Chapter 631

At this point, Ichinose Honami stretched, her black business suit showing off her graceful figure, making even her female assistant a little envious.

Putting aside the workload, the assistant was extremely envious of her boss's appearance and income, and even secretly regarded her as her ideal for future success.

I really don't know who will be lucky enough to marry the section chief in the future...

Just as the assistant was having this thought, she suddenly heard Ichinose Honami say:

"By the way, I need to take some time off next month. Could you help me apply to the company for that?"

"Okay, okay, section chief, are you going to take the annual leave you didn't use up last year?"

"No, it's maternity leave."

Ichinose Honami smiled and shook her head, then unconsciously reached out and gently stroked her lower abdomen.

She has become a daughter who is even better than her mother.

Therefore, she will become an even better mother than her.

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Personal Side Story: Horikita Suzune: The Best Taste of Humanity

Horikita Suzune has recently developed a sudden interest in soufflé cakes.

The incident likely stemmed from a novel she had recently read during her free time, titled "When You're Sad, Go to the Kitchen." The story follows three Head of the Family who, facing unexpected hardships in their lives, try to find the strength to face life anew through the kitchen and a soufflé cake that requires extreme patience.

As for why Horikita Suzune suddenly started reading this type of novel, it was mainly because she herself had the idea of writing her own novels during this period.

Just as Karuizawa Kei, who has already achieved great success and became the first Asian Actor to win the Olivier Awards, the highest honor in the theater industry, is asked by reporters whether she has any plans to publish an autobiography or memoir, Horikita Suzune has also been troubled by similar concerns.

However, what the other party initially asked for was actually just a simple cookbook, similar to a recipe book.

Generally speaking, once a cooking blogger gains fame online, all sorts of similar collaborations will come knocking on their door one after another. These collaborations might involve requests to endorse kitchenware or other kitchen products, or to launch related products (which are essentially just rebranding their own products). It's also common for publishers or advertisers to come and negotiate book publishing.

To be honest, Horikita Suzune wasn't interested in any of these things at first, especially the last one, because she always felt that her own recipes were only tailored to a few people and not suitable for the general public. If she wanted to pursue universality, there were cookbooks and recipe books for kitchen novices everywhere on the market.

Just like the cookbooks she bought, over the years, Horikita Suzune has added annotations to every recipe in every book, and some even made deletions and comments. If the book says "bake at 180 degrees", then after trying it herself, she might add a sentence next to it, "175 degrees tastes better".

In this respect, if all these annotations were copied down and organized, they could probably be pieced together into a new book belonging to Horikita Suzune herself. But as mentioned earlier, the colors painted on it, in a narrow sense, belong only to her and Kitagawa Ryo.

There may be half the people in this world who don't eat cilantro, just like him, but there's always another half who like to eat cilantro.

That is why Horikita Suzune always felt that if she really intended to write something down, she would rather use food and the kitchen as a starting point to write about other things than simple recipes.

This might also be an influence from Shiina Hiyori, just like her father who directly reversed his real name to use as a pen name. This father and daughter always tend to use a writing style that leaves the uninformed completely confused and those in the know amused, to incorporate real-life emotions into their creations.

However, compared to her father, a third-rate novelist, his daughter has clearly gone much further down this path.

After asking Shiina Hiyori for the relevant secrets, Horikita Suzune received the answer that one must first be a good reader before becoming an author.

And so she began to read extensively on the subject, one of which was "When You're Sad, Go to the Kitchen."

Perhaps because Horikita Suzune is also a chef, compared to a mere reader, she was inevitably drawn to the soufflé cake, which was the focus of the book and served as a key element throughout, right from the start.

As a pastry chef who apprenticed under Kitagawa Ryo, Horikita Suzune's current skill level can no longer be described as that of an amateur after several years of professional training. However, it is precisely because of this that she is also very clear about the unique features of the soufflé cake that is repeatedly mentioned in the article and serves as the key point.

Actually, if you just look at the recipe and method, this world-famous dessert doesn't require many ingredients, and the procedures aren't particularly complicated. But it's as if it's cursed by the god of cakes; both cooking novices and kitchen veterans inevitably fail when making this dessert.

This dessert is actually depicted in the classic Japan food manga and anime adaptation, Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma!.

In the early part of the story, during a training camp for his grade, when faced with the task of making breakfast using eggs as an ingredient, the protagonist, Yukihira Soma, chose a soufflé cake, only to be dealt a harsh blow by reality.

No matter how meticulously or carefully this dessert is made, it will collapse rapidly from the center within just a few minutes of being taken out of the oven, and its beautiful appearance will vanish along with its light taste.

For beginners, this sudden and devastating change can happen in just a few seconds. For highly talented culinary geniuses, such as Yukihira Soma, the protagonist of Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma!, all they can do is prolong the process slightly, but ultimately it will still collapse, like a fleeting Phantom Dream.

In this respect, soufflé is indeed a dessert that requires extreme patience. Most kitchen novices have to spend countless long attempts, patiently working their way down the 100-meter sprint record from ten seconds to nine seconds, meticulously recording their final product's progress and watching its lifespan increase from three seconds fresh out of the oven to ten, thirty, fifty seconds...

Even if it eventually collapses mercilessly, as if it doesn't care about your efforts as a baker at all.

This book is based on this characteristic of soufflé, and tells three stories that revolve around it, as well as the choices made by the three protagonists.

If Horikita Suzune were to give her evaluation, her favorite story would probably be the one about a woman who, after losing her wife of most of her life, slowly learns to live alone, cook for herself, and take care of her husband on her own amidst her grief.

In particular, watching the protagonist, who had never been exposed to anything related to the kitchen before, gradually learn to buy ingredients and kitchen utensils, learn to cook, and face life anew in the kitchen his wife used to use, Horikita Suzune herself was quite moved, and even naturally thought of herself and Ryo.

After all, if one of them were to leave the other first, the other person, upon entering the kitchen and seeing the tableware and traces left behind, would probably not have any desire to cook or even eat.

Thinking about this, and watching the Matoba before her as the soufflé she had just made and placed on a plate gradually collapsed from the center, Horikita Suzune could probably empathize with some of the psychological descriptions in the book.

"Why is Suzune making soufflés today?"

A familiar voice came from behind, followed by the rustling sound of tying an apron.

Compared to the cramped kitchen in their old dormitory room at Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School, where two people could barely turn around, the kitchen in their current apartment is undoubtedly much more spacious and bright.

But the distance between her and Kitagawa Ryo remained unchanged. He skillfully circled around behind her, wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, and rested his head on her shoulder, looking curiously at the soufflé cake on the shelf that was almost completely collapsed.

"Want to try this cool drink?"

Instead of answering the question immediately, Horikita Suzune reached into the cupboard next to her and took out a clean spoon. She gently scooped a spoonful from the cake, bent the back of the spoon, and without even looking, put it directly into Kitagawa Ryo's mouth as he leaned in.

"Mmm... it tastes pretty good. Did Suzune plan to make this for me right on time? I was a little late parking at the entrance today, sorry."

After saying that, Kitagawa Ryo let go of his hand and started to pick up the raw materials that Horikita Suzune had prepared in advance. There were still quite a few raw materials left.

"However, soufflés actually taste best in the first two minutes after they come out of the oven. I'll make two more so we can eat them together later."

"OK."

Although she said that, Horikita Suzune still seriously ate all the soufflé she had made before starting to observe Kitagawa Ryo's actions. It felt like she had inexplicably returned to the time when the two of them first developed feelings for each other. The sweetness of love was physically expressed through sight, smell, hearing and taste.

But no matter how many times it had happened before, Horikita Suzune still enjoyed every single one of these Matoba; it was the quietest and most peaceful place deep within her heart.

"Liang has more experience in baking than I do, so do you have any good ideas about the problem of soufflés collapsing?"

"The problem of soufflés collapsing... This is mainly related to the baking temperature and the consistency of the soufflé topping, but it is essentially a physical phenomenon that cannot be changed. At most, it can only be delayed. In fact, there is no absolute way to make it completely fluffy, otherwise physics would probably not exist."

Kitagawa Ryo explained as he began skillfully separating the egg white and yolk. With just a slight tap of his slender, fair fingers, he effortlessly separated the egg using the shell as a natural container. No matter how many times you watched, it was as magical as a magician's technique.

"I see."

After asking that question, Horikita Suzune stopped talking, while Kitagawa Ryo focused on his work. Soon, two freshly baked soufflés were served on their table.

The freshly baked soufflé was indeed a hundred times better than her collapsed one, both in appearance and taste. Especially with Kitagawa Ryo's baking skills, Horikita Suzune couldn't help but smile after just one spoonful.

"So Suzune still hasn't answered the question I asked her when I came back. Why are you suddenly interested in soufflés? Are you going to use them in the next video?"

"After reading the book 'When You're Sad, Go to the Kitchen,' I suddenly had the urge to try making it myself."

"I've read this one too. It's indeed a good work, but compared to the healing label the media has given it, I feel that the core of this book still carries a touch of sadness. After all, reality is not like things in the kitchen, where as long as you follow the steps, the ingredients will give you the corresponding response."

As he spoke, Kitagawa Ryo poked the soufflé in front of him again:

"This little guy is the best example."

"If Suzune is looking for inspiration for her writing, this book isn't really suitable."

Yes, that's right.

Horikita Suzune sighed upon hearing this. Although her personality was no longer as sharp as it had been at the beginning, especially after she turned twenty, some traces of her former self still remained, whether it was her stubbornness in making personal choices or the charming cunning that flowed in her crimson eyes at this moment.

"After reading it, I knew this was definitely not a story or plot I could have written. Rather, I shouldn't have been able to come up with the title in the first place, because I don't think I've ever been to the kitchen in my entire life when I was feeling sad."

At this point, Horikita Suzune slightly raised her eyes and recalled:

"When I first came into contact with cooking, I simply felt that it was an essential survival skill for independent living. Cooking was for better intake of the nutrients needed for growth and to fill my stomach. At that time, I was probably indifferent to it. I didn't have any particular feeling about cooking or kitchens."

"After that, it all turned out to be cold. From then on, the kitchen really did have a different meaning for me. But I can say for sure that I never went into the kitchen with a sad heart and used cooking to escape reality or forget my troubles."

"So for me, it shouldn't be a sad time. Let's go to the kitchen."

What is that?

"Of course, you should go to the kitchen when it's time to cook."

Although it might sound like a lame joke where the answer is right there in the riddle, Horikita Suzune explained it quite naturally:

"Would Liang really go to the kitchen specifically for any time other than cooking and washing dishes afterward? To film a variety show called 'Crime Scene Kitchen'?"

As she spoke, Horikita Suzune hummed smugly twice and held her spoon to Kitagawa Ryo's lips:

"The lesson Liang taught me a long time ago is that there's no fixed taste in food; what suits your palate is precious. So today, I'll teach Liang another lesson--"

"If our daily routines are a series of miracles, then the most important part of those routines is our three meals a day. Therefore, the kitchen is the center of everything. As the head chef of the Kitagawa Family kitchen, I am naturally the center of Ryou, understand?"

Kitagawa Ryo couldn't help but chuckle, opening his mouth to bite the spoon Horikita Suzune offered, nodding indistinctly in agreement, and then heard her next words:

"As for how to prevent the soufflé from collapsing, it's just like this."

Food should be eaten while it's hot.

One should love while one can.

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Personal Side Story: Sakayanagi Arisu: The Outcome is Undecided

It's that time of year again for the Cultural Festival.

It was almost like a cycle of Fate that Kitagawa Ryo returned once again to his loyal Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School as a member of the Chairman's family.

It has been almost ten years since he dropped out of school here, and the students who graduated this year are already the seniors from eight years ago. However, it is not entirely accurate to say that Kitagawa Ryo has been away for so long before returning to ANHS. After all, in the past few years, he has been coming here quite frequently because of someone.

Ultimately, rounding it up, this land can be considered one of his properties, especially after Alice, who is currently by his side and has not grown taller in all this time and probably will not grow any taller in the future, was officially confirmed as the Chairman of ANHS this year.

However, this formal handover ceremony, which officially announced the transfer of power from ANHS Sakayanagi Narimori to Sakayanagi Arisu, did not actually attract much attention within ANHS school. Firstly, students, as always, did not particularly care about who the Chairman of their school's board of directors was. Secondly, Sakayanagi Arisu was not parachuted in to take over; she had already been serving on campus several years after graduating from university and frequently appeared in the students' sight.

That's why, apart from secretly adding a small stool and a cushion behind the stage during the opening speech, nothing particularly noticeable changed at Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School in the short term; the new broom sweeping clean didn't seem to have really caught fire yet.

However, as one of the insiders, Kitagawa Ryo was well aware that as early as two years ago, before Sakayanagi Arisu officially took over as Chairman, she had already replaced Sakayanagi Narimori in handling most of the affairs of Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School. In this respect, her initial efforts as a new leader should have already been made.

"I thought our first year's Cultural Festival was already quite exciting, but I didn't expect this year's to be even more extravagant."

Watching the steady stream of guests entering the campus from near the newly renovated and expanded school gate, Kitagawa Ryo unconsciously uttered this remark. Meanwhile, standing next to him Sakayanagi Arisu was still fully engaged in her work, earnestly checking whether the crowd control and anti-stampede measures at the most congested section in front of the school gate were being carried out effectively and efficiently.

After a long while, she nodded and hummed in agreement.

"After all, with the increase in the number of students on campus, the number of guests will naturally increase due to the need for Special Exam."

Nearly two years ago, after making thorough preparations, Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School increased its enrollment by half, reaching 240 new students each year. However, the number of classes remained at four, with 60 students per class.

Before she actually got involved in the specific and complicated matters, Sakayanagi Arisu didn't expect that what seemed like a simple matter to her—expanding student enrollment—would actually be so troublesome to implement. It was indeed a major matter that affected everything in every sense, and it took quite some time to prepare before it was finally pushed through and implemented.

"Alright, Arisu, relax a little today. Don't act like you're the Chairman of the board. I finally got the chance to come in through the front door openly, so show me around properly, just like in the beginning."

If Sakayanagi Arisu hadn't heard from others that Kitagawa Ryo's first visit to the ANHS Cultural Festival was accompanied by Horikita Suzune, she probably would have believed him. But as the saying goes, anyone can be the first if they add enough qualifiers. Thinking that she was also the first person, as the Chairman, to take Kitagawa Ryo, who was already part of the family, to the ANHS Cultural Festival, Sakayanagi Arisu relieved and took Kitagawa Ryo's hand, shaking her head and tossing aside her work-related matters.

"Okay, I'll bring Liang to shop."

After intentionally wearing masks and sun hats to cover their faces, Sakayanagi Arisu and Kitagawa Ryo blended into the continuous stream of guests without attracting much attention. They quickly followed the flow of people into the Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School and strolled leisurely into the campus, which had also undergone an expansion.

"Thinking about it this way, it seems like our graduating class is one of those classic cases of students being unlucky enough to graduate only to find all the new buildings and facilities on campus already completed?"

"That's not quite right. If you ask me, my class and Ryo's class should be considered the class that officially began to change at ANHS, no less important than the class that was founded. If it were a manga, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a miracle of the era of unpolished gems. Although Ryo dropped out halfway through, his influence on the other students in that class and on ANHS's subsequent educational policy was unparalleled."

"Perhaps, but it seems that the students from our graduating class have all done quite well, and it's rare that only those from Class A are excelling; many students from the other three classes are doing the same."

As the two reminisced about their youthful days, they first arrived near the club building.

Although Kitagawa Ryo felt that compared to many other high schools, ANHS had invested the most in clubs when he first enrolled there, with ample facilities, resources, and teachers, the ANHS did not perform as well as expected for a long time due to various reasons.

However, after ten years of development and changes, ANHS can finally be considered to have a strong reputation in terms of student clubs. Both sports and arts clubs have achieved remarkable results. The main reason for this is the change in the club atmosphere and the school's intentional efforts to carry out a large number of exchange activities with other clubs in other schools, thus avoiding the recurrence of the situation of working in isolation.

Because the entire campus had been expanded, the club building for this Cultural Festival was not requisitioned as a location for students to set up stalls. Instead, it was locked and not open to outsiders. However, this was no problem for Sakayanagi Arisu, the Chairman the board, who quickly had a key delivered to unlock the door.

To be honest, the only places where you can still find traces of their graduating class at Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School, which has undergone a major renovation, are probably in the various clubs. The Student Council keeps a list of past Student Council members, including Sakayanagi Arisu (except for one illegal person), and the honors that Kitagawa Ryo and Karuizawa Kei earned back then are still displayed in the Drama Club's exhibition hall, highlighting the footprints they left in this school.

When Kitagawa Ryo walked around to the Drama Club's activity room with great interest, he found that there was even a poster of Karuizawa Kei, who had just won the Olivier Awards, hanging inside, which can be said to be keeping up with the times.

"Actually, when I officially accepted the position of Chairman of Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School this year, I was still wondering if I was suitable for this position. Because I could always clearly feel that I am not the same kind of person as my father and grandfather. They always have a natural and extremely high enthusiasm for children and education."

"But I'm not like that. I don't actually have the same... well, or perhaps some kind of sacred sense of mission as my father and grandfather did?"

Perhaps it was because she had some rare time alone with Kitagawa Ryo, or perhaps it was simply because they were at the new campus of Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School, which inevitably evoked some memories, but Sakayanagi Arisu leaned against the window of the activity room and suddenly turned to Kitagawa Ryo and said these words.

"There's no rule that says you have to be like Sakayanagi to be called a well-known educator by the media. Besides, Arisu is more suitable than your father to be the Chairman of ANHS at this point in time."

As he spoke, Kitagawa Ryo made another small joke:

"If it were Arisu, she wouldn't have been fooled by Ayanokoji Atsuomi's sweet talk at least twenty years ago."

"Too."