What hadn't he done in his previous life? Yet now he had been thwarted by a little girl.
So what should he do now? Insisting on sitting here would very likely make Kushina dislike him, or even spark another confrontation.
But if he didn't sit here, he might lose his chance to be Kushina's deskmate...
Damn it...
He really hadn't expected to lose his place beside her before he'd even taken it...
After hesitating for a while,
Chu Aotian forced out a perfectly measured smile.
"S-sorry... you seem to be in a bad mood... I didn't know someone might be sitting beside you..."
"I just saw you sitting alone without a deskmate... so... I thought... s-sorry... for bothering you."
He awkwardly scratched the back of his head, looking utterly at a loss, while just the right hint of a blush appeared on his face.
He perfectly portrayed the awkwardness, shyness, and helplessness of a sensitive, considerate little boy.
Sure enough, Kushina's expression softened somewhat.
"Yeah, I'm not used to sitting with other people."
She answered in an even voice, offering an explanation for her earlier rudeness.
At the same time, she finally raised her head, which she had kept lowered all this time, and glanced at the delicate, somewhat feminine-looking boy before her.
Another perfectly timed blush surfaced on the boy's face, as though he were shy about suddenly catching his crush's eye.
Kushina found it a little strange.
He seems pretty polite. Could my sensing have been wrong?
Or did that malicious intent just now not come from him?
Shaking her head, Kushina didn't dwell on it.
Although she no longer disliked the boy before her as much as she had earlier,
she still couldn't bring herself to smile at him.
*Senpai... forgive me... turns out I can't smile