Some time later, in the kitchen, Nobi Hiroshi put on an apron, took out a large bowl, poured in flour and baking powder, and mixed them with water.
Because of him, the little loli had no strength to knead the dough, so this task naturally fell to him.
"It should be washed off now…"
At the faucet, Shizuka turned on the tap, rinsing her slender, jade-like fingers, which were smooth, white, and carried the faint scent of gardenias.
After a long while, she finally washed off the warm hand cream. Only then could she make cookies.
The girl walked out of the bathroom with a flushed face, her beautiful eyes wide open.
Like a revolving lantern in her mind, she unconsciously clenched her palms, thinking about what kind of cookies she would roll out later.
"Ding-dong~"
"Shizuka, are you home?"
Nobi Nobita, who had rushed over, panted as he rang the doorbell.
Hearing the call, the girl could only go open the door.
"What is it, Nobita? Is there something you need me for?"
Looking at Nobita, Shizuka's delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly, looking a bit displeased.
Their private world was disturbed; even if he was a friend, she would still be a little unhappy.
"Nothing, I just came to play with you. Can I come in?"
Nobita held the back of his head, his face wreathed in smiles. His acting was quite good; at least, no other motive was apparent.
"Of course, I'm just about to make cookies. You can try some."
"Wow, that's great! Shizuka, the cookies you make must be delicious."
Flattering her, Nobita followed Shizuka into the kitchen, a hint of cunning coldness flashing in his eyes, quickly hidden away.
Seeing Nobi Hiroshi kneading dough in the kitchen, although he was very jealous, he still pretended to be a good friend on the surface.
"Hiroshi, so you're playing here too. What a coincidence."
"It certainly is a coincidence, Nobita. Have you finished your homework?"
Looking up at Nobita, Nobi Hiroshi asked a soul-searching question. The other party's guilty look surely meant he hadn't finished. He couldn't be bothered with him; after all, it wouldn't be him standing in punishment tomorrow morning.
However, the other party coming at this time clearly meant trouble; he must have brought another gadget from Doraemon to cause mischief.
He could fool the innocent and lovely Shizuka, but he was far from being able to fool himself.
That feeling of being watched on the Commercial Street, it was almost certainly from Nobi Nobita.
The atmosphere in the room suddenly became somewhat strange. Besides the cheerfully busy Shizuka, both Nobita and Nobi Hiroshi had their own little schemes.
One was thinking about how to plot, and the other was constantly on guard against being plotted against.
"Hiroshi, could you please get some butter from the refrigerator?"
"Oh, okay, Shizuka."
Hearing this, Nobi Hiroshi went to the refrigerator, opened the door, took out the butter wrapped in tin foil, cut off a piece, and handed it to Shizuka.
On the way, he happened to pass by Nobita. Nobi Nobita seized the opportunity, took the Stupid Bomb from his pocket, and quietly stuck it to Hiroshi's back.
Nobi Hiroshi, who had been on guard, naturally noticed it, but he pretended not to know anything.
Turning his head, he looked at Nobita, who was secretly gloating, and a slight curve appeared at the corner of his mouth: "Nobita, what goes around comes around."
He silently removed the Stupid Bomb and, together with Shizuka, began shaping the cookies.
"Alright, let's go outside and watch some TV for a bit. The oven still needs some time."
Shizuka put on a pink apron, evenly coated the bear-shaped cookies with the beaten egg, and put them into the oven.
Then she went to the living room to rest, turned on the TV, and a tragic movie happened to be playing.
It was the story of the Kun, who had practiced for two and a half years, being flattened for the first time.
Shizuka watched very intently, as if immersed in it, tears welling up in the corners of her eyes. Hiroshi held the girl's soft hand from behind, silently comforting her.
"Shizuka, so cute…"
Nobita stared infatuatedly at his crush, not watching the TV at all, unaware that she was gradually changing, just giggling foolishly.
"Nobita, what are you laughing about? And so happily!?"
The sad atmosphere was disturbed. Shizuka clenched her little pink fists, her eyebrows furrowed, questioning why Nobita was laughing so happily.
Didn't you see my pigeon got flattened, and you can still laugh? Are you even human? What if it was you who got flattened?
"Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to, it was just an accident…"
Noticing his blunder, Nobita quickly explained. His attention hadn't been on the movie at all, so he had no idea what happened.
"Hmph…"
Shizuka pouted and turned her head away. She hated boys who gloated like that the most.
Half an hour later, the scent of cookies had wafted into the living room, and the oven let out a 'ding'.
They were ready. Shizuka got up and went into the kitchen, soon bringing out a plate of cookies.
"Yay, yay! I love Shizuka's cookies the most."
Nobita, without ceremony, was the first to grab a cookie and stuff it into his mouth, wanting to eat more than Nobi Hiroshi.
At the same time, a doubt arose in his mind: why didn't the Stupid Bomb explode? It was clearly stuck to his back, so why was it gone? Was it another defective gadget from Doraemon?
He couldn't figure it out, just couldn't.
"How is it, Hiroshi? Are the cookies delicious?"
Shizuka looked expectantly at Hiroshi as he ate the cookies, feeling a bit different than usual, especially nervous inside.
"They're very delicious."
"But, I still think Shizuka's little mouth is sweeter."
A warm breath blew across the girl's ear.
"Oh, what are you saying…"
Shyly lowering her head, Shizuka cupped her cheeks and swayed from side to side.
One eye glanced at Hiroshi, her heart full of sweetness, and the other eye looked at Nobita, hoping he hadn't heard.
~
…
After eating cookies and playing at Shizuka's house until evening, it was time to go home and rest.
"Shizuka, goodbye."
"Mm, see you tomorrow morning~"
Nobi Hiroshi walked on the road, turning to wave at the loli at her doorstep, his eyes only on her.
Except for the narcissistic Nobita, who thought Shizuka was saying goodbye to him.
"Hey! Hiroshi, look, Shizuka gave me all the remaining cookies!"
"Hahahaha!!!!"
Walking on the road, Nobi Nobita took out a pink takeout box to show off.
Only he had cookies; it seemed Shizuka still cared about him more. He was smug.
"Is that so? That's great."
Nobi Hiroshi said blandly, a sneer on his face.
He was showing off what he had shamelessly begged for. In the future, I can have as many as I want.
Moreover, he didn't dare to eat those cookies at all. The reason he was safe just now was because he had wrapped the Stupid Bomb inside a cookie and set it to explode on the first bite.
He and Shizuka had only eaten a few pieces, biting them extra carefully, never daring to gobble them down like Nobita.
Luckily, Nobita hadn't bitten into that particular cookie, but taking them home was his mistake. He could have been safe, but he insisted on bringing trouble upon himself.
Hiroshi looked at Nobita with pity, this child who actively abandoned the goddess of luck.