As Long as You Spout Nonsense, It's Fine

Curiosity was the first step toward the abyss.

Unending curiosity would eventually lead to a day when there was no way back out.

Kato Megumi stood at that very step.

The moment school ended, she immediately got up and stopped Shi Cheng, having endured the itch of curiosity like a cat scratching at her all day.

"Shi Cheng, can you tell me why?"

Chabashira Sae was clearly the teacher with the strongest presence Megumi had encountered in recent years.

Yet Shi Cheng said he wasn't afraid of her.

Kato Megumi was extremely curious.

Coupled with the fact that this school was obviously different from the outside world.

Her curiosity only grew stronger.

"Want to know?"

"Mhm, mhm." Kato Megumi nodded repeatedly.

"It's been so long since I had something Kato made that my memory's gotten a little worse."

Shi Cheng had no intention of telling her for free.

So he wanted to use this chance to get something out of her.

Not knowing that Shi Cheng simply wanted to eat her cooking.

Kato Megumi thought he had run out of living expenses.

"Shi Cheng, didn't I tell you that you should learn how to cook as soon as possible?"

Kato Megumi wasn't angry that he hadn't taken her words seriously.

She just didn't understand why, with the class situation already like this, Shi Cheng still wasn't making plans early.

She had been looking forward to it.

To Shi Cheng asking her for cooking lessons.

"Ahaha, I'm learning, I'm learning." Listening to her nag in his ear nonstop, Shi Cheng grew a little impatient.

Was she going to agree or not? Just give him a straight answer.

"Honestly." Kato Megumi heard it in his tone, but she had no choice but to advise him, "Shi Cheng, this won't do."

After another bit of nagging, Kato Megumi nodded lightly. "Shi Cheng, come with me."

In the end, she chose to agree.

It was only one meal, after all.

And if she didn't help him, Shi Cheng might go hungry today.

Shi Cheng's perfunctory expression instantly turned into a sincere smile. "I knew Kato was the most dependable."

"Hmph, hmph." Kato Megumi let out two soft hums that gave away little emotion.

Since he'd be eating her food.

Shi Cheng stayed half a step behind Kato Megumi and followed her all the way to the dormitory entrance.

Then he followed her inside.

Kato Megumi handed him a brand-new pair of slippers. "Shi Cheng, here."

Shi Cheng took them and changed into them, then went to the living room and looked around.

He commented, "So this is a girl's room? It's really clean."

So far, he had yet to come across a messy, filthy girls' dormitory.

He kind of wanted to see the real thing.

Kato Megumi asked back, "Is Shi Cheng's room messy?"

As she spoke, she opened the refrigerator. "What would you like to drink? There's iced tea..."

Shi Cheng smiled. "How could it be? I'm not a slob."

After praising himself, Shi Cheng sat down cross-legged. "Iced tea, thanks."

Kato Megumi nodded, then brought over a plate of snacks and some iced tea.

Having experienced this three times already, Shi Cheng felt a little unaccustomed to it.

He had thought there would be iced tea at most.

Now it seemed that, when it came to entertaining guests, Kato Megumi was miles ahead.

The other three were completely hopeless.

Though that was normal.

They all seemed like the type who had no friends.

Come to think of it.

Kato Megumi was easy to overlook too.

Even so, she seemed to have at least some friends.

For a moment, Shi Cheng didn't know who he should pity.

Wearing an apron and ready to cook, Kato Megumi asked, "Shi Cheng, is there anything you don't eat?"

The question caught Shi Cheng off guard again.

He looked up at Kato Megumi, who seemed to radiate a dazzling light all over her body. Damn it, how could she be so considerate?

Kato Megumi tilted her head slightly. There was no extra expression on her face, yet she somehow looked strikingly beautiful. "Shi Cheng, what's wrong?"

"Nothing." Shi Cheng's face reddened slightly.

He shook his head, sobered up a little, and answered her question.

"I'm fine with anything. No dislikes."

Kato Megumi nodded. "All right, then wait here for a little while."

Though she said that.

The dormitory wasn't actually large, so they could easily chat while she cooked.

Maybe she simply liked focusing on her cooking.

Shi Cheng naturally respected her wishes completely.

After all, whether he got to eat depended on Kato Megumi's mood.

A meal didn't take long to make.

Especially with only two portions.

And Kato Megumi was skilled at it.

So he didn't have to wait long.

Shi Cheng was deeply moved that he could see another table full of delicious food again so soon.

"I wonder which guy will be lucky enough in the future to eat Kato's cooking every day."

"Really?" Kato Megumi didn't seem particularly affected by the compliment, yet she said something incredibly shocking, and it didn't feel intentional.

"But isn't Shi Cheng the one eating it right now?"

"Cough, cough, cough!" Even so, Shi Cheng still couldn't get used to it.

Her face was too calm for him to make any judgment at all.

Having choked, Shi Cheng hurriedly picked up the iced tea beside him and gulped it down.

"Whew, I survived."

Shi Cheng let out a heavy breath.

Kato Megumi looked at him quietly, her colorless tone sounding somewhat eerie. "Shi Cheng, did I put in too much salt?"

"No, it's delicious." Shi Cheng pretended to be calm as he picked up another piece and put it into his mouth.

"That's good." Kato Megumi didn't insist that he answer her now and simply went with the flow.

She felt that this was actually pretty nice too.

Once the meal was over.

Shi Cheng watched as Kato Megumi slowly digested her food.

Perhaps knowing that Shi Cheng had no desire to chat, Kato Megumi took out her phone and began messaging someone.

Seeing that she had no time to pay attention to him.

Shi Cheng inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief.

After all, he had barely placed any focus on Kato Megumi.

It wasn't as though he ignored her.

But the problem was.

Kato Megumi's facial expressions rarely changed.

He really couldn't muster much interest.

After sitting there for a while and seeing her become more and more absorbed, Shi Cheng thoughtfully offered to leave.

"It's getting late. I should head back. See you tomorrow."

"Mm, see you tomorrow." Kato Megumi put away her phone. She didn't ask him to stay, merely got up and walked him to the door.

"Oh, right, I almost forgot something." Shi Cheng suddenly stopped at the doorway and looked at her seriously.

Kato Megumi's brows drew together slightly as she looked back. "Did you leave something behind?"

Shi Cheng shook his head. "No, it's what I promised at the beginning."

Kato Megumi narrowed her eyes, as if she were complaining, "I thought Shi Cheng had come here purely to mooch a meal."

What was that supposed to mean? Was he that kind of person? Shi Cheng rolled his eyes.

He shifted the blame. "Since Kato remembered, why didn't you remind me?"

Kato Megumi smiled faintly. "I thought Shi Cheng wanted to save it for the next time he came over."

That hit him right in the heart.

Shi Cheng looked delighted. "Really? Is that okay?"

He had no other intentions. He just wanted to help Kato Megumi improve her cooking.

This time, Kato Megumi merely smiled without speaking. Her eyes narrowed as she quietly watched him.

Shi Cheng gave an embarrassed smile. Apparently, it wasn't okay.

Sure enough, he shouldn't have pushed his luck.

Shi Cheng clenched his fist and coughed lightly. "The more people lack something, the more they try to hide it. Chabashira-sensei is very fragile inside."

That was complete nonsense, since there was no basis for it.

But it didn't matter. The next sentence was the important part. "Do you remember what happened at the Gymnasium?"