Chapter 10: The Progress of Birthday Celebration is Especially Fast Before the Deadline
Translator: Pingas
June 25. It's been around a month and a half since Ayu came to Yukari's house.
Today, Yukari’s house received bouquet after bouquet.
“Did you buy a bunch of stuff online impulsively again? Isn’t this too much…?”
Ayu asked in shock after seeing all the bouquets on the table.
“I didn’t. My family gave it to me. These are from my parents and siblings.”
“If I remember, sensei has 4 siblings, right?”
“Yeah, my oldest brother is 20 years older than me. The oldest sister and second brother are twins 17 years older. The youngest sister is 15 years older.”
“You guys have that much of an age difference!?”
“It’s because we have different mothers. My siblings are all from the original mother while I’m a kid of the so-called mistress.”
“Eh? Ah…”
Ayu felt a bit awkward after hearing that.
“Relax, even though my mom’s a mistress, she’s approved by my aunt, which is the first wife. They are quite close. Auntie is pretty nice to me.”
“Glad to hear that. …I thought you are bullied like those mistress’s children in dramas.”
“It’s not even like that. Everyone in the house is literally all spoiling me.”
Even though a mistress’s child can’t appear in formal social events or take over the family’s business, Yukari is more than happy about it. She just needs to enjoy her wealthy life without any constraints. The responsibility of a rich family isn’t placed on her. She confirmed her debut as a novelist during high school. While it was quite sudden, the whole family still blessed her.
“…Nice family.”
Ayu felt a little deflated after that praise. She covered it up by speeding up her speech.
“Well, why did your family send you flowers then? Is it to congratulate your new book’s release?”
“Oh, it’s my birthday today. 23 years old.”
“Ehh!?”
“They’ll probably send me real gifts in some other way. Basically, it’s all travel vouchers or membership cards for restaurants. But it feels quite emotionless with just a paper or file alone. That’s why they always send me flowers as well. Also, my family really wants some long-lasting bouquets. I’m always struggling to place them.”
She’ll keep the flowers until the next year if she likes them. However, most of them are gifted to the editing department or friends.
Her family mainly gives her vouchers and coupons. The reason is that Yukari banned them from giving her any property, vehicles, precious metals, large pieces of furniture, artworks, clothes, checks, or cash. Super high-class utensils and glasses are included in artworks too.
“We can go to a nice restaurant next time- hmm?”
Yukari noticed Ayu looked pretty upset. She asked dumbfoundedly.
“What’s wrong, Ayu-chan?”
“…I didn’t prepare any birthday presents.”
Yukari gently smiled after hearing Ayu’s deflated answer.
“It’s fine. You always cook good food for me.”
“But birthdays are special. I should just, …no, I can’t really afford anything amazing.”
“Well, I hope for a birthday cake and a more luxurious dinner.”
“…I got it. I’ll try my best.”
Ayu nodded, but she still looked a bit sad.
“Right, when is Ayu-chan’s birthday?”
“June 1.”
“It’s already over!”
Yukari bulged her eyes after hearing the answer.
“Why didn’t you say it? I would’ve celebrated it with you.”
Ayu pouted.
“It’s because sensei keeps saying ‘it’s May 32’ on that day…”
“Ah.”
Right.
She kept dragging her draft, which was supposed to be finished in late May. In the end, she chose to bend time and space instead. That’s a common trick up a creator’s sleeves.
…Moreover, there are 36 days in Yukari’s version of May.
“Ahaha, …I-I remembered that.”
Yukari’s expression turned stiff. Ayu squinted her eyes and looked at her.
“Well, we should still celebrate it, even though it’s late.”
“It’s fine. You got me a lot of stuff already. You even made a shelf for me. It’s already enough.”
“That’s not a birthday gift. Birthdays are special, after all.”
“…That was what I said.”
“…Right.”
Yukari looked away in defense, but then she suddenly chuckled.
Ayu followed her and laughed too.
“Well, let’s make it a joint celebration today? As for the presents, …hmm, let’s make something for each other?”
Ayu’s eyes brightened up after hearing Yukari’s suggestion.
“Sensei’s present…! Sure! Well, what are we making?”
Yukari looked at the flowers on the table.
“What about floating flowers? We have a lot of ingredients here.”
“What’s that?”
“You put dried flowers in a bottle and soak them in oil.”
She said that as she searched photos and showed them to Ayu.
Ayu cheered up after seeing the beautiful photos. “Cute…”
“There are some in sensei’s room too, right? So this is floating flowers…”
“Yeah, I made them a couple times. It’s easy and looks good as long as you got the ingredients. You can put it onto your shelf.”
“Yeah, …I want a decoration like that too.”
Then, Ayu looked at the table.
“Can I ask whether the ingredients mean…”
“You can use the flowers here freely.”
“Isn’t this present from your family?”
“It’s okay. These aren’t really presents. Also, I always give them to Mya-san because they take up a lot of space.”
“I-I see…”
Ayu looked a bit bewildered.
“There’s still oil left in the house. We need empty bottles next. Well, I’ll use perfume bottles or the grape wine I had yesterday.”
“What should I do…?”
“If you’re making it yourself, I feel like you can just use an empty bottle. Do you have one?”
“Hmm…”
Ayu thought for a moment and answered.
“I think the salmon fillets are almost finished. There are also cans of enoki mushroom sauce, seaweed sauce, MSGs, chicken bone broth powder…”
“Fufu.”
Yukari chuckled.
“It’s interesting to use bottled food. These count as your daily necessities too.”
“…There are still labels and expiration dates on them.”
“I guess it’s a style too. It’s for food, after all.”
“Ugh, …sensei is using perfumes and grape wine. It feels elegant.”
Ayu looked bothered. Yukari continued.
“Anyway, let’s start first. We can check out the department store if you don’t like it.”
*
After they disinfected the empty bottles with alcohol, Ayu and Hikari immediately started making the floating flowers.
Hikari’s is a perfume bottle that looks expensive. The design is very sophisticated. The empty bottle itself can be a stylish decoration.
Ayu chose a golden bottle of salmon fillets (which she had eaten already). This looks better than others.
She’s afraid of touching those high-class flowers. However, after seeing Hikari move her scissors without hesitations, she followed soon and got her favorite flower.
Hikari pinched the flowers and put them into the bottle one by one. Ayu looked at her movement and asked.
“Is there any technique to make it look good?”
“Uh, …your feelings?”
Ayu is a bit confused at this simple answer. Anyway, she decided to put in some rhinestones for nails before adding the flowers. The colors and sizes are all different. The entire bottle looks pretty vibrant.
After filling the bottle, the oil is slowly poured in, and the cap is sealed. Finally, it’s decorated with paper tapes.
It’s cuter than she expected. It doesn’t look like a bottle of salmon fillets at all. As for the expiration label or the text “please store in a fridge after opening the seal”, why don’t we just pretend we didn’t see that?
Ayu observed her work and showed a satisfied expression.
“Ayu-chan, this is your present.”
Hikari handed Ayu her DIY floating flower.
Hikari’s flowers are all yellow except for the huge red geranium in the center.
“I referenced your hair color.”
Ayu is shocked after seeing her smile.
Even though she said just go by your feeling, she still obeyed the rule of “giving Ayu a birthday present”. The beautiful bottle adds a couple more points too. The final result is excellent.
In comparison, hers is just plain and mundane. The more she looks at it, the more childish it becomes. It’s also a bottle of salmon fillets.
“Ayu-chan’s is pretty colorful and adorable too.”
Hikari observed Ayu’s floating flowers and praised her.
“H-Hey! Can I make another one?”
“Sure, why?”
“I want to use a better bottle to make a present that matches sensei better.”
Hikari glared at Ayu’s face and continued.
“We still have a lot of flowers. You can make as many as you want, but I’m taking this as your present.”
“W-Why? The colors and sizes are all messed up. I want to make something better for you..”
“It’s because these are the flowers you appreciated the most, right? The purity of this feeling is limited to the first time. It won’t show up again.”
Seeing Hikari’s warm smile, Ayu can feel that her cheeks are flaring up.
“…I got it. Well, uh, sensei, happy birthday.”
“Yeah, happy birthday to you too.”
They exchanged their floating flowers.
*
After a quick lunch, instead of going to the nearby supermarket, Yukari and Ayu went to Shinjuku instead. It’s a high-class store that sells ingredients for their dinner.
While Yukari doesn’t cook, she actually knows how to make dishes.
The girls first made a cake filled with fruits. Then, with their wide Nakamura kitchen, they started pumping well-decorated dishes. Sliced fish, roasted beef, French vegetable frozen pie, and baked lobsters.
It’s been a long time since Yukari last spent her birthday with someone else.
Her family is very busy. There’s almost no way for them to show up in one place at one time. If someone cheated and spent the birthday with Yukari first, it’s guaranteed to cause a conflict. That’s why they made a gentlemen’s rule. No one sees Yukari on her birthday.
Some friends will message her on Line. However, they aren’t close enough to have a party together.
“Happy birthday.”
The table is now full of dishes. Yukari and Ayu cheered. The now 23-year-old Yukari has expensive champagne, while the 17-year-old Ayu is having a bubbles drink.
3 more years until we can drink together. …That’s a long time.
At this point, Yukari finally realized she just naturally assumed that Ayu would be with her 3 years later. She’s a bit surprised.
While Yukari already thinks that Ayu is a part of her daily life, she’s just here to work. One day, she’ll leave.
…If only she could stay here forever.
Yukari has numerous servants back in her old house, but this is the first time she’s having such a feeling.
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