Near the bread counter.
A female student from Class 1-C stood outside the crowd, looking at the crowd before her, a trace of hesitation flashing through her eyes. Finally, she decided to give up and leave.
She had long, gray wavy hair and wore thin-rimmed glasses. She was also wearing the girls' uniform. Her back was straight, revealing her well-proportioned, curvy figure. Her features were exquisite and regular, her skin fair. Expressionless, with a calm gaze, she looked like the calm and composed type.
"Futaba-san..."
Just then, a pleasant male voice sounded by her ear. She couldn't help but freeze slightly. This voice was somewhat familiar to her, because she had heard it in the classroom. She looked up slightly, following the sound. Sure enough, a familiar figure appeared in her field of vision. It was the most popular person in the class. His name was Lin.
"Lin, Lin-san..."
Futaba Rio looked at Lin, who had arrived at her side. The eyes behind her glasses moved slightly, a look of nervousness flashing past. His popularity was too high, dazzling like the sun in the sky. His presence beside a 'wallflower' like herself now made her feel an involuntary nervousness.
Although she was a bit nervous inside, and her heartbeat began to accelerate because of it, on the surface, she quickly calmed down, looking at Lin and asking:
"Is something the matter?"
She didn't know why Lin would suddenly strike up a conversation with her. Moreover, she was a little surprised inside. Clearly, before this, she and Lin hadn't spoken a single word to each other, yet Lin actually remembered her name.
Looking at Futaba Rio, who was only about 1.55 meters tall—petite yet possessing an outstanding figure—Lin smiled and said:
"Just now, I noticed Futaba-san seemed a bit troubled. What kind of bread do you want? I'll go buy it for you."
Futaba Rio froze slightly upon hearing this. Although a trace of being moved involuntarily arose in her heart, it was just a flash. Just as she was preparing to refuse, Lin smiled and added:
"It just so happens I want to buy bread myself, so it's just in passing. You don't need to feel like you're troubling me, Futaba-san."
"If you feel uneasy about it, you can just help me next time I need something."
"...Thank you."
Hearing Lin say this, Futaba Rio fell silent for a moment, then thanked him and extended her right hand toward Lin. There was a coin in her hand, a 500-yen coin.
"I want a sandwich, and a chocolate bread."
"Okay, wait a moment."
Lin took the coin from Futaba Rio's fair, small hand, smiled at her, and turned to buy the bread. Futaba Rio looked at her right palm, her gaze flickering involuntarily.
About a minute later, Lin returned to Futaba Rio with four breads in his hand. He handed her the ones she wanted.
"Here, Futaba-san."
Futaba Rio reached out to take the bread, looking at Lin with a calm expression:
"Thank you, Lin-san."
"You're welcome, it was no trouble at all."
Lin smiled at her upon hearing this.
"Then I'll be going first. Bye-bye."
"Goodbye..."
Looking at Lin's smiling face, Futaba Rio's heart stirred. On the surface, she maintained her cool, nodding lightly in response.
Lin turned and left.
Watching Lin's departing figure, Futaba Rio's eyes flickered. She also left the cafeteria and went to her base—one of the science laboratories.
After arriving at the unmanned laboratory, she looked at the two breads. Lin's smiling face seemed to reappear before her eyes. She placed her right hand over her heart. Her heartbeat suddenly became a bit fast. Unlike the accelerated heartbeat from nervousness due to Lin suddenly talking to her earlier, this was due to another feeling. This feeling had appeared for the first time, leaving her slightly bewildered.
...
After parting with Futaba Rio, Lin took his own bread to the rooftop of the club activity building.
There were quite a few students on the teaching building's rooftop, but here, there was only one person. And this person was an acquaintance, the kind he already knew inside out.
Opening the iron door to the roof that appeared to be closed, Lin looked at the figure eating a bento not far away and said with a smile:
"I didn't disturb you enjoying your lunch alone in peace, did I, Utaha?"
The person here was none other than Kasumigaoka Utaha.
"How did you..."
Seeing Lin arrive, Kasumigaoka Utaha froze slightly. A doubt reflexively arose in her mind—how Lin knew she was here. However, just as this doubt arose, she thought of Lin's identity, and the doubt instantly vanished from her heart.
Lin came over and sat down beside her. Looking at her bento, he smiled and said:
"A bento handmade by my wife Utaha. What should I do? I really want to eat it."
Hearing Lin's way of addressing her, even though they knew each other inside out, Kasumigaoka Utaha was still a bit shy. While shy, a sweet feeling also welled up in her heart, as if she had eaten honey.
"Do you want to eat?"
She gently curled the corners of her lips, picked up a piece of tamagoyaki with her chopsticks, and waved it in front of Lin.
"I do."
Lin nodded with a smile.
"Then just keep wanting, I'm not giving it to you."
A look of slyness appeared in her eyes. Kasumigaoka Utaha spoke with a smile and brought the tamagoyaki to her mouth, taking a bite.
"No, I'm eating it."
The corners of Lin's mouth lifted slightly. Saying that, he opened his mouth and bit toward the piece of tamagoyaki held in Kasumigaoka Utaha's chopsticks.
"If you can snatch it, it's yours."
Kasumigaoka Utaha's right hand dodged Lin, a smile playing on her lips.
"Alright, watch me."
Lin said with a smile. Then he opened his mouth and continued to snatch the food.
The two leaned closer and closer, almost sticking together. Soon, Lin successfully ate the tamagoyaki. After dodging a few times, Kasumigaoka Utaha had deliberately let him eat it.
Lin ate the tamagoyaki in a few bites, looking at Kasumigaoka Utaha with a beaming smile:
"Delicious. Thank you, my wife Utaha."
Watching Lin eat the tamagoyaki she had taken a bite of, Kasumigaoka Utaha's eyes flickered slightly, and the corners of her lips curled up gently.
"My wife Utaha, I want more."
Lin looked at her with anticipation.
Kasumigaoka Utaha chuckled softly:
"You ate it, what about me?"
Lin smiled and said:
"It's fine, I'll give you something to eat later."
"Hah? ...Rogue."
Kasumigaoka Utaha froze upon hearing this. As if understanding something, her pretty face instantly blushed, and she couldn't help but roll her eyes at Lin.
"Why are you suddenly scolding me?"
Lin blinked with an innocent look:
"I meant I'd give you the bread I bought to eat, my wife Utaha."
"What did you think you were going to eat?"
"You...!"
Hearing Lin's words, and seeing him looking at her with a meaningful gaze, Kasumigaoka Utaha's face turned even redder. She couldn't help but feel a sense of shame in her heart.
Time flowed quickly as the two flirted and bantered.
Deep night quietly spread. Time reached twelve o'clock at night.
Returning to his residence from Machida Sonoko's and Kasumigaoka Utaha's homes, Lin played games with Gabriel for two hours. Tohru, Akasha, Kanna, and Sakurajima Mai had already returned to the Mirage Realm to sleep, planning to get a good night's rest tonight.
Amidst Gabriel's reluctance, Lin went offline and put the computer to sleep. Just as he was preparing to return to the Mirage Realm to sleep...
"Hm?!"
Lin suddenly sensed an unstable spatial fluctuation appear in the second-floor bathroom. Someone had come uninvited. And it wasn't an ordinary person.
________________________________________
Get rewarded for helping with our community goals!
🎯 Reward for all: +1 bonus chapter at 50 Powerstones.
🚀 Tier Reward: Help us reach 20 members for +5 chapters on all stories!
👻 Join the crew by searching Ms. Medusa on (P). You know the spot! 😉