"Yui, why were you so nervous?" Shirai Mio asked with some confusion after being pulled into the room.
"I... I wasn't nervous. I just felt bad that you seemed to have been waiting a long time."
"So, how come you came over so early today?" Yuigahama Yui asked curiously.
"I was originally planning to come at 10 o'clock, but I ran into your mom while taking a walk. Then she pulled me along."
"My mom... she didn't ask you anything weird, did she?"
Shirai Mio gently shook her head. "Not really anything weird. She just asked if you'd been dating anyone at school lately, stuff like that."
"Huh!?"
"Don't worry! I definitely said no!"
Seeing Shirai Mio's completely serious expression, Yuigahama Yui couldn't help but retort, "I haven't been dating anyone in the first place. Why does your tone make it sound like you're helping me cover up the truth?"
"Ehehe~" Shirai Mio flashed an adorable smile.
Just then, a knock came from the doorway. Mrs. Yuigahama pushed the door open and walked in, placing the cookies and tea she was carrying on the table. Only then did she speak, "Since you're already up, I'll be heading out. I'll probably be back around evening."
At this point, Mrs. Yuigahama seemed to think of something and added, "Actually, I might not come back at all."
As she said this, Mrs. Yuigahama even winked at her daughter right in front of Shirai Mio, as if hinting at something.
At first, Yuigahama Yui was stunned, not understanding what her mom was hinting at. But she quickly caught on and immediately stood up to push her mom out of the room.
Mio was clearly just visiting her house—why was her mom acting like Mio was her girlfriend or something?
This could really cause misunderstandings, you know!?
After closing the bedroom door again, Yuigahama Yui had just turned around when she saw Shirai Mio looking at her with a smile.
Yuigahama Yui stammered out an explanation, "M-Mio, don't mind what my mom just did. She sometimes likes to tease me."
For a moment there, Yuigahama Yui felt like her mom and Shirai Mio were kind of similar—both enjoyed teasing her.
"Just now I almost thought your mom was treating me like Yui's girlfriend~"
"Ah! Stop talking."
Yuigahama Yui somewhat frantically reached out to cover Shirai Mio's mouth, but she quickly felt a moist, warm sensation against her palm.
She instinctively pulled her hand back and said helplessly, "Aren't you afraid my hand just touched something weird?"
"Nope."
Seeing Shirai Mio even lick her lips, Yuigahama Yui let out a soft sigh. She'd discovered that sometimes when Mio was alone with her, she really had zero restraint.
If those people who were pursuing Shirai Mio at school saw this, their jaws would definitely drop.
Too bad only she got to see it.
Thinking of something, the corners of Yuigahama Yui's mouth curved into a faint smile.
Seeing Yuigahama Yui's smile, Shirai Mio leaned closer curiously and asked, "Yui, what are you smiling about all of a sudden?"
"Just thought of something happy."
"What happy thing?"
"You're way more natural when you're alone with me than when you're with others at school. Shouldn't I be happy about that?"
"Huh!?"
Even Shirai Mio hadn't expected Yuigahama Yui to say something so... suggestive. Caught completely off guard, she suddenly felt a bit shy.
Seeing Shirai Mio's surprised expression, Yuigahama Yui couldn't help but laugh. As expected, you can't just keep backing down when facing Mio's teasing—that only makes her push further.
You have to take the initiative to throw her off balance, just like now.
Before Shirai Mio could say anything, Yuigahama Yui stood up and said, "It's about time. I need to start preparing lunch."
Hearing Yuigahama Yui's words, Shirai Mio instinctively checked the time. "It's only just 11."
"I only started learning recently, so I might need a bit more time." Yuigahama Yui said, somewhat embarrassed.
"I see. Then I'll help too." As she spoke, Shirai Mio also stood up.
Yuigahama Yui had wanted to say it wasn't necessary, but knowing Mio's personality, even if she said that, Mio probably wouldn't listen anyway.
So she just let Shirai Mio follow her to the kitchen.
The ingredients had been bought by Mrs. Yuigahama this morning, but they hadn't been prepped. If Yui were doing this alone, processing these ingredients would definitely take quite a bit of time.
But with Shirai Mio—a veteran cook—helping out, it didn't take much time at all to get the ingredients ready.
Honestly, Shirai Mio had been a bit worried at first. After all, Yuigahama Yui possessed the "dark cuisine" attribute.
But after observing for a bit, Mio realized her worries might be unnecessary.
Though Yuigahama Yui's cooking technique looked somewhat awkward, from the perspective of someone who'd taught her before, it was already quite good. You could tell Yui had put in a lot of effort in this area.
Thanks to Shirai Mio's help, lunch was completed much earlier than expected.
Looking at the not-so-pretty-looking dishes on the table, Yuigahama Yui said somewhat sheepishly, "Mio, if it doesn't taste good, definitely don't force yourself, okay?"
As the cook, Yuigahama Yui had already tasted it in the kitchen. For her, it was pretty decent, but she didn't know if it suited Shirai Mio's palate.
"The taste is already really good. Keep working hard and you might even catch up to me." Shirai Mio took a bite of the hamburg steak and said with complete seriousness.
"R-really?"
"Of course not. You've got a long way to go before catching up to me. But it does taste good—that part's true." After swallowing the food in her mouth, Shirai Mio said teasingly.
Yuigahama Yui looked at Shirai Mio with puffed-up cheeks. For a second there, she'd actually wondered if she had some kind of cooking talent.
Still, having Mio's approval made her quietly breathe a sigh of relief. Looks like all her hard work during this time hadn't been in vain.
······