I, who advocate giving up, feel like a disqualified person

"Don't you think it's troublesome? You'll feel tired after saying a few more words."

"Well, now that you mention it, it seems that there is indeed such a point."

"..."

She looked like she wanted to say something, but after noticing the young man coming out of the kitchen and walking towards us, she stopped talking and turned her gaze to the steaming bowl in the young man's hand.

"Oh, please."

"No..." The boy is the boss's son and usually helps out here, but he seems a bit shy.

"...Um..."

After placing two bowls of noodle soup in front of us, he quickly ran off. It looked like he was about to say something like, "Enjoy your meal," but he couldn't quite get the words out.

"That child looks very shy." Rin Hanekawa naturally noticed this.

"Maybe it's because my family owns a shop... I might feel embarrassed if my classmates and family come to visit." I speculated this more than once. "But it could also be because I'm not happy at school."

"...You seem to understand a lot."

"It's nothing, it's the same mentality that most kids of this age have." But I didn't want to think about it too much, because it would be troublesome.

"Is that really a good thing? I think this kind of personality might affect his future life."

Is this worrying about other people's futures? Perhaps it's because I don't have to worry about my own future.

"After so many years, my personality has basically been fixed. What else can I do?"

"Aren't you the one who likes to meddle in other people's affairs? Why don't you think about helping him this time?"

"There's no reason for that... And who's this nosy person you're talking about? I don't know him."

"...You are a really interesting person." Seeing that I was not interested in this, she did not insist.

"Be with each other."

At least in my opinion, she is not a boring person.

"By the way, what is this bowl...noodle soup?" She picked up the bowl that had just been placed in front of her and took a look.

"Well, it's used to warm the guests, and it tastes pretty good." I said and tried to take a sip. "Hmm... It's not too hot. You should try it too."

"..."

I don't know why she put her red lips to the bowl with a doubtful expression, but if I were to imagine myself as her, perhaps she was doubting whether the soup in the bowl could be drunk directly.

"Hmm... Such a refreshing taste." Only after she drank it did her frown relax. "At first I thought it would be greasy because of the oil floating on top, but I didn't expect the taste to be that strong."

"After all, it's just takeout...it wouldn't be nice if the flavor overshadowed the main dish." This is what's known as taste overlay. After eating something too sweet, less sweet food will taste bland. "I don't know if it's to your liking, but I hope you enjoy it."

"...Why does this sound so strange—"

"Well, don't worry about it."

While we were talking, the uncle had already placed two plates of noodles in front of us.

"Okay, please enjoy—"

Compared to his own son, this sentence not only sounds loud, but also gives people a very intimate feeling.

After I thanked him, he turned around and went to greet the customer who had just entered the store.

Then Rin Hanekawa glanced into the bowl and sighed.

"Wow...this is too much."

It's no wonder that people would make such an exclamation.

Seaweed, meat chunks, unnamed meat products, and chopped coriander were all placed on top of a huge amount of thin noodles, as if soup would overflow if you stuck your chopsticks in.

"I told you to check the menu...it's too late to regret now."

"I have a small appetite... Wow, I feel half full just by looking at it." Even at this point, she was still putting psychological pressure on herself.

"No matter whether I can finish it or not, just pick up my chopsticks first." When I said this, I couldn't wait to put my chopsticks into the bowl, picked out some noodles and sucked them into my mouth in a big mouthful, without any grace at all.

"...All right."

Seeing that I had already started, she picked up the chopsticks and picked up a little noodles and put them in her mouth.

"...?"

Then, a look of surprise crossed her face. I, observing her reaction from the corner of my eye, naturally embedded this scene in my memory. It was a rare expression I saw on the president's face.

Sure enough, my reaction was the same as when I first ate it.

Before I could even taste it, the noodles had already slid into my stomach. Then, the flavor of the broth spread throughout my mouth. This feeling is indescribable, and only by experiencing it can I truly remember it.

"..."

I saw her put her chopsticks into the bowl again, and this time the amount was much more than before.

“Slurp——”

"Enjoy the feast"

That's the only word I can think of right now. Whether I'm just slurping the noodles, or chewing them mixed with meat or seaweed, an indescribable sense of satisfaction gradually dispels the sense of distance (referring to my appetite) that had just filled my heart.

"Gulu, gurgle——"

She swallowed the broth with the cilantro in it, and the warmth carried by the broth, after a brief pause at the bottom of her stomach, quickly spread throughout her body. Her once cold hands and feet had now completely warmed up—not only that, but beads of sweat even appeared on her forehead. But no matter what, she had no intention of stopping.

Compared to all the meals she had eaten before, I believe she never thought that she could get a feeling of "happiness" just from a simple meal.

"Hey, hey... who said they couldn't eat..." I couldn't help but want to tease her.

However, Rin Hanekawa, who was simply immersed in his thoughts, ignored me. And since I wasn't such a mean person, I shrugged helplessly and immersed myself in my own world.

............

"I didn't expect that under your guidance, my belly would actually grow bigger."

I didn't need to look to know that at this moment, Rin Hanekawa was talking to me while touching her slightly bulging belly.

"Some things need to be thought through before you speak."

I was choosing a drink at the vending machine when she said this and immediately turned around. "Besides, can't you just say you accidentally ate too much?"

"...What will happen next...Will you be responsible for me?"

When she heard what I said, she not only did not change her words, but asked further questions.

"If I'm here to help you lose weight, forget it... You won't gain weight so quickly if you just indulge in eating occasionally."

"...You are such a boring person~" Seeing that I didn't respond to her at all, she had no choice but to give up.

"This isn't a very interesting topic," I said, handing her a can of heated coffee. "It's best to be respectful about things like this."

"What? Don't you want a beautiful girlfriend?" She took the coffee from my hand and took a look at it. Then she muttered softly, "Wow... I told you I feel so full now, why are you buying this kind of thing..."

"..." I'd better pretend I didn't hear it, "Girlfriend or something doesn't matter..."

"Oh my, oh my, what are you still pretending for?" With a malicious look in her eyes, she nudged my arm, which was raised from drinking, with her elbow. "You clearly brought girls to the beach at that time. Is there really no one among them you like?"

“…I like them all.”

"Eh?"

I knew she would react like this.

"Why else would I talk to them? The reason I talk to you is because I don't hate you." In short, I'll just use this excuse to deal with it for now.

"Oh, then let me change the question." She seemed to understand that I was changing the subject, "Don't you have the desire to date one of them?"

"...dating." I thought for a moment, "I've never thought about that."

"why?"

"Of course it's because I'm not good-looking and I don't have money, I have a gloomy personality and I don't like sports... Is there anyone who would like a guy like me?" Ah, my heart hurts.

"...It's good to be self-aware, but you're a little too insightful." She sighed helplessly, holding her forehead. "Then why do those girls hang around you? Is it just because they have free time?"

"...Are you around me? You're the only girl around me right now."

"I'm walking with you because of your suggestion."

"Hmm, so they all had their own reasons for approaching me... Unfortunately, I'm not them, so I can't explain their reasons to you."

"..."

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

I was naturally surprised that she suddenly stopped and stared at me.

"Is your hair a tool to control your combat power?" She stared at my tied-up hair thoughtfully. "For example, tying it up can increase your thinking speed or something like that."

"What kind of setting is this..." But it feels quite interesting, it feels like Superman taking off his glasses is equivalent to transforming.

"I can't refute you like this, I always feel angry——"

"...Why bother trying to refute it? It's easier to admit the truth than to go to great lengths to prove it's false."

Well, this is something that true energy conservationism needs to understand.

"That's not right." She didn't pay attention to what I just said. As if she had discovered something, she suddenly opened her eyes wide and said to me, "Since you don't know why they approach you, why can't you assume that they are with you because they really like you?"

"..."

This guy is really persistent...

"Then can I make an assumption?" I paused for a moment and pointed at her. "You're leading me to think that someone likes me... Could it be that the person who likes me is actually you?"

"Eh?"

The question of "How did you come to this conclusion?" was clearly written on her face.

"What?" I think it's very possible.

In order to make her realize clearly that her idea was completely untenable, I deliberately spoke in an impossible direction.

"Don't talk nonsense. My fate has been clearly arranged. If I like someone now, I will only be asking for trouble."

"That's right... I'm sorry to bring this up again."

"It's okay. I've already convinced myself."

Seeing her indifferent reaction, I suddenly regretted what I had just said.

"...That's truly admirable. If it were me, I definitely wouldn't be able to do that..."

"No, you're wrong," she retorted without hesitation. "It's just that your life is completely different from mine. If you were in my position and felt the same way as I do, you would definitely think of a better way and do better than me."

How on earth did she come to this conclusion? It was clearly a baseless guess, yet she was able to speak of it as if she had witnessed the possibility with her own eyes.

"How did you come to this conclusion..."

"Nothing, I just feel that way." She smiled slightly. "After all, women's intuition is very accurate."

“…”

Newbie

"Although I loved heroes when I was a kid, there were times when I even thought about being a villain or something."

"Why are you suddenly talking about your childhood?" Rin Yukawa hadn't thought that the guy next to her would take the initiative to talk to her.

"Looking at those little kids, don't you think about your past self?" A gentle smile appeared in his eyes, as if he had seen someone familiar. "Slowly, memories of my childhood will flood back to me."

"My childhood..." Rin Hanekawa tried to recall. "I don't think there's anything worth remembering. It was mostly spent with tutors and studying."

"...You've had a really hard time."

"It's not that hard. I'll get used to it gradually and it'll be fine. And I don't mind learning more things... painting, music, calligraphy, etc. I still practice when I have free time."

"...Have you ever had a rebellious streak? If I were forced to learn so much, I wouldn't be able to handle it."

"At least there hasn't been any rebellious behavior so far." She sighed slightly. "Besides, rebellious behavior doesn't do me any good, does it?"

"You still value practical things more than your inner feelings...?" The guy next to me said and fell silent.

"Actually, I don't know what I'm thinking." Seeing that he hadn't spoken, Rin Hanekawa took the initiative to break the silence, "So I can only move in the direction I can see. And isn't that the reality...some things you have to go through no matter how reluctant you are."