Chapter 7: 7

"Miss, may I go home and practice cooking on my own?' The boy asked, looking at Alice with a death stare.

The girl was startled and took a couple of steps back, her small head nodding rapidly in response.

'Thank you, miss.' The boy turned and left, his exhausted appearance making it seem as if he had been up all night for weeks. As he walked away, the girl looked at the storefront sign and then at the boy who had left. Her small mouth pouted and her pupils became moist as if she was feeling wronged.

~~~

"Grandpa, I came to see you. Don't be stubborn and take your medicine... okay?”

Ichiyo opened the door to the intensive care unit where his grandpa was hospitalized and walked in, then quietly walked out, and slowly closed the door, "I didn't see anything, please don't mind."

"Come back! You unfilial child!"

Ichiyo re-opened the door to the ward and walked in, and a red-faced young nurse walked past him, leaving the ward. The nurse kindly closed the door for them. Ichiyo watched the nurse leave and turned to his grandpa, giving him a thumbs up with an expression of admiration.

"You're in the intensive care unit, relying on an oxygen tank to breathe, and you're still flirting with the nurses. If my dad had a younger woman like this, I wouldn't mind, but you're already so old and still have the mentality of a middle-aged man in his late thirties."

On the sickbed, the grandpa's face turned black, and he was so angry at his grandson's words that he couldn't speak. "If I had known you were like this, I would have shot your dad back then!"

"Hey, it's too late now."

Shrugging his shoulders, Ichiyo pulled over a small stool and sat by the bedside. He picked up an orange and slowly peeled it for his grandpa.

Joking aside, Ichiyo has been with his grandpa for over a decade and knows that he is a traditional and stubborn old man. He is not lacking in wisdom when it comes to marriage, but he has never looked for other women before or after his grandmother's death, which is quite rare.

After all, wealthy men are often prone to indulging themselves in women. It is not easy to find a wealthy man who is grounded and has no special interests, and who lives a peaceful life like an ordinary person, with the exception of family and sweets obsession.

In this circle, more or less everyone knows what kind of offspring other families have. It is not easy to stay true to oneself.

"How do you feel about taking over the sweets shop?"

"It's okay, grandpa, you know me. I'm decent at cooking, but I might struggle to become a professional chef. But don't worry, the shop will be okay. Just live peacefully for another 20 years or so. Don't rush to leave, you'll get to hold your great-grandchildren someday."

Ichiyo peeled the orange and naturally gave his grandpa a slice, then kept the rest for himself and ate it slowly.

"Your health isn't good, the nurses have asked you to eat fewer high-sugar foods. Who is so heartless to buy you such sweet oranges?"

The grandpa glanced at the oranges and then back at his beloved grandson. His lips moved slightly, "Your dad."

Ichiyo: "..."

What a great display of filial piety!

The atmosphere in the ward became a little tense for a moment, but they were all family and had been together for a long time, so they didn't let it get to them. Ichiyo put on a clueless expression, nodding repeatedly.

"Your son is really filial, I feel sorry for you," he said with a sigh. "But I hope you don't meet him in the next life. He's lacking in judgment!"

"Neither you nor your father is good things," the grandpa retorted, his voice filled with disappointment. "That stinky kid has been muddle-headed all his life and is good at nothing. He's been half a failure his whole life and can only preserve what he has."

He fixed his grandson with a stern look. "You have talent, but you won't seriously learn the craft from me. You're easily interested in everything and always have your head in the clouds.

The grandpa gave his grandson a look, his voice a little disappointed. It was rare for him to have such a talented grandson, who was quick at learning and good at everything, but he wouldn't seriously learn to be a chef from him. This was almost his biggest regret as an old man.

You should know that the Ichiyo family has always been a family of chefs. Through generations of development, by the time it reaches their generation, only some of the family's legacy remained. But this kid wouldn't even properly inherit them.

"Tell me the truth, do you really want to go down the road of becoming a musician?"

The grandpa's gaze looked straight at the ceiling, his breathing steady. He was stubborn, he cared about the Sakuraba surname and family, but at the same time, he cared about his family, his son, and his grandson!

As people age, they often become more willing to compromise with reality or follow their emotions.

Grandfather and grandson had a heart-to-heart conversation, and Ichiyo looked at the old man's expression, seeming to accept something as he shook his head honestly. "I'm not really that interested in it, or even that fond of it. I just had some expectations before and was disappointed, so now I just want to try it once. I don't want to wait until I'm old to start regretting not doing it."

"What you said makes sense. I'm regretting it now," the old man nodded before looking seriously at his grandson. "Ichiyo, what do you think about your father, at his age, having another brother or sister for you?"

Ichiyo's eyebrows jumped subconsciously as his expression turned speechless. "I don't have any objections, but Father is not even forty yet. It should be fine, but are you sure Mother is willing to have another child?"

The old man remained silent.

It seems that it may not be very realistic.

Ichiyo was often scolded by his mother when he was young, who told him how much she suffered to give birth to him, and if she had another chance, she would rather be single for the rest of her life than marry and give birth to such a little rascal.

To this day, Mother is still the female tyrant in Ichiyo's heart. That woman is too petty, he thinks he is always well-behaved and understanding, but he still can't escape the face-pinching combo, and when he grows up, she finds that lifting his hand to pinch his face is too tiring, so Mother just pinches his waist and rubs his shoulders, forcing him to serve tea and water.

The most annoying thing is that his mother, even though she is getting older, is still up to date with the trend, learning from other girls to chase dramas, crushing on Idols, and even developing a little bit of fujoshi soul, constantly using her son's thigh as a pillow, forcing him to watch Korean dramas, and even taking him to buy women's clothing!

It was hellish!

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This is not what a son is supposed to do!

Who has ever seen a mother treat their child like this!

In any case, according to Ichiyo's understanding of his own mother, if she were to have another child, she would choose to flee from the house!

Because Mother is very afraid of pain.

As for Ichiyo's father, he is a simple-minded old man. Whenever Mother is unhappy, she will pout and glare at her husband, and he will go and take care of his wife, and the result is often that Ichiyo is scolded by both parents.

To be honest, arranged marriages like this, in this social class, are rare to have such harmonious and loving relationships like Ichiyo's parents. In this type of marriage, where one party is more dominant and the other is suppressed, or where the two families are evenly matched, the couples often secretly do their own thing while maintaining a facade of harmony and not affecting each other.

The Sakuraba family, from top to bottom, are all honest people. Only Ichiyo is somewhat rebellious, and his mother is a little peculiar, but everyone else is quite upright and has no great ambitions.

Speaking of which, with Mother's desire for control, it's not easy to have a son, so of course she wants to hold him every day. But since he moved out yesterday, won't she be unhappy and eat more each day?"

"Have you met the fiancee that was arranged for you?"

Ichiyo shook his head. "No, but I met my future sister-in-law."

Seeing the old man's puzzled gaze, Ichiyo explained further, "Her sister, she's called Alice Nakiri."

Upon hearing this, the old man's eyes showed a hint of contemplation, and after a moment of hesitation, he asked somewhat distrustfully, "You're not bullying her, are you?"

"Old man, you're slandering me. When have I ever bullied a girl?" Ichiyo glared at him, feeling that his dignity had been greatly challenged.

The old man simply gave his grandson a fleeting glance. He knew what kind of grandson he had raised. "Two years ago, your cousin cried and made a report to your mother, saying that you were bullying her."

"I was wondering why Mother was pinching my face and pulling on my ears so much at that time!" Ichiyo suddenly realized what the root of the problem was. "But it's really not my fault. It was that damn girl who stuffed candies into a sandbag and pretended it was a meteor hammer, chasing after me every single day. I had to endure it for a long time before I snapped!"

"Last year, your father took you to attend a birthday party and I heard that the young lady was looking at you with red eyes as she left her own birthday, clearly showing that you had bullied her."

"I'm the one who was wronged here. It was her who started it that day, and I promised to keep it a secret, but she didn't believe me. As a result, some accidents happened by mistake, and she became upset. What can I do?"

"Hmph~" The old man sneered silently, feeling conflicted about his grandson's potential for scumbag behavior. Despite being gentle and loving people themselves, both he and his son had somehow produced a grandson who seemed to be heading down a questionable path.

Ichiyo had never caused any problems before, but the old man couldn't help but wonder if loosening the restrictions and allowing his grandson to take on more wives might not only benefit the family but also serve as a way to set him back on the right track. If it's something that the two old fogeys couldn't do, the scumbag grandson had to bear the burden.

The old man had been living for so many years and had a clear understanding of all the small and large matters concerning the future and development of the family, but sometimes if he didn't say it out loud and let things take their natural course, it might have a better effect.

The old man and grandson had such a conversation for a long time, and it wasn't until around 2 pm that Ichiyo got up and left a box of his own handmade sweets.

"Then I'll leave first. Take good care of yourself. If you're okay, go downstairs and walk around a bit. Don't just lie around all day. Just take a look at these sweets. You can only smell them, you're not allowed to eat them."

"Get out of here, you little scumbag!"

"Come on now, we're family. Let's not fight."

~~~

After waving goodbye, Sakaki Ichiyo left the hospital room, feeling relieved to see the old man still energetic.

Instead of rushing back to the pastry shop on Gourmet Street, Ichiyo took the remaining boxes of pastries and bring a trolley to an orphanage a few kilometers away. It was an orphanage located in the suburbs of Tokyo. In addition to the boss, there was only one volunteer. The children in this orphanage ranged from 2 to 10 years old and were all abandoned by their parents or orphaned by the death of both parents.

Seeing the young man walking over, the old lady at the door who was trimming the bushes showed a gentle smile. "Ichiyo, you're here again."

Ichiyo's face had a faint smile, and he nodded, "Hello grandma, you look well! You could probably live a few more decades!"

"It's only you who talks like that. I'm over 70 years old, how can I live a few more decades?"

"Why not, grandma? The oldest person in the world lived to be over 130 years old. A few more decades wouldn't be a problem for you."

The old lady's smile on her face became even brighter as she put down the tools she used to trim the branches of the shrub and led Ichiyo into the orphanage.

Although it was called an orphanage, it was actually just a normal three-story building. Although it occasionally received support from the government and society, its main source of funding was the old lady who quietly took on the expenses of adopting and caring for the more than ten children who were either found on the streets or left there by others.

Ichiyo discovered the orphanage when he was in elementary school, his mother brought him to a shopping mall and then lost track of him while they were there. It was very strange.

After that, Ichiyo, who was silently sitting on the curb outside the shopping mall waiting for his mother to notice his disappearance, was accidentally seen by the old lady, who was out buying daily necessities. She comforted him for a long time, and the two of them waited together for Ichiyo's mother to find him. But when evening came and there was still no news, the old lady who was experienced in such situations, had to go home to cook dinner for the little ones at home. She took Ichiyo with her and also called the police to ask for their help in finding his mother.

After dinner, Ichiyo was taken home by his father. When his mother saw him for the first time, she was still a little confused and asked him how he had gotten home by himself.

How to say it, with a mother like this and such a childhood, a normal child would have been played to death.

The weather was perfect today, with a suitable temperature. The children at the orphanage were given the afternoon off from studying and were allowed to run and play in the courtyard. A beautiful woman with silver-blue hair and deep ice-blue eyes watched over them calmly, ensuring they didn't get into any danger. She had delicate, perfect features, a proud figure, and a dignified and cold appearance.

As soon as the old lady and Ichiyo entered, she noticed them. Her gaze lingered on Ichiyo's face for two seconds, and then she looked away as usual.

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