“Hey, isn't that the top student from the next class?”
“Who is she looking for?”
“It seems to be that transfer student—”
Yuki Kurokawa's gaze swept across the classroom, accurately pinpointing Qiluo's location. She gave a slight nod as a greeting, then walked over.
“Tian Gong-san.” Yuki Kurokawa stopped at her desk, her voice devoid of unnecessary pleasantries. “I caused you trouble after PE class yesterday. Thank you for your help in the nurse's office. This is a token of my gratitude.”
The bento box opened to reveal several irregularly shaped cookies. Some had slightly burnt edges, and some were noticeably different in size from the others.
They were identical to the box placed on her apartment's low table yesterday evening, but this batch was less burnt and more neatly cut.
Qiluo looked at the cookies, then at Yuki Kurokawa. She really did it—coming in person to say thank you during lunch break, in front of most of Class A.
Most people would express thanks by slipping a note into a shoe locker after school. Yuki Kurokawa's way was to walk directly into the neighboring classroom.
Wait, why did that sound like a confession?
“You made these?”
“Yes. It's my first time baking cookies, so they might not taste very good.”
“For a first attempt, they're already quite good.”
Yuki Kurokawa placed the bento box on Qiluo's desk, then took half a step back, her gaze lingering on Qiluo's face as if confirming something. Then she looked at Rei beside Qiluo.
“Are you Yano Rei-san?”
“Yes, yes!” Rei snapped upright, her voice quick and high-pitched. “I'm Yano Rei from Class B—uh, no, I'm Yano Rei from Class A! You know me?”
“You were in the swimming club in middle school, third place in freestyle at the city tournament.”
“H-how do you know all that—”
“Two years at the same school, it's basic knowledge.” Yuki Kurokawa gave a slight bow as a greeting to Rei, then turned her gaze back to Qiluo.
“I won't interrupt your meal. If the cookies aren't good, please don't force yourself to eat them.”
She turned and walked toward the door, paused after a few steps, and said sideways, “I'll pick up the bento box after school,” then pushed the door open and left the Class A classroom.
The moment the door closed, the entire Class A fell into a brief silence. Then several girls simultaneously turned to Qiluo, their chopsticks hovering above their bento boxes, the gossip light in their eyes almost burning through the classroom ceiling.
“When did Tian Gong-san and Kurokawa-san get to know each other?”
“Kurokawa-san actually bakes cookies—”
“And the way she looked at Tian Gong-san just now, wasn't it a bit... off?”
Rei had been speechless with her mouth agape until now. Only then did she place her chopsticks back beside her bento box and take a deep breath.
She looked at Qiluo's face, her eyes holding a complex glint usually seen after a detective solves a case, then asked in a voice lower than usual, “So you don't know her?”
“...We spoke for the first time during PE class yesterday.”
“Someone you don't know would specially bake cookies and bring them over? Hand-baked, no less! Do you know that Yuki Kurokawa from the next class never initiates conversations with anyone? She barely even talks to her own classmates! And today, she came to find you during lunch break to give you cookies, and she even recognized me!”
Qiluo picked up a cookie and put it in her mouth. The cookie was very crumbly, breaking apart with a single bite. It had a rich buttery flavor and wasn't too sweet. The baking was better than last night's batch. She probably re-baked them this morning.
“What exactly did you do to make her bake cookies to thank you?”
“...Yesterday, I saw her faint from low blood sugar in the locker room and gave her a small hand.”
Rei lowered her head, buried her face in her hands, and her shoulders trembled slightly. When she lifted her face, the faint tears at the corners of her eyes had smudged her eyeliner a little, but her smile was as radiant as if she had won the lottery.
“Tian Gong-san, I'm telling you! Kurokawa-san definitely has a crush on you! This is absolutely not just a normal thank you! She left her bento box with you! She said she'd pick it up after school! That's an excuse! It's an excuse to create a second meeting opportunity!”
“It's her bento box, she needs to take it back so she can use it again.”
“Tian Gong-san, you're too calm! At a time like this, you should be excited! You lived abroad before, so you don't understand what this means here.” Qiluo popped the remaining half of the cookie into her mouth, then picked up another and offered it to Rei. Rei took the cookie, took a bite, and her eyes instantly widened. “It's delicious!”
Rei swallowed the last bite of cookie and licked the crumbs from her fingertips.
“Tian Gong-san, I have a serious question for you.”
“...What?”
“Kurokawa-san said she'd pick up the bento box after school, right? That means she'll come to see you again after school today.” Rei held up a finger. “This is your second chance to see her today. Do you know what that means?”
“It means I need to return her bento box.”
“No! It means you can ask her out!” Rei leaned forward, hands propped on her desk, her eyes shining like two freshly charged lightbulbs. “For example—‘Kurokawa-san, the cookies were delicious, next time, why don't we bake something together?’ or ‘Kurokawa-san, thank you for bringing them specially, would you like to eat lunch together tomorrow?’”
Qiluo closed the lid of the black bento box, folded it, and placed it in the corner of her desk. Yuki Kurokawa's light blue bento box sat beside it, the two bento boxes—one dark, one light—like an accidental contrasting composition.
“...I'll just return her bento box.”
Rei watched her for a few seconds, then let out a long sigh, returning to her chair with an expression that said, “You can't carve rotten wood.”
“Fine, there's no use pushing someone as slow to warm up as you.” She put her chopsticks back in her bento box, then suddenly remembered something. “Oh, right, what do you want for tomorrow's bento? Octopus sausage or fried chicken? My mom said you can order ahead.”
“...Fried chicken.”
“Got it! I'll tell my mom when I get home.” Rei nodded with satisfaction, picked up her bento box, and stood up. As she left, she winked at Qiluo. “Good luck after school!”
When the after-school bell rang, Rei was already waiting for her at the door with her backpack on, holding an application form for the swimming club, saying, “Tian Gong-san, are you really not joining any clubs?”
“I have a part-time job.”
“Alright—see you tomorrow!”
The classroom gradually emptied. Qiluo stacked the bento boxes neatly in the top left corner of her desk. Then she took out her English textbook, opened it, and waited while doing translation exercises. When she reached the third problem, two light knocks came from the back door of the classroom.
Yuki Kurokawa stood at the door. She hadn't changed out of her school uniform into her casual clothes; she was still wearing the dark blue blazer-style uniform from earlier in the day, with the light blue ribbon at her collar neatly tied.
Her schoolbag was slung over her left shoulder, her right hand hung at her side, fingers unconsciously fiddling with the fabric edge of her pleated skirt, as if looking for a place to rest.
“Tian Gong-san.” Her gaze swept around the classroom, and only after confirming no one else was present did she walk in. “I'm here to pick up the bento box.”
“The cookies were delicious.” Qiluo picked up the light blue bento box and handed it to her. “Rei also had some, and she thought they were delicious too.”
Yuki Kurokawa's fingers paused for a beat as she took the bento box. “You let Yano-san try them too?”
“Mm.”
Yuki Kurokawa lowered her head, the color on the tips of her ears starting to deepen from a pale, light pink.
“...I'll bake another batch tomorrow. I'll add more sugar this time.” She tucked the bento box into her schoolbag, her voice half a tone lower due to her downward gaze. “What flavor does Yano-san like?”
“She probably eats anything.”
“What about you?”
The question came too quickly, so fast that she seemed to blurt it out before even realizing what she was asking.
After the words left her lips, the tips of her ears turned completely red, and her fingers, gripping the edge of the bento box, tightened and then relaxed.
“I eat everything. I'm not picky.”
“I see.” Yuki Kurokawa adjusted her schoolbag strap on her shoulder.
“Thank you.” She paused. “Well—see you tomorrow.”
Then she stood there for a few seconds, seemingly waiting for Qiluo's response. She gave a slight nod, tugging on her schoolbag strap, and walked toward the door.
Qiluo sat in her seat, watching her disappear down the corridor, her ear tips still flushed.
After clocking out from work, it was almost eleven when she pushed open her apartment door.
Star-trail was squatting on the Kurokawa family's desk, with Snowrealm's combat notes spread out before it. Yuki Kurokawa herself sat at the desk, pen in hand, but the tip had been resting on the same line of text for several minutes.
She was getting sleepy; her stamina bar was clearly depleted for the night.
“...Did anything happen today?” she suddenly asked, her voice tinged with drowsiness.
“Nothing in particular,” Star-trail replied.
“I went to Class A to find Tian Gong-san today.” She put down her pen, rubbed her eyes. “I gave her the cookies. Yano Rei was there too; they seem to get along quite well. Yano Rei has a very cheerful personality, so she must be Tian Gong-san's friend in class, right?”
“Are you interested in that person?”
Yuki Kurokawa closed the notebook, stood up, and walked toward the bathroom. “...It's nothing.” She paused for a moment at the bathroom door, then looked back at Star-trail. “Good night, Star-trail.”
“Good night.”
Rate on N.U.
