Chapter 322: A Crowd-Pleasing Segment |
In front of her house, Takanashi Chisaki sucked on a lollipop, sniffled, and wiped the corners of her eyes. She even took a small circular mirror from her small shoulder bag to check if her red eyes had faded.
Only after confirming that everything was completely fine did she feel relieved enough to walk toward the door.
But before she did, she noticed that the seemingly long-abandoned house next door had its lights on today.
Although curious, she naturally was not going to knock on the door to investigate just because of that. After verifying her fingerprint and pushing the door open, Takanashi Chisaki changed her shoes and ran toward the living room.
On the sofa in the living room, a white-haired elderly woman sat knitting a scarf while watching television.
Takanashi Chisaki rushed over, jumped onto the sofa, and leaned into the elderly woman's embrace. "Grandmother, I am home!"
The elderly woman paused her work and reached up to rub her granddaughter's little head. "Welcome home, Chisaki-chan."
Inside the spacious and empty villa, the initial dead silence and gloom melted away the moment Takanashi Chisaki returned. It was as if her laughter had painted a layer of warm, vibrant colors over a lonely black-and-white portrait.
......
With a spiral staircase, floor-to-ceiling windows, and multiple bathrooms, it was not overly luxurious, but it was absolutely exquisite and beautiful.
After looking around the house, Hoshino Gen was quite satisfied. He had a brief discussion with the agent and then returned home with his three little followers. Since he had decided to buy it, specialists would come over tomorrow to handle the contract signing and property transfer, so he did not need to exert any effort.
Thus, the following afternoon, while Hoshino Gen was reading alone in the antique shop, he received a telephone call informing him that the small villa he had viewed just yesterday was now his. He also learned why the previous owner had been in such a hurry to sell a residence with such an excellent location, a property that was widely considered to have a price but no market.
The reason was quite simple. The previous owner's company was facing a severe cash flow crisis, and they simply wanted to replenish their capital chain by selling off fixed assets.
With the house in his possession, the next step was a complete overhaul, including setting a thematic style. However, this did not require much effort from Hoshino Gen either.
All he had to do was hire top-tier designers to create a plan and a capable renovation team to execute it.
After making a few telephone calls, Hoshino Gen quickly received an exact timeframe—
In a month, right around the end of summer vacation, he would be able to move in.
Putting the matter of his new home to the back of his mind, Hoshino Gen shoved his mobile phone back into his pocket after finishing his calls and picked up the book he had set down earlier to resume reading.
It was past four in the afternoon. The reason Hoshino Gen was alone in the antique shop was that its sole employee, Shimizu Yu, had taken a leave of absence.
Because Segawa Private Academy had won the overall championship in this year's National High School Comprehensive Athletic Meeting kendo tournament, Shimizu Yu, as the absolute key player, had been dragged away by her teammates to celebrate.
During this rare moment of peace, Hoshino Gen drank his coffee and read his book, finding it quite enjoyable.
......
When life became completely calm, time seemed to fly by as if someone had pressed a fast-forward button, leaving one with little sense of its passing.
One day in late August, at the antique shop.
Perhaps the antique shop had never been this lively since it first opened.
Unlike the scorching heat outside, where the blazing sun baked the ground enough to fry an egg, the air conditioner in the antique shop's reception area was set to twenty-two degrees Celsius, filling every corner of the room with a refreshing chill.
The low table where Hoshino Gen usually liked to read or place his laptop to play games was crowded with people, to the point where even Hoshino Gen himself had been squeezed out.
Hoshino Gen's spot had been taken over by Hoshino Rin. Beside her sat Shimizu Yu, who was listening intently as she explained a problem. Next to them were Suzuki Sawami, Sakurajima Yui, and Oguri Aino, all wearing equally serious expressions as they audited the session.
Of course, they were not the only ones present. Ito Saki, who was also part of Shimizu Yu's circle of female friends, was there too. However, since her grades were relatively good and the problems Hoshino Rin was explaining to these poor students were quite simple, she did not need to listen. Instead, she sat to the side, teaching Monica Japanese.
Hoshino Gen leaned against the bay window by himself, playing on his mobile phone. Tamamo-no-Mae was nestled in his arms, similarly holding a tablet computer and watching a TV drama.
The reason why the situation had turned out like this was actually quite simple—one day, when Shimizu Yu came to the antique shop for tutoring, Hoshino Rin happened to be there playing with Tamamo-no-Mae and Monica.
Upon learning that her brother was helping Shimizu-san with her schoolwork, Hoshino Rin volunteered to take Hoshino Gen's place and tutor Shimizu Yu every day.
After that, everything else fell into place naturally.
The antique shop had now basically become a study group venue for these girls... Naturally, Hoshino Gen did not mind much, because as the price for borrowing the space, his summer vacation homework, as well as the maintenance of the backyard lawn and flowerbed, had all been divided up among the girls.
Moreover, they had promised to only come over once or twice a week, so as not to cause too much of a disturbance.
This arrangement brought all benefits, no harm for Hoshino Gen. Loaning out the venue was no big deal, so why not?
Although the area around the small table was a noisy mess, it was not exactly quiet on Hoshino Gen's side either. After all, Tamamo-no-Mae, who was curled up in his arms, was still watching television.
The little girl did not like wearing headphones, so the external audio of the TV drama constantly lingered in Hoshino Gen's ears while he chatted casually with Sen-chan on his mobile phone. Furthermore, after Tamamo-no-Mae discovered what Hoshino Gen was doing, she got sulky and deliberately turned the tablet's volume up even louder.
It was not until Hoshino Gen turned off his phone and picked up a nearby book to read that the little girl mumbled softly and lowered the volume.
"A-Gen—"
Suddenly, Tamamo-no-Mae called out to Hoshino Gen.
"Hmm?"
"Red Eyes and Smiley are here."
"Mhm," Hoshino Gen replied without even batting an eyelid.
The very next moment, the front door of the antique shop was violently pushed open. Wearing sunglasses, his hair tied in a high ponytail, and dressed in a short-sleeved shirt and shorts, Asaba Shinichi swaggered in unabashedly and shouted, "Hoshino, want to hit the coast for some fun?"
After shouting, he finally seemed to notice the lively gathering of beautiful women in the room. He adjusted his sunglasses, feigning surprise. "Whoa, so many little girls. Hoshino, you really are something else. I misjudged you before, my bad, my bad."