"Hi, please hold on for a moment." The server in the small window took the receipt and order slip away.
Then, Uesugi Sakura removed the divider between their seats.
"Hanabi, would you like some oolong tea?"
"No... water is fine for me." Hanamaru Hanabi's voice still sounded timid, sitting upright like a nervous little deer.
Uesugi Sakura smiled at her cute demeanor: "You don't have to always think about me. Although I don't have much money, treating you to a few meals is not a problem at all."
"No... it's not that."
"It's just that Hanabi feels that Uesugi-kun's money shouldn't always be spent on Hanabi, after all... every time we're together, it's Uesugi-kun who pays."
"Actually, Hanabi has a lot of pocket money... Uesugi-kun doesn't need to..."
"Isn't that still thinking about me?"
"No... Hanabi just wants to..."
Hanamaru Hanabi's faint voice grew even softer. She didn't know how to answer this question, her slender fingers fidgeting restlessly.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, please enjoy your meal."
The server presented the char siu and ramen one by one, bowed 90 degrees within the small window, and then gently pulled up the bamboo curtain on the small window.
The ramen emitted a fragrant aroma, steaming hot.
This time, Uesugi Sakura also ordered medium spicy, so only a small hint of red was in the center of the noodles.
And at times like this, Uesugi Sakura would subconsciously glance at Hanamaru Hanabi's ramen.
Sure enough, on top of the same-sized bowl... a large swath of red.
Five times spicy.
Alright, Uesugi Sakura had already grown accustomed to this.
"By the way, Hanabi, there's only a week left until school starts. Have you finished that 'free research' project of yours?" Uesugi Sakura slurped a noodle and ate a slice of char siu.
While Hanamaru Hanabi ate, she made almost no noise, chewing slowly and carefully.
"It's finished."
"That's good," Uesugi Sakura looked at her, curious, "What did you write about? Can you tell me?"
"Sure," Hanabi agreed softly, "it's a research on 'The Differences in Spiciness Tolerance among People in Different Areas of Tokyo'."
Spicy... chili pepper...
Alright, although he already knew Hanabi liked chili peppers, he didn't expect the research project at school would also be linked to chili peppers by her.
"Did Ayaka help you?" Uesugi Sakura knew that because of Hanamaru Hanabi's personality, completing this survey task would be incredibly difficult.
"Yes..." Hanamaru Hanabi took a small bite of the char siu in her bowl, "Rie-chan helped me a lot. I just stood behind... recording the information."
Watching Hanamaru Hanabi slowly eat her ramen, perhaps due to the chili peppers, her fair face was tinged with a red blush, making her look even more delicate.
But she herself seemed indifferent to this five-times spicy ramen, still eating quietly, not making a single sound.
He turned back to eat his own ramen.
The rich white broth, yellow-orange noodles, topped with sprigs of green scallions, created an aroma that was irresistible.
The essence of Japanese ramen lies in the soup.
When the slowly simmered broth reaches the taste buds, one can truly appreciate its rich aroma.
Even though he had been here many times, he still loved the taste of this place.
Among the numerous ramen shops in Tokyo, Ichiran Ramen might not be the best, but it certainly stands out.
[Beep... beep...]
[Identity verification successful, system starting...]
Hearing the electronic voice with a distinctly 80s or 90s vibe in his mind, Uesugi Sakura didn't pay much attention and continued eating.
[Welcome to the system]
[Please choose the version you need:]
[1. Standard Normal Version]
[2. High-End Hero Version]
[3. Cautious Hero Version]
[4. Staff Hero Version]
The first one.
Uesugi Sakura looked at the rows of translucent text hovering in front of him and, without hesitation, directly chose the first one.
The others seemed increasingly odd, and one might even get transported to another world. To ensure his safety, he'd just pick the normal one.
[Reminder: Each version has a corresponding task to begin with. If the task fails, the system will disappear. Please consider carefully]
Confirm.
Looking at the "Confirm" and "Return" buttons in front of him, Uesugi Sakura once again chose Confirm without hesitation.
[Version confirmation successful]
[Task generating, please wait...]
This was definitely an old machine, always freezing. It took forever to generate a task.
[...]
After waiting a moment longer,
[Task generation complete]
[Task difficulty: Level 1-]
[Task content: Confess to Hanamaru Hanabi]
[Task time: Ten minutes]
[Task restriction: During execution, you must maintain eye contact with the task object and smile]
[Start timing.]
"..."
The air froze for a moment.
Uesugi Sakura had not yet reacted, and the countdown in front of him began to flow swiftly.
Even the action of eating noodles became stilted, his heart repeatedly chewing over those words after the task content.
Confess... confession?
This, starting off with a big move, even in games, you don't see something this reckless.
Confession should be left for the end, the most difficult task, right?
Uesugi Sakura subconsciously glanced at the quiet Hanamaru Hanabi beside him.
He quickly retracted his gaze, fearing that Hanamaru Hanabi's curious eyes might follow and look his way. Such a sudden moment of eye contact would only make the atmosphere more awkward.
He had to refocus his attention on the rows of translucent text in front of him.
He could still see the countdown was continuously decreasing, getting less and less.
He stopped his noodle-eating action, gazing at the ramen he had yet to finish, and began organizing his thoughts.
If the task fails, the system will disappear.
If the system disappears, it means he will have to continue striving as he is now, watching those extremely dull and boring numbers, formulas, and words spin around before his eyes every day.
Even without homework, he'll have to practice problems late into the night.
Goals must not be easily abandoned; this is Uesugi Sakura's principle of life.
But entering Tokyo University is no simple feat.
Tokyo University, as one of the world's top academic institutions, has its reasons.
90% of high school students, when hearing "Tokyo University," would certainly shake their heads repeatedly and insist, "No way, no way, there's no way I can get in."
Of the 9.5% who wish to try, most will falter come graduation exams.
Only 0.5%
Out of over fifty thousand high school graduates, only that mere 0.5%—the geniuses—can truly enter Tokyo University.
No slacking, no extra leisure time.
This is their true portrayal.
Yet Uesugi Sakura still has a certain gap between him and his goal of getting into Tokyo University; he must continue persevering to capture that sliver of hope.
In today's society, wanting to live a comfortable, leisurely life without effort is simply impossible.
Uesugi Sakura wants to achieve the goals he set for himself, but now he also wishes to secretly take shortcuts and be lazy.
But these two desires are precisely contradictory; this should be what they call: you can't have your cake and eat it too.
Only through the system might he have the chance to gain both.
As for... Hanamaru Hanabi...
Uesugi Sakura knew her since childhood; she was the only childhood friend he had across both lifetimes.
A pure and lovely girl is the best way to describe her.
Her timid nature is deeply kind-hearted, always prioritizing others over herself when doing things.
Now to confess under the system's task, in such a setting?
To hurt her for his task?
No matter whether she accepts it or not, it is highly disrespectful, a confession made due to the system's demand instead of from the heart. Can that even be called a confession?
That's just being a tool of the system.
This is something Uesugi Sakura absolutely does not want to do.
Moreover, their ten-year relationship made their bond akin to sibling affection.
To make a move on a sister?
For a moment, he was caught in extreme conflict.
...
The lighting was a warm orange-yellow, and the whole shop's decor leaned toward warm colors.
The steam, aroma, customers' conversations and laughter, and the server's polite bows all added a touch of human warmth to this small shop.
At this moment, Uesugi Sakura made his decision.
"Hanabi."
He looked towards the girl beside him, his expression serious.
"Yes."
Hanamaru Hanabi responded immediately, biting off the noodles in her mouth and turning to look at him.
The girl's bright eyes were like the warm sun in winter, capable of touching anyone who glanced her way.
To her, it was just a normal call, as she had long grown accustomed to him calling her name so casually over this long period.
...
A pair of lively eyes watched Uesugi Sakura for quite a while. Seeing that he still hadn't responded, a puzzled Hanamaru Hanabi couldn't help but softly inquire:
"Uesugi...kun?"
Uesugi Sakura looked intently at her face with sincere eyes, showing a natural smile:
"I like you."