Iruma-san wants to win the Akutagawa Prize

Nagasaki Suyo nodded.

"But, in the beginning..."

"I know."

Iruma Hibiki didn't wait for Nagasaki Suyo to explain.

“That’s the real Sushi.”

perhaps.

At this moment.

For Hibiki Iruma, the person in front of him has become irreplaceable in any way.

08 Toyokawa Shoko is a lover

"Xiang! Gui'an, I called you at this time because I wanted to see you. Is this causing you any trouble?"

"No."

Iruma Hibiki responded to Toyokawa Shoko on the other end of the phone with a slightly forced smile on his face. He carefully turned the camera and aimed it at the windowsill behind him.

"Is Hibiki resting now?"

"No, I just woke up. I have to go to the hospital to accompany my grandmother this afternoon. We have agreed that I will be the one accompanying her and on duty from the afternoon until the early morning. My father is a little worried about the nurse he hired. Besides, although my grandmother's condition is stable now, it may worsen at any time. It's better for family members to stay by her side."

Iruma Hibiki responded to Toyokawa Shoko and tidied her collar a little awkwardly. It was wet and had a faint scent of grass. At the end of Iruma Hibiki's sight, Nagasaki Suyo was lying on the bed, falling into a peaceful and calm sleep again.

"If only I could recover soon..."

Toyokawa Shoko muttered with some worry, but soon a smile appeared on her face and she stopped talking about these heavy topics. Therefore, she shook the camera so that Iruma Hibiki could see the situation around her.

"Hibiki, can you see clearly over here?"

"Yes, sure? Xiangzi is in the kitchen?"

Hibiki Iruma looked at the scene in front of him and confirmed with Toyokawa Shoko.

"Well! Today, I plan to try to prepare dinner by myself, because no one is at home, it's a rare occasion - but I'm not very good at cooking. Can Xiang teach me how to do it? Just like when Xiang taught me to buy coffee from the convenience store before."

"Well, of course."

"Then, Xiang, follow me!"

As if she was holding Hibiki Iruma's hand, Shoko Toyokawa captured the camera's image of herself running towards the refrigerator on the other side.

"Xiang, how should these ingredients be combined?"

"Let me see--"

As Shoko Toyokawa opened the refrigerator, many high-end ingredients appeared in front of Hibiki Iruma.

"What kind of dinner do you plan to have, Xiangzi?"

"Um……"

Toyokawa Shoko pondered for a moment.

"I want to eat what Hibiki likes to eat!"

She then responded with a bright smile at the screen.

"Because, eating the same delicious dinner as Xiang would give me a feeling of close connection between lovers?!"

In front of Iruma Hibiki, Toyokawa Shoko held up a book with both hands.

The title of the book is "10 Tips for Love Experts: Become a Reliable Lover in Half a Month". Iruma laughed out loud when he saw the title.

Facing Iruma Hibiki's smile, Toyokawa Shoko looked at the page she unfolded with some confusion.

"Hibiki, why are you laughing? Is this book really unreliable?"

Toyokawa Shoko looked worried.

"I saw this book on Xiang's desk a while ago and bought it..." (Note: The plot mentioned here takes place in Chapter 36 of Volume )

"I laughed because it was a book I had read too."

Iruma Hibiki couldn't suppress his smile.

Some helplessness, some bitterness, and some complex emotions are hidden.

"So why is that?"

"No big deal, let's get started, Xiangzi. Let's prepare dinner. First, take out the beef over there, then the tomatoes and eggs. With such a rich variety of ingredients, it's better to have a Chinese dinner."

"Will Xiangzi have any resistance to food that is slightly oily?"

"No! I've been maintaining my weight well recently because... I have someone I like..."

Toyokawa Shoko wrapped her fingers around her aqua-blue hair twice, revealing a shy expression before returning to normal.

"Let me see, first the beef... then—"

Her slightly short stature made it impossible for her to reach the items on the top shelf of the refrigerator as easily as Nagasaki Suyo.

"tomato!"

Finally she got the tomato on the top layer.

But it seemed that it was a bit difficult to reach, and the moment Toyokawa Shoko took the bag of four tomatoes by the small corner, the bag broke and rolled in different directions all over the place.

And Shoko Toyokawa also left the camera for a while.

When she came back, she had found all the tomatoes that had run away.

"What's next? Hibiki?"

"Very good, Xiangzi, you did the first step perfectly. First, close the refrigerator, then crack the eggs in a bowl. Be careful not to use too much force and don't crack the entire eggshell at once. Imagine the force you use when playing the piano. You can't use ff here, only mf."

"oh, I understand now!"

Toyokawa Shoko felt slightly surprised and shocked by Iruma Hibiki's description.

That was a term for music she definitely understood.

Even though she got the eggs all over the place, she still spent a lot of time picking out the broken eggshells, cleaning the table, and finishing beating the eggs.

"Now comes the hardest step. Xiangzi, put on your apron and gloves."

In fact, at this time, generally speaking, adults will say:

Don’t be afraid of oil. If you are afraid, you won’t be able to cook well.

However, Hibiki Iruma's sympathy for Shoko Toyokawa made him open a backdoor for her.

"Ok!"

……

…………

………………

"delicious!"

Finally, after 30 minutes, Shoko Toyokawa finished her dinner, and Hibiki Iruma breathed a sigh of relief.

"You've worked really hard, Xiangzi. It's amazing."

Iruma Hibiki looked at the bowl of slightly bad scrambled eggs with tomatoes and gave Toyokawa Shoko his encouragement. Then he breathed a sigh of relief and saw Nagasaki Soyo who had turned over slightly, and began to grope for his mobile phone beside the bed.

It seemed that she also noticed the sound of him here.

"I'm sorry, Xiangzi, I..."

"Hibiki is leaving, right?"

"It's okay. Bye, Hibiki. We'll talk later."

……

Toyokawa Shoko took the initiative to end the conversation.

The video quickly fades to black.

The room fell silent once again.

"Su Shi..."

"Eh?"

Iruma Hibiki's slight cry startled Nagasaki Suyo.

But soon, Nagasaki Suyo's eyes gradually calmed down, and she looked around at the slightly unfamiliar environment like a newborn baby.

"Xiang, have you been here all this time?"

Then she asked softly, with a hint of attachment and earnestness in her eyes.

"Well, are you still having nightmares, Sushi?"

"No, I was sleeping soundly. Where's the noise?"

"I'm going to the hospital soon. I've ordered dinner for Sushi. Just contact the front desk and it will be delivered."

Iruma Hibiki's hand was grabbed by Nagasaki Suyo who was wearing pajamas.

"Hibiki, I'm sorry to trouble you."

Despite saying such polite words.

But Nagasaki Suyo had an exceptionally bright smile on her face.

"It's fine."

"Is there anything I can do to help Hibiki?"

Nagasaki Suyo then asked, probably feeling a little troubled about her current situation.

She desperately wanted to prove her existence and value by helping Iruma Hibiki, and was afraid of being despised and abandoned again.

09 The sun was pouring down that day

"Father."

In the ward, Iruma Hibiki called out to Iruma Yoshiaki, who was lying on the bed and had fallen into a light sleep. His emotions at the moment were naturally very complicated, with a hint of distress and worry, but he had to face the current situation.

"You came and made a noise."

Faced with his father's relieved smile, Iruma Hibiki was a little evasive.

"You go and rest, I'll take over next. Is there anything you should pay attention to?"

Hibiki Iruma put the things he brought aside, and then sorted out the documents brought by the doctor on the table in front of the bed.

"The doctor gave me some advice before..."

After a simple and efficient handover, Yoshiaki Iruma also woke up. He patted Hibiki Iruma on the shoulder and made a gesture to leave.

And this time, when he left, he saw Iruma Hibiki staring at him.

Such a look made Iruma Yoshiaki a little worried and confused.

Not only had Iruma Hibiki never looked at him like this before.

He couldn't understand the reason, and he couldn't figure out what Iruma Xiang was thinking.

His son is like this. Sometimes he is so mature that it is scary, and sometimes he is so childish that it is scary. He often feels helpless and unpredictable.

So what is Hibiki Iruma's situation now?

Iruma Yoshiaki was a little confused, and just sighed quietly and helplessly as a father.

Then, when leaving the door, Iruma Hibiki turned his gaze and looked at his grandmother lying on the hospital bed.

"Xiang, everything's fine at school! I've already contacted the teacher for you! Speaking of which, I'm going to tell you something! Ah! Of course, Xiang, don't tell me I was the one who leaked it later!"

Ijichi Hongxia sent a message around the time school was over.

What's the secret?

Iruma Hibiki happened to be looking at her phone, so she immediately asked back.