Chapter 76

Saionji Nanase immediately clapped her hands happily:

“That’s great! Let’s have lunch together, the three of us!”

Yukimura Suzune was silent for a moment, but eventually moved her desk and chair over as well.

The sight of the three of them sitting together for lunch made the other students in the class feel both envious and helpless.

Their respective crushes were among them; who wouldn’t want to join?

If it were just one person, they might have been able to muster the courage to go up and invite them.

But at this moment, the three school idols were sitting together, seemingly forming an invisible barrier that made people shrink back, forcing them to find other lunch companions instead.

Saionji Nanase opened her bento box, looked at Xia Xia Xia Mujun, and cut to the chase:

“My father asked me to ask you... are you aware that your house in Shoto is about to be auctioned?”

Xia Xia Xia Mujun was silent for a moment and nodded:

“I know. So... is it already prepared for auction?”

Saionji Nanase shook her head gently, her tone cautious:

“Not yet, it’s currently still in the preparation stage.”

“After all, your house is large and located in an area like Shoto, so the price is quite expensive; it takes time to auction it off.”

Xia Xia Xia Mujun fell into deep thought.

Shoto—a top-tier wealthy district in Shibuya; the residences there are mostly villas and mansions, and the prices are indeed staggering.

The average price for second-hand housing in that area is as high as 1.6 million yen per square meter, and the starting bid for an entire villa is even 300 to 400 million yen.

He remembered his own mansion; the bank’s previous valuation was around 500 million yen.

After mortgaging it to the bank, he wasn’t very clear about the subsequent situation.

Since it’s an auction, the price will inevitably fluctuate.

Xia Xia Xia Mujun raised his eyes and asked:

“How do you know the house is still waiting for auction? Could it be that this auction is being hosted by your family?”

He remembered that the Saionji family ran the largest auction house in Japan, which is why he asked.

Saionji Nanase touched her cheek, feeling a bit embarrassed:

“Yes, would you... mind?”

Xia Xia Xia Mujun’s tone was calm:

“No, since the house has already been mortgaged, there’s nothing to mind.”

His composure made Saionji Nanase’s expression complex.

His family has fallen, yet he can be so indifferent?

He must have experienced a lot during this time to have honed such a state of mind...

Xia Xia Xia Mujun was silent for a moment, then spoke again:

“What is the current starting bid?”

Saionji Nanase recalled:

“I heard from my father that the starting bid is set at around 400 million yen, and the estimated final transaction price might be between 600 and 800 million yen.”

Xia Xia Xia Mujun’s silence lasted longer. Although he felt the price would be suppressed when mortgaged to the bank, he hadn’t expected it to be suppressed by this much.

“When does the auction start?”

Saionji Nanase’s voice softened:

“It’s April now... it’s expected to take place around mid-June...”

“He said that if your relatives have any intention of redeeming it, he can hold the house back and not put it up for auction.”

Xia Xia Xia Mujun pondered for a moment, then thanked her:

“Please convey my thanks to your father, and thank him for informing me of this.”

“This is very important to me.”

Saionji Nanase nodded:

“Mm... He also said that if you have time, he hopes you can come to my house; he has some things he wants to tell you in person...”

Xia Xia Xia Mujun thought about it and didn’t agree immediately, just smiled indifferently:

“If there’s an opportunity, I will definitely pay a visit.”

Beside them, Yukimura Suzune had been eating her lunch quietly, but every word of their conversation had reached her ears.

She hadn’t known about Xia Xia Xia Mujun’s family background before, but from this brief conversation, she realized his family had already fallen...

Saionji Nanase also felt it wasn’t appropriate to delve deeper into this heavy topic, so she turned to Yukimura Suzune, her tone becoming light again:

“Suzune, didn’t you say you were writing a new book? How is the progress?”

As she spoke, she picked up a piece of saury from her own bento, carefully placed it into Yukimura Suzune’s lunch box, traded it for a piece of golden rolled omelet, and took a big, satisfied bite.

Yukimura Suzune looked at the extra saury in her lunch box and answered softly:

“The first draft of the new book is about 90% complete. Now I’m mainly thinking about how to wrap it up and do some text polishing.”

Saionji Nanase quickly swallowed the food in her mouth and said excitedly:

“When the time comes, please make sure to let me be your first reader!”

Yukimura Suzune gently tucked her long, straight black hair from the left side behind her ear and replied faintly:

“Sure.”

After finishing, she picked up the piece of saury with her chopsticks, parted her cherry lips slightly, took a small bite, and closed her eyes to savor the perfect fusion of the fish’s freshness and the sauce.

Saionji Nanase’s gaze fell on Xia Xia Xia Mujun’s bento, attracted by the uniquely shaped octopus sausages inside:

“Xia Xia Xia Mujun, these octopus sausages are so cute! Did you make them yourself?”

Xia Xia Xia Mujun smiled and shook his head, his tone carrying a trace of imperceptible tenderness:

“Not me, my sister made them.”

Yukimura Suzune’s chewing motion paused imperceptibly for a moment.

Sister?

In her mind, the image of that cute girl waving goodbye to Xia Xia Xia Mujun at the Shibuya platform this morning instantly surfaced.

Could it be... that was his sister?

Or perhaps...

This thought quietly crossed Yukimura Suzune’s heart.

And Saionji Nanase, upon learning that this bento was made by Xia Xia Xia Mujun’s sister, her eyes lit up instantly.

Her memory had always been good; she clearly remembered seeing Xia Xia Xia Mujun’s sister—Natsume Ruri—many years ago!

At that time, Natsume Ruri was still a little tot, so cute that one couldn’t help but want to give her a hug.