Chapter 103: Chapter 52: A Female Classmate
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The braised pork on the table steamed invitingly. Renz had also prepared a few vegetarian dishes with the limited vegetables he had to complement the meal.
The rice in the electric cooker should be done. Renz saw Erina holding her phone, so he got up and served two bowls of rice. Renz asked, "Are you staying here for dinner?"
"I'm not staying overnight tonight," Erina replied, answering a different question than he'd expected. She guessed what Renz was thinking. "I'll just have a small bowl here."
Renz went to get a smaller bowl of rice for her. He estimated Erina's appetite; this amount wouldn't affect her.
"Can we eat now?" Mashiro Shiina was pure in her anticipation. Renz hadn't given permission, so she waited patiently, her eyes fixated on the braised pork on the table.
"Almost. Be careful, it's hot," Renz said, caring for Mashiro Shiina like a child.
Mashiro Shiina picked up a piece of braised pork. She mixed it with the rice in her bowl, burying the meat in the rice. Once the sauce and rice were blended, she took the braised pork out again, gently blew on it to test the temperature, and then took her first bite with her small, cherry-like mouth.
She didn't swallow it whole; she was testing the temperature. Even though Renz treated Mashiro Shiina like a child, Mashiro Shiina wasn't actually one. Mashiro Shiina knew the pain of burning her mouth. Her first bite was of the leaner meat on the edge, and the temperature was just right. A look of contentment spread across her face.
She offered no verbal evaluation. Mashiro Shiina simply picked up her chopsticks, put them down, alternating between rice and braised pork, occasionally picking up some vegetables, and enjoying her meal with slow, deliberate bites.
After a while, Mashiro Shiina placed her chopsticks on her bowl.
"Thank you for the meal," Mashiro Shiina said.
Mashiro Shiina never used to say such things after eating. She would silently leave her bowl and go watch TV or return to her bedroom to draw manga. However, after Renz taught her that it was a sign of respect for the chef and basic etiquette, she gradually got used to it.
"How's the taste?" Erina asked with an expectant tone. The video recording was nearing its end. The cooking process, the guest's expression while tasting the food, and the final evaluation were supposed to be the entire video recording process.
But, Mashiro Shiina isn't someone who speaks eloquently.
"Delicious."
This was Mashiro Shiina's answer. She couldn't say more; after all, she wasn't a professional critic.
If she could say a few more words, the effect would be better, wouldn't it? Erina thought to herself.
"I want to eat it every day," Mashiro Shiina added.
Erina's smile gradually faded. A knife seemed to stab straight into Erina's heart. She wanted Mashiro Shiina to say a few more words, but this particular comment was something Erina absolutely could not accept. The most outrageous part was… Mashiro Shiina said it unconsciously. It wasn't a deliberate act; she hadn't considered the hidden meaning behind the words. Yet, this hidden meaning completely threw Erina off balance, making her quite uncomfortable.
No. If I don't say something soon, will I lose my standing?
"Then you can visit our home often in the future," Erina said with a cough, and with one sentence, she defused the entire situation. This is the position of the hostess!
Renz rubbed his forehead. He truly admired Erina's jealousy; she actually managed to compete with thin air. Mashiro Shiina's words clearly didn't have any hidden meaning; she simply meant the food was delicious and she wanted to eat it every day. But Erina's high-level interpretation firmly bolted down the security door.
However, this was also good. Exaggerating a bit wasn't bad either.
"Can I live at your house?" Mashiro Shiina asked, seriously considering it. Living at her brother-in-law's house meant delicious food every day, and her brother-in-law took good care of her and even pointed out things Mashiro hadn't thought of. He was seriously helping her plan her manga.
"No!" Erina yelled like a child, uncharacteristically losing her ladylike grace and speaking purely from emotion.
Renz rubbed his forehead again. It was the first time he'd seen Erina so utterly defeated. No, it should be said that Mashiro Shiina's thought process was unlike that of a normal person, and precisely this abnormal thinking had completely subdued the relatively normal Erina.
However, with the video still recording, Renz couldn't lecture them during the filming; it would only complicate the situation and lead to unnecessary misunderstandings for the viewers.
"Today's video ends here."
"We'll see you in the next episode!" Renz waved at the camera, motioning for Erina to turn off the video. Just as he was about to start lecturing them, a loud knock came from the door. This knock once again forcibly interrupted Renz's attempt to deliver a lecture.
He quickly walked to the apartment door. Opening it, he saw a girl with glasses standing before him.
"Hello, did you order udon noodles?" the girl with glasses asked, holding up a packaged noodle dish.
Renz's memory was quite good. Isn't this Rizu Ogata from the next class? Because of her excellent grades, Vice President Kaguya Shinomiya had mentioned her several times. Plus, her appearance was very distinctive. Renz recognized her at a glance.
Short hair, glasses, reddish-orange hair, and a figure mismatched with her height, she achieved the top score in subjects like mathematics and physics, earning her the nickname "Thumbelina of Maths."
However, Renz didn't reveal her identity. "You have the wrong address. I didn't order udon noodles."
"Eh?" Rizu Ogata looked a little dazed and stunned. She picked up the slip of paper in her hand, glanced at it, and realized she had delivered to the wrong door; it should have been the neighbor's.
"My sincerest apologies!" Rizu Ogata bowed deeply. "I've disturbed you."
"But, speaking of which, are you Renz-kun from the student council?" Rizu Ogata asked. There were few male students at Private Hachiko Academy, so any boy with a recognizable name would be known. Coincidentally, Rizu Ogata's family ran an udon noodle shop. The God's Tongue evaluation episode featured ramen, and her father had watched it with her, so she had a strong impression of Renz.
At this point, Rizu Ogata's peripheral vision suddenly caught sight of Erina in the living room, engaged in a high-intensity stare-down with Mashiro Shiina.
Renz nodded. "Yes, that's right, I'm Renz. You're Ogata-san from the next class, aren't you?" Since she recognized him, he didn't need to pretend otherwise.
Just then, Renz noticed Rizu Ogata's gaze was entirely focused behind him.
Oh no?!
Her family runs an udon noodle shop, a food establishment. Very few people in the culinary world wouldn't recognize Erina. She must have recognized Erina, right?
Now, how do I screen and cover for Erina?
Renz's worries quickly materialized.
"Excuse me, is that the God's Tongue, Erina-sama?" Rizu Ogata pointed. "Though it feels very rude, my father is a fan of Erina Nakiri."
"Seeing Erina-sama here, still surprises me greatly."
She said she was greatly surprised, but Rizu Ogata maintained her calm, expressionless face.
"You're not mistaken, that is Erina," Renz quickly thought of a response. "There's been a culinary event at Totsuki Academy recently, so Erina came over to invite me to attend." Renz took a deep breath.
Safe!
"Renz-kun's cooking skills are truly remarkable. My father spoke very highly of you when he watched the show," Rizu Ogata seemed to smell the aroma from inside the apartment. She saw the dishes on the table. However, remembering that she still had to deliver her udon noodles, she hesitated and said, "I'll go deliver the food first, Renz-kun. Would it be convenient for me to visit again later? I'd like Erina's autograph."
"Oh, oh, no problem," Renz breathed a sigh of relief. His explanation must have earned Rizu Ogata's trust. No... Erina's initial purpose for coming here was indeed to invite him to that event. There was nothing wrong with this explanation.
Rizu Ogata knocked on the neighbor's door.
Erina called from the behind, "Renz, who is it?"
"A female classmate," Renz answered without thinking.
"Hmm?" Erina's gaze subtly shifted. After returning to the original timeline, why is Renz's popularity with women getting better and better? Or did that wild woman from school who was chasing Renz actually run over here to "cause trouble" directly? Erina still remembered what happened a few days ago, and that incident had bothered her for a long time; her anger hadn't subsided yet.
At this moment, Renz realized he had stepped on another landmine. Simply saying "classmate" would have been enough; why did he have to specify the gender? The little man inside his head slapped him hard. Next time I speak, I need to be more careful!
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