The Classmate Who Is Adored by Everyone Smiles Teasingly Only at Me-Chapter 3Volume .2 - Distressed Pudding

Distressed Pudding 2

“I’m looking forward to customer service since I’ve never done it before, but I wanted to bake baby castella with you, Sōma-san.”

“No way, that’s impossible.”

“Why? I think I could bake baby castella if I practiced.”

“It’s not about that. If you stand next to me, you’ll definitely start teasing me, right?”

“That… I might end up wanting to do that.”

“If that happens, everyone will realize our cooperative relationship, and it’s bound to cause a commotion. You said the other day that it wouldn’t matter if people found out, but it would be bad during the cultural festival. Most likely, everyone’s interest would shift from the festival to Chika’s scandal.”

“That would be… a bit troublesome.”

Perhaps imagining her classmates surrounding her instead of the customers at the cultural festival, Chika frowned in concern and let out a sigh of resignation.

“It can’t be helped. At least until the cultural festival, it seems better to keep it a secret as we have been.”

“I think so too.”

For Sōma, who had decided to seriously bake baby castella, the last thing he wanted was any extra commotion.

“As a substitute, could I have your time for a whole day next Sunday? I apologize, but no taste test. I want to follow a schedule I’ve put together from start to finish.”

As the faded noren of the Chinese restaurant came into view, Chika made such a proposal with her hands clasped together in a pleading gesture.

“That’s fine. Do you want to go on a trip or something?”

To Sōma’s question, she shook her head no and then flashed a mischievous smile.

“I want you to go on a date with me——”

***

——Date.

It generally refers to the time spent together by a couple in a romantic relationship.

To put it grandly, it’s an event to deeply understand each other and confirm their affection by sharing time.

Yet, here were two people who were not lovers doing just that.

It’s contradictory.

Nevertheless, Sōma had a rough idea of Chika’s intentions.

The fact that Shōhei had feelings for Miki seemed to have been quite a shock to her.

It wasn’t surprising that she became interested in romance and dating and wanted to have a simulated date experience with Sōma.

“Well, it’ll probably end up with us just wandering around town as usual.”

Muttering to himself as if to remind himself, he headed towards the meeting place in front of the station.

He had no illusions that it would be a normal date.

Because, after all, both of them had zero experience in love.

“Ah, Sōma-san, over here!”

Chika, who had arrived first, waved her hands vigorously when she spotted Sōma.

“Sorry, did you wait long?”

“No, not at all. I just got here myself.”

“Good then.”

While trying to appear calm, Sōma’s heartbeat was actually accelerating.

It was because Chika, all dressed up, looked incredibly cute.

She wore a vivid sky-blue long skirt that accentuated her figure—apparently called a mermaid skirt—and a white blouse topped with a light blue cardigan to match.

A small camel-colored bag slung over her shoulder added a nice touch of color.

She didn’t have the mature atmosphere she had when he first accompanied her shopping.

However, there was a charming cuteness about her, as if a refined young lady had tried her best for a date, making him realize anew the attractiveness of Chika that he hadn’t noticed before.

“…Is something wrong?”

When he stared at her in a daze, Chika tilted her head in wonder.

“Uh, did you pick out that outfit yourself?”

“This? Yes, of course.”

She affirmed while pinching the hem of her skirt with a slightly proud gesture.

“I tried to choose something that seemed appropriate for a date, how is it?”

『Date』

The casually spoken word made his heart skip a beat.

Right, he was on a date with Chika today.

He had been taking it lightly until now, but that word made him intensely aware of it.

“It suits you. I think it’s very cute.”

Perhaps because of that, such words came out naturally.

Then, Chika’s face turned bright red.

“Really?”

“Yeah, it’s very date-like and I think it’s great.”

“Thank you. Um, I didn’t expect to be praised like that by you, Sōma-san, so I’m a bit surprised. But I’m very happy.”

The girl, blushing and giggling shyly, looked even cuter.

In the midst of the bustling holiday station, the two of them blushed and gazed at each other.

An awkward and bittersweet atmosphere flowed between them.

“Those two look so fresh. Is it their first date?”

“They’re cute.”

A pair of female college students passing by giggled at them.

Triggered by that, the two of them laughed together, and their tension eased a bit.

“Alright, shall we go?”

“Yes, please take care of me today.”

Saying this, Chika entwined her arm with Sōma’s.

“H-hey…”

When their arms were linked, their bodies naturally came close together.

“Isn’t this what you’re supposed to do on a date?”

“That may be true, but isn’t this going a bit too far?”

The sensation of her cardigan-wrapped form was transmitted to him.

Whether Chika noticed it or not, she chuckled happily.

“It’s a date, so it’s fine, right? Come on, let’s go.”

Holding onto the linked arms tightly so as not to let go, Chika started walking.

This chapter is updat𝙚d by freeweɓnovel.cøm.

Inevitably, Sōma also started walking in step with her.

“…It’s hard to walk like this.”

After walking about ten meters, Chika murmured her thoughts.

“When we’re this close together, we really have to match our pace or we might trip. It’s almost like a three-legged race.”

“Then let’s stop doing it.”

“No, today we’re going all out on date-like activities!”

“What’s with that determination?”

Though he tried to persuade her to stop linking arms, Chika firmly refused to listen.

Somehow, this feels like it might be more exhausting than the time at the pool.

As Sōma struggled to match Chika’s stride, he couldn’t help but think like that.

The destination for the pair was the science museum.

“Our goal is the planetarium on the top floor.”