Contrast
With how sweaty our hands were becoming, I waited for a while before letting go of Hayashi-sensei’s hand. Then, as politely as possible, I wiped her palms dry before bowing to her with my upper body inclining forward.
She watched every move I made quite carefully. Most likely, she found me silly for doing so but that’s all. Her mouth remained closed.
I retreated shortly after that. But instead of returning to my seat, I only took a step back and stood in front of her.
Given her lack of reaction, I won't be surprised if she dismisses me and tells me to go.
However, even after a minute passed, there was no change in Hayashi-sensei’s countenance. She simply stared at me, her eyes shining in contemplation.
Whether she's doing that on purpose or not, I had no idea. But one thing was for certain, she heard my counter-proposal and she was processing it inside her head.