They all have hidden attributes!

[Sumika: I don't like her lyrics, they don't inspire me]

Since there's no inspiration, there's nothing we can do.

Makoto Takahashi put away his phone, raised his hand to look at Maya Uesugi, who was stirring seasonings with a bowl and chopsticks, and said in an indifferent tone:

"What Sister Xing means is that you have to write songs that touch people's hearts; other people's help doesn't count."

"She didn't write anything?" Maya Uesugi asked pointedly.

"They said they didn't like your lyrics, so they had no inspiration."

"I understand. Go wait in the living room and don't get in the way here," she said calmly.

Makoto Takahashi stood still, his calm gaze fixed on Maya Uesugi's figure. After working for a while, she finally let out a long sigh of relief.

"I was a little angry, but I wasn't stupid enough not to realize that she was deliberately using the perspective to show me."

As she said this, Maya Uesugi was using a slotted spoon to scoop out the spare ribs and drain them.

A white apron accentuates the beautiful curves of the chest more than any other garment, and the image of the young woman busy in the kitchen is just like that of a virtuous wife and loving mother.

She lowered her eyes, her tone becoming somewhat dejected: "Now that things have come to this, I probably can't deny my admiration for you."

"Just for admiring?" Takahashi Makoto asked.

"unimportant."

Uesugi Maya shook her head slightly and said reasonably, "I never thought something like this would happen to me, so you don't need to worry about it now. I'll come to you after I've thought it through."

The unexpected scene caught her off guard, leaving her no time to think before confronting her hazy, inner feelings.

Before getting angry, Maya Uesugi immediately considered why she was angry, whether she had the right to vent her dissatisfaction, and whether Makoto Takahashi had an obligation to take responsibility.

Even though she knew he would subconsciously and meaninglessly take on the responsibility of taking care of her feelings, Uesugi Maya still didn't want to appear unreasonable.

“He’s still angry,” Makoto Takahashi said with certainty.

He sensed a faint sense of estrangement from Uesugi Maya's attitude, exactly the same as when they first met during the rainy season, as if they had returned to that unfamiliar relationship.

"Wasn't what I just said clear enough?" Uesugi Maya asked, turning her head to look at him.

“I don’t quite understand.” Makoto Takahashi looked directly into her beautiful caramel-colored eyes and saw dark clouds churning within them, like a summer storm that could break at any moment.

He wanted to experience firsthand the emotions that Uesugi Maya was venting, so he deliberately provoked her by saying something:

"You are trying to maintain your rationality and look at your feelings clearly because of the trauma of your childhood environment. You are doing this because you are afraid to face it, just like you are afraid to rely on others."

Maya Uesugi's belief is to [live without depending on anyone].

She rejects deep connections with family, friends, and especially lovers, precisely because she doesn't want to build any bonds, so she can only endure it in these moments.

Stray cats don't have the right to act cute, be picky about food, or hiss like house cats.

"Yes."

"It seems you fell in love with me first."

"As I've already said, I don't deny my appreciation for you, and perhaps even my affection for you."

Seeing Takahashi Makoto's amused expression upon hearing this, Uesugi Maya took a deep breath to calm herself down, and before Takahashi Makoto could push his luck any further, she completely revealed her aggressive side.

She crossed her arms, a shadow falling over her delicate face, a rare smile appearing on her lips, but her eyes were incredibly cold.

The atmosphere in the kitchen plummeted in an instant, and Makoto Takahashi felt as if he had suddenly stepped into an ice cave.

Meeting Uesugi Maya's indifferent gaze, he swallowed hard and stepped into Hell Girl's biggest minefield: "I want to hear what's on your mind."

"Okay."

Maya Uesugi toyed with her hair, speaking lightly yet hurtfully: "I don't want to be angry with you because, in my opinion, you're not someone I can trust. Do you understand?"

"I believe that lovers should start as friends, and friends should trust each other. But you have a very low rating in my heart. Even if I have some feelings for you, it can't outweigh the risks."

"I don't want to waste my time with you, and I especially don't want to..."

Before she could finish speaking, she suddenly fell silent.

At the kitchen's only exit, Makoto Takahashi opened his arms to Maya Uesugi and said with a smile, "Actually, you usually say hurtful things, but when it really comes down to it, your offensive power is actually quite low."

"What are you trying to say?" Uesugi Maya frowned as if she didn't understand.

"You have to give me a chance to do something for you before you can say something like that, right?" Takahashi Makoto looked completely innocent.

That's the truth. Hell Girl never gives anyone a chance, so at this moment she can't refute it and can only click her tongue in disdain.

"Tsk."

"A hug between friends?" Makoto Takahashi suggested.

"Oh."

"Shy?"

He laughed happily, but Uesugi Maya's face turned completely cold.

Unable to refute, her ears burned slightly, so she could only deliberately keep a cold face to avoid making a fool of herself in front of Takahashi Makoto.

Can we really become friends?

Does he like me too, which is why he said such a thing?

Isn't it a bit too much to not give him a chance?

A jumble of questions broke my rationality, and a sense of anxiety welled up inside me. If...

Before I could think it through, my throat made a sound on its own.

"Do you want a hug, or dinner?"

"Can't friends come over for a free meal?" Makoto Takahashi blinked; he wanted both of them.

"Do friends need to pay a 'friendship fee'?"

“I will pay you too.”

After a moment's thought, Uesugi Maya stepped forward and said, "Deal."

She gave Takahashi Makoto a gentle hug, but before she could even feel it, she pushed him out of the kitchen with both hands, saying, "Okay, don't get in my way here."

"I can't learn it anyway. Are you the type of student who can't have the proctor around during exams?"

"Get out."

boom--

Maya Uesugi slammed the kitchen door shut, turned around and braced herself against it with her back before finally letting out a sigh of relief.

After regaining her composure, she calmed down again, raised her hand to rub her temples with a slight headache, and couldn't figure out what had just happened.

Why did you agree to his request?

Is that man a little too dangerous for me?

I need to clarify things with him later.

Now, let's make dinner first.

After being kicked out of the kitchen, Makoto Takahashi felt that he had already gained enough for the day and could call it a day, so he didn't bother Maya Uesugi any further.

It's a bit of a shame that I didn't get to experience Hell Girl's hug.

Stepping onto the balcony, the sky was just beginning to darken, and a noisy wind swept across the street, carrying the thick moisture from a summer downpour.

He sat down on a camping chair and asked Junka Shiraishi for the lyrics written by Maya Uesugi.

The lyrics of "Fireworks" seem quite ordinary, not much different from those existing positive and inspirational lyrics.

Theoretically speaking, as a bestselling author, Maya Uesugi shouldn't have written such ordinary and mediocre lyrics; perhaps it's because she cares too much about the market.

[Takahashi: Can you write song lyrics?]

[Sumika: I can only draw]

[Sumika: Makoto, this afternoon...]

[Takahashi: Art Exhibition]

The moment he sent that message, Makoto Takahashi felt like a jerk, even though just a few minutes earlier he thought he was innocent and pure.

After chatting with Shiraishi Junko for a while, when it was completely dark, Uesugi Maya's cold voice came from the restaurant.

"Let's eat," she said simply.

"it is good."

Makoto Takahashi carried a camping chair to the restaurant, where a long, light-colored wooden table was set with grilled ribs, stir-fried zucchini with meat, and stew.

Not only is there no soup for dinner tonight, but the roasted ribs also look a bit burnt. Judging from the aroma, dinner tonight is definitely not going to be good.

It's better not to complain, Makoto Takahashi thought to himself.

After he sat down, Maya Uesugi, who was sitting across from him at the table, handed him a bowl of red bean rice and said coldly, "From today onwards, we are friends."

"How formal." Makoto Takahashi looked down at the red bean rice bowl that celebrates good things happening in Japanese culture.

The red beans looked a bit hard, so they probably weren't cooked for a long time.

Tonight's dinner was far too perfunctory, wasn't it?

Uesugi Maya ignored him and continued, "I know how troublesome my personality is, so you still have a chance to back out."

"So you knew?" Takahashi Makoto looked up at her in surprise.

"I am still very possessive, vengeful, and jealous. I can easily hurt people with my words. If we really become friends, I might gradually become more casual and a little willful with you."

Uesugi Maya analyzed herself with a cold expression and a calm tone, her caramel-colored eyes carefully observing his changing expressions as if she could see into his heart:

"Including but not limited to being sarcastic, violent, stubborn, domineering, sharp, and having severe psychological fastidiousness, you still want to be my friend?"

"What do you mean by violence?" Makoto Takahashi asked.

"A chop to the neck, or I'll poke you with a compass."

"In my opinion, you are a reliable and trustworthy person most of the time. Everyone has bad days."

Hearing him say that, Uesugi Maya nodded almost imperceptibly, picked up her chopsticks and put a piece of grilled rib into her bowl: "Why did you say those things in the kitchen just now? Have you already fallen in love with me?"

"I'll just go with my gut feeling." Makoto Takahashi shrugged, picked up a piece of grilled rib with his chopsticks, and put it in his mouth to taste.