“Sigh…”
Life is hard, and the cat sighs.
After staying in the staff room for a while, Akiba Sakura finally decided to put aside all these troubles for now, keep herself in a good state, and continue to do her job.
As for Yuuma Tsugumu, Sakura had already started to retreat in her heart.
‘If I see him when I go out, I’ll just ignore him and serve other customers… Now that I think about it, it’s been a few days since I started this part-time job, and I haven’t tried serving other guests yet…’
Thinking of this, Sakura slowly stood up and then pushed open the staff room door.
“Eh—there really are maids here?!”
As Sakura approached the hall along the corridor, she suddenly heard the bell at the café door ring, accompanied by a clear and delighted exclamation.
She instinctively stopped in her tracks and looked toward the entrance, only to see a girl with twin tails standing at the door, wearing the same school uniform as herself, her eyes sparkling as she curiously looked around the store, looking lively and cute.
That figure looked somewhat familiar.
Sakura frowned and scrutinized carefully for a while, then suddenly a photo from Zhongcun Xiangtai’s album flashed through her mind—it was Zaolai Qianxiao!
‘It’s her!’
Sakura’s heart sank heavily.
She instinctively clutched the hem of her clothes, and the anger inside flared up again, but she forced herself to maintain a calm expression.
At that moment, Meiyue Ya, who was in charge of reception, was already holding a menu and walking toward Zaolai Qianxiao with a smile.
“Welcome to Soft Cat Café. May I ask, Master, do you need me to show you to a seat?”
“Wait!”
Sakura almost instinctively called out to Meiyue Ya, her voice carrying a hint of barely noticeable tension.
She couldn’t let someone else serve Zaolai Qianxiao; she wanted to see for herself what skills this girl who stole Yuuma Tsugumu actually had.
Meiyue Ya was taken aback and turned to look at Sakura.
“Sakura? Aren’t you supposed to be resting?”
“I’m fine now!”
Sakura barely squeezed out a gentle smile and walked over quickly.
“Sister Xiaoya, I’ll take care of this guest. You go handle other things.”
Before Meiyue Ya could react, she turned around and gave Zaolai Qianxiao a standard maid smile, her tone gentle—a complete contrast to her bratty girl persona in the store when facing Yuuma Tsugumu.
“Welcome, Master. This way, please! I’ll show you to your seat.”
With that, she led Zaolai Qianxiao straight to the corner by the window—the seat Yuuma Tsugumu always took whenever he came.
‘I don’t know where that guy went… but since it’s empty now… I’ll let these two idiots sit at the same spot.’
When they arrived at the seat, she gently pulled out the chair and made a gesture of invitation.
“Please have a seat, Master~”
Zaolai Qianxiao obediently sat down, but her eyes were still sparklingly fixed on Sakura, with no intention of taking the menu Sakura handed her.
She stared at Sakura for a long while, then noticed the name tag hanging on Sakura’s chest, and suddenly spoke—her tone full of envy.
“Little Sakura, you look so cute and pretty!”
The smile on Sakura’s face stiffened for a moment, then slowly relaxed.
“Thank you for the compliment, Master. You are also very cute!”
Although she said so on the surface, Sakura was rolling her eyes internally and mocking herself wildly.
‘What good is being pretty? You still took things from me, didn’t you? And “Little Sakura”? If I weren’t at work, I would’ve already…’
She still maintained a gentle demeanor as she gently placed the menu in front of Zaolai Qianxiao.
“Master, would you like to see what you’d like to order? Our raw coconut latte and tiramisu are very popular.”
She deliberately did not use the bratty girl persona set by the manager, did not talk back, and did not put on a foul face—she did not want to lose face in front of Zaolai Qianxiao, nor did she want the other to see her embarrassment and concern.
Zaolai Qianxiao finally picked up the menu, but her eyes still occasionally drifted to Sakura, muttering to herself in a low voice.
“The maids here are really gentle… I wonder if I can wear such a pretty maid outfit in the future?”
Zaolai Qianxiao tilted her head and looked for a while, then raised her sparkling eyes to Sakura.
“Then I’ll have this tiramisu!”
“Okay, Master——”
Sakura still maintained her gentle smile, nodded lightly, and turned to go place the order.
But just as she turned around, Zaolai Qianxiao quickly called out to her.
“Little Sakura! Wait!”
Sakura paused in her steps, her heart thumping, but she still turned back with a gentle expression.
“Master, is there anything else you need?”
“Well…”
Zaolai Qianxiao scratched her cheek, her tone a bit embarrassed yet carrying a hint of anticipation.
“Little Sakura, can you please not go? I feel a bit bored sitting alone. Can I chat with you?”
Hearing this, a glimmer of secret joy flashed in Sakura’s eyes.
‘Good, good, good. I was just thinking of talking to you too. This suits my own intentions perfectly, doesn’t it?’
She originally wanted to probe exactly when Zaolai Qianxiao and Yuuma Tsugumu had met.
She never expected the other party to come to her willingly; it was a godsend opportunity!
Sakura’s smile grew even gentler as she nodded lightly.
“Of course, Master! Being able to chat with Master is my honor.”
With that, she turned to look at Meiyue Ya, who was serving a guest not far away.
“Sister Xiaoya, could you please note for me that this Master ordered a tiramisu? Thank you!”
Meiyue Ya looked up, saw it was Sakura, and quickly waved.
“Don’t worry, Little Sakura. Leave it to me!”
After receiving Meiyue Ya’s response, Sakura turned back and looked at Zaolai Qianxiao with a smile.
“Master, what would you like to talk about?”
Upon hearing this, Zaolai Qianxiao’s eyes lit up immediately.
She quickly patted the chair beside her, her tone brimming with anticipation.
“Little Sakura, sit down and chat! Standing is so tiring. Just sit next to me~”
Sakura looked at her innocent appearance but never let down her guard—after all, this person in front of her was the one who had “taken away” Yuuma Tsugumu.
She couldn’t be careless.
“Okay, Master.”
With that, she pulled out the chair next to Zaolai Qianxiao and sat down cautiously, maintaining a slight distance while still wearing her standard maid smile.
‘Let me thoroughly assess your character, Classmate Zaolai…’
As for Zaolai Qianxiao, seeing her sit down, she smiled even more happily.
Her big, sparkling eyes fixed on Sakura as she chattered away.
“Little Sakura, this is my first time at this café. It feels so cute! Have you been working here long?”
“Not really. I’ve only been here less than a week.”
“Eh—Is that so?”
“Mm-hmm—”
“Then… do you find it tiring working part-time here, like having difficult customers or something…”
Immediately after, Zaolai Qianxiao asked several more questions about the store, showing a strong interest.
‘Wait…’
After answering these questions, Sakura suddenly realized something and furrowed her brow.
‘Why is she so interested in these questions? Could it be…’