He turned off the heat, took a bowl, scooped a large ladleful of the contents from the pot into it.
The porridge was orange.
It was a very bright orange, as thick as porridge, with pieces of soft-cooked Carrot visible inside, and.. some strange, pale yellow chunks?
"What is this?" Tu Bai stared at the bowl.
My special Carrot nutritious porridge~" Gojo Satoru said proudly as he placed the bowl on the dining table, "Quick, give it a taste.
Tu Bai sat down, picked up the Spoon, hesitated for three seconds, but ultimately scooped up a small bite, blew on it, put it into his mouth.
The taste.. was very complex.
The sweetness of the Carrot was intense, so intense it was cloying. The rice was overcooked, mushy into a single mass. Tu Bai chewed on those pale yellow chunks and discovered they were pieces of Ginger that hadn't been minced.
His expression contorted for a moment as he forced himself to swallow.
"How is it?" Gojo Satoru sat opposite him, elbows resting on the table, chin propped in his hands as he watched him.
".. How many carrots did you put in?" Tu Bai asked.
Three," Gojo Satoru said. "I saw there were only three in your fridge, so you put them all in.
That's a three-day supply..
Concentration is the essence, after all~
Tu Bai did not want to speak. He scooped up another spoonful, avoiding the chunks of Ginger this time, managed to swallow it.
Gojo Satoru just watched him eat like that, watching for quite a while, before suddenly saying, "You were talking in your sleep last night, Xiao Bai."
Tu Bai paused with his Spoon in hand: ".. What did I say?"
You said, 'Don't throw away my carrots,'" Gojo Satoru smiled, his eyes curving into crescents. "Who would throw them away? They're so cute. Those carrot-shaped Chandeliers, rabbit-shaped Pillows, mushroom-shaped Sofas.. I'm keeping them all for you.
Tu Bai's ears turned red. He buried his head even lower, focusing on drinking his porridge.
Although the porridge tasted strange, after a few bites, his stomach felt warm. The sense of weakness following the fluctuations in his Demon Power also eased somewhat.
If you feel unwell in the future, come find me," Gojo Satoru reached out and poked Tu Bai's cheek. "Don't try to tough it out.
Tu Bai turned his head away from the poke: ".. I know."
“You say you understand, but next time you'll definitely try to shoulder it all yourself again.” Gojo Satoru withdrew his hand, but quickly reached out again—this time using his thumb to wipe away a small trace of porridge from the corner of Tu Bai's mouth.
The movement was natural, the sensation of his thumb brushing against the corner of the mouth feeling warm.
Tu Bai froze.
He stared at Gojo Satoru's hand, as Nanami's words suddenly flashed through his mind—"That kind of 'observation' will interfere with work," "overprotectiveness," and "possessiveness."
And then there was Kugisaki's note—"The way Gojo-sensei looks at you is incorrect."
Something was wrong.
This kind of behavior.. is incorrect.
Tu Bai slapped Gojo Satoru's hand away with a "thwack."
The force was significant, the sound rang out loudly in the quiet Kitchen.
Gojo Satoru froze for a moment, looking at his hand that had been swatted away, then looked at Tu Bai.
Tu Bai also realized that he had overreacted. He pursed his lips and said softly, ".. I'm sorry."
But senpai, could you please stop making such easily misunderstood gestures every time?" He raised his head, trying his best to keep his tone serious. "Wiping the corner of your mouth.. it's too intimate.
Gojo Satoru raised an eyebrow. "Misunderstanding? What misunderstanding?"
"It's just.." Tu Bai faltered.
Misunderstand what? Misunderstand that they were dating? Misunderstand that Gojo Satoru had those kinds of feelings for him?
But he didn't even know what Gojo Satoru's true intentions were.
Anyway, it's just not good," Tu Bai squeezed out a sentence. "It's because you think I'm too serious, isn't it? That's why you're always intentionally teasing me like this, right, Tu Bai-senpai?
Gojo Satoru laughed: "That's right, your reactions are quite interesting~"
Just as expected.
The inexplicable sense of anticipation in Tu Bai's heart vanished with a "pop." He knew all along that Gojo Satoru was just doing this for fun, teasing him on purpose.
Like teasing a pet.
He lowered his head and continued eating his porridge, but suddenly, the porridge didn't seem to taste quite as good.
Gojo Satoru was still watching him from across the table, his eyes carrying that familiar, amused smile.
Tu Bai stared at the orange mush in his bowl, a thought flashing through his mind.
He couldn't always be this passive.
He had to strike back.
He put down the Spoon and stood up.
Gojo Satoru looked up: "Finished eating?"
"Full." Tu Bai walked around to Gojo Satoru's side and stood in front of him.
Gojo Satoru sat while Tu Bai stood, requiring Tu Bai to tilt his head slightly down to look at him from this angle. Gojo Satoru raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"
Tu Bai took a deep breath, trying his best to maintain the most serious expression. "Senpai, thank you for taking care of me yesterday. For helping me stabilize my Demon Power, staying with me, and.. cooking porridge for me."
He spoke very sincerely, his eyes looking directly at Gojo Satoru.
Gojo Satoru froze for a moment, then laughed, "Being so serious all of a sudden—"
He didn't finish his sentence.
Tu Bai leaned down, quickly closing the distance, planted a kiss on Gojo Satoru's cheek.
It was very light and quick, like a dragonfly skimming the water.
Gojo Satoru froze completely.
Tu Bai immediately stepped back two paces after the kiss, his face flushing red at a visible speed. He didn't dare look at Gojo Satoru's expression, saying at a rapid pace, "I-I'm going to be late for class! You should head back quickly too, senpai, even if you're fine! Leave the bowls there, I'll wash them when I get back!"
After saying that, he turned and ran, not even bothering to change out of his pajamas, grabbing the jacket from the Sofa and rushing toward the door.
"Wait—" Gojo Satoru reacted, but Tu Bai had already slammed the door and run off.
Silence fell over the Kitchen.
Gojo Satoru sat in the chair, maintaining the pose he had when he was kissed, remaining motionless for several seconds.
He raised his hand and touched the spot where he had just been kissed.
Tu Bai's lips were very soft, with a warm touch that pulled away instantly. But that spot still felt as if it were burning.
Gojo Satoru blinked.
Then he laughed.
So even a Rabbit will bite when cornered.." he muttered to himself, the curve of his lips widening, "No, it's that they can also kiss.
But even if she could "bite" people, she was still very cute.
He stood up, walked to the window, looked down. Tu Bai happened to be rushing out of the apartment building, his coat not even properly on; he was stuffing his arms into his sleeves as he ran, his hair a messy tangle, sprinting as if a ghost were chasing him from behind.
Gojo Satoru watched his retreating figure and let out a laugh.
He walked back to the dining table, looked at the half-bowl of porridge Tu Bai had not finished, picked up the Spoon, scooped up a spoonful to taste it himself.
".. It tastes terrible." He frowned, but swallowed it anyway.
Then he picked up the bowl and finished the rest of the porridge.
After cleaning up the Kitchen, Gojo Satoru untied the Apron—a Pink Rabbit-shaped Apron. He stared at it for a few seconds, but instead of putting it back where it belonged, he folded it and tucked it into the bag he had brought.
"I'm taking this with me," he said to the empty Kitchen, as if Tu Bai were still there.
Walking to the door, he turned back to look at the Living Room. The Carrot-shaped Chandelier still hung from the Ceiling, a Rabbit-shaped Pillow lay slumped on the Mushroom-shaped Sofa; the entire room was filled with strange items constructed from Tu Bai's Demon Power.
Gojo Satoru took out his Mobile Phone and took a photo.
Then he left the Apartment, quietly closing the door behind him.
---
On the way to Jujutsu High, Gojo Satoru sat in the car, his fingers unconsciously stroking the cheek that had been kissed.
The images from just now replayed in his mind: Tu Bai's serious expression, the face that suddenly leaned in close, the soft sensation.
And.. the way his own heart had raced in that instant.
Gojo Satoru frowned.
Heart racing?
Why?
Because of the sneak attack? Because he didn't expect Tu Bai would do this?
Or was it because of.. something else?
He remembered how he hadn't activated Limitless when Tu Bai bit his wrist last night. He remembered how, whenever he was in contact with Tu Bai normally, he would subconsciously turn off Limitless.
He remembered sleeping on Tu Bai's Sofa, hugging Tu Bai's Rabbit-shaped Pillow and smelling its scent.
And when he was kissed just now, he clearly could have dodged, but he didn't.
Gojo Satoru stared at the street scenery outside the car window, his mind a bit cluttered.
It seemed like.. he was truly becoming a bit incorrect.
But he couldn't quite put his finger on what was Incorrect.
It was just that Tu Bai seemed quite interesting, she wanted to watch him more, tease him more, take better care of him.
Is there something wrong with that?
Probably not.
Gojo Satoru convinced himself to cast those messy thoughts aside. He took out his Mobile Phone and sent a message to Tu Bai:
["I've already finished the porridge, it wasn't bad~"]