Please come next

After confirming the decision, Asahi returned to Sakurasou after accompanying mother and daughter to finish eating.

Even though Youko had tried to persuade him to stay, Asahi had no choice but to express regret at the thought of agreeing to Kobato's request.

What's more, Youko wasn't too reluctant to stay another day tomorrow.

Back at Sakurasou, there's basically nothing wrong, except that Asahi gave Misaki and Ryuunosuke the address of the studio, and also gave them a spare key to the apartment.

Regarding the problem of apartment renovations, he intends to hand it over to Miyoko Kudo.

...

The next day.

May 28th.

Piano competition day.

Last night, Asahi told Hina and Chihiro to ask for the day off, so he packed up for Kobato and Mashiro early in the morning, and he rushed to his destination in person.

Due to Youko's identity, Asahi sat in the front seat of the audience, waiting for one contestant after another to appear.

To be honest, at this stage, they are very good at piano performance.

"Now then, the next person starts."

Asahi rubbed his chin and muttered.

He saw a young man in a tuxedo step off the stage with applause. The opponent looks a bit older this competition is especially held for young talents. Kazusa is one of the youngest contestants.

Her piano skills have been neglected for a while, and it is difficult to win awards, but this deliberately challenging difficulty is very similar to what Kazusa would do.

Not long after, the appearance on stage ended.

"Next is number 11, Miss Touma Kazusa."

When Kazusa stepped onto the stage, Asahi couldn't help but get serious.

The familiar long black hair, matched with the elegant black dress, was a bit inappropriate when comparing this to a concert, but she matched perfectly in black.

"She is the daughter of Touma Youko..."

"She hasn't participated in the competition for a long time, but in order to participate, she must still have a certain strength."

There were whispering voices nearby.

"You have done a thorough investigation, Mari-san, aren't you just here to support the competition your company is holding?"

"Information that has nothing to do with the editorial department does not mean it is useless in the future. All right, let's get started."

Asahi overhears the conversation between the two women sitting diagonally behind him. Judging from the word editorial department, they seemed to be employees of the publisher.

On the stage, Asahi saw Kazusa slowly sitting down in front of the piano, the whole place was completely empty, and with the sound of the piano, it seemed that the surroundings were dyed pure white.

After listening to the song carefully, Asahi shook his head invisibly as he played to the end. Compared to the two people in front, Kazusa's level was somewhat different.

After the play, Kazusa who was wearing a black dress and long skirt, came up to the stage to salute, her eyes traveling past the judges' seats, first to her mother's calm expression, then to Asahi's smiling face.

"Next, number 12..."

Asahi didn't listen anymore, turned around and left the venue. The reason he was able to wait until now was nothing more than listening to Kazusa's appearance, since it was over, he didn't need to wait here any longer.

After leaving the venue, Asahi suddenly ran into Kazusa coming out from backstage in the hallway, and the two stared at each other for a moment.

"Why did you come out early?"

Looking at the girl who was still wearing that elegant and beautiful black dress, Asahi's eyes filled with admiration.

"The result is obvious, waiting is a waste of time."

Kazusa covered her long hair with her right hand and looked charming.

Her skill level wasn't as good as some of the contestants, why stay there if she couldn't win the award. Kazusa wasn't going to take any chances, especially with her mother as the judge.

Speaking of her mother, she would probably be very disappointed, Kazusa laughed inside. Maybe there was a harmonious atmosphere last night... "Let's go."

"Where to go?"

Before Kazusa asked for a way out, she followed Asahi's lead instinctively.

Asahi looked around and said, "Find a coffee shop and wait. The game ends at 11 p.m. When your mother is out, we will go to Kanagawa."

Hakone Onsen is about 90 kilometers from Tokyo, and it takes over an hour to arrive, so there's no rush at all.

They found a coffee shop on a street corner five minutes from the venue, and Asahi glared at Kazusa who was looking out the window with her chin in her hand. She was wearing a black dress, and her glamorous temperament was even more pronounced.

"Why do you keep staring at me?"

Kazusa didn't know what to say now, and subconsciously responded in a dismissive manner to the person thousands of miles away in the past, but regretted it after she spoke.

"No, I just thought you looked cute in a dress."

After taking a sip of the bitter coffee, Asahi's expression remained unchanged and he teased Kazusa.

It's not right to say that flirting with girls. Asahi was telling the truth, he didn't mean to use this to increase Kazusa's liking.

"Do not talk!"

Kazusa didn't expect Asahi to be so straightforward, she took a shy sip of coffee to cover it up, but forgot to add sugar before drinking, and the next moment her cold face immediately wrinkled into a ball, and she stuck out her beautiful tongue: "It's so bitter."

Like Youko, she dislikes bitter and sour tastes. Mother and daughter have very similar tastes.

Asahi gave her fruit pudding in front of Kazusa.

After taking a bite of the pudding, Kazusa felt a sweet taste seep into her mouth, and her expression stretched again, showing a happy expression.

"When will you be as honest as you are now?"

Asahi kept looking at her while he stirred the coffee.

"What are you laughing at!"

Kazusa lost her temper as if she had a falling out with her mother.

(She's too honest, forget it, it's not the first day I know her).

Asahi thinks of Kazusa as a Tsundere, and this is really interesting.

He's really good with tsundere types, and Kasumigaoka Utaha... pretends to be mature.

Just chatting like this, time passed slowly, until at some point, Asahi's cell phone rang, and Youko's call came.

"Hey, where are you?"

"Coffee shop down the road on the right as you exit the venue."

"Wait for me, I'll be right there."

Hanging up the phone, Asahi called the waiter to pay the bill, walked out of the shop, and waited at a street corner.

After waiting for a few minutes, a black car stopped in front of them at the corner. The window opened, showing Youko's upper body: "Get in the car."

Without further ado, Kazusa lifted the hem of her skirt and sat in the back row, Asahi had no choice but to choose the co-pilot.

After making sure that Asahi fastened his seat belt, Youko started the car straight for Kanagawa Prefecture.