Let's do it again, Yukino.

"Um, do you need my help?"

A hesitant yet sweet voice came from behind Chunri.

Standing behind Chunri, a little girl held several washed radishes in her hands.

"I have washed them all clean."

"It's Xiaoliu Mei. You're here too. Master, let me show you something amazing."

Looking at his newly recruited underling, the boy's playful side was aroused, and a sly smile naturally crept onto his lips.

In spring, Chunri tossed a washed radish into the air. With quick reflexes, she swung her cleaver twice, and in a flash, the whole radish was transformed into evenly sliced ​​white pieces on the cutting board.

"Hum hum……"

In spring, he crossed his arms and, in his smugness, practically poked his nose to the sky.

"Wow, that's amazing... Kasuga-kun, please teach me that move too."

Yuihama's envious gaze turned into one of almost bowing in worship.

"This is a secret technique. I only wear it for Xiaoliu Mei. Xiaoliu Mei, do you want to learn it? If you do, you'll need to get your body in good shape first."

"Hey, you jerk over there, don't treat the ingredients like toys!!!"

Hiratsuka Shizuka, who was patrolling the area, had veins popping on her forehead. Looking at the guy who looked like he was doing acrobatics, she couldn't help but get angry and grabbed a tomato, throwing it at Haruhi.

"Please, you bastard, go and help watch the pot with that Hachiman bastard, Yukinoshita-san. Please confiscate the murder weapon from Kasuga-san's hand immediately."

Beside him, beneath the cold snow,

Standing to one side,

Looking at this distressing scene

Looking at the approaching night,

She smoothed her hair, which had been blown down by the wind, and sighed in silence, rubbing her forehead.

"I can't do anything with this idiot, so I'd like to ask Hiratsuka-sensei to help stop him."

……

…………

Dinner was prepared quickly.

Of course, high school students like Haruhi and his friends from Soubu High School couldn't hang out with those kids.

So the group of people, including Hiratsuka-sensei, sat at a separate table that had been set up.

Enjoying the curry made by everyone together.

The sound of cutlery and spoons clattering echoed across the dining table.

The Service Department, Hayama Group, and the remaining "tools," Kasuga and Hiratsuka Shizuka, all sat down around the dining table.

To Haruhi's left was Hiratsuka Shizuka, and to his right was Miss Miura, who was sitting next to Ebina.

"Hi... my dearest friend Yumiko, do you like carrots?"

Unable to sit comfortably against the snow, Chunri could only awkwardly greet Yumiko next to him, his handsome face beaming as he held his plate in both hands.

"I don't like it..."

Yumiko propped her cheek with one hand, held her spoon in the other, and turned her face toward Hayama's side.

Although everything was under Haruhi's coercion, the blonde heiress, who still didn't quite like Haruhi's personality, obediently answered Haruhi's questions at the dinner table.

"I don't like carrots either, why don't you eat them for me?"

As she spoke, Haruhi was about to pour all the diced carrots from the plate onto Yumiko, who then...

Why should I get food that you don't like?

"Aren't we best friends?"

"No way!! Hiratsuka-sensei!!!"

Miura Yumiko shouted and glared angrily at Hiratsuka Shizuka.

Hiratsuka Shizuka, who was enjoying dinner after a long day, felt embarrassed and utterly ashamed after being drunk like that.

"You troublesome guy, eat your food properly!!"

"I don't like carrots..."

"Yukinoshita-san!!"

Hiratsuka Shizuka angrily threw the spoon onto the plate, then turned her gaze angrily to Yukinoshita.

"??"

Xiaoxue was slowly eating the diced carrots in her curry.

Even when she heard Hiratsuka Shizuka calling out her own surname.

At this moment, he shrugged, still keeping his head down.

He completely ignored the few people who were far away from him.

Anyway, it has nothing to do with me.

And you can't start a conversation, otherwise your head will hurt even more.

In short, just pretend you don't exist.

Ignore it, yes, just ignore it.

……

…………

The kettle with the flute attached made a hissing sound, and the moment the water boiled, the flute's sound grew louder and louder.

Dinner was long gone.

Even the noisy students, both young and old, eventually went to bedtime under everyone's guidance.

However, the members of Zongwu High School did not fall asleep at this moment.

Komachi and Yukinoshita were over there helping everyone brew the bagged black tea.

The nights on the plateau are somewhat cold.

Because the elementary school students had already left.

It was a bit quieter than during the day.

This can be considered the first nighttime meeting between the Hayama Group and the Service Department.

In the camp, Hiratsuka Shizuka sat in a chair, his handsome profile shining even brighter in the moonlight, his thin lips pouting without any restraint.

The person sitting next to her immediately understood. She took out a Seven Stars cigarette from the coat that Hiratsuka Shizuka had just tossed to her, and like a lackey in a yakuza organization, she respectfully offered the cigarette to her master's lips. She then fawned over her and took out a lighter from her pocket to light the cigarette.

Definitely lighting a cigarette for the big boss...

The whole process unfolded smoothly in the cool night, leaving the guys from Zongwu High School completely stunned.

These two are incredibly skilled at teamwork; I wonder how many times they've done this before...

In the dark night, the twinkling red stars began to appear. Taking a slight breath, Hiratsuka Shizuka exhaled a cloud of purple mist. With her incredibly arrogant posture of crossing her legs, an unsuspecting person might mistake it for a yakuza boss giving a lecture.

Hiratsuka looked at everyone leisurely, her gaze sweeping over each of them.

Did anyone encounter any problems today?

"Yes, I ran into a child who was being isolated."

The first to speak was Hayato Hayama; even now, he still cared deeply about the little girl he had met during the day.

"Hayato, are you talking about the little girl who's been following him all afternoon?"

Yumiko pointed in the direction of Haruhi; she seemed to have some recollection of the little girl Hayama had mentioned.

After all, following behind spring like a little shadow is too eye-catching.

Despite being rejected after confessing her feelings to Hayama, Yumiko quickly recovered from the heartbreak and her friendship with Hayama returned to what it was before.

So, after Hayama finished speaking, Yumiko was the second to respond.

However, when Haruhi, who was sitting next to Hiratsuka, heard Hayama mention Rumi, he couldn't help but frown.

Chapter Seventeen: Yumiko, stop fooling around.

Seeing that Hayama had shifted the topic to Rumi,

The cold night,

As the eldest brother, Haruhi directly retorted after Yumiko finished speaking.

"If you feel sorry for everyone because they are isolated and want to lend a helping hand, then shouldn't the one who needs help the most here be Hachiman sitting over there?"

"Hey, what do you mean? Stop shifting the blame onto me every time, okay? How many times has this happened already?!"

Hachiman, who had been caught in the crossfire many times, finally couldn't help but vent his dissatisfaction with Haruhi.

“My brother’s situation is indeed similar to what Haru-nii described. I’m also very worried about my brother’s future.”

Komachi held the steaming cup of black tea, deliberately feigning a thoughtful expression.

"Get out! I, Hachiman, don't have a sister like you!!"

Seeing the noisy atmosphere return, Hiratsuka-sensei waved her hand to calm everyone down, then turned her gaze to Hayama.

"Putting Hachiman's problem aside for now, Hayama, if you were in this situation, what do you think you should do?"

"We should help the girl studying in the US build good relationships with her; we can't just do nothing..."

Ye Shan hesitated for a moment, but still expressed his opinion.

The two members of the Service Club, apart from Yui, couldn't help but frown.

"Hayato, if you keep saying such ambiguous things, even if we're friends, I'm really going to beat you up."