The fifth day of working at Grand BLUE
"Is your back injury much better now?"
Aoi and Rice Shower looked at Kazuo with concern. He nodded, straightened his back, and said, "Yes, I'm fine. It's much better now. The plaster the Chairman gave me was very effective… Normal activities should be no problem now. However—"
At this point, he hesitated slightly and said, "There's something I want to discuss with Aoi now."
Aoi was slightly startled, "Is something the matter?"
Kazuo put his hands together and pleaded, "I'm sorry, I might need to take the afternoon off today!"
He then added, "Someone sent me a message yesterday, inviting me to the Fuchu Racecourse this afternoon. It's something that was arranged a long time ago and has been postponed until now, so…"
Aoi showed a relieved expression and let out a slight sigh: "Phew… So it's that. I thought something was wrong with your body again. Hmm… taking time off, well, it's not very busy today. Miko, Rice Shower, and I should be able to handle it. Besides, you've been studying and working in the shop all these days; you should take a breather and rest a bit."
"Anyway, I'll talk to my brother. Just remember to come back on time tonight."
After all, Aoi had seen Kazuo's hard work and diligence all these days. She also believed that Kazuo wasn't the type of person who would just go out for fun.
Since he had an appointment, he definitely had to keep it.
Rice Shower also chimed in, clenching her small fists with a serious expression: "Today, leave everything to Rice Shower, I can definitely do it! So, don't worry!!"
Having received Kazuo's affirmation yesterday, Rice Shower was full of energy today. She arrived here early in the morning. Although she didn't say it out loud, she was happy just from receiving Kazuo's praise.
Therefore, with such an opportunity to show herself, Rice Shower strongly supported Kazuo.
Seeing how much they cared for him, his heart warmed. He nodded and promised, "Yes! I understand, I'll be back by evening!!"
.
14:35
In front of the station—
Unlike her usual professional attire, Hayakawa-san was wearing a light blue knitted cardigan, a white pleated inner shirt, a light yellow cinched waist, and a casual long skirt, with a pair of light yellow leather round-toe heels.
Her whole demeanor was much more poised. With a beret on, her long hair was no longer tied behind her as usual but was coiled in front of her neck and secured with a hair tie.
Today, Hayakawa-san, compared to her usual mature and reliable formality, had more of a girl-next-door vibe.
And at this moment, she was carrying a small shoulder bag, as if waiting for someone, and checked her wristwatch.
With holidays and weekends, there were many pedestrians on the road, and Hayakawa-san's appearance still drew everyone's attention, with people wondering who this beauty was waiting for.
"I'm sorry… I was a little delayed on the way because I was rushing for the train…"
Hearing this voice, Hayakawa-san immediately looked up, and a faint smile instantly appeared on her face.
"Asama-kun, are you here?"
"Phew… I'm really sorry… I was delayed by some things when I left…"
Knowing that Kazuo was in Odaiba, Hayakawa-san thoughtfully waited for him at the station here.
After finishing things at the shop, Kazuo only had time to change into a shirt before rushing over.
And at the station, Hayakawa-san was extremely conspicuous and eye-catching in the crowd.
Wiping the fine sweat from his forehead, he calmed his breathing and asked, "You didn't wait long, did you…?"
"No, I only waited five minutes."
Hayakawa-san shook her head and said, "Mainly, the Chairman gave me two tickets before, so I thought it was better to strike while the iron is hot. Didn't we agree before? It was postponed later because of Daijin. But yesterday I got your phone number from Koji, so I called you hoping to give it a try."
"Phew… No wonder, yesterday when I received Hayakawa-san's call, I still couldn't quite believe my ears. But I remember Koji said yesterday that he invited you to camp at Lake Motosu, didn't he?"
He remembered Koji mentioning this on the phone, so he was still a bit curious.
Hayakawa-san smiled and said, "No, I declined the invitation. After all, compared to hiking and camping, I prefer to enjoy watching Horse Racing. That's also why I became a student Secretary-General."
"Oh… Is that so? It seems Hayakawa-san really loves Horse Racing."
This was a pure passion, something to be envied.
Kazuo also felt that this was a pure invitation between friends, an invitation from people with similar hobbies.
"Speaking of which, is this your first time at Fuchu Racecourse, Asama-kun?"
"Yes, because my hometown is in Seto, and I've actually only been in Tokyo for a month or two."
"I see… Let me check. If we depart from Odaiba, we'll take the Rinkai Line and then transfer to the Keio Line. It should take about an hour."
"How long is the race then?"
If it takes over an hour by subway, it's actually quite far from here.
"Hmm… The official start is at 4:30 PM, so there's plenty of time."
"Then without further ado, let's go!"
"Hmm!"
It was Kazuo's first time watching a race live at a Central Racecourse, and his heart was filled with anticipation.
The two walked towards the subway entrance, chatting and laughing.
They didn't know that two pairs of eyes were secretly watching them from behind.
"...They're leaving. If there's nothing for me to do, then I'll go back to the flower shop..."
Just as Daijin was about to make an excuse to leave, she was suddenly grabbed by the person next to her.
"Daijin-chan! It's my first time going there alone too, can you come with me?!"
"Ah, so tight! Xiao Hai Wan! Let go quickly... Didn't you just arrive today? You took the JR line all morning, aren't you tired? Are you still going to follow them?"
"And if you want to go, just go call them over to go together..."
Daijin was a head shorter than her, and being completely hugged by the girl left her somewhat breathless.
"Ugh... After all, I want to give Asama-kun a surprise... So I can't show myself just yet..."
However, the person who came was no stranger; it was Xiao Hai Wan.
But what was strange was that when she saw Kazuo and Miss Hayakawa together, she didn't react much; instead, she was concerned about other things... In fact, the surprise she had mentioned giving Kazuo earlier was this—
After dealing with matters back home, Xiao Hai Wan returned early, and after telling Daijin on LINE yesterday, she also arranged with Yuriko to temporarily stay at their house.
Actually, Xiao Hai Wan had originally planned to return a day earlier, but thinking about Kazuo's situation, even though Kazuo said he was fine, Xiao Hai Wan was always a little worried about his physical condition, so she returned to Tokyo three days earlier.
Daijin had come to pick her up, but she never expected that the two of them would witness this scene together... The main thing was that Daijin didn't know why she had to hide behind the flower bed with Xiao Hai Wan, secretly peeking at the two of them like a thief.
Now, not to mention, she was directly entangled by Xiao Hai Wan! And unable to refuse Xiao Hai Wan, she could only follow her and the two of them to Fuchu Racecourse... P.S.:
Asking for votes and razor blades, continuing updates tonight, striving to finish the Fuchu Arc (Part 1, 2, and 3).