I am only one world away from Yukinoshita.

If one of them has to get hurt, then let her bear it all.

Yukino's world turned gray the moment she lost the most important person in her life.

"I see..."

Although the answer wasn't entirely unexpected, Kiyotori still felt her heart sinking. She couldn't understand Haruno, couldn't understand why she could turn away so easily, yet continue to participate in her life as if nothing had happened.

The person in front of her was Yukinoshita Haruno, but it seemed like she didn't know the Yukinoshita Haruno.

Or is it that Kiyoyori never actually saw the real Yukinoshita Haruno?

"Are you really Yukinoshita Haruno?"

Somehow, those words slipped out of Qinglai's mouth without his noticing.

Yang Nai's expression froze, her eyes momentarily lost focus, still looking at Kiyoyori, yet it was as if she saw another person through Kiyoyori.

That person had a more mature face. Although their expressions weren't as rich as those of a naive young girl, they still looked awkward as they held her hand.

Such an outcome is not unheard of.

In that ending, she got what she wanted, but lost something even more important.

Yukinoshita Haruno is not immune to heartache; after all, her heart is made of flesh and blood.

So how could she make such a selfish choice after being pleaded with like that?

I am sorry.

Yang silently recited it in his heart.

Let's just consider it all as her selfishness.

If you think this way, no one will get hurt.

Meanwhile, Kiyoyori, lost in thought, naturally didn't notice the change in Haruno's expression. She propped her forehead up with her hand and gave a tired smile. "I'm sorry for saying such stupid things. Lately, I've been having some strange dreams."

There's always a woman in my dreams whose face I can't see.

It's like watching a miniature documentary of the other person's life: getting into music school, joining an orchestra, relentlessly traveling the world as if searching for something, and then...

My heart hurts terribly, like I've been stabbed hard and then all the blood has been squeezed out by a hand.

"Dream?"

"Hmm," Kiyoyori said, not wanting to reveal more to Haruno, but simply changing the subject, "Do you know Asuka?"

“Of course we know each other,” Yang Nai shrugged, revealing a cold expression. “Like I said, we were just senior and junior colleagues in the past.”

Kiyoshi narrowed her eyes. She never completely believed what Haruno said, but she had mentioned Haruno to Asuka before. At that time, Haruno was indeed still at Soubu High School.

Asuka doesn't like Haruno because of Kiyori.

Haruno also dislikes Asuka because of Yukino.

"Don't go looking for trouble with her."

Kiyoshi knew what it would be like to be disliked by Haruno. Asuka was about to start a new phase in her life, and Kiyoshi wouldn't allow Haruno to do anything to ruin it. "If you want something, just come at me."

Yang suddenly smiled, "Why would I bother someone I have no connection with? But since Kiyorae puts it that way, I'll have to think about it some more."

What does your existence in this world have to do with Asuka Tanaka?

"That's fine."

Kiyoshi poked the cake in front of him with his fork. The rich cheese melted in his mouth, but it wasn't the taste he had expected.

"Let's not talk about this anymore," Yang Nai stretched lazily without any worries, which made Qing Lai, who was sitting opposite her, look away uncomfortably. "What, you don't dare to look at me~?"

I don't want to get a sty.

Trying to clear her mind of the images, Qinglai, in a state of agitation, smashed the cake to pieces.

"Eh~" Haruno rested her chin on her hand, looking at Kiyoyori's profile with interest. "Speaking of which, after the National Tournament, neither the brass band nor the service club should have any major events, right?"

For Kiyoyori, the most important event of the year was undoubtedly the National Tournament. For the second-year students like Yukinoshita, the most important thing after the school trip was to prepare for the next year's studies. For the third-year students like Asuka, the entrance exams would be coming soon.

Kiyoyo glanced warily at Yono, unable to discern her intentions. Yono clearly wanted to test something, and also wanted to interfere in something.

"what are you up to?"

"Seriously~, I haven't even said anything yet~"

"Aren't you actually a vixen?"

"Rice bin~"

Deliberately making cute gestures, and then enjoying Kiyori's disgusted expression as he turned his face away, Haruno revealed a relaxed smile from an angle where Kiyori couldn't see.

“At least for me, it’s all over now.” Kiyoyori preferred to return to the trap she had just been in rather than continue facing Haruno like this. In any case, no matter how she answered, it wouldn’t affect Haruno’s next move. “For others, there’s probably still the student council president election.”

Although the student council president of Soubu High School has nominations and self-nominations, the final candidate will be chosen by a vote of the students.

Without a doubt, the more outstanding and capable person will be qualified.

In short, none of this has anything to do with Qinglai.

“Hmm,” Haruno seemed to have gotten the answer she wanted, “Speaking of which, it’s about time for Jun to retire.”

Kiyoshi had some impression of this president, after all, they had met before at the cultural festival, and the other party happened to be Asuka's classmate.

"Given that kid's personality, he'll probably go straight to Yukino to take over."

Kiyotomi paused in her act of destroying the cake, glancing at Hinano who was looking out the window.

"Does Kiyori think Yukino will agree?"

"Who knows?"

When Kiyoshi put the mashed cake paste into his mouth, even though the taste was still the same, he felt like he was chewing wax.

If Yukinoshita-senpai becomes the student council president...

"—They'll probably disband the Service Club."

"However, Yukino probably won't accept it," Haruno said nonchalantly.

"After all, I wasn't the student council president back then."

"How boring."

P.S.: I'm really frustrated with the Microsoft login on my new computer, I can't even open it, but the RPG 14 is great, especially when the game graphics changed from a bicycle to a plane, it's really good!

Chapter 342, Part 04: The Puppet

Kiyoshi glanced at Haruno's expression, then put down his fork, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back.

"Kiyoshi doesn't know yet, does he?" Haruno blinked, feigning surprise. "The new request the Service Club received seems to be to help a student who was pushed into running for student council president but lost."

Kiyoyori frowned. She truly didn't know that the Service Department had received such a strange request again, but—

"So you really did plant some kind of listening device on Yukinoshita-senpai, didn't you?"

This person is beyond saving.

"How could that be~" Haruno put on a pitiful look. "If I planted a listening device on Yukino, then Kiyora had better go back and check herself out too~"

Yang suddenly leaned close to Kiyora's neck, her soft breath making Kiyora unconsciously shrink back. "After all, I care about little Kiyora a lot too."

Before Kiyoyori could even show a look of disgust, Haruno immediately returned to a safe distance. "I only heard about this from Jun. After all, she is still the student council president. It's not surprising that she couldn't handle something like this and thought of coming to me, her senior, for help, right?"

Yang Nai's reasons were always so convincing that Kiyoshi couldn't find any fault with them. On the contrary, the fact that she said it so openly made Kiyoshi feel guilty for judging her with a petty mind. "There are many ways to lose an election. This is only the initial stage of the election. There is still a lot of work to be done. Can't you just do a little something during the campaign speeches or the confidence vote? Why bother you with something so simple?"

"But I heard that child is quite proud, and besides, losing the vote of confidence would be a huge blow, wouldn't it?"

"This is really troublesome."

"Xiao Qinglai should try to understand the thoughts of a normal girl her age, otherwise she might stay single for life."

Are you implying, in a roundabout way, that I'm abnormal?

No matter what he was discussing with Yono, Kiyoyori always felt like his blood vessels were on the verge of bursting.

"It would be best if Kiyoyori could be self-aware," Haruno said, adopting the demeanor of a gentle senior who was genuinely concerned for his junior. "By the way, speaking of this 'troublesome' person, Kiyoyori should know about him too, since he's a classmate."

"I think it's called... Isshiki Hachiman?"

"what."

Kiyoshi subconsciously recalled the other person's face.

“Oh,” Yang Nai looked at Kiyoyori with great interest, “it seems like there’s some story behind it!”

"There's nothing there, just an ordinary classmate."

Kiyoyori didn't have a good impression of Isshiki Hatake. It wasn't that she was annoying; on the contrary, she was the likable type. To be precise, Isshiki Hatake presented an image that made it very easy for others to like her.

Especially for boys of this age.

However, in Kiyoyori's eyes, Iroha Isshiki is like a weakened version of Yukinoshita Haruno. Just looking at her familiar smile makes Kiyoyori reflexively feel a certain psychological discomfort, even more so than seeing the original.

Kiyoshi would subconsciously want to avoid this kind of person.

"Hmph~" Yang Nai dragged out a long nasal sound, clearly expressing distrust of Kiyoyori's words, "Regardless of what kind of person Kiyoyori's classmate is, if Kiyoyori were to solve this request, what would you do?"

Kiyoshiro pondered for a moment, "If you don't want to lose too badly, then you can just lose in a way that's perfectly reasonable. If Isshiki's competitor has an undeniable crushing ability, then she can get what she wants, right?"

Looking at Haruno's expression, Kiyoyori knew that she had said the words that Haruno had been trying to get her to say.

“But if someone wanted to participate in the election voluntarily, they would have already done so. Where is Kiyora going to find a candidate who meets all the requirements?” Haruno rested her chin on her hand and tilted her head to look at Kiyora. “Could it be that Kiyora is going to participate in the election?”

"How could that be?"

“I think so too,” Yang Nai shrugged. “However, isn’t there already someone by Kokiyori’s side who is even more suitable than Kokiyori?”

Yang Nai's suggestion was too strong. Combined with the fact that the other party had deliberately brought up this topic before, it would be difficult for Kiyoyori not to think of this person.

"you……"

"What? Kiyoyuki doesn't want Yukino to be the student council president?"

"Do you want your senior to do this?"