Chapter 17 Tsk, just keep fishing like that! ...
Rei Furuya was stunned by this abrupt and personal question. How was he supposed to answer it?!
Saying he liked those clear, dark eyes from yesterday? No way! Wouldn't that play right into his hands? Besides, it sounds like some kind of weird preference statement.
Saying you like those lively blue eyes today? That's even worse! That's tantamount to admitting you're attracted to Nekono Ikuya's clumsy (though it doesn't look clumsy at all) disguise.
Then it's alright to just stay silent and not answer, right?
Heh, Furuya Rei sneered. This despicable guy would probably smugly twist his silence into "Oh~ so hard to choose? I know, Furuya-kun is the 'likes everything' type."
Then they turn around and say things like, "Huh~ a bit greedy, huh? But luckily I can dress up! Keeping things fresh is really important. As long as Furuya-kun likes it," which makes your blood pressure rise.
Rei Furuya could imagine the seemingly innocent but actually hateful look and tone that Ikuya Nekono would use when speaking to him!
What if the answer is "I don't like any of them"? Furuya Rei glanced at Nekono Ikuya, whose eyes were full of expectation, and knew that this answer would probably not satisfy him.
Rei Furuya gritted his teeth and thought bitterly, "This question is actually a blatant trap!"
Unfortunately, he couldn't refuse to answer, because their seats were at tables in front of and behind each other, and the distance between them was really too close!
And just the day before yesterday, he accidentally occupied the other person's seat for the entire day, and unknowingly even looked through the other person's belongings in the desk drawer. He wondered if Nekono Ikuya was aware of this, or if she would mind.
In short, he, the prey, had been caught by the cunning hunter and was completely cornered, forced to jump even when faced with a trap!
Let him think about how to answer; Rei Furuya's brain is working at lightning speed.
While Rei Furuya was deep in thought, Ikuya Nekono's arm remained folded on Rei's desk, showing no intention of moving it. Instead, as if he had found a comfortable support, he shook his head slightly, not in a hurry at all.
Then, he continued to rest his head on his arm, hoping for the blink to come.
Looking into Nekono Ikuya's expectant, blinking sapphire eyes, Rei Furuya could only manage a curt "...They're pretty much the same."
I can't think of anything, so I'll just have to give a perfunctory answer.
"Eh~" Nekono Ikumi's bright smile instantly vanished, as if someone had suddenly poured a bucket of cold water on her head when she was in high spirits. Even her fluffy, soft black hair seemed to droop a bit, and she looked a little listless.
He muttered under his breath, as if complaining, "Such a perfunctory answer... Furuya-kun is still angry, isn't he?" His voice was just loud enough for Furuya Rei to hear clearly.
Rei Furuya's eyes widened: "I didn't!"
Nekono Ikuya pouted: "It definitely exists!"
Rei Furuya retorted loudly, "I said I didn't!"
Nekono Ikumi's eyes darted around, and she seized the opportunity to make an unreasonable demand: "Then you say, 'Nekono-kun is super interesting no matter what she looks like!'"
Rei Furuya paused, feeling somewhat weary: "...That's enough!"
Nekono Ikuya clicked his tongue in regret, but didn't dwell on the topic with Furuya Rei. However, he also showed no intention of turning back, remaining perched on Furuya Rei's desk, staring up at him.
Rei Furuya's gaze involuntarily fell once again on Ikuya Nekono's sapphire eyes.
It's so realistic that even the subtle details under light refraction are clearly visible. It's completely unlike any colored contact lens product that I've ever seen before.
Is this really an effect that can be achieved through 'dressing up'? Anyway, Rei Furuya thinks that if Ikuya Nekono only wore colored contact lenses, he definitely couldn't achieve this level.
"Nekono-kun?" Furuya Rei took a deep breath, trying to make his tone sound purely curious rather than questioning or accusing. "How...how did you manage to see those eyes?"
That's absolutely incredible!
"Huh?" Nekono Ikuya seemed to be momentarily stunned by Furuya Rei's question, tilting her head in confusion with a completely innocent expression. "What? How did you do that?"
“It’s the color of the eyes.” Rei Furuya pointed slightly at Ikuya Nekono’s eyes with his fingertip, then traced the outline of Ikuya’s eyes in the air according to their shape today. “And… the shape?”
He remembered that yesterday, Nekono's eyes were longer and colder, unlike today when they suddenly became short and chubby, and suddenly became round and cute.
Rei Furuya carefully observed Ikumi Nekono's bright blue eyes, looking left and right but still couldn't find any flaws, which made him even more incredulous.
If Rei Furuya hadn't seen Ikuya Nekono's other pair of eyes yesterday, he would have mistaken them for Ikuya Nekono's real eyes.
There's absolutely no sense of incongruity about it.
How did Nekono-san manage to do that?!
"Oh, this—" Nekono Ikumi drawled, a mischievous glint in her clear sapphire eyes, like the shimmering surface of the sea under the sunlight, "It's a secret~"
He adopted that light and cheerful tone again, as if sharing some interesting news. 'I won't tell you,' but his eyes clearly said the opposite, with a hint of mischievous smugness.
Jianggu Ling: "..."
He knew this would happen!
Rei Furuya wondered what kind of serious answer he could expect from Ikuya Nekono. They still didn't know what the surprise Ikuya Nekono mentioned that day was.
Perhaps he shouldn't have asked this time either!
A new day begins with new questions about Nekono Ikuya.
The school bell rang at just the right moment, like a pardon interrupting the conversation that had left Rei Furuya utterly exhausted.
Nekono Ikuya finally got up from the desk he had been occupying, and waved lightly at Furuya Rei.
"Class is starting, Furuya-kun. Pay attention, okay? I'll come find you to play after class!"
No, no, he politely declined, Furuya Rei declined three times in a row.
Unfortunately, Nekono Ikumi couldn't hear Rei Furuya's unspoken refusal. Nekono Ikumi had already turned around and sat down gracefully like a butterfly, leaving Rei Furuya with only a fluffy back of his head and a faint, almost imperceptible, air of triumphant pleasure.
Rei Furuya stared at the back of that head, his mind a jumble of emotions, and took out his textbook, trying to focus on the lesson that was about to begin.
However, his thoughts were like a ball of yarn scratched by a cat's claws, tangled and chaotic, and he couldn't calm down at all.
Rei Furuya kept glancing at the black head in front of him, his fingers tightening slightly as he gripped the pen.
On the podium, the Chinese teacher was explaining classical grammar, and when he got to the point of getting excited, he habitually wanted to find a student to interact with in class.
She adjusted her glasses and glanced across the classroom: "So, can any student give an example of how this particle is used?"
Before he finished speaking, Nekono Ikuya immediately raised his hand. Even though he was sitting behind Nekono Ikuya, Furuya Rei could see his active and enthusiastic gaze.
As expected, the Chinese teacher called on Nekono Ikuya: "Nekono-kun, why don't you give it a try?"
The person named, Nekono Ikuya, stood up almost instantly, her movements fluid and without the slightest hesitation.
"Yes!" His voice was crisp and clear, full of bright energy, a stark contrast to his indifference yesterday.
Rei Furuya's hand holding the pen suddenly paused, and he involuntarily looked up to lock onto the figure in front of him. Although he was prepared, it still felt very surreal.
It turns out that he was probably the only one who felt it was magical, because everyone else remained calm in the face of Nekono Ikuya's completely different behavior from yesterday.
...Of course, this is also one of the reasons for the magical feeling of Rei Furuya.
"Very good, the example is very apt." The Chinese teacher nodded in satisfaction and gestured for Nekono Ikumi to sit down. "It seems Nekono-kun is in good spirits today."
She also complimented Nekono Ikuya, showing that she was used to the change and didn't find it surprising.
"Thank you, teacher!" Nekono Ikumi sat down with a bright smile, and as she sat down, the ends of her hair at the back of her head seemed to jump up excitedly.
Jianggu Ling: "..."
Looking great? Great? Not just great, it's like you're a completely different person!
Does today's Nekono look even slightly like yesterday's?
Rei Furuya felt a wave of dizziness and instinctively reached up to touch his forehead.
This is not just a visual impact; the voice, tone, temperament, reaction... even the way knowledge is presented has changed!
Rei Furuya was certain that if it had been Ikuya Nekono from yesterday who was called on, she would have stood up crisply, answered the question concisely in a flat tone, and then immediately sat down without saying a word more.
How could they ever be so witty and humorous, able to weave humorous phrases into every sentence and make many classmates chuckle quietly?
Is this really one person, or two somewhat similar brothers taking turns attending class?
Rei Furuya's gaze involuntarily drifted to the seat in front of him. Ikuya Nekono sat upright, seemingly listening attentively to the lecture, but Rei Furuya keenly noticed that Nekonono's fingers were unconsciously tapping lightly on the edge of his notebook, exuding an energy that matched his energetic persona today.
...They've put on quite a complete set of clothes.
Realizing he had been daydreaming for too long, Rei Furuya abruptly pulled his attention away from Ikuya Nekono. He had no doubt that if he stared at Ikuya any longer, the other would make some small gesture to 'remind' him.
Will she suddenly turn to him and smile like before? Or will she draw a simple smiley face in her notebook and suddenly hold it up to show him?
Damn it! Furuya Rei secretly made a face at himself. How could I have guessed Nekono's reaction so perfectly?! They've only known each other for two days!
To be precise, it's only one day, because today is the beginning of the second day.
Furuya Rei thought in surprise as his pen unconsciously drew a few lines on the blank space of his notebook.
He felt like he had been tricked by Nekono Ikuya, and the level of familiarity between them was rising at an unreasonable speed.
Especially the seemingly abrupt but actually natural 'childish noise' before class directly brought their relationship into the realm of friendship.
Rei Furuya, belatedly realizing what was happening, thought, "..." Was this something you expected?
Is this just my "outgoing" persona today, or is she naturally outgoing? Or is it that Ikuya Nekono needs to be enthusiastic for once, hence this "outgoing" persona?
Does Rei Furuya like Ikuya Nekono's way of quickly building a relationship? It seems not. Does he dislike it? It's not that he dislikes it.
Oh~ Furuya Rei lowered his head and scribbled a deep mark on the notebook. It seems that Nekono-san's trick has succeeded.
Also, has Nekono been deliberately trying to arouse my curiosity about him?
Rei Furuya felt both resentful and powerless, realizing that Ikuya Nekono's scheme had also succeeded in this regard.
It's not that we weren't good enough, it's just that the aroma of the bait was too tempting. Who wouldn't be curious about disguise?
He glanced at Nekono Ikuya ahead. *Tsk*, just keep trying to fish her out!
A note from the author:
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