They all have hidden attributes!

Makoto Takahashi thought for a moment and replied, "I'll have to wait until I graduate from university."

"Immediately after graduating from university."

"Okay, wait, Chun Ke, they're still downstairs."

Shiraishi Junka was completely ignoring him, lost in her blissful daydream: "If we win the lottery, there's nothing we can do, that's how it is..."

In the afternoon, Makoto Takahashi took Junka Shiraishi to the golf course. The group played golf, strolled and chatted, and spent a relaxing and enjoyable time together.

The only pity was that Kashima Reiko and Shiraishi Junka did not go back to the Tachimi family home for dinner together, otherwise they could have had a lively and bustling night.

March 14th is White Valentine's Day.

[Kaoli: Good morning, brother, let's go on a date!]

As soon as Makoto Takahashi opened his eyes in the morning, he saw that he had received a message from Hanakawa Kaori on Line. The time displayed in the upper left corner of the screen was just past 5:30 in the morning.

He doesn't usually get up early, and if he doesn't have any plans on weekends, he will definitely sleep until he naturally wakes up.

Because Tachikawa Yuki got up for her morning exercise, she glanced at her phone, intending to put it down and take a nice nap, but then—

After seeing the message marked as "[read]", I immediately received several more messages.

[Kaoli: Brother~]

[Kaoli: Get up!]

[Kaoli: This is a date invitation from my cute little sister! I risked my life to get this White Day invitation!]

Hanakawa Kaori wouldn't have been waiting for me to see the message, would she?

Thinking about how she waited in front of the screen after sending the message on Line, waiting for him to read it, Makoto Takahashi suddenly found her irresistibly cute.

Wait a minute, given Hanakawa Kaori's schedule, there's only one possibility that she's awake at 5:30 in the morning: she hasn't gone to sleep yet.

Just as I was starting to feel a bit of a headache, Hanakawa Kaori called.

"......Hello."

Makoto Takahashi sat up in bed, watching Yuki Tachimi get dressed while answering the phone. Hanakawa Kaori's excited voice came through the receiver:

"Brother, hurry up and pick me up for my date. I've already sent you the address."

"Isn't it too early? By the way, did you sleep last night?" Takahashi Makoto rubbed his temples, looking troubled.

Upon hearing his question, Hanakawa Kaori suddenly fell silent. After a dozen seconds of silence, a sniffling sound came from the phone.

"Ugh, so my brother doesn't want to go on a date with me? Am I too annoying...?"

"I'm already up." Makoto Takahashi quickly threw off the covers and got out of bed.

"Yay! Brother, hurry up and come over!" Hanakawa Kaori laughed nonchalantly, then hung up the phone without saying another word.

She was faking her tears; I was completely fooled.

Makoto Takahashi looked up at the window. The weather was sunny, indeed a perfect day for a date.

So what exactly was Hanakawa Kaori excited about that made her stay up all night, which is quite unusual?

Chapter 237 White Valentine's Day (Part 1)

At the west exit of Shibuya Station, along the 150-meter-long street of Sakuragaoka-cho, flowers fall like rain on both sides.

Twenty minutes before 8 a.m., Makoto Takahashi walked along the path adorned with pink and white petals and arrived at the agreed-upon overpass. He immediately spotted the girl standing on the overpass, gazing at the cherry blossom tunnel.

Her edgy black wolf-tail short hair contrasts sharply with her sweet profile. Her black cargo pants and printed T-shirt are both streetwear styles, and she completes the look with a pair of graffiti-style flat sneakers.

It wasn't Hanakawa Kaori, but Kashima Reiko.

Recalling Hanakawa Kaori's embarrassed expression, Takahashi Makoto chuckled to himself, took out his phone, and sent her a message.

[I have arrived]

Immediately afterward, the phone rang. Makoto Takahashi held the phone close to his side, his gaze fixed on Reiko Kashima's back: "Hello."

"Brother, actually, Sister Lengzi has been hesitating lately about whether or not to get her ears pierced."

Hearing Hanakawa Kaori say this, he finally understood why Uesugi Maya and Kashima Reiko were talking about such strange topics.

"We originally planned to go for a consultation together today, but I accidentally stayed up too late last night, and Sister Lengzi likes to get up early, so we didn't go to sleep at all."

As Hanakawa Kaori spoke, she let out a long yawn: "The result is that I'm really sleepy now, and I'm also very afraid of pain, so I'm leaving it to you. Please apologize to me and Reiko-nee."

With her thoughtful and meticulous "motherly" mind, she must have thought of helping to arrange this morning's date when she was asking about White Valentine's Day gifts.

As Takahashi Makoto thought to himself, he met Kashima Reiko's eyes as she turned around: "Okay, come to my house tonight. Let's invite Hina along and have a last-minute review of tomorrow's exam. I'll also give you White Day gifts."

"Mmm, goodnight, brother." Hanakawa Kaori's tone sounded like she was about to fall asleep at any moment.

"Good night." Takahashi Makoto hung up the phone, met Kashima Reiko's calm gaze, and stepped onto the overpass.

The warm, dazzling spring sunshine cast two shadows on the overpass.

Kashima Reiko watched Takahashi Makoto approach with a blank expression, her tone innocent and straightforward: "Good morning, I arranged to meet Hanaori here."

After explaining why she was there, her beautiful turquoise eyes cast an inquiring glance.

"Hanaori is quite a worrier, so I came."

Makoto Takahashi didn't elaborate, but given Hanakawa Kaori's personality, Reiko Kashima could roughly understand what had happened after a little thought.

After a moment of silence, Kashima Reiko hesitated and asked, "So, are we going on a date now?"

"Let's go, let's take a short walk around the area first."

Makoto Takahashi reached out and intertwined his hand with her slender, soft fingers: "When I came over just now, I saw the cherry blossoms in full bloom at Sakuragaoka Park, and I realized that it's already spring."

“Spring came early to Tokyo this year,” Kashima Reiko continued.

"Then it suddenly occurred to me that if I still lived in Toshima Ward, I would definitely write a song."

"why?"

“You know, there used to be a pedestrian overpass downstairs from my apartment building. I wanted to write a song called ‘Spring Shadow’ there.”

Hearing Takahashi Makoto say this, Kashima Reiko tilted her head in confusion, as if countless question marks were lighting up above her head.

Although she didn't understand his logic, Kashima Reiko ultimately chose to continue the conversation: "Is 'Spring Shadow' written as '[Spring Shadows]'? Can't the scene of spring sunshine be described here?"

Seeing her ask the question so seriously, Makoto Takahashi couldn't help but put on a teasing smile: "Reiko, you're so cute."

If it were Uesugi Maya, she would just roll her eyes at him.

"Well."

Kashima Reiko looked away, her cheeks slightly flushed, a hint of annoyance appearing on her well-behaved face: "Don't say that so suddenly, it's embarrassing."

Seeing her like this, Makoto Takahashi smiled again.

"I've decided, I'll release the new songs during the free performance: 'Spring Shadow,' 'Starry Night Call,' 'Walking with the Azure Sky,' and 'Shadow Dance.' Should I have enough time to practice during spring break?"

"I can take leave, no problem."

As I walked down the pedestrian overpass, a gentle breeze blew by, bringing a touch of spring warmth.

Most shops were not yet open, so Makoto Takahashi naturally walked into a general store that had just opened for business. It was filled with kitchenware, decorations, and various home furnishings.

"It seems like today's destination is just the beauty salon? Hanaori told me that you want to get your ears pierced."

“Yes.” Kashima Reiko nodded in confirmation, raising her hand to touch her ear.

"Why did you suddenly decide to get your ears pierced?" Makoto Takahashi asked casually.

"I want to make some changes."

Kashima Reiko gave a plausible reason, but as soon as she finished speaking, she felt that it wasn't a good reason and stopped to think.

Makoto Takahashi stood in front of the shelf waiting for her, casually picking up a small potted plant about the size of his palm to examine it. Inside was a foliage plant called a ficus microcarpa, and the label said it was as easy to care for as a cactus.

In fact, cacti are also easy to kill. Any living thing needs to be carefully cared for to grow healthily.

After about two or three minutes, Kashima Reiko looked up and said:

“In the past, I was someone who had to have a destination in mind before I could go out, otherwise I wouldn’t know where to go.”

“That’s right.” Makoto Takahashi put down the banyan tree and picked up the planetarium next to him.

Although it's incomprehensible, this has always been the case for Reiko Kashima.

"Later I realized that when it comes to dating you, the location doesn't matter. It's also fun to just wander around aimlessly like this."

Kashima Reiko looked around at the cute trinkets in the shop and said in a flat tone, "Going straight to the destination would be boring."

That's why I wanted to try doing something without a clear purpose. Although I don't know why it was getting my ears pierced, I understand her thoughts.

"I see. It's really cute when you say things with a poker face."

Upon hearing this, Kashima Reiko patted her cheeks shyly.

Makoto Takahashi put the planetarium back on the shelf, picked up a large cushion, and asked her, "How about buying this? It's perfect for sleeping in the classroom."

“Absolutely not. There are beds in the student council’s lounge, and you can also ask for leave to go to the infirmary.” Kashima Reiko rejected his suggestion.

"That's true, this glass is quite pretty."

Makoto Takahashi looked at the glass cups on the shelf, the colorful glass reflecting the light. Reiko Kashima picked one up and made a quick judgment: "Too thin. It doesn't meet the standards of Tachimi. It can only be used as a decoration."

"Isn't it too easy to break a cup as a decorative item?"

"This book stand is nice; it would look great on a bookshelf."

"No, Aya has OCD about how she arranges her books. I don't dare touch the bookshelf at all, even though there are my light novels in there."

The two chatted while browsing the groceries. They didn't want to buy anything or have any particular desire for anything, but they weren't bored at all.

After wandering around for a while, Makoto Takahashi suddenly smelled a sweet aroma. Following the direction of the scent, he saw several groups of customers lined up in front of a cake shop counter.

It was a cake shop where you could dine in. The display cases were filled with colorful cakes, which were relatively small in size and suitable for enjoying alone.

My gaze shifted to the other side of the glass; there were still empty seats inside, so the wait shouldn't be too long.

"Lengzi, want some cake? That shop should have good cake," he suggested.

“I ate breakfast before I left,” Kashima Reiko replied.

"I remember you don't seem to like sweets very much. Is it just that you don't like them, or is there some other reason?"