Sayuri visit was completely unexpected.
According to Sayuri 's thoughts, her home is now very lively, and she doesn't lack company. It seems that her father is a very respected person with many students, and every year the students will accompany the old man to celebrate the New Year together, sounding like he's a very famous teacher.
Since her home is so lively, Sayuri thought of her boss.
She remembered when she first came to Takayuki's house, Takayuki himself said that his parents are often away, and they won't even come back for the New Year.
And usually, except for Sayuri, who lives here and eats here, no one else comes to visit.
Especially during the New Year, it's probably very lonely.
In Sayuri's imagination, Takayuki is alone, curled up in his bed, gnawing on cold food while watching the Kohaku Uta Gassen, feeling very desolate and lonely. Suddenly Sayuri feels that her boss is really pitiful.
Actually, Takayuki doesn't feel particularly that way... well, he does feel that way, but he's not as miserable as Sayuri imagines. After all, being alone during New Year's is not something new.
But Sayuri doesn't care about that. Whatever she believes, she will stick to it.
She believes that her boss is very miserable and needs someone to spend New Year's with, otherwise it would be too lonely.
But she never thought that it might seem inappropriate for a single girl like her to come to someone else's house for New Year's.
Or maybe she knows, but deliberately chooses not to think about it?
Sayuri came to the living room and tidied up all the mess in the room.
When she lived here before, she rarely cleaned up, mostly relying on regular cleaning services.
But there won't be any during the New Year.
"Boss, this mess doesn't look like New Year's at all."
Sayuri picked up a broom, took off her coat, put on an apron to prevent dirt, wore a small hat for cleaning, put on a pair of waterproof gloves, and started cleaning up.
Watching Sayuri clean, Takayuki could only help out on the side.
An hour passed, and the second half of the Kohaku Uta Gassen was about to come to an end when the cleaning was finally finished.
"Phew, it feels much better after cleaning up. Come on, boss, let's have dinner together! This is a carefully prepared meal by my mom."
Sayuri, feeling happy after cleaning up, went to the kotatsu, opened the bento box, and a slight heat emanated from it, accompanied by the aroma of delicious food.
The dishes on the kotatsu still maintained a certain temperature even after some time, which was just right.
Sayuri showed a contented expression.
Takayuki was also attracted by the aroma, peeking over.
Ise shrimp, vinegar-soaked octopus, red and white radish shreds, these are all symbolic foods of good fortune.
There's also the steaming mochi soup, minced whitefish, and the Idajun made with a mixture of fish meat and egg yolk.
These New Year dishes require meticulous preparation by the housewife for more than ten days. It's quite thoughtful to make these foods.
"Your mom's cooking is really good."
At this moment, Takayuki's eyes also lit up.
This is much better than eating cold dishes alone at home during New Year's.
Sayuri said happily, "Hehe, of course, my mom loves cooking, and it's said that half the reason the students come over for New Year's is because of the food my mom makes."
Takayuki looked at Sayuri and asked, "How about your cooking?"
"Come on, let's eat, it must be delicious!"
Sayuri ignored Takayuki's question and said, "How about your cooking... hmm..."
"Here, try this fish and shrimp roll, it's delicious! My mom spent a whole day and night making this fish and shrimp roll!"
Sayuri grabbed a piece of fish and shrimp roll with her hand and stuffed it into Takayuki's mouth, stopping him from asking more questions.
Takayuki wanted to say something, but he was quickly conquered by the delicious food and forgot what he wanted to ask.
Then, the two of them turned into foodies and started devouring the food.
Sayuri brought a large basket of food, which is probably enough for three or four people on a regular basis.
But Takayuki and Sayuri managed to finish it all.
After eating, the two satisfied individuals occasionally took sips of the mochi soup. The living room was filled with the sound of them drinking soup.
"Phew~ feels so comfortable."
After eating, Sayuri tucked herself into the warm kotatsu, covered herself with a blanket, and completely dispelled the coldness from before.
Takayuki was also quite satisfied.
Suddenly, the New Year felt much warmer.
"By the way, Takayuki, let's play a game together, just the two of us."
"Sure, it's a good chance to test the latest game console and see how well it performs."
"The latest game console? Did you bring the prototype back?"
"Yeah, I was planning to get familiar with the new machine during the New Year's days and start making games for it. Then when it's released, it will be a big hit."
As Takayuki spoke, he took out a game console that looks much nicer than the Famicom from a cabinet next to the TV.
This game console is the Super Nintendo Entertainment System that Takayuki plans to release in the future.
With the game console's powerful performance, even the somewhat monotonous Tetris seems to have been enhanced to some extent, with more vibrant colors.
If this game console were to appear in front of players now, they would probably shout in excitement because of its vibrant graphics.
After setting up the game, Takayuki handed a brand-new controller to Sayuri, who was still hiding under the kotatsu. Then he selected Tetris.
Adjusting the game, Takayuki held the controller and also crawled under the kotatsu, with only one person's distance between them. They both looked up at the TV, with Sayuri occasionally sneaking a peek at Takayuki.
Takayuki was now fully focused on the TV and seemed not to notice Sayuri's gaze.
And Sayuri, with a serious expression, kept watching Takayuki, occasionally tilting her head, thinking about something.
"Okay, let's start for real. Let's see who can last the longest!"
"Ah... oh oh! Watch me beat you, boss!" Sayuri retracted her gaze and immersed herself in the game world with Takayuki...