Let's do it again, Yukino.

"Kasuga-kun."

"I'm fine now, manager. I'm going back to work."

"Yeah, keep up the good work, I believe in you."

……

…………

Even at night, even on a summer night,

The wind was still quite cold at night. Chunri walked along the roadside with her hands in the pockets of her uniform, her expression complicated. The mist in the air was tinged with a hazy white or yellow hue under the streetlights.

After finishing work,

Haruhi put on her Soubu High School uniform again.

Holding the key that Yukinoshita had given her, Haruhi stopped at a supermarket halfway to head to the upscale apartment, and also had a fast food bento box in her hand.

Before long, without stopping along the way, Chunri arrived at Xiaoxue's apartment.

With a heavy metallic sound,

The door slowly opened, and Chunri stepped into the apartment shrouded in darkness.

That night, he couldn't stand in the brightly lit entryway as he used to, watching Shizuka Yukinoshita, who was standing with her arms crossed, coldly staring at him.

He turned on the living room light and placed the bento box on the dining table.

He casually took off his coat, yawned, and was about to open the bento box in the plastic bag when he stopped in his tracks, chopsticks in hand.

Xiaoxue's words before she left echoed in his mind once more.

After a moment of contemplation, he put down his chopsticks, glanced at the somewhat plain-looking bento box on the table, touched his slightly cold nose, and got up to go to the kitchen again.

Let's go all the way! Hahahaha.

Soon after, the sound of a cleaver slicing against a cutting board echoed from the kitchen.

"Cut the tomatoes into slices, the cucumbers into chunks, and the green peppers into strips. No, I remember it was spinach that was cut into strips, and the green peppers into small cubes... I remember Xiaoxue explaining it to me carefully."

Accompanying this was the flurry of activity that spring brought.

Kass—

"Ouch, that hurts! I cut my hand, Xiaoxue, get me two band-aids... oh well, never mind, just lick it a couple of times with your saliva ——————"

Then, there was the sound of him squatting on the ground, gasping for breath.

"Damn, I forgot I just tasted the green pepper with my tongue, my hand hurts even more now..."

Time is slowly passing by.

And during this long period of time,

Apart from the faint chirping of cicadas and the sound of wind outside,

Only the boy in the kitchen remained, slightly entertained and making a fuss by himself.

And that slightly lonely voice.

but,

It's really good

Ok……

After an unknown amount of time, with the final stirring sound, Chunri, carrying a bowl of colorful produce to the table, somewhat rudely took off his apron. Looking at the "Gian-style" vegetable salad next to his bento box, a slightly silly smile appeared on the boy's face under the lamplight.

The only sound in the quiet living room was the boy's triumphant voice.

"Well, well, as long as I, Fat Tiger, try to do it, I can do it easily. From now on, let me cook dinner."

If Chunri's phone hadn't broken down recently, he probably would have taken a picture of the vegetable salad in front of him without hesitation and emailed it to Xiaoxue, who still hadn't rested yet.

Then, the boy picked up the colorful vegetables and ate a couple of bites with the white rice in his bento box.

Two seconds later,

Fat Tiger's face turned from white to a yellowish-brown, and his brows furrowed slightly.

In the end, he managed to swallow the cucumber chunks that were so salty they made him want to cry.

"It really tastes awful."

Looking at the somewhat empty dining table, he hummed something inexplicably.

……

…………

midnight,

I don't know what time it is at midnight.

Maybe it's one point, maybe it's two points.

In the bedroom, the boy lay on the bed, having already fallen asleep sometime earlier.

thump thump,

A soft footstep suddenly rang out.

Snapped,

Then came the soft sound of the door closing.

Startled by the small noise, the boy on the bed stirred slightly, slowly opening his heavy eyelids. The light was a bit glaring, and perhaps because he had been woken up in the middle of the night, his head was throbbing badly. He rubbed his eyes with his hands wrapped in two bandages.

In his blurry vision, he could only see a slender figure sitting by his bedside.

"Is that Xiaoxue? Didn't you say you just got back this morning?"

It seems that Shizuka has returned.

"The guests who were supposed to come didn't show up, and my mother was in a bad mood. I didn't want to argue with her, so I had the driver bring me back overnight."

Shizuka's voice sounded a little tired, and she moved the blanket covering Haruhi up a little more.

"Go back to sleep."

she says.

"Um... Xiaoxue, you... you were just crying?"

Although my eyes were a little sore, I could vaguely see the slightly reddened eye sockets beneath the snow in springtime.

"I didn't cry. Don't overthink it. Go to sleep early."

Her somewhat ethereal voice sounded very calm.

"Then why are your eyes so red?"

Springtime sleepiness slowly faded, and I sat up, taking Xiaoxue's hand by the bedside.

Pfft,

The girl couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Seemingly annoyed, he patted his forehead and, looking at the worried expression on the boy's face, pinched Fat Tiger's finger with a band-aid on it.

"I didn't even have dinner at home before rushing back."

The girl, somewhat embarrassed, smoothed her long hair behind her ear and sighed again.

"After returning to the apartment, I accidentally saw a vegetable salad made by some idiot in the refrigerator."

"Maybe I lost my mind for a moment, but I was overwhelmed by the saltiness of those cucumber slices."

Some sounds, a mixture of amusement and exasperation, echoed in the small bedroom.

that moment,

Under the night light

The girl's voice sounded slightly helpless.

Yet it also carried a touch of gentleness.

(P.S.: A conscientious author asking for votes)

Chapter 51 is too difficult!

Yukino Yukinoshita fell asleep beside him without any suspicion.

Yes, because I rushed back to my apartment from my home overnight.

I simply went to the bathroom and took a shower.

In the hazy dreams of spring,

The bed dipped slightly.

Then, a warm, delicate body appeared in his cozy bed.

He slightly raised his eyelids.

He instinctively turned over and pulled the soft, delicate body with its back to him into his arms. The girl, who was getting sleepy, only trembled slightly when Chunri's body pressed against her back. Without saying anything, she slowly closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

"..."

five minutes later

In the darkness, spring's eyes silently opened, and their gaze became incredibly clear.

The faint chirping of cicadas could still be heard outside the window.

The streetlights still cast their hazy glow, and a dim mist shrouded the city.

The girl's quiet breathing stirred a wave in his heart.

Gian silently played with Shizuka's still slightly damp long hair, his drowsiness having vanished the moment he entered the room before Yukinoshita.

correct,