The Classmate Who Is Adored by Everyone Smiles Teasingly Only at Me-Chapter 1V .4 - Determination and Sprouting Canelé

Determination and Sprouting Canelé 4

“Did Satomi write this?”

“Y-Yes? It’s me.”

As if expecting to be scolded, Chika, whose name was called, flinched and shivered.

“You’ve never written this much feedback before. Why the sudden change?”

“W-Well, I thought my feedback wouldn’t be helpful. But today, everyone’s feedback was very short, and I felt bad that Ichinose-san worked so hard, so I wanted to at least write properly… “

Perhaps lacking confidence, her voice gradually became quieter.

“Thank you for your consideration. I’m really happy. But, more importantly, it’s about the content.”

“As expected…was it still not good enough?”

“No-wrong, rather the opposite. It’s great. You wrote in such detail, pointing out the good and bad aspects, this, I really appreciated it.”

This was the kind of feedback he had been looking for.

Specific and detailed feedback, mentioning both strengths and weaknesses, is more useful.

“You even mentioned points that I wouldn’t have noticed…”

He gazed at the questionnaire paper and looked at the girl who had written it.

This was the first time he had received such a thoughtful response.

He was incredibly happy. He wanted to talk more and more with her about sweets.

“Hey, do you have something to do now, Satomi?”

“No, not really. I plan to go straight home.”

“In that case, let’s go home together. I’d like to hear more while we walk.”

“Do you really want to hear the opinion of someone like me?”

Chika was taken aback by the unexpected invitation.

” ‘someone like me’? Don’t say such boring things. It’s obvious that Satomi’s opinion is much more useful than Saito’s and others.”

He shook the questionnaire paper to emphasize his point.

Upon seeing this, her face, which had been timid and uncertain, suddenly lit up brightly.

“Understood. If that’s the case, I’m happy to do it!”

“Then let’s go.”

Soma pushed the questionnaire paper into his bag and stood up, and Chika followed him.

“Regarding the taste, did you prefer the previous one?”

As they left the classroom and walked down the hallway, Soma asked her right away, and Chika thought for a moment while placing her finger on her cheek.

“To say that I preferred the previous one might be a bit misleading. Both the previous one and this one were delicious. However, this time, it felt like the focus was too much on the baking or something like that?”

“You mean overcooked?”

“No, no, it’s not that it was overcooked or burnt. It was baked properly. But, well…”

Concerned about Soma’s reaction, she hesitated and spoke softly.

“Tell me honestly. If you hold back your thoughts and evaluations, it’s completely meaningless.”

He wasn’t asking for feedback on the sweets to receive compliments. He wanted to hear it to improve his pastry-making skills.

Pointing out weaknesses would lead to growth more than just listing strengths.

When Soma prompted her, Chika nodded once, saying that ‘If Ichinose-san said so, then I’ll try’, and continued.

“The aroma became more robust and fragrant, but at the same time, the scent of the dough itself seemed to have disappeared. When I bit into it, it felt more like a cookie than a Canelé.”

“…I see.”

It seemed like he focused too much on achieving a crispy texture, and as a result, he might have compromised other essential features of the Canelé.

Simple tricks like that were probably not a good idea.

“Thank you. Satomi is really amazing. I never thought I would get so much feedback on one baking method.”

He bowed his head with gratitude, and Chika’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Did my feedback helpful?”

“It did. Honestly, you gave me the most valuable feedback since entering high school.”

“Is that so? My feedback…? Ehehe.”

She giggled and wriggled her body happily, feeling delighted that her input had been helpful.

It’s a little funny, like a toy dancing in response to sounds.

“I’m always being taken care of by someone, so it’s rare for me to be of help to others. That’s why I’m really happy.”

“Well, it’s true Satomi always spoiled and doted on.”

The sight of it is so common in their class that it can get annoying.

“For example, even your shoes are taken care of by Saito.”

Pointing to her just-arrived shoe locker, Chika pouts discontentedly.

“That, Miki-chan likes to say it’s hard for me to reach the upper shelf. I mean, I’m not that short.”

“But compared to Saito, you are. She’s not that much shorter than the average height of guys.”

“But still, I’m not that short that I can’t reach the top shelf of the shoe locker!”

As if to prove it, she takes out her loafers from the locker.

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“By the way, besides the baking, was there anything else that bothered you?”

Around the school gate, they shift the topic from Miki’s overprotective doting to the Canelé.

“Well, this isn’t Ichinose-san’s fault, but…”

“Go on, tell me.”

Encouraged, Chika nods and says,

“It’s the orange peel. You chopped it up and mixed it into the dough for flavoring, right? That didn’t work well. It was kind of vague, and it didn’t have the distinct orange taste. The flavor and aroma were almost non-existent. Because of that, I don’t think the other kids even realized it was an ‘Orange Canelé’.”

“Really?”

Now that she mentions it, there was no mention of orange in the feedback he received.

To not notice the effort put into it is a big shock for someone passionate about pastry-making.

“I think you used a store-bought one; it might be better to try a different type of orange peel.”

“Oh… yeah, I did buy a cheap one.”

The cost of ingredients for sweets comes from his pocket money, and it’s not a considerable amount.

It’s a sad habit ingrained in Sōma to always choose the cheapest option.