They couldn't study together.
At least, Akane thought so.
Suzuka was still asking Satoru questions, using the tricks Akane had taught her.
Watching the two of them, almost half-pressed against each other, Akane puffed out her cheeks.
It really was a case of teaching the apprentice and starving the master.
And Suzuka smelled so good. Akane only just noticed that Suzuka had even carefully prepared the "Killer! Sexy Perfume" she had mentioned.
In contrast, she herself—
From Akane's position, she could see the television.
Her plain, drab figure was reflected on the screen of the unlit LCD TV.
The clown, it was me!?
For a moment, Akane couldn't accept it.
She stood up with a sudden, forceful "thump."
Immediately attracting the attention of Satoru and Suzuka.
"What's wrong?" Suzuka asked.
"Gulp…" Akane's momentum instantly vanished. Her restless hands once again clutched the hem of her shirt: "Th-that… are you thirsty? I'll go pour some tea."
"Oh right, I forgot to serve tea. How rude, I'll do it."
As Suzuka was about to stand up, Akane quickly pressed down on her wrist: "You stay seated, I know where your family's tea leaves are."
Saying so, she also winked at Suzuka.
Suzuka was slow to catch on, then paused before understanding.
So she wanted to provide them with private space; truly a good best friend—
She nodded, while Akane headed towards the kitchen.
Not long after, Akane's voice came from the kitchen:
"Um—Satoru, could you come here for a moment? The tea leaves are too high, I can't reach them."
Suzuka immediately gave a "?", she didn't remember her family putting the tea leaves on a very high cabinet again.
Just as she was about to go and check the situation, she suddenly remembered what Akane had talked about with her on the phone before they gathered:
"Give me some alone time then, I'll probe what kind of image you have in his mind."
Akane referred to her actions as "wingman."
Suzuka then sat back down, feeling both nervous and touched.
It seemed Akane was going to act as her escort.
"Then I'll leave it to Satoru," Suzuka nodded slightly, signaling Satoru to go.
Satoru touched his cold neck and walked towards the kitchen.
The kitchen was not far from the living room.
Suzuka's house had the structure of:
Living Room
Wall Door Wall Wall Wall Wall Wall Wall
Dining Room Cabinet Kitchen
You first walk out the door, pass through the dining room, and then you can see the open-plan kitchen.
And between the kitchen and the dining room, there was a row of cabinets acting as a divider.
The cabinets were about 1.2 meters high, reaching precisely to Akane's upper abdomen when she stood in the kitchen.
"What are you doing?" Satoru asked.
Akane just stared straight at him.
She wasn't on her tiptoes looking for anything in the suspended cabinets above.
Akane immediately put her index finger to her lips: "Shhh—come here."
Satoru walked over, and Akane immediately pulled him to the sink.
Then she turned her back to the dining room.
Even if someone came over, at a glance, the two would just look like they were standing side-by-side, washing something.
"Why didn't you tell me you knew Suzuka!?" Akane demanded.
Satoru glanced at her indifferently: "You didn't say either."
"I've known her much longer than you have!" Akane said.
"I'm about the same," Satoru said.
"Eh." Akane's blue eyes trembled: "You... knew Suzuka first?"
"Mm."
"Earlier than I did?"
"Mm."
When Satoru came to this world, the first girl he met was Suzuka.
Next was Sakura.
And only then came Akane.
In fact, Akane was a relatively late arrival.
Akane's beautiful eyes, hidden beneath her black-rimmed glasses, trembled and trembled.
—Eh!?
Wait, wait, wait.
Her chest was full of surging emotions, and even her mind began to feel as sticky as paste.
She had originally wanted to say, "Why are you so intimate with her? I was here first!" but she hadn't expected… she was the one who came later?
In other words, was she the one who stole Suzuka's beloved boy?
No, no, no, there's no such thing as first come, first served in matters of the heart!
But—
From the late-night phone calls every day recently, and their conversations at school during the day, Akane could clearly feel Suzuka's yearning for the boy she spoke of. Precisely because she was the one by her side every day, Akane could particularly understand such feelings, and—they liked the same boy.
If she were Suzuka, and she heard that Satoru was actually involved with her best friend… Thinking of this, Akane's heart tightened.
Akane looked up at Satoru again.
Damn it, this guy was too handsome. Precisely because Akane liked him, she could understand that it was perfectly normal for girls to adore him.
"How did you meet?" Akane asked.
"Similar to you," Satoru said.
"How far have you and Suzuka gone?"
"Huh?"
Satoru was a bit confused.
At this moment, Akane truly stood on her tiptoes, but she wasn't reaching for something high up; she wanted to press her lips against Satoru's mouth.
Then, just as Satoru subconsciously wanted to embrace Akane's delicate body—
Akane seemed to anticipate his movement, immediately supporting herself on his shoulders with both hands, separating herself from him.
The corner of her mouth quirked playfully:
"I want to be the first to leave my mark on you… Have you noticed anything different about me from just now?"
Satoru tilted his head.
"Idiot—" Akane licked her tender lips.
Her lip color was more vibrant than before; she must have hastily reapplied her makeup when she went to the kitchen.
Carrying lipstick with them is a consistent good habit of girls.
"This time, I'll definitely win against you," Akane said again.
At least in this regard, she wanted to win against that girl Suzuka first. She absolutely wanted to seize the initiative in this matter.
Thinking this, Akane squatted down in one go.
As she squatted, she casually pulled the elastic waistband of Satoru's casual pants.
Train soldiers for a thousand days, use them for one hour.
The knowledge she had acquired from websites over many days… was finally going to be put to use today.
.........
Time passed bit by bit.
Suzuka was enveloped in a joyous atmosphere; even the exercises in front of her seemed friendly, and those unsolvable math problems finally yielded results after her repeated calculations.
But, even the math problems were done… Suzuka felt that a considerable amount of time had passed.
Why hadn't Akane and Satoru returned yet?
She stood up, a little puzzled, and slowly walked towards the kitchen.
…