Tokyo Soft Rice King.

The moment he opened it, he felt as if he were seeing the exaggerated flashing effects in a food animation.

The three-layer bento box contains a layer of rice, but the rice is shaped into four small, easy-to-eat rice balls, sprinkled with sesame seeds and seaweed, and decorated with small flowers made of thick omelet rolls and ham. It is also placed on a bed of perilla leaves.

The other two layers are alternating layers of meat and vegetables. The meat box contains fried shrimp tempura, karaage chicken nuggets, thick slices of teriyaki beef, crab legs, and a boiled egg cut in half. One half of the vegetable box contains a cold salad of various vegetables, divided in the middle by lotus root slices, while the other half contains small strawberries and an apple shaped like a rabbit, emphasizing a balance of sweet and sour.

It's clear that the class monitor carefully considered the combination of meat and vegetables and nutritional balance before preparing this bento box.

Is this the cooking level of Lv2?! It completely blows that old lady out of the water!

Fortunately, the class monitor did not open the lunchbox at the time, because it was not meant to be shared among multiple people. Although it looked like a lot, for a boy who was still growing, this amount should be enough to eat the whole thing and be just enough to make him feel very full.

Kuroba Akira was so moved he almost cried.

Squad leader, I will always respect and love you, Kouya!

However, the gesture of clasping hands before eating is still necessary, as it is a Japanese custom, and Akira Kuroba has also developed this habit.

Anri Hitomi handed over her chopsticks, smiling as she spoke.

Please enjoy.

"Then I'll start eating!"

Kuroba Akira began to eat heartily, and the class monitor, seeing him wolfing down his food, took out a white thermos.

"Eat slowly, Kuroba-kun, don't choke. I also made miso soup, and it's just warm now, so it won't burn your mouth."

"oh oh!"

Kuroba Akira's mouth was full of food. Although he wanted to savor it carefully, the cravings in his stomach wouldn't allow him to stop eating.

And the taste... is absolutely impeccable!

With its perfect balance of saltiness, rich flavors, and fresh ingredients, this bento box deserves a 95 out of 100.

Most importantly, this bento box was free! It was obtained through prostitution!

Free food always feels so good!

Ah~ it's so sweet to be a kept man!

Chapter 49 Mom won't let me play with them

As Anri Hitomi poured a glass of miso soup for Kuroba Akira, she said.

"Because you said you don't like seafood, I didn't use kelp and bonito flakes for the broth. Instead, I used dried shiitake mushrooms. I've already tasted it myself, and it might not be as flavorful... I don't know if it suits your taste."

Kuroba Akira took the drink and felt a sudden light in his eyes.

I initially thought that Japanese people's tastes would be mild, so this miso soup would also be rather bland, but I was surprised to find that it was quite flavorful... I should say, it was quite good!

That's great! That's fantastic!

People from Guangdong would say "This soup is delicious!" when they come here!

"Delicious!"

"As long as you're satisfied..."

Seeing Kuroba Akira enjoying his lunch so much, Anri Hitomi felt very happy. It made her decision to get up at 4:30 to make the lunch worthwhile.

However, her melancholy prevented her from showing a relaxed smile, and in the end, she couldn't help but apologize to Kuroba Akira.

"I'm sorry, Kuroba-kun..."

"Hmm?"

Because his mouth was still full of food, Kuroba Akira didn't say the rest of his sentence, but his meaning was conveyed: 'Why do you need to apologize, class president?'

"I know that bringing you lunch in class will cause misunderstandings, but I did it anyway. I didn't mean to scheme against you, and I never expected you and Sumitomo to have a direct confrontation..."

After swallowing the food in his mouth, Kuroba Akira slowed down his eating pace and said while holding up his chopsticks.

"When I saw you, class monitor, stand up for me, I already knew you weren't trying to use me as a shield. You probably wanted to use this opportunity to distance yourself from Ryota Sumitomo's social circle."

Previously, it was common to see Hitomi Anri being "dragged into" the most lively area in the middle of the class, but she herself must have been tired of dealing with this superficial social interaction among the popular girls.

Simply put, the class monitor couldn't get along with them.

This signifies Akira Kuroba's status as a member of the Literature and Art Club, and it's also her way of telling the other students in the class that she's shifting her social focus to the Literature and Art Club.

Unlike Tuanzi, who tries to balance both her class and club activities, the class monitor clearly favors the arts and literature department. After all, she herself has said that the arts and literature department is her only breathing room, so important that she will do everything she can to protect it.

Anri Hitomi nodded silently. Being understood by Kuroba Akira made her feel relieved and at ease.

Having only known each other for two days, he already understood her so well, which made Anri Hitomi even more certain that Kuroba Akira and she shared a common ground in their thoughts.

"You're right, it's just that Sumitomo's reaction was unexpected..."

"I didn't expect him to care about you so much?"

"……Um."

Given Hitomi Anri's social skills, she must have known that Ryota Sumitomo liked her, but she didn't expect that Ryota Sumitomo would completely disregard the stares of those around him and come looking for her right there.

The only scenario she had anticipated was that Sumitomo Ryota would cause trouble for Kuroba Akira in private. As long as she stayed by Kuroba Akira's side, Sumitomo Ryota would most likely not retaliate.

In the end, Kuroba Akira had to bear all of this alone, which made her feel very guilty.

"Speaking of which, if you didn't want to have anything to do with him, you could have just clearly refused. I reckon that given his personality, he wouldn't have kept pestering you... So why did you choose to give him the cold shoulder?"

"Sumitomo-kun never confessed to me, so I never had a chance to completely reject him... But now it seems that maybe I shouldn't worry about saving face and should just be more direct and make things clear, even though I already told Sumitomo-kun before that he's a good person."

"what……"

So you've already given me the "friend zone" card.

So, did Ryota Sumitomo not realize he had been dumped, or did he mistakenly believe that "you are a good person" meant he still had a chance?

Anyway, he must have come to terms with reality by now.

"Well, I can understand that you don't want to date him. After all, feelings of liking someone are very complicated. No matter how long you spend together, you won't feel anything if you don't have feelings for them... But I heard from him that he is your childhood friend, but you deliberately distanced yourself from him? Why is that? Is it really impossible to even be friends anymore?"

"I see... He even told you this..."

Anri Hitomi showed a somewhat dejected expression, and her smile turned into a bitter one.

"Actually, it's because my mother doesn't want me to get too close to them."

"Oh ho..."

So you listen to your mother so much, class monitor, are you a mama's girl?

Or is Anri Hitomi's mother a terrifying tigress?

Why does Hitomi's mother interfere with her friendships? Is she that controlling?

After Kuroba Akira tactfully asked the question containing the above doubts, Anri Hitomi began to recount that childhood memory.

"No, although my mother is indeed very strict with me, she doesn't interfere with what I do at school... She just told me about some possible scenarios when I was very young."

……

"Hitomi, you shouldn't get too close to Sumitomo and the others in the future."

"Huh? Why? Mom, Ryota-kun and Mirai-chan are both good kids..."

“I know they are good kids, and Mom knows you and they are very good friends. I also hope to see your friendship last... But their parents may not be as willing as I am to keep your friendship pure.”

"What...does that...mean? Are Ryota-kun's parents bad guys?"

"You can't say that. The adult world isn't just about good people and bad people. In terms of their careers, they are all very capable and successful adults. It's just that their stance isn't firm enough, and their status has inflated their ambitions, so they will take advantage of everything around them, including their own children."

"I do not understand……"

"Xiaotong, you must have seen those awful plots in the books I showed you, where people obey their parents' arrangements to marry someone they don't want to marry."

"Um……"

"That's something that could really happen."

"Well……"

"Don't be so afraid. I did consider arranging a marriage for you and even had you undergo bride training, but your father has already reprimanded me. I really shouldn't have treated you like I used to be."

"...Mom, do you regret marrying Dad? Um...I'm sorry...I misspoke..."

"Heh... It's true that my marriage to your father was a political one, but we were lucky because I did fall in love with him later. He was a man whose name means 'righteous,' so upright that he was not suited to be a politician. But that's precisely why he was able to forge ahead... He told me that he didn't want to use his children as sacrifices, and the Anri family didn't need to use such means to expand their power. So I will give you your freedom, Hitomi."

"Um... thank you, Mom."

"No need to thank me. I know you're not sincere. You've always preferred your father since you were little, and I can tell you don't really like me. But even if I don't arrange a marriage for you, I'll still interfere and prevent you from marrying 'the wrong person,' to avoid making your future life unhappy. After all, you probably won't have the same luck as me."

"..."

"Of course, if you, Hitomi, still insist on being friends with Ryota and the others, I won't say anything more. The choice is yours. But I must tell you that your friends may become a weakness to be used against you."

"weakness?"

"That's right. Take Ryota Sumitomo for example. I'm afraid his parents would try every means to make him your husband in order to create a deeper connection between the Sumitomo and Anri families, thus ruining your friendship."

"..."

"Are you confident you can protect your friends under this kind of interference? Or rather... Hitomi, can you make your friends stand by your side even if it means going against your parents?"

"..."

"You should be able to do it, after all, you are my children, and this requires you to control their minds and make them completely follow you and never betray you."

"But if we do that... then we can't be considered friends anymore... Friendships should be reciprocal..."

"Yes, although they will still treat you as their most important friend, you will never be able to treat them sincerely again, because you are manipulating them."

"..."

"Because you are 'Anri' Hitomi, this is the reality you have to face. Hitomi, you are a smart child, I think you should already know what to do."

To force young children to face harsh life choices.

At the most carefree age, she gave up that childlike fun and innocence.

"Yes... I understand completely, Mother."

Chapter Fifty: Best Friends for Life

After listening to the squad leader's explanation, Kuroba Akira roughly understood what was going on.

I had already guessed that the class monitor's background was not simple, and now it has been confirmed.