Chapter 150 Sweet Threads Gently Entangled
Qing Shuijian continued to stare at the other person's eyes on the phone screen at the classroom door. After staring for a while, he hung up the phone silently and his thoughts drifted back to the cooking classroom in front of him.

It seemed that the milk-flavored grape pastry that Reina Shimizu had made earlier was finished.

But for some reason, although they were supposed to be cookies, the finished product coming out of the oven looked more like a half-melted black cake, and it looked so out of place next to Amamiya Iori's plate of delicate, small, and colorful cookies.

"Why, how could this happen?"

Reina Shimizu looked at the "black cake" in front of her with a look of surprise.

Judging from the previous production steps, it was natural that the final product of these cookies would be baked like this, but Reina Shimizu had an expression of great surprise and confusion on her face.

Didn't she realize that there was something wrong with what she had done before...

"It's okay, it's great to be able to do this for the first time."

Amemiya Iori consoled Shimizu Reina attentively, and at the same time stood up and quickly began to prepare.

"Sister Reina, watch me demonstrate it once, and then try to do it again."

After saying that, Amemiya Iori rolled up her sleeves and began to beat the eggs. She first calculated the amount of flour to be added and allowed the powder to dissolve completely without clumping. Then she added the appropriate amount of sugar, butter, grapes and other ingredients.

The skillfulness of her movements was a far cry from that of Rena Shimizu just now.

Amemiya Iori made the dough in a short while, and then used the molds prepared in advance to press out different shapes such as hearts, stars, circles, etc.

Aluminum foil had been laid on the iron plate, and Amamiya Iori carefully placed the dough on it, and finally put it into the preheated oven.

It didn't take long before an indescribable fragrance wafted out.

Everything had been prepared so thoroughly in advance and every step was perfect, so the result was of course predictable.

The freshly baked cookies look delicious.

Amamiya Iori put the cookies on the plate one by one and handed it over.

These freshly baked cookies are brown in color and as delicate as those sold in some high-end pastry shops. Compared with Reina Shimizu's "black cake", they are indeed worthy of being called cookies.

Shimizu picked up one of the cookies gratefully.

As soon as the biscuit entered his mouth, the expression on Qingshui's face melted away along with it.

"... Amamiya-sister, you're amazing."

Shimizu Reina couldn't help but exclaim in admiration, but she hadn't tasted Amamiya Iori's cookies yet, and what she was admiring was not the taste, but the fact that the cookies made by Amamiya Iori could actually move Shimizu Ken's expression.

Although the changes in facial expressions are very subtle and difficult to notice without careful observation, Shimizu Reina believes that she will never be able to be like Amamiya Iori.

Looking down at the dull black object she had made, the admiration she had just felt instantly turned into an inexplicable sense of sadness, making her feel a tightness in her chest.

At this time-

"what?!"

A hand suddenly appeared in Shimizu Reina's field of vision.

"……elder brother?"

Qing Shuijian gently picked up a black biscuit on the table. The biscuits were of uneven shapes, and some were even broken. When he picked them up, they broke into several small pieces.

But Shimizu didn't seem to mind the appearance of the cookies at all and put one of them into his mouth.

What you feel when you take a bite is not the crispy texture that a cookie should have, but a heavy and rough texture.

Qing Shuijian took a light bite and found the taste bitter without any sweet aftertaste.

Because too much coffee powder is added, even sugar cannot neutralize it, and all you can taste is bitterness.

To describe it more intuitively, it should be more like the taste of coffee powder that has been melted and then dried again.

Just like the drink called "kvass" which is known as "liquid bread", the cookies made by Reina Shimizu are like solid coffee.

"...Brother, you don't have to force it."

Seeing Shimizu Mi savoring it carefully, Shimizu Reina seemed to become more and more uneasy.

“It tastes pretty good.”

Because the biscuits had no moisture at all, Qingshui Jian had a hard time swallowing them.

"Brother, you don't have to comfort me..."

Shimizu Reina lowered her head silently.

Honestly, if you only look at its black appearance, you might think it's poisonous, and you might even end up vomiting immediately after eating it, like in the cartoons.

But since the only flavor you could taste was coffee, it wasn’t as bad as it looked, and the taste was surprisingly decent.

Maybe she really does have some talent?
"But next time you can try adding a little more sugar. Although I don't like things that are too sweet, I can accept sweetness at all."

Shimizumi put another biscuit into his mouth, chewed it carefully, and then made his suggestion.

"Really?"

After hearing this, Reina Shimizu showed a look that showed that she really wanted to try it herself... Well, then let her experience it for herself.

Then——

"Woo~ It's so bitter and unpalatable~ Brother, you're a big liar~~"

Shimizu Reina shed tears while crunching the cookies she made. Amamiya Iori beside her immediately handed her a cup of tea.

It’s not that Qingshui Jian wanted to do something bad on purpose. After all, only by tasting it himself could he know what needs to be improved next time.

Amemiya Iori poured out the steaming hot water from the teapot and also made a cup of black tea for Shimizu.

Wash away the strong taste of coffee in your mouth with black tea, and exhale the aroma and sweet aftertaste of tea.

"Even the tea she brews tastes delicious... Iori-nee is really amazing!"

"Thank you."

Amamiya Iori smiled and cheered for Shimizu Reina again.

"Come on, Reina-sister, try to do what I just did."

"Okay, okay... Can I really make such delicious cookies like Iori-nee-san?"

"Yeah, as long as you do what I say, there will be no problem, come on."

Amemiya Iori never forgot to give advice and encouragement.

So, Rena Shimizu took on the challenge again.

She was like a replica of Amamiya Iori just now, learning and doing almost the same movements.

Judging from this trend, the cookies that come out of the oven soon will definitely be delicious.
however……

"Reina-sister, it's not like that. When you sprinkle the flour, try to make it as round as possible."

"You have to hold the bowl down while you stir. If you do that, the whole bowl is spinning, and the motion is not in a circle, it's to break up the egg yolk."

"No, that's not right. You don't need to add seasoning, and save the sugar for last. Also, if you add so much water, the dough will become too watery!"

Under the guidance of Amemiya Iori, Shimizu Reina finally got the dough for the second round into the oven.

After a while, I opened the oven and a similar aroma wafted out. However——

"Something seems to be different..."

Reina Shimizu took a bite of the cookie and fell into depression.

After actually tasting it, Shimizu Miya found that the taste was indeed significantly different from that grilled by Amamiya Iori.

However, this time at least it reached the level of being called a cookie, which was a big improvement over the "black cake" baked the first time.

Moreover, if you just use it as a normal food to fill your stomach, there is nothing to be picky about.

However, both Shimizu Reina and Amamiya Iori seemed dissatisfied.

"Why can't I bake it well? I did everything Iori-nee-san told me to do..."

Shimizu Reina picked up another cookie, feeling puzzled from the bottom of her heart.

"Wow~ It still tastes different from what Iori-sister made." Shimizu Reina was quite depressed, and Amemiya Iori was also quite puzzled.

Shimizu looked at the two of them while eating another cookie.

"I say...I've been wondering since just now, why do you insist on baking delicious cookies?"

"This... this is because, because..."

Shimizu Reina was obviously caught off guard by this question, and looked as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.

If you just want to come to the store to help, we are not short of staff at the moment. With Amamiya Iori here, there should be no problem running the dessert shop today.

In fact, before this, Qing Shuijian had vaguely felt that the two of them seemed to be plotting something and were deliberately hiding it from him.

But Rena Shimizu insisted again and again that there must be some reason why she had to make the handmade cookies herself.

There must be some special reason behind this.

Considering the current situation and the common plot trends of love games, if I’m not mistaken, it’s probably related to Shimizu’s upcoming birthday.

Thinking of this, Shimizu Ken roughly understood the reason why Shimizu Reina insisted.

But they are so secretive, is this all they want to do...

Qing Shuijian was not the kind of person who lived his life with doubts, so he stopped thinking about it and sighed softly, saying:

“Let me give you ten minutes, then come back here and I’ll let you taste the ‘real handmade cookies’.”

"Huh? Brother can make cookies?"

Shimizu Reina was extremely surprised when she heard this.

"Well, please stay tuned."

Qingshuijian deliberately kept the secret.

Afterwards, Amemiya Iori took Shimizu Reina and temporarily left the classroom and disappeared into the corridor.

Ten minutes later...

“Is this ‘real handmade biscuits’?”

The two girls who returned to the classroom stared at the table. It was in a bad shape, crooked, and with some pieces stuck to the left and right...

"Don't jump to conclusions yet. Come on, try it."

Shimizu, who was fully prepared, handed the biscuits to the two of them with confidence.

"Since my brother said so..."

Shimizu Reina nervously put the biscuit into her mouth, and Amamiya Iori also silently picked up a piece.

The biscuit made a crisp sound when bitten, followed by silence.

"This, this is!"

Reina Shimizu's eyes opened wide, and after the taste reached her brain, she began to look for a suitable adjective.

"How does it taste?"

Shimizu tried to ask.

"Hmm...very, very delicious..."

However, Rena Shimizu's twisted brows clearly did not indicate this.

"Reina, I want to hear the truth."

"Brother, I..."

Before Shimizu Reina could express her feelings again, Amamiya Iori answered first:
"It doesn't feel anything special. There are some grains inside when you bite it. To be honest, it's not very delicious!"

Amamiya Iori said this with a smile and cast a gentle look at Shimizu.

It seems she has noticed it.

Under the gaze of the two, Qing Shuijian lowered his eyes and spoke:
"It really doesn't taste good...but I've tried my best."

"Brother...I'm sorry."

Shimizu Reina looked at the floor awkwardly.

"Sorry, I'll throw it away now."

After saying that, Qing Shuijian picked up the plate and turned around.

"Wait, wait a minute..."

"what happened?"

Shimizu Reina held Shimizu Ken's hand.

Instead of answering, she grabbed a handful of the odd-shaped biscuits, stuffed them into her mouth, and crushed them with a "crunch" sound.

"The cookies my brother made were not thrown away... They were really delicious!"

"...Is that so? Are you satisfied?"

Shimizu Ken asked with a smile, and Shimizu Reina nodded and immediately turned her head away.

"Well, I like it very much..."

The rising sun shone in through the window, casting a golden hue on her rosy cheeks.

"Actually, these are the cookies you just baked."

"……what?"

Shimizu told her the truth directly.

Because from the beginning to the end, he never said that he baked it himself, so it was not considered a lie.

Upon hearing this, Rena Shimizu was stunned. Her mouth opened wide and her eyes shrank to the size of needle tips in surprise.

"Eh? You mean...?"

She looked back and forth between Shimizu Mi and Amamiya Iori, blinking her eyes continuously, as if she didn't understand what was going on.

"Hehe~~ This is really something my dear would do."

Amemiya Iori, who had seen through everything, stretched out her index finger, removed the biscuit crumbs stuck on Shimizu's mouth and put them into her mouth.

As Reina Shimizu looked at this scene, a scene from not long ago flashed through her mind. She pursed her lips and her pretty face unconsciously became hot.

"Dear, you actually want to tell Reina that as long as there is love, the taste is not that important, right?"

That's not so corny... Shimizu Mi just wanted to say that compared to the taste of the cookies themselves, the thought of working hard for the other person is more important.

"So, would it be better if it tasted a little worse?"

It seems that Rena Shimizu still doesn't quite understand.

"Although that's not what I meant, even if it doesn't taste good, as long as I've tried my best, the other person will definitely feel the love."

In fact, boys are very simple creatures. They will misunderstand a pretty girl who takes the initiative to talk to them and think that she is interested in them. If they receive cookies made by a girl, they will be very happy. So -

Shimizumi paused for a moment and looked at Shimizu Reina.

"It's enough to use these cookies that are not special at all, and taste not very good when eaten one by one. As long as you work hard, the other party will be shaken."

Shimizu Reina raised her head, but because of the backlight, Shimizu Ken couldn't see her expression at that moment.

"Then... will my brother also be shaken?"

"Well, I am easily swayed in front of my sister. Just eating these black-baked cookies will make me feel very happy."

Qing Shuijian smiled slightly.

But he absolutely did not realize that his current smile and the words that came from his heart just now would bring about huge changes in the near future for him and the girl in front of him.

(End of this chapter)