I am only one world away from Yukinoshita.

"In Kyoto, they used to come here quite often for the prefectural tournament—"

The three playful children fell silent and looked at Kiyoyori in unison. Kiyoyori seemed to have just come to his senses and realized that his words might have been a bit problematic.

"I mean..."

Kiyoshi didn't know why he said those words.

"Still not awake?" Asuka gently pinched Kiyori's cheek with her fingers. "Did you sleep so much that you've gone silly?"

Kiyoyori gave an awkward laugh. "Weren't we going to eat ramen?"

"Okay, let's go!"

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

Although it was nearby, Asuka still hailed a car. Looking at the scenery rushing past the window, she felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity, yet also a strange feeling.

"Have you two decided on your routes?"

Kiyoshi listened quietly to the conversation of the three people in the back seat.

"I've already made up my mind."

"Oh! Is it that specialized nursing school we mentioned last time? Is it confirmed? The admission score seems pretty high, right?"

"Yes, we need to work hard."

"Kaori will definitely be fine, and being a nurse seems like a perfect fit for her."

"Is that right?"

"Because Kaori is so cute!"

“Even if you say that…” Kaori seemed a little shy, “What about Haruka? Didn’t she say she was considering Chiba University?”

"Um……"

Ogasawara hesitated, then said, "I'll let you know when I've made a decision."

"How mysterious!"

"So what if it's Asuka? She did very well on this mock exam, but don't forget that there's someone just as good as you in Toyonosaki next door."

"Is Haruka referring to Kasumigaoka Utaha, a third-year student at Toyonosaki High School?"

Kiyoshi turned his head slightly.

"Yes, I heard that the other party is a beautiful young female writer, and seems to be very impressive."

"It's said that she's a top student who can consistently get first place even while sleeping in class!"

"Asuka really knows a lot."

"Hmph, of course!"

"However, in terms of deviation value, Soubu High School is still better than Toyonosaki High School, right?" Kaori recalled the exam rankings not long ago. "Except for Kasumigaoka, the average level of Toyonosaki High School is still not as good as Soubu High School. Last year, Soubu High School's college entrance rate also seemed to be far ahead."

"After all, it's a school whose goal is to help students get into higher education."

"The college entrance rate of Class J is just terrifying..."

Listening to the three people in the back row chatting, Kiyoyori suddenly thought of the college entrance exam issue that Kasumigaoka had mentioned before. Although Kiyoyori had given the answer to the question Kasumigaoka had given, he secretly hoped that the other party would choose Waseda University for admission without taking the entrance exam, which was just out of some selfish desire.

This is terrible.

Qinglai despised himself from the bottom of his heart.

However, after that, Kasumigaoka never mentioned the matter again. Instead, she would ask Kiyoyori and Asuka if their relationship had improved. All the previous topics about further education and graduation seemed to have never been mentioned.

Even though this feeling of being stuck in the middle is very uncomfortable, like a heavy stone pressing on her heart, the little voice in Kiyoshi's heart is celebrating it, because this way she doesn't have to make a choice herself.

Getting off the bus, walking into the ramen shop, ordering, taking a seat—the whole experience lingered in Qinglai's mind until the ramen was served.

The phone screen switched back and forth between the chat screen with Kasumigaoka and the home screen, and Kiyoyori ultimately decided to remain silent.

The ramen doesn't seem as delicious as I imagined.

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

Although Matsumoto-sensei stipulated that the members should return to the hotel before dark, Kiyoyori chose to ignore it at Asuka's urging. Kaori and Ogasawara, on the other hand, left first after finishing their ramen, leaving only Asuka and a slightly absent-minded Kiyoyori.

Wandering aimlessly through the streets of Kyoto, I found it quite different from Tokyo. If Tokyo is a completely modern metropolis, then Kyoto has a more traditional Japanese feel. Despite being a combination of traditional and modern architecture, there is no strong sense of incongruity.

"Kiyoshi seems to have been listless since the beginning."

"just?"

Is it because of college entrance exams?

"I know Asuka wants to go to the University of Tokyo—"

“It wasn’t me,” Asuka grasped Kiyori’s wrist, easily shattering her feigned indifference. “Kasumigaoka-san, Kiyori cares about her, doesn’t he?”

What are you talking about...?

"I heard that Kasumigaoka listed a school in Osaka as her first choice."

Kiyoshi froze. "Impossible, she never said that..."

"Yes, I never said that, because I made it up."

Asuka nodded seriously.

"Asuka-!"

Qinglai gritted his teeth.

"If you care so much about someone, why don't you just say so?" Asuka looked at Kiyori with a look of exasperation. "If this continues, Kiyori will really never find a partner."

"If it's Asuka, then why didn't you come and tell me directly? Why did you have to go to Utaha-senpai?"

That's because...

As night fell and the streetlights came on, Asuka's face, illuminated by the neon lights and flashing car headlights, revealed a barely perceptible sense of helplessness.

"I would feel more at ease if Kiyoyori were left in Kasumigaoka's care."

"Look, Kasumigaoka is pretty, she has long, straight black hair, and she's the older sister type that Kiyori likes the most."

He can't be serious for more than three seconds.

"Most importantly,"

She reached out and gently touched Kiyori's hair. "Kasumigaoka-san really likes Kiyori."

"I'm not a child anymore."

After being speechless for a long time, Kiyoyori only managed to utter this one sentence.

"Well, but I still hope Kiyoyori can be happy."

"At least in Kiyoyori's heart, Kasumigaoka-kun is still a little different from the others, right?"

P.S.: Actually, Asuka is a fan of Kiyori and Utaha's pairing? However, Asuka doesn't like Haruno, as mentioned in previous side stories.

Chapter 93, Section 331: Please Maintain Distance

It was already dark, but Kiyoyori and Asuka were still lingering on the street. Although the hotel was just two corners away, the two of them remained sitting on a bench by the street, holding hot meat buns in their hands.

"Speaking of which, has Kiyoyori contacted Yukinoshita and the others recently?"

"Well?"

Amused by Kiyori's chewing motions with his cheeks puffed out, Asuka couldn't help but reach out and pinch Kiyori's cheek. "Who was it that just said they didn't want to eat?"

"So annoying..."

He protested, his words mumbled, "It's all Asuka's fault!"

If Asuka hadn't suddenly walked into the convenience store and shoved a fist-sized bun into her hand without a word...

It's not that she couldn't resist the temptation!

"Little Qinglai is so cute today!"

Seeing Asuka suddenly approach, Kiyoshi instinctively used his hand to block her outstretched, sinful hands.

"Kiyori already knows about that, doesn't he?"

His breath brushed against her face, but Asuka's face gradually blurred before Kiyori's eyes. "What is it?"

"Here we go again," Asuka flicked Kiyori's forehead, then pulled her hand back and sat down next to him. "Kiyori already knows about what happened with the brass band last year, right?"

Without waiting for a reply, Asuka continued, "Back then, I never imagined that Soubu High's brass band would ever make it to the national tournament."

"Of course, I didn't care much about that matter at the time, whether they wanted to leave the club or who would participate in the competition," Asuka said casually, as if she were talking about something that didn't concern her. "However, it was unexpected that Yukinoshita's classmate association got involved, and it was also unexpected that someone like her could resolve the matter in that way."

Asuka turned her head to look at Kiyoshi, and behind her glasses was a complex look in her eyes that Kiyoshi couldn't understand.

Not knowing why Asuka suddenly brought this up, or why she was looking at him like that, Kiyoyori could only remain silent.

"That's so unlike her style, that way of solving things."

Does Asuka know Yukinoshita-senpai very well?

“No, I don’t know her at all,” Asuka said matter-of-factly. “In fact, I’ve barely spoken a few words to her.”

"Then why..."

"Isn't it obvious at a glance?" Asuka recalled the first time she met Yukinoshita, and looked at Kiyori, who looked puzzled, and couldn't help but smile. "The person who can set up a club like the 'Service Club' must be a hopelessly stubborn person who is kind. Unlike me, I can tell at a glance."

"Kindness..."

"So, it's really surprising that Yukinoshita chose that method, but I was quite surprised when she came to find me."

The face beneath the snow at sunset that day in my memory has become increasingly blurry. In its place is the familiar face before me, so familiar that I can clearly trace every curve of it with my eyes closed.

"I never expected them to look so alike..."

But ultimately, who resembles whom...?

"Asuka?"