They all have hidden attributes!

Seeing Shiraishi Junka feign wiping her eyes and squeezing out a few tears, Uesugi Maya realized something was wrong and looked down to meet the gaze of Takahashi Makoto, who had raised his head.

“She’s faking her tears,” Uesugi Maya asserted.

"Aye, Chunke, although I know that interpersonal relationships are not so simple, I still hope that you two can get along well."

Makoto Takahashi was surprised by her disgust towards Junko Shiraishi, but he stood up and calmed the two of them in a gentle tone.

"Although Chun Ke can't help with the affairs, I feel relaxed with her here."

She deliberately stood up and walked to the center of the room because Uesugi Maya was too close, which might seem to Shiraishi Junka as protecting Uesugi Maya.

Makoto Takahashi was well aware that in the current situation, he could not show favoritism to either side.

He adopted an attitude of "there's nothing I can do about the two cats in the house."

Shiraishi Junka wiped away her tears and looked at Uesugi Maya with gentle and sincere eyes; her charming face practically screamed "[I have a very good temper]".

She hates backstabbing and conflict, but that doesn't mean she'll let anyone bully her.

Uesugi Maya's face was tense, her lips were downturned, and she could only admit her defeat in the end. She silently decided to give up the scheming approach.

"Would you like some coffee?" Uesugi Maya asked Takahashi Makoto reluctantly, having calmed down.

"Double milk, please." Shiraishi Junka ordered politely with a smile.

Chapter 229 Cat Language Exam

Inside the student council office, the aroma of coffee grew stronger, dispelling the drowsiness of a spring afternoon.

Makoto Takahashi looked up from his laptop screen and glanced at the sofa on the balcony, where Maya Uesugi was holding a copy of "The Lover" in one hand, her expression focused.

Opposite her, Shiraishi Junka lay on her side, dozing off. The air was quiet, and the scene was peaceful and harmonious.

Turning his gaze away, Makoto Takahashi picked up his coffee and took a sip, using the bitter aroma to organize his thoughts.

As Tatsumi Yuki said, Uesugi Maya is not a bad person, but she is not good at communication, and her way of expressing herself is often misunderstood.

Makoto Takahashi admires her for her independence, rationality, and pursuit of efficiency, and hopes that she can have worthwhile connections.

The question is how to act.

Preaching or demanding things of her is pointless; the real issue should be "efficiency."

Maya Uesugi learns to be cunning in order to "date effectively".

She should now be aware of the cost of "inefficient interpersonal relationships".

As long as she uses a method that Uesugi Maya can understand and develops her own perspective, with her strong learning ability, she should soon be able to find her own niche within the "miniature garden" and how to interact and communicate with others.

The key is how to make Uesugi Maya not resist his support role.

Thinking of this, Makoto Takahashi instinctively felt a headache coming on. He put down his coffee and raised his hand to rub his temples.

Now it's time to test his cat language skills.

Ring ring—

The sound of the school bell drifted in from outside the window, shattering the silence.

After replying to the last email, Makoto Takahashi closed his laptop, stood up, and said, "Yo, let's go to the club office first. I want to take my piano to the karaoke."

"it is good."

Maya Uesugi closed the book in her hand, stood up, straightened her skirt, and looked at the sleeping Junka Shiraishi.

Makoto Takahashi finished his coffee and walked toward the door: "Don't worry, Reiko will pick her up when she leaves school."

Uesugi Maya followed him out of the student council president's office without saying a word, her indifferent expression as if Takahashi Makoto had just misunderstood her.

As I went downstairs and stepped out of the building where the student council was located, a warm breeze blew in my face, carrying the fresh scent of cedar leaves.

Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, scattering across the road and flickering in the breeze as the leaves rustled in the wind.

"Aya, it seems like we haven't talked about interpersonal relationships in a long time."

Takahashi Makoto walked along the tree-lined path leading to the courtyard, his footsteps dappled with sunlight. His calm tone and natural expression made it seem as if he had only mentioned it casually.

Nevertheless, Uesugi Maya remained on guard, a hint of wariness reflected in her beautiful caramel-colored eyes.

"Is there any need to talk about this?" she asked coldly.

"I'm not talking about me, I'm talking about you. I think you do need interpersonal relationships, for example, Sachi."

Upon hearing Takahashi Makoto's words, Uesugi Maya displayed an obvious expression of impatience.

A blizzard-like atmosphere swept through, a clear "rejection".

The distance between the two seemed to suddenly become vast.

After a moment of contemplation, carefully choosing his words, Takahashi Makoto slowly spoke: "I understand. What is [correct] in my eyes may be meaningless to you."

Warmth, harmony, and high responsiveness—this is his ideal sandbox ecosystem.

"And, as you know me, I never impose my values ​​on others."

Makoto Takahashi spread his hands, looking completely innocent: "I just thought it would save you from falling into a few unnecessary traps. If you don't find it bothersome, I won't say anything."

Having successfully passed the first stage of the exam, Maya Uesugi's expression softened.

She tossed her long black hair aside and gestured with her eyes for Takahashi Makoto to continue, carefully discerning whether there was a trap to make her surrender.

"Chunke is rather lazy and doesn't care much about interests. As long as you don't suppress her, she won't make any enemies. When she's angry, she can cause you more trouble than Xing."

Makoto Takahashi's analysis from his own perspective contains no intention of criticizing Maya Uesugi:

“I know you don’t like her, because Chunke doesn’t have the concept of efficiency at all. Just ignore her, at least it won’t affect your own efficiency.”

In this way, Makoto Takahashi analyzed strategies for Maya Uesugi in a way that she could quickly understand, and even he himself felt that he was being biased.

Uesugi Maya nodded thoughtfully and asked, "Hanaori's attitude towards me has changed drastically recently. What's the reason?"

"Hanaori's underlying need is a sense of security. If you can continue to act like a parent and take the same approach as before, you can reduce the conflict by at least 80%."

The phrase "80%" was something Makoto Takahashi said offhand, used to refer to "the vast majority," and it was also part of the cat language test.

Uesugi Maya pondered for a long time without objecting to the number: "From a [parental] perspective, I have indeed neglected to supervise Hanori since the band stopped activities."

"And she's very smart, with a keen sense of smell. She was the first to realize your intentions and knew you might break up the band."

"No, I don't have that thought. I only want you."

"The band will most likely disband as a result."

"Such a risk certainly exists."

The second phase of the cat language assessment ended, and Makoto Takahashi stopped analyzing other people's performances.

This is too biased towards Uesugi Maya. Providing her with two perspectives is enough. Too many perspectives will only make her feel controlled and cause her to choose to exhale.

"This is just my logic; you might have a better idea. Anyway, try to improve your interpersonal relationships; it will definitely help you. For example, get Xing to stop hindering your new book release."

"I understand." Uesugi Maya nodded almost imperceptibly.

Upon entering the special building, the two ascended the stairs.

As I passed the third floor, three girls were performing a scene from "[The Tram Farewell]".

Two girls stood inside the clubhouse, peering out through the glass door and banging on it. Another girl was jogging in place in the corridor, reaching out to try and stop the tram.

Makoto Takahashi stopped and glanced at them. The three girls, realizing they had caught his attention, ran away shyly.

“Boring,” Uesugi Maya commented.

"Don't be so cold, you're quite cute, aren't you?" Takahashi Makoto looked away and continued upstairs.

Upon arriving on the 5th floor, the door to the Light Music Club office was wide open.

Hanakawa Kaori sat alone at the table, fiddling with the head covering in her hand.

It was a pink, television-shaped headgear with two cat ears, and it looked very well-made.

Seeing Takahashi Makoto walk in, Hanakawa Kaori put the hood on her head, turned on the switch on the side, and turned to look at her:

"Brother, isn't he super cute?"

The LED screen on the front of the headgear lights up, displaying an expression made up of pink squares.

“Just one tap and you can change the expression.” Hanakawa Kaori stood up, her voice brimming with excitement.

She tapped the side of her head twice with her finger, and the expression displayed on the headgear changed from [smiley face] to [angry face].

“It’s pretty fun.” Makoto Takahashi walked over, snatched the hood, and put it on his own head, which was completely dark inside.

Nevertheless, for Japan, which still uses fax machines, this was considered high technology.

"The only problem is that she can't see anything. Xingjie said she has no problem playing blindly, but it's a bit troublesome to go up and down the stage, and she needs someone to hold her hand," said Hanakawa Kaori.

"It would be great if I could perform on stage, but why pink?"

Makoto Takahashi removed his hood and handed it to Maya Uesugi, who looked away with a disinterested expression.

Hanakawa Kaori took the head covering and placed it on the table. She removed the hair ties with both hands, untied her twin ponytails, and let her long, purple-streaked hair fall freely.

"Since purple and pink are sister colors, let's just say I've been on stage before," Hanakawa Kaori said with a smile, picking up her hair and comparing the colors of her headpiece.

Although I don't understand what "sister colors" means, as long as she's happy.

Makoto Takahashi turned to look at Maya Uesugi, his tone casual: "Why don't you find a theme color too?"

"No need, not interested."

Maya Uesugi turned sharply and headed toward the rehearsal room, her tone stern: "Go get the violin, it's time to go."

"Maya-nee doesn't seem to care about the atmosphere at all," Hanakawa Kaori muttered under her breath.

Seeing that she looked as if she had been doused with cold water and lost her energy, Makoto Takahashi comforted her, saying, "Isn't Yoru always like this? Let's go, it's time to set off."

“My brother always favors her.”

I like you too.

"Really? Then I'll trust my brother~"

"That's too easy."

Carrying the bass case, Makoto Takahashi, Maya Uesugi, and Kaori Hanakawa went downstairs and took a car to the karaoke bar.