Crossover Anime: I'm at Shuchiin Academy, and my surname is Uchiha.

Chapter 89 City? Country Rats

Inside a coffee shop, Shirasaki Hana was happily eating cake, while Hayasaka Ai was smiling at Uchiha Ryo.

"Ling, you know what? I'm really happy today."

Uchiha Ryo swallowed the snack in his mouth. "Since you're happy, then help me train the maids this afternoon. They don't need to be good at both academics and martial arts, but they must be excellent at housework."

Once Xiao Gudu has completed his apprenticeship, Uchiha Ryo will be able to live the life of a maid with errands to run, just like Shinomiya Kaguya.

Hayasaka Ai looked out the window, and for some reason, the once clear sky had suddenly started to drizzle.

"Looks like we're going to be stuck here for a while."

Uchiha Ryo: "I don't care. The coffee shop has air conditioning and WiFi, and we don't have anything to do right now. Where's Hana?"

Shirasaki Hana nodded. "I'm meeting my classmate this afternoon, and I don't have anything planned for lunch. I'll just stay here."

For some reason, they were the only customers in the café. Apart from the staff making some noise, it was eerily quiet.

Hayasaka Ai lowered her head. "Ling-kun, let's play a game. Whoever loses has to tell the other a secret."

"Play games? What kind of games?"

Seeing that Uchiha Ryo didn't seem to be refusing, and that Shirasaki Hana was quietly eating and had no intention of joining them, Hayasaka Ai breathed a sigh of relief.

"To keep it simple, just roll the dice. Whoever gets the higher number wins. If the numbers are the same, we start over."

Uchiha Ryo: "That's it?"

Hayasaka Ai smiled and said, "Anyway, it's just for fun, so I'll go first~"

The dice landed on the table, and the number facing up was three.

Uchiha Ryo picked up the dice. Since Hayasaka Ai wanted to play around, then so be it.

Hmm, the dice feel fine to the touch, the weight is normal, and there's no stuffing inside. The air conditioning in the cafe, though weak, shouldn't be ignored.

He activated his Sharingan, since he had actually used the system to redeem colored contact lenses for testing last time, and the conclusion was that the effect was quite good, so he put them on when he went out.

After precisely calculating the force, Uchiha Ryo threw the dice.

Uchiha Ryo: "It's six..."

Hayasaka Ai sighed, "Yeah, it's six... Well, I'll tell you a secret then. But we're going to play one more round!"

"Is that all you want to know about me?"

Uchiha Ryo thought for a moment, and this time he deliberately rolled a one, while Hayasaka Ai rolled a three again.

Hayasaka Ai looked at the dice on the table, then held them in her hand.

"Little Flower, call me 'sister' and I'll order you another strawberry cake!"

Shirasaki Hana: "Big sister~ Big sister is so nice."

"Okay, then let's order two!"

Hayasaka Ai went to the front desk and asked for two more cakes, then placed them in front of Hana, and then sat down next to Uchiha Ryo.

"You owe me a secret, and I owe you a secret, so let me begin asking..."

Uchiha Ryo nodded. He suddenly realized that this coffee shop seemed to be under the Shinomiya Group. No wonder Hayasaka's order was served so quickly.

"Ling, are you... really one of Shinomiya Un'taka's people? What is your relationship with Shinomiya Un'taka?"

Uchiha Ryo smiled. "So this is what you wanted to ask..."

Hayasaka Ai's expression was very serious, as if this question was very important to her.

Seeing Hayasaka Ai like this, Uchiha Ryo also put away his joking expression and answered seriously.

"My relationship with Shinomiya Un'taka is one of cooperation. I am not one of his people. We are equals."

Hayasaka Ai: "A collaboration, huh...."

"What a coincidence... Actually, I wasn't one of Shinomiya Un'taka's people from the beginning."

Uchiha Ryo turned to look at Hayasaka Ai, but Hayasaka Ai was looking out the window at the rain with a complicated expression.

"Does Ling know the story of the field mouse and the house mouse from Aesop's fables?"

Uchiha Ryo: "Hmm?"

Hayasaka Ai seemed to be explaining to Uchiha Ryo, but it also sounded like she was talking to herself.

One day, a country mouse and a city mouse were chatting. The country mouse said that the fields were vast and there was plenty of barley and grain to eat. The city mouse mocked him for this.

You're really living a life like an ant. Are you satisfied with that? In the city, we can eat dried cheese, dates, fruit, and even sweet water and honey.

House mice, however, live a dangerous and fearful life, constantly on the run from humans. Field mice, on the other hand, though ordinary, live a peaceful and safe life in the countryside.

Hayasaka Ai sighed, "It's so nice that country rats can enjoy a peaceful and ordinary life, even though they can't eat the delicacies of the city. City rats, on the other hand, eat well, but they are always being hunted down by humans."

"Hey, Ling, which do you think is better, city rats or country rats?"

Uchiha Ryo fell silent, then suddenly laughed.

"I wouldn't choose any of them... Putting aside the fact that I could never become a rat, this is just a boring problem of 'those inside the walled city want to get out, and those outside want to get in.'"

Hayasaka Ai: "Is that so... Then I'll tell you my real secret. The Hayasaka family isn't actually affiliated with Shinomiya Un'taka. From the very beginning... the Hayasaka family was controlled by the eldest son of the Shinomiya family, Shinomiya Kimi!"

Sometime later, all the staff in the coffee shop had disappeared. Instead, a group of bodyguards dressed in black emerged from the kitchen.

Suddenly, a bald man emerged from the crowd.

A bald man with a small mustache, dressed in a kimono and with a fierce expression, slowly approached Uchiha Ryo's table.

"I was wondering why that good-for-nothing third brother had changed so much lately. Turns out a rat had sneaked in and given him some advice."

Uchiha Ryo looked up. "Hayasaka, did you hear a dog barking? Who is it, walking their dog without a leash in broad daylight?"

Shinomiya Kōkō's eyes widened in fury! He raised his foot to kick over Uchiha Ryō's table.

"Get this straight! That useless subordinate of Shinomiya Un'taka is indeed useless too!"

The next moment, Shinomiya Hikari staggered back several steps and sat down on the ground, panting heavily, as if he had seen something terrifying.

Uchiha Ryo stood up, while Shirasaki Hana on the other side looked up blankly, seemingly curious about everything. She was just eating a cake, what happened here?

"Xiaohua...are you a little sleepy? Why don't you take a nap first?"

Shirasaki Hana turned to look at Uchiha Ryo, "I'm not sleepy..."

But the moment Xiaohua saw Uchiha Ling's eyes, she quietly lay down on the sofa seat behind her.

"Hayasaka Ai, let me answer your question again. Only a mouse would desperately ponder whether to go to the city or the countryside. But I... am a tiger!"