Chapter 3 Chapter 3 Little Liar
It was already evening when Momozawa Airi returned home.
Her home is not close to her high school or the University of Tokyo, and it takes quite a long time to get there by train.
Momozawa Airi was very cautious, afraid that her grandmother would find out, so she changed back into her high school uniform early in the restroom of the train station.
When passing by the convenience store run by her grandmother, Momozawa Airi noticed a sign saying "Gone to eat" was hung in the store.
Grandma should be at home.
Momozawa Airi straightened the slightly crooked sign and continued walking home.
…
After an afternoon of running around, she stood at the door of her house, let out a long breath, patted her cheeks, and hid her tired expression.
Then he opened the door with a smile.
"Grandma! I'm back!"
She came bounding into the kitchen looking like a cheerful high school student who had just gotten out of school.
Grandma is here after all.
"Why are you back so late again?"
Grandma was putting the eggs in the bag into the refrigerator. When she heard Momozawa Airi's movement, she looked up at her.
Momozawa Airi opened her mouth and said, "I went shopping with my friends. Nozaki wanted to collect materials, so Chiyo asked me to go with her."
Grandma nodded with a smile: "Oh."
“…”
Momozawa Airi blinked her eyes and felt that she should have gotten over it.
She felt relieved and eagerly went over to help her grandmother put the eggs in. She asked politely, "What did you do this afternoon?"
Grandma: "I went to buy discounted eggs."
Airi Momozawa: "Ohhhh, that's great."
Grandma spoke in a gentle tone, slowly laying the groundwork: "I also met a very handsome little boy. He not only helped me cross the street, but also helped me grab discounted eggs. He was very skillful."
Momozawa Airi: "..."
Something seems wrong!
Grandma never usually goes into so many details!
Except when I was about to scold her!!
Grandma continued: "It's the supermarket near your school."
Momozawa Airi's heart tightened.
Grandma hit the nail on the head: "I happened to run into your head teacher at the gate of your school and had a brief chat with you."
Momozawa Airi plans to grease the soles of her feet.
But who is her grandmother?
Ms. Momozawa Haruna is both talented in literature and martial arts and can catch mice. Last time, she chased a stray cat that stole dried fish from the convenience store for three blocks.
...In the end, the wild cat was adopted by the grandmother who was honest but outwardly disapproving. Now it is a domestic cat named E'e.
When E E heard the noise coming from the kitchen, he quickly came to the kitchen door and peeked in to see what was happening.
Grandma's eyes flashed, and she nimbly blocked Momozawa Airi's way.
Momozawa Airi: "!"
Then she watched her grandmother calmly put down the eggs and casually washed her hands.
Finally, he pinched her face hard.
The vigorous movement was accompanied by the grandmother's aggressive voice: "Well, you pretended to be sick again and sneaked out of school to work, didn't you?"
Because he wasn't the one being pinched, E'e watched with great interest: "Meow meow meow meow meow."
Airi Momozawa: QAQ
My grandmother’s fierce voice also echoed in my mind.
[It's quite nice to pinch, and it's soft.]
Momozawa Airi: "…………"
*
After being lectured for half an hour, it was time for dinner.
Momozawa Airi was eating her share of rice obediently.
Grandma looked kind and asked, "What kind of work did you do today?"
Momozawa Airi glanced at her grandmother quietly.
It seems that he is not angry.
So Momozawa Airi honestly said, "I went to the University of Tokyo."
Grandma nodded with satisfaction: "Not bad, this is quality work, and it sounds very academic."
Grandma picked up a chicken drumstick for Momozawa Airi and asked, "What exactly are you doing? Are you a subject in some experimental project?"
Airi Momozawa said honestly: "I'm filling in for Maeno Takeshi."
grandmother:"…………"
The chicken leg in Momozawa Airi's bowl was ruthlessly taken away by her grandmother.
After removing the bones, he gave them to E'e, whose eyes lit up.
Momozawa Airi: "…………"
Grandma sighed: "Lili, you haven't had much entertainment since you were a child."
"When you were little, you helped me run the store. When you were old enough, you went out to work on your own."
Grandma's eyes softened: "Grandma is with you at home, everything is fine, you don't have to be like this."
Momozawa Airi lowered her eyes as she ate. "...But grandma is so old and still has to go to the store every day. Other grandmas of her age are already at home enjoying themselves."
"I want grandma to live a better life."
Momozawa Airi said seriously.
“My grandmother is the only one I have.”
For a moment, the only sound in the dining room was the hungry munching of chicken legs.
Momozawa Airi felt that the atmosphere was a bit heavy, and when she was about to act cute to get away with it, she felt a pain in her head.
“Ahhhhh——”
She covered her head pitifully, looked at her grandmother who withdrew her hand, and did not dare to speak.
Grandma gave her a feignedly fierce look and said, "What do you mean by 'so old'? I'm considered one of the younger generation among the older sisters!"
"..." Momozawa Airi paused, then nodded with a smile, "Grandma is always young."
This matter has been exposed.
When Momozawa Airi was about to wash a pile of dishes, her grandmother, who was about to go out to the store, suddenly turned around and called her, "Momozawa Airi."
Still the full name.
Momozawa Airi: "?"
It was getting late, the light at the door was broken and had not been repaired yet, and grandma's expression blended into the night, becoming a little unclear.
"Study hard, maybe you can get into the University of Tokyo like Rei and Keimitsu next door."
"Don't limit yourself to the messy wages you get from working now."
Momozawa Airi was stunned for a moment, and before she could say anything, her grandmother spoke again.
"Just wait for me to give Maeno Meng a good beating this weekend."
Momozawa Airi: "…………"
Grandma went out, and Momozawa Airi was holding the dishes in a daze.
E E lay down comfortably at her feet.
She lowered her eyes and looked at E E, and remembered the words her grandmother had revealed when she hit her head during dinner just now.
【You are the only one left for grandma. 】
“…”
Momozawa Airi was stunned for a while.
Until he was tired of lying there because he was hungry, he stood up, stretched, and walked away swayingly.
...When E E first stole the dried fish, it was still a malnourished wild cat that rummaged through trash cans every day.
Momozawa Airi looked at the chubby E'e and suddenly smiled.
She and her grandmother are still hungry.
There may be new family members in the future.
*
As an obedient beautiful girl, since her grandmother said so, Momozawa Airi decided -
Study hard!
...and working even more covertly.
She still couldn't bear the reality that her grandmother was the only one supporting the entire family.
...Well, I can turn down a few part-time jobs.
In the evening, Momozawa Airi decided to make a long-term study plan called "I want to go to the University of Tokyo."
Full of ambition, Momozawa Airi sat down at the table with a fierce look on her face.
Spread out the paper.
Take out a pen.
Firm eyes!
When she wrote the words "Toudou University" on the paper, the image of the boy she met today suddenly appeared in her mind.
Jinpei Matsuda.
Momozawa Airi subconsciously reached out her left hand and touched her forehead.
She stared blankly at a point in the void, feeling as if she were sitting in that Tokyo University classroom again.
The handsome face suddenly enlarged in front of her eyes.
Fresh minty scent.
Open neckline.
Slightly exposed collarbone.
She even saw Jinpei Matsuda's Adam's apple move slightly.
“…”
Momozawa Airi's thoughts began to slowly diverge.
...Besides, Matsuda Jinpei was already tall and was sitting near the window.
When he came closer, he blocked out all the light in front of her.
Cast a shadow.
For a moment, she felt that she was almost enveloped by the other party's overwhelming aura.
“…”
Ahhhhhh what is she thinking ahhhhhhhhhh——
Momozawa Airi withdrew her hand as if waking from a dream, and the temperature on her cheeks rose rapidly.
She came to her senses and shook her head violently.
Don’t let your mind wander! Make a good study plan!
Momozawa Airi once again looked at the plan with a determined look.
…and discovered that the words “Matsuda Jinpei” had been written on the paper at some point.
“…”
Momozawa Airi silently looked at the pen tightly held in her right hand.
...Could it be that I just wrote it down subconsciously when my imagination was running wild?
Momozawa Airi suddenly fell forward on the table, pressing her increasingly hot cheek against the cool surface.
"ah--"
Momozawa Airi rubbed her face on the table in despair and pounded the table with her hand.
Damn it! Don’t even think about it anymore!!!!
…
In the following period of time, Momozawa Airi quit all her part-time jobs on weekdays and would look for new part-time jobs online after finishing her homework every day.
Her requirement is very simple, just work on weekends so that it won’t affect her study time.
...I searched for a long time but couldn't find it.
In the end, it was Jieyue who recommended her a job in a coffee shop, where her brother was said to also work.
"We are hiring weekend part-time workers. Cute and pretty JK girls are preferred."
Seo Yuzuki handed her a flyer with an expressionless face.
After hearing this description, Momozawa Airi felt that it was a bit unreliable: "..."
Sakura Chiyo: "This is good! I've been to this store! The environment is quite nice, and the boss is nice too! She's a beautiful older sister!"
After school that day, Momozawa Airi went for the interview.
The beautiful older sister looked at her seriously for a few seconds.
Just when Momozawa Airi was trembling with fear, the beautiful older sister finally spoke.
"So damn cute! I need a cute girl like this. I feel younger just looking at her."
Momosawa Airi: "...?"
The beautiful older sister shifted her gaze to Chiyo, who was accompanying Momozawa Airi. "Is this lovely girl interested in coming?"
Sakura Chiyo, who was in charge of blackening Nozaki, waved her hands repeatedly: "I can't betray Nozaki-san!"
Momozawa Airi: "?"
So Momozawa Airi got a new part-time job.
There aren't many customers in the store usually, and she works with Yuzuki's brother, Ryosuke Seo.
She is still a newcomer, so the task of making drinks is mainly given to Ryosuke Seo, and she only needs to take orders and serve the food.
Momozawa Airi would do her homework and memorize knowledge points in her free time.
Overall it’s very relaxing!
Momozawa Airi was very satisfied.
*
Today is also a quiet day!
There were no customers in the store, and Ryosuke Seo had gone out for something urgent.
Momozawa Airi was left alone in the store.
She was at the bar, staring at the exercises, thinking hard.
The door of the coffee shop was pushed open, and the wind chimes hanging on the wall made a crisp sound.
Momozawa Airi didn't notice and was deeply troubled by this multiple-choice question.
She looked at it for a long while, then wrote down the answer with great hesitation:
C.
...If you don’t know, just guess C.
"Hello, can I order now?"
Suddenly, a pleasant voice came from in front of her.
Momozawa Airi: "?"
She looked up and found a very good-looking guest standing in front of her.
"Yes, yes, welcome—"
The welcome speech was only halfway finished when Airi Momozawa suddenly became as quiet as a chicken.
According to the rule that things appear larger when closer and smaller when farther away, after the good-looking guest slightly turned sideways to look at the painting on the wall, the other good-looking guest standing behind him was naturally revealed.
The other person was tall and slender, wearing a simple white shirt and black pants.
With his hands in his pockets, his brows were relaxed.
It's Jinpei Matsuda.
Momozawa Airi: "..."
Momozawa Airi: "…………"
The first thing that came to her mind was not Toudou University, nor the name of Jinpei Matsuda.
...but it was Matsuda Jinpei's Adam's apple that moved slightly.
Then I couldn't help but follow this tiny clue and think of what happened that day.
A good-looking customer in front suddenly took the seat first and asked Jinpei Matsuda to take the order.
“…”Hey, the store is clearly full of empty seats.
Momozawa Airi stared in a daze as Matsuda Jinpei slowly approached the bar and leaned forward slightly.
"Choose A for this question."
Jinpei Matsuda's eyes weren't on the menu at all.
He raised his eyebrows, glanced at the exercise, and told Momozawa Airi the correct answer.
Momozawa Airi looked down at the question blankly and found that it did seem to make sense.
Just then, she felt a shadow cast in front of her again.
It was as if the scene was replayed.
"Would you like me to tell you about it?"
It was clearly the normal distance between a customer and an employee when ordering, but she inexplicably felt that the distance between them was too close.
So close that she could almost feel Matsuda Jinpei's warm breath.
Momozawa Airi opened her mouth somewhat embarrassedly, then agreed as if possessed by a force: "...Thank you, Matsuda-senpai."
"You're welcome. It's my pleasure." Matsuda Jinpei curled the corners of his lips, his eyes revealing a hint of sincerity. "This is—a high school student."
Then the subject changed.
"In exchange, tell me your real name later."
"You already know my real name."
There was a hint of sarcasm in his tone.
Even the emphasis was put on the word "real name".
Momozawa Airi: "...I don't understand what you're saying."
She felt guilty and her eyes were darting around.
But there was an inexplicable burning sensation in Matsuda Jinpei's gaze.
…She seemed determined not to move away until she compromised.
In the end, she could only look directly into Jinpei Matsuda's eyes.
Momozawa Airi: "..."
Ah, I really want to run away QAQ
...But she's an employee! And she's stuck at the bar!
Just when Momozawa Airi was about to change the subject and ask the other party to order, she suddenly noticed that Matsuda Jinpei blinked and slowly made a mouth shape.
She took a moment to identify it.
“…”
Little, little liar!
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