April 29th, Friday, the weather was clear.
Walking on the road to school,
a gentle breeze lifted the girl's pleated skirt slightly, revealing a stretch of her pale, slender thighs.
It was a picture of pure, ethereal beauty, hazy and tantalizingly visible.
How wonderful.
Looking at the graceful figure ahead, Haruka Yuzan couldn't help but sigh in admiration. To be able to see such a beautiful sight every day on the way to and from school was truly comforting and pleasing.
To avoid any suspicion, they maintained a distance of four to five meters between them, just like yesterday, one in front of the other.
Nobody had to say it out loud; the moment they stepped out, they naturally assumed this formation.
However, the girl walked slowly, occasionally taking out her phone to check it.
Haruka Yuzan was in no hurry, strolling leisurely along.
That was, until Chiba Shimizu, who was walking ahead, suddenly stopped, seemingly troubled by something.
Seeing this, Haruka could only move forward. He couldn't very well stand still and not move, too,
"What's wrong?"
the boy asked softly.
Chiba Shimizu turned her head to glance at the boy, her beautiful eyes calm and indifferent,
"You go ahead."
Huh? Was he caught peeking at the beautiful girl walking?
No, that wasn't it. He was just looking where he was going, and it happened that he saw the girl's figure....
Just as Haruka Yuzan was about to defend himself, he noticed the information on Chiba Shimizu's phone.
A digital map....
Alright, he had neglected to consider that it was the lady's first time walking this route to school; it was natural for her to be unfamiliar with it.
No wonder she had been stopping and starting all the way, and occasionally looking down at her phone.
"Follow me, I'll show you once, but you better pay attention,"
he said, a classic line that Chiba Shimizu completely ignored.
"Hurry up and stop spacing out."
Contrary to yesterday, the final stretch of the walk to school had the boy leading the way, with the girl following below.
[Reward for completing wish one: 5000 yen]
[Reward for completing wish two: Chiba Shimizu's secret]
[Reward for completing wish three: A random beginner skill]
A random beginner skill?
This was Haruka Yuzan's first time encountering a task reward related to skills.
However, he couldn't help feeling puzzled as he looked at the wish list.
Thanking someone who has truly cared for and helped Chiba Shimizu?
Did he count as someone who cared for and helped her?
The task list was too vague and hasty; its scope was a little blurry....
His fingers brushed lightly over the pages of the book as Haruka Yuzan's eyes narrowed slightly.
At noon break,
students took out their lunch boxes from their backpacks, looking for a place in the school to enjoy their midday meal.
Chiba Shimizu did the same.
Most of the classmates had left; it was then that the girl closed the book she had been reading.
She took her small bag, unzipped it, and almost all the inside space was occupied by a pink box.
In fact, besides that box and some cash, there wasn't much else in her bag.
The few clothes she owned had already been placed in her bedroom the night before.
The empty backpack was being used to carry the lunch Reiko Onodera had prepared for her.
Her fingers touched the lunchbox lightly,
remembering the scene from that morning when she had first received the lunchbox; her pretty eyes flickered with emotion, like a pebble rippling through still waters.
"Shimizu, wait a moment."
In the morning, Reiko Onodera, wearing a nightgown, stopped Chiba Shimizu who was about to leave,
"This is the lunch bento I've prepared for you."
Saying this, the madam handed over the pink lunchbox to the girl.
"I didn't know if it would suit your tastes, so I based it on Haruka's preferences. If you want something particular next time, just let me know in advance, and I'll make it for you."
Her voice was very gentle; the madam had always been like that, always putting others' feelings first.