Chapter 89: How Could You Be Like That?
Kaede's words made Eriri blush even more, as if he had perfectly hit upon the thoughts in her heart.
On the quiet street at night, the two of them stood under the streetlamp. Since this area was part of the villa district, the environment was pleasant, and they didn't feel the need to move elsewhere.
Watching Eriri's bashful expression, Kaede seemed to understand something. He nervously raised his hand and caressed Eriri's cheek, making her look up and meet his gaze.
Feeling the warmth of Kaede's palm on her cheek, Eriri had no choice but to meet his eyes. The shyness in her heart was now impossible to hide.
At this moment, Kaede said, "I was thinking about one thing the whole way here, Eriri. Can you guess what it is?"
"I... I don't know."
"I was thinking..." Kaede paused, then continued, "I was thinking, what exactly is the first thing we should do after becoming a couple? Change how we address each other? Hold hands? Hmm, although we've done those things, I'm still a little unsatisfied. What should we do, Eriri?"
"You, you ask me? How should I know?" Her cheek felt ticklish from Kaede's fingertips, and Eriri couldn't help but say, "Also, how are you so experienced?"
"Pfft, experienced in what way? I'm just speaking the truth."
Kaede hadn't expected Eriri to ask that. He immediately leaned in a little closer, already able to feel her breath.
"Eriri, may I?"
"Wuu..."
Eriri was barely able to think at this point. Facing Kaede, who was right in front of her, she finally stopped overthinking and closed her eyes.
Kaede also suppressed his rapidly beating heart and lowered his head.
A few minutes later, they separated. Kaede looked at Eriri, who was breathing heavily, her cheeks flushed, and her eyes dazed. He smiled and said, "You are so cute, Eriri."
"You jerk..." Eriri, having recovered, took a few breaths and retorted defiantly, "Hmph, you were the same way! You didn't even dare to move at first."
After saying that, she became too shy to look at Kaede, lowering her head and bumping her small head against his chest repeatedly.
Unconsciously licking his lips, Kaede smiled as he gently embraced Eriri, stroking her golden hair and saying, "Although we were both awkward, this feeling is really wonderful."
Eriri also reached out with both hands, lightly gripping Kaede's clothes, standing close to him.
After a few more minutes passed, the two slowly separated.
Kaede looked at the girl and said, "Although I hate to see you go, you really need to head back now."
"Mhm." Nodding, Eriri said, "Let's play games tonight."
"Sure, I'll call you once I get back."
Patting her head, Kaede said, "Go home. I'll wait until you're inside before I leave."
"Okay." After glancing at Kaede, Eriri blushed, stood on her tiptoes, and kissed him again on the corner of his mouth. Smiling at Kaede's surprised expression, she turned and ran toward her house.
Touching the corner of his mouth, Kaede gave a silent smile. Only after watching Eriri enter the house did he turn around and head back home.
After arriving home, although he was immediately met with the curious gazes of his parents, Kaede and Eriri had previously agreed that it would be best not to let their respective parents find out too soon. Otherwise, given the similar gossipy nature of both sets of parents, they would definitely not have any peace.
Therefore, Kaede said nothing and went straight back to his room. A couple who had just started dating naturally wished they could be together every moment.
After playing games and chatting together on Saturday night, although they could have gone out again on Sunday, Kaede did not forget his duty as a student. He directly dragged a clearly displeased Eriri to the library to study.
Looking at the fuming Eriri, Kaede's actions became a bit more relaxed now. He affectionately pinched Eriri's cheek and said, "Even though it's Sunday today, you haven't done any of your homework yet, have you? Don't even think about staying up late tonight to rush your assignments. I don't believe you could resist playing games if you were home tonight."
"How do you know everything..."
Looking at the notebooks she had taken out, Eriri slumped onto the desk like a deflated ball and whispered, "How could you be like that? You drag me to the library to study on only the second day of dating."
Shaking his head with a smile, Kaede opened a math workbook and said, "Alright, I haven't done much of my homework either. Let's study together today. After all, this is our primary duty as students. If we finish early, I'll accompany you wherever you want to go for the rest of the time."
Hearing this, Eriri immediately perked up, sat straight, and happily said, "You promised!"
"Yes, I promised. But you can't just phone it in; you have to finish it properly. If you don't understand something, you can ask me directly, and I'll teach you."
"No problem!"
She immediately picked up her notebook and pen excitedly and started writing.
Unfortunately, Eriri, who already had a gap in academic ability compared to Kaede, naturally couldn't finish her homework smoothly and quickly ran into a problem.
"Kaede-kun, I don't know how to do this one."
"Hmm, let me see. For this one, you can use this formula..."
One explained while the other learned, and time passed quickly.
When many of the other people in the library who had also come to study saw the two of them, everyone except for a few individuals with exceptionally strong mental fortitude voluntarily changed seats after enduring it for a while.
There was no helping it; "dog food" (public displays of affection) was truly not something the average person could endure.
And just like that, time passed until noon.
Looking at the math homework she had just finished, along with the remaining Japanese and her least favorite subject, English, Eriri felt that her original plan of finishing her assignments and then going out to play was completely impossible.
Looking at his girlfriend beside him, Kaede naturally wouldn't give her any leeway. He shook his finger and said, "You promised, you know. You have to study properly; no backing out."
"Wuu..."
There was no choice but to eat first, and then grit her teeth and continue in the afternoon.
Fortunately, Kaede was accompanying her, and since his explanations were very patient, Eriri's study progress was much better than usual.
Although it wasn't as fun as running around yesterday, Eriri ultimately felt that spending the whole day together like this was quite nice, too.
On the way home in the evening, Eriri held Kaede's hand and said, "How about we do this often in the future? I feel like studying this way is much more efficient than studying alone."
Kaede naturally had no objections; he was eager to spend more time with her.
"That's fine, but my tutoring is very strict."
Meeting Kaede's gaze, Eriri showed him a brilliant smile.
"We'll see about that."