Chapter 190

*Sukiyaki* originated in the early days of Japan. Farmers, after busy farm work, used the flat parts of iron farm tools like hoes and plows at hand to grill meat over a fire to fill their stomachs, hence the name.

But later, because of different regions, different recipes and procedures were extended, directly becoming synonymous with Japanese beef hot pot.

The method is also very simple: it is to put tofu, vermicelli, mushrooms, vegetables, carrots, and white vegetables into the soup pot after frying or boiling them separately, and then put in the thinly sliced beef that has been fried once.

This also means that the deliciousness of *sukiyaki* depends entirely on the grade of the ingredients—the fresher and more delicious the beef, the more satisfying the *sukiyaki*.

Shuichi Toyama wanted to get close to Yuto Akiwara, so naturally, he chose the best beef in the supermarket, and even the side dishes were high-grade Kyoto vegetables—vegetables produced in Kyoto, the price of which is much higher than in other producing areas.

However, his effort was obviously redundant. Yuto Akiwara had lived a poor life before, and it was good enough to have meat to eat. Moreover, he was not a local Japanese, and he couldn't tell the difference between special-grade beef and medium-grade beef.

But out of politeness, Yuto Akiwara kept praising the freshness and deliciousness of the ingredients, making Shuichi Toyama and his wife, Yuka Toyama, beam with joy.

Yuto Akiwara ate the beef in his bowl while subconsciously observing the Toyama family.

As the head of the family, Shuichi Toyama sat at the table with his back straight. Although his expression contained a smile, he still looked serious. Akiwara guessed that the other party might be used to being a teacher and brought this temperament home—in his past life, he heard a friend who married a teacher say that when his wife lectured him, she always liked to take out the posture of a head teacher.

His wife, Yuka Toyama, was about 40 years old and looked like the kind of traditional Japanese woman with a gentle attitude. She kept adding ingredients to the pot and took care of her young daughter from time to time, not even having time to eat a few mouthfuls of rice herself.

Her daughter, Miho Toyama, looked delicate, but she was already in the third year of junior high school at a nearby school. However, children of this age generally have a rebellious heart, and she was a bit resistant to the food her mother put in her bowl, looking unhappy and wanting to be picky and not eat.

At this time, her sister, Miho Toyama, spoke up. After hearing her sister's lecture, Miho Toyama could only eat it honestly.

As for his newly accepted disciple, Miho Toyama, she sat upright. Besides lecturing her younger sister from time to time, she ate quietly, giving a feeling of very good upbringing. When eating, she chewed slowly, giving a feeling of elegance.

Yuto Akiwara looked at this family and felt that this family was really warm—according to his understanding, in many Japanese families, there is often a deep gap between children and parents, but in the Toyama family, it couldn't be felt.

When they were almost finished eating, Shuichi Toyama suddenly asked Yuto Akiwara in a polite tone, "Mr. Akiwara, would you like to drink some wine?"

In his view, if you don't drink when eating, the hospitality is not enough.

Yuto Akiwara waved his hand and said awkwardly, "Let's not do it this time. I have something to do tomorrow. Professor Toyama, please feel free."

The *April Youth* editorial department had Asano contact him, saying there would be a signing event in Osaka tomorrow. He didn't want to drink too much wine to avoid delaying tomorrow's schedule.

Shuichi Toyama still wanted to persuade him, "Just drink a little, Mr. Akiwara. I have Kyoto's specialty *sake* here! It will never let you down!"

Just when Yuto Akiwara intended to decline again, Miho Toyama put down her bowl and chopsticks, looked at her father, and said, "Wait, I still have questions to ask Mr. Akiwara. So Dad, you can drink with the teacher next time."

"Okay," Shuichi Toyama didn't persuade him anymore, but stood up and went to the refrigerator to take out a bottle of *sake*, silently thinking in his heart, my daughter has grown up...

After a while, the meal was basically finished.

Akiwara stood up, "Thank you for the hospitality, I plan to say goodbye first." The Toyama couple and their two daughters also stood up and politely said, "Take care on the road."

Yuto Akiwara nodded and prepared to leave at the entrance, but when he walked out of the door, Miho Toyama actually walked up, "Master, let me walk you for a while."

Yuto Akiwara originally intended to refuse, but for some reason, he agreed.

He changed his shoes and walked out of the door with Miho Toyama, walking along the street.

The time was already almost 9 o'clock in the evening. Most of the shops on both sides of the street were closed, and only under the dim streetlights would one or two pedestrians pass by occasionally.

Yuto Akiwara glanced at it and felt that the atmosphere of Kyoto was indeed very different from Tokyo. If it were in Tokyo, the flow of people on both sides of the street would probably be much more, and the pace would be much faster.

They walked along the street for a while, basically without much conversation, but when they reached an intersection, Miho Toyama suddenly said, "Master, can we take a detour?"

Yuto Akiwara was slightly surprised but still agreed.

So the two turned right onto another street.

After walking for a while, Yuto Akiwara asked, "Is there anything you want to ask me?"

When they were eating just now, Miho Toyama wanted to ask a question, but by the time he left, he didn't see her take out any questions to ask.

"Hmm..." Miho Toyama pondered for a while and then nodded, "I want to ask you, Master... did my father say anything unnecessary?"

After learning that she had apprenticed, Shuichi Toyama beat around the bush and said a lot of "hinting" words to her openly and secretly.

But no one knows a father better than a daughter; Miho Toyama understood her father very clearly and immediately understood the potential meaning behind these words.

This made her very embarrassed; after all, if her father said this to Yuto Akiwara, she really didn't know how to face her "Master."

Yuto Akiwara didn't expect her to be so direct. According to the personality of an ordinary Japanese girl, even if she knew about this kind of thing, she should pretend she didn't know, right?

He hesitated for a while and felt that since she asked, he should tell the truth, "Professor Toyama... he, indeed, said some..."

Sorry, Professor Toyama, don't blame me for selling you out; it's your own daughter anyway...

Miho Toyama didn't expect the result she least wanted to appear.

She stopped, lowered her head, and her cheeks suddenly became hot. But because the streetlights were dim, Yuto Akiwara couldn't see her expression now.

"Then, Master, what do you think..."

Yuto Akiwara also stopped and calculated in his heart.

He didn't deny that when he first saw her, he did have a different feeling in his heart, which he hadn't had when facing Asano and others...

But he still thought that if he liked her just because of her appearance after a few simple glances, then this feeling was too casual, just a fake.

What he wanted to pursue was the liking from his heart, which was the real thing.

"I am your master, nothing more." Yuto Akiwara answered earnestly. He looked up at the sky and then said, "Let's do this for today; you don't need to send me for the rest of the road."

After saying this, he waved his hand and left.

Miho Toyama watched Yuto Akiwara's back gradually disappear into the night, feeling relieved in her heart.

She really didn't have any extra thoughts at the moment; after all, although she admired Yuto Akiwara's talent, she had only spent a few days with him.

If her master had different thoughts, she really wouldn't know how to face it...

Although many people said she was mature and steady, in the end, she was only a high school senior girl under 19 years old, and it was inevitable that she would be flustered when encountering such things.

She sighed, turned around, and walked along the street to go home. She had made up her mind that when she got home, she would lecture the "old man" at home and throw away all the *h-magazines* he hid.

When she was walking along the road, she couldn't help but think of Yuto Akiwara's words just now and muttered in her heart.

Nothing more, huh...