Chapter 57: Rumors and Whispers

Asano Aiko made up her mind, greeted Akiwara Yuto, and walked to the kitchen to open the refrigerator, only to find it completely empty, without a single ingredient inside.

She sighed; although she had been mentally prepared, she still felt a bit helpless upon seeing it.

After all, even a clever housewife cannot cook without rice; she had no way to conjure up a feast.

She walked back to the room and, finding Akiwara Yuto reading, asked, "Akiwara, accompany me to the nearby shopping street; I want to buy some ingredients."

Akiwara Yuto looked up and asked in surprise, "Is that not too much trouble? Why don't we just go to an izakaya for a simple meal?"

He had not expected Asano Aiko to want to cook herself, assuming she just wanted to grab a quick bite.

Asano Aiko feigned "confusion" and said, "Oh my, if that's the case, then I won't be able to treat you to a big meal, since I didn't bring my wallet out today."

Upon hearing this, Akiwara Yuto’s mouth twitched; he had clearly seen her holding a light-colored wallet in her other hand just moments ago when she took out the envelope.

However, he could tell that Asano Aiko simply wanted to cook a meal herself.

It seemed he had never eaten food she had made and didn't know how her skills were, but judging by Lady Asano’s craftsmanship, it should be quite good, right?

He was a bit skeptical of Asano Aiko’s cooking level but agreed nonetheless. The two took Asano Aiko’s small car, drove to the nearby Tushan Shopping Street, and began to shop.

In Japan, local families generally go to shopping streets or general markets to purchase ingredients.

But there are differences between the two; general markets are often operated by large groups or conglomerates, while shopping streets usually consist of small vendors huddling together for warmth.

Although the prices of ingredients at general markets are usually slightly higher than at shopping streets, the younger generation in Japan prefers general markets due to the convenience of purchasing and a tidier environment. This has further squeezed the survival space of future shopping streets, leading to many closures.

However, these are things that happen in the future; with the current economic downturn, many families still prefer to go to shopping streets to save money.

Asano Aiko parked the car, and the two walked into the shopping street together, beginning to browse shop by shop.

During this process, Asano Aiko bargained with the shopkeepers while occasionally weighing the ingredients in her hands. After spending about an hour, she finally bought all the ingredients and got into the car, feeling satisfied.

Upon arriving home, Akiwara Yuto returned directly to the study, while Asano Aiko went to the kitchen, tied on her apron, and prepared to start cooking.

Because she had eaten with Akiwara Yuto before, she noticed that he preferred hamburger steaks, so she had specifically bought the corresponding ingredients.

Japanese-style hamburger steak is very common in Japanese cuisine; it can be seen everywhere from high-end Western restaurants to chain restaurants and even roadside convenience stores. In some elementary school cafeterias, it has even become one of the standard dishes.

Its origin is inseparable from the European hamburger, but because Japanese people prefer to eat rice, there is a way of serving it separately.

Usually, a portion of hamburger steak, paired with vegetables, rice, and miso soup, constitutes a simple meal.

Asano Aiko thought about the preparation method and began to work in an orderly fashion.

She first washed all the ingredients, then mixed the minced beef bought from the shopping street, added onion, black pepper, salt, sugar, and other seasonings, mixed them well, sealed them in a freezer bag, and put them in the refrigerator.

Thirty minutes later, she took out the meat mixture, poured it into a pan, began to pan-fry both sides, then added a little water and covered it with a lid.

After a while, she opened the lid, used long chopsticks to take out the cooked hamburger steak, placed it on a white plate, poured on the special sauce, and finally placed it on the square table in the living room along with the prepared rice and greens.

Confirming that the gas stove was turned off, she wiped her hands, walked out, and called for Akiwara to wash his hands.

Akiwara Yuto looked at the prepared meal and the bowls and chopsticks, feeling a bit dazed for a moment.

How long had it been since he had a meal like this at home?

He thought of his previous life and felt a bit sad for a moment, but he did not show it on his face.

"Akiwara, try the taste first. If it's not good, tell me."

Asano Aiko said this, but she had different thoughts in her heart; this dish was something she had practiced many times after learning he liked it, and the taste had reached perfection.

If Akiwara was still not satisfied, although she wouldn't say it out loud, she would definitely feel a bit angry inside.

Akiwara Yuto put aside his thoughts, smiled to express his gratitude, went to wash his hands, then sat in front of the square table, put his hands together, and said, "I'm starting."

After saying this, he picked up his chopsticks, took a small piece of hamburger steak, and put it in his mouth.

He liked this dish very much; the taste was somewhat like the lion's head meatballs he often ate in the past. It was soft and fluffy when bitten into, yet fresh, tender, and juicy, with the chewiness of beef.

Asano Aiko saw Akiwara Yuto’s expression and felt a little happy, then she also picked up her chopsticks and began to eat.

While eating, the two chatted about recent events in the editorial department. Through Asano Aiko’s description, Akiwara Yuto learned more inside information.

Because of the sharp increase in sales in recent issues, all employees of the *New Novel* editorial department received a certain increase in performance bonuses. Besides that, Kikuchi Tai’s emphasis on him was even greater; before Asano Aiko came, he had repeatedly urged her to take good care of him in both life and work.

In addition, according to the reader feedback collected recently, the popularity of his work had further risen, reaching a 93% approval rating, which had never been encountered since the magazine established reader feedback.

He did not know if Kadowaki Yuma had been influenced, but his recent work had also started to become more interesting, and his approval rating had reached 44%, though the gap between him and Akiwara remained very large.

Besides these, the recent magazine cover designs for *New Novel* had all been outsourced to an outside design company, which even caused dissatisfaction among some of the art editors.

Speaking of this, Asano Aiko paused, but continued, "Recently there have been some rumors saying that there is a relationship of interest transfer between the editor-in-chief and that design company."

Akiwara Yuto frowned and asked, "Did Editor-in-Chief Kikuchi say anything?"

Asano Aiko put down her chopsticks and replied, "Editor-in-Chief Kikuchi’s public explanation is that he believes that company’s design style is more suitable for your work, Akiwara."

Upon hearing this, Akiwara Yuto couldn't help but ponder.

He had seen the covers of these few issues and found that, except for *Poem of the Sunny Side*, the other covers were all themed around horror and thrillers.

To be honest, he was a bit dissatisfied because he believed that the content he wrote should contain a glimmer of human brilliance within the darkness, rather than just being pure horror.

Moreover, if the main content was thrillers, the art editors within Mantan Publishing should theoretically be able to produce covers of the same level; there was no need to spend extra funds to hire someone else, right?

He was a bit confused, but after thinking about it, he didn't say anything; after all, Kikuchi Tai had just entrusted Asano Aiko to bring him 2 million yen, so it wouldn't be appropriate for him to raise objections now.

However, when the standalone book was released in the future, he would still take the initiative to communicate with Editor-in-Chief Kikuchi to adjust the cover style.

After all, the sales of the standalone book were directly related to his specific income.

After chatting about these things, the food on the table was mostly finished. Akiwara Yuto wanted to take the initiative to clean up the bowls and chopsticks, but was refused by Asano Aiko on the grounds that "this is a woman's job," so he could only watch her take the bowls and chopsticks back to the kitchen one by one.

Listening to the sound of dishwashing coming from the kitchen, Akiwara Yuto felt a bit emotional, and remembering what Lady Asano had said to him before, he couldn't help but feel curious.

Such a good girl, why had she been single all this time?