Starting Tokyo Life From Inheriting A Shopping Street

The last class on Wednesday morning was Home Basics, and today's lesson was on cooking. After the teacher gave a brief explanation and a few reminders, the students were free to form their own groups.

Shuichi Chiba headed for a cooking station near the corner, and as usual, Hachiya Uchida followed him. For activities like this, the two of them typically teamed up to chat and scrape by with the bare minimum effort.

But today, something unusual happened—An Akiyama walked over to join them.

"Hey, look over there! What's going on? Why is the class president joining the otaku duo?"

"Is she there to scold them? The class president's pretty serious, so it wouldn't be surprising."

"Maybe she can't stand wasting ingredients and wants to teach them proper cooking? She's always been big on not wasting food."

"Those two are in for a treat today—they might actually get to eat something made by the class president."

As the icy beauty and the younger sister of the student council president, Tsuki Akiyama, An was already a prominent figure in the class.

Her sudden decision to join forces with the two "otaku" naturally drew everyone's attention.

The speculations about An Akiyama's presence were fairly mild—there were no outrageous or malicious comments. The class atmosphere was relatively harmonious.

Of course, one could also argue that the "otaku duo" were so invisible to their classmates that nobody cared enough to pay them much attention. A kind of benign neglect, perhaps, but some might call it subtle exclusion.

Hachiya Uchida, who had been slouching lazily, straightened up the moment the class president approached. He knew that if he didn't, he'd definitely hear something along the lines of:

"Uchida-kun, please take this seriously. Food is precious."

Even if it wasn't a scolding, being publicly called out like that was still embarrassing.

With this in mind, Uchida edged further into the corner. Their cooking station was already at the edge of the room, and he managed to tuck himself even deeper into the corner by the wall.

Feeling a bit guilty, he quietly apologized to Shuichi Chiba, whispering, "Sorry, buddy—you'll have to take the heat for this one."

Shuichi Chiba had no idea what was running through Hachiya Uchida's mind. He simply stood there and gave An Akiyama a curious look. "What are you doing over here?"

An Akiyama tried her best to mimic her sister's usual demeanor, keeping her expression as calm and aloof as possible. "Teaming up with you. Is that a problem?"

"I don't mind, but your sister might not be too thrilled about it." Shuichi Chiba replied with a soft chuckle.

"Hmph." An Akiyama puffed her cheeks slightly in annoyance. "My sister… lied to me. Are you two dating?"

"No, that's one thing she didn't lie about," Shuichi Chiba answered honestly. After all, he and Akiyama Tsuki weren't in a typical romantic relationship—they were more like master and servant, or unconventional game partners.

Hearing his response, An Akiyama finally believed him. Ever since her sister had lied about not drinking the peach soda, her blind trust in her had been shaken.

"Then… if I make eye contact, talk, or touch a boy, will I really be tricked into having a baby?" She asked, her tone serious.

"..." Shuichi Chiba rolled his eyes in exasperation. But as he thought about it, her words weren't entirely unreasonable—especially in An Akiyama's case. "Well… that's not entirely inaccurate," He admitted.

"Oh, right! That's what my sister specifically said about you." An Akiyama suddenly remembered, adding the clarification.

Shuichi Chiba's mouth twitched. "Then it's definitely not true. Haven't you already made eye contact, talked, and even interacted with me? Did I trick you into having a baby?"

"Hmm, that's true." An Akiyama seemed to realize this too. She hadn't been tricked into doing anything strange.

Finally understanding, she tilted her head slightly and asked curiously, "So… is dating a fun thing to do?"

For some reason, when Shuichi Chiba looked at An Akiyama, with her cute, naïve demeanor and love for food, he suddenly felt a sense of fatherly concern.

This little airhead—if he didn't keep an eye on her, she'd probably get tricked, wouldn't she?

"Dating is boring, really boring," Shuichi Chiba said with a smirk. "Eating is way more interesting. Listen to your sister, stay away from boys." Then he quickly added, "Except me, of course."

"Oh..." An Akiyama nodded thoughtfully, her little head clearly buzzing with thoughts, as if she were suddenly deep in a storm of ideas.

Mom said that girls will definitely end up dating boys in the future…

But I'm a girl…

Both my sister and Chiba-kun said to stay away from boys…

Except for Chiba-kun, who is an exception among boys, and someone I can interact with…

So... does that mean the only person I can date is Chiba-kun?

With a burst of logical reasoning, An Akiyama had seemingly solved a life riddle. She suddenly felt a wave of clarity wash over her.

Seeing her adorably confused expression, her baby fat on her cheeks looked so soft and squishy. With no one paying attention, Shuichi Chiba couldn't resist and quietly reached out to pinch her cheek.

Ever since he saw Tsuki Akiyama pinch her cheek earlier in the morning, he'd been itching to do it himself.

"Huh?" An Akiyama looked at him in confusion, not understanding why he had pinched her face.

"Fine, I'll give you octopus sausages at lunch. Just let me pinch your cheek a little more." Shuichi Chiba said, pinching her cheek once more.

"Alright, alright," An Akiyama happily nodded in agreement.

Hachiya Uchida, watching from the corner, was trembling with anxiety. Chiba! What are you doing?! What are you doing to the class president?! She's gonna kill you, isn't she?!

Before, when he'd seen Shuichi Chiba handle Nagase-sensei so calmly, he had merely admired him, but now, he was genuinely terrified. It was clear that the student council president was a force to be reckoned with.

"Chiba-kun, do you want to date me?" An Akiyama casually asked while skillfully prepping the ingredients. She had helped out in her family's ramen shop a lot, and despite being a bit clumsy, she was much more capable at this than other people her age.

"Huh?" Shuichi Chiba was momentarily stunned. What was this clueless food lover talking about all of a sudden?

"Do you want to date me?" An Akiyama, thinking he hadn't heard her, blinked her innocent, big eyes and asked again.

"Well... I'm not sure why the class president would say that, but my answer is... no."

Shuichi Chiba didn't hesitate for a second. The painful lessons from his past life had made him give up on any illusions about marriage and love.

It was much easier and more comforting to share mutual understanding with a woman who also saw through the harsh realities of life. That felt far more peaceful than engaging in any romantic games with young girls.

Well, the obsessed student council president was the exception. They were special play partners.

"Oh, I see..." An Akiyama wasn't discouraged. She thoughtfully scratched her head, her little mind working through the problem, feeling like she'd just solved a tricky math problem.

Chiba-kun said before that he had regrets, so... maybe I should confess first?

Should I do it on the rooftop?

How should I go about it?

However, it seemed like she couldn't ask her sister this time, especially since her sister had tricked her about this matter before. So, she decided to ask her mom instead.

With a decision made, An Akiyama pushed the matter aside for now and focused on preparing the food.

The cooking class was scheduled as the last class of the morning, specifically so students could eat what they made for lunch.

Normally, An Akiyama would eagerly eat her own cooking, but today, she didn't even glance at the dish she made before quickly running off.

After all, her homemade food couldn't possibly compare to the delicious bento her mom prepared.

Other students noticed this and understood—since she was cooking with the "otaku" group, the class president probably wasn't happy with the result either.

"In that case, it's all yours, Uchida," Shuichi Chiba said, taking off his apron and pointing at the curry rice they made.

"Huh? There's no way I can finish all of this by myself," Hachiya Uchidaya looked confused.

"Well, then just take your time and eat it slowly," Shuichi Chiba patted his shoulder, then followed An Akiyama out of the classroom.

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