Mafuyu Wants to Cook?

In the evening, Haruto left the library with Itsuki and Miku.

Today's study session was only attended by Itsuki and Miku. As for Nino, Yotsuba, and Ichika, they were still absent.

"Kuromori-kun, thank you for your hard work today." Itsuki looked at him with bright eyes, her face flushed, and hesitantly asked, "Mhm... is there a reward today?"

Miku immediately looked at Haruto, "I want to eat something too."

Haruto was silent for a moment before replying, "Today was just a regular lesson, no rewards."

"Woo~." Itsuki whined in disappointment, clutching her head with her hands, "After eating Kuromori-kun's meat buns, no other meat buns taste as good."

*Poke*

Miku poked Haruto, and when he looked at her, she whispered, "Don't bully Itsuki."

"Am I bothering you?"

"Wu—" Miku puffed her cheeks slightly and kept poking him.

Always picking on her... Guilty!

Haruto immediately grabbed Miku's hand.

Miku's cheeks flushed suddenly, and she looked nervously at Itsuki. She felt relieved when she saw that Itsuki hadn't noticed.

Then, Miku bit her pink lip hard, glaring at Haruto with embarrassment and anger, "Guilty! Seppuku!"

'You're still fierce in this situation, can't you tell what's going on?'

Haruto put on a serious face, then lightly scratched Miku's palm with his finger.

Feeling a tickle in her palm, Miku couldn't help but let out a little whimper, "Ugh~"

"Eh? Miku, what's wrong with you?" Itsuki looked at Miku curiously. Since she was walking on the other side of Haruto, by the time she looked over, Haruto had already let go of Miku's hand, so she didn't notice anything.

Itsuki stared at Miku with a strange look, "Miku, your face is really red..."

At this point, she glanced towards Haruto, and her intuition told her that he was the culprit.

Unconsciously, Itsuki puffed her cheeks slightly.

Even though she was right there, Haruto still secretly picked on Miku.

When did the two of them become so close?

Miku raised her hand to tuck her hair behind her ear and turned her head slightly. Her slanted bangs covered her reddened cheek, and she said calmly, "It's nothing. I just got sand in my eyes. It's fine now..."

"Is that so?" Itsuki's eyes were suspicious. Did she misunderstand?

Miku suddenly pointed at a vending machine up ahead on the side of the road, "Itsuki, didn't you say you wanted to buy a drink? There's a vending machine over there."

"Oh." Itsuki looked at Haruto, then whispered, "I'll go buy a drink first."

Haruto: "😐"

He wasn't sure if it was an illusion, but it felt like Itsuki's mood seemed to drop significantly!

Haruto glanced at Miku in disgust, "You really tricked Itsuki, doesn't your conscience hurt?"

Miku: "😐"

'You really have the nerve to say that?'

But... Miku glanced at Itsuki, unconsciously biting her lip. That expression on Itsuki's face, could it be that she had feelings for Haruto?

Maybe not?

After receiving the drink from Itsuki, Haruto noticed the drooping ahoge on her head and casually said, "I made some cookies earlier that I haven't finished. Do you want some?"

Itsuki exclaimed, "I want to eat them!"

Realizing her enthusiasm, her face flushed immediately. She pursed her lips and couldn't help but glare at Haruto, "Kuromori-kun, see you tomorrow. Miku, let's go quickly."

Haruto then walked towards his apartment alone.

The sun was setting.

He bought some ingredients to make biscuits at the supermarket. As he was about to head home, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a familiar figure with pink hair walking ahead.

It was... Mafuyu!

Mafuyu was still dressed in her professional attire, which highlighted her slender figure. She stood tall, one hand resting on her chest, looking like she was deep in thought and very serious.

What was she doing?

Was she thinking about what ingredients to buy and planning to cook for herself tonight?

No! Mafuyu couldn't cook. What if she got a stomach ache or food poisoning?

This had to be stopped!

Haruto walked closer, looking serious. However, as he got near and turned around a row of shelves for a better view, he froze slightly before covering his forehead with his hand.

He thought Mafuyu was pondering which ingredients to buy for cooking, but it turned out she was picking out cup noodles?

It's just cup noodles, any kind would do!

Was Mafuyu seriously stuck on this decision?

Of course, expecting her to cook was the biggest mistake of his life!

Mafuyu sensed someone standing next to her, her eyebrows furrowing slightly as she subtly stepped away.

However, when she realized the person beside her was still getting closer, her face froze, and she looked at him coldly.

"Haruto-kun?"

When Mafuyu saw who it was, her eyes widened slightly, and the coldness on her face subtly melted away. But soon after, she glared at him with a straight face, "What are you doing standing next to me?"

"Waiting for you."

Haruto replied seriously, "You seemed so focused on choosing, so I didn't want to disturb you."

"...Insult!" Mafuyu couldn't help but shoot him an angry look. She grabbed two cups of noodles and turned to leave.

She had actually been debating over which cup noodles to buy...

How embarrassing.

Haruto reminded her, "Mafuyu-chan, the ones you grabbed are the spicier flavor."

Mafuyu didn't like food that was too spicy, preferring lighter meals like most people.

The same applied to cup noodles.

If Haruto hadn't reminded her, she might not have eaten them after buying them, leaving them to sit there forever.

That would have been troublesome.

Hearing Haruto's words, Mafuyu froze, then walked back with a stoic expression, calmly putting the spicy ones back and grabbing another flavor instead.

However, her cheeks turned a faint pink, making her look adorable!

Haruto cleared his throat lightly, "Why don't you come over to my place for dinner tonight?"

Mafuyu responded angrily, "I'm not going."

Haruto said earnestly, "I'm the only one home tonight. Plus, I plan to try out a new Chinese recipe today. Are you sure you don't want to try it?"

Mafuyu blushed, "…Stop talking!"