Chapter 21 A Touch of Smugness

Hanon shook her head, her eyes brimming with laughter. After that classic line, "You know what?", the next step was bound to be gossip.

"During junior high school, our classmate Rukawa was always sleepy. He would sleep in class and during breaks. He even slept while riding his bicycle."

Kanon nodded; she and Sakuragi were among the victims of his wheels.

Ayako continued, "He drooled so much that he drowned countless notebooks, so every time the stationery store owner saw him, he would automatically give him a notebook. Even if he sold out, he would still remember to leave a spare for him!"

Seeing Rukawa Kaede drooling in his sleep, Kanon couldn't help but laugh.

After about ten minutes, the sleepy fox finally raised its head, yawned, and its eyes were as drowsy as a sleepyhead.

The small animal, with its feet, lazily and casually emitted a drowsy nasal sound, "Mmm..."

After several seconds, he finally digested the information, and his droopy eyelids twitched slightly.

Once she was sure he was awake, Hana smiled and asked, "Awake?"

Rukawa Kaede ruffled the messy hair at the back of his head and responded with a single syllable: "Hmm."

Hana's smile was obvious: "You're practically a sleeping god! Your sleep quality is truly enviable~"

"Um."

Even though it was just a simple "hmm," Hana seemed to detect a hint of smugness in her voice. Could it be just her imagination?

It's not an illusion.

Rukawa Kaede can fall asleep instantly, whether standing or sitting, whenever he takes a nap, so he is secretly proud of it and considers it an extraordinary skill!

Ayako: "Ahem... You two stop staring at me like that, my stomach is already growling! We've been waiting for way too long! Oto-chan must be hungry too."

Rukawa Kaede paused for a moment, then said, "Teaching assistant, wake me up directly next time."

Hua Yin laughed and said, "We dare not wake you up with your morning grumpiness."

Although it was said in a teasing tone, Rukawa Kaede sensed her worry in it.

His fingers tightened slightly in his pocket, but his tone remained calm: "You can wake me up, don't worry."

A strange emotion welled up in Hanon's heart.

He clearly doesn't like being disturbed when he's sleeping, but this time, he allowed himself to wake him up.

Isn't that... too flirtatious?

Those beautiful fox-like eyes were as clear and pure as a mirror, reflecting the purity of her heart.

Hana coughed twice to calm herself down, almost making a fool of herself: "Okay, I got it. I'll wake you up next time."

Rukawa Kaede remained expressionless, but his icy demeanor vanished in an instant.

Sakuragi was very unwelcoming of Rukawa's arrival, loudly shouting for the fox to leave.

Rukawa rolled his eyes at him: "You big idiot."

Da Nan: "With Rukawa Kaede around, we've become quite well-known among the girls."

Takamiya smiled at a long-haired girl, "Hi, miss, I'm Takamiya Nozomi from Class 5, Grade 1. Shall we get to know each other?"

The long-haired girl's face darkened. "Get lost."

Takamiya: "Alright."

Sakuragi looked like he couldn't take it anymore, his face flushed red. "Hey Takamiya! This is so embarrassing!"

Takamiya: "It's better than someone being rejected by a girl 50 times."

When the embarrassing incident was brought up, Sakuragi immediately got angry and chased after Takamiya to hit him.

Yohei: "It's rare for me to be hosting a flower arrangement party today."

Ayako: "Oh dear, I got a free meal today, I'm so sorry, hahaha..."

The five of them, like hungry wolves, noisily surrounded the food window.

Takamiya and Noma seized the opportunity to pick out the most expensive dishes and put them on their own plates.

Da Nan was still hesitating, but he didn't seem like the type to save money for Sakuragi.

Sakuragi didn't care much about any of that; all he wanted to do was eat the delicious food recommended by the cafeteria lady.

The gentle Yohei, on the other hand, decisively ordered a super affordable Japanese bibimbap set meal.

Sakuragi: "Yohei, don't be shy! Auntie wants some fried pork ribs too, Yohei loves them! And salmon too!"

have…"

Yohei laughed: "That's enough for flower arranging, I can't eat that much."

After ordering, Rukawa gestured with his chin toward Sakuragi, "He'll pay the bill, thank you."

Sakuragi retorted angrily, "Hey Rukawa! I never said I'd treat you to a meal!"

Hanon blinked, "You've eaten quite a few of Aunt Rukawa's croquettes."

When Rukawa's gentle and lovely mother is mentioned, Sakuragi immediately falls silent, since he usually ends up eating almost all of Rukawa's mother's delicious food.

Since Kanon prepares bento boxes for Rukawa every day, his mother naturally knows this, so Rukawa's mother often gives the two siblings handmade snacks in return.

Sakuragi: "Fine... I'll treat you to a meal for Rukawa's sake! Hey, don't order so much! Are you a glutton?!"

Rukawa Kaede added some dishes expressionlessly and said, "Compared to you, it's a bit little."

While others only needed one plate, Sakuragi ordered four or five plates of food.

After everyone had finished ordering, Sakuragi happily paid the bill and deposited his savings into his account.

After Rukawa Kaede entered the cafeteria, the number of girls eating there suddenly increased.

The curly-haired girl, blushing slightly as her friends nudged her, handed Rukawa a pink bento box with a sweet smile. "Rukawa-kun, this is a bento I made. Please accept it."

Gao Gong exclaimed enviously, "Wow! So exquisite!"

The red-haired monkey stared longingly at the lunchbox, its jealousy and envy overflowing. "Tch!!"

Even though Rukawa always appears cold and unapproachable, girls still flock to him with love letters.

His approach was simple and brutal: ignore it or simply take a detour.

Kanon and Ayako searched for an empty spot.

Rukawa Kaede condescended to lift his eyelids and glance sideways at the curly-haired girl who was so short that her face was completely obscured.

A handsome guy like Rukawa Kaede is the kind of person who makes you incredibly excited the moment he sees you.

Sure enough, the curly-haired girl was thrilled and said shyly, "Please try it, I'm really good at it!"

Rukawa Kaede seemed extremely impatient and disdainful, and walked past her.

The curly-haired girl wasn't disappointed at all; on the contrary, she was very excited. She quickly stepped in front of him, her voice unconsciously rising, with a hint of coquetry, "Rukawa-kun, please give it a try, it's really good!"

Takamiya: "This girl is very courageous."

Sakuragi glanced sideways and said, "Tch! These girls have no taste."

Rukawa Kaede shook off the other person, his handsome brows furrowing even more, his tone becoming even colder, "Don't come near me!"

After saying that, he lifted Sakuragi aside and sat down in his seat. The whole process was very skillful, without the slightest hesitation.

Sakuragi: "Eh?! What are you doing, Rukawa Kaede?! Why did you take my seat?!"

"You sit over there."

He tilted his chin toward the seat across the aisle.

So self-righteous, with a cold and rude tone.

Sakuragi was incredulous, grabbing his collar, "Why should I go over there?! This is clearly my spot!"

Ayako's forehead creased with a black line, and she suddenly felt an urge to scratch: "Here we go again! Can't even eat in peace?"

Hanon looked helplessly at the monkey and fox arguing back and said, "Hanamichi, move the table over there and let's share it."

The curly-haired girl remained standing blankly in the middle of the road.

Takamiya: "This cute young lady, why don't you give me your bento? I definitely won't waste it!"

"Dream on!"

The curly-haired girl rolled her eyes at him, said something, and ran away.

The group burst into laughter at the sight, saying without a care in the world, "You're dreaming!"

Gao Gong was embarrassed in front of everyone and, in a fit of anger, chased after them and beat them up.

The atmosphere became lively and cheerful again.

Kanon and Yohei exchanged a smile, sighed inwardly, and decided to simply ignore these childish idiots.

Rukawa Kaede watched Kanon and Yohei interact quietly, his lips pursed.

Yohei almost immediately sensed the cold air around him and raised an eyebrow.

This Rukawa Kaede is getting interesting.

Hanon's culinary skills are outstanding because she has very high standards for food.

The food wasn't to her liking, so she ate a few bites and then stopped, watching the Sakuragi Army play around.

Hanon did not stop her.

As long as they don't fight, a few arguments can actually make things more lively, since this is a wonderful high school campus.

The gaze finally landed on Rukawa Kaede.

Rukawa Kaede's eating style is simply an artistic feast.

He picked up a meatball, put it in his mouth, chewed it slowly for a few moments, and swallowed it gently.

At that very moment, a fleeting glint of light flashed in Hanon's eyes.

Looking at his clean and sharp profile, and down to his beautiful Adam's apple, which bobbed slightly as he swallowed, he exuded youthful sensuality.

She smiled slightly, unaware that she looked like a thug.

Faced with Hanon's passionate gaze, Rukawa asked with some confusion, "Want some?"

"I don't want it, you eat it." Hana politely declined.

She's staring straight at me; she probably wants some.

Rukawa Kaede silently took out new chopsticks and placed them in front of her, even thoughtfully moving the plate a little closer to her.

She seems to prefer eating what's on her own plate.

"No need, I'm already full."

Looking at her, and then at the plates on the table, Rukawa Kaede was completely puzzled.

Ayako was stunned. "Huh? Are you full? There's still so much food on your plate!"

"I can't eat anymore."

Ayako reminded him, "Oto-chan, in Japan, leaving food on your plate is considered impolite."

Upon hearing this, Hanon gave an apologetic look: "I really don't know... I'm sorry."

Sakuragi swallowed the food in her mouth and said excitedly, "It's okay, sis. If you can't eat it, don't eat it. I'll eat it later!"

Hua Yin ruffled his red head: "Thank you, little brother, that's exactly what I was thinking!"

Rukawa Kaede put down his chopsticks at some point and stared at her calmly.

Hanon blushed slightly and said, "I'm sorry, I don't know much about Japanese culture."

Rukawa Kaede didn't seem to care at all. He turned his head to look at her with a serious expression: "Not eating?"

Kanon nodded, and was about to push the plate to Sakuragi when a slender, pale hand grabbed the edge of the plate.