I live my life in Tokyo

A single man and a single woman were in the same room, and the occasional sound of the blue water made them feel happy. Higuchi Madoka lowered her head and sank it into the water.

"quack--"

Her up and down movements were somewhat violent, bringing the little yellow duck next to the bathtub into the water.

Purple eyes stared at the little yellow duck, and the little yellow duck looked back at her with its emotionless black eyes. Seeing this, Higuchi Madoka poked it with her finger, and the little yellow duck moved away a little, floating freely on the blue waves.

How nice it would be if I were a little yellow duck.

Higuchi Yuanka couldn't help but think that if she walked on the path guided by others, she would have a smooth journey, without worries and without getting hurt.

Thinking of this, she grabbed the little yellow duck and violently sank it into the water.

Kaede Sakakibara was sitting in the living room watching TV. He had no idea that his good brother Huang Ya was being ravaged by Higuchi Madoka. He poured himself a glass of water, turned on his laptop, sat at the table, and started doing his homework for the Department of Economics at the University of Tokyo.

There are guests at home now, and it would be impolite for Sakakibara Kaede to go upstairs to work and ignore the world.

Rain always makes people feel sad, but when you look at the world surrounded by rain in the room, you will feel a sense of security in your heart.

Sakakibara Kaede took a sip of water and continued to focus on his homework.

Dean Kimura was quite satisfied with their homework and the boy praised him after class. This time, he took leave for the audition and passed it without any obstacles.

"Ding dong."

The doorbell rings.

Sakakibara Kaede put down the cup of water and looked towards the door. Who was here at this time?

He suddenly remembered that in addition to Higuchi Enka, Asakura Toru would also be here today.

The boy came to the entrance and quickly opened the door. If Asakura Toru didn't bring an umbrella, he could take a bath directly with Higuchi Madoka.

"Hello, I'm here to visit."

Toru Asakura was standing in front of the door with a small cake in her hand, and she was holding an umbrella.

"Come in, Asakura-san. What is this cake?"

"Ah... my agent said to be polite."

Asakura Toru said with a smile, her words seemed incoherent but her meaning was very clear. Her agent asked her to be polite, so she brought a small cake as a guest.

"——The shampoo is almost gone."

Higuchi Madoka wiped her short hair with a towel and walked slowly out of the bathing center wearing boy's clothes.

Toru Asakura stood in front of the door holding a cake, looking intently at his childhood sweetheart.

Higuchi Yuanka's face darkened in an instant, and for a moment she just wanted to escape back to the bathing center to continue taking a bath. It was really inappropriate to say such words in a casual tone.

She was taking a bath at Sakakibara Kaede's house, and Asakura Toru hadn't discovered her yet. The shock made Higuchi Madoka stand there in a daze for a moment, with her brain completely at standstill.

Asakura Toru squinted his eyes and smiled, his smile looked kind and mysterious.

“…I see.”

"It's not like this."

Sakakibara Kaede immediately clarified, "Higuchi-san didn't bring an umbrella, so he just borrowed the bathhouse to wash up."

"hey-hey."

Asakura Toru smiled, not sure whether she understood or not or was just watching for fun. After putting the cake on the dining table, he let out a "whoosh" and climbed onto the sofa to watch the variety show that Sakakibara Kaede was watching earlier.

Higuchi Yuanxiang still stood there woodenly. Sakakibara Feng coughed lightly and said, "Well, I'll buy the shampoo. Thanks for the reminder."

The girl's face turned red. This was the first time the boy saw her showing such an expression. She glared at Sakakibara Kaede fiercely, then walked away quickly in a sulky manner.

Of course, the leaving here does not mean that she changed her shoes in front of the entrance and never came back. The leaving here means that she went to the sofa and sat next to Toru Asakura.

Facing the stare from her childhood sweetheart, Toru Asakura didn't react at all. She even thanked Sakakibara Kaede a little embarrassedly when he handed her the tea.

"What would you like to eat tonight?"

As the head of the family, Sakakibara Kaede stood in front of the refrigerator with her hands on her hips and said, "Let me be frank. Although my cooking skills have improved a little since filming Dream Apartment, they are still basically average."

"..."

Higuchi Madoka stood up silently, squatted in front of the refrigerator, and glanced sideways at Sakakibara Kaede.

"Higuchi-san?"

She put the meat that Kaede Sakakibara bought on the chopping board and started looking for vegetables.

She rinsed the broccoli she bought in water, and this time she looked up at Sakakibara Kaede again.

"Give me a hand."

"Okay, okay, learn. I'll learn and that's all."

Sakakibara Kaede nodded deeply and said.

Higuchi Yuanxiang tied her apron skillfully and turned the switch on the stove. The flames began to gently lick the bottom of the pot. She glanced at Sakakibara Kaede and said, "You should be able to cut meat."

Sakakibara Kaede received the order, took the kitchen knife and started to dice the meat.

"Cut it smaller."

"okay."

Sakakibara Kaede said this with a fist clasped. His movements were delicate and it looked like his knife skills were quite good, which made Higuchi Enka take a few more glances.

Hehehe, he learned the way of cutting vegetables from Nanami Aoyama. With muscle memory, he imitated Nanami Aoyama's movements several times and soon mastered it.

Toru Asakura leaned on the sofa without any image, holding a bear pillow in his hands, watching the two people busy in the kitchen with great interest.

Well, this is the first time I've seen Higuchi like this.

Asakura Toru smiled. She felt very refreshed by Higuchi Madoka's reaction. As childhood sweethearts, in her eyes, Higuchi Madoka had remained the same for more than ten years. Others could not see the slight change at this time, but Asakura Toru could see it.

So she found it interesting and wanted to just sit here and continue watching.

Seeing Higuchi Enka's natural movements, Sakakibara Kaede couldn't help but exclaim in admiration, "Higuchi-san, you are so skilled."

“I’ve been practicing for a long time.”

Higuchi Yuanxiang said silently, she glanced at Sakakibara Kaede and stretched out her hand, and the latter automatically handed the cut mushrooms to the girl.

"The smell of the Higuchi family is coming out." Sakakibara Kaede blurted out as he smelled the familiar smell.

The sauce and the base of the pot are different, so how can they produce something so homely?

Kaede Sakakibara didn't know that once his cooking skills improved, he felt that he could go to Totsuki to challenge himself and study for a doctorate.

That's how it is.jpg

Chapter 6: Homely Meals

"Thank you for the treat. I'm ready to eat."

The three of them sat at the table in the living room, holding chopsticks and clasping their hands together, praying to God, thanking the gods of food for giving them this delicious meal that belonged to the Higuchi family.

Asakura Toru also wanted to join in the cooking, but was driven away by Higuchi Madoka, who told her to continue watching TV.

Sakakibara Kaede didn't know Asakura Toru's cooking skill points, but he thought it was a good idea for three people to cook together.

There was a bit of silence at the dinner table. In the past, there was always someone to chat with Sakakibara Kaede during meals. No matter whether that person was Mrs. Higuchi or Mrs. Asakura, they always had topics to talk about.

but. . .

The boy looked at Asakura Toru, who was eating in silence and grinning at TV, and felt confused for the first time.

As an investigator with maxed-out social skills, how should I start here?

He opened his mouth, and the next moment Higuchi Yuuka started talking to Asakura Toru, and began to ask her casually about what commercial she had participated in today.

The investigator nodded with satisfaction when he saw that the situation was developing as expected. There was the sound of television and conversation, and the atmosphere was like a normal family dinner.

After finishing the meal, the three of them brought the plates to the sink. Sakakibara Kaede took out the rag that he had hardly used since buying it and began to rub the bowl. This was the first time he had visited it.

After a while, everything on the table was cleared away, and the two took out today's homework, spread their notebooks on the table and began to write.

Higuchi Madoka rubbed the thick calluses on her fingers and glanced at Sakakibara Kaede who was typing on the keyboard. In high school, she still used paper and pen to write, but in college she suddenly started using electronic products, which can be said to be a qualitative leap.

She was already thinking about whether to practice typing.

The ringing of the phone broke the tranquility of study. It was Sakakibara Kaede's cell phone ringing. He pulled out the phone holding the white cat pendant, and saw that it was a call from Kei Iida. He nodded to the two of them and walked up the stairs.

Chocolate and Vanilla were sleeping on his bed. Sakakibara rubbed Vanilla's belly and pressed the call button.

"Iida-san."

"Brother Sakakibara."

Both parties were silent for a while after announcing their names. Finally, Kei Iida couldn't help himself and finally broke the attack, "Brother Sakakibara, aren't you curious about the result of today's audition?"

"Hmph, I have enough confidence that I can pass the first round of auditions." Sakakibara Kaede said with a sneer, still feeling a little uncertain in his heart. What if the character setting he presents does not match the character setting of the judges' review panel?

"Tsk."

Iida Kei couldn't help but click his tongue and could only say that Lu Bu, the fierce general from Bingzhou, was worthy of being under his command, possessing such unprecedented self-confidence.

"Okay, okay, you did pass." Iida Kei sighed, "By the way, Ichinose-san also passed the audition for the female role. This is an unexpected surprise."

"Then I'll text her to congratulate her later."

Sakakibara Kaede smiled and stroked the soft cat, "Isn't this a double happiness for Brother Iida?"

Kei Iida on the other end of the phone laughed out loud with high spirits, as if to show his support to the world. "Brother Sakakibara, it should be no problem for you to pass the second round of auditions. Even if you can't get the leading role, you can still get a role in the main cast. I'm sure of that. But I'm a little worried about whether sister Ichinose can pass the second round of auditions. It was just luck that she passed the first round. She might be eliminated in the second round. The competition is too fierce."

"But this is also a happy event. I'm going to go congratulate my sister Ichinose. Let's go... By the way, I'll email you the next audition time when it's announced."

After hanging up the phone, Sakakibara Kaede returned to the first floor. He left with clean sleeves and came back with two perfect bodies on his shoulders.

Asakura Toru and Higuchi Madoka were nowhere to be seen at the table, and Sakakibara Kaede sat down on her own. Chocolate and Vanilla meowed twice at their acquaintance Asakura Toru, and went to the cat climbing frame nearby to play with their little fists.

Toru Asakura's eyes danced with the cat. Kaede Sakakibara coughed, and she trembled all over, and immediately refocused her attention on her homework.

I wonder when her teacher Sakakibara's PTSD will be completely cured.

Higuchi Madoka returned from the entrance. She sat down without saying a word and glanced at Sakakibara Kaede who was giving a report without any reaction.

no response.

It was understandable. After all, phone calls were private matters. She knew that the boy was not the kind of person who would pry into his friends' secrets, nor was he the kind of person who would dig into people's minds. He could always maintain a perfect sense of distance and treated everyone politely.

For some reason, she always wanted to tear Sakakibara Kaede's perfect appearance into pieces and see what his inner world was like.

"that..."

"What's wrong, Higuchi-san?" Sakakibara Kaede raised his head, his blue eyes meeting his purple eyes, "Is there something you don't understand?"

"Do not."

Higuchi Yuanka slowly shook her head, "I passed the first round of auditions."

"Congratulations!" Sakakibara Kaede sincerely wished, "The next round of auditions is the second round of auditions for the female lead. Come on, Higuchi-san!"

"Ah."

Higuchi Madoka nodded, then lowered her head. She bit her lower lip, and after a long silence and under Asakura Toru's gaze, she asked softly, "Where's Sakakibara-san?"

"Congratulations, of course it was passed."

"Oh."

"Maybe I'll have the chance to act opposite Higuchi-san again this time. Well, I just hope the script won't be so weird this time." Sakakibara Kaede said while scratching the side of his face when talking about this topic. The acting he and Higuchi Madoka had always had a bit of a weird vibe, not to mention the TV dramas, even the commercials featured a couple breaking up.

This caused considerable trouble for Higuchi Madoka and Sakakibara Kaede, causing Higuchi Madoka to feel a little pain in her heart the first time she saw Sakakibara Kaede, as if something important was about to pass away.

It is indeed a post-war reaction.

It seemed as if if she didn't say anything or do anything, the boy would leave and go to another place, and they would never have the chance to meet again.

"What are you going to do after you graduate from university, Sakakibara-san?"

Sakakibara was slightly stunned when Higuchi Madoka said this. She didn't seem to ask such questions normally, but seeing Asakura Toru's curiosity was also aroused, Sakakibara nodded and said, "Dean Kimura said before that I can continue to stay in school to study for a master's degree after graduation. I think this is a good idea."

"Eh... what happens next?" asked Toru Asakura curiously.

Higuchi Madoka glanced at her childhood sweetheart, who was actually somewhat grateful for her assistance in asking the question.

"As for this question, I don't know for now. I like acting, so I will probably continue to be an actor in Tokyo. Of course, the same goes for singers. The agency is already considering the location for our concerts after we release two albums."