Chapter 118

But none of that matters. The key point is that the ingredients inside all look extremely high-end: expensive seafood and prawns, marbled beef, incredibly fresh vegetables, and a clear, rich broth...

Although the cooling and heating process slightly affected their appearance, their original forms were still visible, and each one exuded an enticing aroma that made one's mouth water.

"Asahi-chan, these are..." Miyako Shizuka unconsciously raised her eyebrows and looked at Ogura Asahi.

"Hmm? It's just a simple home-cooked bento box. Eat it while it's hot, or it will taste bad if you reheat it." She picked up her utensils and started putting food into her bowl.

"Is this a home-style dish...?" Miyako Shizuka didn't know what to say, her outstretched chopsticks frozen in mid-air.

This bento box is probably worth more than her daily income, right? And that's considering she already has a substantial income.

"Could it be that Asahi-chan is actually a rich young lady from somewhere?"

"I don't think so." It should be the Young Master, he corrected himself in his mind.

"Who made this bento box? Was it your mother?"

"My head maid."

"Okay, that's enough, I know, no need to say anything more!" Miyako Shizuka sighed, rubbing her forehead, feeling a little dizzy.

I never expected that the first classmate I would meet in the new school year would be such an important person.

Not only was she exceptionally talented and beautiful, but her family background was also so perfect; she was practically another Little Shoko... Thinking of this, she pulled herself out of her thoughts, and doubts arose in her mind again.

"But if that's the case, why didn't you go to the Tsukinomori, where the Little Asahi ladies gather, but instead chose the Hanasakigawa?"

Nonsense, it's because there are too few people there, and the school atmosphere is rigid. There aren't many normal people there, and even the only two first-year students aren't normal.

"I think Hanasakigawa is pretty good. Her emphasis on student autonomy resonates with me. As for Tsukinomori, it's more... you know what I mean?"

"Ah, I see. That's true. I think I can understand now." Miyako Shizuka nodded in realization, accepting the reason.

This was partly the reason she chose this place; it was not only close to Little Shoko's school, but the relatively free school atmosphere also made it convenient for her to take leave at any time to pursue her career.

From this perspective, the other person seems to be the same as oneself.

"Stop talking now, let's eat." Ogura Asahi urged.

"Oh, okay, then I'll be rude." Miyako Shizuka looked at the lunchbox, a moment of hesitation flashing in her eyes, but she still reached out for her cutlery.

Refusing now would be extremely disrespectful to this newly formed friendship.

"Oh, the first series..."

She put a piece of ice plant in her mouth and chewed it. The unique crispness of the bursting water droplets and the complex taste of salty and sour flavors made her eyes widen instantly, and she couldn't help but utter words of praise.

"Red beans? Eat more if you like, otherwise you won't be able to finish them."

"Then I won't stand on ceremony."

As the different foods entered her mouth, the unique flavor of each ingredient surprised her. Although she had eaten similar foods before, it was rare to see them made so delicious. Only the signature dishes of high-end restaurants could compare to them.

But compared to the mass-produced dishes in other restaurants, there's something unique about this place. What is it...? Miyako Shizuka pondered.

After pondering for a moment, she recalled what Ogura Asahi had just said and came to the conclusion: That's it! It tastes like home cooking!

Compared to food from outside, this place has a more homely, cooking feel to it!

Thinking of this, she suddenly paused, her pupils contracted slightly, and she fell silent.

Does it feel like home?

Image: "Idol Shizuka", Location: "Images/1759929320-100446961-113946418. jpg"

A note from the author:

Hey, I have three things I'd like to discuss with you all today:

The first thing is that I've been thinking about the future development recently, and thanks to some readers' suggestions, I have a general idea for the subsequent writing. The focus will likely shift from briefly describing the healing plot to detailed descriptions of specific characters. I'll gradually slow down the pace, inserting more nuanced descriptions of character personalities and emotions to increase the depth of the characters, and it may also involve the characters' "growth".

In addition, as mentioned in the comments section, it's possible that many of the books I read before starting this book were fast-paced, such as those with a "furnace-like" feel. So, although I read some books on this site for reference after joining the site, I was still somewhat influenced by that part when I was actually writing.

Lately, as I've been writing, I've gradually started to feel the drawbacks. To avoid the story from falling apart so quickly, I'll try to avoid adding characters arbitrarily in the future. However, characters that are already planned to appear will still appear, so don't worry. It just might be a bit slower.

The second thing is that I need to spend the next couple of days thinking and preparing. Since this is my first time writing a long novel, I've accumulated a lot of experience and reflections, which I can't possibly process all at once. Once I've thought things through, I'll increase the update speed and the daily update volume. Oh, and the current daily updates will continue, so don't worry.

There's a third thing: some readers have expressed that they don't really like reading the cross-dressing content, feeling that it might feel disconnected, like having two main characters. I'll try my best to balance and coordinate the two sides by updating more frequently.

Or do you guys think it would be better to change the protagonist's name back to Sakurakoji Talent and the pronoun "she" back to "he" when he's dressed as a woman? Any suggestions? Thanks!

Once everything is finalized, I'll take some time to unify the previous content.

P. S.: Actually, I could have increased the update frequency before, but I saw in some other places that it's best not to update too frequently when the number of clicks is low, so I haven't been writing much. Recently, I was lucky enough to get two consecutive recommendations, which slightly increased the number of clicks. Although it's still not much, I think it's about right. I will work harder in the future!

Kana~

Volume 1: The Daily Life of Attracting Bees and Butterflies: Chapter 157 Surviving to the Death

Thinking about this, Miyako Shizuka suddenly lost her appetite for the food in her mouth.

I wonder how my relatives on the island are doing now.

However, this is not something I am qualified to concern myself with right now.

For the remainder of the meal, until it was finished, Miyako Shizuka did not utter another word.

Occasionally, observing her Sakurakoji Talent and seeing her expression, although I couldn't fully understand what she was thinking, I could roughly grasp her emotions, and in return, I didn't say a word.

However, he was not disappointed or downcast; on the contrary, he was secretly pleased.

In a way, this is also a child who lacks love. His parents don't care for him, his sister doesn't love him, and his niece... let's not even mention her.

Having learned from the example of Shiina Mahiru, he now welcomes children with this kind of personality and background the most.

Sister (brother) me~ I love you guys who are so devoted!

If she can successfully cultivate a good relationship, she will benefit far more than others. Although she may not be as good as Shiina Mahiru, she will certainly be no less so.

After finishing their meal, the two returned to the classroom.

There was still some time before class started at one o'clock, so as soon as they returned to the classroom, they were surrounded by girls.

Their seats were surrounded by a dense crowd, with people asking questions all at once.

"Ogura-kun! Do you usually like watching anime? Who are your favorite actors in your works?"

"Ogura-kun! What musical instruments do you play? Have you heard of the band formed by the third-year Senpai?"

"Ogura-kun, you said this morning that you were interested in clothing making, was that true or not?"

"Ogura-kun, your comment this morning was really impressive!"

"Small..."

"Miss Shizuka! I never expected you to come to school. What will happen to Sumimi's activities?"

"Shizuka, could you please sign your autograph?!"

"Shizuka..."

In such a heated atmosphere, besides the two parties involved, there were two other people who were not satisfied.

That was Shiina Rikki and Hachiman Kairin, sitting in the front and back seats of Sakurakoji Talent, jostled by the crowd.

Their eating habits were clearly not as refined (normal) Sakurakoji Talent's – especially the one who loved protein powder. After a quick and easy meal, they quickly returned to their phones.

Faced with the surging crowd, she frowned, looking at the wave of people with displeasure and a sigh. Then she slammed her hand on the table, stood up, and silently left the classroom, leaving behind a space that was quickly occupied by others.

Seeing their actions, Sakurakoji Talent felt utterly helpless.

At this point, he couldn't just tell these people to get lost.

So Shiina Rikki and the other girl didn't return to the classroom until the school bell rang.

To his surprise, the two went out separately, but returned together.

"They got together so quickly?" Sakurakoji Talent was slightly taken aback.

Whether it was because they were both "kicked out" for the same reason and thus felt a sense of shared misfortune, leading to their interaction, or whether they were simply born with a knack for creating romantic pairings, it's quite clear that they must have had some kind of conversation while they were outside.

Speaking of couples, we can't help but mention someone whose birthday is even someone else's name... Who is it? It's so hard to guess.

He glanced at Hachiman Kairin one last time before looking away.

There wasn't much to say about the two afternoon classes, except that he was still surrounded by people during the break, leaving him no chance to catch his breath.

Aside from the fact that it had been many years since he last attended a large lecture, and the content consisted of simple and basic material, which made him feel drowsy and had no desire to continue listening, everything else was fine.

The lingering excitement of being treated as a popular figure (a rare and interesting species) and vying to talk to her will likely take several more days to dissipate.

After class, having not yet joined any clubs—or rather, not planning to join any in the future—he packed his things and left the classroom with Miyako Shizuka.

Before leaving, he didn't forget to say goodbye to Hachiman Kairin, since they were the focus of his attention, but he only received complicated and slightly resentful looks from them.

"I'm sorry to have caused trouble for Classmate Shiina and Hachiman," Miyako Shizuka said with a light laugh as she walked down the corridor.

Clearly, she had also noticed their actions.

Sakurakoji Talent glanced at her; it seemed that after the girls' tactless banter, she had returned to her usual self.

So it seems they aren't entirely useless after all.

"Well, we'll just have to apologize to them later." He shrugged and added, "If the students are willing to let us off the hook these next couple of days."

"Well..." At this point, she could only lower her head helplessly, realizing that it seemed unlikely.

So she changed the subject. "Little Asahi, what are your plans for later?"

"Someone will come to pick me up. I'm going straight back. Actually, I also have some work to do in my spare time. What about you, Shizuka?"

"Hmm--I'm going to the studio to meet Mana. I was held up during the day, and I want to discuss the pieces we'll be using for our next performance with her."

"Is that Ms. Mana name?"

"Yes! Just like me, her real name is also Mana, her full name is Sumiida Mana!"

"Oh, I see... Where is your destination? Do you need me to take you there?" Sakurakoji Talent suggested.

"No need, even if you delivered it once, I can't let you deliver it every day. Besides, don't you have things to do?" Miyako Shizuka slowly shook her head in refusal.

The two of them walking together were really eye-catching, attracting the attention of passing students from the corridor to the shoe cabinet.

Perhaps it's because blonde and silver hair are a natural match, plus their looks are the kind that are stunning at first glance, not to mention their high level of fame.

"That won't take too long, it should be fine." Sakurakoji Talent took out outdoor shoes from the shoe cabinet, glancing around at the crowd, but didn't find anyone worth paying attention to.

"No need, Little Asahi, what kind of job are you talking about?"

"Ah-yes, it's a clothing manufacturing job. Because of my family background, I've been involved in this since I was young, so I'm also involved in clothing design and production now." He gave a half-true, half-false answer.

After all, you can't exactly say that he actually works at an underground live music venue, can you?

"So I might end up like you, Shizuka, taking leave quite often in the future."

"Hey~ I see, I didn't know you had this special skill. You have to show me your work next time!" Miyako Shizuka said with great interest.

"Of course." Sakurakoji Talent nodded in agreement, pointing to the car ahead and saying, "Then let's part ways here. See you tomorrow."

"Okay! See you tomorrow!" She waved with a slight smile.

Sakurakoji Talent opened the car door, and after being seen off by some students who were not participating in club activities and were going home directly, he got in and closed the door.

Image: "Fashion Shizuka", Location: "Images/1760018134-100446961-113950567. jpg"

As he drove towards Setagaya Ward, he drew the curtains separating the front and back of the car and began to change his clothes.

He was quick and efficient, and soon switched from "Ogura Asahi" to "Sakurakoji Talent".

When asked if he felt anything during those moments of identity shifting, he could only say: nothing special.

To him/her, whether it's Sakurakoji Talent works part-time and travels around, or Ogura Asahi, who is perfect but chooses to fall into a rut, they are just "others" existing in this world.

Gender is not important, nor is external identity; what matters to "him" is living in a certain place at a certain time.

For someone who has died once, nothing is more cherished than the fresh air and bright, warm sunshine of spring; the cool water droplets of summer (whether from mountain springs or tap water in the city) and the noisy chirping of cicadas; the feeling of being outdoors in the clear, crisp air of autumn, with a gentle breeze that is neither too cool nor too cold; the boundless, vibrant snowscape of winter, with fingers trembling with cold...

Even the emotions evoked by seeing something new for the first time sometimes cannot compare to these nostalgic, ordinary memories.