hotmtlnovel Chapter 1023 The Scent of Hojo Kyosuke
Chapter 1023 The Scent of Hojo Kyosuke
Chapter 1023 The Scent of Hojo Kyosuke
It rained on the fifth day of the midterm exam.
As we approach the end of May and into June, Tokyo is likely entering its rainy season. If all goes well, the rain should stop before August, allowing the Koshien tournament to proceed smoothly.
Of course, those regions that started their qualifiers at the end of June are in a bad situation.
The four-day baseball extravaganza has come to an end, and Sobu High School has resumed its policy of refusing visits from outsiders.
If possible, Kyosuke Hojo wants to apply to take the exam at home, and for that he can get a hospital certificate proving that he is disabled in both legs.
However, the girls in Ruyi Dormitory wouldn't let him have it so easy. They dragged him into the car and escorted him to the examination hall.
Although the damp, drizzling feeling was unpleasant, a restless atmosphere permeated Soubu High School today.
The grueling exam week is finally coming to an end, and the sports festival is just around the corner. Everyone is itching to make a big splash.
Having finished his exams with ease, Kyosuke Hojo, who was already feeling drowsy, wanted to go home and sleep. Although Kisaki had been handling the negotiations with various advertisers and teams these past few days, who could say he hadn't worked hard?
But before he could even say goodbye, he was kidnapped by a large group of classmates.
"It's a rare holiday, Hojo, let's hang out!"
"Exactly! Are we still good classmates?"
"Consider it a thank you for your exam tutoring. How about I treat you to something to eat?"
"..."
The students chattered on and on, making Hojo Kyosuke increasingly want to go home and sleep, but he finally agreed. These past few days had been spent dealing with mature adults in their forties and fifties, which had aged him considerably; going out with these silly high schoolers would be a good way to rejuvenate.
It was noon, the sky was a mix of gray and white, and a light drizzle was still falling, which even the bangs of the JK girls couldn't break. However, this did not dampen the enthusiasm of the boys' and girls' high school students for going out to play.
Why did Mitsuha Miyamizu, who was still in Itomori, yearn for big cities like Tokyo? Ultimately, it was because life there was just too boring. The school schedule was too easy, leaving her with too much free time to kill.
Tokyo is different. Every subway station you can name has a shopping center. You can take the train and get off at any stop and have a great day of fun, whether you have money or not.
In the Tokyo area, Shibuya is the most popular destination for female high school students. As for the reason, you can understand it from the term "Shibuya gyaru" (Shibuya Gal).
The male high school students, on the other hand, preferred Shinjuku, finding a certain allure to them. Even Kyosuke Hojo had beaten up people there twice, which speaks volumes about its popularity.
Surrounded by his classmates, Kyosuke Hojo walked out of the classroom. Before he even reached the first floor, the group had more than doubled in size, consisting entirely of friends of friends.
Don't be fooled by the fact that members of the Soubu High School Kendo Club always appear in large groups, even on weekends. In reality, when Japanese high school students ask each other out on weekends, their first choice isn't members of the same club, but rather friends or classmates. Clubmates don't even rank in the top three; they're only chosen when they can't find anyone else.
It's easy to imagine that since we spend every day together, we would definitely prefer to spend the precious weekends with our middle or elementary school friends, catching up and complaining about our current classmates and friends.
Arriving at the lockers in the lobby on the first floor, a large group of people changed their shoes and looked for their umbrellas. Unsurprisingly, they were all transparent plastic umbrellas.
Kyosuke Hojo came carrying his big black umbrella. Whenever the sky was slightly dim, Sakura would immediately come to him excitedly with the umbrella in hand, looking at him with her big, watery eyes, looking forward to listening to the rain with him under the big black umbrella.
After changing his shoes, Kyosuke Hojo was about to leave when he noticed Shoko standing alone on the steps.
"What's wrong? Come on, Shoko... Oh..."
Before he could finish speaking, he remembered that unlike him, who could delegate all his work to others, Xiao Jiang had been working hard all week.
As Hojo Kyosuke paused, the other students also turned to look at Nishimiya Shoko.
Almost all high school students are familiar with part-time jobs and won't get angry if their friends' part-time jobs interfere with their dates.
Seeing the longing on Shoko's face and Hojo's hesitation, Yui Yuigahama whispered, "Hmm... I think it's okay to take a day off once in a while, right?"
But as soon as she finished speaking, she let out two awkward laughs:
"Although I don't know what a voice actor's job is like, I just... ah, um... it can't be that I can't even ask for leave, right?"
The girl genuinely felt sorry for Nishimiya Shoko. Even Kawasaki Saki, who was single-mindedly focused on earning money to support her family, didn't work as hard as Shoko, and at least went out and played with them for several days.
Shoko, on the other hand, went straight to work as soon as the exam was over. Sakura told me that she worked overtime until dark every day before going home, which was really too hard for her.
Other girls had similar thoughts, but none were as bold and direct as Yui Yuigahama. After all, she was a voice actress! A profession with an inherent aura of mystery and popularity, almost synonymous with the word "dream."
In other words, Shoko is working hard for her dream, and she is not on the same level as those who waste their time and squander their youth.
You advised Xiaojiang to take leave, but you harbored malicious intentions?
Don't you see that even the lawless Sakura Yamauchi didn't say a word?
Upon hearing this, Nishimiya Shoko's chubby face showed a hint of interest, but she quickly puffed out her cheeks, pursed her lips, shook her head with a hesitant smile, and gave a simple, innocent laugh.
"Thank you, Yui, but..."
Kyosuke Hojo suddenly interrupted, "Let's go! Let's take a proper day off today. Your throat must be getting sore!"
As he spoke, he reached out and grabbed Shoko's wrist, pulling her to his side without a word.
"Isn't the point of working out so that we can eat and drink to our hearts' content? Similarly, the point of working hard is so that we can take a good rest when we want to slack off."
As he spoke, he untied the bun that Shoko had tied at the back of her head and tidied it up so that her hair covered the girl's ears.
While advanced hearing aids can handle white noise, it's still important to be mindful of waterproofing them.
Nishimiya Shoko stood there obediently, her little head tilted back, a sweet smile on her face, letting Kyosuke do as he pleased like a rag doll, only occasionally giggling and saying "Mmm-hmm~~".
"I'll call the supervisor to help you..."
Upon hearing this, Shoko quickly shook her head:
"No! I'll ask for leave myself, and I'll apologize to the supervisor and everyone myself!"
The girl smiled sweetly, but her words were firm.
Hojo Kyosuke was taken aback for a moment, then chuckled to himself.
"OKOK~"
Upon hearing that Shoko would also be going to play with everyone, the other students cheered.
In a normal world, a gentle, lovely, and understanding girl like Shoko would be very popular with both boys and girls.
Although she said she would make up for the work she missed by taking leave through her own efforts, the sound director readily agreed to her leave after Nishimiya Shoko made the call.
"It's okay, the progress is already far beyond our expectations, so taking a break is fine."
With that, the supervisor asked Shoko to give her regards to Kyosuke Hojo.
Shoko's hard work every night was not in vain, or rather, the pressure of animation production has now been completely shifted to the production company.
Well, to put it simply, it's about Eriri, the illustrator, even though she was the illustrator for episode three. But production is a complex process where one part affects the whole; if the front end is rushing to finish, the rest of the production will have to work incredibly hard too.
As soon as Shoko, Kyosuke Hojo, Sakura Yamauchi, and their classmates boarded the train to Shinjuku, they unsurprisingly received a call from Eriri.
The girl hung up the phone, her face full of apology as she kept sending messages, trying to appease the little golden retriever's resentment.
"Hey! Nitrogen-chan, I only gave that stupid chores a day off because of you!"
Eriri-sama let out her final, unwilling roar.
Unlike her previous role as a regular animator in the One-Punch Man production team, Eriri became the animation director in the Neighbors Neighbors production team, with Kyosuke Hojo as one of her subordinate animators.
Shoko understood Eriri's meaning perfectly and repeatedly assured her that she would do her best to help the princess if she needed anything in the future.
Well, she probably took sides and helped out when Eriri and Kasumigaoka were vying for the right to date Hojo Kyosuke.
The train soon arrived at Shinjuku Station, which, as expected of a popular tourist destination in Tokyo, was still packed with people even on a weekday midday.
Without even getting wet in the rain, everyone simply followed the Shinjuku South Exit into the nearest Takashimaya department store.
Shinjuku is home to department stores such as Takashimaya, Isetan, and Keio Department Store; there are more than ten shopping malls to choose from within a five-minute walk.
Although some of the shopping malls are high-end, this does not deter high school students from having fun by browsing without buying anything.
Upon entering the mall, the classmates who had been gathered together just moments before tacitly dispersed. Even Hatake and the others left in twos and threes, while Hachiman Hikigaya and Zaimokuza headed directly towards the floor area exuding an otaku vibe.
Kyosuke Hojo looked around and found that only Shoko, Sakura, and Yuihama remained by his side.
He asked curiously, "Huh? Where's Kawasaki? Didn't I see her here earlier?"
"Ah, she saw a job posting in a shop and ran inside."
"I just said it casually," said Sakura Yamauchi, then jogged over to the floor index and looked at it with great interest. A moment later, she excitedly shouted:
"Hey, Nitrazine, look at this shop!"
Upon hearing the shouts, Shoko rushed over, and Yui looked at Hojo beside her, hesitated for half a second, and then followed.
"Huh? This is... that dorayaki shop in Shuimen City?!"
Shoko's eyes widened in surprise, and she then explained to Yuihama, who was standing next to her, who was also confused:
"This is Kyosuke-kun. I also have a famous dessert shop in Sakura's hometown. It seems to have been passed down for hundreds of years. Sakura loved eating their dorayaki back then."
"..."
The line "Kyosuke-kun, I still have Sakura's hometown" completely baffled Yui Yuigahama, giving her a sudden feeling of being excluded.
But isn't Hojo's hometown Hokkaido?
She was secretly thinking to herself, but she became excited.
Can I finally taste the flavors that Hojo-kun used to have when he was a child?
Without much hesitation or asking Hojo Kyosuke's opinion, the group, who were already starving after a morning of exams, took the escalator directly to the dorayaki shop.
"Wow...what a long line."
Amidst her desperate sighs, Yui Yuigahama vividly realized how well Sakura and Hojo had eaten when they were young.
There was a long queue stretching for maybe thirty or forty meters along the mall corridor in front of the dorayaki shop, which was simply outrageous.
Yui asked hesitantly, "Should we wait in line or go to another store?"
This girl with the bun hairstyle has never been a very opinionated person. If she were alone, she would bravely wait in line, no matter how long the line was, while trying to soothe her hungry stomach, just to taste the flavors that Hojo-kun used to have when he was a child.
But now that Sakura and Shoko are around, Yui feels it's not good to let her friends waste their time on her own selfish desires.
However, if her friends want to spend several hours doing something she's not interested in, a girl named Yui Yuigahama will gladly accompany them.
She always thinks of others but rarely of herself.
The girl mustered up her courage to be a little willful, but in the end, all she did was look at her friends with expectant eyes and remain silent.
Hojo-kun would probably agree, right? He's so kind.
Thinking this, Yuihama saw Hojo Kyosuke walk right past her.
Eh……
Was it really too much to make everyone queue with me? Well, Hojo-kun has such a big appetite, he must feel terrible going hungry...
The girl pouted and said, "Hey... Sakura, Shoku-chan, let's find another shop, I know a really good one..."
"what?"
Sakura Yamauchi was taken aback and asked in surprise, "Yui, didn't you really want to try this place's dorayaki?"
Yui forced a smile: "But there are just too many people in line."
Upon hearing this, Sakura and Shoko exchanged a glance and then laughed together.
"Haha, it's okay, it's okay."
She patted the girl with the bun hairstyle on the shoulder, pointed to the front of the line, and smiled:
"Yui, you probably don't know what Kyosuke made a living before he became a manga artist."
Nishimiya Shoko smiled gently, her lips pursed, as she recalled many fun memories.
Queuing? Kyosuke is best at handling these kinds of things.
Yui Yuigahama turned her head blankly toward the entrance of the dorayaki shop, where she saw Hojo standing in front of a boy wearing an unknown school uniform, who was bowing at a ninety-degree angle with a fanatical expression on his face.
Then Hojo took out a few bills from her wallet and handed them to the boy.
This is... the power of money?
"Haha, I knew it! The moment I saw such a long line, I knew those guys wouldn't miss this opportunity to make money!"
Sakura chuckled.
Shoko didn't say anything, but she felt that the boy looked familiar, and she probably had seen him before when she couldn't remember.
Soon after, Kyosuke Hojo came over with a big smile on his face.
"I'm so lucky to have run into someone I know," he said cheerfully.
"This is?"
Yuihama still looked puzzled.
Thank you so much for your monthly tickets, recommendation tickets, and donations! Thank you so much!
(End of this chapter)