Facing Shiina Mahiru's dissatisfied gaze, Lin Mu shook his head.
"I'm just having a hard time believing it, that's all. Yesterday, you wouldn't even let me mooch off your meal, and now the person I've been daydreaming about suddenly delivers the exact food I crave most. I need a second to process this—is this a dream?"
At his words, Shiina Mahiru's cheeks flushed slightly with embarrassment.
"I just made an extra portion by mistake and didn't want it to go to waste, so I brought it to you. If you can help me finish it, you'd be doing me a huge favor."
Lin Mu gazed at her intently. "But if you're this nice to me, Shiina, I might get the wrong idea."
Shiina Mahiru's heart skipped a beat, and she blurted out, "Wrong idea about what?"
"That you have feelings for a bad guy like me. People like me love to push our luck. Once we get a taste of kindness, we start wanting even more outrageous things."
Lin Mu spoke pointedly, his eyes drifting from her delicate, adorable face, slowly downward to her slender figure and the long legs wrapped in black stockings.
At school, she usually dressed like this, making her legs look slim and elegant. Paired with her stunning beauty, it gave off an intense girlish charm that drew everyone's eyes.
Lin Mu had another reason for staring.
That night, and the next morning, he'd shamelessly touched her bare calves without the stockings.
In short, it was incredibly tempting—super cute.
Hearing his flirtatious words, Shiina Mahiru frowned and shot him a glare.
"Cut the weird talk. If you don't want it, give it back!"
"No way, of course I'll eat it. Shiina's cooking is something every guy in class dreams about. It's an honor to taste it."
Lin Mu had no intention of returning the bento that was already in his hands.
As he spoke, he extended an invitation. "Want to come in and sit? We could study together?"
It was the kind of obvious intention anyone could see through.
If she went into his room, what if he tried something?
But Shiina Mahiru quickly stepped back two paces, eyeing him warily. "No need. Just eat well... I... I'm going to rest."
With that, she turned and left, leaving him with a beautiful view of her back.
Looking at the bento in his hand, Lin Mu let out a wistful sigh.
Though he'd deliberately eaten so meagerly at lunch to stir her sympathy, when she actually handed him the bento, Lin Mu was genuinely touched.
A girl this wonderful—he couldn't bear to let her slip away.
So, the energy from this meal needed to be put to good use.
...
Back in her room, Shiina Mahiru clutched her pounding chest and muttered to herself.
"Don't get the wrong idea... I just dumped my extra ingredients on you to deal with. Nothing more."
That was what she said, but facing this bad guy left her feelings all tangled up. She had no clue how to interact with him normally.
Ten minutes later.
The doorbell to Shiina Mahiru's room rang.
She instinctively went to the door and opened it.
Seeing Lin Mu, her heart jumped.
"Why are you here? What's the matter?"
Shiina Mahiru felt a bit nervous, instinctively on guard against him.
He had a track record.
Last night, he'd even forcibly hugged her and taken over her bed to sleep together.
Lin Mu took in her wary posture and calmly handed back the bento box.
"I finished it. Here, returning it to you."
"By the way, Shiina's cooking is top-notch—absolutely delicious!"
He gave her an unabashed thumbs-up.
The compliment made Shiina Mahiru a little shy, and she relaxed her guard somewhat.
"It's just home cooking, not as great as you say. But you washed the box clean before bringing it back—that's pretty good."
If he'd returned it in a messy state, covered in food scraps, she definitely would've docked major points from her impression of him.
Lin Mu looked at her somewhat helplessly. "Don't treat me like some slob. After eating your bento, of course I'd wash the box before returning it."
"So, what exactly is my image in your eyes, Shiina?"
At his question, Shiina Mahiru rested her chin on her hand in a thoughtful pose.
"Hmm, let me think... An opportunistic pervert shut-in?"
"Uh... Opportunistic and pervert, I'll own that, but what's with the shut-in part?"
Lin Mu was baffled.
Shiina Mahiru lifted her chin and huffed.
This guy actually admitted to being a bad person!
"You have the nerve to ask? Bringing your laptop to school to play games. If that's not shut-in behavior, what is?"
"Please call me a consumer otaku or a creative otaku." Lin Mu made the request with a straight face.
"Consumer otaku and creative otaku? What's the difference?"
Shiina Mahiru muttered, then waved him off.
"Anyway, you brought the box back, so head out. I need to rest too."
"Wait! There's one more important thing." Lin Mu quickly stopped her from closing the door and looked at her seriously.
"What important thing?" Shiina Mahiru paused, curiosity slipping onto her face, so she didn't shut the door right away.
Then.
The next second, amid her startled yelp.
Lin Mu swiftly scooped her up, shut the door, and headed toward her bed.
"As thanks for letting me eat my fill, Shiina, I'll repay you with this boosted energy."
Shiina Mahiru's eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at him.
"You... what are you going to do? Mmph!"
Was this guy even speaking human?
What did he mean by repaying her for the meal by using his energy on her?
Lin Mu leaned down and kissed her lips directly, not giving her a chance to protest.
He needed to teach her a proper lesson.
Men were dangerous creatures. Being so defenseless and bringing a bad guy like him a bento could make his heart race, leading him to not hold back from hugging her.
With this lesson, she should be more cautious around guys, right?
Of course, that was all just an excuse.
The truth was, he wanted her.
And he was genuinely warmed by the delicious bento she'd brought, so he figured he'd reward her a little.
...