The Pure-Hearted Beauty Who Only Dotes on Me Despite Not Being in a Relationship—And How She Became Even Sweeter After We Started Dating - Chapter 8: Good job, Ao-kun. You worked hard.

Good job, Ao-kun. You worked hard.

“Ao-kun, Ao-kun.”

As I was working on the last part of the slide presentation, Mizuki gently poked my arm.

“Hmm? What’s up?”

“I’ve finished my slides. Is there anything I can help you with?”

“There’s just one left, so not really. Just go ahead and do something else.”

Knowing Mizuki, she would probably wait around doing nothing until I finished, so I said that to her.

“Okay, I’ll prepare some tea and snacks then.”

Mizuki left the living room and headed to the kitchen, and I continued working on my slides alone.

──────10 minutes later.

Ahh, it’s finally done. My eyes were tired from staring at the computer screen for so long. I stretched out and closed the laptop, when suddenly I was hugged from behind.

“Um… Mizuki-san? What are you doing?”

“Hugging you.”

“I can see that.”

As she said that, Mizuki whispered in my ear.

“Good job, Ao-kun. You worked hard.”

Having her whisper in my ear was already quite impactful, but when she patted my head afterwards, I couldn’t handle the situation anymore.

I usually do this to her, but I didn’t realize it felt like this when it’s done to me.

“Don’t pat my head so casually like that. It might give me the wrong idea, so please refrain from doing it too much.”

“Ao-kun, you don’t understand. You’re such a dummy.”

“Hmm? Did you say something?”

Her voice was too quiet for me to hear, so I asked again. She just pouted and placed the cup that was on the counter table right in front of me.

***

“Well, we managed somehow. I panicked when one of the slides disappeared, though.”

As lunch break started after our presentation for the exploratory lesson, Kouta came to my desk with his lunchbox.

“Disappeared? What happened?”

“I was working on the slides with Kana, and somehow we accidentally deleted one.”

He laughed it off, but it was a close call since it happened the day before the presentation. Kouta had stayed up all night to finish it, so he looked sleepy this morning.

“By the way, is Kana having lunch separately today?”

“Hmm, she said we should eat together, but… let’s go ahead and start.”

We pushed our desks together for three people and Kouta and I began eating.

“Still, Ao, you’re amazing. You made that lunch yourself, right? It’s so cool that you can cook.”

“Really? I just started because I thought it would be nice to be able to do it myself…”

“No, seriously, it’s impressive. I mean, I can’t even—”

“Hey, sorry to keep you waiting!”

Kana interrupted Kouta, arriving with Mizuki, who was also carrying a lunchbox.

“I invited her to join us, and she agreed!”

Kana said this as she grabbed another chair for Mizuki to sit on.

“Is it okay if I join you?” Mizuki asked, looking at Kouta and me.

Of course, we nodded without any objection.

I felt some eyes on us from the girls and boys who usually ate with Mizuki, but the four of us began eating together.

“Kana didn’t force you to join us, did she?” I asked Mizuki quietly.

She shook her head.

“No, I wanted to have lunch with Kana and you all, so it’s not forced.”

I noticed Mizuki had started calling Kana by her first name. It seemed they had become friends without me realizing it.

Mizuki had said she didn’t have many trustworthy people, so I was glad she was getting along well with Kana.

“Mi-chan, are you free this Saturday?”

“I am, but…”

“Then how about going to the shopping mall with me?”

“Of course, that sounds great.”

“Yay!”

I wanted to be happy for them, but the moment Kana realized she could hang out with Mizuki, she started grinning mischievously. I had a feeling something was up. Should I really let Mizuki and Kana go off together?

“Don’t do anything that would trouble Tsuyuzaki,” I said as a precaution. Kana just looked at me with that same mischievous grin.

“Oh, what’s this? Do you like Mi-chan?”

“Why would you think that? I’m just worried you might do something to trouble Tsuyuzaki.”

“…Ao, you’re really bad at hiding things, you know? Don’t worry, I won’t do anything to trouble her.”

I hoped she meant it. Kouta, who had been quietly listening to our conversation, seemed to realize something and muttered “I see” under his breath, though it was too quiet for me to hear clearly.

***

“Ao, do you know when Mi-chan’s birthday is?”

As Kouta, Kana, and I were walking home, Kana suddenly turned to me with a question.

“No, I don’t…”

I couldn’t fathom why she would ask if I knew Mizuki’s birthday. Did she still think I had feelings for Mizuki?

“It’s December 28th. So, it’s next week. Let’s throw a birthday party for her!”

“I think that’s a nice idea, but Tsuyuzaki might not be comfortable with that. Maybe we should ask her first?”

“You’re right. So, Ao, can you message Mi-chan and ask her about it? Kouta, I need you to come with me; there’s a place I want to stop by.”

“Got it. See you tomorrow, Ao.”

With that, they left, but I couldn’t shake off what Kana had said. Message Mizuki…? I hadn’t told Kana that I had exchanged contact details with Mizuki.

I quickly turned around to look in the direction Kana and Kouta had gone. Kana was looking back at me, smiling and waving cheerfully.

Wait, what does that smile mean!?

TL: Even I worked hard…. ;_;… please praise me… any girl… (I’m a simp)
Anyways, please rate it 5 stars on Novel Updates and in here…