I am only one world away from Yukinoshita.

"Okay, I'll give it a try."

"That's great!" Nakagawa took a slip of paper out of his pocket and handed it to Huang Qian.

I took it with a puzzled look, but was speechless when I saw the words on it:

"If you're visiting Asuka's mother, I heard that using Xin Futang's chestnut buns will be even more effective!"

...........................................................................

After school, Asuka came to find Huang as promised and suggested that they go home together.

This was the first time Huang Qian had walked with Asuka after school. To be honest, she and Asuka-senpai were just senior and junior in club activities. They were not in the same grade in class and had no other interaction except for club activities. Why would Asuka suddenly offer to tutor her?

Huang Qian couldn't understand it.

And there's Kiyotaka's math notebook, which is still in my backpack.

It shouldn't be that bad.

"Huangqianjiang hasn't gotten out of school this early in a long time, has she?"

Asuka struck up a conversation, seemingly casually, but Huang Qian simply replied, "Yeah, but I had a cold and was resting for a while, so I didn't practice."

After a moment of silence, Asuka sighed, "I see. I didn't even know about this kind of thing."

Then she remembered Kiyori, whom she had seriously injured yesterday, and Asuka subconsciously tightened her grip on her schoolbag strap.

Seeing that the atmosphere was about to become awkward, Huang Qian racked his brains and brought up a topic, "Does Asuka-senpai live very close to the school?"

"Yeah, it's really close. It only takes about ten minutes to ride my bike to school, but I prefer to go with Kiyoshi—" He was interrupted halfway through his sentence.

The atmosphere became awkward again.

Ugh! We can't even have a conversation!

"I've got new shoes today," Asuka suddenly turned around, showing off her new shoes. "Aren't they cute? My feet are bigger than most girls', so it's rare to find shoes that fit me so well—"

"Asuka!"

The call from behind made the two of them stop in their tracks. Asuka looked toward the source of the sound, while Huang looked toward the new shoes on Asuka's feet. They were blue and white, clean and pretty, but the laces on one of the shoes seemed to be loose.

"Kaori," Asuka said, looking at Kaori who was running towards her breathlessly, "What's wrong?"

“Well…” Kaori said haltingly, resting her hands on her knees rather unceremoniously, “When I saw your back… I just wanted to say hello.”

"Huang Qian, classmate."

Like a student who was daydreaming but was called on by the teacher, Huang Qian suddenly tensed up when he heard his name called. "Yes!"

Kaori simply smiled as always. "May I go home with you?"

“Ah, this,” Huang Qian glanced at Asuka, who didn’t seem to care, “Of course!”

For the rest of the journey, Huang Qian couldn't find a chance to interject, so he simply walked quietly beside Asuka, listening to the two seniors talk. It was as if nothing had changed. Kaori asked Asuka about club management, and Asuka only offered some casual advice. Neither of them mentioned returning, as if—

It was just like this time, when I went to my senior's house for a regular tutoring session.

But everyone present knew it wasn't just about tutoring.

At least, everyone has different purposes.

"By the way, I heard Kiyoyori took the day off today. Does Asuka know anything about it? Is she sick?"

Kaori asked with concern, and also keenly noticed Asuka's stiff expression when Kiyoyori was mentioned.

But she didn't say anything.

"She didn't tell me, probably because she didn't want me to worry."

Asuka didn't show any extra emotion, and just mentioned it casually.

"Is that so?" Kaori nodded, not pressing further. "If Asuka sees Kiyori today, please say hello for me."

"Sure!"

"Well, I have something to do, so let's part ways here." As she walked down the stairs, Kaori glanced at the red light at the intersection and then walked toward Kimi. "Oh, right, Kimi-san, this is for you."

Kaori took out a pre-prepared chestnut bag from her backpack and handed it to Huang Qian, who instantly understood. Shunzhi blinked and said, "This is a gift for you. Doesn't it make learning twice as effective?"

Although he tried his best to ignore the hints from his seniors, Huang was always particularly sensitive in certain areas and immediately understood all of Kaori's actions.

"Is it alright to just accept it like this?"

"Of course," Kaori smiled at Asuka. "Wouldn't it be tiring to just study without any gifts?"

"Then thank you for your kindness, Kaori."

Asuka spoke as usual, but Huangqian knew that her senior had definitely seen through their clumsy plan.

Can it really succeed?

Huang Qian suddenly realized that the paper bag in his hand did not contain Xin Futang chestnut buns, but rather the expectations of all the club members who hoped for Asuka's return.

It was so heavy that it made it hard to breathe.

"Ah, Asuka, your shoelaces are untied."

Kaori always has such a sharp eye, especially when it comes to everything related to Asuka.

The setting sun shone down from behind Huang Qian and Asuka, spreading orange-red across the entire landscape and lengthening their shadows. Kaori, who was crouching down, was completely obscured by Asuka's shadow. Huang Qian felt a chilling aura emanating from Asuka, like the cold wind of winter. Her expression was serious, her eyes fixed on the top of Kaori's head, and her lips pressed into a straight line.

Huang Qian was taken aback.

"You're not used to wearing these shoes yet, are you?" Kaori skillfully tied a knot that wouldn't come undone. "All done."

The moment she stood up, Asuka flashed a perfect smile.

"Thank you."

Huang Qian didn't say anything, but just silently hugged his schoolbag tighter.

P.S.: Seriously, there aren't many more pictures to make you grieve over, really! I received some good news today, so happy, hehe~

Chapter 80, Section 318: A Lifetime of Shackles

Asuka's house was larger than I had expected. I was stunned for a moment when I saw the Japanese-style bungalow with its own garden. Asuka, however, asked me to come in as usual. While looking around the Tanaka family's house, I kept repeating in my mind what I should say when I met my senior's mother.

But she was still nervous and her throat was itchy.

"Anything will do," Asuka said, leading Kyouzen from the doorway to the kitchen. "That person came home very late today, so Kyouzen-chan probably won't have a chance to run into her."

After speaking, he glanced lightly at the paper bag that Huang Qian was holding in his hand.

She awkwardly hid the chestnut bag behind her back and gave an embarrassed smile.

"Give it to me."

"what?"

"Chestnut buns, weren't they for my mother?"

An awkward smile froze on his face, but Huang Qian still obediently handed over the paper bag, a sigh rising in his heart that was hard to tell whether it was disappointment or relief.

Finally, the two of them brought some cookies and black tea to Asuka's room. As promised, tutoring was tutoring. Asuka's meticulous teaching forced Huang to get into the zone. By the time it was time to rest, the sun was almost setting.

"Hmm~" Asuka stretched. "Let's rest for a bit. Perfect timing, these cookies were given to me by Kaori. I'll only share a little with Huangqian-chan."

Huang Qian paused as she brought the cookie to her mouth. Under Asuka's teasing gaze, she was unsure whether to eat the cookie or put it back.

"Haha, just kidding, just kidding."

Huang Qian shifted uncomfortably in his sitting position, took a sip of black tea, and said, "It's delicious."

So sweet...

"I like sweet flavors, so Kaori always adds a lot of sugar."

Asuka ate as she spoke, her tone unreadable, "Kiyori too."

For a moment, only the sound of Asuka chewing on cookies remained in the room.

"Speaking of which, Huangqian-chan's math notebook, isn't it Kiyoyori's?"

"Eh? Hmm... This is the gift Kiyora gave me when I had a cold..."

She didn't know why Asuka suddenly brought this up, but she did notice that while studying earlier, Asuka's gaze would unconsciously fall on this notebook.

"I see."

Once again, an unsettling silence descended upon them. Huang Qian frantically tried to find a topic to talk about. "By the way, why did Asuka-senpai suddenly offer to tutor me?"

"Of course..." Asuka put down the cookie, a disappointed look on her face, "I've heard that Huangqian-chan's math is so bad it's almost unbearable to look at..."

"Where did they get this intelligence from?!"

Asuka suddenly smiled and said, "Just kidding!"

She then stopped smiling brightly and looked somewhat dejected. "I just have something I want to say to Huangqian-chan."

Asuka stood up and took out a cartoon book from the drawer. The book was titled "Introduction to Euphonium".

"Does Huangqianjiang have this book?"

Taking the slightly worn book, Huang Qian's face showed a nostalgic expression. "Hmm, it seems that everyone used this book when they first started learning."

"The author of that book is a euphonium player named Masakazu Shindo." Asuka said to Huang Qian with her back to him, her tone as usual.

"Ah, he's very famous," Huang Qian said, remembering the CD Reina had given him the other day. "I even have his CD—"

"He is my ex-father."

The words he was about to say caught in his throat, and Huang Qian stood there, frozen with a ridiculous expression on his face.

"The black tea is getting cold, drink it quickly."

Even though she said something very important, Asuka didn't react much.

"Hey!" Huang Qian slammed his hands on the coffee table excitedly. "Isn't this the time for tea?!"

Her mind was in complete chaos.

"Please ask your question."