My deskmate is actually my yandere reader.

"You must be imagining things. Why is she looking at you?"

"Because of her..."

Just as Kurose Izumi opened his mouth, Shiraishi Chiren walked in from the classroom door, causing him to subconsciously swallow the rest of his words.

Hirasawa Shinbu, however, didn't have so many reservations and asked with great interest, "Why?"

"It's nothing, just my imagination."

"Tch, boring..."

Hirasawa Shinbu scoffed, glanced sideways at Shiraishi Chiren who was quietly reading the red book, and then got up and returned to his seat.

Then, the school bell rang, and the day's classes began.

Kurose Izumi returned to her usual routine, without any worries, just plain and ordinary.

During lunch break, he declined Hirasawa Shinbu's invitation to go to the cafeteria together and instead walked towards the club building with Shiraishi Chiren.

They walked through the elevated corridor and arrived in front of the Animal Research Department. From afar, they saw Inari Yuki standing at the entrance, looking around with her little head peeking out.

When she saw the two of them approaching, her round, bright eyes, like black grapes, immediately lit up.

"Kurose, Shiraishi-senpai!"

She was relieved to see that Kurose Izumi, whom she hadn't seen in a long time, had come to the Animal Research Club.

Doesn't this mean that the two who had been arguing have made up and the animation research department can return to its usual routine?

"Long time no see, Inari." Izumi Kurose stepped forward, nodded slightly, and greeted him.

"Hehehe, long time no see!" Inari Yuki smiled awkwardly, then asked, "Have the two of you made up?!"

"Let's make up..."

Kurose Izumi glanced at Shiraishi Chiren, pondered for a long time, and then said, "...I don't know how to answer you."

They made up, but not completely.

Their relationship has only improved somewhat, and it hasn't completely returned to normal—at least that's what Izumi Kurose thinks.

"Eh?"

Inari Yuki paused for a moment, puzzled, and asked, "Didn't you make up? The atmosphere seemed much more harmonious than before, and you were able to come to the club together again."

At this moment, Shiraishi Chiren, who had been silent all along, spoke up calmly: "Inari, don't ask so many questions. We know about what happened between us."

If Inari Yuki keeps asking, Kurose Izumi might get so embarrassed that she won't want to come to the Animal Research Club anymore!

In that case, the relationship she had finally managed to improve would be disrupted again.

"I'm so sorry!"

"It's nothing. My relationship with Qianlian is a bit complicated, isn't it..."

Afterwards, the three of them opened the door and sat down at the birchwood table by the window.

Unlike before, Kurose Izumi deliberately sat on the other side, no longer sitting next to Shiraishi Chire.

Seeing this, Inari Yuki kept stealing glances at the two of them, wondering what had happened.

Despite Kurose Izumi's aloofness, Shiraishi Chiren remained calm, unwrapped the lunchbox from the cloth, took out a portion, and handed it over.

"Izumi, this is a bento I made. Please eat."

Kurose Izumi pursed her thin lips and said stubbornly, "...I'm not hungry, I ate a lot this morning."

"But I'm afraid you'll be hungry this afternoon, so why don't you eat something?" Shiraishi Chiren persisted, her tone full of worry and concern.

"I'm not hungry, I don't need it."

"……All right."

In the end, Shiraishi Chiren had no choice but to give up and stop forcing Kurose Izumi to eat the bento.

What exactly is going on with these two seniors?

Having witnessed the entire process, Inari Yuki remained silent, too terrified to utter a word.

I thought the animation research department could return to its usual routine, but I didn't expect the atmosphere to still be so gloomy!

Shiraishi Chiren handed another bento to Inari Yuki and said, "Inari, let's have lunch."

"Um... um, thank you, senior!"

Inari Yuki nodded her little head vigorously and took her specially made bento box.

She and Shiraishi Chiren ate quietly, the three of them falling into silence, none of them wanting to speak.

Stubborn Izumi Kurose, smelling the aroma of bento boxes in the air, could only keep drinking tea to alleviate her hunger.

But he discovered that this was just self-deception!

He was even getting hungrier!

"I'm leaving for a bit to use the restroom."

Finally, unable to bear the hunger any longer, Izumi Kurose got up and left the Animal Research Club before her stomach started growling.

He planned to go to the cafeteria to buy two loaves of bread to fill his stomach.

"Hey……"

Shiraishi Chiren watched Kurose Izumi's figure disappear behind the sliding door and sighed softly.

She hadn't expected that Kurose Izumi would be so stubborn, refusing to eat her lunchbox.

At the same time, I also felt a little guilty.

If Kurose Izumi hadn't been dragged to the clubroom and hadn't been made a bento box for him, he wouldn't have been in such an embarrassing situation, right?

"I'll go out for a bit too."

Thinking of this, Shiraishi Chiren put down her chopsticks, picked up the bento box belonging to Kurose Izumi, and followed her out.

Now it was Inari Yuki's turn to watch her departing figure and sigh softly.

'When will these two seniors finally make up...?'

On this day, Inari Yuki had a little bit of trouble.

She genuinely hoped that the two seniors could get along well, since they liked each other but kept having disagreements.

……

the other side.

Kurose Izumi arrived at the cafeteria after leaving, only to find it was too late.

Not to mention set meals, even bread and other food items are all sold out!

"Ugh……"

He couldn't help but sigh; his stomach was growling with hunger, and he felt like his stomach was sticking to his back.

'Go buy a bottle of milk and drink it...'

With that thought in mind, Kurose Izumi left the cafeteria and headed towards the vending machines in the courtyard.

As he passed the club building, a person suddenly emerged from the shadows and called out to him:

"Quan, wait a minute!"

Upon hearing the call, Kurose Izumi stopped in her tracks and turned to look.

In his line of sight, Shiraishi Chiren, who was some distance away, was jogging towards him carrying a bento box.

Her skirt swayed gently with her steps, causing Izumi Kurose to subconsciously glance around to see if anyone was there.

Fortunately, there was no one around.

This relieved Kurose Izumi.

'No, why should I relax? I... well, I really should relax.'

No matter what, Kurose Izumi wouldn't allow anyone to see what was under Shiraishi Chire's skirt!

While he was thinking about these things, Shiraishi Chiren had already run up to him, handed him the bento box, and said softly, "Izumi, don't be sulking with me, eat up?"

"I……"

Just as Kurose Izumi was about to refuse, Shiraishi Chiren interrupted her, saying, "Izumi, don't go hungry. I'll feel guilty. If you can buy some food, that'll be fine, but if you don't, the afternoon will be tough, won't it?"

"..."

Kurose Izumi fell silent.

That woman is truly despicable!

"Izumi, please eat it, okay?"

"You may be angry with me, but don't starve yourself. It will break my heart."

"Please forgive me a little and eat this bento, okay?"

Under the coaxing words of Shiraishi Chiren, which sounded like she was talking to a child, Kurose Izumi's heart gradually began to waver.

After a long while, he glanced at his face and nodded slightly.

"...Just this once, don't do it again!"

—We'll do it again tomorrow.

Shiraishi Chiren smiled, understanding Kurose Izumi's insincerity.

Although she will still decline tomorrow, she will eventually accept it if she persists in pleading and cajoling.

The relationship between the two must be repaired through these small, everyday actions.

Chire Shiraishi would patiently and tirelessly coax Izumi Kurose until she received his forgiveness.

This is a mistake she made, and she should make amends.

She had no complaints, as long as Izumi Kurose was happy and eventually let go and forgave her.

"Shall we go sit down?"

After speaking softly, Shiraishi Chiren took Kurose Izumi's hand and led him towards a bench in the distance without waiting for a response.