novelraw Chapter 23 The Minister's Suitor
Chapter 23 The Minister's Suitor
Sanada wasn't particularly interested in desserts, but he picked up a bowl of red bean rice cake soup and started to enjoy it.
The rice cake was soft, chewy, and slightly sweet with red beans. He nodded slightly, his eyes showing approval: "Handmade, with attention to detail, very good, suitable for patients."
The others then launched a new attack on the sushi box.
"Minister, these desserts are so delicious!" Marui, as always, adored sweets, grabbed another cream puff, his mouth filled with the sweet aroma, and asked, "Which shop did you buy them from? I want to buy some too!"
"Yeah, yeah!" Kirihara chimed in, indicating that if it weren't too expensive, he'd be happy to scrape together some of his allowance from his game console budget to buy it. "It's so delicious, I want to eat it every day!"
Yukimura leaned against the headboard, watching them eat happily, his smile deepening, and his tone carrying a hint of boastfulness he himself didn't realize: "They probably didn't buy any of it; my friend and his grandmother made it together. You can't buy it anywhere else, right?"
He said that because the food that Mochizuki Ryou always brought was homemade, and she rarely brought ready-made desserts from dessert shops.
However, it seems he brought a sweet soup from the dessert shop to his mother yesterday.
After Yukimura finished speaking, the ward fell silent again.
Made by hand.
Individually packaged food containers.
They even prepared extra-sized food boxes for them.
Liu, Renwang, and Liusheng exchanged a glance, a knowing look flashing in their eyes.
Marui didn't react immediately, and asked blankly, "Which friend made this? The craftsmanship is amazing!"
"It's this friend who delivered the lunchbox," Yukimura said casually.
As Liu listened, she wrote rapidly on her notebook, her expression unchanged, but her eyes held a more complex look.
Marui wanted to ask something more, but Kuwabara suddenly pulled him.
……
The only sounds in the ward were exclamations and chewing, creating a lively yet warm atmosphere.
Liu Lian put down the bowl of red bean soup he had finished drinking. He looked at the bunch of pink roses on the windowsill, then at the small food box wrapped in cloth next to Yukimura, and finally couldn't help but speak.
"Seiichi, your friend is quite thoughtful."
Yukimura was handing Kirihara a tissue, his smile gentle, and he simply said, "Yes, he's a very thoughtful new friend."
"New friend~ Piyo~" Niou drawled, a clear smile on his lips, his little braid twirling around his finger. "What new friend would give you pink roses, make desserts himself, and give you a handmade doll?"
He deliberately emphasized the word "handmade".
Yukimura glanced at him but didn't reply.
Renji Yanagi quickly calculated in his notebook, calmly giving his conclusion: "Based on data analysis of the type of gifts, frequency, sophistication, and personalized handmade gifts, this 'new friend' is interested in...you..."
He paused, tapped the tip of his pen on the notebook, and gave a precise probability: "The probability of having more goodwill and concern than ordinary friends is 87.5%."
"The probability of him being a suitor is 72.3%," Liu continued, her expression serious. "Judging from the type of flowers, today's bouquet is made of pink snow mountain roses, which symbolize 'pure first love.' The intentions of someone who sends this kind of flower are... rather obvious."
His words were like a thunderclap.
The room erupted in an uproar, their eyes gleaming with even more gossip.
"What?!" Marui Bunta's eyes widened instantly, and he almost dropped the cream puff in his hand. "The club president is being pursued?"
Niou whistled: "Not bad, Minister, you've been keeping a low profile, Pupina~"
Kirihara Akaya looked completely bewildered: "Who are you pursuing?"
Sanada coughed, signaling him to be quiet.
Yukimura's hand holding the food box wrapping paused almost imperceptibly, a faint blush rising to the tips of his ears, but his face remained calm as he gently shook his head: "Renji, you're overthinking it. It's just concern between friends."
He was truly at peace with himself; things between him and Wang Yueling hadn't reached that point yet, it was just that the other party was exceptionally attentive and considerate.
He said that, but his gaze unconsciously fell on the newly delivered bouquet of flowers.
As Liu listened to Yukimura's explanation, he calmly continued in his usual data-driven tone, "Of course, there are other possibilities. This bouquet has ten flowers in total. Besides the meaning of perfect love, the flowers can also be used to express gratitude, admiration, and respect for important people. The probability of this is 60%. The probability of simply thinking that the flowers are beautiful is 20%."
He silently added in his mind: Personally, I think the 87.5% probability is closer to the truth.
Yukimura gazed at the pink roses swaying in the wind on the windowsill, his heart stirred slightly, but he suppressed the strange feeling, assuming that everyone was overthinking it.
Just then, my phone, which was placed next to my pillow, vibrated slightly.
He turned on the screen and recognized the familiar, languid phrase at a glance.
It was a message from Wangyue Ling.
[Wang Yueling]: Seishi~ I can't come see you today, I'm so sorry. (The little golden retriever bows down with its butt sticking out, a dark cloud hanging over its head.jpg)
【Wang Yueling】: That flower... was planted in my grandmother's yard. I saw it was blooming beautifully, so I cut some. Isn't it pretty?
[Wang Yueling]: I learned from Aunt Yuko that your teammates will be visiting you in the next few days. Considering that you won the Kanagawa Metropolitan Tournament yesterday, I guessed it would be today, so I prepared a super, super extra amount of food!
[Wangyue Ling]: Inside are Napoleon pastries, cream puffs, and red bean rice cake soup that my grandma and I made together. I also ordered a special medicinal sushi set from a sushi restaurant in case it wasn't enough, so you can share it!
[Wang Yueling]: Oh, right, I was worried you wouldn't be able to compete with those hungry wolves, so I wrapped a special food box just for you in a cloth. It contains the rice cakes you mentioned last time. If they finish them and still want more, don't agree to give them to you; those are for you. (Little Golden Retriever sneaking around.jpg)
Yukimura looked at the text message, especially at the funny emojis, and couldn't help but laugh and cry. A gentle smile unconsciously curved his lips, and his eyes were filled with warmth.
To be cared for so deeply, to have one's preferences, physical condition, and even the presence of teammates taken into consideration—this feeling of being meticulously cared for is like warm water washing over one's heart, soft and comforting…
For the past fifteen years, he has become accustomed to being someone else's support and to bearing everything alone. Few people have taken such good care of him.
He looked down as he replied to the message.
[Yukimura Seiichi]: Received, thank you. They've already started eating it and said it's delicious.
The other party replied instantly.
[Wang Yueling]: Of course, look who did it. (Little golden retriever puffing out its chest, posing with a flower tucked under its ear.jpg)
Yukimura looked at the meme and smiled.
[Yukimura Seiichi]: Hmm... It was you who did it. Very impressive. (Gives thumbs up.jpg)
【Wang Yueling】: (Golden Retriever looking smug.jpg) That little snack box is yours alone, remember to hide it well. I wrapped it in cloth, that cloth is from my grandma's collection, she said it's pretty, and she's using it to wrap things for you.
Yukimura glanced down at the pale yellow cloth bag beside his pillow, reached out and touched the cloth. The fabric was very soft, embroidered with tiny flowers, and it was indeed very beautiful.
[Yukimura Seiichi]: The fabric is very pretty. I'll tell my grandma I'll keep it safe.
[Wang Yueling]: I'll definitely come tomorrow. (The little golden retriever happily spins around chasing its tail.jpg)
Yukimura chuckled again, replied with an "okay," and then put down his phone.
He looked up and found that everyone in the room was looking at him.
"Minister, who sent you that message? You look so happy." Marui Bunta, with his sharp eyes, immediately noticed Yukimura staring at his phone, a gentle smile he'd never seen before on his lips. Intrigued, he asked, "Did a friend send you a message?"
Kirihara leaned over to look at Yukimura's phone, but Sanada grabbed him and pulled him back.
Yukimura smiled and put away his phone. He felt a little awkward watching his teammates gossip about him. The lilies behind him bloomed again. He pointed to the large food box on the table and said, "Eat your food. Don't waste what's in the food box."
Marui's "Little Pig Danger Radar" activated instantly, diverting his attention. He busied himself rummaging through the food box again: "This Napoleon pastry is really delicious! Where did your friend learn to make it? I want to learn too!"
"I don't know." Yukimura shook his head, answering honestly, "I guess he studied it in France."
"France?" Kirihara's eyes lit up, somewhat surprised. "That must be very expensive, right?"
"It's alright." Yukimura didn't say anything more.
The group ate and chatted, and the topic gradually shifted from their recent training to the upcoming competition.
While eating, Liu Renji flipped through his notebook, talking about the preparation plan for the upcoming Kanto Tournament, mentioning some schools and players that needed attention.
"Hyotei has been eliminated in the quarterfinals this time," Liu suddenly said.
Yukimura paused slightly, then asked, "Hyotei?"
"Hmm." Liu nodded, his voice calm: "We lost 3-0 to Fudomine. It was a defeat caused by underestimating our opponent. Atobe sent his second team to fight, and Shishido Ryo was sent to fight the third, resulting in a crushing 6-0 defeat."
Marui looked up, a bit of cream still on his lips, and asked in confusion, "Yanagi, what exactly is Fudomine? I've never heard of it before."
"Fudomine has never qualified for the major tournaments in previous years. Last year, he was suspended due to a violent incident."
Liu flipped through the notebook to the corresponding information page, "However, this year their school has a national-level player hidden away—Tachibana Yoshihira, the former ace of Shishiraku, a violent tennis player, and one of the Kyushu Twins."
"Tachibana Yoshihira?" Niou raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised by the news. "Isn't that person in Kyushu? How did he end up in Tokyo?"
"She transferred schools." Yanagi looked at the documents in his hand, and seemed troubled as he listened to Niou's question. "We're still gathering the specific reasons. But this news wasn't leaked at all before; Hyotei's pre-match intelligence work clearly didn't cover this."
He paused, his tone becoming more serious: "Hyotei's crushing defeat this time has reminded me that the database needs to be updated constantly. To prevent such a mistake from happening again, I will collect detailed information about Fudomine as soon as possible."