Chapter 3

"Amemiya-kun?"

She stood there waiting for a moment, but there was silence; it seemed Tomie Amemiya had already gone far away.

With a sigh of relief, she decided to start adapting to life without Amemiya-kun from today.

The Amemiya residence was right next door to the Kawase residence, a beautiful little house with a garden.

The flowers in the garden were beautiful and charming, but it was clear that the owner had no favor, and most of the time,

it was passers-by who stopped to admire them. Naoko walked back to her own home and had just changed her shoes when the door swung open before her, revealing Amemiya's handsome face.

"It's so late, Naoko! I've been waiting for you for a long time."

"Amemiya-kun? Why are you here?"

Kawase Misato glared at her with a spatula. "Naoko, be polite to guests."

Amemiya leaned against the wall, a leisurely demeanor. "I told Misato about our fight, and she thought we should talk, so she invited me here for dinner. Naoko seems very unhappy about this?"

This shameless guy.

Naoko's eyes widened as she mouthed, "Amamiya-kun, please don't go too far." "

Alright, both of you, stop standing at the door and come in for dinner. I made you both a favorite miso soup today."

Ms. Kawase was a somewhat renowned chef with a nearby restaurant, and her dishes were undoubtedly delicious.

She loved being praised for her cooking at the table, so the Kawase household didn't have a "no talking while eating, no talking while sleeping" rule.

"Oh, our Amamiya-kun, even eating is so elegant."

Misato Kawase was a complete member of the "Appearance Society." Because Tomie Amamiya had always been handsome, she had an inordinate amount of affection for him.

Besides asking Naoko to bring him toys and snacks since he was little, she would often invite him to her home for meals and frequently mentioned him.

"Misato, you're such a great cook! The tonkatsu for lunch was also delicious."

That was ridiculous; she had clearly eaten that tonkatsu.

"Oh, really? That's good. If Amamiya-kun likes it, I should prepare two servings. It's so gratifying to receive praise from Amamiya-kun." Kawase Misato immediately smiled.

Naoko bit her spoon, looked at the two respectable people who were just playing around, and sighed slightly.

"But why did you quarrel? Amamiya-kun is a gentle person. Naoko, did you lose your temper with Amamiya-kun again?"

She raised her head from her rice bowl: "We didn't quarrel! It was just some minor friction."

She was too embarrassed to mention these adolescent thoughts to her mother, so she kicked Amamiya under the table, hinting with her eyes that he should make up for it as soon as possible.

He lowered his head and pretended to be indifferent, which made Naoko so anxious that she stepped on him.

"Uh-huh," he cried out in exaggerated pain. "Naoko, why did you step on me?"

Seeing her winking, he leaned forward to touch her head. "What's wrong with your eyes? Why are you blinking at me?"

"..."

Seeing the way Kawase Misato looked at them grow increasingly strange, Naoko quickly pushed him away: "Amemiya-kun!"

"Huh? What's wrong?"

"Oh, you two kids." Kawase Misato, her thoughts wandering, held her face in her hands. "Mom isn't too conservative. As long as it doesn't affect your studies, it's okay."

She explained, "Mom, it's not about that kind of thing. Amemiya-kun and I are not..."

This explanation was pale, because at some point, Amemiya had quietly grasped her right hand, interlocking their fingers.

He must have done it on purpose.

Seeing the obvious smile on his lips, Naoko was so angry that she was speechless.

"Looks like you need some space." Kawase Misato covered her eyes and stood up to leave.

Naoko couldn't stand it any longer: "Amamiya-kun, don't you think you're being too much?"

"No. Compared to that, Naoko, don't you think kicking me away is even worse?"

"I told you I wasn't kicking you away."

"No matter what you think, Naoko, I'll stick with you forever. Don't try to get rid of me." His voice dropped, and the relaxed expression on his face faded, his eyes filled with a terrifying storm.

She could only swallow her breath: "Whatever you want."

Hearing her response, Amamiya snorted softly, his calm demeanor returning to its usual calm.

"Don't make me angry again, Naoko."

Haha.

That night, Naoko put Amamiya's photo on the target in her room.

Despite her agreement, her desire to make new friends didn't subside.

School in Japan ends early, and sometimes Amamiya, surrounded by others, would go to the court to play basketball for a while.

Naoko had little interest in basketball and was either in the classroom writing tests or borrowing books from the library.

But two years had passed, and she'd nearly read every single book in the library. As for why she still came there so often, it was obviously for other reasons.

The library was remote and old, so few students usually came to borrow or read. Besides Naoko, there was only one bespectacled senior.

For some reason, he'd been held back.

So, when they met, Naoko still took to calling him "senpai.

" While not as handsome as Amamiya, he was still handsome and tall—and his gentle nature was precious.

When he spoke to her, he spoke softly, afraid to disturb her.

With Amamiya as her only male companion, the innocent Naoko easily fell for him. She

even jumped for joy when she learned he'd been held back. Of

course, she didn't dare tell Amamiya about this, her subconscious knowing it might lead to something terrible.

So, she tentatively tried to find a female friend with whom she could share her girlish thoughts.

Now this chosen senior was sitting on a chair on the balcony, holding a difficult and boring book, reading it with great interest.

The shadow fell on him, and even the sunlight seemed so gentle.

Naoko couldn't help but sigh in her heart that her luck was pretty good today.

Sensing her approach, Irie Reo smiled and greeted her: "Kawase-chan, good afternoon."

When he smiled, his eyes hidden behind his glasses curved slightly, and the little girl who was just beginning to fall in love even skipped a beat.

"Irie-senpai, good afternoon." She sat down in another seat to his right, and glanced at him cautiously out of the corner of her eye.

"Kawase-chan, are you here to borrow a book?"

"Ah, no, I'm here to return a book."

Irie Reo's eyes passed over the book in her arms: "Since Kawase-chan likes it, it must be a very good book."

This is Naoko's favorite poetry collection. She never tires of reading it. She knows almost every poem in it by heart.

"Please lend it to me too."

She handed the book to him dazedly. It wasn't until a hard card fell out of the interlayer that she suddenly came to her senses.

It's over!

Irie Reo picked up the pink handwritten letter and flipped through it again and again. Naoko snatched it back in a panic.

"It seems that all my name is written on it. Is it for me?"

When reading these tender and romantic poems, her mind was full of the gentle face of her senior, so she couldn't help but write "Irie Reo" countless times on the bookmark.

"No, no. I was just writing casually." She buried her head lower and lower, and her tone became softer and softer.

After a long while, Irie Reo chuckled.

"I'm very happy, Kawase-chan. You have a good impression of me too, right?"

What does this mean?

Naoko's rusty brain was almost unable to react.

The scent of her senior grew closer and closer, until she felt a hand gently caressing her head. "It seems to be stuck."

She was about to faint, so she ran out, not even looking back when she dropped the bookmark with "Irie Reo" written on it.

Her forehead hurt, and she didn't know who she had bumped into.

Before she could raise her head, she heard the familiar sneer from Amemiya on the top of her head:

"You're so flustered, Naoko, are you being chased by stray dogs?"

After a pause, he suddenly lowered his head and sniffed her.

"No, it really does smell like stray dogs."

Amemiya's eyes circled around her, finally settling on her suspicious face.

"Where have you been?"

"Just... just to the library to read."

"Did your face get red from reading? Do they have books like that in the school library?" he asked. "You smell strange, too."

Naoko, still feeling uneasy, didn't want to argue. "Are you a dog?"

"Naoko, your temper is getting worse and worse."

"Didn't you learn that from Amamiya-kun?"

He casually tossed the backpack back to Naoko. "I didn't teach you that. Here, carry it yourself."

Amamiya looked calm, but even as she walked ahead, she felt a chill running down her spine.

"Didn't I tell you? If Naoko dares to kick me away, I'll be rude."

"Stop being so suspicious. Nothing happened," she snapped. "Didn't I already give you my social media passwords?"

Ever since the scene at her house, he'd been threatening to take Naoko's accounts. Annoyed, she had no choice but to agree.

"That's better," Amamiya said, suddenly grabbing her collar from behind.

"What are you going to do now?"

He was moody. He was furious just a few minutes ago, but now he became gentle as water.

"It's still early today. Don't you like desserts? Let's eat first and then go back."

As soon as he finished speaking, he opened the door and pushed Naoko into the dessert shop.

She really liked desserts, especially the chocolate parfait from Kasuga and Dessert Shop.

It's a pity that the pocket money given by Ms. Kawase Misato was too little, and she could only eat it a few times a month.

Fortunately, she had a rich and generous childhood friend.

Amemiya sat opposite her, supporting his chin with both hands and looking at her straight in the eye.

"I feel like you're going to bankrupt me if you keep going like this, Naoko."

There is an old Chinese saying that goes, "You're grateful for what you've received, and you're grateful for what you've received." Naoko is in this state now.

Holding a cup of parfait with double chocolate in her hand, she found him pleasing no matter how she looked at him.

"No matter what unpleasant words you say now, I will forgive you, Amemiya-kun."

"Is that so?" Amemiya's tone was light, and the ending sound seemed to have a hook, but her mind was blocked by Buffy and she couldn't hear it at all. "Then let's have a rare heart-to-heart talk, Naoko."