Facing the stern Lin Mu, Katsura Kokoro pouted to express her resentment.
However, she still very obediently began to accept his academic guidance.
After all, it was only their first meeting.
She also had to know when to stop, otherwise, if she was too clingy and Lin Mu disliked her, she wouldn't be able to continue to be spoiled.
"Mu-kun, Xin Jiang, have some fruit. There are drinks too."
Katsura Kotonoha walked in, carrying the tray.
"Oh, thank you."
Lin Mu smiled and nodded, then took a sip from his cup.
Katsura Kotonoha, however, blushed a little.
The drink was taken from the refrigerator; she hadn't prepared it herself.
Perhaps next time her mother returned, she could ask for some advice on that matter.
Unconsciously, an hour passed.
Katsura Kokoro, who had been wriggling in Lin Mu's arms and shaking her slender legs to express her joy, had fallen asleep.
Lin Mu gently held her, laid her in bed, and covered her small stomach with the quilt.
As he turned, he met Katsura Kotonoha's gentle gaze.
Lin Mu smiled and turned to leave Katsura Kokoro's room.
Sitting on the sofa, Katsura Kotonoha scratched her cheek a little awkwardly, "I'm sorry, Mu-kun, Xin Jiang was a bit clingy, wasn't she? She kept you company for so long."
Lin Mu smiled and shook his head, "It's alright. Xin Jiang is very cute, isn't she? With such a cute younger sister, Kotoha should cherish her."
"But it seems she hasn't finished dinner yet. Is it okay for her to sleep now?"
"Don't worry, she'll get up to make dinner later," Katsura Kotonoha replied with a smile.
Children, after all, have a lot of energy; she was only sleepy because she had been studying very seriously.
"Oh, then Kotoha hasn't thought about cooking?" Lin Mu scrutinized her expression with a half-smile.
Katsura Kotonoha lowered her head in embarrassment, "My cooking isn't as good as Xin Jiang's."
In fact, she was terrible at cooking; one could say she wasn't good at it at all.
But she was too embarrassed to say so.
Girls, after all, are always reluctant to expose their weaknesses in front of people they care about.
Lin Mu realized that the topic of cooking couldn't be discussed, so he quickly changed the subject.
"Speaking of which, Kotoha, do you know the student council president of our school?"
"Eh? Your school's president?"
"Yes, her name is Katsura Hinagiku, and she has the same surname as you, Kotoha. I wonder if you two are related?"
Lin Mu was very curious about this.
This was a world of mixed anime series; Shiina Mahiru had already become half-sisters with Shiina Mafuyu and Shiina Shinatsu.
So, could Katsura Kotonoha also be related to Katsura Hinagiku?
Facing Lin Mu's question, Katsura Kotonoha covered her small mouth in surprise.
"You must be talking about my cousin. We haven't seen each other since her parents fled abroad after failing to repay their debts."
"I didn't expect her to still be at your school, and even become the student council president. That's amazing. Unlike me... I'm just ordinary."
"You're not ordinary either. You're very beautiful, and your figure is great—that in itself is very special! Don't casually deny yourself, Kotoha. It will break the hearts of those who care about you."
"Hmm... I'm sorry, even if you praise me like that, I still don't have much confidence."
Katsura Kotonoha looked at him with a flushed face, then immediately lowered her head again.
Lin Mu took the opportunity to lean closer, slowly reaching out to embrace her slender waist.
Katsura Kotonoha's delicate body trembled, seemingly startled.
Her fear of men was starting to act up again.
Lin Mu, however, made no other moves, only gazing at her gently.
"Do you dislike me holding you like this?"
"Hmm... I... I don't dislike it, it's just... I'm a bit unaccustomed. Mu-kun... I often face men's naked, burning gazes, and I'm instinctively afraid of men... I don't dislike you."
Lin Mu smiled slightly, raising his hand to gently stroke her soft, long hair.
"It's alright, we'll take it slow."
With his arm around her waist and his hand stroking her head, Katsura Kotonoha felt her heart race and her cheeks burn.
She instinctively tensed up.
But looking at his gentle eyes, she felt a strange sense of peace.
So, she nodded gently, quietly enjoying the warmth of the moment.
In fact, the young girl inviting Lin Mu, a boy, into her home was itself a form of acceptance.
Therefore, the current intimacy was quite reasonable.
"Kotoha, tell me more about President Katsura Hinagiku."
Suddenly, he uttered these words.
Katsura Kotonoha's small mouth pouted slightly, but she still slowly began to recount what she knew.
It turned out that Katsura Hinagiku, as student council president, also had an older sister, Katsura Yukiji.
Katsura Hinagiku's parents had borrowed a large sum of money, then the couple abandoned Katsura Hinagiku and Katsura Yukiji and ran away.
In such a situation, the two sisters, without any support, would very likely be taken away by loan shark gangsters to engage in prostitution to repay the debt.
But at that moment, Kotoha's maternal grandfather took the two sisters back home, repaid a portion of the loan, and prevented the gangsters from coming to take them away.
After that, Kotoha didn't know what happened.
Because they hadn't been in contact for too long.
And her mother, Katsura Manami, was a workaholic career woman who often traveled for business, rarely taking her and Katsura Kokoro to visit their maternal grandfather, so she had no idea that Katsura Hinagiku had become the student council president.
To become the student council president at St. White Emperor Academy, a school with an extremely high deviation value, and to control a portion of the school's authority, showed Katsura Hinagiku's exceptional abilities.
This made Lin Mu a little envious; if he formed a contract with Katsura Hinagiku, his abilities would definitely improve significantly.
However, unfortunately, after their last encounter on the school's back mountain, they hadn't had much chance to meet again.
Perhaps he should be more proactive, but with so many girls around, being a time management master was truly difficult.
"Hey, Mu-kun, do you like Hinagiku-nee 023? Otherwise, why are you asking me about her?" Katsura Kotonoha suddenly asked glumly, her expression a little tense.
Lin Mu, however, smiled and stroked her long hair, replying, "I just think that if Senior Hinagiku could rise to become student council president from such a family, Kotoha certainly wouldn't be far behind."
"Hmm... then I'm afraid I'll disappoint you. You know my personality; I can't interact with strangers like Hinagiku-nee, let alone be a student council president?"
"Uh, I didn't say that to discourage you, Kotoha. You don't need to be a student council president like Senior Hinagiku. Kotoha just needs to be herself."
"Last time you mentioned you've been practicing kendo. How about you let me see it sometime?"
"Okay," Katsura Kotonoha softly agreed, greatly appreciative of his comfort.
She was inherently a gentle person; if it weren't for Kanroji Nanami and those others being too much, she wouldn't casually confront people.
After a while, Lin Mu took his leave.
Although Katsura Kotonoha was very reluctant, she could only get up and see him off.
And by tomorrow, after Kanroji Nanami and the others publicly apologized, her situation might see new changes.
However, she still wanted to transfer schools, because the gazes of her other classmates wouldn't change anytime soon.
Moreover, she had no friends at Shen Ye Academy, nothing worth lingering over.