The student dormitory.
Suzune Horikita was carefully slicing ingredients.
Through the kitchen window, the hazy glow of streetlights slowly brightened outside.
Nearly three hours had passed since Amane left for the meeting. Suzune wanted to call her, but she was afraid of disturbing her at such a time.
So she could only keep resisting the urge to pick up the phone.
The usually noisy living room was empty and silent.
Gone was the voice that would pester her every minute, "Suzune, isn't the food ready yet? I'm hungry."
For a moment, Suzune actually felt the dorm was much too quiet. Even though the room's layout hadn't changed at all, it gave off a chilly, desolate feeling.
Just as Suzune picked up a carrot and was about to prep it…
A knock came at the door.
Knock, knock, knock.
Light yet firm knocks—it had to be Amane, she was back.
A smile spread across Suzune's face.
"Just a moment, Amane. Don't you have your key?" Suzune planned to finish cutting this carrot before answering the door.
But then…
Knockknockknockknockknock…
A rapid series of urgent knocks made a vein throb on Suzune's forehead.
Every time she was about to bring the knife down on the carrot…
The knocking seemed deliberately timed to throw off her rhythm.
Left with no choice, Suzune grabbed the nearest thing at hand and stormed over to the door, yanking it open.
She deliberately didn't lean out.
Silence hung outside the door for a few seconds.
Suddenly, a wild Amane jumped into view.
A flower was clamped between her teeth.
"Suzune, I wanna—"
Thump!
Suzune sidestepped nimbly, dodging Amane's flying tackle, and promptly bopped her on the head with the carrot.
"Ow! I need a kiss to make it better~"
Amane made a show of trying to kiss Suzune.
Suzune sighed and stuffed the carrot right into Amane's mouth.
"You have the nerve to ask for a kiss when you're back so late?"
Suzune let out a 'hmph,' then bent down to pick up the fallen flower, brought it inside, and found an empty vase to put it in.
Just as she turned to retrieve her carrot, she saw Amane already munching on it.
"The meeting just ran really late, geez. President Horikita sure made things complicated."
Hearing this, Suzune hesitated.
"What's… what's Brother's stance on those expelled students from Class D?"
This was what concerned Suzune the most.
It was no wonder. After all, the impression her brother, Manabu, gave her was that of a cold and ruthless person. This time, especially since those expelled students genuinely didn't meet the school's regulations… if she put herself in her brother's shoes…
She'd probably choose to expel all of them too.
But if that were the case…the outcome was something Suzune couldn't accept.
Expelling so many people at once—there was no way they could still advance to Class A.
Amane didn't answer, just kept nibbling on the carrot on her own.
Her gaze fixed on Suzune, full of mischievous intent.
Suzune immediately understood what she meant.
This Amane was getting more and more troublesome.
Suzune shifted closer to Amane and gave her a quick, light peck on the cheek.
"Happy now?"
Suzune looked exasperatedly at Amane, who was now beaming with joy.
"President Horikita said they'll reinvestigate, we'll get an answer tomorrow… Hey, Suzune, where are you going?"
"I'm going to the kitchen to find a suitable knife. I'll be very… gentle later."
"No! Suzune, you need to calm down!!!"
"So… you and Kushida had a falling out, right?"
Having just finished feeding Amane a piece of omelette, Suzune's first reaction after hearing Amane's full account of the meeting was to ask about Kushida's situation, which struck Amane as strange.
Because even though Kushida had badmouthed Suzune behind her back…
Amane knew about it, but Suzune shouldn't have any reason to know.
Thinking about it now, maybe there was already some conflict between them before. Amane took a bite of the omelette, her face full of bliss.
"Suzune, you seem pretty concerned about Kushida."
Seeing Amane's ahoge start to curl, Suzune knew she wanted to ask something.
Suzune's eyes shifted slightly.
"Yes, I care about her. After all, we've known each other for a long time, and we were even classmates at the same school before."
Suzune said with a tone of reminiscence.
"Amane, why did you stop eating?"
Suzune brought the omelette to Amane's mouth again.
But Amane didn't continue eating; she just looked at Suzune with a deliberately puzzled expression.
"How come I didn't know about this!!! Suzune, you never told me you had that kind of relationship!"
Amane suddenly brought her face right up to Suzune's.
Suzune gently pushed her back.
"You never asked."
"You… Suzune!!"
Amane stood up, stamped her foot, then threw herself into Suzune's arms like a child throwing a tantrum, nuzzling and rubbing against her.
"Really, why the sudden spoiled actions? Amane, you really are such a child."
"Hmph, I don't need you to care, Suzune."
"Are you angry now?"
"I'm angry!!!"
"If you're angry, then I'll just eat by myself."
Suzune picked up a piece of omelette with her chopsticks and began eating elegantly. She showed no intention of paying any attention to Amane.
Seeing this, Amane sat down beside Suzune with a pitiful pout, widening her eyes to watch her eat. But the two of them knew each other far too well.
Watching her eat was nothing; they'd seen everything there was to see, both appropriate and not.
So Suzune didn't feel awkward in the slightest and continued eating as she pleased.
Right at that moment, a message suddenly arrived on Amane's phone.
"Amane, are you free right now?"
Suzune caught a glimpse of the rather ambiguous message.
"Who's texting you so late?"
Suzune looked at Amane with some suspicion. Amane deliberately shifted her body, blocking Suzune's view of the phone screen.
"It's nothing, just a friend. Suzune, keep eating."
Amane smirked mischievously as she quickly typed a reply.
"I'm free. What's up?"
After sending it, Amane deliberately glanced at Suzune.
Suzune knew full well that Amane was deliberately trying to provoke her.
Her initial plan was to act like she hadn't seen anything.
Because she knew that if she showed any interest in who was asking to meet Amane, she'd have to ask Amane about it, and then the upper hand would be right back in Amane's grasp.
Then she'd be at Amane's mercy again tonight.
That was absolutely unacceptable!
What happened earlier was her final line of defense.
"There's something I want to discuss with you alone. I'm downstairs at the dorm right now. If it's convenient, could you meet me for a moment?"
When Amane saw the reply…
She froze completely.
A girl texts you late at night, asks if you're free, then says she wants to talk to you alone about something, adds that she's already waiting downstairs at your dorm, and just wants to see you…
No matter how you look at it, it seems like…
A confession!!!
Amane glanced again at the name of the person she was chatting with.
Ichinose Honami.
"Suzune… what would you do if someone confessed to me?"
The chopsticks in Suzune's hands clattered onto the table.
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.