Kei sat obediently beside Kaoru, the thin fabric of the shirt pressing against her hip line and upper thighs, making her feel somewhat uncomfortable.
Although last night had been one of life's pivotal moments, now that she had calmed down, she couldn't help but feel a mix of shyness and unease.
While she had been showering, Kaoru had prepared breakfast—fried eggs, sandwiches, rice balls, milk, and miso soup.
Due to the rush, he usually only made instant miso soup, and if not for the pre-made rice balls, the meal might have been even sparser.
Looking at the breakfast before her, Kei felt an odd sensation.
Shouldn't this be something a newlywed wife prepared?
"Does it still hurt?" Seeing her distracted, Kaoru brought up the topic at an inopportune moment.
"I-It's fine... just a little now..." Kei's face turned red.
How was she supposed to answer such a question?
If she said it didn't hurt, would that mean they'd have to do it again?
"Now you understand the consequences, don't you?" Kaoru looked at her expressionlessly.
"It's normal for the first time to hurt, but if it still hurts afterward, do you think I'm some kind of saint? You might not even be able to get out of bed today."
"It's not my fault! It's because of you—you kept pressing against me, so I thought you weren't satisfied yet!" Kei's pretty face flushed crimson.
Of course it wasn't her fault—she wasn't some wanton woman.
Because she liked him, even if it hurt, she could endure it.
After all, she didn't dislike him.
Kaoru chuckled and poked her puffed-up cheek with his finger.
"I didn't expect you to be so bold. But now that things have come to this, even if you regret it, it's too late."
Remembering last night's events, Kei unconsciously touched her lower abdomen, her face burning.
"Actually, when I came to ANHS, I just wanted a fresh start—to leave behind the days when I was bullied. I didn't care much about academics or future careers," she murmured.
"At first, I was really happy here. But after what happened with Manabe and the others, I've been reflecting... Did I go too far?"
Kaoru listened quietly, not telling her about Shiho Manabe and the others' current situation.
"I thought, if I kept acting like them—arrogant all the way until graduation—something bad would surely happen to me again in the future, right?"
"I told Hirata-kun about breaking up, and he promised to keep it a secret for me. I thought he might be upset or that the class would distance themselves from me, but it turned out I was overthinking it."
"Nene and the others probably stick with me because I'm one of the few strong girls in class. Shinohara and Satou were also fooled by my appearance, so it seems like I just need to keep things as they are."
"But now there's going to be some special exam here—what a hassle. Though I never really thought about the future—"
"Kaoru, what do you plan to do later?"
At the end, Kei tossed a question at Kaoru.
Judging by her expression, it seemed wherever Kaoru went, she would follow.
She just needed to maintain the status quo, so the future was something she entrusted to Kaoru.
"I might continue my studies. I want to work hard to support you all." Kaoru took a deep breath, knowing full well that having multiple partners wouldn't be possible in reality unless he stood at the very top of the world.
The first half of his answer left Kei feeling a little disappointed, but the latter half made her happy again.
"Hehe, I heard that in university, you can rent a place off-campus." Kei bit her lip, suppressing her shyness.
"I'll work hard to help you too. You just need to focus on studying then."
The girl had already made up her mind—starting today, she would pay close attention in home economics class and practice diligently.
As a girlfriend, she couldn't possibly let Kaoru make breakfast for her every day, could she?
Kaoru picked up a rice ball and stuffed it into her mouth.
They weren't even married yet, and she was already planning to be a full-time housewife.
Who knew what she'd come up with tomorrow?
Just as he was feeding Kei, Kaoru's phone suddenly rang.
Without even thinking, he picked it up—sure enough, it was Kushida Kikyo.
"Hmph, you answered pretty quickly today. Did you sleep well last night?"
Kaoru glanced at Kei, who merely blinked at him before he replied.
"Because you called me late at night, I couldn't sleep at all."
"Hah? I only called you because of your ridiculous request!" Kikyo, unaware of the situation, sounded annoyed.
"Do you think every girl would indulge your perverted demands? Who else but me would call you late at night just to report that I need to pee?"
"If you've got the guts, send me a video," Kaoru retorted through gritted teeth.
She had called at critical moments before, and last night she nearly ruined everything for him.
"Pervert!" Kikyo snapped without hesitation.
"I'm going to pee now, you foot-fetishist master!"
With that, she hung up immediately—probably still angry about what happened last night.
Kaoru set his phone down just in time to see Kei staring at him intently.
"Was that Kushida-san again?"
"Just our usual little game."
"Oh."
Surprisingly, Kei didn't press further and simply continued eating the breakfast Kaoru had prepared for her.
Hmmph.
In her eyes, Kushida Kikyo was no longer a threat.
At best, she was just a coward.
Once the two had nearly finished breakfast, Kaoru had Katsuragi notify Mashima that he wouldn't be attending class today due to feeling unwell.
Although it was quite suspicious for both of them to take leave on the same day, if they had to avoid even such things, Kaoru might as well retract his previous statement.
After breakfast, Kei had nothing to do and could only watch helplessly as Kaoru worked on preparing exam papers.
"Want to come take a look?"
"Eh? Isn't this your class's exam? Can I really see it?"
"It's fine. It's not like I'm setting questions for your class. Besides, I can take this chance to explain some of my thought process behind making the test."
Kei opened her mouth slightly.
Here they were, finally having some rare alone time together, and he wanted to teach her?
Still, his lessons were actually quite enjoyable—like a preschool teacher who constantly praised his students.
With a giggle, Kei snuggled into his arms.
It was obvious that the girl had completely forgotten one thing.
Before long, Kei's face grew increasingly flushed.
Since she wasn't wearing anything underneath, she could clearly feel Kaoru reaction.
"Kaoru… maybe… right now… I could help you again?"
"Honestly, the way you're acting makes me wonder if you're deliberately trying to seduce me."
"I am not!"
In the end, Kei went to the bathroom to wash her hands and changed back into her own clothes, finally shaking off her earlier state—though her face remained slightly red, and her heart clearly hadn't calmed down yet.
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