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When Horikita returned to the classroom, the bell for class dismissal had just rung a short while ago.
As soon as she settled into her seat, she turned to Akira, her brows not yet fully relaxed. "Don't mention this to my brother."
Akira looked at the lingering embarrassment in her eyes and suddenly understood. Horikita's Achilles' heel was, without a doubt, her brother.
In a sense, as long as her brother was brought up, even with her stubborn personality, she'd be incredibly compliant.
Akira glanced at her. "That depends on whether you listen to advice later, Horikita."
Horikita immediately glared. "When have I ever not listened to advice?"
Though her words were bold, there was an inexplicable lack of confidence. Perhaps remembering how she'd stubbornly endured in class just now.
A thought suddenly flashed through her mind. Akira had indeed warned her at the very beginning.
Thinking this, it seemed that from beginning to end, the problem lay in her unwillingness to listen.
But she also felt that it couldn't be entirely her fault.
Since childhood, apart from her father, she'd only ever listened to her brother's arrangements.
Now, a peer of the opposite sex suddenly appeared, abruptly telling her not to eat the bento she made. How could she possibly obediently comply?
She secretly glanced at Akira, who was tidying up his textbooks next to her. Anyone, she thought, probably wouldn't easily obey the instructions of a peer.
However, recalling how she'd been in so much pain in the restroom stall that she couldn't stand steadily, she couldn't help but purse her lips. Next time... perhaps she could listen a little bit?
"By the way, throw away those free ingredients you got yesterday when you go back," Akira glanced at her, his tone flat. "After all, you got a stomach ache today, so the ingredients must've been problematic."
"...I understand," Horikita replied softly.
"When you left just now, the math teacher explained a new problem," he suddenly pushed his notebook over. "I wrote it on this page, the steps are pretty detailed. You can look at it yourself."
The handwriting in the notebook was neat, and the solution steps were clearly itemized.
Horikita stared at the handwriting in the notebook for a few seconds, then suddenly looked up at Akira, her tone unusually direct. "Give me your hand."
"?" Akira was full of questions, but still extended his hand as told.
The next second, he saw Horikita offer her palm flat, her fingertips slightly curled, but she didn't pull away. "You can hold my hand for ten seconds."
"? What's this for?" Akira's hand hovered in mid-air, his face a picture of confusion.
"Equivalent exchange," Horikita's voice was even softer than when she'd thanked him earlier. "I don't know if your kindness towards me is because you want to pursue me, but I have no intention of having a boyfriend right now."
She paused, her fingertips subtly curling in her palm. "But you mentioned last time that you liked holding hands... this is the response I can give you."
She noticed Akira's surprised gaze and quickly added. "Don't take me for a casual person. I just can't think of any other way to repay you for now, and being indebted makes me very uncomfortable."
She actually wasn't like this with everyone.
After all, it was Akira. Someone her brother approved of, and one of the few boys she hadn't found annoying in her life.
Moreover, she remembered clearly. During the last swimming class, he'd said he was very interested in girls' bodies.
When he and Kushida went on a date previously, they also seemed to have had more intimate interactions.
Thinking this way, it was just holding hands. She should be able to do it.
What's more... she vaguely felt that this might make Akira trust her a little more.
If there were future matters requiring cooperation, it'd also go more smoothly.
She was still set on inviting Akira to be a partner.
She currently had no plans to give up on this idea.
"...Did you wash your hands?" Akira asked casually.
"You—!" Horikita suddenly looked up, her eyes almost overflowing with shame and anger. Her hand, suspended in mid-air, instinctively curled, as if to withdraw.
"Don't be mad," Akira chuckled softly, his fingertips lightly touching the back of her hand. "Just kidding. You're wound up like a string, you need to loosen up."
When he withdrew his hand, his tone had returned to calm. "So you think I'm pursuing you? But don't worry, what I do for you are perfectly normal actions between friends. Since you don't plan on having a boyfriend, I naturally respect your decision."
He tapped the notebook he'd pushed over earlier, his voice naturally open and honest. "For example, taking notes for you, reminding you to throw away bad ingredients. These have nothing to do with 'pursuit.' I just think that's what friends should do. After all, you helped me with my studies before, and your brother has looked out for me a lot. Helping to take care of his sister, isn't that perfectly reasonable?"
He paused. "Last time I treated you to a meal, it was actually just because the Student Council President helped me a great deal, and I wanted to take the opportunity to say thank you."
Horikita stared at his frank gaze. The anger that had been sparked by his joke earlier was quietly smoothed away as if by the warmth of his fingertips.
However, when she heard, "treating you to a meal was because of your brother," her brows still unconsciously furrowed. So he hadn't specifically invited her to eat?
Wait! Could it be that Akira was only being so kind to her because of her brother?
As this thought emerged, her heart inexplicably grew more complicated.
Before this emotion could fully spread, she heard Akira suddenly chuckle. "However, since you said I could hold your hand, I naturally won't be shy."
No sooner had he spoken than her hand was gently taken.
"Wait a minute!" Horikita snatched her hand back as if burned.
"Oh? If not, then—" Akira's words were cut short by her abrupt interruption.
"Hold hands under the table." She lowered her voice, her eyes quickly scanning the other students playing around them. Her ears tensed even more. "It's break time. If someone sees us... they'll misunderstand our relationship."
"..." Akira looked at her as she turned her face away, yet secretly extended her right hand under the table. He suddenly found it a little amusing.
He cooperatively reached his hand under the desk. When his fingertips touched her slightly cool knuckles in the shadow, he could clearly feel the almost imperceptible tremor in her fingertips.
"This should be fine, right?" Horikita's voice came from above, carrying a deliberately feigned composure.
"Yes, perfectly fine." Akira suppressed a smile and gently held her hand. "Then I'll start counting. One."
His palm was slightly warmer than hers, and his fingertips had a slight callus, but he wasn't gripping tightly, just loosely enclosing her fingertips.
Horikita stiffened, about to pull her hand away, but then she heard him counting. "One, two, three..."
He was really counting to ten seconds seriously.
She suddenly felt her cheeks flush.
Why did these ten seconds feel so slow!