Let's do it again, Yukino.

"Oh? I'm angry? What happened?"

Unaware that Haruhi had almost been caught the night before while delivering something to her, Yukino looked at Yui, who was currently tugging at Haruhi, with some confusion.

Kasuga: "..."

The boy felt a sense of foreboding.

The moment he heard Xiaoxue's voice, a feeling of excitement rose in his heart.

"Yui, can you explain what you mean by saying that you won't help Haruki? I don't think I quite understand what you just said."

Kasuga: "..."

Upon closer reflection, his conversation with Tuanzi just now was somewhat ambiguous.

It even sounds like a spring day with snowflakes and dumplings secretly enjoying the sunshine.

Oh no, oh no! Yukino has been getting angry and irritable lately, and if this is added fuel to the fire, it will only make things worse.

That wouldn't be the force of a volcanic eruption; it would be the end of the world.

"Let me explain... Actually, I was just about to have Yui—"

Before Haruhi could finish speaking, Yukino interrupted him, giving him a seemingly calm smile and glancing at him sideways before saying...

"Could you please be quiet for a moment, Mr. Kasuga? I'm asking about the members of my club. You're just an outsider, so go find somewhere cool to stay."

"Xiaoxue's expression looks a bit scary right now."

Yui also felt that Xiaoxue's aura at this moment made the surrounding air much colder, and she laughed awkwardly.

"No, I'm just curious. Can you explain what you and this Kasuga-kun were doing just now?"

"Um, Qingjun and I were just joking, yeah, right, joking, right? Everything that happened between us was just a joke, right?"

Yui, who seemed to have come up with a brilliant explanation, immediately nodded at Yukino like a happy puppy, ignoring the Kasuga boy who was shaking his head at her in a subtle rhythm, and quickly explained with the excuse of a joke.

No way, Dumpling Girl, you want to perish, but I want to live a little longer. Even if you're lying, you don't lie this honestly, do you? Is it so hard to be a little creative?

What do you mean I'm joking? Who would believe that? Do you think Xiaoxue is like you? This excuse can only fool someone as naive as Junko. Do you think Xiaoxue, with her sharp mind, would take it seriously?

Thinking of this, Haruhi forced a smile and pushed Yui, who was laughing incessantly, aside.

Taking a deep breath, Haruhi spoke calmly.

"Well, let me explain. Here's what happened: I was just about to eat at the restaurant when I ran into Yui. I wanted to ask her if she'd seen Hachiman, and she said he was peeping at Totsuka while he was showering. I said, 'How could that be? Hachiman is such an upright person, how could he do something like that?' So I planned to drag Yui along to find Hachiman to be my witness, but she insisted on not coming with me. Then, while we were arguing, Yuki showed up. It's that simple. It has absolutely nothing to do with Yui bringing brown sugar water or sanitary napkins!"

The reason was so perfect that the two girls in front of him were stunned.

Xueno: "..."

Yui: "..."

Snapped!

Snapped!

Realizing he had let something slip, Chunri slapped himself hard in a dark corner.

Chapter Seventy-Three: A Twisted Fate Brings Us Together

"It has nothing to do with me, Xiaoxue. Qingjun and I are completely innocent. Although he pressured me last night, I did not agree to his unreasonable request. So Xiaoxue, you must believe me."

Yuihama looked just as surprised as Yukinoshita; she hadn't expected Haruhi to be so honest.

"So, there's something fishy going on between you two?"

"The things you asked me before... I wanted to tell you the truth, to tell you all my feelings... but now it seems that's no longer necessary."

Yukinoshita seemed to remember something, and looked at Haruhi and Yui with a lonely expression.

"Ah... Yukino, it's not what you think!"

Yuihama waved her hands frantically, as if trying to make an explanation.

“I understand. If that’s what you want… then that’s fine. Well then… goodbye, Yuihama-san and Kasuga-kun.”

The cold sound beneath the snow made spring tremble.

"I already said that I just wanted to ask Yuihama-kun to pass on some things to Yukinoshita for me. Besides, Yui likes Hachiman, so how could I possibly have anything going on with her? Besides, people with similar personalities are incompatible."

Seeing that Haruhi had lied with a straight face and then considerately confessed, the girl in the dumpling who had just insisted that the two of them were just joking immediately looked aggrieved and said loudly to Yuki.

"That's right. Qingjun and I are just ordinary friends. It's just that last night Qingjun wanted me to give Xiaoxue that kind of thing, but I refused in the end."

……

Brown sugar water? There's such a thing?

Hearing the string of information that Haruhi had inadvertently let slip, Koyuki seemed to understand something and frowned as she looked at Haruhi and Yuihama.

"Yes, all of this was said by Qingjun. I didn't tell him anything; he told me himself. I'm also curious why Qingjun knows about Xiaoxue's menstrual cycle. Hey, Qingjun, can you explain this properly?"

Yuihama, who inadvertently stood next to Yukinoshita, seemed to have joined Yukinoshita's side and started questioning Haruhi on Yukinoshita's behalf.

"...Shut up, Yui, I'm begging you."

At that moment, Chunri, whose cheeks were slightly flushed, hurriedly grabbed Tuanzi's arm, who was trying to add fuel to the fire.

"Go find Hachiman and play first. I'll explain things to Captain Yukinoshita. You should go now, I'm begging you."

Yui Yuigahama is indeed less clever than Hikigaya in many matters.

Although she really knows how to cater to Xiaoxue's mood when she speaks.

"...No way!! I didn't do anything wrong. I also have something to talk to Yuki about, about Hime-chan, right, Yuki?"

"Yui, go to the restaurant and wait for me. I'll be there in a bit, okay?"

But in the end, it was Xiaoxue who took the initiative to send Tuanzi away first.

"Oh... okay, I'll go wait for you over there. Come over after you finish talking to Qingjun."

As Yui's figure disappeared into the distance, Yukinoshita crossed her arms and frowned slightly as she looked at Haruhi.

"So you were the one who got caught by the female administrator last night?"

At this moment, Yukinoshita seemed to understand as well. She remembered hearing the girls in her class talking about what happened last night that morning, and suddenly she understood what was going on.

"..."

Left with no other choice, Chunri nodded slightly.

"Xiaoxue, you haven't been in a good mood these past few days, have you? I was thinking your period is due, so I was wondering if I forgot to prepare something, and in the end—"

Springtime stopped there and didn't continue.

"hiss----"

After listening to Haruhi's explanation, Yukinoshita covered her forehead as if suffering from a headache.

"By the way, don't you have my phone number? You could have just contacted me via email. Why did you have to come to the girls' dorm late at night? Or are you trying to sneak into the girls' dorm at night like they do on TV?"

"I didn't want to either. I called you so many times that night, but you didn't answer. You didn't reply to my emails either. What could I do? I was really desperate."

"...So you're blaming me?"

Xiaoxue raised her eyebrows and sneered as she listened to Chunri's voice suddenly become louder.

"I absolutely don't mean to blame you, Xiaoxue. But, Xiaoxue, I beg you, can you please stop sulking with me like this? Why don't you just tell me what happened? Why do you have to keep it from me?"

Xiaoxue: "..."

"See? You don't tell me anything. I'm not a mind reader, so I don't know what's wrong with you." Looking at Yukinoshita, who seemed to have something on her mind, Haruhi couldn't help but scratch his head and finally sighed impatiently.

"I won't press you if you don't want to talk about it. I'll go back to my dorm first. As for the matter concerning Hubu and Ebina, contact me if you've discussed it with Yui and the others."

"Wait."

Watching Haruhi leave, Yukino finally called out to him, though a hint of hesitation appeared on her fair face.

"After this school trip is over, Ah Qing, let's have a proper chat."

She said.

"What do you want to talk about?"

"You'll see when the time comes, I won't lie to you."

Yukinoshita spoke softly, standing still, and waved slightly to Haruhi.

Her figure was delicate and graceful, inspiring the imagination.

……

…………

The last day of the school trip

Today is a special day that the school has given everyone free time to do as they please. Members of classes, groups, and clubs can go out together, or even couples can spend the day as they please. The destination is not limited to Kyoto City; you can go to places like Osaka and Nara at will. Perhaps the school considers that this is the last time second-year students can have such a relaxed trip. On the last day, the school has given all students as much freedom as possible.

Naturally, the three members of the Service Club and the busybody Kasuga managed to get together once again.

However, compared to the previous Service Club trio and Kasuga's solo group, this time there were two more people than four.

"Asakura-kun, and Nagato-kun? What are you doing here with Haruki-kun?"

Yui looked curiously at the two academically gifted girls who had come with Kasuga, who were famous throughout Soubu High School, and couldn't help but whisper in surprise.

Although the girl in the dumpling hadn't interacted much with this girl, that didn't prevent her from knowing both of them.

Asakura, the class president, greeted Yui with a smile. As the class president of Group B, she was much gentler in her dealings with people than Nagato, the emotionless and scheming girl.

"It was Hiratsuka-sensei who told us to follow him. Yuki and I didn't have anywhere else to go, and we'd heard about your Service Club a long time ago, so we were just curious and came along with Kasuga-kun to check it out. Yuigahama-san, Yukinoshita-san, and Hikigaya-kun, you wouldn't be unwelcome, would you?"

Asakura naturally called out the names of the three members of the Service Department.

And because of the concert at the cultural festival, Kasuga's relationship with her classmates also improved a lot.

"Of course not, it's more lively with more people, right, Xiaoqi and Xiaoxue?"

"Seriously, isn't this just the typical harem king setting? How dare you criticize me before?"

Hikigaya looked at the two girls who had come with Haruhi, and stood quietly behind Haruhi, seemingly murmuring something.