Kato Megumi: Don't Look Back, I'm Tomoya-kun

Chapter 20, angry sagiri

However, the girl can still distinguish between temporary regret and lifelong regret.

If you really do nothing, you won't just regret it for a moment, but for the rest of your life!

"Gulp gulp…"

The girl immersed her head under the water to reset the cooldown time of her CPU.

"I don't know if Yuu-kun has gone back." After a long while, the girl emerged from the water, her voice thoughtful. "But I always feel that Yuu-kun's attitude towards his sister seems a little subtle."

It's hard to deny: women's sixth sense is always incredibly accurate.

Even though Kato Megumi didn't know that Izumi Sagiri was Izumi Yu's half-sister, her instincts still picked up on something dangerous.

"Bite!"

Suddenly, her cell phone rang from the bathtub, signaling a new message.

Kato Megumi quickly stood up, wiping her wet hands with a towel beside her, then grabbed her phone. She unlocked the screen and opened LINE.

But when she saw the name under the bouncing avatar, "Tomoya-kun," she couldn't help but feel a deep sense of disappointment.

The chat box was filled with Aki Tomoya's delayed concern and apology.

Tomoya Aki: "Utaha-senpai has a problem with her work and really needs my help. I'm really sorry."

Kato Megumi didn't bother to reply immediately but, after a moment, felt it would be rude to leave the message unanswered.

They were in the same club, after all, and she wasn't the type to hold a grudge.

With a sigh, Kato Megumi quickly typed: "It's okay, I still want to thank you."

This wasn't sarcasm. It was a genuine expression of gratitude towards Aki Tomoya. If it hadn't been for his behavior that day, the girl might never have realized how she truly felt.

The moment Tomoya Aki had been preoccupied with club activities, ignoring her feelings and emotions, Kato Megumi understood: she and Tomoya Aki had now become two completely separate people.

Without waiting for a reply, Kato Megumi opened her notes and changed the contact name from "Tomoya-kun" to "Aki-kun."

Afterward, she opened another chat box, with just a few green lines, and changed "Izumi-kun" to "Yu-kun."

She paused for a moment, then set her phone down with a hopeful look on her face.

"I can visit Yuu-kun's house next week. Yuu-kun even said he would cook for me. I wonder how it tastes." Kato Megumi murmured to herself thoughtfully, ignoring the phone that was still buzzing with incoming messages.

…

"Phew... That's great! It was such a pleasure talking to Mr. Izumi today~! I feel like my work state has improved so much! And it gave me so much inspiration~! I didn't expect that Mr. Izumi would be my neighbor; it's really a surprise."

The girl was carefully outlining the human figure with a marker while muttering to herself with joy.

In her room, under the bright lights, a girl with golden twin ponytails painted smoothly on the drawing board. Soon, an overall shy girl appeared on the paper.

There were two other characters in the same frame.

One was a slightly dull boy with glasses, standing outside the door with his ear pressed against it, listening carefully.

The other was a handsome boy with a gentle smile, sitting on the bed with the girl.

It was a standard pure love story (with a slightly different twist)!

Yes, this was Eriri Sawamura… no, more accurately, it was the new work of Eri Kashiwaga-sensei!

"I'm painting! Don't rush me! Don't rush me! My new work is definitely going to sell well!" Eriri took a quick moment to reply to her club members' requests while diligently painting.

"The content of this new work is basically about a girl who, after being disappointed by her childhood sweetheart, turns to the arms of the perfect little yellow-haired neighbor who just moved in. The childhood sweetheart realizes his mistake later, only to hear the sweetness of the two as they grow closer, and cries alone in the toilet, lamenting his regrets."

"Although this plot isn't new, with some skills I recently learned from a sensei, it will definitely be taken to a higher level!"

A dazzling light flashed in the girl's sapphire eyes.

Clearly, she was filled with confidence and hope in her abilities.

After all, with the guidance of Izumi-sensei, the girl now felt that the markers in her hands were practically glowing!

"Huh…" After a long while, Eriri finally finished her work.

Taking a quick glance at the draft, she put it away with satisfaction, then turned on her phone.

As soon as the phone lit up, Eriri noticed a series of messages in LINE.

"Could it be Mr. Izumi?!" Eriri couldn't help but feel secretly delighted and quickly opened LINE.

But when she saw that all the messages were from the same person, and that they were all from a guy named "Tomoya," her excitement deflated.

She opened the chat, only to find that most of the content was belated concern and greetings from Tomoya Aki.

Tomoya Aki: "I'm sorry, I can't leave today because of something. Eriri, did you get home safely?"

Tomoya Aki: "Eriri, why haven't you replied yet? Are you in danger?"

Tomoya Aki: "Damn it! Is that guy a bad guy? I'll go to your house right away and discuss what to do with your parents!"

The first message had been sent hours ago when she returned home and started working. But when she saw that the most recent message had been sent just ten minutes ago, Eriri's heart skipped a beat.

Quickly, she typed a reply: "I'm fine, I was just working! Don't panic, you big idiot, Tomoya! Izumi-sensei is a very good person!"

It didn't take long for Aki Tomoya to respond: "You scared me! I thought you were in danger, Eriri! I'm glad you're okay."

Looking at Tomoya's message, Eriri typed back with annoyance: "What could happen when I'm with Mr. Izumi? It's completely safe! Izumi-sensei is a reliable, excellent person."

Aside from his useless worry, Tomoya had only spoken irritating words. On the one hand, he was worried she might meet a bad guy, but on the other hand, he claimed to be too busy to help. The implication was that he wanted her to cancel the appointment.

Tomoya replied quickly this time: "That's good, but why do you keep mentioning Izumi-sensei?"

Eriri's patience was running thin. With irritation, she typed: "It has nothing to do with you! I'm going to take a shower and go to bed!"

With that, she closed the dialog box with Tomoya Aki.

After a brief moment of thought, Eriri opened another chat box and slowly typed: "Izumi-sensei, are you home?"

The contact's note name now read [Izumi-kun]!

…

Standing outside Eriri's house, Tomoya Aki looked at the two chat boxes on his phone, feeling utterly confused.

"Strange… Why do Kato and Eriri seem so distant today? They're both cold toward me!" Tomoya scratched his head, completely puzzled. The way they acted today was completely opposite to last week.

It felt like something was wrong.

Tomoya stood there, frozen, feeling a cold sense of loss as if he had lost something precious.

"I'm back."

After sending Kato Megumi home, Izumi Yu went straight to his house. As usual, he changed his shoes and called out into the dark room.

But today was different from the usual routine.

In the past, as soon as Izumi Yuu spoke, the girl would knock on the floor to signal her acknowledgment.

But today, the room remained silent.

Only a faint light from the cracks of the girl's room indicated that she was either still in there or had just stayed in her room for the night.

[You find that the girl pretends not to hear you, and you can't help but feel a surge of frustration. Sagiri-chan, you've decided to draw the line! To prove your place in the family and let the girl know who holds the power, you decide to rush into her room and teach her a lesson, to make her cry and beg for forgiveness under your whip. If she doesn't repent, you're willing to use your iron whip for a more severe lesson!]

"Okay, okay! You're worried that Sagiri-chan will completely shut herself off and fall into a psychological breakdown, right?! And we're half-siblings! How could I do something like that?"

Izumi Yuu rolled his eyes in his mind at the absurd suggestion of the narrator.

If I really did that, Sagiri might never forgive me for the rest of her life!

The girl was already somewhat withdrawn due to past trauma. If I pushed her any further, she might develop more severe psychological issues.

Despite the ridiculous idea presented by the narrator, it was clear that the girl was deliberately ignoring him.

"Oh no, it seems Sagiri-chan is angry." Izumi Yuu couldn't help but smile bitterly, feeling helpless.

Clearly, Izumi Sagiri was upset because he had come back so late.

"Oh no, it seems Sagiri-chan is angry." After realizing this, Izumi Yu couldn't help but smile bitterly, feeling helpless.

It was clear that Izumi Sagiri was upset because he had come back so late.

He had promised her he would return early, but instead, he had stayed out late with another woman.

Izumi Yu immediately felt a pang of guilt.

He had enjoyed a secret dinner with Kato Megumi, but had left Izumi Sagiri—his shut-in, psychologically traumatized little sister—at home, hungry and alone. What kind of brother was he?

Without wasting any time, Izumi Yu went straight to the kitchen, determined to make a delicious dinner for Sagiri.

Thankfully, he had anticipated this situation and had already prepared some ingredients, desserts, and fruits that Sagiri liked.

Over the past six months, Izumi Yu had made an effort to learn how to cook food that would satisfy her.

Izumi Sagiri was very picky about her food. She didn't like greasy dishes, didn't eat much meat, and hated red carrots. She preferred light flavors, using almost no seasoning, just a small amount of salt for taste.

If he wanted to make a dish delicious with minimal seasoning, it wasn't easy. It required skill and patience.

After a lot of trial and error, Izumi Yu finally figured out how to make simple, light food taste good.

More than half an hour later, he carefully arranged three dishes on plates: scrambled eggs with tomatoes, mushrooms and vegetables, and three-color fried shrimp.

Each dish was light, nutritious, and perfect for a growing girl.

Since Sagiri didn't like carrots, he had substituted them with lettuce in the shrimp dish.

He also included a strawberry cake, some honeydew melon slices, and a glass of papaya milk.

The papaya milk wasn't Sagiri's usual preference—it was something Izumi Yu had added himself.

He knew that raising a girl meant shaping her from a young age, and that meant making sure she ate well. Once a person had grown accustomed to something, it would be harder to change.

For example, if the blonde girl next door tried to make amends now, it would probably be too late!

After everything was ready, Izumi Yu headed upstairs to Sagiri's room.

"Sagiri-chan, it's time for dinner!" he called out, holding the tray in his hands.

Silence.

It was clear that Sagiri was still upset.

Two minutes passed, but she didn't open the door.

Izumi Yu wasn't in a rush. He simply stood there, waiting for her to let him in. After all, if they didn't resolve this, who knew how long the anger would last?

Izumi Yu didn't want their relationship to regress to where it had been six months ago.

"Hmph! Nissan, you idiot!" Izumi Sagiri fumed in her room, her face like a porcelain doll, filled with dissatisfaction.

He had promised to come back early, but now he was late. What if she had gone hungry all night?

"I'm not going to pay any attention to that big idiot Nissan!" she muttered, irritated.

To punish Izumi Yu for breaking his promise, Sagiri decided she would starve herself for a little while to express her displeasure.

But Izumi Yu was not one to sit idly by. He had intentionally placed the food at the crack of the door, and the mouthwatering fragrance began to waft into the room.

"Gurgle, gurgle..." Sagiri's stomach grumbled loudly, protesting in rhythm, clearly showing her hunger.

It seemed like it was silently accusing her: Why are you punishing me in this silly sibling fight? I'm just the innocent one caught in the middle!

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