Chapter 31 He only got angry now? What a patient person...

It seems like we're being given the cold shoulder.

Nekono Ikuya observed Furuya Rei in the back seat through the reflection in the glass of the left-hand window.

Rei Furuya's gaze was calm, his eyes lowered in concentration as he focused on the books on the table, occasionally making light strokes with his pen, seemingly carefully organizing his notes from the previous class.

It seems no different from usual?

but--

Nekono Ikuya silently turned her head and began to stare at Furuya Rei with an undeniable focused gaze.

He didn't speak at first, but just stared silently, his deep green gaze carrying great weight.

Nekono Ikuya: Stare—

Rei Furuya paused for a moment, but quickly resumed his smooth writing as if he hadn't noticed anything, continuing to write with a natural expression, only his aura of "keep away" seemed to have become even stronger.

Nekono Ikuya stared at Furuya Rei silently for a while, then suddenly crossed her hands and leaned on his desk, resting her chin on the back of her hands and looking up at him.

From this angle, Nekono Yuuya's already round, turquoise cat eyes looked even rounder. Nekono Yuuya stared wide-eyed at Furuya Rei without blinking, Furuya Rei's image clearly reflected in her suddenly clear pupils.

Jianggu Ling: "..."

Rei Furuya glanced at Ikuya Nekono, his expression still cold and hard, but his movements gradually becoming gentler as he pulled out the notebook that Ikuya Nekono had deliberately pressed down on.

He silently moved himself and his books aside, giving the space on the table that Nekono Ikuya had so brazenly occupied to him, and continued writing.

He still didn't say anything.

To ignore or disregard clearly means to deliberately ignore.

Nekono Ikuya tilted her head slightly, and Morofushi Kagemitsu, who was standing next to her, also turned his head, his gaze shifting between Nekono Ikuya and Furuya Rei.

"???" What are these two doing?

Then, in the time that followed, Nekono Ikuya became increasingly aware that Furuya Rei had indeed begun a one-sided cold war against him.

Nekono Ikuya greeted him, but Furuya Rei either turned his head to look out the window or looked down as if he didn't see him, seemingly unintentionally avoiding Nekono Ikuya's gaze.

During the group activity in class, just as Ikuya Nekono was about to turn around and ask Rei Furuya, he found that Rei Furuya had already formed a team, leaving him with only a cold and hard profile.

Even in unavoidable exchanges, Furuya Rei would use concise phrases like "um," "oh," or "okay" to brush off Nekono Ikuya, keeping the sentences as brief as possible, as if he had made up his mind not to say a single extra word to Nekono Ikuya.

Oh no, there are still longer phrases, such as Rei Furuya's way of addressing Ikuya Nekono.

Every time Rei Furuya calls out Nekono Ikuya's name, his tone becomes subtle. He pronounces "Nekono-kun" with such intonation that even Morofushi Kagemitsu looks at him in confusion.

Nekono Ikuya clenched her fist, confirming that this was indeed the Cold War!

But why? Did he do something to offend Furuya?

Nekono Ikuya carefully recalled her previous behavior and realized that she might have offended Furuya in many ways.

For example, before scaring Black, he accidentally used a disguise to scare Furuya first, causing Furuya to sprain his ankle and still not fully recover.

For example, he learned from Morofushi Kagemitsu that Furuya had mistaken him for Morofushi Kagemitsu that morning. Nekono Ikuya felt he was likely to be blamed for this.

For example, Blake analyzed for him yesterday why Furuya asked him to meet on the rooftop, and what was wrong with dressing up in her style.

Nekono Ikuya's emotional intelligence has improved significantly; she has finally realized the potential offense she may have caused.

He had previously pretended to be real while also deceiving Furuya in the park by using a fake disguise to fool her. Now that Furuya has seen his familiar face today, she might be very angry after realizing what he's doing!

There are also many other odds and ends.

There are too many to count, absolutely too many to count!

Nekono Ikuya suddenly fell silent: "..."

He slowly revealed a somewhat subtle look in his eyes. Looking back on it all, he suddenly realized how tolerant Furuya had been of him before.

She only got angry now? What a patient person... no, scratch that, it should be—

"He's such a nice person!"

Furuya is such a nice guy. Especially when he was with him, Nekono Ikuya was a little touched and even felt a little guilty, which was rare for her.

However, this apprehension quickly dissipated, and Nekono Ikumi rubbed his hands together, a fighting spirit igniting in his emerald green cat eyes.

We need to act immediately and get Furuya to stop this cold war!

"What should we do?"

Nekono Ikuya puffed out her cheeks slightly in distress and slowly looked at the ballpoint pen in her hand.

A light bulb lit up above his head.

"Got it!"

Rei Furuya was making up for yesterday's notes, referring to the notebook next to him. His pen slid smoothly across the paper, and neat lines of handwriting quickly filled the blank space of the notebook.

Yu Guangzhong noticed a corner of a piece of cardstock suddenly appear on the edge of the table and slowly approach him.

Rei Furuya paused, and unsurprisingly saw a slender, fair hand above the cardstock.

At this moment, only the index and middle fingers of this hand were extended and pressed on the cardboard, while the other three fingers were all bent, with the thumb hooked onto the ring and little fingers, holding them tightly and unable to break free.

The two fingers pressed against the cardstock had slightly pink nail polish, which stood out against the white skin; it was these fingers that were pushing the cardstock forward.

Under Rei Furuya's gaze, after pushing the cardboard over, the two fingers did not immediately leave, but quickly came together and straightened. The index finger suddenly moved smoothly up along the middle finger, first placing it on the first joint of the middle finger to form a triangle, and then suddenly lifting it upwards.

Very vivid and energetic movements.

It was as if Nekono Ikuya had pointed at the little figure and given him a lively salute.

After saluting, the two fingers began to slowly move backward alternately, just like a very gentlemanly person, leaving in a way that seemed inexplicably polite in Rei Furuya's sight.

Rei Furuya could even hallucinate its posture; it was still facing him, backing away respectfully!

Jianggu Ling: "..."

Damn it, he could actually appreciate its politeness! Upon closer inspection, he could even detect a touch of elegance!

What a beautifully anthropomorphic little finger messenger! Nekono Ikuya, as expected of you.

Rei Furuya didn't rush to look up at Ikuya Nekono. He kept his pen in the same position, his gaze silently fixed on the card in front of him.

I want to see what's written in the letter the little messenger sent.

The front of the card features three simple line drawings depicting two figures: him and Nekono Ikuya.

Ikuya Nekono's drawing skills are very lively and vivid. Even when drawing simple sketches, she can depict the characters' expressions and charms vividly.

Three sets of simple line drawings form a short story.

In the first set of simple line drawings, the chibi version of Furuya has his hands hanging down and his fists clenched tightly, and his face is gradually getting angry. Meanwhile, the chibi version of Nekono is holding a chibi version of Furuya's mask. His face, which is half-peeking out from under the mask, still retains a hint of cunning, but his eyes are gradually starting to panic.

The chibi version of Furuya and the chibi version of Nekono are having a fight, and the chibi version of Furuya is getting a little angry!

The real-life Big Drop (actually not that big, it's quite small): "..."

I'm not angry about that.

Never mind, he looked at the next group.

In the second set of simple drawings, the chibi version of Furuya has puffed-up cheeks, tilts her head, crosses her arms, and faces the chibi version of Nekono. The chibi Nekono, on the other hand, creates afterimages and makes various cute and coquettish gestures of apologizing, trying to please, and begging for forgiveness.

Rei Furuya noticed that although the chibi version of Furuya's actions were still full of rejection, his closed eyes had quietly opened a crack.

The chibi version of Furuya is angry, while the chibi version of Nekono is sincerely begging for forgiveness. The chibi version of Furuya is somewhat moved!

This guy. Furuya Rei, keep reading.

In the third set of simple drawings, the chibi version of Furuya is no longer angry. Instead, she is holding hands with the chibi version of Nekono, and the two are happily playing together again, surrounded by pink flowers.

It's obvious that the chibi version of Furuya and the chibi version of Nekono have made up.

On the bottom right corner of the front of the card, three words were clearly written: "I'm sorry".

Rei Furuya flipped open the card, and there were words on the back, written in a more rounded and cute font: "Let's make up." Next to it was a picture of a smiling cat.

Jianggu Ling: "..."

He looked up and glanced at Nekono Ikuya.

Nekono Ikuya wasn't wearing any disguise today; his soft black hair fell down, with a few strands hanging over his forehead, making his fair skin stand out even more.

What's fatal is his eyes.

Nekono Ikuya's eyes are naturally round, and their slightly upturned corners give them a sharp and cunning look, sometimes even making them unfathomable. But when he deliberately widens them—

Oh, when those bright green cat eyes are deliberately widened, they easily appear clear and innocent.

Nekono Ikuya deliberately widened her eyes and stared at him without blinking.

Thus, this rich yet clear emerald green cat's eye was magnified in Furuya Rei's eyes, reminding him of the new buds on branches in early spring.

A simple white flag, made from a ballpoint pen and a white handkerchief, slowly rose from among them.

Nekono Ikuya waved the white flag gently, her gaze still fixed on Furuya Rei. In her clear, round cat-like eyes, her left eye seemed to say "I was wrong," and her right eye seemed to say "Forgive me."

Rei Furuya forgave him immediately!

Although Nekono-san misunderstood the reason for his anger, he couldn't bring himself to say what he was really angry about, and Nekono-san had already acted cute.

Why don't you forgive him right away?

However, Rei Furuya noticed the familiar black-haired, blue-eyed appearance of Ikuya Nekono, recalling the scene in the park and the blank face he had revealed after tearing off his disguise the day before yesterday.

Suddenly, evil thoughts arose in his heart.

Rei Furuya asked calmly, "Is this Nekono-kun's real face?"

Nekono Ikuya nodded, puzzled: "Yes, Furuya-kun, I didn't disguise myself today."

Rei Furuya casually waved: "Nekono-kun, come a little closer."

Nekono Ikuya thought Furuya Rei wanted to take a closer look at his original appearance, so he obediently went over.

Then--

"Waaah~"

Rei Furuya reached out and pinched Ikuya Nekono's face with lightning speed!

It's smooth and delicate, and most importantly, it didn't tear any blank or eerie surfaces. My psychological trauma has dissipated, and I feel great!

Rei Furuya announced with satisfaction, "We've made up."

They just pinched each other's cheeks, and they're already back to normal?

Nekono Ikuya covered her face in confusion, first puzzled by Furuya Rei's sudden action, then widening her eyes upon hearing this.

He thought to himself, "She calmed down just by pinching her cheek. Furuya-kun is so easy to coax."

Did you think Nekono Ikuya had no other options but to surrender? No, he was planning to use that as his starting point!

So, Furuya-kun was already appeased as soon as the opening move was made? Nekono Ikuya was instantly confused.

You've got me all confused.