Let's do it again, Yukino.

A quiet city

Everything was beautiful and seemed so peaceful.

In that not-so-quiet apartment,

now

The girl, wearing a gray knitted sweater, silently tied her blue apron in the living room with her fair, jade-like fingers, and then used a red rope to braid her cascading black hair into a long braid that hung down in front of her chest.

It's because of some idiot that she's only now starting to prepare today's dinner.

At that moment, at the dining table not far from her, the boy who had just finished making up for the Japanese homework assigned by Hiratsuka Shizuka yesterday, like a fool, was staring blankly at Yukinoshita as she entered the kitchen with his black eyes.

After a long while, as if he had remembered something, he called out Xiaoxue's name.

"That...Xiaoxue?"

"Ok?"

A girl's somewhat aloof face peeked out from the kitchen.

At this moment, Xiaoxue was holding a pair of long bamboo chopsticks, and her clear, moist brown eyes were looking at Chunri at the dining table with a puzzled expression.

"Um, um... would you like me, Kasuga Gian, to help you prepare dinner?"

Scratching her head, Haruhi looked a little embarrassed and glanced in another direction, laughing awkwardly as she spoke.

"The joke Chun just told was a little more original than before. Qing, keep up the good work next time."

Yukinoshita's words and actions struck a blow to Haruhi, who then dejectedly drew circles on the dining table.

"Is my cooking really that bad?"

Do you really think this is fake?

Yukinoshita leaned against the doorframe, her bare feet, encased in slippers, tapping lightly. Facing the boy, a mocking smile curled her thin, pink lips.

"I think you're looking down on me, Kasuga Gian, Xiaoxue!!"

Yukino looked at the boy who had suddenly started acting up and shook her head with amusement.

"Are you really an idiot?"

After saying that, she slowly took out an apron she used to wear from the cabinet, threw it to Chunri, and turned back into the kitchen.

"But if you're really bored and want to help me out, then wear this and come help me in the kitchen."

The sound came over.

Faced with the girl's arrogant invitation, Haruhi, while tying her apron, let out a cold laugh and snorted, "Do you think I, Gian, am someone like you who can be summoned and dismissed at will? What do you take me for? A tool?"

"Are you coming or not?"

The woman's tone became more forceful.

"Here you go, what's the rush? I haven't worn an apron in years, give me some time."

The boy skipped happily towards the kitchen.

……

…………

in the kitchen,

"It's getting late. Let's keep dinner simple tonight: mixed fried rice and a vegetable salad. I'll prepare the fried rice. As for the salad, you can wash all the vegetables first."

Yukino slowly recounted the contents of today's dinner to Haruhi and handed him a bowl.

Tomatoes, cucumbers, spinach, and some green peppers.

Looking at the vegetables in the bowl, Chunri smiled dismissively.

"It's that simple?"

"Can you stop with the nonsense? First of all, wash these things clean."

Two minutes later,

"It's all clean..."

Spring carried a basin of washed vegetables to Xiaoxue, wiped her wet hands on the apron around her neck, and looked smug.

then----

The cold voice came again from beneath the snow.

"That was just the simplest first step. Now, please have Chef Kasuga slice the washed tomatoes, dice the cucumbers, shred the spinach, and finally dice the green peppers. Mix them together, then add salt, lemon juice, and salad oil, and mix again. The salad is almost done."

Spring's smile froze on his lips after Xiaoxue's words. He silently placed the washed dishes on the counter, took two steps back, and covered his groaning face with the refrigerator.

"This is too difficult! I didn't remember any of it at all. Xiaoxue, you're just deliberately making things difficult for me. What kind of vegetable salad is sliced, diced, and then minced?"

"What do you think we should do?"

"Why don't you just mix all the ingredients together?!"

Xiaoxue poured the leftover rice into the pot, ignoring the boy who was still throwing a tantrum.

"As expected of Mr. Kasuga's imagination, but I don't have time to make things difficult for you. Use your nearly depleted brain to think carefully: were all the vegetable salads you used to eat at home made like this?"

"How could I remember so clearly? After all, you made so many dishes."

Chunri couldn't quite remember how Xiaoxue made salads in his previous life. Back then, he rarely went to the kitchen, except for occasionally looking for food in the refrigerator.

"But I can remember how to make every dish clearly, also because I cooked so many dishes for you."

Without looking up, Yukino answered Haruhi's question.

However, as she said this, the girl laughed out loud with a hint of nostalgia.

What woman would cook for the same man for seven years before getting married?

She did it, and at that moment, Yukinoshita suddenly felt a little admiration for her past self.

……

"call……"

At one moment, a drop of clear oil accidentally splashed onto the fingers of the girl holding the wooden shovel under the snow. Instantly, the girl's fair skin turned red from the scorching heat. However, the girl only frowned slightly in the face of all this, but did not stop what she was doing.

"Is it really not hot?"

Springtime gazes upon the light snow, indifferent to all of this.

Even he felt a little sorry for Yukino's finger, which had been burned and left a red mark.

"What's the big deal? Do you think this is the first time I've encountered something like this?"

Yukinoshita was too lazy to explain anything to Haruhi anymore.

Exhaling a breath of hot air, Xiaoxue put the lid on the pot and walked straight to the counter where Chunri had just washed the vegetables.

She casually rinsed her scalded fingers with water while calling out the name of some idiot.

"Come here, I'll teach you how to cut it."

Her voice softened somewhat.

"I'm talking to you, you idiot who's standing there hugging the refrigerator like a fool!"

Her gaze fell on Haruhi, who was still squatting by the refrigerator, looking somewhat dejected.

The heat in the kitchen caused her few strands of hair to become damp and stick together with sweat. Her not-so-full chest rose and fell slightly, and sweat slid down her cheeks from her forehead. The girl gently wiped it away.

"Oh...coming right away."

Spring stood up and came up behind the girl.

In the quiet kitchen, a sizzling sound came from the pot next to me.

At this moment, Xiaoxue held a kitchen knife in one hand and held the vegetables that needed to be cut in the other. As she felt the boy behind her slowly pressing against her body, her face, which was already flushed from the heat, became even redder.

Unable to suppress a surge of shyness, she tried her best to remain calm in her voice.

"Extend your hand and hold mine. I'll only teach you this once. Don't complain to me about me making things difficult for you next time."

Springtime's hand reached from behind her waist to the table and, as she requested, gently grasped her soft, boneless little hands.

The girl's slender waist twisted slightly.

Then, the knife in her hand slowly began to move on the cutting board.

Slice the tomatoes.

Cut the cucumber into chunks.

Cut the spinach into shreds.

Cut the green bell pepper into small cubes.

Then pour in the seasoning and stir slowly...

Before Chunri could even react, the girl he had been holding in his arms had already completed everything she needed to do.

"Did you see that clearly, Mr. Kasuga?"

After finishing all the cooking, Xiaoxue turned to look at the boy. Her hair, damp with sweat, was clinging to his neck like a weeping willow. Chunri felt a cool sensation on his neck.

"Uh...no."

Xiaoxue deftly twirled the kitchen knife in mid-air, a gentle smile on her face, before leaving the boy's embrace and asking him again.

"Did you see it clearly?"

"I see, I see it clearly now, at least my eyes, those of Kasuga Gian, see it clearly."

Suddenly changing the subject, Chunri trembled and nodded frantically, as if pounding onions.

My eyes told me that I had learned real cooking at this moment.

……

…………

The starlight outside the window twinkled silently, and the curtains on the balcony were pulled up to reveal the beautiful night view of Chiba.

"By the way, Xiaoxue, did you used to spend a long time preparing every night?"