With the morning matches finished, Yukino packed her things, changed back into her regular clothes, and went to meet up with everyone.
The moment she stepped out, Haruno was the first to rush over with open arms.
"Yukino-chan~~!"
Unfortunately for her, Yukino sidestepped neatly and walked straight to Utaha's side.
"Uuugh… Yukino isn't cute at all anymore."
"No, I'm still very cute," Yukino shot back immediately. "I just don't like being hugged by you. Whenever you hug me, you always start rubbing all over."
"Hehe. So you noticed."
Haruno stuck out her tongue and swung the camcorder in her hand. "So, where are we going next? I still want to review Yukino's amazing morning performance!"
Ichin glanced at the time. "It's already past eleven. Let's just head to the cafeteria. With this many people, we need to grab good seats."
At the mention of "cafeteria," Momiji was the first to nod, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
Narumi sighed helplessly at her reaction.
After deciding, the whole group walked to the university cafeteria, pushed a few tables together, and ordered what they wanted to eat.
Todai's cafeteria food was pretty good—plenty of choices, decent flavor, and the price wasn't bad either.
When Ichin returned with a bowl of ramen, he saw the mountain of food piled in front of Momiji.
A pork cutlet bowl, a sushi set, a simmered dish set, pan-fried gyoza, a fruit salad, and even a giant cup of milk tea.
Even Ichin—a guy—couldn't finish that much. Only Momiji the bottomless pit could.
After sitting down, Ichin looked toward Narumi. "Is Momiji's appetite getting bigger and bigger?"
"Not really."
Narumi's mouth twitched. "She just had a light breakfast today. Only three rice balls and one sandwich."
Three rice balls and a sandwich is "light"…?
Yukino overheard this, looked at her own small bowl of ramen… then at Momiji's voluptuous yet perfectly proportioned figure, and her confusion only grew deeper.
Maybe… this was what people called talent.
After lunch, they still had time before Yukino's afternoon matches, so Ichin led everyone on another small tour—through the library and a few other places.
On their way back to the tennis courts, Aoba sighed emotionally. "Todai really is amazing!"
Nene, holding onto Umiko's arm, teased, "Regretting not going to college now?"
"I couldn't get into Todai even if I tried!"
Aoba glared at her. "You know what my grades were like in high school. I had zero chance at any decent Tokyo university. Might as well start working. And look! I've done pretty well these past few years, haven't I? I'm not worse than those elite university graduates. And I've been studying to improve myself—drawing, and even Chinese! If you told high-school me I'd someday be able to speak Chinese, I'd have laughed in your face!"
By now, nearly everyone in the Tokyo office could hold a basic conversation in Chinese. Even video meetings with the Shanghai studio weren't a problem.
And lately they'd even hired several Chinese staff members living or studying in Japan, giving them more environment to practice.
Sooner or later, if Ichin sent a few of them on a business trip to China, they'd manage just fine.
Ichin smiled and said, "Still, if you can go to university, it's better to go. There are things you can only learn in that environment. And in a good university, the learning atmosphere is on a completely different level."
"That's true."
Aoba nodded. "It's so easy to get distracted when you try studying at home."
Eriri immediately agreed.
"Yes! Studying at home is way too distracting!"
"No… that's just because you want to play around, right?"
"Urusai!!"
Soon they returned to the tennis courts. Yukino changed back into her athletic outfit and tied her loose hair into a neat ponytail.
As for Ichin—his job as her support was the same as in the morning.
The pressure for the afternoon matches was higher, so Yukino had to focus seriously. A mistake now would be embarrassing.
Handing her towel over, Ichin said, "Hurry and warm up. You're the first match this afternoon."
Yukino nodded and began her pre-match routine.
Because of how exciting the morning matches had been, the crowd for the afternoon was even larger.
Standing beside Utaha, Haruno adjusted her camera and nudged Utaha's shoulder, whispering, "Hey, Utaha—how's filming going for that drama you're writing for?"
"Pretty well," Utaha replied with a gentle smile. "The script doesn't need changes anymore. I just visit set occasionally, or answer the actors' questions about their roles. Since I'm the sole screenwriter, I understand the characters better than anyone."
"Oooh~~~ That's amazing."
Haruno said in admiration. "They haven't announced your job as the screenwriter yet, right?"
"No, not yet. The crew plans to make the announcement halfway through filming."
From the other side, Yagami Kou—who overheard them—leaned over curiously. "But if that's the case, isn't your identity going to be exposed pretty easily? Drama production is technically part of the entertainment world. Journalists have tons of ways to dig up information."
"Don't worry, I've thought about all that."
Utaha looked entirely unfazed. "Even if I get exposed, it's fine. As long as it doesn't disrupt my normal life. I'm just the writer, not the lead actress. People won't pay that much attention to me."
Her words made sense—
But Kou glanced at Utaha again… at her looks and figure, both on par with actual celebrities.
Honestly, if she got exposed, her popularity might explode.
Kou shook her head and decided she didn't want to think about it. With so many well-connected people around them, Utaha would always have someone to rely on anyway.
----
RedX43's Note:
➤ Want More? Get up to +70 Extra Chapters on Patreon!
➤ [email protected]/RedX43
➤ +300 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter Drop!
➤ Thanks for the support! 🙌