After deciding to give up, I became popular

"…"

Watching the escalating argument between the two, Megumi Kato didn't step in to stop them, but instead took out her phone and started playing with it.

She felt like she shouldn't have come today; besides being shown off by Kasumigaoka-senpai, it seemed like she hadn't done anything else, and there was nothing fun… or maybe there was?

Well, whatever, I'll just play on my phone for a while…

019. What are teenage girls thinking about?

"Conger eel or sea eel? Which one should I choose…"

In front of the frozen section, Kanade Natsukawa pondered the main dish for tonight.

It was early summer, and various kinds of fish were gradually coming onto the market.

Seafood sushi and sashimi are perhaps the two most famous delicacies and essential choices for summer in Japan, but Kanade Natsukawa preferred the everyday meal with rice.

So eel rice became his first choice.

Large, plump grains were sent into his mouth, accompanied by thick, mellow eel meat; if he could drink a freshly made fish soup at this moment, it would be absolutely perfect.

"As expected, I should choose conger eel…"

Kanade Natsukawa nodded, deciding on his choice for tonight's satisfying meal.

Lunch wasn't very enjoyable; perhaps it was indeed a rare delicacy, but if one's mood was bad, even the food eaten would become like chicken ribs—tasteless.

To soothe his restless stomach, he wanted to enjoy himself tonight.

"Instant noodles, bread, toilet paper… oh right, and the most important sauce."

The former was for emergency use; living alone meant preparing for everything in advance, and the final sauce was, of course, to accompany tonight's main course.

Soy sauce, mirin, honey… with the right amounts, he could mix a delicious dressing that would taste great with eel rice or anything else.

Although there were ready-made bottled sauces sold in the supermarket, Kanade Natsukawa still preferred to mix his own.

You should know that a secret, homemade sauce that can't be replicated or bought is the soul of many eel rice restaurants. Although Kanade Natsukawa didn't have the ability to do that, he could still freely adjust the amounts according to his own preferences.

After all, he didn't like things that were too sweet.

"What else am I missing…"

"Natsukawa-kun, good afternoon."

A soft, soothing voice floated into Kanade Natsukawa's ears, stealing his attention from shopping.

Although he hadn't seen her completely, there was only one person in his memory who would greet him like that.

"Good afternoon, Kato."

Turning his head, the background classmate was standing next to him, leaning forward slightly, with a shopping basket on her arm. The scene was frozen at the moment when she gently tucked the hair beside her ear behind her ear.

Although her expression was still calm, her gestures were full of girlish tenderness.

"Buying snacks?" Kanade Natsukawa teased.

"Running errands for my mom."

Megumi Kato lifted the shopping basket in her hand, which contained several seasonings for cooking, as well as a bottle of green tea and some Pocky sticks.

"There really are snacks?" Kanade Natsukawa was a little surprised.

He casually said it and was guessed correctly, it seemed his luck today was not too bad.

"…" Although Kato didn't refute, the look in her eyes conveyed the message "I'm a girl too, you know."

"Eating too many snacks will make you fat." Kanade Natsukawa turned his head, pretending not to understand Kato's little look.

"It's okay, someone will take care of helping me get rid of them," Kato said softly, not caring about Kanade Natsukawa's little curse.

"I thought you would say something like 'Be careful of being hated for talking about a girl's weight'."

"Hmm? Does Natsukawa-kun want me to say that?"

"Not really, I just think it would feel more 'mainstream'?"

"But I'm not that kind of mainstream character."

"It's okay, Kato is already very charming, you don't need to deliberately play someone else." Kanade Natsukawa shook his head, then continued to pick out what he wanted.

"It's not good for your health to eat instant noodles all the time, Natsukawa-kun knows that, right?" Megumi Kato's gaze at Kanade Natsukawa seemed a little angry.

Boys living alone can indeed be particularly worrying in some ways.

"You misunderstood, these instant noodles are just emergency food, bought to prevent a day when I have nothing to eat, I have been eating properly every day…" Kanade Natsukawa said a little guiltily.

It wasn't exactly a lie, at least he had been eating properly these past few days after resigning from the student council president position.

"Really? Natsukawa-kun needs to be responsible for himself." Megumi Kato's eyes seemed a little doubtful.

But looking at the fresh ingredients in Kanade Natsukawa's shopping basket, she didn't say anything more.

"Is tonight's dinner eel rice?"

"Yes, what about Kato?"

"Tonight, my family is having curry, but I'd rather eat something else."

"For example?"

"Eel rice or something?"

"It's definitely a summer choice." Kanade Natsukawa nodded, this was also his idea.

"Has Kato ever made eel rice herself?" Kanade Natsukawa asked curiously.

Japanese schools attach great importance to students' personal abilities, and subjects like cooking classes will never give way to other exam subjects, but what they actually teach is very limited, and not as mysterious as the outside world says.

Of course, special schools that specialize in training chefs are an exception.

"I haven't tried it." Megumi Kato shook her head, a little curious, "Is Natsukawa-kun very good at it?"

"I guess." Kanade Natsukawa didn't deny it, but he didn't brag either, "Should I say barely edible?"

"Excessive modesty is arrogance, Natsukawa-kun."

In Japanese culture, it is generally assumed that the chef in a family is female, and the male almost never assumes responsibility for housework.

Although this has changed in recent years with the changes in trends, the general trend remains the same, and it is rare to find a man who is good at cooking but whose ambition is not to be a chef.

"I'm really not lying to you." Kanade Natsukawa didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

His cooking skills were basically stolen from that angel, compared to her cooking skills, he was definitely inferior. He originally thought of giving her a surprise one day, but it ended up being a failure.

And ironically, the cooking skills he practiced diligently afterwards ended up serving another girl.

"It's hard to believe…" Megumi Kato tilted her head, looking meaningful.

Kanade Natsukawa immediately understood, he had seen this "calculating" look many times on the equally gluttonous Fujiwara Chika.

"If Kato doesn't believe me, how about trying it yourself?"

"Wouldn't that bother Natsukawa-kun?"

"No trouble, it's just making an extra portion." Kanade Natsukawa shook his head.

A solo food trip is indeed enjoyable, but sharing the joy of food with good friends is also a real pleasure.

"How about tomorrow? Is Kato free during lunch break?"

"I'm free." Seeing that the matter of tasting his cooking skills was settled, Megumi Kato didn't say anything more, "I'll be looking forward to it."

"Of course, as long as you don't mind it being bad then."

"If it's too bad, I'll leave it all to Natsukawa-kun and have you help me finish it."

"Wow, you're going to use that move? Then I have to use all my strength to cook." Kanade Natsukawa smiled, and casually added a box of curry cubes and beef to the shopping list.

No matter what kind of food it is, it tastes best when it's freshly made, so since he was going to invite Kato to taste his cooking tomorrow, he might as well change tonight's menu.

He also got inspiration while chatting with Kato, so he might as well have curry rice tonight.

After the two finished paying and walked to the door, they naturally walked together.

As friends, there was no need to be so restrained in the process of getting along, no need to ask this and that, since they happened to meet, and they were both free, then they would walk together.

"I'll take it." Kanade Natsukawa reached out to Megumi Kato.

The latter nodded, but didn't immediately hand the shopping bag to the other party.

"Wait a moment."

Megumi Kato took out a box of Pocky from the shopping bag, and then handed the bag to Kanade Natsukawa.

"Are you going to eat it now? Aren't you afraid you won't be able to eat dinner later?"

"It's okay, Mom won't be angry."

"The premise is that you've already made her angry?" Kanade Natsukawa smiled, "Treasure your mom's hard work a little more."

Every time he spent time with Kato, Kanade Natsukawa felt very relaxed. To him, Kato was like a childhood sweetheart, a girl next door, so he always couldn't help but want to give her a little lecture.

"Natsukawa-kun, ah——"

"What?" Kanade Natsukawa was puzzled for a moment, but as soon as he turned his head, a long stick was stuffed into his mouth.

"Ugh…" Kanade Natsukawa frowned.

It wasn't that he was a little unhappy with Megumi Kato's sudden attack, but he was simply shocked by the special taste of this Pocky.

"Bitter?"

"Yeah, I heard it's some kind of new product." Megumi Kato nodded, then took one herself and put it in her mouth.

"Ugh…"

The same reaction as Kanade Natsukawa.

"If you don't like it, don't eat it anymore." Kanade Natsukawa advised.

He could still adapt to this bitterness, but there was no need for Kato, it wasn't something she had to eat.

"It's okay, I always have to adapt." Kato shook her head, not listening to his advice.

Kanade Natsukawa was helpless, the thoughts of teenage girls were too complicated, he was afraid he would never understand them in his life.

"Kato, here, this is for you." Kanade Natsukawa suddenly remembered that he had some good things in his pocket, so he put down the shopping bag and reached into his pocket to take them out.

"Hmm?"

"Fruit candy, random flavors." Kanade Natsukawa explained, "There's no bitter flavor, but there is a spicy flavor, but I ate the spicy one before."

"If you can't stand the bitterness, eat one, at least it can neutralize it a little."

That's how he was, every time after drinking an Americano, he would eat one to adjust his tongue, although sometimes he would encounter a worse situation, but most of the time it was relieved.

Various flavors are like life, full of adventure.

Megumi Kato nodded, silently took it, but didn't peel the candy and put it in her mouth.

Kanade Natsukawa didn't care, thinking that she might want to challenge herself.

"Mom, hurry up, we're going to miss the cartoon."

"Slow down, don't fall…"

Accidents always come so suddenly, and by the time Kanade Natsukawa wanted to remind her, it was too late.

"Ugh…" The little girl, who was only focused on turning around to greet her mother, bumped into Kanade Natsukawa at the corner.

Of course, the little girl was fine, at most a little dizzy, but Kanade Natsukawa's stomach suffered, and a rocket headbutt almost broke his defense.

"You can't run like this on the road, what if you hit a car?" Kanade Natsukawa squatted down, looking serious.

"I'm sorry, big brother, I know I was wrong…" The little girl also realized the problem, and couldn't help but lower her head, vaguely looking like she was about to cry.

"I'm fine." Kanade Natsukawa rubbed her head, and seeing that she was very well-behaved, he took out a candy from his pocket and gave it to her.

"You can't be like this in the future, understand?"