Be careful with the laid-back beauty who took a liking to me. Otherwise, it will be too late! - Chapter 37: Chinatown

Chapter 37: Chinatown

In middle school, I got angry about my favorite custard sweets.

That day, everyone in the class gathered at the park for a Valentine exchange event. Both girls and boys were there, and I was mostly exchanging with my female friends.

I brought homemade custard muffins, and everyone who exchanged with me said they looked delicious and traded their chocolates for them.

However, at that moment, a boy named Hōsei, who often teased me, snatched the bag containing my muffins and threw it in the trash.

“Custard sweets are disgusting. They’re like trash,” he said as he tossed them into the bin.

Seeing this, my friends started to get angry at Hōsei.

“Hey, Hōsei! What are you doing?”

“Seriously, that’s the worst! I’ll tell the teacher.”

“Do you even know how hard Sayo worked on those? Hōsei, apologize!”

While everyone was getting mad at him, I stared at the bag of custard that was thrown away.

I felt sad, but the fact that someone spoke ill of my custard was even more shocking, and I couldn’t cry.

“I can’t forgive this…”

I still haven’t forgiven him. When I came with my parents to confront him directly, he finally apologized, but it was clear that his parents had told him to do so.

There’s a reason Hōsei constantly picks on me: it’s jealousy.

He sees me as something to be envious of—always surrounded by people and popular.

Hōsei’s way of thinking is still childish. No matter what he does to me, he will never be popular.

In mid-August, after quickly finishing my summer homework, I was bored when Sayo invited me on a date.

We were headed to a certain Chinatown, one of the three major Chinatowns in Japan.

I had never been there, but after looking it up, I found out that they serve soup dumplings and beef croquettes.

Sayo said she had been there once and knew which restaurants were delicious.

Since we would be taking a long train ride, this would be our first day trip together.

After riding the train, we arrived at our destination, and her face lit up with excitement.

“We’re here! Hinata, you didn’t eat much for breakfast, did you?”

“Nope, since you said you would tell me all the recommended foods.”

I had eaten a rice ball, but I was definitely hungry.

“That’s good. First, let’s eat the small soup dumplings. To try a variety of dishes, let’s get the six-piece set and split it.”

“Got it. I’ll go buy it.”

“Thanks! I’ll get the fried rice noodles.”

Since there were many people in line, we decided to go to separate stalls to buy our food at the same time.

I wasn’t sure what fried rice noodles were, but it was probably something fried.

After buying the six-piece soup dumplings, I headed to the meeting place to sit and wait for her. I knew she would take longer since the fried rice noodle stall was more crowded.

As I looked at the soup dumplings, I thought they would be hot, when I suddenly heard footsteps.

“Hinata, sorry to keep you waiting! They taste best when they’re hot, so let’s eat quickly.”

She brought back the fried rice noodles, but we decided to eat the soup dumplings first.

“I had some already, but they’re not too hot. Here, you go.”

She opened her mouth and waited, so I fed her the dumpling.

“Mmm, delicious! Should I feed you, too?”

“Uh… yeah, I’d like that.”

I checked my surroundings before allowing her to feed me.

The dumpling was a bite-sized treat, making it easy to eat, and it was very tasty. I hadn’t had one in a while.

After feeding each other, we finished the soup dumplings and moved on to the fried rice noodles.

It looked like noodles, but I wondered what it would taste like.

This time, I couldn’t really feed her, so we decided to take turns eating.

Sayo took the first bite, and when she handed it to me, I tried it as well.

“Mmm, it’s chewy…”

The noodles were packed with vegetables and meat, and it was very tasty.

“I’m so happy… maybe even happier because I’m with you, Hinata.”

After finishing our food and taking a break, Sayo leaned her head on my shoulder with a blissful expression.

“Can you eat more?”

“Yeah, I can still eat plenty. What about you?”

“Nope, I can still eat more.”

Sayo really could eat quite a bit. I enjoyed watching her eat.

“Then, let’s eat the beef croquettes next. After that, we’ll have some dumplings.”

It seemed she had more things on her mind to eat. I didn’t know much about the food here, so I wanted to try whatever Sayo wanted.

“It’s fine to eat a lot, but I want to take you somewhere afterward. Let’s go there, okay?”

“Sure, let’s go.”

I felt that as long as I was with Sayo, I could enjoy anything. Just being together made me feel happy.

“What is this? It’s too good!”

She quickly devoured one of the beef croquettes and sesame dumplings. I think she was eating more than me.

(So cute…)

As I admired her eating, Sayo noticed me staring at the beef croquette I held.

Could it be she wanted to eat another?

“Sayo, do you want some?”

“…N-no, I don’t want any. If I eat any more, I’ll— I’m trying to hold back.”

She used such an odd word, “diet.” What did she really mean by that?

And hearing her say she couldn’t hold back made me recall what she said the other day: “If we kiss, I won’t be able to hold back.”

(…That’s not relevant now.)

“You really don’t want any?”

She said she didn’t, but she kept looking at me, so maybe she actually did want some.

“Y-yeah. If I leave here and I want to eat something else, I won’t be able to.”

“Okay, if that’s how it is…”

(I see, she still wants to eat something else…)

I was already full from the beef croquette and sesame dumpling, so I couldn’t eat any more, but it seemed Sayo could still eat more.

Since she finished her food, I quickly finished mine, and we rested for a moment.

“Now that we’ve eaten, let’s go! To my favorite spot. You’re going to love it.”

She suddenly stood up, spun around, and held her hand out in front of me. I gently took her hand.

“I’m looking forward to it.”