Chapter 22 The Sapporo Ramen Competition
weekend.
This time, Miyako and Miyaji visited Amaho Akina's house together again.
They arranged a time the day before and arrived at the door at 10 a.m. the next day.
Akina Amaho opened the door for them and asked them to sit on the sofa.
"Please sit here for a while. I need to finish this painting first."
As she spoke, she sat back down in the living room, faced the easel, and began to paint with her oil paintbrush.
Akina Amaho's hands were also covered in paint, which she had accidentally gotten on while painting, but it didn't seem to have gotten on her body.
Gongzhi looked at her hand intently, recalling something he had noticed by chance before.
She was radiant and very excited while painting.
But often, their hands would also be covered in pencil marks.
Of course, it wouldn't be so bad if it were just a draft, but every time he handed them the complete sketch, he could notice that her hands had become filthy.
Even with the most careful movements, it's inevitable that things will turn out this way.
Miyako had obviously noticed this as well; he blinked and watched Amaho Akina's movements intently.
Sure enough—Amako Akina is also working hard to pursue the path she loves, her dream.
After watching for a while, he still got a little bored, so Gong You nudged Gong Zhi with his elbow.
"What are you doing?" Gong Zhi glanced at Gong You.
"Speaking of which, why is Mina all alone in her house?" Miya Yu whispered.
In order not to disturb Akina Amaho's painting process, they all spoke in hushed tones.
“I’m curious about that too. When I first came here, I saw a photo of Minna and her parents together.”
Gong Zhi glanced at the wall to one side, which was still empty.
"But for some reason, she took the picture frame down."
And after all this time, I still haven't seen her hang it back up.
"Should we ask? Aji, you're curious about the answer to this question too, aren't you?"
Gong You was still whispering among himself, and even seemed a little eager to try.
He really wanted to know the answer to this question.
"I don't know what you're thinking, but isn't this a matter of her privacy?"
Gong Zhi frowned, instinctively feeling that it wasn't a good time to ask.
Of course, it's also possible that it's because he's a bit more reserved and composed compared to Gong You.
At least he felt that if necessary, Amaho Akina would take the initiative to explain.
Because she had said the first time that her parents were not at home.
"Tch, so you mean I shouldn't ask? When will I ever find out the answer?"
Gong You pouted, somewhat dissatisfied.
But he calmed down and didn't intend to ask any more questions.
At worst, he can ask her when he's alone with Amaho Akina again. As long as Miyaji doesn't know the answer, it's fine.
It's because Zhu Zhi isn't letting him ask now.
Akina Amaho also noticed that the two of them were whispering to each other.
But the noise was so quiet that it didn't disturb her painting, so she let them be.
She wasn't particularly curious about what the two people were talking about.
As it approached eleven o'clock, the painting in front of her came to an end. Akina Amazu breathed a sigh of relief and finally put down her paintbrush.
She washed her hands, rinsed off the paint, and frowned slightly, looking a little troubled.
I accidentally got blue paint on my hands, and it wasn't easy to wash it off.
Never mind, it'll be fine after a while.
She walked back to the living room and solemnly announced, "Today, for convenience, I will make ramen."
Neither Gong You nor Gong Zhi had any objections.
Gong Zhi also picked up the bag he had been carrying since he entered the Tian Sui family's house.
"This contains the rice balls I made earlier. Let's eat them together later."
Gong You hadn't prepared anything, and he glared resentfully at Gong Zhi, who had been preparing since morning.
But unfortunately, he was completely clueless in this area and could only watch helplessly as Miyaji worked on it.
He raised his hand defiantly: "If Mina needs it, I can help too."
Well, although there's a chance that I'd only make things worse if I went.
Akina Ama seemed somewhat surprised, probably because she hadn't expected Yuu Miya to offer his help.
She waved her hand: "No need, it's just ramen, I can make it all by myself."
In short, you only need one pot.
When Akina waved her hand, Miyaji and Yu noticed the blue paint on Akina's hand that hadn't been completely washed off.
Gong Zhi and Gong You exchanged a glance.
Miyako spoke first: "Mina, your hands still have paint on them, are you alright?"
Akina Ama raised her hand and looked at it. Hmm, it was paint residue that couldn't be washed off.
She smiled and said, "It's okay. Anyway, the paint stains can't be washed off in a short time. We can only wait for them to fade away slowly."
"That's why we make ramen, because it's not so convenient to cut vegetables these days."
That's how she explained it.
After all, who knows what might happen if you touch food with hands that are still covered in paint?
Although that's how she usually gets by.
"Is this really okay? Maybe I should help you?" Miyaji was also a little worried.
He could even picture in his mind the awkward scene of Akina Amaho chopping vegetables because she couldn't use her right hand properly.
"No problem. I had already prepared some of the ingredients before I started painting."
Akina Amane shook her head and refused their help.
Rejected, Miyako and Miyaji exchanged a glance and could only watch as Amaho Akina walked into the kitchen.
The sound of the range hood could be heard from afar, preventing them from hearing Akina Amaho cooking.
"Is Mina really alright in this state?" Miya Yu was still a little worried, and he wanted to sneak into the kitchen to take a look.
"If you're still worried, you should sneak a peek. Although I'm sure Mina does the same thing every day."
Gong Zhi was also eager to try it out and wanted to go and take a look.
Of course, he would never admit that his real reason was to see Akina Amaho cook.
Gong You and Gong Zhi reached an agreement and quietly walked to the kitchen doorway.
Out of self-aware politeness, they did not go to other parts of Akina Amaho's house, and stayed only in the living room.
For some reason, even though Akina and Miki didn't stop them from watching, they tiptoed around like thieves, feeling incredibly guilty.
The two people stood on either side of the kitchen door, exchanged a glance, nodded, and quietly peered into the kitchen.
Akina Ame was oblivious to the furtive movements of the two foxes, her gaze fixed intently on the bubbling pot in front of her.
Seeing that the water was boiling, she put the ramen noodles and various ingredients in.
Steam rose up, the range hood was humming, and Akina Amasui stirred the noodles with her chopsticks, quietly waiting for the ramen to be ready.
There seemed to be no problem. Just now, Akina Amako skillfully used her left hand to put the ingredients into the pot.
Immediately afterwards, a fragrance wafted out, faint and seemingly the aroma of noodle soup.
Miya Yu sniffed, feeling that if she stood there any longer, her stomach would start growling, which would definitely attract Amaho Akina's attention.
He reluctantly took two steps back and sat properly on the sofa in the living room.
I was really craving something, but there was nothing to eat, it was just awful!
Miyaji glanced at Miyayu speechlessly, then looked back reluctantly into the kitchen, his eyes fixed on the pot of ramen.
He really wanted to eat it right now.
Well, he reluctantly sat back down on the sofa in the living room and sat properly with Gong You.
The two were afraid that they would lose control and eat the rice balls they had brought to share during lunch.
When Akina Amane came out with her ramen bowl, she blinked, a little puzzled, when she saw the two of them sitting properly on the sofa.
It's rare to see them sitting there so stiffly...
"You two, go and bring out your portions, then lunch can begin."
She placed her bowl on the dining table, and Gong Zhi came over, placed the rice balls he had brought on the table, and then went into the kitchen with Gong You to bring out the noodle bowls.
The ramen smelled delicious, a rich and fragrant aroma. Gong You couldn't wait to take a bite, and to her surprise, it tasted surprisingly refreshing after cooking, neither too strong nor too weak, yet with a delightful fragrance.
He couldn't resist taking another bite, and then another.
Gong Zhi swallowed hard and, unable to resist, began to eat heartily.
For a moment, all that could be heard was the sound of slurping noodles.
Akina Amazuki's eyes crinkled slightly. This was a ramen made using a secret recipe she had obtained specifically from Sapporo.
Of course, it doesn't really have a name. If you had to name it, you could probably only call it Sapporo Ramen.
She took a sip of the noodle soup, then closed her eyes in enjoyment.
Sure enough, after a few more tries, the noodle soup still tasted just as appealing—rich, fragrant, yet not greasy at all.
She ate her noodles, and soon she had finished half a bowl and felt a little full.
Miyaji had almost finished eating. He looked up, took out a rice ball, and handed it to Amaho Akina.
"Minnai, you can eat this with it."
Anyway, he had already tried it and it was perfect. He ate rice balls while drinking the noodle soup, and it was a unique flavor.
Meanwhile, Gong You had already started eating rice balls. He still had half a bowl of noodles left, probably wanting to save the delicious flavor for last.
He nodded: "Yeah, although the rice balls that Aji makes definitely can't taste as good as ramen, they're still very delicious."
Gong You also took the opportunity to further demote Gong Zhi at this moment.
Although the veins on his forehead were bulging, Gong Zhi still didn't make a move while they were still at the dinner table.
Akina Amane enjoyed the atmosphere.
She smiled slightly and said, "Chi-kun's rice balls taste pretty good too, at least I like them."
Gong Zhi quickly calmed down and looked smugly at Gong You, who had failed to demote someone but ended up getting the short end of the stick.
Gong You pursed his lips.
He quickly became a little aggrieved: "So, Mina, do you prefer to be friends with Osamu?"
Even the way she looked at Amaho Akina became a little pitiful.
Gong Zhi felt a chill.
He would never understand how Gong You managed to put on that expression and speak in that sticky, coquettish tone.
Akina Amane was also stunned by Yuu Miya's question.
She was clearly at a loss and quickly waved her hand.
"No, as a friend, Yu is just as important as Osamu. However, you two are good at different things, so please don't compare yourselves in this way."
Why does this atmosphere feel a little off?
But Akina didn't think too much about it. After all, it's possible for friends to compete, and even get jealous.
"Oh, so that means Mina really likes the way I play volleyball." Miya Yu pouted again.
Although it's unclear how Miyako reached this conclusion, it's not entirely wrong to say so.
Akina Amane sighed.
"Okay, then you're not wrong."
In short, both Miyako and Miyaji were inexplicably calmed down, and the pleasant lunchtime came to an end.
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