21 Chapter 21: Reiji's False Flu: Kanade and Nene in the Kitchen

Upon receiving a message from Reiji first thing in the morning, Kanade had a premonition. Her intuition was confirmed when he replied to her good morning with the news that he was down with the flu.

Instantly, she was tempted to skip classes to take care of him. However, Reiji insisted that she not worry and go to school, assuring her that he would be fine. Reluctantly, she accepted his decision, although deep down, she wished to be by his side.

This thought kept her absorbed throughout the school day, making time drag on in an unprecedented manner. She lost count of how many times she sighed, lost in worry.

Nene was facing a similar situation. Sharing Kanade's desire to take care of Reiji, she quickly warmed to the idea of leaving school early, stopping by a store, and buying ingredients to make him soup.

And that was exactly what she did. However, she encountered a hurdle along the way. Kanade decided to follow her example and implement the same idea. With a resigned sigh, Nene recognized that, given the current truce between them, there was no other option but to accept the situation for now.

"Seriously, Kanade-senpai, this is super-mega-ultra-annoying~!" Nene expressed her frustration to Kanade: "Why did you have to do exactly the same thing as me?"

"It's not like that, Nene-chan," Kanade calmly replied, balancing two shopping bags, one in each hand. "I'm not imitating you, actually. It just occurred to me that Reiji-kun might need certain ingredients so I could prepare some soup for him. So, when you mentioned you would do that, I just decided I should pick up some things too."

Examining the bags in Kanade's hands, Nene expressed her skepticism: "Really? Why do I find it so hard to believe what you say?"

With a sigh, Kanade responded: "Nene-chan, it's really important to learn to trust people more."

With a pout of discontent, Nene decided to end the conversation. She recognized that, at that moment, she could not come out on top... And, anyway, what was done, was done. Despite her frustration, she understood that the most important thing was to meet Reiji's needs, who was sick.

Meanwhile, Reiji, the cause of the two girls' concern, was enjoying an apple while entertaining himself with a movie on his laptop.

In the movie, the theme revolved around Showa Day, which made Reiji realize that today was April 25. This meant that Showa Day would be on Monday. Thus, he realized he would not need to attend classes until Tuesday, should he also decide to skip the following day.

'This will give me plenty of free time to improve my skills...' Reiji pondered this possibility, when his doorbell rang.

"I'm coming," he announced, getting up.

At the second ring, he was already near the door, saying: "I'm opening it now."

Upon unlocking and opening the door, he was faced with Nene and Kanade, as expected.

However, both were visibly surprised to notice his paleness.

Internally, both felt a mix of concern and a certain fascination upon seeing him like this, attributing an unexpected charm to him.

Nevertheless, concern quickly took the forefront, fearing that the paleness was a serious symptom of the flu.

"Are you okay?" Nene's voice carried palpable worry.

"Reiji-kun, have you seen a doctor? Should I call an emergency?" Kanade was even more alarmed.

"Cough... I'm fine, please, come in," Reiji reassured them.

Even though they were confused and still worried, especially upon noticing that despite his paleness, Reiji did not exhibit any symptoms of illness, the concern remained evident in their gazes.

In the living room, Reiji concocted that he had won a prize in a skin whitening treatment lottery, valid only for that day and expiring at ten in the morning. Although it was a hard justification to swallow, this was the most convincing explanation given his pale appearance. After all, the alternative would be to believe that he was ill to the point of losing all color.

"Isn't that dangerous?" Nene asked, showing concern as she was unfamiliar with the topic.

"No, it was just because I was a bit tanned from the sun," Reiji tried to justify. "So, it was a simple procedure."

He himself doubted the words he was saying, as he was not very sure about the topic, and quickly changed the subject: "By the way, I see you brought several bags. Can I assume you came here to cook, am I right?"

Seeing the four bags on the table, Kanade responded: "Yes, we thought of making some soup to help you recover from your supposed fever, but..."

There was no need to say more. Reiji offered an awkward smile while scratching his face: "Thank you for caring and coming here. And I apologize for lying this morning. I was actually a bit embarrassed to tell the truth." He feigned a blush.

Reiji's reactions were so convincing that they nearly took the breath away from the two girls. Nene's appreciation for him grew by two points, and soon after, increased by another.

"You always know how to surprise, Reiji-senpai," Nene commented, half-joking, half-serious.

Kanade, in turn, shook her head with a shy smile and said: "You really have a unique way of worrying us, don't you?"

Reiji responded with a laugh, apologizing: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. How about I make it up to you somehow?"

This suggestion made the eyes of the two girls light up with anticipation.

"Oh? And what kind of compensation are you thinking about?" Nene inquired with a cute raising of her eyebrow, her voice almost melodic.

Kanade, sharing the same curiosity, fixed her gaze on Reiji, waiting for his response.

"For now, it will be a surprise," Reiji said mysteriously.

"Are you really going to go down that path?" Nene puffed her cheeks in a mock-annoyed expression, but soon broke into a smile: "Alright then. I'm eager to see how you will make it up to us~"

"Make it up to us," Kanade corrected.

"Whatever," Nene glanced at her and shrugged, standing up: "Since I'm here, I might as well prepare something for the afternoon snack."

Relieved to have avoided a potentially tense moment, Reiji let out a sigh and smiled gratefully: "Really, I'm very thankful."

"Imagine, it's nothing~" Nene replied, her spirits high. Deep down, she felt relieved to know that Reiji was alright.

"I'll help," said Kanade, standing up as well. Despite Nene's protests that she could do everything herself, Kanade insisted on helping.

In turn, Reiji felt incredibly lucky to have two such charming girls willing to prepare something for him to eat.

As he played with his smartphone, Reiji turned off his laptop, deciding not to resume the movie he was watching, and made a call to his boss.

On the phone, Umezu answered and, upon being informed by Reiji that he would not be able to come to work that day, made sure to remind him that it was payday.

"..."

"Okay, Umezu-san," Reiji replied, somewhat embarrassed. "Just don't be surprised when you see me later, okay?"

This statement left Umezu somewhat confused, but he agreed before ending the call.

'I really need the payment, and the rent is due on the 27th...' Reiji reflected. 'As for the reason my skin turned out this way... I might as well use the same excuse I gave Nene-chan and Kanade-chan.'

In his research, Reiji discovered that, indeed, there are specialized treatments available at aesthetic clinics to quickly lighten the skin after sun tanning. Methods such as chemical peels, laser treatments, or microdermabrasion are effective. They not only promote skin lightening but also stimulate cell renewal.

'Well, if they ask, I'll say I underwent a laser treatment...' Reiji thought.

He knew it wasn't ideal to resort to lies, but he considered it a minor necessary untruth, since he could not, or rather, did not want to reveal the true reason behind his altered appearance.