Miss Heir wasn't very kind to me.

Chapter 9 9. "Regular Holidays·Visit"

The groaning of the car tires shook the air around them, and the engine made a humming sound like a beating heart.

Masumi sat in the passenger seat, fastened his seat belt, and was slightly surprised to see Rinne skillfully shifting the gears.

"Can you still drive?"

"Is it strange?" Rin said as a matter of course, "Mr. Jingjian is very hard-working, and I can't always rely on him to do the shopping, so I got a driver's license."

“…Not surprising.”

Masumi remembered that she had planned to get a driver's license so she could drive the band's equipment car, but she still didn't have one. She should find time to go to the training center and sign up.

The cost is about 30 yen, which is not even enough for one month's salary.

"Be careful on the road."

Outside the car window, Asami waved at the two of them.

"Masumi-kun, don't forget to bring me the light novel."

"I know what it is."

"Really? You're so forgetful."

Asami frowned slightly. "Remember this, I want the sixth volume of 'How Can I Be Your Lover? No No! (Isn't it impossible?!)', and the seventh volume of 'A Yuri Story of Conquering the Girl Who Claimed That Relationships Between Girls Are Impossible Within a Hundred Days'..."

"Stop, stop, stop."

Masumi quickly interrupted Asami, who was just reading the title of the book, as if she was going to give a long speech that would last forever. What the hell, are all light novel titles this long now?
Asami puffed up her face in dissatisfaction at being interrupted.

"You should write it down and send it to me via LINE. I can't remember such a long name."

"What? Actually, you just want to take this opportunity to add me as a LINE friend, right?" Mami instantly became energetic again.

She smiled and took out her cell phone.

"Ryujinin Michiyo" added you as a friend.

"What kind of a name is this 'Ryujinin Michiyo'?" Masumi complained.

"How is it? Pretty handsome, right?"

"...It's quite different." Masumi said vaguely.

The car window closed and the white van started slowly.

"You and Mami-san seem to get along really well."

Rin said casually in a chatty tone. Masumi peeked at her expression, which was still as indifferent as usual.

"It's just that she's more outgoing."

"Is this so..."

Linyin closed her lips, and the light came in from the window and flowed across her skin.

Masumi traced the girl's beautiful profile with his eyes. Her skin was coldly pale and as delicate as porcelain. When she was quiet and silent, she looked like an exquisite doll.

He thought his answer had put her off, so he relaxed his lips and said in as natural a tone as possible: "What a nice day today, haha."

"..." Masumi felt embarrassed after saying this.

"You don't have to find topics to talk about. We're not that familiar with each other, so we don't need to chat."

Linyin gave him a stern look.

"I just asked casually, I'm sorry for making things difficult for you."

“…Oh, okay.”

Her tone was cold, and Masumi lost interest in talking.

Silence reigned in this small space with only two people.

The car was driving very smoothly. Masumi leaned his head against the window, feeling the slight vibration as the car moved forward.

The city street scenes haunted the car windows.

"Quack-"

The van drove over the vibrating line and bumped slightly, causing Masumi's forehead to hit the window hard.

He took a breath of cold air and heard Lin Yin say lightly:
"Here we are."

The hospital did not have its own parking lot, so Rinyin parked her car in a nearby coin-operated parking lot.

The small electronic sign emitted a cheap glow, but the numbers on it were not cheap at all: 20 yen per 300 minutes.

Masumi couldn't help but sigh that parking lots were making huge profits.

Speaking of which, the location of the Starry Sky Coffee Shop is actually quite good, as there is a beach nearby. If the coffee shop is demolished and converted into a parking lot, it might be more profitable.

"What are you doing there?"

A cold voice pulled his thoughts back to reality. Rinyin, holding a paper bag of fruit in her hand, looked at Masumi who was standing there in a daze, frowning slightly. "Oh, sorry."

Masumi hurriedly followed, and the two of them entered the hospital and took the spacious elevator to the fourth floor of the inpatient department.

She stopped in front of the ward with the "Miyazawa" nameplate, knocked gently on the door, and then opened the sliding door.

Masumi's father, Ken Miyazawa, was lying on the cotton-white hospital bed. His arms and neck, exposed from under his hospital gown, were as thin as willows, but he was in good spirits and was reading a book with his head down.

Noticing someone walking into the ward, he put down his book and looked up, smiling the moment he saw Linyin.

"Oh, it's little Rinne, come and sit down."

"Uncle Jing Jian, how is your health lately?"

"I'm fine, don't worry. How's your studies going lately? You can take your time with the coffee shop work. We'll talk about it after I'm discharged from the hospital... cough cough."

During the conversation, Miyazawa Ken couldn't stop coughing, and the sound he made was like two hard, dry stones rubbing against each other.

"Everything at school is going well, and the coffee shop is open as usual, but your health..."

Linyin patted his back lightly, a hint of imperceptible disappointment in her eyes.

She had expected that after some time, Uncle Jing Jian's condition would improve slightly.

Her studies have been going smoothly, and Fanxing is operating normally. Her life is moving forward a little, so she hopes that Uncle Jing Jian's condition will improve a little.

"It's nothing serious. The doctor said the radiotherapy was very effective." Miyazawa Ken, who had stopped coughing, raised his head to comfort her. "By the way, have you met my very opinionated son? I asked him to help you."

"Don't always try to be strong on your own. You can rely on others more. If there are any dirty work, let that kid do it."

Masumi had never heard his father speak in such a gentle tone.

After chatting with Rin for a while with a smile on his face, Miyazawa Ken finally noticed Masumi standing at the door and snorted coldly, "What? So you're here?"

“…” Masumi simply pretended to be deaf and dumb.

"Did this kid cause you any trouble?"

When Miyazawa Ken asked Rinone, he put on a smile again, like a magician performing a face-changing trick.

"No, Masumi-kun is the barista at the shop now."

"Him? The barista?"

Miyazawa Ken seemed to have heard some unbelievable news, and immediately glared at Masumi fiercely.

Masumi was ready to be scolded.

"I tried to persuade him at first, but he refused and insisted on pursuing his music dream. Now I didn't expect him to go to Tokyo to make coffee. Why? Are the coffee beans in Tokyo rounder than those in Kobe?"

That's probably it.

But to his surprise, Miyazawa Ken only stared at him for a moment, his tense facial muscles slowly relaxed, a deep sigh flowed from the corners of his lips, and then he lowered his brows and spoke.

"In that case, let's do it well."

"Eh? Oh, okay."

The imagined storm of scolding and nagging did not come, and Masumi nodded blankly.

The room fell into a delicate silence for a moment.

Masumi immediately thought of the purpose of his visit and said, "I came here to discuss something with you."

He briefly explained the renovation plan for Fanxing to his father.

"What do you think?"

Masumi looked at his father, clenching his palms slightly, and the latter turned his gaze to Rinne.

"What do you think, Rinne-chan?"

"Mami-san, I, and Mirai-chan all think it's feasible."

"But you are the store manager, so it's up to you to decide."

Miyazawa Ken narrowed his eyes and was silent for a while before saying, "I only know how to make coffee. I don't know much about these things."

"If you young people think it's a good idea, go ahead and do it."

Then he looked at Linyin and said softly, "You are the heir of this store. During my absence, you have the final say on everything in the store."

"I understand. I will definitely not let you down." Linyin said solemnly.

After exchanging a few more pleasantries and seeing that Miyazawa Ken looked slightly tired, the two prepared to leave the ward.

"Please have a good rest and I wish you a speedy recovery."

Rinone bowed slightly, and Masumi followed suit.

"Then let's go first."

(End of this chapter)