Tsubaki finished cooking.
She glanced at her phone again.
"Satoru" still hadn't responded.
She checked the time again; nearly two hours had passed since she sent the message.
Logically, school should have ended by now, and even if he participated in club activities, they should be over.
Nowadays, high school students, even the traditional type like her own daughter, would carry their phones with them. There was no reason for him to delay so long without replying.
She looked at the two chat records above.
Could it be that she replied too late, so he deliberately used this cold shoulder approach to deal with her?
But Tsubaki had no choice. If she asked too eagerly, she might easily reveal a flaw. Besides, she basically had no experience chatting with high school boys, and if she chatted too much, she might also easily expose herself.
Seriously.
Tsubaki's cheeks puffed out, showing a cute expression unbefitting her age.
What's with that boy? He's a bit too vengeful.
Shouldn't boys be more magnanimous?
Boys really should be more magnanimous.
Satoru walked out of Yayoi's house, holding his stomach. Because he had eaten too much, his slender figure somehow exuded the aura of someone weighing two hundred pounds.
After the delinquent commotion was resolved today, he inexplicably followed Aiya home.
Probably hearing that there was still a lot of leftover food from yesterday and that the two people in their family wouldn't be able to finish it, Satoru decided to come over and be the good samaritan.
blonde with earrings went to confront Mikami Kensuke.
Considering blonde with earrings's tendency to draw a knife at the slightest provocation, and Mikami Kensuke's more rustic custom of daring to scald people with boiling hot water.
And if both sides were evenly matched… Satoru believed it wouldn't be long before they would destroy themselves.
At the very least, it would be a paralyzing injury.
Aiya asked him not to tell Yayoi about today's events.
Satoru, of course, agreed.
Yayoi, on the other hand, didn't mind Satoru coming to freeload a meal, especially since he later helped her younger brother with his homework.
Yayoi had graduated from college many years ago, and because she used to be part of a biker gang, her grades weren't outstanding.
She was already powerless regarding Aiya 's schoolwork. For example, when she learned yesterday that he had scored very poorly on his exam, she could only scold him a little; she couldn't really help much.
Therefore, for her, Satoru, a good student willing to tutor Hiro, was simply a treasure.
"I have no way to repay you." Yayoi said, drinking beer, "If you need it, I can give you a hug and let you enjoy a sister's warmth."
Then Satoru spread his arms.
Yayoi immediately shrank her neck, "Are you serious?"
Satoru scoffed.
See, that damn woman only wastes his expressions.
In the end, he didn't get a hug, but Satoru did manage to snag two cans of beer to take back.
Between having a boy or a girl, he chose draft beer.
The order to abstain from alcohol today was not false. Boys should keep their word, but it was almost nine o'clock now, and tomorrow would soon arrive.
He wouldn't have to abstain tomorrow.
When he walked out of Yayoi's house, it was night with stars in the sky. Yayoi waved to him from behind, laughing heartily:
"I originally wanted to tell you to be careful on the way, but it's such a short distance, I guess you don't need to be careful, hahahaahahahaha!"
Satoru looked back. Yayoi had already given him a thumbs-up and gone back inside the house.
And Satoru continued to stagger towards his own home.
Then, he seemed to hear something.
Or perhaps he didn't hear it clearly.
As he was about to continue walking, from high above his head, it was repeated once more.
"Hmph!!"
Satoru looked up, but before he could clearly see what it was, the window there closed, and then the curtains were drawn.
Only light seeped through the thick curtain fabric, casting it in a dim color.
Speaking of which, that seemed to be Snow Woman Miss's room, right?
Satoru scratched his head, then pulled out his phone.
It was about time to reply to Eriri.
"Yes, what's wrong?"
Then he stared at his phone, letting the night wind blow on him outside.
After five minutes, there was still no response.
Only then did he put his phone back in his pocket, and leisurely strolled back into the apartment.
On the other end of the phone, Tsubaki had just finished showering and let down her black-purple scorpion braid. She was about to go to sleep when she saw Satoru's reply.
She narrowed her eyes, thinking that Sakura seemed normal today, so there shouldn't be anything wrong.
Plus, she had put on makeup to go out today, and after returning home, she was tied up with housework. She had been busy until now and only just had time to rest. She was extremely tired now.
If she were to accidentally fall asleep while communicating with him, it would be less than ideal.
After thinking for a moment, she put down her phone, intending to reply tomorrow.
It wasn't an act of revenge.
It was just…
Tsubaki let out a beautiful yawn, her mature, beautiful eyes completely narrowed. She was truly too sleepy.
"......Ha."
...
Finally, another day off arrived.
This week's continuous hard work had almost burned out all of Akane's strength.
However, although it was a "day off," Akane had no intention of resting.
Because today.
It was the day she and Shigen Ryouka had agreed to have a study session at her house.
She heard that an important male student would also be coming.
Akane was quite interested in this.
It wasn't that she was interested in the boy himself, but she had often chatted with Suzuka about this boy before. Suzuka seemed… quite fond of him.
Akane sat by the dressing mirror.
For Japan girls, it was essential to wear makeup when going out. Going out barefaced wasn't a matter of whether one looked good or not, but rather it would be considered impolite.
However, Akane also understood today that she wouldn't be the protagonist.
Besides, she had no intention of being the protagonist.
So, she barely applied any lip gloss, and didn't even put on foundation. She just lightly traced her eyebrows.
Then she opened her wardrobe, picked for a long time, and only chose a very simple style of clothing, and then put on a pair of black-rimmed plain glasses.
Akane chuckled at herself in the mirror.
She looked like some country bumpkin.
It was a bit funny. She originally wanted to take a photo to show Satoru-chan, but then she thought that he was surrounded by beautiful girls as pretty as flowers, so even a photo where she intentionally looked ugly should absolutely not be sent to him!
So she gave up the idea.
She sent a message to Shigen Ryouka.
"I'm leaving now."
Shigen Ryouka replied almost instantly:
"Mhm mhm, he just left too. Um… Akane, I still haven't chosen what to wear yet."
Seeing this message, Akane pushed up her glasses.
See, this is where the role of a best friend comes in, right? Let her offer advice and help Suzuka win over that boy in an instant!
...
...