out of the basket and planting them into the dug holes.

"Woof~"

The German Shepherd barked excitedly, then plopped down on the muddy ground, squinted its eyes, and rolled around.

The mud that was kicked up by its tail splashed everywhere, and some of it stuck to Qichuan Wei's fair little face.

"Erlang!" the blonde girl frowned and scolded.

The German Shepherd remained completely unmoved.

“You need to be gentle,” Kuriyama Sakura said with a laugh. “Jiro is very smart; he can tell whether a person has good intentions from their voice.”

"You've covered me in mud, how am I supposed to be friendly?" Yui Kikawa glared at the dog with slight displeasure.