Capítulo 42: Chapter 38: Sen Tian Makoto (Part 2)
Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
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Sen Tian Makoto.
Xia Yu felt a bit awkward inside, unsure how to interact with her.
The graceful young girl in front of him was the daughter of Uncle Sen Tian from the old shopping street pastry shop, which had existed long before Xia Qing ventured to Japan. It was very old indeed.
Sen Tian Makoto's dream was to inherit the pastry shop one day. To this end, she practiced her culinary skills diligently, specializing in desserts. When she graduated from White Seagull Primary School and was about to move on to middle school, she participated in the entrance selection for Far Moon Middle School. Unfortunately, Sen Tian Makoto did not make it and had no choice but to move from White Seagull Primary School to White Seagull Middle School.
Come April, when school started, both she and Xia Yu were set to advance to White Seagull High School, commonly referred to as White Seagull High School.
Thus, from primary school to future university, Sen Tian Makoto's student years were likely to be spent at the relatively rigorous Tokyo Metropolitan School.
He scratched his face, and the shop was somewhat quiet.
How should he put it.
His relationship with Sen Tian Makoto could be simply described as childhood friends.
This childhood friendship was much more reliable than the pseudo friendship of An Yilun and Sazama Eri.
The old shopping street was filled with memories for both of them.
They once played together, went to school together, and left school together, even in the same class, laughing and playing.
In the year she did not make it to Far Moon Middle School, in the seventh grade, under the constant companionship of the former Xia Yu, Sen Tian Makoto emerged from the low point of her life, and one afternoon after school, she invited Xia Yu to the roof of the school building, and under the brilliant sunset, she confessed.
What a classic scene.
That year, the two were inseparable, almost sparking a relationship several times.
Then a car accident happened, bringing the real Xia Yu, and the unfortunate soul waved goodbye.
Thus, in the eighth grade, this early romance came to an end without a result.
The reason was very simple, Xia Yu had just arrived and was cautious and retracted, while matters like having a girlfriend had to be bid farewell to. Although Sen Tian Makoto was quite pretty and had developed well, absolutely not a loli figure or anything like that, Xia Yu's adult aesthetics found her impeccable, but Xia Yu didn't feel anything for her!
As a result, intentionally distancing them, the romance from his past self gradually drifted apart, from the eighth grade until graduation now, two years passed, and he hadn't sat down and had a serious conversation with Sen Tian Makoto.
"Sen Tian..."
Xia Yu calmly gazed at the girl in front of the counter.
"Please call me by my name, without the surname."
The black-haired girl smiled, her face delicate and fair. Although she did not possess the angelic appearance of Tiqie Helinai, this beauty seemed more real in the real world.
The neighbor girl matured into a beautiful figure.
From Sen Tian Makoto's past initiative to confess, it was clear this girl, though seemingly fragile on the outside, had a very decisive mind.
The former self always belonged to the passive side in that brief relationship. Timid personality.
Xia Yu remained silent, pretending not to understand.
"I heard Grandpa Xia Qing returned..."
Sen Tian Makoto continued on, "I thought you might choose to temporarily close the restaurant. I'm glad you were able to keep the restaurant running. You've really grown a lot."
"Do you still remember the year your family moved to the shopping street? I remember very clearly."
"We met on the first day, and I took you to Ueno Park, played for a whole day—it was the end of March, also the spring break, the season when cherry blossoms bloom, where more than a thousand cherry trees in Ueno Park were in full bloom, we roamed Kuan Yong Temple, then went to East Zhao Palace, Qingshui Hall, from Ueno Zoo to the aquarium..."
Her voice was very calm.
Where the wind passed, the cherry blossoms fell like rain.
With a slight memory inherited from his past self, the sight of Ueno Park's cherry blossoms in full bloom inevitably appeared in Xia Yu's mind.
By the way, at this time now, during spring break, it was indeed cherry blossom season, right?
There was a subtle coincidence.
An inner ripple rose but was well concealed by Xia Yu.
Sen Tian Makoto continued talking, and as she narrated, her eyes grew brighter, firmly fixing on Xia Yu's face, attempting to derive some exciting information from his facial expression changes.
But she failed.
Xia Yu did not interrupt her, excellently playing the role of a listener.
Seeing this, the faint hope remaining in Sen Tian Makoto's heart showed signs of completely shattering.
"It's getting late, I'll walk you home." When she finished speaking, Xia Yu asked An Ya and Mu Xiaoyue to watch the shop while he walked Sen Tian Makoto out, hands in his pockets, walking beside her.
Sen Tian Pastry Shop and Xia's Restaurant were only about 100 meters apart, a matter of minutes. Xia Yu stood under the streetlight, watching Sen Tian Makoto go home.
"By the way!"
He suddenly spoke, causing Sen Tian Makoto to flinch with her back to him.
"You haven't given up on your culinary skills, right?"
"Of course not!"
Sen Tian Makoto replied without hesitation.
"Still want to specialize in desserts?"
"This is the insistence of Mr. Sen Tian!"
"I think I can help you. If you still want to go to Far Moon."
After saying that, Xia Yu turned and left.
Sen Tian Makoto turned her head in shock, tilted her head in confusion.
"How can you help me?" Sen Tian Makoto murmured to herself, "I'm specializing in desserts, and he's the heir of Xia's Chinese Cuisine... The transfer student assessment in Far Moon High School is even stricter!"
"How will you help me?" she called to Xia Yu.
"Come to my shop tomorrow..."
Couldn't think of a reason.
But Sen Tian Makoto soon curved her lips into a pleased smile.
At least she could be sure that his heart was still towards her. Sen Tian Makoto wasn't greedy, knowing that fixing a broken mirror required sticking the pieces back one by one.
...
An unsettling night.
Late at night.
A well-known, popular blogger in the ACG circle, "Mr. TAKI," suddenly posted an article completely unrelated to ACG.
Clicking the mouse, An Yilun opened his Weibo homepage and looked at the article just posted, the screen illuminating his face full of a sense of achievement.
The article content was as follows:
"First, I deeply apologize for tempting people at night."
"Secondly, I'd like to thank Mr. Tianfeng from the Niconico site. If it weren't for him finding that Chinese restaurant, I might have missed on a culinary journey worth regretting for a long time."
After the opening, there were exquisite real photos of the dishes, vibrant in color, even more enticing than images processed in post-production.
"The first dish. This dish's Chinese name is 'Sweet and Sour Pork,' with the main ingredients being tenderloin, starch, and flour. I specifically went to check the information about this Chinese dish, and it's said that it exists in Zhejiang cuisine, Shandong cuisine, Sichuan cuisine, and Cantonese cuisine, with similar preparations."
A detailed cooking recipe followed the text.
"Doesn't it look simple? I think so too!" An Yilun also wrote here, "However, I suggest that any Hands-On Otaku should, before attempting it, definitely go to this restaurant to try this 'Sweet and Sour Pork.' I think it'll quickly extinguish your desire to make it yourself. Because even a simple recipe can be used by a professional chef to cook a delicacy-level dish, an ordinary person simply can't produce such an incredible taste!"
"The second dish is 'Braised Chicken with Chestnuts'..."
"The third dish, 'Stir-fried Turtle with Black Bean Sauce'..."
"The fourth dish, also one I highly recommend, 'Three-shred Shark Fin,' a vegetarian dish, but incredibly, incredibly, incredibly tasty!"
An Yilun used many adjectives here.
He truly ran out of words.
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