So many geniuses in anime! What's wrong with me joining?

He found an empty seat at a table in the row next to hers, gently placed the tray with his meal down, and sat quietly.

Just as he expected, he didn't attract her attention at all. Besides his intentional effort to be discreet, it also showed how indifferent she was to her surroundings, to the point of being almost oblivious.

While quietly observing her, he picked up his drink and took a sip. He had been thirsty even when he was with Hoshino Ai earlier, but his drink had run out then, not to mention the walk he'd taken to get here.

Gulp!

So bitter!

He almost spat out the black liquid in his mouth. Looking at the black coffee in his hand, his expression turned as bitter as the drink.

Tsk, miscalculation. I should have ordered the soda set.

"Heh~"

Sakurakoji Talent was slightly taken aback. Although the sound was faint, he was sure it came from across from him. He looked at the person in front of him, only to see her gaze still fixed on his food tray, as if the soft, mocking chuckle hadn't come from her at all.

She didn't pay much attention to Sakurakoji Talent's obvious stare. She just kept picking up disposable sugar packets from the side, tearing them open one by one, and pouring them into the black coffee in front of her, the same kind he had...

One, two, three, four...

"..."

Sakurakoji Talent's eyelids twitched wildly. He silently watched her continuously consume the seemingly endless supply of sugar packets, stirring the "lethal dose" of sugar into her drink until it was well mixed. Then, she picked up the cup and took a sip, her expression looking quite satisfied. She then glanced provocatively at Sakurakoji Talent, as if mocking him for not even being able to drink black coffee.

"..."

No! How dare you mock me?

Sakurakoji Talent's mind was filled with a string of question marks. He strongly condemned her wasteful behavior with the sugar!

If I can't stand this, I can't stand anything! He also picked up a sugar packet from the side, tore open two, stirred them in, and then took a sip, looking back at her. He tried to use the same method to scorn her shameful actions, but he only saw her profile—knowing she had no chance of winning, she had already shifted her gaze away, looking out the window to admire the night view.

This guy!

Sakurakoji Talent let out an unnatural, angry laugh, a mark appearing on his forehead. He admitted that he had indeed been provoked. If he didn't get revenge today, he feared he wouldn't be able to sleep peacefully at night.

So, he picked up the food tray in front of him, stood up, and walked directly to the four-person table where she was sitting alone, seating himself calmly.

Attracted by his movement, the cool girl looked over. Seeing him sit down uninvited, she couldn't help but frown, her voice cold as she spoke, "Hey, what's your deal?"

"It's nothing, I just wanted to come over and talk to you," he replied with a gentle smile.

"I have nothing to say to you. If you know what's good for you, get lost," she said, propping her chin with her right hand and waving her left hand forward as if shooing away a stray cat or dog. Her beautiful face was filled with disgust.

Although the other person's appearance did catch her eye slightly, making him look much more interesting than others, she had absolutely no interest in talking to him. His bright white hair was good enough to be admired as a pet dog. Thinking this, she found it amusing, and the corners of her mouth turned up slightly, imperceptibly.

"I don't think so," Sakurakoji Talent had long anticipated her cold words. He took another sip of his now much milder coffee, unconcerned, and continued, "I think we have a lot in common."

"That's surprising. I don't recall having anything in common with a stray dog that invites itself over," the cool girl retorted, still speaking rudely and giving him no face, regardless of his appearance.

"But since you say so, I'll listen. Tell me, what do we have in common?"

"Like our looks, our looks, our looks?" Sakurakoji Talent tilted his head and replied jokingly.

"Wait, wait, wait! I was wrong! I was just kidding! Give me another chance!"

He saw her impatiently raise her coffee cup in his pupils, about to splash it directly onto him, and quickly explained.

The girl lowered her coffee, her eyes flashing coldly. "If your next answer is like that, then you should first consider how you're going to clean your polluted white poodle fur when you get home tonight."

This girl is too much! Sakurakoji Talent broke out in a cold sweat. Against such an unreasonable delinquent girl, if he excluded the use of force, it seemed unlikely he would be able to regain face today.

"I just thought you might be my kind, so I came over to talk. You don't need to get so worked up, do you?"

"Your kind? Are you calling me a poodle?"

"...How did you come to that conclusion? And in your eyes, I'm not even human?"

"Heh~" The girl took a tactical sip of her drink, not responding.

"Never mind," Sakurakoji Talent sighed. "In short, based on my observation, you should be a professional who practices a musical instrument diligently, just like me. After observing you up close just now, I'm even more certain."

"..." The girl didn't answer, but she didn't stop him from continuing either. She just indifferently turned her head away.

"The evidence is your upright and standard posture, as well as the faint calluses on your hands... mainly your slender fingers and the fingertips that exert more force than ordinary people." As she swept him with her cold gaze, Sakurakoji Talent paused but continued.

"So, based on my guess, you should primarily major in piano, and you've also played string instruments. The calluses on your fingers are because..."

Noticing her furrowed brows and the growing anger on her face, he quickly stopped this topic.

"Tsk, stop acting like you understand me so well!" the girl snapped unhappily. Then she picked up the cooling french fries, smeared them with ketchup, and put them in her mouth to eat.

"I really don't understand. It's just a guess."

"Mmph!" The girl glared at him but said nothing more.

Did she tacitly allow me to stay? Sakurakoji Talent wondered uncertainly, looking at the beautiful delinquent girl in front of him—Touma Kazusa—feeling a bit helpless.

For most people in the world, if he approached them with his looks, he would generally be treated with courtesy and respect, allowing the conversation to proceed smoothly and building rapport. Even if someone wasn't sensitive to looks, they would normally agree to be spoken to out of politeness.

But this rule didn't apply to her. If something didn't suit her fancy, she wouldn't care who you were. She neither valued looks nor was she normal.

His goal was to improve their relationship, not to fight to the death. His options were limited.

Moreover, she was a high-class rich woman from a good family, always carrying an unlimited black card in her pocket. Her talent was even... It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that among everyone he had charmed so far, she was the most talented, an undisputed world-class genius.

Even after neglecting it for a few years, she was still able to reach the top four in the Chopin Competition a few years later and won the championship in the subsequent one.

Wealth and talent both seem difficult to approach. Tsk, what a pain.

Image: "Touma Kazusa", Location: "Images/1755608067-100446961-113743991.jpg"

Author: Did you guess right?

Volume 1: The Daily Life of a Beehive Magnet : Chapter 55: Touma Kazusa, Who Was Set Up

Sakurakoji Talent's mind raced as he considered ways to conquer her.

In his career so far, he had never felt so stumped. His looks were useless, and she lacked neither money nor ability. It was incredibly difficult to impress her through these avenues—she was practically flawless, truly a genuine high-and-mighty beauty. Her only weakness and point of entry seemed to be a lack of love...

Was he really going to resort to "baby tactics" this time and approach her emotionally? But could he really do it? Sakurakoji Talent's brow furrowed in pain, his head aching from overthinking. Finally, his body relaxed, and he looked at Touma Kazusa as if giving up.

He had also figured out why she was out in Shinjuku so late at night.

Minejo University and its affiliated high school were located in Shinjuku. As for why she was still wandering the streets so late... was she teaching delinquents how to act?

Perhaps she got lost in time while playing music at school (or maybe she overslept), or perhaps she had a rare moment of leisure and wanted to explore the night market. Who knew.

Just as he was lost in thought, Touma Kazusa, seeing him suddenly freeze, felt strange and couldn't help but speak up: "Hey, aren't you going to eat?"

"Huh?" Sakurakoji Talent snapped awake, looking at her blankly.

"The set meal you ordered is almost cold," she said, tapping the food on his tray with her long, fair fingers. Her expression remained indifferent.

But seeing that he had ordered the same set meal as her, a ripple went through her heart. Was this a coincidence?

"Oh, thanks for the reminder..."

Sakurakoji Talent looked at the food he had randomly chosen downstairs, feeling his stomach distend and a sense of fullness. Suddenly, he felt nauseous. It was as if he had developed a condition where the sight of high-calorie food made him want to puke...

But looking up, he met Touma Kazusa's cold, emotionless gaze. To avoid suspicion, he hardened his heart, his fingers trembling as he picked up a french fry. He put it in his mouth without any sauce, swallowing the bitter fruit along with the food.

This was the third meal...

His heart was a mess, he wanted to cry but couldn't, and he suddenly felt an urge to laugh at the absurdity of it all.

Damn it, was this the price of multitasking!!!

The two ate their burger meals in silence for a while. A few minutes later, seeing that he was eating much slower than she was, Touma Kazusa was somewhat surprised. Could a man who ate less than her even be considered a man?

She chuckled and pursed her lips. Victory!

"By the way, I've been interested in pop bands lately. Are you interested, miss?" Sakurakoji Talent asked, trying to start a conversation while eating fries.

"Not at all. That's just child's play, isn't it? If you're interested in that, I guess your standards are just about that level," Touma Kazusa said, idly playing with the ketchup packet in her hand.

"If you're here to ask me to form a band, I'll politely decline. You'd better drop the idea."

Heh, he actually used a difficult word like "politely decline." Sakurakoji Talent silently chewed on a french fry, his eyebrows looking rather punchable.

"That's not it. I don't have any plans to form a band right now either."

"Then what exactly do you want? You're not going to say it's because you think I'm similar to you, are you?"

"That is partly true. Another reason is that I'm curious why you're eating fast food alone so late at night. Judging by your school uniform, you're a student at a nearby high school, right?"

"What do you want to say?" Touma Kazusa's tone grew colder. "Is there a rule against students eating out alone at night?"

"It's nothing, just a bit of curiosity," he said, knowing exactly what she was thinking. Before she could get angry, Sakurakoji Talent continued, "It's not like you live alone because your parents work overseas, like me, is it?"

"?" Touma Kazusa, who was about to lash out, felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured on her. She immediately calmed down and stared at him blankly.

Then, as if remembering something amusing, she happily picked up her coffee cup. "It seems you've been abandoned. How pitiful. But you're so annoying, it's only deserved."

Seeing that she was indeed like this, Sakurakoji Talent smiled and said, "I wouldn't call it abandonment. At least I'm well-off financially and have a lot of freedom. I don't have any complaints."

"That's what abandonment is. You really don't understand," Touma Kazusa shook her head. "They gave up on you completely because they didn't think you were worth anything, didn't they? That's why they didn't take you overseas with them."

"That's why they ignore you and don't care what you do."

"It seems our ideas are a bit different," he said, popping the last french fry into his mouth. He completely ignored the burger next to him and spoke with some difficulty, "My name is Sakurakoji Talent. What's yours?"

"Do I need to tell you?" Touma Kazusa elegantly wiped her mouth and said casually with her eyes closed.

"I'm not forcing you, but I'd like to get to know you. Today's conversation was very pleasant."

"You're happy even though I've been verbally abusing you? You... don't have some kind of psychological problem, do you?" She looked at him suspiciously.

"It's not that I don't, but it's probably not what you think..." Sakurakoji Talent said with a heavy tone. "Can you really not tell me?"

Touma Kazusa stared at him for thirty seconds, then suddenly showed a mischievous smile. "Alright, I'll tell you. My name is Touno Kazumi. Remember it."

Sakurakoji Talent froze, then his expression became stiff and mechanical, his eyes as cold as if he were looking at a stranger.

"Heh~ So it's Miss Tou-no Ka-zu-mi~ I see, I see."

"Wh-what do you mean by that?" Touma Kazusa blushed, feeling embarrassed as if she had been seen through.

"N-nothing~ I just think it's a really nice name. Don't you agree? Miss Tou-no Ka-zu-mi?" Sakurakoji Talent looked at her teasingly, his interest piqued as he mocked her.

He continued to tease her until she was utterly embarrassed, her elegant demeanor becoming flustered. Her hands fidgeted restlessly, her earlobes turned bright red. Only then did he stop his retaliation, feeling incredibly refreshed.

Finally, he got his revenge! So satisfying!

"Oh, right. I'm currently working part-time at a Livehouse called STARRY in Shimokitazawa. If you have time and are interested, you can come by. I'll treat you to something to eat."

"Since it's a night shift, we open at 6 PM, so it won't interfere with your classes."

"No need, I'm not like you. I'm usually very busy and don't have time for these games," Touma Kazusa said, looking away and refusing without thinking.

"Busy? Busy with what?"

"Busy... busy studying, is that not allowed!?" Because she didn't want to lie about music, she changed her excuse. A faint blush appeared on her face, and then she angrily looked at Sakurakoji Talent.

"...How surprising."

Touma Kazusa immediately slammed the table and shouted, drawing the attention of those around her. She questioned him, "What do you mean by that?"

Sakurakoji Talent averted his gaze and explained, "I thought you'd be a truant like me. Forget being busy studying; just showing up to class on time would be considered diligent for someone like that."

"Normally, if you have free time, you'd be practicing an instrument. Your grades probably aren't that good. Did I misjudge you? Or are you actually one of those geniuses who doesn't need to study to get perfect scores?"

Touma Kazusa was rendered speechless by his words, staring at him in disbelief. Why did this guy understand her so well! Everything he'd said so far was correct. Was he really that good at reading people?

Unable to stand the atmosphere any longer, she blushed, let out a faint scoff, and stood up, slamming the table before leaving.

"Don't forget to come visit when you have time~" Sakurakoji Talent waved at her retreating back, but naturally, he was ignored.

Heh~ An interesting woman.

Image: "Spring Deepens Unnoticed in Dreams", Location: "Images/1755608133-100446961-113744000.jpg"

Volume 1: The Butterfly-Attracting Daily Life : Chapter 56: Distracted Ichiji Nijika

Over the next few days, Sakurakoji Talent was busy, very busy.

If you ask what he was busy with, "Mr. Talent, is this the right amount of butter?"

"Mmm--a little more. Don't be afraid of getting your hands dirty. You should be unrestrained when playing with butter."