"That's strange, Wuming-kun..." Yomikawa Aiho had just muttered when she suddenly remembered vaguely hearing Lin Wuming say he was going out to buy groceries in her sleep.
Meaning, Lin Wuming wasn't home right now.
"Oh dear!" Yomikawa Aiho suddenly became fully awake. "I'm sorry, I'm coming to open the door right away!"
While apologizing, she jumped out of bed, not even bothering to put on her slippers, and rushed to open the door.
—Anyway, it's a girl, so I don't need to worry too much about my appearance.
Besides, she had slept in her clothes last night, or rather, this morning, and hadn't changed into her pajamas, so she didn't need to bother changing now.
"I'm so sorry," Yomikawa Aiho showed no pretense of being a teacher or elder, and knowing she was at fault, she kept apologizing. "I was sleeping too soundly and forgot that Classmate Torami was coming."
"Not at all, it's me who is disturbing you, Yomikawa-sensei." Torami Toumi, now refreshed, also displayed considerable patience and politeness.
After entering the apartment, she observed the scene: "Sensei, hasn't Lin Wuming come back yet?"
"No, not yet," Yomikawa Aiho looked at the time and said naturally, "He probably got lost, right?"
"Eh?"
"Don't worry," Yomikawa Aiho waved her hand. "For Wuming-kun, getting lost is normal; there's nothing to worry about. It just takes him a bit of time."
Using this as a topic, Yomikawa Aiho briefly mentioned the time Lin Wuming got lost inside the apartment building.
Inviting Torami Toumi to sit down, Yomikawa Aiho quickly seized the opportunity to wash up in the bathroom, then went to the kitchen to prepare tea and snacks for her guest.
But after a while, she could only awkwardly bring out two boxes of milk.
"...No wonder Wuming was rushing to the supermarket. There really is no food left at home..." Yomikawa Aiho mumbled.
Of course, there was dough Lin Wuming had kneaded and stock he had simmered in the kitchen, but when a guest pays a visit, she couldn't just ask them to eat a bowl of ramen, could she?
Moreover, Yomikawa Aiho didn't know how to make ramen anyway.
Noticing Yomikawa Aiho's embarrassment, Torami Toumi didn't mind, instead placing the cooler box she brought onto the table.
"I made a strawberry shortcake. It should be perfect as a snack."
The reason she specifically brought such a large cooler box today was that it contained many strawberry shortcakes.
"I made this myself, so the taste might not be as good as store-bought ones. Please try it if you don't mind," Torami Toumi said.
It was precisely because the limited daily-edition strawberry shortcakes at the cake shop were so hard to snag that Torami Toumi, frustrated, decided to try making them herself—this way, she could eat as much as she wanted.
After all, the situation where she only had one strawberry shortcake when visiting Lin Wuming last time was too embarrassing.
Torami Toumi had been bothered by this ever since. Now it was fine; she had made twenty-four cakes in one go. Even if the three of them ate together, they could eat until they were full.
"That's great!" Yomikawa Aiho smiled, squinting her eyes. "I haven't had breakfast yet."
Because she was the one who explicitly told Lin Wuming not to prepare breakfast for her, there was none prepared for her in the kitchen.
—Now there are no other ready-to-eat foods at home. If it weren't for the cake Torami Toumi brought, I would be starving.
But then again, if Torami Toumi hadn't paid a visit, Yomikawa Aiho probably wouldn't have woken up this early.
The cake, preserved with dry ice, was at its peak flavor. Yomikawa Aiho happily ate three slices while praising it.
"Kids these days are amazing; their cooking skills are better than the last!" The unhelpful adult expressed her sincere admiration.
"Eh? Lin Wuming can make cake too?"
"I haven't seen him make one," Yomikawa Aiho said. "But Wuming-kun said that as long as he has the recipe, ingredients, and cooking utensils, he can make any kind of dish."
"Is he really that amazing?" Torami Toumi sounded skeptical.
To complete this strawberry shortcake, she had specifically snuck in to work part-time at the cake shop and spent a week learning the secret recipe.
"No exaggeration," Yomikawa Aiho said proudly. "Wuming-kun handles all three meals a day, even snacks and midnight meals at home now."
Torami Toumi frowned, feeling that something was a bit off.
Yomikawa Aiho didn't stand on ceremony, eating three slices of cake with her milk, temporarily filling her stomach.
Torami Toumi wasn't hungry yet, so she only picked the strawberries off the cake to eat. Dividing the twenty-four cakes among three people meant eight slices each. After eating her own eight strawberries, Torami Toumi wasn't satisfied. Hesitating for a moment, she reached for Lin Wuming's share.
"Who told you not to be here? The strawberry is the crown of the cake!"
After replenishing enough calories, Yomikawa Aiho finally emerged from her half-asleep state.
Since there was nothing else to offer besides milk, Yomikawa Aiho shamelessly went to a junior colleague's apartment on the same floor and acquired a variety of snacks.
Unfortunately, since they were all adults and drinking buddies, the snacks were the kind suitable for pairing with alcohol. She wasn't sure if they matched the tastes of a young girl.
Fortunately, Torami Toumi wasn't picky about food. She only had a specific craving for sweets, but other types, as long as they weren't particularly awful, she could eat without changing her expression.
Yomikawa Aiho, secretly relieved, then suggested, "Let's play video games!"
Besides this, there seemed to be no better way to pass the time in the apartment.
At this moment, Yomikawa Aiho completely forgot her identity as a "teacher"—perhaps because she was relaxed at home, or maybe she was still mentally fatigued and not fully aware. She wasn't acting like a "Judgment officer" or "teacher," but more like a big sister with a similar personality, enthusiastically hosting her guest.
In fact, Yomikawa Aiho knew that the girl, Torami Toumi, had not made a special visit solely for her, the teacher.
Lin Wuming, her peer, was her true object of attention.
In Yomikawa Aiho's view, Lin Wuming and Torami Toumi had a good relationship. Although Torami Toumi accidentally injured Lin Wuming during the previous hospital murder incident, through apologies and understanding, the two had "turned foes into friends."
During the subsequent hospitalization, Torami Toumi often went to visit Lin Wuming.
—Since that's the case, before Lin Wuming gets back, I'll just have to figure out a way to entertain this little guest.