Chapter 121

For someone like her, whose life revolves around school and home, there's not much else to say. Any questions that are too tricky and impossible for her to answer will be rejected by him.

Therefore, it seems that only things related to her own behavior and habits are the safest bet.

Even so, the scope was still too broad for her, and choosing a suitable topic was not easy.

The same applies to Sakurakoji Talent. Although he possesses a lot of information, he is not an omniscient and omnipotent god, and there is still a lot of information he does not know. Therefore, the probability of him answering correctly here can only be said to be fifty-fifty.

So he also hinted that she shouldn't ask questions like how many hairs there were... This would make her focus on the hair for a longer time while she was thinking, thus increasing the likelihood that the question would be related to it.

After all, these are constraints, and she must have been constantly reciting them in her mind when she set the questions.

Sure enough, the question she finally asked was exactly the one he had in mind. It can only be said that this was a result of both design and luck.

Sakurakoji Talent sincerely exclaimed, "That's indeed a good question."

"Then write down your answers first." He handed over Sticky Note and a pen.

Touma Kazusa, walked to the side, and started writing behind his back. After a while, she handed the Sticky Note back to him.

"Have you thought it through?" Touma Kazusa smiled faintly, her expression barely changing, already imagining his disappointed and pounding-the-ground expression later.

However, if he was willing to abandon his dignity and ask her for help, even if he answered incorrectly, she could still lend him a hand. After all, she had nothing else to do, and there was also the annoying Kogiso—she thought to herself with her arms crossed.

"Yes, of course." After receiving the Sticky Note, Sakurakoji Talent couldn't help but smile, her eyes narrowing as she grinned.

This made Touma Kazusa feel uneasy; her heart skipped a beat, and a sense of unease rose within her.

Could he know...? No, how could that be?

If he could even guess this, then he'd be no different from a tapeworm in his own stomach, wouldn't he?

There shouldn't be a third person who knows about this except for myself and Touma Yoko.

"If you were a normal person, you might guess that you like this kind of unrestrained hairstyle, or that you don't like having restrictions on your head."

"A slightly rude person might assume you're very lazy, too lazy to style your hair every day—like me."

Hearing this, Touma Kazusa gave a displeased snort, "So, that's your answer?"

"Of course not!" He shook his head, making an X with his arms. "If it were such a simple and normal reason, you wouldn't have asked at all, would you?"

"So although it's a bit far-fetched, I still have to guess: the reason you don't tie your hair up every day is--"

He looked at her with a hint of pity in his eyes. "Could it be that you've been letting your hair stay like this because you have absolutely no idea how to do it?"

It's hard to believe, but that's why Touma Kazusa has kept her Black Long Straight Hair for so many years.

It wasn't to act aloof or cool, nor because she liked it that way; it was simply because she was a useless girl who couldn't even tie her own hair properly.

"..." Touma Kazusa's expression froze, remaining expressionless and unchanging, revealing no emotion.

"What nonsense are you talking about?" After a few seconds of silence, she spoke calmly, spreading her hands in disappointment, "I'm such an idiot for staying here to listen to such stupid nonsense."

"There's no point in staying any longer, let's go back."

After saying that, she stood up, straightened her clothes and tie, smoothed her skirt, and turned to walk outside.

Unlike the usual bow ties worn by female students on campus, she wore a tie just like the boys, which added a touch of cool and dashing to her aloof and elegant demeanor.

Is it a girl's talent, or an instinct honed by a privileged family background? Although she is clumsy in everything except music (because she seems too aloof and mature, this fact has not been discovered by anyone yet).

So far, even Sakurakoji Talent has to say that her outfits are "not bad" after seeing them. If she becomes famous and her photos are taken and put in a magazine, it should be enough to start a small trend.

"Hey, hey!! Are you trying to cheat?!" Sakurakoji Talent was completely unprepared for her reaction and excitedly reached out to stop her.

He had considered so many possibilities, but this was one he truly hadn't considered.

"You talk as if you got it right. Since you got it wrong, I'm not cheating, am I?" Touma Kazusa sneered from a short distance away.

"You answered wrong? Then what you wrote was..." He quickly opened the Sticky Note in his hand and looked over.

The top was completely blank; nothing was written on it.

"..."

He looked back at the spot where he had been standing, but Touma Kazusa's figure had disappeared. After searching around, he finally caught a glimpse of her somewhat flustered back at the exit gate of the Starry Sky Gate.

This guy! He never intended to have fun in the first place!

He was so angry that he crumpled the paper in his hand, veins bulging on his temples, and his eyelids twitching. He took several deep breaths and it took him a long time to calm down.

However, since nothing was written down, does that mean she never intended for me to do anything in the first place?

It was quite some time later that Sakurakoji Talent realized this.

On the Shimokitazawa, just thinking about Sakurakoji Talent's exasperated expression made Touma Kazusa want to hum a tune.

If she could gain the upper hand and make that always-perfect guy suffer a setback, then her trip tonight wouldn't have been in vain.

"Fool, how could I possibly write down the answer to this question?" she muttered to herself. "That way, whether it's right or wrong, you'll eventually find out—you'll find out about this clumsy me."

"However, Sakurakoji actually guessed the answer. Is he really a mind reader?"

Thinking of this, she couldn't help but frown, her beautiful face contorted in confusion.

Come to think of it, he knew me very well from the very first time we met.

Not only did he accurately guess that he was good at musical instruments, but he also guessed that he had poor grades and liked to skip classes. Furthermore, he was extremely good at the Piano —although the possibility was very low, could it be that he...?

"Tsk!"

Ten minutes later, unable to bear the torment of her own wild speculations, she took out her phone from her bag and called the woman she so strongly resisted.

One minute later, the call was answered.

"Moshi Moshi, Kazusa?" A mature female voice sounded from the other end of the phone.

"That's strange! You actually called me today. What time is it in Japan?"

"Eight o'clock in the evening," Touma Kazusa said coldly.

"Whoosh~ It's only 1 p. m. here in Vienna. I was taking a nap and you woke me up. Haha~ I have a performance this afternoon. What if I get dark circles under my eyes?" She opened her mouth, her voice tinged with worry.

Despite saying that, there was no hint of blame in the woman's voice.

"Thank goodness it wasn't called while you were being intimate with a man, that's great." Touma Kazusa continued walking, her face relaxed, as if she was already used to it.

"Hey~ How could you talk to your mother like that? That's so mean!"

On the other end of the international call, Touma Yoko said plaintively.

"Before you start claiming to be a mother, at least do a few things a mother should do, right?" she retorted calmly, without a hint of resentment or anger.

"Well, well, I've already apologized to you, so please forgive me a little!" Touma Yoko's tone suddenly softened; she was speechless in the face of her daughter's accusation.

This was a topic that couldn't be resolved at the moment, so she wisely and decisively changed to another one.

"By the way, isn't today your first day of the new semester? Congratulations! Is that why you contacted me?"

"What are you congratulating me for? What time is it?" Holding her phone, Xiao Se strolled along the street, avoiding a couple walking towards her, her gaze involuntarily drawn to their genuine smiles.

"And you already knew, didn't you? That I was exiled to the General Department."

"Hahaha... I think there was something like that!" Touma Yoko laughed mockingly, as if she had just remembered. "This is really a headache. My daughter has become a problem girl with terrible grades and who's always getting into trouble. If this gets out, it'll definitely make headlines, right?"

"Who does he resemble? Or is there something wrong with my parenting style after all?"

"Isn't the premise of a problematic teaching method that there is education at all? What's the point of saying anything now?"

"Hi~ So, what's the purpose of your call today?" After the initial pleasantries, Touma Yoko got back to the main topic.

Volume 1: The Daily Life of Attracting Bees and Butterflies: Chapter 161: Go Date Me Shiina Rikki Tatsuki!

Although this mother and daughter are very different from ordinary families, their way of getting along is unique in the world, and their relationship is very complicated, they still care about each other very much.

Especially as a mother, she still deeply loves her daughter, even though their relationship had reached a freezing point due to what happened two years ago.

Therefore, Touma Yoko was very clear that her daughter wouldn't call her unless something was wrong.

"..."

After she finished speaking, there was silence on the other end of the phone—not really, the sounds of people and traffic on the street reached Touma Yoko's ears perfectly.

"Kazusa?" She stopped and asked, puzzled.

"What's that sound coming from over there? It's a bit noisy." After a brief silence, Touma Kazusa continued, but the content wasn't what she wanted to know.

However, Touma Yoko didn't press for more details. Instead, she answered her question first, "Oh, right? We have a performance this afternoon, so they're preparing right now, and it's bound to make some noise."

After saying this, she fell silent again, and only her shallow breathing could be heard on the phone.

Whether it was because the topic was too difficult to bring up, or because of the complex questions in her mind that made her want to ask but dare not, she didn't know.

Her daughter's unusual reaction piqued Touma Yoko's curiosity, and her previously indifferent expression unconsciously narrowed her eyes.

She was now very curious to know what could have made her outspoken daughter so cautious.

The school hasn't received any notification, so it probably isn't.

Did she get into serious trouble off-campus? What kind of trouble could be so bad that the money in her black card wasn't enough to pay for it, forcing her to come to him in such a humble manner?

And she hadn't received any news, nor did she seem to be in the urgency one would expect when someone gets into trouble. Could it be related to someone else? Touma Yoko secretly speculated based on her life experience.

One minute later,

"Isn't that enough? International roaming is very expensive, you know," she urged jokingly.

A clearer breathing sound came from the other end of the line; finally,

"Hey, Mom," Touma Kazusa finally said.

"Hmm? What's wrong?"

Do you know a guy with white hair and red eyes?

On the Shimokitazawa, Touma Kazusa stopped and looked at the endless stream of cars and Japan in Tokyo at night, asking her question amidst the surrounding car horns.

This was the question that had just crossed her mind.

Is it really just a coincidence that a boy who can see through all sorts of information about you, possesses professional-level Piano skills comparable to yours, and is even about the same age as you, suddenly appears in your life one day?

If not, then who could have secretly facilitated and accomplished this?

The answer is undoubtedly that only one person in the world can do it.

She has a deep understanding of herself, possesses world-class Piano skills, and shares the same talent as Sakurakoji Talent from a few months ago—someone who is also overseas.

If she did it intentionally, then everything makes sense.

But if that's really the case, then what should I do?

Should he turn back, slap Sakurakoji Talent hard, and then cut ties completely? Or should he yell at the woman on the other end of the phone, telling her to mind her own business, and then return alone to his empty, dark mansion and shut himself away?

Or is it better not to ask in the first place?

This was the source of her inner turmoil and confusion during that moment of silence.

"Huh?" Touma Yoko made a confused sound, her neat short hair, the same color as Touma Kazusa's, swaying in the air.

"What do you mean?" She rested her elbow on her other hand across her chest, her usually composed face furrowed in confusion as she asked this question.

"White hair and red eyes, though rare, I do recognize a few. William of the United Kingdom, Mobi of France, Oftro of Russia..."

"I didn't ask about your romantic history!" Touma Kazusa sighed heavily, her shoulders slumping. "It was a boy about my age, and he was Japan."

"Japan boy?" Touma Yoko exclaimed in surprise, completely ignoring her barbed tone. "Yeah, that's rare. Besides, I haven't been around that area much these past two years."

"He stopped living in Japan a few months ago, and he used to spend most of his time overseas."

"Really? That's possible." Touma Yoko nodded to herself. "Any other characteristics?"

"He has beautiful long hair, and he's... not bad looking." Touma Kazusa, holding her phone, looked a little awkward, her gaze shifting from the street to wandering around.

"Also, he plays the Piano very well."

"Heh heh~" Touma Yoko's expression brightened, and the corners of her mouth curled up as she caught a familiar scent.

Counting their ages, has my daughter finally reached this point?

Honestly, she's my own daughter, yet she's never had a single romantic relationship in all these years, not even with a familiar man... no, not even a woman.