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"S-sorry…"
Gotō Hitori nervously extended her small hand, not trying to renege, and stammered softly:
"Kitahara-kun, be gentle. If it hurts too much, I'll cry out, and we can't disturb others…"
Kitahara Makoto said speechlessly:
"What do you think I meant by punishment?"
Gotō Hitori said pitifully:
"A slap on the hand…"
You're not an elementary school student anymore, who would slap your hand!
"Punishment isn't a slap on the hand." Kitahara Makoto said speechlessly. "Besides, teachers haven't been allowed to physically punish students for a long time."
"Then what is the punishment?"
Gotō Hitori looked over nervously.
"It's simple." Kitahara Makoto lowered his voice. "Let me hug you for ten minutes."
"Eh?"
Gotō Hitori's peach blossom eyes widened instantly, and then her small face rapidly flushed red at a visible speed.
(Hug, hug for ten minutes… that's not a punishment at all!)
(No, no, no!)
(Doing something like that in the library, no matter how you think about it, is too shameful!)
Seeing Bocchi-chan's small head shaking like a rattle drum, Kitahara Makoto wasn't disappointed; with Bocchi-chan's shy personality, hugging for ten minutes was indeed too difficult for her.
However, there must be a punishment; one must keep their word.
"Then no hugging," Kitahara Makoto pondered for two seconds, "How about this, Hitori chooses the punishment method herself."
"Eh?"
Gotō Hitori stopped shaking her head and cautiously looked up.
"This is it," Kitahara Makoto opened his phone, placed it in front of Bocchi-chan, "This is a party game APP. Click the dice on it, and you can randomly select a punishment method. Of course, they are all very common punishments, no need to worry."
Speaking of which, it was only when Kitahara Makoto accompanied Anon to KTV last time that he realized such software existed.
"Will Hitori roll the dice herself, or should I?"
Kitahara Makoto turned to look at Bocchi-chan.
"I'll do it…"
Gotō Hitori said softly.
In fact, it's the same no matter who clicks; what punishment is given is completely random, but rolling the dice herself gives her more sense of participation.
"Then Hitori can do it herself," Kitahara Makoto said softly, "But let's be clear first, whatever punishment is randomly selected must be completed, no going back or cheating."
"I know," Gotō Hitori clenched her small fists, nodded seriously, "I, I definitely won't go back on my word."
"…"
Gotō Hitori took a deep breath, extended her small hand, and gently tapped the dice on the screen.
Accompanied by special effects, the dice immediately spun rapidly on the phone.
"I hope it's not a strange punishment…"
Gotō Hitori held her breath, waiting nervously.
A few seconds later.
The dice finally stopped, and then a line of text appeared on the phone screen:
"Punishment confirmed: Please complete the Pocky Challenge with the person next to you. You must look into each other's eyes during the challenge until the entire chocolate stick is eaten. If it breaks, it counts as a failed challenge and needs to be restarted until the challenge is completed."
"…"
The air suddenly became quiet.
Originally, I just wanted a hug, but you actually randomly got the Pocky Challenge, so I won't be polite.
Kitahara Makoto turned his head, his tone subtle as he said:
"Does Hitori-chan know what the Pocky Challenge is?"
"…"
Gotō Hitori stammered, not answering, but her small face was already fiery red, and she was almost hiding under the table.
Kitahara Makoto smiled:
"It seems Hitori knows what the challenge is about."
Gotō Hitori did indeed know.
Although she was a gloomy shut-in with no friends, she loved surfing the internet, so she naturally knew what the Pocky Challenge, a must-play at friend gatherings, entailed.
Pocky is a snack produced by Japan's Glico company. Simply put, it's a chocolate stick with a crispy biscuit core coated in chocolate.
This item has been around for over fifty years, but even today, it remains one of the most popular snacks, with over a hundred flavors.
The Pocky Challenge is a very popular mini-game in young people's social circles. It's not gender-specific and only requires two people—male-male, male-female, or female-female are all fine. Both parties bite one end of the chocolate stick and then slowly eat it.
Because the chocolate stick is quite crispy and will break with just a little force, both parties have to be very careful. During this time, some heart-pounding contact is inevitable… This is precisely why it is so popular among young people.
"The punishment has been decided," Kitahara Makoto said, intertwining his fingers, "Will Hitori complete it now, or after the study session?"
"Af-after the study session!"
Gotō Hitori's antenna-like hair trembled, and she answered instinctively.
This was Kitahara Makoto's little trick.
If you ask Bocchi-chan if she wants to accept the punishment, Gotō Hitori would definitely shake her head, but if you ask whether to accept the punishment now or later, then Hitori would 100% choose the latter.
"Very good, I knew Hitori would keep her word and definitely wouldn't go back on it," Kitahara Makoto smiled, "Let's study quickly, and after we finish, I'll go buy Pocky."
Gotō Hitori: "…"
An hour later.
In the gloomy storage room where she had previously eaten lunch with Kitahara Makoto.
Gotō Hitori sat nervously in the corner, feeling dizzy and her heart pounding non-stop.
(No…)
(No, no, no!)
(I clearly wanted to refuse the punishment challenge, why… why did I end up here?)
(The Pocky Challenge is still too shameful, refuse, refuse, refuse…)
(But I clearly promised to do what I said… wouldn't it be embarrassing to go back on my word?)
Amidst her internal struggle, the storage room door was suddenly pushed open.
Bocchi-chan was startled and quickly sat up straight.
"Hitori-chan, I'm back."
Kitahara Makoto pushed the door open and walked in, stepping to Bocchi-chan's side and sitting down. Then he opened his backpack and took out several boxes of chocolate sticks:
"I've bought the Pocky. I bought four flavors in total: matcha, original, strawberry, and banana. What flavor does Hitori want to eat, or should we open all of them and try them?"
Gotō Hitori's small face was flushed red, and she nervously lowered her head, stammering softly:
"Matcha flavor is fine."
"Then we'll choose matcha."
Kitahara Makoto put the other boxes of Pocky back into his backpack, then opened the matcha packaging, casually pulled out one stick, and handed it to Bocchi-chan's mouth:
"Eat one first."
Gotō Hitori's pink lips slightly parted, and with a red face, she bit it, unconsciously eating it with crunching sounds.
"The taste is indeed good."
Kitahara Makoto also ate one himself, then pulled out a third chocolate stick and handed it to Bocchi-chan:
"Shall we use this Pocky to complete the challenge?"
"Th-that… my stomach hurts…"
At the last moment, Gotō Hitori's eyes darted around, trying to escape in a panic.
Escaping is shameful but useful.
"Bear with it," Kitahara Makoto naturally wouldn't let Bocchi-chan escape, "The challenge is easy, it'll be over in ten seconds. Go to the bathroom after you complete the challenge… Hurry and open your mouth."
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