I am only one world away from Yukinoshita.

Chapter 22, Section 244: Those Things That Cannot Be Changed

The three of them rode the elevator upwards. Kiyotaka stared intently at the numbers flashing on the screen. For a moment, the only sound in the room was the elevator's operation.

The apartment under the snow was located at the end of the corridor. The three of them walked on the thick carpet with heavy footsteps, making dull sounds. After passing one apartment after another, they finally arrived at the door with the nameplate "Under the Snow".

Yuihama stood in front of the door and rang the doorbell, while Kiyoyori and Hikigaya followed behind her without saying a word.

After waiting a while, footsteps came from inside the room, approaching from afar. Not long after the footsteps disappeared, the black door opened from the inside, revealing Xue Xia's slightly pale face through the crack. Unlike at school, she didn't style her hair neatly; it was loosely tied over her shoulders. A thin white sweater was worn over her slender body, and a glimpse of snow-white skin, rarely seen on ordinary days, was revealed from the wide collar, only to be quickly covered by her black hair.

She stood there at the door, seemingly unwilling to let the three of them in.

"Xiaoxue," Yuihama gripped the backpack strap tightly, forcing a smile, "Can we come in?"

She held up the gift she had brought for visiting her in the hospital: Mr. Pan's pudding, which Yukinoshita had once praised for its decent taste.

Seeing the familiar packaging, Yukinoshita's heart softened, and she stepped aside to open the door.

"Welcome, please come in."

Yukinoshita stood against the wall, while Kiyoyori and the other two sat on the sofa.

Yuihama and Yukinoshita chatted for a bit about health-related matters, or rather, Yuihama was expressing her concern unilaterally, while Yukinoshita gave somewhat evasive answers.

Silence soon followed.

Kiyoshi noticed the neatly stacked documents on the coffee table, and she could see the words "Cultural Festival" written on them. If she wasn't mistaken, Yukinoshita was still working even while she was sick.

"Ugh……"

Kiyoshi sighed softly.

What should we do with this person?

This sigh seemed to be the key to breaking the awkward atmosphere.

"Xiaoxue, are you sure the committee's work is all right?"

It was Yuihama who brought up the question, while Kiyoyori and Hikigaya remained silent, gazing at the night view outside the window.

"It's just a day off, no need to make such a fuss. The committee's work is fine."

Yukino answered calmly, leaning against the wall, her eyes fixed on the wooden floor.

"Isn't that the real problem? Xiaoxue doesn't need to shoulder everything herself at all!"

“I know, so I delegated my work to lighten my load—”

“You clearly didn’t do it,” Yui interrupted Yukinoshita for the first time. Her slightly forceful attitude made Yukinoshita look away uncomfortably. “I’m really a little angry.”

"Xiaoxue clearly has so many people she can rely on..."

Yuihama glanced at Hikigaya and Kiyoyori.

“Hikigaya has done his job very well, that’s enough,” Yukinoshita cleverly changed the subject. “Tachibana also has her own things to do. The National Tournament is just around the corner, and that’s more important than anything else.”

"but--!"

"It's okay, there's still time. Even while resting at home, I've been working hard and haven't fallen behind in any real way."

Nobody cares about that...

Kiyoshiro silently complained to herself. She didn't know if Yukinoshita was pretending not to know that Yuihama had mentioned the cultural festival just to make her less stubborn, or if she really thought that Yuihama was worried that the cultural festival was falling behind.

"But this is strange..."

Unable to find any flaws in Yukinoshita's words, Yuihama could only speak in a low voice.

"Yeah?"

“Relying on others, helping each other, and supporting one another is generally the most correct approach,” Hachiman, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up. “But that’s just idealism. There will definitely be people who draw the worst possible outcome, so I won’t tell you to rely on others.”

Hachiman is still Hachiman; he has his own theories.

"However, what you did was wrong."

"Do you know the correct way to do it?"

“Of course I don’t know,” Hachiman shrugged, “but it’s definitely different from what you’ve always done.”

"Ah!"

Autumn nights are always a little chilly.

"I'm sorry, I haven't made tea for you yet."

After saying that, Yukinoshita started to walk towards the kitchen.

"Xiaoxue, let me do it."

Yuihama stood up as well.

“Don’t worry about my health. I’m much better after resting, and—” she glanced at Qinglai, who was sitting upright on the sofa with his eyes closed, “someone took care of me before.”

"Someone?"

Yuihama asked in confusion, while Kiyori merely lifted his eyelids.

"Ah."

Yukinoshita showed no intention of continuing the conversation.

"I'll cook." Kiyoyori stood up from the sofa, not giving Yukinoshita a chance to refuse. "Hasn't everyone eaten yet?"

Before Yukinoshita could say anything, Kiyoshiro had already walked into the kitchen with practiced ease. She first took out three identical guest teacups, then took out Yukinoshita's personal cup, brewed four cups of black tea, and brought them to the living room.

Then she quickly returned to the kitchen and began preparing the ingredients. Before long, the aroma of food filled the kitchen.

Meanwhile, Hachiman, who had been keeping track of the time, finished his slightly cooled tea in one gulp and said, "Then I'll be going now."

"Eh? But Kiyorae—"

"Don't worry, she didn't make my portion."

She didn't even do her own part.

Hikigaya glanced at the busy figure in the kitchen, leaving time for Yuihama and Yukinoshita, something he and Kiyori had agreed on beforehand.

He had been sitting there, waiting for Kiyoshi to finish cooking so that he could give the other person a chance to leave together.

The sounds from the kitchen gradually subsided, and Kiyora neatly took off her apron, just in time to leave with Hachiman, who had walked to the entrance hall.

“Then I shall take my leave now,” he gestured to the dinner on the table, “Please eat while it’s hot, seniors.”

It was a dinner for two, still steaming hot.

"Tachibana-san..."

The voice beneath the snow carried an apology, perhaps because she felt she had caused the other person a lot of trouble.

"Yukinoshita-senpai."

Kiyoshi did not bid her farewell, but simply bowed slightly while holding his bag, saying, "Excuse me."

Neither Kiyora nor Hikigaya spoke until they entered the elevator.

"Tachibana, what do you plan to do?"

Watching the number plummet from fifteen, the distinct feeling of weightlessness made their hearts leap.

"Senior Hachiman, what are your plans?"

"'If you change, the world will change' is just a self-deceiving lie, a compromise forced upon you by a high-sounding lie."

"Changing the world is a lie."

The two stood facing each other in silence until the elevator doors opened automatically.

"Perhaps."

P.S.: Life is full of surprises... I was almost scared to death by the series of events today. By the way, I'll actually be spending three months in the ER, friends, remember to burn some paper money for me in advance... Also! Following yesterday's haircut incident!! When I was combing my hair this morning, I discovered I had ended up with the same octopus hairstyle as Kumiko, noooooo!

Chapter 23, Section 245: Not Help, But Compensation

After parting ways with Hikigaya at the apartment entrance and making sure he was far away, Kiyoyori turned around and walked back to the vicinity of Yukinoshita's apartment.

Kiyotaro casually bought two steamed buns at a convenience store for dinner and sat listlessly on a park bench not far away, occasionally glancing to see if Yuihama had left.

The evening breeze after autumn brought a slight chill. Kiyotaka wrapped his coat tighter around himself and hugged his backpack to his chest. The steaming buns were emitting white steam. If Kiyotaka had been wearing his glasses at that moment, his vision would probably have been completely blurred.

I pressed the canned hot coffee against my face, and as the cool breeze took away the heat, my face gradually warmed up. I looked up and counted the floors of the apartment building; the light on the fifteenth floor was still on.

Kiyoshi, who had originally planned to wait quietly, never expected that a body swap would occur at this time. It was completely unexpected that he would appear in a warm room. In front of him was a TV playing a comedy program, and next to him was Yuihama, who was laughing heartily. There were half-eaten potato chips on the coffee table, while the documents that were originally placed in a prominent position had been moved to a corner.

Oops!

Kiyoshi glanced out the window, though he couldn't see anything from the apartment except for the deep darkness of night.

Meanwhile, those suddenly transported from a warm indoor environment to the chilly outdoors by snow were momentarily caught off guard.

If she remembered correctly, it had been over an hour since Tachibana and Hachiman left. Why—

This is clearly the park not far from her apartment building.

So she hadn't left yet? What was she waiting for...?

Holding the gradually cooling coffee in my hand, the cold wind brought back some of my rationality.

Is he waiting for Yui to leave...?

Seemingly remembering something, Yukino buried her face in the backpack in her arms.

This time I really caused her trouble...

This body exchange didn't last long, ending in about ten minutes. During that time, Kiyoyori simply echoed Yuihama's words, mimicking Yukinoshita's mannerisms. Perhaps out of consideration for Yukinoshita's illness, Yuihama didn't ask for anything more.

Back in the warm room, Yukina felt a distinct temperature difference between indoors and outdoors.

"Yuhihama-san."