They all have hidden attributes!

"It's okay, both are things that healthy boys should read."

"It's so good that you think that way."

Makoto Takahashi put the manga back in its place and turned to continue strolling among the bookshelves: "I bought this manga when I was in Yamanashi Prefecture. After all, it's a rare pure love story among 18+ comics."

"Cheng-kun really wants to ravage my body."

Tachibana Yuki's lighthearted tone was not without a hint of flirtation, and Takahashi Makoto sighed helplessly, unsure of how to respond.

The good news is that bookstore dates aren't boring for her, so Tatsumi Yuki doesn't linger around saying things that make her feel restless.

She stopped in front of the bookshelf selling fountain pens, picked up a beautiful red fountain pen, and examined it carefully.

Makoto Takahashi glanced at the price tag. It was expensive, 12 yen.

On second thought, I realized that Li Jianxing's net worth was too low; it was a bit too much for her.

However, it gave me some ideas for preparing a birthday gift for him. As long as it's something you wouldn't normally spend a lot of money on, but is still worthwhile, that would be great.

For example, giving a fisherman a fishing rod worth 10 yen is certainly not as gratifying as giving him a fishing hook worth 10 yen.

Makoto Takahashi had a flash of inspiration and came up with a great idea.

"Sister Xing, is it okay to change the chess pieces?"

"Of course it won't affect the outcome."

Tachikawa Yuki turned around and stared into his eyes for a few seconds before suddenly revealing a mischievous smile: "No matter what gift you give me, Makoto-kun, I won't be satisfied, okay?"

"I should prepare carefully, since it's a special birthday," Makoto Takahashi said.

"I'll go and get the things I like myself."

She put down her pen, picked up another, more expensive pen, examined it carefully, and nodded in satisfaction: "This one would be a more suitable gift."

"A gift?" Makoto Takahashi asked casually.

“It’s sad that Cheng-kun isn’t nervous at all.”

Holding the pen, Tachibana Yuki turned around lightly and continued browsing in the bookstore: "This is for the head of the news department as a thank-you gift. I'll also buy some other things to win people over."

"You don't look sad at all."

Upon hearing this, she turned around gracefully, her gaze fixed on him as if trying to see through Takahashi Makoto's heart.

"If one day I stop liking you, will you be sad?" Tatsumi Yuki asked unexpectedly.

Faced with her bright eyes, no one could lie, much less deliberately say something that might hurt her.

Makoto Takahashi cleared his throat, carefully searching for words.

"I guess I'll feel lonely."

It's not just Tachimi Yuki, but also Uesugi Maya, Nekoya Hina, and Kashima Reiko, and perhaps others in the future.

Standing under the bright lights of the bookstore, he clearly realized that his daily life had completely changed since he first came to Tokyo.

Even though I still prefer to be alone most of the time, I can never go back to those lonely days of the past.

Tokyo is truly terrifying.

"I won't let Cheng-kun feel lonely."

Li Jian smiled gently, her beautiful eyes as reassuring as a clear summer sky.

Perhaps being too controlling isn't entirely a bad thing, Makoto Takahashi thought to himself, as he stepped forward: "Don't forget the student council members you used to exploit."

"Are you shy?" Tachikami asked.

"Older women are definitely the most troublesome."

"I will tell Mother what Cheng-kun said."

Never mind what I said.

Makoto Takahashi suddenly remembered that Junka Shiraishi and Reiko Kashima were also upperclassmen, and they didn't have the same trouble as Yuki Tachimi.

The two stayed in the bookstore that afternoon after the rainstorm.

Tachibana bought all sorts of stationery, intending to give them to the student council members. She had indeed grown a lot, and her methods were more sophisticated than before.

Instead of resorting to exploitation, coercion, and threats, we will achieve our goals in a more popular and appealing way.

As dusk fell, Makoto Takahashi received a text message from Maya Uesugi.

Come to my house for dinner tonight.

While reading the text messages, Tachibana Yuki leaned over and asked, "When can we check Makoto's phone?"

"Let's call it a day." He put away his phone and headed for the stairs.

Makoto Takahashi wasn't sure if such a compliment was good for a date, but as long as she was happy, that was all that mattered.

After going downstairs and paying at the cashier, we walked out of the bookstore, enveloped in the clean and strong scent of summer rain.

As the female driver put the paper bag into the trunk of the black sedan, Tachibana Yuki stood on the wet street, breathing in the fresh air.

Student council matters, family matters, the utilitarianism that had long resided in my heart, the confusion and unease that had always covered me, and the boredom and restlessness all seemed to have disappeared.

"I had a great time on my date today."

With her hands behind her back, Tachibana Yuki turned around and said in a serious tone, "Spending time with you doesn't feel like a waste at all."

Looking at her gentle smile in the sunset, Makoto Takahashi suddenly felt the fatigue from shopping all afternoon disappear.

He opened the car door, gestured, and said, "As long as Miss is happy, please."

"My legs are a little sore. If you could give me a massage, I'd feel much better."

Thank you for your hospitality.

"Huh? Is Cheng-kun a pervert?"

Even so, after closing the car door, Tachibana Yuki still leaned back with her legs draped over Takahashi Makoto and closed her eyes peacefully.

The apartment was very close to Ikebukuro. Before I could even fully appreciate the smooth feel of the young lady's high-end stockings, the black sedan was already parked downstairs.

Through the car window, Makoto Takahashi saw Maya Uesugi carrying supermarket shopping bags, stop in front of the apartment building, and turn around to look at him.

He was probably just getting ready to go home and cook when he saw the familiar black sedan waiting for him.

"Sister Xing, I'm leaving now."

After saying goodbye to Yuki Kazumi, he got out of the car and walked over to Maya Uesugi, intending to help carry the dinner ingredients.

Suddenly, Tachibana Yuki's sweet voice came from behind.

"Cheng-kun, you've left something behind."

"?"

Takahashi Makoto instinctively reached into his pants pocket, and after confirming that his phone was still there, he turned around with his back to Uesugi Maya, only to have her soft, delicate body bump into him.

Tachibana Yuki placed her hands on his shoulders, her unshoeed feet tiptoeing on the pavement, and gently kissed his cheek.

A soft, cool touch presses against the skin.

My heart was thrown into turmoil by the soft, delicate fragrance of flowers.

In a brief moment of disorientation, I heard the young lady's mischievous laughter.

"Don't forget what I said."

Chapter 71 Undeniable Appreciation?

Makoto Takahashi, carrying a supermarket shopping bag, stood in the narrow elevator, watching the floor numbers slowly tick by with a serious expression.

Standing beside her, Maya Uesugi had a cold expression, her back straight, and her beautiful caramel-colored eyes were fixed straight ahead, making her look calm and collected.

Makoto Takahashi didn't know if she was truly calm, but he had no intention of explaining, otherwise he would inevitably appear somewhat guilty.

Besides, he doesn't have a girlfriend, so even if he has an ambiguous relationship with Tachibana Yuki, he's not a scumbag.

Ding--

A crisp notification sound rang out, and the elevator doors slowly opened to both sides. After Maya Uesugi stepped out of the elevator, Makoto Takahashi followed behind her, arriving at the apartment building with the name [Uesugi] on the door.

"Information." Uesugi Maya took out her key and turned the lock.

Her tone was slightly lower than usual, and Takahashi Makoto wondered if it was just his imagination, but he vaguely felt that the temperature of the surrounding air seemed to have dropped as well.

After successfully entering the apartment and taking off his shoes in the entryway, Makoto Takahashi slowly and deliberately shared his thoughts on the band.

The two walked into the kitchen together. After putting down the shopping bags, Makoto Takahashi leaned against the kitchen door and watched Maya Uesugi tie on her white apron and prepare the ingredients.

Thump, thump—

Amidst the sound of a cleaver slicing a zucchini into thin slices, he selectively omitted the part about the afternoon's date and focused on the perspective issue in front of the apartment building.

Without saying a word, Uesugi Maya cut the zucchini, then picked up a gleaming cleaver from the knife rack and quietly cleaved the pork ribs.

Snapped--

The girl, skilled in both literature and martial arts, showed no difficulty in slicing the ribs. With swift and decisive strokes, she chopped the ribs into small pieces, the heavy sound sending a chill down one's spine.

Makoto Takahashi's gaze shifted to the knife rack, where there was an astonishing variety of knives. Behind the rack were whetstones of different grits, and an uninformed person might mistake it for a slaughterhouse workshop.

If I have the chance to give her a gift next time, I'll choose a whetstone and a knife.

After all the pork ribs were prepared, Maya Uesugi washed the knife, put it back in its original place, and put the small pieces of ribs into the pot to blanch.

After the gas stove was lit, her cold eyes shot out a sharp, arrow-like gaze: "Have you forgotten something?"

"Really?" Makoto Takahashi asked doubtfully.

“Juka Shiraishi”.

"Oh, I forgot."

With Maya Uesugi's prompting, he successfully recalled the original song, so he took out his phone, opened Line, and found the hand-drawn smiley sunflower profile picture.

[Takahashi: How's the composition going?]

[Sumika: 0%]

[Takahashi: ???]