122. Sayuri Sawamura
“…Um, I have an urgent matter, so I’ll be leaving first,” Jiang Yu said after a brief silence.
“Eh~ At least stay for a quick meal before you go! It’s rare that I want to cook myself~” Sayuri Sawamura blocked Jiang Yu as he tried to push open the door, waving a plastic bag full of ingredients with a smile.
“Is there something urgent, A-Yu? If so, do you need my help?!” Riya Aki, having overheard this, suddenly wore a panicked expression and asked Jiang Yu anxiously, her eyes pleading silently, “Please say you need help.”
Eriri, standing nearby, also looked startled and blurted out, “What—?!”
However, Jiang Yu, who had just asked them for help scanning some reference images, was clearly caught off guard. He froze for a moment at their words. Before he could respond, Sayuri stepped forward, draping her arm over Riya’s shoulder and chuckled softly, “That won’t do~ Riya-kun hasn’t been to our house in ages. We must give you a proper welcome tonight~ Eriri’s father will surely be glad to have you here, too, won’t he?”
Jiang Yu gave Riya a helpless look and explained, “I need to go back and look after my sister… so I’m sorry this time. If there’s another chance, I’ll definitely stay and try your cooking.”
“Ah~ I see. Well, in that case, no choice! Be careful on your way home~” Sayuri said regretfully.
“…Alright then. Auntie, Riya, Sayuri, goodbye!” Jiang Yu bid farewell, somewhat puzzled by Riya’s glum face and Eriri’s subtle expression.
But his worry over Ume temporarily pushed aside these thoughts, and he hurried out, running swiftly toward home.
After Jiang Yu left, Sayuri released her hold on Riya’s arm and said to Eriri, “Now, shall I introduce you to my mother, that child?”
At the same time, Sayuri silently thought to herself: I feel like I’ve seen that kid somewhere before…
…
“Cough, cough… keys… keys…” Jiang Yu panted heavily as he sprinted all the way home, gasping for fresh air that rushed eagerly into his lungs and was then expelled just as quickly.
Sweat pouring down his body, Jiang Yu anxiously fumbled through his pockets for his keys. Once he found them and opened the door, he didn’t even bother closing it or taking off his shoes. He dashed inside and immediately saw Ume lying on the living room floor, sound asleep.
“Whew… so you’re okay after all… ha…” Seeing this, Jiang Yu finally relaxed and sank to the floor. Only now did the exhaustion hit him in full force.
Feeling the dryness in his throat, Jiang Yu swallowed hard, struggled to push himself up, walked back to the entrance to close the door and change his shoes, then returned to the living room with weary steps.
What greeted his eyes were: a casually discarded bag of chips, an empty soda bottle, and a pristine pudding container…
Holding his head in a slight headache, Jiang Yu felt a surge of helplessness rise from deep within: So you didn’t answer the phone simply because you fell asleep? And this was your lunch? So all my rushing back was just to see this scene?
Suppressing the anger bubbling inside him, Jiang Yu put on a blank expression and gently picked up Ume, carrying her to their bedroom.
Along the way, perhaps sensing some discomfort, Ume twisted in his arms, smacking her lips a few times and muttering some words Jiang Yu couldn’t understand. Yet she did not wake up even after he laid her on the bed and tucked her in.
Closing the door, Jiang Yu sighed deeply and began tidying up the messy living room.
After finishing, he glanced at the time, opened the fridge to prepare dinner, and was met with emptiness.
“Come to think of it… I did host Riya and the others for lunch yesterday,” Jiang Yu slapped his forehead in realization, recalling why the week’s worth of groceries he had prepared last weekend was already gone.
So, once again, Jiang Yu set out for the supermarket to buy ingredients for today and the upcoming week.
…
Meanwhile, in Eriri’s family villa.
Sayuri Sawamura listened attentively to Riya’s introduction of Jiang Yu, with Eriri occasionally adding details, nodding in understanding.
Seeing them both finished, Sayuri’s eyes gleamed mischievously. Instead of continuing with questions about Jiang Yu as expected, she smiled slyly and said, “So, Eriri and Riya, have you two finally made up?”
“Uh…” Riya was taken aback, then scratched his head awkwardly. Eriri fell silent upon hearing this.
Sayuri looked at them curiously, clearly unaware of what had transpired between Riya and Eriri since third grade, why they hadn’t been to her home, and what had caused their estrangement.
Eriri was not one to confide easily and had never considered revealing the serious rift that led to their falling out to her parents.
Riya simply didn’t know how to explain. Even now, he couldn’t accept Eriri’s past actions, yet he also believed his own behavior was justified.
Sensing the sudden awkwardness between them, Sayuri changed the subject: “Ah~ So Riya, what would you like to eat tonight?”
Though her shift in topic was clumsy, Riya took the offered ladder to step down gracefully: “It would be great if Auntie gave up the idea of cooking herself…”
Eriri snapped back to reality and chimed in, “Yeah, Mom, please don’t cook, okay?”
“How dare you underestimate my cooking skills! I’ve practiced properly, you know~” Sayuri feigned indignation but was pleased by the restored harmony.
It seemed this awkwardness between the two could only be resolved by themselves…
Sayuri sighed inwardly. Only now did she have time to think about Jiang Yu, a playful smile curling her lips.
She was quite confident in her memory. No wonder that kid looked familiar; he was the son of the Jiang family.
She recalled a banquet several years ago where he had taken the stage to perform piano, and he was pretty good.
But… was he really in the same club as Eriri and Riya? And the club’s activity was making games? Eriri said he was both planner and director… Now she was genuinely curious about what kind of work their club would produce in the end~
With that thought, Sayuri’s smile grew even brighter, leaving Riya and Eriri somewhat bewildered by her radiant expression.
…