Chapter 23:

When he saw Naoko, the gloom on his face dissipated a little: "What are you doing here so late at night? Didn't I tell you that I have already recorded your fingerprints, and you can come in directly next time."

"If you come in without the owner's consent, you will look like a thief."

Amemiya gestured to his wrinkled shirt: "But if that's the case, I won't be able to take a shower because of you."

She was speechless and hesitant: "Okay. Actually...that...I want to ask you..."

"Ha, so shy. Naoko, you are not really planning to come to see me..." He crossed his arms and looked at her with a smile.

"No!" She quickly tiptoed to cover his mouth, glanced around, and pushed him into the small western-style building, "Anyway, let's go in first."

If he scolded her after going in, at least it would not be so embarrassing.

She was taken into the room by Amemiya and sat on his bed uneasily.

It was soft and bouncy, and high-end bedding was indeed different.

"There's a game console on the table, and a TV remote here. If you're bored, use it to kill time. I'll go take a shower first." After putting her aside, Amemiya went into the bathroom.

Naoko fidgeted, touching this and that, and finally took a sip of water awkwardly.

The sound of water coming from the bathroom was very loud, and her eyes couldn't help but look in the direction of the waterproof glass door... This was animal instinct, not that she was perverted.

I don't know if it was intentional or not, but when he was dressing and undressing, he was very close to the door, and the outline of his figure was vaguely reflected on the glass door.

Even the light seemed to favor him, making his skin white and smooth.

... She was definitely not a pervert, absolutely.

Considering Naoko's presence, he didn't do anything like running out in a yukata. He put on a gray silk pajamas, and his slightly long hair hung down at his temples, dripping water, soaking the fabric in the front.

However, he quickly smoothed up the unruly strand of hair with a towel.

Seeing her fixed gaze, he snorted and laughed: "Ha, that look, Naoko, are you still curious about the color of my panties?" He pointed to the balcony and deliberately lowered his voice, sounding low and ambiguous, "It's facing your window, Naoko, you should know it every day."

"Who would pay special attention to such things?" She gritted her teeth in anger.

When will he drop this boring topic? This is simply too maddening.

"Oh, so what are you doing here? Giving her cookies?" His gaze fell on the small package of cookies in her arms. He paused, then smiled familiarly. "Half of it's already eaten. It doesn't look like it was meant for me."

Naoko couldn't help but lower her head guiltily at his question, and asked vaguely, "Actually, I wanted to ask if you wanted to go to Parfait..."

"Is that the place you mentioned that's having a discount?"

"Oh, yes, I guess so."

"Naoko, you look like you're hiding something from me." He raised a hand to wipe his hair, lowering his eyes and staring at her condescendingly.

She lowered her head guiltily and coughed twice.

He raised an eyebrow. "Don't you have money? I'll treat you."

"No, no."

"Did you get into some other trouble?"

"..."

In his eyes, was she the kind of incompetent person who would come to him to clean up the mess after getting into trouble?

...Well, she was.

Feeling like she'd become a criminal if she continued to speculate, she admitted, "

Actually, Matsuki and the others wanted to treat us to parfait."

Amamiya's previously calm expression darkened, and he issued a stern warning, "Don't go. Didn't I tell you? Don't go near anyone else. In Naoko's world, Tomie Amamiya is all that matters." "

That's totally unfair. You're so popular, Amamiya-kun, of course you don't understand how I feel." His resolute attitude infuriated her.

"That's fair enough. Stop talking about it, Naoko." His gaze grew heated and intimate again, resting on her lips, shimmering in the light. "Want a kiss?"

"...Of course not."

He was completely insane. Was this the right time for a kiss? They'd been arguing just a moment ago.

"That's a pretty blunt rejection, Naoko," he scoffed.

"Let's talk about parfait. Please, Amamiya-kun, just this once." She clasped her hands together in a gesture of request. Seeing he didn't answer, she boldly tugged at the hem of his pajamas.

Amamiya's face gradually cooled, and Naoko could feel his cold gaze on the back of her neck. Finally, he snorted coldly:

"Whatever."

This was the meaning of surrender.

She jumped up excitedly, hugged him lightly, and promised: "That's great, Amamiya-kun! But no matter what, you're still my best friend."

He stretched out a hand, as if to pull her away, but paused, and gently placed it on her shoulder.

"There won't be a next time," he whispered emphatically.

With Naoko, his bottom line was always lowered.

She had been waiting for Buffy Day, and it had finally arrived.

This should be considered her first gathering with her friends, right?

Although she was extremely reluctant, Amamiya was still persuaded to go to the dessert shop.

She had originally suggested going to the discounted Buffy shop in the city center, but the three members of the academy refused in unison.

[It'll take a long time to go back and forth...]

[My other friends have tried it, and they say it doesn't taste anything special.]

[Every dessert shop is the same, Kawase-san, don't be so stubborn.]

This is their reasoning.

Since she was the one being treated, she couldn't be picky, so she could only follow the address they gave her and found this remote and desolate dessert shop.

Amemiya put his hand on her shoulder and said sarcastically, "Is this the great dessert shop you mentioned, Naoko? It's really surprising."

The shabby plaque hung above her head, swaying in the wind, making people wonder if someone had been killed by it.

"What if the parfait inside is delicious? It's too easy to judge a place by its appearance, Amamiya-kun."

As soon as they walked in, six gazes instantly shot over, and the quiet shop was filled with shouts:

"Amamiya-kun!"

"Ah, it's really Amamiya-kun!"

Several figures rushed over, squeezing Naoko out of the encirclement, but she was quickly pulled back by Amamiya by the hood of her hoodie.

"Don't you want to eat parfait?" Seeing that they were about to approach, he glanced around coldly, "Stay away from me."

Not wanting to offend him, the three squeezed in and sat across from them, diligently taking Amamiya's order:

"What would you like to eat, Amamiya-kun?"

"Tiramisu? Red velvet? Earl Grey tea? Or chocolate parfait?"

Naoko raised her hand and whispered, "I want a chocolate parfait."

But no one paid any attention to her. The three of them were busy trying to please Amemiya.

"Amemiya-kun, you can have something else. The drinks here are delicious too."

"Amemiya-kun, look at this... Actually, I can't finish it all by myself. If you'd like, Amemiya-kun, we can share one..."

Amemiya took the time to turn his head and glance at her, his lips curling up slightly, as if to say:

"Look, Naoko, besides me, no one else will take you seriously. So, wake up."

Following his gaze, Okada realized that there was someone else present and asked hurriedly, "Kawase-san, you want a chocolate parfait, right? I've already placed your order. You should have said it louder. We didn't hear you just now."

She replied with a frustrated "OK", which made Amemiya laugh.

"I have no interest in these greasy, sugary things. So hurry up and eat, Naoko, and then it's time to come home with me."

Ah.

The lively atmosphere cooled completely, the pink bubbles in their eyes evaporated, and their gazes towards Naoko grew even more hostile.

While waiting for the parfait, she tried to ingratiate herself with them in conversation, but it wasn't very effective.

Fortunately, before the atmosphere became more awkward, Naoko's chocolate parfait arrived.

Except for her, no one at the table was interested in dessert. Amemiya lowered his head to scroll through his phone, while the three of them exchanged glances in silence, their thoughts unclear, and occasional hushed whispers could be heard.

The parfait was actually much more delicious than Naoko had imagined, so she quickly forgot her previous annoyance and focused on eating.

But when she looked up again, she found Amemiya staring down at her, his gaze fixed on the occasional glimpse of her tongue as she ate the parfait.

How rude, this guy.

She quickly shut her mouth and carefully moved aside.

Songmu murmured cheerfully, trying to find a topic to talk about. "Hey, Amemiya-kun, what are your hobbies?"

He then averted his gaze, his irritating expression returning. "Ha, do you have to ask such a stupid question?"

"Huh? Okay, okay, sorry, I'm so sorry! Amemiya-kun..." She immediately panicked, waving her hands in apology. "I won't ask again..."

"Kissing."

The trio across from her were stunned. "Huh?"

"You weren't asking me about my hobbies?" He smiled. "No, not before, but now it's kissing."

Their faces alternated between red and white, and they all glared at Naoko.

Naoko was also stunned. She knew Amemiya-kun was shameless, but she hadn't expected him to be so shameless.

He was totally trying to ruin her friendships, wasn't he?

She was so angry that she stomped on him under the table and typed out angrily:

[Amemiya-kun, please stop your rude words! You're so rude and shameless, okay?

[I really want to be friends with them!]

[Friends? I am, right?]

How could they be the same? She tried to pinch

his thigh under the table, but he grabbed her hand, squeezed it, and squeezed it gently.