Chapter 22

Naoko was stunned for a moment: "...Huh?"

"How should I know this... Generally speaking, Amemiya-kun would never show this to me..." She spoke incoherently and explained repeatedly, "After all, this is a private matter..."

Several people immediately showed an extremely disappointed expression, took a step back, crossed their arms and stared at her with disdain, talking at once:

"Ah, that means that as a girlfriend, Kawase-san is no different from us."

"She may not be unaware of it, maybe she just doesn't want to tell us."

"Aren't they friends? I didn't expect Kawase-san to be like this."

She waved her hands in panic: "There is absolutely no such thing! I, I really don't know. Even if you are a couple, you have to have personal space, right..."

They seemed to have expected her words, and encouraged her after hearing her words:

"If you don't know, Kawase-san can go and ask in person, right?"

"Or, take a look?"

"Since you are a couple, it's okay to take a look, right? We are just a little curious."

"I think you won't refuse to help your friends do some good things within your ability, Kawase-chan?"

Ha, but no matter what, this is over the line, right?

That was Amemiya-kun's privacy.

"Eh~ Judging from Kawase-san's expression, he doesn't seem very willing~"

"We can't force him. Since Kawase-san doesn't want to, let's just forget about being friends, okay?"

"..."

This hit Naoko's sore spot precisely, so she got carried away and nodded in agreement. She

couldn't just let a new friend die like that.

But when she came to her senses, she started to worry: How on earth should she ask Amemiya-kun about such an embarrassing thing?

She walked back to the classroom reluctantly and sat down next to Amemiya. It took her three or four minutes to walk a distance that took less than a minute.

Turning around, the trio outside the door were standing side by side with smiles on their faces, making a "go quickly" gesture to her.

Since Irie took a leave of absence, Amemiya had relaxed his supervision of her. Otherwise, she wouldn't have had the opportunity to make new friends without telling him.

Amemiya lay on the table, looking as if she had fallen asleep.

Suzuki-kun was staring at him from across the aisle - ever since the incident of peeping in the locker room, he had been moved to another seat by the homeroom teacher.

"...Amemiya-kun." She coughed twice.

He slowly opened his eyes, his pupils slightly dilated, and there was still some sleepiness in his tone: "Well, what's wrong again, Naoko."

"Well, it's, it's, that..." She stammered, not daring to ask. She glanced out the window and saw the trio standing side by side, looking over here with their arms folded.

What color are your panties?

If she asked such a question, he would definitely punch her, right?

She could only sigh cowardly and tried to bury her face in the desk: "...It's okay."

If she thought about it carefully, face is also important.

Besides, she couldn't reveal the color of Amemiya-kun's panties...or something like that just to make friends.

He sat up, rubbing his eyes and staring at her. "Naoko, if you have anything to say, just say it. Otherwise, I'll think you've gotten into trouble again."

"What image do you have of me?" Now that he'd said that, Naoko abandoned her politeness and whispered in his ear, "What color are your panties?"

Her voice grew quieter and quieter, and Amamiya's face gradually turned pale.

Finally, he simply raised an eyebrow. "Oh, Naoko, you're hesitating. Is that what you wanted to ask?"

Huh, what a flat reaction!

After a pause, he imitated Naoko's behavior and leaned close to her ear. "You can come and see for yourself tonight. I'm always free for you, Naoko."

"..."

Naoko felt a chill and carefully moved her stool a little further away, but he hooked his leg around the stool leg and dragged her back.

He deliberately whispered, "Don't you want to see it anymore? Naoko, if you like it, you can take it home."

"Who wants to take something like that home..." Her face flushed, and it was probably already red.

"Oh, right. It's a matter of reciprocity. If I tell you, Naoko, you'll have to..." Amemiya made an evil triangle with his white knuckles.

She covered his mouth with her hand anxiously: "Forget it! I don't want to know at all!"

Even when it comes to shamelessness, she is far from being comparable to Amemiya-kun.

Her moral integrity is more important than her illusory friends.

As for the academy trio, it's better to see if there's any chance of redemption...

Her gaze slid out the window, and the three people who were watching the show just now were nowhere to be seen.

Naoko then lay down on the table and sighed inwardly. However, as soon as she lay down, she heard some rustling sounds, and a wet, sticky voice rang out:

"It's black... panties, today's."

It took her twenty seconds to come to her senses, and her face flushed from the base of her neck all the way to the top of her head.

Ahhhhh, this pervert!

She lifted her head from her arms with a thud. Amemiya rested his head on her left arm, his eyes half-closed as he stared at her. They were so close to each other that she could almost make out his long, brush-like eyelashes as he blinked.

"Naoko's blushing, so cute~" What was that disgusting ending to her voice?

Unable to bear it any longer, Naoko reached out and pinched his mouth, manually sealing it: "You'd better shut up, Amemiya-kun."

Of course, after class, she quietly retreated to the bathroom and broke the shocking news to the academy trio—her future friends—via chat.

Before doing this, she mentally apologized to Amemiya-kun ten times and repeatedly promised she would never do such a shameful thing again.

Like a hurricane suddenly thrown into a calm lake, the chat group exploded:

[Matsuki: Black... black! So Amemiya-kun is such a reserved and steady person? 】

【Aida: Maybe it's because he's shy~ This kind of Amamiya-kun has another kind of charm~】

【Okada: What style? Stripes? Or pure black? No matter which one, it must be very sexy...】

Is it really reliable to judge a man's type based on the color of his panties?

But she didn't dare to interrupt their heated discussion, and just pretended to be a quail.

But it was obvious that this kind of strange questioning had no bottom line:

【Naoko: This test is over, right? Then can I...】

Before this sentence was finished, the replies of several people were refreshed:

【Aida: Kawase-san, what position will you use when you and Amamiya-kun do that? 】

【Naoko:...Ah? Which one is that? 】

[Matsuki: They're surprisingly pure, huh?]

A buzzing sound echoed through Naoko's head, and she finally understood what they were trying to say. She frantically typed a reply:

[Naoko: Of course not! Amemiya-kun and I haven't reached that level yet!]

In fact, it's still just a kiss.

After this message was sent, the group chat fell silent. After about two or three minutes, a flurry of responses erupted, peppered with exclamation points and emojis, as if they were genuinely surprised.

She only had time to glance at the replies, making out words like "shocking" and "great." They

were probably astonished by their innocence.

After all, in Japan, premature love and the taste of forbidden fruit were commonplace.

But Naoko and Amemiya weren't among them.

All Naoko knew about men came from the box of otome game cartridges in her closet and the haunting presence of her childhood friend, Tomie Amemiya.

In short, she was quite naive.

As for Tomie Amamiya, despite being a mean-spirited, uncouth person who delights in trampling on the sincerity of others, she also holds everyone around her in equal contempt, and of course disdains any inappropriate relationship with anyone—except for Naoko Kawase.

However, before realizing her budding feelings, nothing resembling "lust" had ever entered his world. In other words, he was quite innocent.

Naoko typed slowly and frantically, and before she could finish her next message, a new topic popped up:

[Matsugi: Hey, Kawase-san, are we friends now?]

[Naoko: Oh, yes, of course! I'll try my best!]

[Matsugi: I heard you love parfaits.]

[Matsugi: As a friend, can I treat you tomorrow? It would be even better if you could bring Amamiya-kun along.]

Bring Amamiya-kun?

He'd be pissed.

Wouldn't that be telling him, "I've made a new friend without telling you, chummy"?

Seeing she didn't respond for a long time, the remaining two began to fan the flames:

[Okada: Hey, Kawase-san looks really embarrassed~ You better stop making things difficult for me, okay?]

[Aida: Although he didn't say it directly, Kawase-san actually looks down on us a little, doesn't he? He thinks we're just "bugs hanging around Amamiya-kun" or something like that.]

Only Amamiya-kun could say such vulgar words.

She had never seen such a scene before, and she angrily said "Okay" several times.

If Amamiya-kun scolded her later, then we could talk about it later.

With her assurance, the three of them returned to their previous peaceful state, calling out "Kawase-san!" "Kawase-san!" nonstop.

Naoko had easily fallen into his trap.

Of course, she couldn't tell Amamiya-kun directly about making new friends, or he'd probably fly into a rage.

That evening, she baked a box of cookies in her oven, planning to use that as an excuse to visit Amamiya.

Amamiya didn't like such sweet things—she knew it, because she'd prepared them for herself.

If he suddenly changed his face and started swearing, she would eat two small cookies to comfort herself.

Seeing that she was about to go out, Misato Kawase, who had been staring at the TV just now, turned around and said, "Hey, where are you going at this time of night, Naoko?"

"I baked some cookies and prepared to send them to Amemiya-kun. The apple pie I baked for you, mom, is already on the table."

"Amemiya-kun? Why would you go to Amemiya-kun at this time of night? Could it be..." Misato Kawase smiled secretly.

She hurriedly explained, "No! It's just that I'm not sure about the answer to a question, so I thought of asking him!"

"Oh, so that's the case," Misato turned back disappointedly, "I thought you were in love. After all, you are at the age to be in love, right?"

She waved her hand, "Mom, you think too much. I'll be back later."

After that, she ran out the door with her face covered in embarrassment.

The door of the Amemiya family was tightly closed. Naoko rang the doorbell several times in a row, but received no response. It was n't

until five minutes later that Amemiya came out wearing a loose uniform shirt and a gloomy face.