Chapter 353

After changing his clothes, he took Nijika's hand.

Let's go together.

Nijika glanced back at the three people still fast asleep in bed and nodded apologetically.

"Um."

Supermarkets in Japan are packed with people on New Year's Eve, though it can't compare to supermarkets in China before the Lunar New Year.

Moreover... it's really outrageous, referring to the prices; the prices of some vegetables needed for the Lunar New Year have doubled.

Ishikawa Hayato picked up a box of 5A grade beef and exclaimed, "The meat is so much more expensive now!"

As he spoke, he casually placed the beef into the shopping basket.

Nijika looked at him expressionlessly, glanced around, pursed her lips, quickly grabbed a few boxes of regular beef and put them in her shopping basket, then pulled Ishikawa Hayato away from there.

"There's enough meat."

Nijika's reaction amused Ishikawa Hayato.

Ishikawa Hayato knew how much Nijika wanted to take the beef he had just put in out again, but he didn't do it out of consideration for Nijika's feelings.

He decided to take a few more boxes of regular beef.

Let's have hot pot tonight.

As Ishikawa Hayato spoke, he put the beef into the basket, with the price side facing up.

Nijika glanced at the price, her tense hands relaxed slightly, and she looked at Ishikawa Hayato.

"Hayato-kun..."

"I promise I won't take anything else," Ishikawa Hayato said immediately with a smile.

Nijika breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.

Looking at Nijika, who was a head shorter than him, Ishikawa Hayato Jun felt inexplicably like he was being controlled by his mother. However, thinking about how she had just saved his face, she seemed like a very virtuous wife.

"Then let's cook noodles for lunch. We still need to eat noodles on New Year's Eve."

Nijika confirmed with Ishikawa Hayato.

Ishikawa Hayato looked at the surrounding shelves and said, "Hmm, and it's simple too. We should also buy some rice cakes."

"It's better to make that yourself," Nijika said.

"Will Nijika do it?" Ishikawa Hayato understood her meaning.

Of course.

As they talked, the two bought some more seafood, filling their shopping basket to the brim. Finally, they bought some New Year decorations and headed home through the bustling streets filled with the festive atmosphere of the Spring Festival.

After returning home, Nijika started preparing the ingredients. Ishikawa Hayato checked on the three people who were still sleeping and then came over to help.

Not long after, Hitori came out of the room in her pajamas and saw that the two were already busy. After washing up, she joined in the work.

Noon.

Ishikawa Hayato regretted saying that the New Year's Eve noodles were simple that morning. His family's New Nijika noodles were not as exquisite as Nijika's, with tempura, eggs, and seaweed carefully arranged on the soba noodles.

Before he could even finish watching, Liang next to him had already devoured the side dishes in two bites and was slurping up his noodles with gusto.

Encouraged by the coolness, the group quickly finished their noodles.

After the meal, Ikuyo put the dishes in the sink, asking questions as she washed them.

"We're having New Year's Eve noodles for lunch, so what are we having for dinner?"

"Hot pot," Ishikawa Hayato answered simply.

Ikuyo was taken aback, looked up and thought for a moment, but before she could say anything, Liang spoke first.

"Ikuyo hasn't practiced guitar in so long, I'll practice with you tonight."

Upon hearing Ryo's extremely fast voice, Ishikawa Hayato immediately understood the situation and suppressed a laugh.

Liang was afraid that Ikuyo would turn the hot pot into a display stand, so she planned to sacrifice herself to accompany Ikuyo in practice.

"Eh..." Ikuyo glanced at Ishikawa Hayato with regret.

Ishikawa Hayato didn't take sides and brought up the real issue.

"I won't have time to practice during the New Year. I'll be busy cleaning the house and preparing New Year's snacks."

Although many of the younger generation don't feel much about the Lunar New Year anymore, there are still some things that need to be done.

Liang's expression changed when he heard that he was going to be busy.

"I haven't practiced bass for a few days while I was out having fun, I'm starting to forget how to play it."

She tried to stand up, but failed, as Nijika pressed her back down into her chair.

"Get to work properly!"

When Ryo looked to Ishikawa Hayato for help, he heard him raise his watch to show his loyalty.

"I'll work hard too!"

Ishikawa Hayato's voice was loud and clear, and his face was resolute.

Liang rolled her eyes at his resolute and obedient appearance; this pillar of support had already collapsed before it could even be relied upon.

The other three laughed happily.

After resting for a while after dinner, they started doing housework, but they didn't work for too long, since they had only lived there for a quarter of a year, and they also had Ishikawa Hayato's help.

After quickly cleaning up amidst the noise and laughter, they went to help Nijika and the other two prepare the hot pot and New Year's dishes for Hitori.

However, seeing that everything would be finished before the afternoon, Ishikawa Hayato began to cause trouble.

While Nijika wasn't paying attention, he picked up a rice cake, politely blew on it twice to cool it down, and then put it in his mouth.

When Nijika turned around, she noticed that one rice cake was missing and looked around in confusion.

But a moment later, reminded by the cool breeze that had also burned her mouth while trying to sneak a bite, she looked at Ishikawa Hayato.

Ishikawa Hayato cooperated by opening his mouth and saying "Ah~", and even showed his hand to Nijika.

Nijika then suspiciously confirmed with Hitori and Ikuyo.

Amidst Ikuyo's barely suppressed laughter, she finally learned who the culprit was.

"Hayato-kun, stop fooling around! The rice cakes are piping hot right out of the oven!"

She complained, but then smiled.

In the evening, the five of them sat around a coffee table in the living room, on which was a hot pot with various ingredients.

Japanese beef hot pot, also known as sukiyaki, does not use various broths. Instead, it uses beef, soy sauce, and sugar as a base for grilling, and various ingredients are gradually placed into the pot and steamed.

The aroma of hot pot filled the hall, and the sounds of the opening ceremony of the Kohaku Uta Gassen drifted from the front.

But since the hot pot was still cooking and the Kohaku Uta Gassen hadn't started yet, the five of them could only salivate while smelling the aroma of the premium beef and various other ingredients, and listen to the usual opening performance.

When the atmosphere became a little awkward, Ikuyo glanced at the TV and said...

"I wish our music could be played at the Kohaku Uta Gassen)."

"Then Bocchi and I will be rich."

Ryo stated this very realistically, Hitori's eyes lit up as she looked at Ishikawa Hayato.

Ishikawa Hayato always felt that when Hitori became rich, he would receive many gifts.

Nijika, then looked at the already started Kohaku Uta Gassen, and said with anticipation.

"Wouldn't it be better if we could go there and perform ourselves?"

Upon hearing this, the other girls were all taken aback.

Ikuyo was already quite daring in her thinking, but Nijika was even bolder.

Although the original composer is likely to be invited if their song Kohaku Uta Gassen), the experience of performing on stage and having the song played are quite different.

That means they'll be featured on almost every major TV show in Japan. Regardless of whether anyone knew them before, after that performance, they'll be famous throughout Japan.

Ishikawa Hayato lightly tapped the table.

"Okay, this is our next goal, a plan to be completed within five years."

Nijika was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly waved her hands. "No, no, I didn't say I wanted to include this in my plan!"

She also remembered the plan she mentioned when they were taking their professional photos, which, to put it mildly, has been largely realized.

The winter album is the only one yet to be completed, but the songs are almost ready, and the budget for making the album is more than sufficient. All that's missing is finding a suitable recording engineer.

Ishikawa Hayato neither agreed nor disagreed with Nijika's words, but simply smiled casually.

But Nijika was very nervous about his smile and shouted in worry.

"Hayato-kun, don't give me that 'I've got everything under control' smile. Answer me directly!"

At this moment, Liang checked the time and reached out to open the hot pot lid.

Lifting the lid releases an even richer aroma from the hot pot.

Beef, konjac noodles, tofu, shiitake mushrooms, and various other ingredients are perfectly separated in the hot pot, making it look like a work of art.

"It's ready to eat." Liang glanced at it and picked up her chopsticks.

But Ikuyo stopped her.

"Wait, wait, wait!"

Her voice, as she called for a pause, sounded like she was singing. She took out her phone as she spoke.

"Let's take a picture together for our last meal of the year!"

Liang put down her chopsticks and nodded helplessly. "Hurry up."

Seeing that even Ryo had agreed, there was no need for the others to say anything more. Ikuyo happily stretched out her hand and handed the phone to Ishikawa Hayato.

"Yay!"

The five people posed for a group photo in the last few hours of 2018, surrounded by a steaming hot pot.

242. New Year

Before Ikuyo, in a very uncivilized manner, picked up his chopsticks and took a lot of high-grade beef from the hot pot into his own bowl.

"Hey! Hey!"

Nijika's expression changed upon seeing this, and she immediately spoke up to stop them. If Liang hadn't been holding meat in her hand, she definitely would have slapped it down.

"It's alright, there's more."

Ishikawa Hayato gently took her restless hand and comforted her.

He already knew Liang wouldn't be polite, and his Hitori also loved eating meat, so he bought a lot more beef.

He took some meat from the prepared side and put it into the empty space to continue cooking, in case there wasn't enough for everyone.

"Hayato-kun is being too careless about getting chilled."

Nijika, Ryo's former owner, voiced her complaints.

Ishikawa Hayato also thought so, and Ryo had indeed gotten a bit worse lately. Thinking about it, he reached out and pinched Ryo's cheek, who was still chewing meat.

"You've gained a little weight, so don't eat too much meat later."

Liang Mian chewed his meat expressionlessly, and when he heard Ishikawa Hayato's tone, which sounded like he was controlling the weight of a pet, he gave him a disdainful look.

But that didn't stop her from eating meat heartily.

Seeing Ishikawa Hayato's dissatisfied yet helpless expression, Nijika smiled and added some konjac noodles and premium beef to her bowl. Ikuyo also finished posting the photos and added mushrooms and a small piece of premium beef.

After observing for Hitori, he finally took a bite and picked up a few slices of premium beef.

She's no longer as timid as she was during a beach barbecue; she'll still observe the situation before taking any action.

For a moment, the only sounds in the room were the bubbling of hot soup and the sound of the song "Uchiage Spark" Kohaku Uta Gassen Battle).

A moment later, the shouts of the group abruptly drowned out the sound of the climax playing on the television.

"Tasty!"