"But—"
Her attempt to speak was immediately interrupted by the arrival of a plate of glossy yellow poached chicken and a bowl of rice.
The middle-aged woman smiled and said to Ishikawa Hikaru in Chinese, "Eat well and drink well."
"Got it."
After the brief exchange, the woman gave Miura Yumiko a meaningful smile, glanced at her once more, and briskly walked away. Although Miura Yumiko couldn't understand what they had said, she instinctively felt a strange tightness in her chest.
"What were you just talking about?"
"She told us to enjoy our meal," Ishikawa Hikaru replied, sounding puzzled. "Why do you look so nervous?"
"How can I not be nervous? I can't understand a single word you're saying," Miura Yumiko said irritably. "For all I know, you might be plotting something with the shop owner. I have to have some self-preservation instincts, right?"
"Of course girls should protect themselves when they're outside. Boys like me should too," Ishikawa Hikaru said seriously. "But you can relax. When I look at a beautiful girl like you right now, I only feel admiration—nothing strange."
Miura Yumiko immediately blushed in embarrassment at such direct praise.
"Can you change the way you talk? Don't you feel embarrassed saying things like that to a girl?"
"Embarrassed? Why would I?"
Ishikawa Hikaru looked genuinely confused.
"If I don't say it like this, how else am I supposed to express that you're beautiful? And how am I supposed to convey the meaning of 'beautiful,' 'pretty,' or 'lovely' without actually using words that mean beautiful, pretty, or lovely?"
Miura Yumiko became even more flustered.
"Why are you so fixated on me? Just stop saying things like that in front of me!"
"So strict, Teacher Miura."
Hikaru sighed, picked up the serving chopsticks, and gestured toward the plate of golden chicken.
"Teacher Miura, you're as beautiful as this plate of golden Chinese cuisine."
"Huh?"
Miura Yumiko let out a startled sound.
Hikaru picked up a piece of chicken, dipped it in the sauce, then placed it in his bowl.
"In China there's an old idiom: Xiù Sè Kě Cān, which literally means 'beauty so stunning it can be eaten.' It describes a woman whose beauty alone can satisfy the appetite—just like this dish. Even if the food weren't delicious, sharing a meal with someone as good-looking as you would still make the meal worthwhile."
"Chinese cuisine emphasizes three qualities: color, aroma, and taste."
"Because of that, modern people often misuse the phrase to describe food that looks delicious."
"The logic is simple: food with beautiful presentation isn't always tasty, but food that looks beautiful has a high chance of tasting good."
"So the phrase gradually became associated with the food itself."
"What I meant earlier is that Miura-san's appearance is like this dish—something that stimulates one's appetite."
Miura Yumiko quickly covered her mouth.
"Pfft—cough, cough—you jerk!"
"Or should I compliment you another way?" Hikaru continued enthusiastically. "If you don't like that expression, I could try a more literary approach. For example, quoting lines from the famous poem 'Ode to the Goddess of the Luo River' by Cao Zhi—"
"Alright, that's enough!"
Miura Yumiko cut him off, extremely embarrassed.
"If you think you're just describing things normally, then say whatever you want. I'll just pretend I didn't hear it."
"What a pity."
"A pity?!"
"I was actually looking forward to praising Teacher Miura using the tone of foreigners in dubbed films."
Hikaru sighed regretfully.
"For light novel writers, speech patterns and tone are important material. Truly upper-class people, for example, rarely speak crudely. A character's background and education should be reflected in how they speak."
"So I wanted to experiment with different ways of speaking."
"Anyway—about this Chinese food…"
Miura Yumiko's face was still flushed as she quickly changed the subject.
"How do you eat it? Just pick it up and dip it in the sauce?"
"Yep."
"Then I'm starting."
She put her hands together and copied Hikaru, picking up a piece of chicken and eating it.
After two bites, her eyes lit up.
"Delicious!"
Hikaru poured himself another glass of beer and explained happily.
"The couple who runs this place are from Guangdong, China. They specialize in Cantonese cuisine, the kind they've eaten since childhood."
"They didn't modify the dishes to suit Japanese tastes."
"So most of the customers here are Chinese workers in Chiba or international students."
"For you, this might be your first chance to taste authentic Cantonese food without going abroad."
"Speaking of that," Miura Yumiko said curiously while putting the chicken bones aside, "you seem pretty familiar with the owners. Are you a regular?"
"That's part of the reason."
"Part of it?"
"My parents worked in foreign trade in China," Hikaru explained. "I grew up in Shanghai from kindergarten until my second year of junior high."
"Back then restaurants in Shanghai were cheap compared to my parents' salaries, so they often took me out to eat."
"Shanghai is a very developed city, so chefs from all over China opened restaurants there."
"So I grew up eating all kinds of Chinese cuisine."
He took another sip of beer.
"But after returning to Japan, I couldn't get used to Japanese food."
"My mom only knew how to cook Japanese-style dishes, so she had to order takeout from authentic Chinese restaurants."
"That's how she became acquainted with many Chinese restaurant owners."
"The couple here eventually became family friends."
"That's why I can openly order alcohol here. They don't mind."
Miura Yumiko finally understood.
But new doubts immediately appeared.
"If they're family friends, they're basically elders, right?"
"But the way you talked to them didn't seem respectful at all."
"And why would they let you drink alcohol? Wouldn't they tell your mom?"
Hikaru thought for a moment.
"Let me explain."
He took out his phone and showed her his author account.
"See the follower count?"
Miura's eyes widened.
"F-fifty thousand followers?!"
"Not all of them are readers," Hikaru said casually.
"When I go to Tokyo to meet my editor, I also visit Chinese restaurants in Ikebukuro's Chinatown area."
He showed her a photo of mapo tofu he had posted earlier.
"This was from one of those trips."
Then he opened an album labeled 'Chinese Food Materials.'
The screen was filled with pictures of Chinese dishes.
"S-so many?!"
"I travel around Japan during summer vacation for research."
"I've eaten at a lot of Chinese restaurants."
"So sometimes I post photos and write things like 'Today I visited this place and tried this dish.'"
"Some people follow me thinking I'm a food blogger."
"That's why I have so many followers."
"By the way…"
"My public persona online is a single light novel author in his thirties."
"Some readers even comment telling me to hurry up and get married."
"That's why I can openly say at school that I wrote 'Reincarnated with a Smart Toilet.'"
"Even if someone exposed me, readers wouldn't believe a high school student wrote it."
"I see… that actually makes sense…"
Miura nodded absentmindedly.
Then suddenly she snapped back to reality.
"Wait—you changed the subject!"
"I asked if your mom knows you drink!"
Hikaru grinned.
"I didn't change the subject."
"I once promoted this restaurant on my account."
"A lot of Chinese customers came here because of that."
"So the owners are grateful to me."
"And they're Cantonese, not Japanese."
"They don't care about honorifics. They'd actually complain if I used them."
Miura still looked suspicious.
"Really?"
"They said speaking too politely would make us feel distant."
"As for whether my mom knows I drink…"
Hikaru took another sip.
"She's always known."
"Huh?!"
Miura's eyes widened again.
"She knows you drink?!"
"That's related to my time in China."
"But you were still a minor there!"
"Underage drinking is technically illegal in China too," Hikaru said with a grin.
"But no one really cares unless something goes wrong."
"My dad often received gifts from Chinese clients—usually cigarettes and expensive baijiu."
"He couldn't drink all of it, so he left it at home."
"One day I got curious and opened a bottle."
"I ended up finishing it."
"You… finished it?!"
"Afterward I checked the label."
"It was 53% alcohol Moutai."
"The beer I'm drinking now is only 3.5%."
"And that bottle was worth almost 60,000 yen."
"So after my mom found out about my tolerance…"
"She just told me not to drink too often."
He gave Miura a thumbs-up.
"My mom is great, right? I love my old lady."
Miura nodded blankly.
"…Yeah."
---
63. So, Will the Problem Child Watch the Reaction?
After finishing their meal—
Ishikawa Hikaru led Miura Yumiko out of the restaurant.
He unlocked his bicycle, pulled it away from the storefront, and hopped on.
Pointing down the street, he said,
"The station is straight ahead. You'll reach it if you walk that way."
"I won't give you another ride."
"You probably feel unsafe sitting on the back anyway."
"So Teacher Miura will have to go home on her own."
Miura pressed her temples, looking exhausted.
"And I'm definitely not going out alone with you again."
"You answer one question and somehow create three more."
"This entire meal was basically you talking nonstop."
"It felt like you were talking to a tree trunk."
"Doesn't your throat ever get tired?"
Hikaru grinned.
"Doesn't that prove my distraction method worked perfectly?"
"I bet your brain is still busy processing all the information I dumped on you."
"So you don't have time to dwell on Hayama rejecting you."
Miura froze.
"You mean…"
"I'm off! See you next week!"
Hikaru waved and rode away.
Miura stared at his back disappearing down the street.
Then she stomped her foot.
"He talks nonstop, but the moment I want to speak, he runs away!"
She turned toward the station.
But after only a few steps, her unspoken thoughts returned.
The more she thought about it, the stranger Hikaru's behavior today seemed.
Finding her at the station couldn't have been a coincidence.
He must have learned what happened at the water park and come specifically to help her.
He first hooked her attention with talk about the group falling apart.
Then brought her to the restaurant.
Then ordered alcohol—forcing her to focus on the shock of underage drinking.
Her mind became filled with disbelief.
Only after that did he explain the "inside story."
By then she was already following his pace.
And because his reasoning actually made sense, she unconsciously accepted it.
It wasn't until he started talking about cram school and marriage that she realized things were going too far.
Even then, she only barely broke free from his conversational rhythm.
Because the entire conversation had been controlled by him.
Instead of thinking about her conflict with Hayama…
She had spent the whole time thinking about Ishikawa Hikaru.
His past.
His experiences in China.
His writing career.
His food research.
His family.
Everything except Hayama.
Miura stopped in front of the station entrance.
Her expression was complicated.
"Unbelievable…"