Chapter 931 - 931: What Does She Like Most?

All along the way, Kotomi Izumi's little head was filled with thoughts of what Arisu Sakayanagi liked.

But halfway through thinking about it, Kotomi Izumi also understood perfectly well that she and Arisu Sakayanagi simply hadn't known each other for very long. Their first meeting had only been during the first monthly exam.

Although in that dream, I realized that it seemed like Arisu Sakayanagi and I had already known each other and become friends when we were little. When she was a child, Arisu even killed a cat with her own hands to protect me. But in the end, it was still just a dream. Whether that dream was a forgotten memory of mine or something I imagined in my sleep is still impossible to know... Kotomi Izumi thought silently.

Actually, Kotomi Izumi also knew there was one very simple method. She could just ask Arisu Sakayanagi directly and tell her about what she had seen in the dream.

But if she did that, Kotomi Izumi had another concern. What if that dream wasn't some forgotten memory at all, but merely something she had imagined in her sleep? Would Arisu Sakayanagi laugh at her after hearing about it?

Kotomi Izumi's personality was just like that. Most of the time, she was shamelessly thick-skinned, yet at certain times, her skin became absurdly thin.

In any case, Kotomi currently had no idea what Arisu Sakayanagi actually liked or what kind of return gift she would want.

And if Kotomi asked her directly, with Arisu Sakayanagi's personality, she would definitely refuse.

At that thought, Kotomi Izumi couldn't help sighing helplessly.

"Sigh... I have no idea what she likes. If that's the case, there's no way I can prepare a gift that suits her tastes perfectly."

"Kotomi, what do you mean you don't know what she likes? And what do you mean you can't prepare a gift that suits her tastes perfectly? What are you worrying about? Even your cute little eyebrows are furrowed."

A light, airy voice suddenly drifted into Kotomi Izumi's ear.

It was a pleasant voice, yet at that very moment, hearing it sent a terrifying chill through Kotomi Izumi. A layer of cold sweat instinctively broke out across her back.

Kotomi Izumi raised her head in surprise and saw Megumi Kato standing beside her, the corners of her lips curved in a smile whose emotions were impossible to read. Her gaze rested calmly on Kotomi, and the tone she used to question her was equally calm.

But that calmness didn't give Kotomi the usual sense of leisurely ease.

To Kotomi, Megumi Kato's calm tone and tranquil gaze right now felt much more like the final stillness before a storm.

Only then did Kotomi Izumi realize that while muttering to herself, she had already walked all the way to the entrance of the school building on the first floor.

And Megumi Kato, who had been waiting there for her all along, had naturally heard every single word of Kotomi's muttering: "Sigh... I have no idea what she likes. If that's the case, there's no way I can prepare a gift that suits her tastes perfectly."

Kotomi Izumi knew that in the face of Megumi Kato's questioning, casually making up a few excuses would never work. She had to come up with an explanation in a short amount of time that sounded perfectly reasonable and wouldn't make Megumi suspicious.

While Kotomi Izumi's brain was spinning at full speed, Megumi Kato walked behind her, reached out with both hands, gently wrapped her arms around Kotomi's neck from behind, pressed herself against Kotomi's back, and asked again with a soft laugh:

"Kotomi, who were you worrying about just now? You can tell me. Maybe I can give you some good suggestions. I'm not as smart as you are, but two heads are still better than one, aren't they?"

Megumi Kato's words sounded very gentle, but Kotomi knew perfectly well that if she actually told the truth, the darkened Megumi Kato might snap her neck in the very next second!

Fortunately, after having already experienced being attacked with a cleaver once, Kotomi Izumi was still very cautious about staying alive, but in a situation like this, she could at least keep her emotions as calm as possible.

Kotomi Izumi quietly took a deep breath without letting it show, then deliberately put on a bashful expression.

"Oh, Megumi, you're so mean. Sometimes I can't even prepare a surprise for you without getting caught."

"Huh?"

Kotomi Izumi's sudden answer caught Megumi Kato so off guard that for a moment, she couldn't even react or understand what Kotomi meant.

When she had heard Kotomi muttering to herself earlier, Megumi Kato had assumed Kotomi was thinking about another girl. A wicked flame mixed with jealousy and anger had immediately risen in her heart. She had even decided that if Kotomi didn't obediently explain herself, she would drag her into the sports equipment storage room and properly educate the flirtatious little Kotomi.

But unexpectedly, Kotomi Izumi had given her an answer like that.

For a moment, Megumi Kato didn't know what to say. More precisely, her brain hadn't caught up yet. Kotomi had suddenly said she wanted to prepare a surprise for her?

A surprise? Is some holiday coming up soon?

Megumi Kato wondered inwardly. She and Kotomi hadn't been dating for very long, so logically speaking, it wasn't time for a relationship anniversary yet. Then what kind of surprise was Kotomi planning to prepare for her?

Kotomi Izumi's explanation worked exactly as intended. An explanation that deliberately left a little mystery hanging was very effective at redirecting Megumi Kato's attention. Just like now, Megumi's attention had already shifted away from Kotomi's earlier muttering and toward wondering what kind of surprise Kotomi was planning for her.

As a result, the suspicion and confusion that had risen in Megumi Kato's heart had been greatly reduced.

Next, Kotomi only needed to add a few more lines and she could completely dispel Megumi Kato's jealousy.

This method of redirecting attention had already become one of Kotomi's trump cards whenever she faced a romantic battlefield.

Kotomi Izumi didn't continue speaking immediately. Instead, she deliberately waited half a minute, giving Megumi Kato time to think it over in her own mind.

Once she felt enough time had passed, Kotomi Izumi continued, speaking shyly:

"A few days ago when I was watching YouTube, I saw a video saying that even though Valentine's Day is still several months away, if you want to give your girlfriend the perfect surprise on Valentine's Day, you can start preparing ahead of time. I thought that made a lot of sense, so ever since watching that video, I've been thinking about what I should give you all—cough, cough, what I should give you on Valentine's Day."

The moment Megumi Kato heard that, she instantly relaxed. So that was it. She had misunderstood. She thought Kotomi had been thinking about another girl, but in reality, Kotomi had simply gotten so absorbed in thinking about what gift to give her on Valentine's Day that she had unconsciously started muttering to herself.

With all her jealousy gone, Megumi Kato revealed a happy smile. She affectionately kissed Kotomi on the cheek and said gently:

"You little dummy. On Valentine's Day, if you give me a single piece of chocolate, that would already be the perfect gift for me."

"Huh? Just one piece of chocolate is enough?"

Kotomi Izumi deliberately asked in surprise. She hadn't actually been thinking about what gift to give on Valentine's Day in the first place. No matter how one looked at it, starting to think about Valentine's Day gifts this early was a little too soon. But in order to make her story more convincing, Kotomi could only keep "acting."

"Actually, I'd rather act spoiled and say, 'I really want to eat chocolate handmade by Kotomi!' But when I thought about it carefully, I decided against it."

Megumi Kato said with a grin. At the same time, she released Kotomi's neck, interlaced their fingers, took Kotomi's little hand, and walked out of the school building together.

"Why? If it's just chocolate, I could learn how to make it after reading a few recipes. My cooking skills aren't limited to frying, stir-frying, boiling, and deep-frying, you know. I'm pretty good at making desserts too! I just rarely make them myself because it's usually too much trouble." Kotomi Izumi said.

Of course, there was one main reason Kotomi Izumi didn't mention.

Whenever she wanted dessert, she didn't need to make it herself at all. She only needed to say something to Yui, and Yui would make the most delicious desserts for her!

Growing up, Kotomi Izumi had eaten plenty of high-end desserts, and almost all of them had been personally made by renowned pastry chefs from Japan and abroad. It wasn't an exaggeration to say that Kotomi had always been extremely picky when it came to desserts.

Logically speaking, desserts made by Yui Yuigahama or Mrs. Yuigahama shouldn't have been able to satisfy Kotomi's demanding palate at all.

Yet Kotomi simply loved eating the desserts made by Yui Yuigahama and Mrs. Yuigahama.

Especially after becoming lovers with Yui, every time Kotomi ate a dessert Yui had made by hand, she would emotionally grab both of Yui's hands and tell her with absolute seriousness:

"Yui, I want to eat the desserts you make for the rest of my life!"

Whenever Kotomi said that, Yui's pretty face would naturally turn bright red with embarrassment.

"I know you can make desserts. It's just that I also know you don't like eating chocolate, so you probably don't like the smell of chocolate either. But if you make chocolate by hand, you'll have no choice but to smell it. I don't want you to have to put up with a chocolate smell you hate just because you're making chocolate for me. So as long as it's chocolate Kotomi gives me personally, I'll be incredibly, incredibly happy!"

Megumi Kato said seriously. She firmly remembered everything Kotomi liked and disliked.

By the end, Megumi Kato smiled a little sheepishly.

"And... the chocolate Kotomi gives me personally, I actually don't plan to eat it. I'm planning to put it in a glass display case and preserve it as my most precious collectible!"

Megumi Kato's pretty face was flushed with embarrassment, but her tone was extremely serious. Kotomi Izumi had no choice but to believe that Megumi really would do exactly that!

So she hurriedly said, "No, no, no! Show some respect for the expiration date! How could you possibly preserve chocolate for a lifetime? Once you get it, you have to eat it while it's still at its best!"

"Okay, whatever my wife says~"

Megumi Kato hugged Kotomi's arm and spoke in a spoiled tone.

"Ugh..."

That suddenly made even the normally thick-skinned Kotomi Izumi feel a little embarrassed. She instinctively looked around. Fortunately, more than an hour had already passed since school ended, and there weren't any students or teachers nearby, so she didn't have to worry about being seen.

If they were ordinary girls, even if someone saw them, there would be nothing especially embarrassing about it. After all, nobody would immediately think, Those two girls are dating. At most, they would sigh inwardly, Girls really are so affectionate with each other~

But Kotomi was different. The rumors about Kotomi at Sobu High School could practically be said to receive a new update every single day.

Kotomi Izumi still remembered when the rumors had only reached version 2.0 or 3.0.

Now, Kotomi couldn't even remember what version the rumors about her had evolved into. She only vaguely remembered that, according to the rumors, she apparently already had nearly fifty girlfriends.

Kotomi Izumi and Megumi Kato chatted and laughed as they walked toward home. When they stopped at a crosswalk to wait for the traffic light, Megumi Kato finally remembered that Kotomi's homework was still with her.

"Kotomi, here you go. I've already finished all of it for you." Megumi Kato opened her schoolbag and handed several homework books to Kotomi.

"Thanks, Megumi. Once we cross this intersection, we'll pass a newly opened ice cream shop. I'll treat you to some ice cream." Kotomi Izumi said.

"Really? Yay! Then I want melon flavor!" Megumi Kato said with a smile.

"No problem!"

Kotomi Izumi nodded. Since there were still more than ten seconds left on the red light, she quickly flipped through the homework Megumi Kato had completed for her. The accuracy was very high, and Megumi had even deliberately imitated Kotomi's handwriting. Every little detail showed how much effort Megumi had put into it.

"My accuracy isn't as high as yours, Miss Top Student Who Ranked First in All of Tokyo Twice in a Row, but it should still be pretty decent, right?" Megumi Kato joked.

"Megumi, you should have more confidence in yourself. Your accuracy is really high. Looking at it gives me this sense of pride~"

"A sense of pride?"

"Yeah. Seeing my girlfriend being this smart naturally makes me feel proud~" Kotomi Izumi looked at Megumi Kato and spoke in an extremely flirtatious tone.

Sure enough, Kotomi Izumi's words instantly made Megumi Kato's heartbeat speed up. Megumi could feel her cheeks gradually heating as she said shyly:

"The one who should feel proud is me. After all, you're the truly smart one. You ranked first in all of Tokyo on both exams. With your current ability, Kotomi, you could basically attend whichever university you wanted, and they'd all be prestigious universities."

Hearing Megumi Kato say that reminded Kotomi Izumi of something Eiren Kanagawa had repeatedly mentioned to her before.

Guaranteed admission.

As long as Kotomi Izumi nodded her head, she could stop attending high school immediately, choose whichever university she liked, and directly become a university student.

It wasn't only because Kotomi Izumi had excellent grades. More importantly, it was because of the Izumi family's powerful background and influence.

However, Kotomi Izumi had no intention of accepting guaranteed admission. She felt that the three years of high school were among the deepest and most precious years of a person's life. They might be tiring, but after growing up and looking back on their student days, people would inevitably remember those three years of high school.

Kotomi Izumi didn't want to skip directly to university. She would rather finish all three years of high school step by step.

Because once your student days were over, they were truly over. No matter how much money you had, you couldn't buy back those years.

Of course, having a lot of money also meant losing a lot of worries.

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