The Power-Based Supremacy Classroom Backed by Black Technology Chapter 46

This left Ichinose Honami even more confused. Why was he bringing up her middle school classmates?

"Don't tell me you haven't realized how cute you are? And you've got a great figure, a likable personality—you should have at least some awareness of that, right?"

Shuichi Kanda was a bit skeptical.

Didn't most people these days have at least a little bit of narcissism in them?

A girl like Ichinose, with looks and personality practically top-tier, being unaware of her own strengths... that was way too rare, almost like a giant panda.

"Huh? Is that how Kanda-kun sees me? It's not just flattery, is it?"

Seeing the flustered look on Ichinose's face, Shuichi Kanda understood—she really had no clue how cute she was.

"If you don't believe me, you could ask your friends to check for you, it wouldn't hurt. Besides, most high schoolers these days are face-judgers. No one's going to fall for an ugly girl in a short time."

Shuichi Kanda shrugged, saying it as if it were only natural. He judged by looks too, because that was normal.

"But the person confessing to me today is my good friend. I'm afraid rejecting him will hurt our relationship."

"Then, Ichinose, do you consider me a friend?"

Shuichi Kanda put down the shopping bag in his hand and faced Ichinose seriously.

"Yeah, of course."

If she'd said no here, Shuichi Kanda would have turned and left immediately. If we're not even friends, why am I saying all this?

"Then, Ichinose-san, I think you're very cute. Please go out with me!"

Luckily, no one was in the first-floor lobby of the dorm at this hour. Otherwise, this would definitely be all over the place by tomorrow.

"Why the sudden confession? I wasn't prepared at all?"

Faced with Shuichi Kanda's sudden confession, Ichinose was completely dumbfounded.

What kind of development is this? Am I really cute enough to make someone who's only met me a few times fall for me?

"You just need to answer yes or no."

Shuichi Kanda clearly wasn't going to let Ichinose Honami weasel her way out of this. He was putting on plenty of pressure.

"Sorry, Kanda-kun. You're a nice guy, but I'm not planning on dating anyone right now."

Hearing this, Shuichi Kanda's expression shifted from serious back to its previous calm.

"See? That's all you need to do—get your feelings across to the other person. If they still keep pestering and clinging on, then it means they're not worth being your friend, let alone your boyfriend."

"About that, actually..."

Just as Ichinose was about to explain, the elevator reached the first floor, and a girl stepped out.

When she saw Shuichi Kanda and Ichinose Honami, her expression clearly changed.

"Um, Ichinose-san... who is this person?"

Seeing Ichinose alone with an unfamiliar guy, and a handsome one at that, chatting and laughing, Shiranami Chihiru immediately went on guard.

Seeing this, Shuichi Kanda understood at once. I see. So I was wrong before.

Ichinose, your charm isn't just for guys—even girls get drawn in. And you're still not aware of it. That's terrifying.

"He's Kanda-kun from Class D. We just happened to run into each other on the way back to the dorm."

But clearly, this student named Chihiru wasn't buying it.

"Could it be... he's Ichinose-san's boyfriend or something?"

"Unfortunately, no. This..."

Chihiru had only given her first name, so Shuichi Kanda didn't feel right calling her that. He turned to look at Ichinose.

Noticing Shuichi Kanda's gaze, Ichinose Honami quickly spoke up to explain.

"This is Shiranami Chihiru. She's my good friend, and also a student in Class B."

Just as I thought. This lobby instantly filled with the sour smell of oranges. Damn it!

"Then, Shiranami-san, there's no need to look at me with such wary eyes. And, I admire your courage. Good luck."

With that, he gave Ichinose a wink, the teasing intent clear.

Finished, Shuichi Kanda picked up the shopping bag he'd set on the floor and hummed a tune as he stepped into the elevator.

Back in his dorm room, he rested a bit. Just as he was about to start prepping the ingredients, there was a knock at his door.

Ah, it's Ichinose Honami. She just rejected me, and now she's coming straight to my room. Doesn't she think that's a bit forward?

But she doesn't seem like the type like Kamuro who'd just resort to violence, so letting her in should be fine.

Chapter 77: Good Brown Sugar Water

Opening the door, Shuichi Kanda saw Ichinose Honami, her expression not looking too good.

"Want to come in, Ichinose-san?"

After hesitating for a moment, Ichinose nodded. This was her first time entering a boy's room.

"Sorry for the intrusion."

After entering the room, Ichinose remained silent the whole time. Seeing her like this, Shuichi Kanda decided not to bother with her—maybe she was still emotionally shaken, so he'd let her calm down first.

Shuichi Kanda put on an apron and started prepping the ingredients.

A dozen minutes later, Shuichi Kanda brought over a cup of ginger brown sugar water. While brewing it, he'd not only added ginger but also red dates and goji berries, hoping to enrich the flavor a bit.

"Please, help yourself."

"Huh? This... is it for me?"

Ichinose Honami clearly hadn't caught on. She'd noticed earlier that the brown sugar looked like it had just been opened—could this really have been prepared specially for her?

Had Kanda-kun's confession earlier not been just to give her experience in turning someone down?

Was it actually a serious confession?

But since she'd rejected him so casually, was he heartbroken now?

Ichinose's heart was tangled in conflict.

"I just ladled it out, so be careful not to burn yourself."

Clearly, Shuichi Kanda had no idea what was going on in her head—otherwise, he'd have thought this was quite the show.

After pouring himself another cup of brown sugar water, Shuichi Kanda scooped the rest from the rice cooker into a bowl and started preparing to stew the chicken.

He busied himself for another ten-plus minutes until the chicken was finally simmering.

Then Shuichi Kanda picked up his brown sugar water, sat down in the chair in front of the computer desk, and took a sip of the still-warm drink.

Mm, not bad. Could pass as a beverage.

"So, did something happen? You look like you've lost your soul."

"Chihiro said starting tomorrow, things will be like usual... but can we really go back to how we were before?" Ichinose clutched the cup of brown sugar water, her voice low.

"Probably not."

Shuichi Kanda didn't offer any comforting words. Lies might not hurt, but the truth is the sharp blade—still, sometimes you need to make things clear early on, or you'll have a headache when things get tangled and impossible to sort out.

"Besides, Ichinose, you don't actually want to spend the rest of your life with a girl, do you?"

As he said this, a strange expression crossed Shuichi Kanda's face.

"Well... probably not."

Seeing the hesitation on Ichinose's face, Shuichi Kanda felt his own hand stiffen around his cup.

You need to hesitate over that?

You're not secretly a potential yuri fan, are you?

Damn, all you guys who like Ichinose—you have my sympathy!

"What do you mean 'probably not'?" Shuichi Kanda said with a pained look. "Shouldn't you answer more firmly to make Shiranami-san give up for good?"

"You need to understand that her feelings for you will never bear fruit. You should reject her more decisively. As for what comes after, you can patch things up then, can't you?"

"Rejecting her now only hurts for a little while."

"But if your sense of romance goes wrong, that's a lifetime problem!"

"Hey! Are you even listening?"

Seeing Ichinose Honami staring off into space, Shuichi Kanda waved a hand in front of her face.

Suddenly, Ichinose sat up from the bed and downed the rest of the brown sugar water in her cup in one gulp.

"I get it now! Thanks for today, Kanda-kun!"

With that, she shoved the empty cup into Shuichi Kanda's hand, ran to the genkan, slipped on her shoes, and quickly left his room.

Shuichi Kanda watched the whole sequence with a dumbfounded look.

So... what exactly did you figure out?

Staring at the empty cup in his hand, he fell into thought.

Four hours later, around eight in the evening, Kushida Kikyo appeared outside Shuichi Kanda's door again.

Seeing Kushida Kikyo's sweet smile, Shuichi Kanda felt speechless. You really treat my place like a trash can.

But she'd helped him out today, so he couldn't be too harsh.

"I'm hungry."

You think this is a restaurant?

Even if you do, at least pay for the meal, you idiot!

"Come in."

Once inside, Kushida Kikyo sat down on the floor of Shuichi Kanda's room. It was nearly summer, so the floor wasn't cold—in fact, if it weren't eight at night, it might even be a little warm.

After ladling her a bowl of chicken soup, Shuichi Kanda handed her a cup of brown sugar water.

"Hey, Kushida, if you keep eating this late every day, you're going to gain weight, you know."

The moment Shuichi Kanda spoke, Kushida, who was holding a spoon to drink her soup, shot him a glare filled with murderous intent.

Shuichi Kanda, however, calmly picked up a glass of water and drank silently, as if he hadn't said anything at all.

So even this guy cared about that.

"What's this?"

Kushida picked up the brown sugar water Shuichi Kanda had placed on the table, looking puzzled.

"Brown sugar water. If you don't want it, you can put it down."

Brown sugar water?

She knew what that was—her good friend Wang Meiyu always brewed it for herself whenever she felt unwell.

But wasn't that a tradition from her hometown? Weren't Japanese people supposed to drink ice water?

"Did you see Xiao Mei today?"

Kushida's eyes were full of suspicion.

"Who's Xiao Mei? Are you running a fever?"

"Wang Meiyu, you idiot. We all call her Xiao Mei. Drinking brown sugar water during your period isn't a Japanese tradition, is it? Why are you giving me this?"

"Then pour it out."

Shuichi Kanda wasn't about to indulge her. Drink it or not—he didn't care. What a waste of his concern.

"That won't do."

Watching Kushida continue eating, Shuichi Kanda suddenly thought of a possibility.

"Kushida, you don't have any points left, do you?"