BXBX NOVEL Chapter 560: An old fan
Chapter 560: An old fan
Steam oozed out of the counter window that led to the kitchen.
Soon after, Yoshida arrived, carrying two bowls of steaming Ramen and a few complimentary side dishes, "Here\'s your order. If you need something else, give me a call."
Hiro was a bit puzzled when he saw the amount of dishes Yoshida had brought out. He recalled perfectly that they had only ordered Ramen but why were there so many dishes?
"Sir, I think you\'ve got the wrong order." Hiro couldn\'t help but exclaim.
"Did I?" Yoshida said with a confused look on his face.
"You did," Hiro remarked. "We only ordered Ramen."
Yoshida let out a hearty laugh as he said, "Haha..., don\'t worry. It\'s on the house."
Ishikawa smiled as she said, "You\'re too kind to us, Grandpa."
Hiro was about to refute. Even though he probably did it out of kindness, he felt guilty to receive so much from him. But he couldn\'t bring himself to refute.
"Don\'t worry. Young people should eat more and you and your friends have helped me a lot. So, it\'s the least I can do." Yoshida responded humbly.
"But I don\'t see Akashi and others lately. Even before, he looked a little troubled. Is everything alright with him?" Yoshida asked.
While the two chatted, Hiro felt as if he didn\'t belong to the place.
Those two were way too familiar with each other and it seemed that Akashi and others also often visited the shop.
It wasn\'t his intention to eavesdrop on their conversation but since they were talking so close to him, he couldn\'t help but overhear.
After conversing for a while, Yoshida turned to look at the door and frowned.
Ishikawa managed to catch the sight of him frowning, "Are you waiting for Yuki?"
"Yeah..., she said that she\'d be studying in the library but it\'s starting to get dark," Yoshida said concernedly. "Usually, she always returns on time but today, I don\'t know why she\'s taking so long to return..."
"Don\'t stress about it, Grandpa Yoshida. I\'m sure, she\'ll return in a while," Ishikawa tried to cheer him.
"I hope so," he whispered.
Right about Yoshida was about to leave, somebody from behind said, "Yoshida-san, can you turn on the television? The match is about to start."
Yoshida despite the feelings of concern swirling inside him put on a facade as he forced a smile on his face when he greeted the man who requested him, "Sure. Just a moment."
Then he turned on the television above the counter window.
"Oh, we are playing today," Hiro mumbled in surprise as he saw the name of the team displayed on the television screen.
He had almost forgotten that Kawasaki was playing today.
"Boy, are you one of Kobe\'s fans?" Yoshida upon hearing Hiro couldn\'t help but interrogate.
"No, Grandpa, he\'s also one of us," Ishikawa interrupted in a hurry.
A pleasant smile, one that resembled the aura of spring blossomed on Yoshida\'s face as he said, "It\'s always pleasant to meet fellow supporters of Kawasaki."
Hiro\'s lips twitched as he witnessed such rapid change in his expression.
\'This person should have been an actor.\' He couldn\'t help but think.
"Right now, we are at the top of the league. We\'re also looking favorably to win the Emperor\'s Cup. We are also doing well in the AFC Champions League. There\'s also the matter regarding the New Club World Cup." Yoshida spoke with great pride.
Then again, his expression changed drastically as he said with a frown, "But right when everything was looking good, one of our best players got injured."
To hear that he was the best player from someone else\'s mouth from so close, Hiro couldn\'t help but feel proud.
"But..., I\'m sure they\'ll do well. After all, we still have Naoto, Tatsuki, and Erison with us. We also have elite defenders in our team that have maintained a steady form," Hiro said, trying to cheer the old man before him.
Although the old man felt a little relieved, he couldn\'t easily shake the uneasy feeling, "Indeed― We\'ve got them but without Hiro, it\'ll be a little difficult to maintain our current position. But you sure do know a lot about our club."
"I\'m convinced that you\'re a devoted follower."
Yoshida praised Hiro. But then again, he fixated his gaze on him as he added, "But..., why do you sound so familiar?"
Instantly, Hiro became flustered as he heard him. He didn\'t want to reveal his identity. So, he began to speak in a flustered tone, "Hahaha..., I get that a lot. People normally tell me that I sound like someone in their circle."
"Is that so?"
The old man gave him a deep look before retracting his gaze away from him.
After that, Yoshida got engrossed in the match and he didn\'t pay any attention to Hiro. At times, he heard his excited voice while at times he heard his frustrated yells.
Hiro could tell that he was a devoted football enthusiast who enjoyed watching football. After all, he was like that too.
"Is something wrong?" Hiro asked Sumire after finding her giggling for a long while.
"How does it feel to be praised by a person you have just met?" she asked.
\'Was I that obvious?\' Hiro thought as he heard her.
Maybe he hadn\'t noticed it but he had been acting differently since he heard his praise from Yoshida. But Sumire who was sitting right next to him noticed the glee in his eyes and the subtle blush on his cheeks.
"It feels good," he answered humbly.
"I see. But why didn\'t you reveal your identity? I mean there aren\'t that many people here. And he\'s one of your biggest fans, so, there wasn\'t any need to hide your identity." Sumire said feeling a bit curious about Hiro\'s actions.
"If I had done that he wouldn\'t have been able to focus on the match now, could he?" Hiro
answered.
Truth be told, he didn\'t have any idea why he didn\'t reveal himself. So, he made an excuse on the spot. It was a blatant lie with a confident face.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om