Actually, the Hungry Gyaru Who Eats a Lot Was Being Cheated On, so I Decided to Win Her Heart (And Stomach) From Her Jerk Boyfriend - 68

Chapter 68: The Hungry Gyaru and Big Sis’s Suggestion

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After several dozen seconds, Shizuku’s demeanor returned to normal. Still, with her cheeks faintly flushed, she seemed to come back to her senses and smoothly slipped away from my palm.

“Are you okay now?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. …Or did Suou-kun want to pet me more?”

“Either way’s fine by me.”

The moment I said that, Shizuku shot me an exasperated glare and let out a weary sigh.

“I seriously think that part of you isn’t good at all.”

“…Sorry.”

Yeah, even I had to admit that reply had been pretty awful. Just as I lowered my head to the sulky, pouty Shizuku…

Grrr.

A deflated growl echoed from her stomach.

“…Ah.”

A beat too late, the sound slipped out of my mouth…

“~~~!!!”

Shizuku’s face turned bright red as she writhed in embarrassment, then immediately turned her whole body away from me. After an unbearably awkward silence passed…

“…Shizuku, did you eat anything at all today?”

When I finally mustered the courage to ask, she silently shook her head back and forth.

She didn’t eat anything…? If you tried doing boxer-style roadwork in that condition, of course you’d nearly collapse.

“Do you have an appetite right now?”

When I continued, she gave a small nod.

“In that case… Do you want to eat at my place? I just happened to prepare some meals for weight-cutting.”

When I made the suggestion, Shizuku remained silent, but she nodded firmly right away. After that, I led Shizuku to the front of the living room, and at the same moment, the front door opened. When I looked over, I saw my older sister, who had apparently just gotten back from her part-time job.

“I’m home~. Gaku-kun, your dear big sis is super starving, so get dinner ready in, like, two seconds—…wait, Shizuku-chan!?”

The instant she noticed Shizuku, my sister’s eyes flew wide open and she leaned back slightly in surprise. Shizuku gave her a small laugh and bowed her head politely.

“Ah, Mio Onee-san. Hi, sorry for intruding~…”

“Huh? I thought you weren’t supposed to be able to come today…?”

“I’ll explain that part later. For now, I’ll warm up the food, so go wash your hands and change.”

I explained how I ended up bringing Shizuku over while we ate dinner.

“…I see. I think I get the gist of it.”

After hearing most of the story, my sister shoveled a bowl of beef over rice with its surface bright red from chili pepper and pickled ginger, into her mouth. I glossed over the reason behind the dieting, but maybe she sensed there were things I didn’t want to say, because she didn’t press the issue. Instead, once she emptied the entire bowl into her stomach, she gave me a firm thumbs-up.

“Well done, little brother. As a reward, I shall grant you the noble right to serve me another bowl.”

“No thanks. Go get it yourself.”

“Tch. Won’t you just fall for it?”

“As if I would. Stop trying to boss me around for everything.”

When I waved her off with the back of my hand, she reluctantly stood up and headed for the kitchen. Watching her from the corner of my eye, I brought a bite-sized piece of steamed chicken to my mouth.

Alright!

I chewed the moist, tender chicken breast and made a small fist pump in my heart at how well it had turned out. And apparently Shizuku liked it too, since she was eating beside me with sparkling eyes.

“This is crazy, it’s not dry at all…! This is the first time in my life I’ve had healthy food this delicious! I’m seriously moved! Suou-kun, aren’t you actually a genius!?”

“Well… I’d like to say that, but honestly it’s thanks to the low-temperature cooker. All I did was season it and set it in the machine.”

I used to boil it myself, but after buying the device with my New Year’s gift money in middle school, I’d been relying on it ever since. I didn’t have to fuss over precise heat control, which made cooking ridiculously easy, and the quality stayed consistent. If someone asked me what the best purchase I’d made in the past few years was, I’d immediately put this at the top of the list. That was how genuinely glad I was that I bought it. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say it had become my partner in life.

“Hm… then you’re a half-genius in charge of flavor!”

“…Is that supposed to be a compliment?”

“Obviously! Of course it is! I feel like I could eat this forever~!”

“Don’t eat forever.”

You won’t lose weight.

When I tossed in that remark, my sister returned with a refill of her beef bowl and said to Shizuku.

“Oh, right. Shizuku-chan, why don’t you take a bath after you eat? You’re probably all sticky and gross from the sweat, right?”

“Is that really okay!? Ah, but… I didn’t bring a change of clothes, and if I go home after taking a bath…”

Even if she left as early as possible, it would be past nine. It wasn’t that she absolutely couldn’t go home at that hour, but I still felt uneasy about letting her walk alone at night. There was the option of me walking her all the way back to her apartment, but… well, that depended on Shizuku.

And without a change of clothes, even if she washed off the sweat in the bath, she’d just have to put her sweaty clothes back on. She could endure it until she got home, but ideally she’d want clean clothes.

“Ahh, I see…”

My sister’s shoulders drooped, but then she suddenly perked up as if something had clicked, and cheerfully exclaimed, “Oh!”

“In that case, why don’t you stay over tonight! I’ll lend you some clothes!”

“…Huh?” “…What?”

Immediately afterward, Shizuku and I spoke in perfect unison at my sister’s completely unexpected suggestion.

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