I really just want to grind for entries related to crossover anime/manga.

It wasn't just ordinary intimacy, but a unique and gentle feeling.

Asakura Toru looked away, pretending to be interested in the TV program, but inside he felt like countless voices were arguing.

A while later, the doorbell rang again.

“It should be Kumano and Morimoto.” Genkawa Yu got up to open the door.

Sure enough, two young men were standing outside the door.

Nobuyuki Kumano was wearing a casual shirt and jeans, and carrying a plastic bag containing several cans of beer.

Kengo Morimoto wore a short-sleeved shirt and trousers, and carried a backpack.

"Yuanchuan! Long time no see!"

Nobuyuki Kumano greeted everyone casually as he walked in and looked around the apartment. "Wow, this place is much more upscale than the restaurant where we had our last get-together!"

"After all, he's a popular actor now."

Kengo Morimoto followed with a smile, putting down his backpack. "I brought some snacks and drinks."

Upon seeing Asakura Toru and MEM Chu in the living room, the two exchanged lively greetings once again.

Among the six members of the dating reality show, Nobuyuki Kumano and Kengo Morimoto are not from the entertainment industry. One is a dancer and the other is a band vocalist. Because of this, they are more relaxed and at ease when they get along with their celebrity friends.

"Where's Kurokawa?" Kumano Nobuyuki asked. "Wasn't he supposed to be helping with the cooking?"

"He's in the kitchen."

MEM chirped again, pointing towards the kitchen.

"Cook?"

Nobuyuki Kumano raised an eyebrow. "Oh, I always thought she was the kind of pampered young lady who never lifted a finger."

"Have you lost your memory, Kumano-kun? Didn't Kurokawa already cook when we were filming the variety show before?"

Looking back on "Love is a compulsory course in life," it is indeed a very beautiful memory.

"Then I'll look forward to it."

Genkawa took out more drinks from the refrigerator and brought over several plates of prepared snacks.

Five of the six gathered in the living room, and the atmosphere gradually became lively. They chatted about their recent situations. Kumano complained about the pressure at work, Morimoto lamented how difficult songwriting was, MEM shared some interesting stories about blogging recently, and Asakura Toru talked about some behind-the-scenes anecdotes from the film crew.

But she could never fully concentrate.

His eyes kept glancing towards the kitchen, while his ears caught the soft humming of Akane Kurokawa coming from there.

The singing was very soft, the melody was almost inaudible, but you could feel the joy of the person humming.

Just then, Asakura Toru's cell phone vibrated in his pocket.

Asakura Toru looked down and saw a message from Higuchi Enka.

"Have we arrived? How is it?"

She hesitated for a moment, then replied, "Everyone is here."

Yuan Chuanyou stood up. "I'll go turn the air conditioning down a bit."

He walked to the control panel on the wall and operated it with practiced ease. The next moment, he found that his phone suddenly rang.

Just then, Genkawa Yu's phone rang.

He glanced at the screen, his expression turning somewhat serious.

"Excuse me, I need to take this call. It's work-related," he said, taking his phone and heading towards the study.

The four people remaining in the living room continued chatting. Nobuyuki Kumano opened a can of beer, took a sip, and suddenly spoke.

"By the way, are we out of tissues? I'd like to wipe my hands."

He had just eaten some snacks, and there were some crumbs on his fingers.

"Genkawa!" Kumano Nobuyuki called out towards the study, "Where do you keep your tissues?"

In the study, Genkawa Yu was on the phone and did not respond immediately.

MEM stood up: "Let me help you look for it—"

But before he could finish speaking, the kitchen door opened.

Akane Kurokawa came out.

Today she was wearing simple loungewear—a light blue T-shirt and dark casual pants, with a light blue apron over them.

Her hair was tied in a low ponytail with a few wisps of hair framing her forehead, and her face had a natural blush, probably from the heat of the kitchen.

Her hands still had some flour on them, suggesting she was kneading dough or making dough-based foods.

Seeing everyone in the living room, Akane Kurokawa smiled gently.

"What's wrong?" she asked softly.

“Kumano needs tissues,” MEM said.

Akane Kurokawa nodded and naturally stretched out her hand, pointing to a door on the other side of the living room.

"In the cabinet in the storage room, in the middle of the second row, there are two boxes of tissues."

Her tone was so natural, as if she were pointing out where to put things in her own home.

Nobuyuki Kumano walked in the direction he pointed, pushed open the door to the storage room, and found neat storage shelves with various daily necessities categorized and arranged. He found the second row and, sure enough, saw tissues in the middle.

Nobuyuki Kumano took out a box and closed the storage room door.

He wiped his hands as he walked back to the living room, saying, "Thanks..."

The conversation suddenly stopped.

The next moment, his expression froze, and his eyes slowly widened, as if he had suddenly realized something extremely wrong.

The placement of items in the storage room.

She cooks at Yuanchuan You's house with ease.

She was very familiar with the apartment.

When she was giving directions, she didn't say "it might be in the storage room" or "it should be there, right?", but rather she said very definitively, "the middle of the second row."

This level of familiarity is beyond what one would expect from a guest.

Has the case been solved?

Nobuyuki Kumano stood there, holding a tissue in his hand, his gaze shifting back and forth between Akane Kurokawa and the direction of the study.

His mind was racing, connecting all the details he had seen that day.

"hiss..."

Volume 3: I Am a Knight of the New Era - Chapter 26 Official Announcement, Asakura Toru Never Intended to Give Up (Two Chapters Combined, 5k words)

Not long after, Nobuyuki Kumano came out of the storage room with a whole pack of unopened tissues. He had a strange look on his face, as if he had discovered some incredible secret but was deliberately suppressing it.

This unusual appearance was so obvious that it quickly attracted the attention of the three people in the living room.

Kengo Morimoto put down his phone, raised an eyebrow, and asked, "What's wrong? Why do you look like you've seen a ghost when you grab a tissue?"

MEM noticed Kumamoto's unusual behavior and stared at him with bright eyes.

"Yes, could there be something strange in Genkawa-kun's storage room...?"

Although Asakura Toru did not speak, he turned his head slightly and looked at Kumano Nobuyuki with a hint of inquiry.

Nobuyuki Kumano placed the tissues on the coffee table in front of the sofa, thought about his earlier guess, and since he wouldn't speak carelessly, he chuckled twice and waved his hand.

"It's nothing, it's just that the storage room was a bit messy, and it took me a while to find it."

He said that, but his eyes involuntarily glanced towards the kitchen.

This was the second time they had visited Genkawa Yu's apartment, and they had already stayed there for quite some time. The storage room was a private and cluttered space, yet Kurokawa Akane could pinpoint the exact location of the tissues, even down to the shelf number and compartment. This was something that couldn't be done on a first visit.

Unless she... is already very familiar with this place, and even frequents it often.

This thought had been lingering in Nobuyuki Kumano's mind, but once he got closer, he immediately suppressed it and didn't say anything more.

He wasn't one to meddle in other people's business, and since the person involved hadn't said anything, there was no need for him to expose it. However, he couldn't help but have some suspicions in his mind.

As a friend, there are many things you can't tell someone, even if you know them.

The perceptive MEM noticed a slight movement in her eyes after seeing Nobuyuki Kumano's strange expression and his somewhat perfunctory reply.

She followed Nobuyuki Kumano's gaze to the kitchen, then looked down at the tissues on the coffee table, and a bold guess came to her mind.

However, since MEM knew that Asakura Toru liked Genkawa Yu, guessing in that direction made her emotions somewhat complicated.

As a smart person, MEM didn't say a word more, but simply moved back to Asakura Toru's side and chatted casually, though his tone was now more cautious.

Asakura Toru noticed MEM's unusual behavior, but didn't think too much about it. Her attention was mostly focused on Genkawa Yu, who was on the phone in the study.

She was curious about who Yuu Genkawa was talking to on the phone.

Time flowed slowly in this subtle atmosphere, and after about half an hour, Kurokawa Akane's cheerful voice came from the direction of the kitchen.

"It's finally done!"

"Everyone, you can get ready to eat! The food is all prepared!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Genkawa Yuya came out of the study after finishing his phone call.

He was wearing a simple white T-shirt, head held high, with a relaxed expression after the call and a hint of confidence in the future.

Just now in the study, he discussed the future development plans for [Star Engine] with his manager, Kazuya Nakahara.

With the completion of "Your Name" and the upcoming release of "Love Like a Bouquet," the copyright adaptation investment department has also put the project on the agenda.

Kazuya Nakahara reported the latest progress of preparations over the phone, and that everything was proceeding smoothly, which filled Yuu Genkawa with confidence in the future of [Star Engine].

The moment he hung up the phone, he was already envisioning how he could use this platform to further his career with more outstanding works.

Of course, there's also the matter of taking more money out of the audience's pockets.

"Yu-kun, are you done making the call? You can come help serve the food!"

When Akane Kurokawa saw Yu Minagawa come out, she called out to him with a smile.