Kyle laughed, but it was a slow, low laugh rather than a straight-out laughing. It was as if he was amused at her blank face and was quite enjoying the situation.

Which, of course, he was.

He just sat there, smiling while she blinked at him.

"Ah," he suddenly said, "The congee. Hold on."

He went and lifted the lid of the pot, bending forward a bit to check its contents while stirring it with a ladle.

As she watched him, she realised what it meant by all those novels she had read before. She had thought it was utterly ridiculous then, but the proof was right in front of her.

It really was very hot to watch a guy cooking in the kitchen.

It didn't help that the guy in question was hot in the first place; it just added to his charm even more. Once she got past the veil of prejudice over her eyes, she could truly appreciate and admire the guy in front of her.

Mind you, it was just that. Pure admiration and acknowledgment of a person and not that blind fangirling people did over his looks.

Definitely, not a Kyle fan like those in the Protectors of Kyle group. Still, if those girls ever got to know that their idol was in her kitchen, cooking for her, they'd probably flip.

Sayuri shuddered at the thought.

"So what is this 'ulterior motive' that you were talking about?" Sayuri asked as he didn't seem to be bringing forth any sort of information.

"Softening you up for the kill," Kyle answered with a slight smile, as he turned to her slightly, which only emphasized his dimple.

Sayuri sighed, while massaging her forehead, "Could you please be serious for a minute? My brain can't seem to compute what you're saying."

Putting down the ladle, Kyle closed the lid at an angle to let it breathe so that it wouldn't overflow. He sat back down on the table and looked at her seriously.

"Alright, first, I've got to apologize for doing it before asking you," Kyle said, "It's about the vice-president position. I'm sure you heard about that, right? And the fact that I've nominated you as the acting Vice-President while I'm away."

Sayuri nodded.

"The thing is, in our school, the top two scorers would automatically be the President and Vice-President without any votes. Of course, you're free to reject it and the position will be offered to the next high scorer," Kyle explained.

"I realise that you're a new transfer, and it really was unfair of me to propose it to Principal Godric without consulting you first," Kyle admitted, "But I was banking on the hope that with your nature, you'd take up this challenge.

"My nature??" Sayuri asked in surprise, "What do you know about my nature??"

"Ah, you forget," Kyle said, "I read your report of your goals and dreams."

"Just on that, you could figure out what I'm like? I don't think I'm that easy to read," Sayuri protested.

"On the contrary," Kyle said, "Your report was so detailed and well done that it was quite glaring."

"What do you mean?"

"One, you're responsible. The way you wrote it showed that you put a lot of thought into the matter - even though you didn't think I'd be capable enough to truly analyze your report."

Sayuri looked ashamed at that point, and she started, "About that -"

Kyle put up his hand and shook his head, "Not an issue. It's a natural reaction. Xing Han tends to over-dramatize the whole thing."

"But what he said was true," Sayuri insisted, "Even if you want to say that he over-reacted, and his words may have been harsh, but he only spoke the truth."

Kyle put his hands down at that, and looked at her in admiration, "Wow. That's ... well, that just confirms another thing. Two, you're brave."

"Huh? Come again? How did you ever come to that conclusion?"

"First, your goals really require guts. Secondly, you admitted your mistakes openly. Most people would be too proud and too cowardly to actually own up to their errors. There are very few people who are willing to, or can - and even less who are able to say it out loud."

Sayuri hung her head down, feeling a bit embarrassed by the sudden compliment.

"Three: despite how you detest me, you're still open-minded enough and hard-working enough to do what is right," Kyle finished with a grin.

"I - I don't hate you," Sayuri denied, then biting her lower lip as she saw Kyle looking at her knowingly, she admitted, "Though I did find you very annoying."

Kyle laughed, and Sayuri smiled in return.

At that point, the small barrier that had existed between them, fell down.

A budding friendship was forming.