Back at his dorm, Kanda Shuichi didn't plan to eat just yet. It was still too early, barely after 4 o'clock.
What he wanted to do was go through the archaeology test questions he got from Hashibara-senpai. Although there were answer keys, the best way to make a lasting impression was to work through the problems himself.
The midterm exams would still only cover five subjects: Japanese, math, English, science, and social studies.
The questions weren't too many, and the difficulty wasn't high—at least not for Kanda Shuichi.
Except for math and science, which took a bit longer, he finished the other three subjects, especially English, in just a few minutes.
At that moment, he remembered back in high school how during pop quizzes, while he was still working on the multiple-choice questions, others had already finished and even completed the essay.
So this is what it feels like to be good at studying.
As for math and science, the final questions weren't at the first-year level, so Kanda Shuichi had to dig deep into his memory, which took a little more time.
Just as he finished the questions and hadn't even checked the answers, there was a knock at the door.
Hearing the knock, Kanda Shuichi instantly tensed up.
Every time someone knocked on the door, it was never good news, so much so that Kanda Shuichi had developed a bit of a reflex to it.
But this time wasn't so bad. Through the peephole, he could see Miyake standing outside.
After letting out a quiet sigh of relief, Kanda Shuichi checked the time. It was already this late. He reached out and opened the door.
"Yo."
"Yo, my foot! Didn't you go to club activities today?"
Since it was Miyake, Kanda Shuichi didn't bother with formalities. He turned and headed back inside to prepare dinner.
"I took the day off from Sato-senpai. That idiot Chabashira-sensei gave us the wrong exam content." Miyake grumbled as he kicked off his shoes.
"Yeah, it's pretty messed up. If Ike hadn't accidentally argued with some Class C students at the library today, we probably wouldn't have figured it out."
Kanda Shuichi gathered the test papers he had worked on earlier and tossed his jacket onto the bed without a second thought.
Then he grabbed tomatoes, eggs, and green onions to start cooking.
"That's why I'm so mad. And it's not just me, a lot of other students in our class are really upset too." Miyake said as he walked in and sat at Kanda Shuichi's study desk.
"By the way, what are you making?"
"Stir-fry. Tomato and egg. I'm going to make some noodles."
Noodles?
Miyake tilted his head in confusion.
Since time was tight and he didn't have much energy, Kanda Shuichi wasn't planning on making homemade noodles. Fortunately, Japan had something similar to dried noodles, which made things much easier.
"Yeah, tomato and egg noodles."
"Make me a bowl too."
Kanda Shuichi glanced at him without saying anything, then silently grabbed an extra tomato and two more eggs.
As Kanda Shuichi busied himself in the kitchen, Miyake, with nothing else to do, shifted his gaze to the desk.
"Shuichi, what's all this stuff on your desk? Can I take a look?"
"Yeah, it's the midterm exam papers from when Hashibara-senpai was in first year. I got them from her." Kanda Shuichi replied while stirring the eggs.
"Hashibara-senpai? You actually went to her?" With Kanda Shuichi's permission, Miyake picked up the papers Kanda Shuichi had organized.
"You think I wanted to? I went to Sato-senpai first, but she told me it'd be better to ask Hashibara-senpai. You can guess how things went after that."
"Yeah…"
Miyake could already picture Kanda Shuichi feeling totally helpless after being dragged into a mess by Hashibara-senpai, unable to just walk away.
"Pfft, sorry, couldn't help it."
Damn you, Miyake. No egg for you!
Twenty minutes later, the tomato and egg noodles were ready.
The two of them sat at the small table in the middle of Kanda Shuichi's room, eating while chatting about the exam papers.
"Shuichi, do you think these past exam papers will be useful?"
"Yeah, of course. In fact, I even asked Hashibara-senpai for the exam papers from their first test after they enrolled. After comparing them, I found they were exactly the same as the test we just had."
"Are you serious?"
Miyake, excited, immediately tried to stand up. Though his grades were generally good, he had a hard time with certain subjects. This made him especially frustrated about the situation.
But his sudden movement tipped the table over, sending the noodles flying. They landed all over Kanda Shuichi—from his hair to his pants—and even half of the fried egg ended up on his head.
"Akito! Damn it!"
I knew it! Whenever I hear that knocking, nothing good comes from it. Even if it's Akito knocking, it's no exception!
Thankfully, Kanda Shuichi had made dry noodles instead of soup noodles, or he'd probably be screaming in pain right now.
He had no chance to dodge what just happened.
Seeing Kanda Shuichi covered in food, Miyake froze for a moment, but quickly snapped out of it and rushed over to help clean up.
"Sorry, sorry! I got too excited. Are you okay, Shuichi?"
"Clean it up properly, or you can forget about eating anything I cook from now on!" Kanda Shuichi said, clearly annoyed.
If anyone else had done this to him—whether on purpose or by accident—Kanda Shuichi would've made sure they knew just how scary the adult world could be.
But since Miyake was his chosen partner, what could he do? He had no choice but to forgive him.
Dinner was obviously a bust. There were still ingredients left, but Kanda Shuichi had lost all interest in cooking. He decided to take a shower and eat out instead.
Luckily, the school uniform came in two sets, and tomorrow was Saturday, so it wouldn't affect him going to class.
After grabbing a change of clothes from the wardrobe, Kanda Shuichi headed to the bathroom.
By the time he came out, Miyake had already cleaned up the room. He even washed the dishes and wiped up the mess from the floor.
Kanda Shuichi casually tossed his dirty clothes into the automatic washing machine, added detergent, and started the cycle.
"Let's go eat out. You're paying!"
"No problem, no problem."
Miyake, of course, had no objections. In fact, he still felt embarrassed and a bit scared—it was really lucky the noodles hadn't been that hot.
After treating himself to a good meal at Miyake's expense, Kanda Shuichi's frustration disappeared completely.
"Get yourself a drink, it's on me."
When they got near their dorm, Kanda Shuichi spotted a vending machine not far away and suggested it.
"Then I'm going to make sure I get my money's worth."
"Go ahead."
Miyake ended up choosing a relatively cheap bottle of oolong tea.
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