After the math quiz, followed by chemistry and physics, more than an hour had passed without them realizing it. In the end, the winner was Itsuki.
She had worked hard to improve her performance.
It was only natural she earned her reward.
Haruto looked at Miku and said expressionlessly, "Miku, are you ready?"
Miku instinctively wanted to flee. "Th-There are still things I need to do..."
Haruto spoke slowly, "Miku, do you still want to play the Three Kingdoms game I mentioned last time?"
Miku's steps froze.
Haruto continued, "Besides, I heard there's going to be a limited-edition general released soon. And that day was actually the first time I saw Miku—"
"You!"
Miku immediately dropped her defenses.
After hesitating for a moment, she came back with a sulking face, under Itsuki's surprised gaze, and sat down, staring at Haruto with "guilty" eyes.
Itsuki couldn't help but ask curiously, "Kuromori-kun, what's the punishment?"
"Of course, it's terrifying!"
Haruto clasped his hands together, "But since Miku worked hard today, the punishment can be postponed. However, the condition is that she finishes today's test paper and gets a passing grade."
"Otherwise, the punishment will double! So..."
An evil smile appeared on Haruto's face, "Miku, which will you choose?"
'Wow... Kuromori-kun's expression is really scary.'
Itsuki patted her chest and looked at Miku with sympathetic eyes.
She knew very well that the punishment Haruto talked about wasn't just words—it was real!
Of course, Miku knew this too.
She looked at the test paper and heard Haruto say, "This is your specialty, Miku. Are you confident?"
Accept the punishment now, or take the risk?
'Anyway, Itsuki is still here, what if Haruto does something reckless? Even though we're siblings, being bullied in front of Itsuki… Just thinking about it makes me feel so embarrassed!'
Miku took a deep breath and gripped the test paper tightly. "I'll definitely pass!"
"Good!"
Haruto glanced at Itsuki, who was standing upright, holding her right hand in front of her chest, and staring at him nervously.
"Itsuki, don't be so nervous."
Haruto looked at the ahoge on Itsuki's head, his eyes showing a little regret, then he said, "You did really well today."
"Since there's a punishment for the loser, there's naturally a reward for the winner."
Haruto looked at her, "Itsuki, now there's a drink, Haruto's steamed buns, and Haruto's biscuits. Please choose your reward."
Haruto calmly added, "You're right, I made them myself."
After thinking for a moment, he added, "Also, they were made by the Kuromori family, so feel free to eat them."
"A reward?"
Itsuki clenched her fists. This was the first time she had ever received a reward for studying hard.
And her expression turned quite strange.
She was both excited and confused.
Both anxious and nervous.
Seeing this, Haruto said, "Itsuki, if you work hard, you'll be rewarded one day, so this is something you deserve, understand?"
Itsuki quickly raised her hand to wipe the corner of her eye, a very happy and bright smile appearing on her face. She looked at him with bright, unblinking eyes, nodding enthusiastically, "I understand, thank you, Kuromori-kun!"
Her smile was radiant, her hair swayed, the corners of her mouth lifted slightly, and her sharp little canine teeth peeked out faintly from her pink lips...
One thing could be said—Itsuki was incredibly cute at this moment.
Especially the slightly upturned corners of her mouth, as well as the tiny, snow-white, gleaming tiger-like teeth.
How to describe it—it just made Haruto want to bite them.
But tiger teeth are a bit dangerous.
So it's clear that they're just organs meant for eating, why did he suddenly feel like biting them?
And the mouth is also one of the most bacteria-laden places in the human body.
So this is very weird.
Could it be that spring had really arrived, and he had also entered his estrus phase?
Perhaps because Haruto couldn't help but look again, the next moment, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his leg—clearly, someone had stepped on him.
Haruto snapped back to reality and glanced across at Miku, seeing her playing with her phone as if nothing had happened...
Then he looked back at Itsuki.
He saw Itsuki bowing her head and muttering happily to herself.
So, who stepped on him?
It was hard for Haruto to judge at that moment, but he felt Miku was the most suspicious.
Putting that question aside for now, Haruto looked at Itsuki, "Itsuki, have you decided?"
❀❀❀
At the gate of Sobu High, Haruto said goodbye to Itsuki and Miku and walked back to his apartment alone.
Unsurprisingly, Itsuki had chosen the meat bun.
But it seemed like Itsuki had struggled for a moment, and even Miku had turned around curiously.
Was it strange for a guy to know how to cook?
Stop underestimating today's youth!
So, Haruto decided to carefully review his strategy when he got back and make super delicious meat buns.
Of course, it wasn't out of anger.
He knew very well how much effort Itsuki had put in all this time.
If there was anyone among the Nakano quintuplets he didn't want to disappoint the most, it was definitely Itsuki.
Because this was a gift for Itsuki, he couldn't let her down.
This wasn't a small matter.
Haruto would show Itsuki that he wasn't being careless with her.
Let her continue to have confidence.
At the same time, it could also spur a few of the other idiots, killing two birds with one stone!
❀❀❀
The next day.
Lunch break.
In the cafeteria.
Haruto handed over the buns he made in the morning. "Itsuki, here's your reward."
"Thank you, Kuromori-kun."
The ahoge on her head twitched happily as Itsuki thanked him and took the bag.
*JIIII*
Ichika looked at Haruto with an annoyed expression, "Kuromori-kun is so biased, why didn't you mention there were rewards from the start? I want Kuromori-kun's buns and biscuits too..."
"So, Kuromori-kun really had his eye on Itsuki from the start!"
"Ahem..."
Itsuki nearly choked. "Ichika, stop talking nonsense!"
"Showing kindness without expecting anything in return means being either a scoundrel or a thief!"
Nino gritted her teeth, glaring at Haruto. She had clearly made him lunchboxes and baked him biscuits, but he only made steamed buns for Itsuki.
This was obvious favoritism!
Filled with resentment!